Chapter 31: Snape's Dark Past

Dumbledore said a few more words to Madam Pomfrey and then left the hospital wing with Kyle.

Along the way, Kyle took the opportunity to ask about some problems he had encountered while practicing magic. Dumbledore was generous and answered them all.

...

Because they were going to different destinations, they soon parted ways after entering the castle.

When Dumbledore returned to the Headmaster's office, Snape was already waiting for him.

"This is the list of ingredients for the anti-magic potion."

Snape casually slapped a long sheet of parchment onto the table. He drawled, "Our Deputy Headmistress says it contains a lot of precious materials. It requires your signature."

"Minerva is just too by the book. I remember telling her a long time ago that she can make all the decisions about everything in the school."

Dumbledore picked up the parchment and said casually, "Besides, it's just an anti-magic potion. How precious could it be… hmm?"

When Dumbledore saw the contents of the parchment, his expression changed.

Mandrake Juice: 50 ounces.

Horklump Juice: 50 ounces.

Australian Bluemantle Slug Shell: 5.

Poisonous Unicorn Blast: 10 ounces.

Kneazle Horn: 5.

Aconite: 100.

…

And that was just a part. The rest added up to about thirty different ingredients.

After reading everything, Dumbledore felt his forehead throbbing.

If he remembered correctly, out of the first six ingredients listed, only the Mandrake Juice was necessary. The rest had absolutely nothing to do with an anti-magic potion.

Australian Bluemantle Slug Shell… wasn't that the main ingredient for the Rage Potion? How dare he put that on the list? Did he think everyone was completely clueless about potions?

And the quantities were also crazy.

Fifty ounces of Mandrake Juice. If it was all brewed into anti-magic potion, it would be enough for the entire school staff and students to drink for a week.

Kneazle horns. They were sold in powdered form on the market. Snape was listing them by the piece, five pieces at that. Didn't he know how expensive those were?

Was he trying to get a bulk discount from him?

At this point, Dumbledore understood why Snape had come to him for a signature.

Such an outrageous list. With Professor McGonagall's personality, she wouldn't agree to it. Or perhaps Snape didn't even go to McGonagall at all, and he came straight to Dumbledore.

"Severus..." Dumbledore pondered for a moment and decided to give Snape another chance. He asked tentatively, "These are all the ingredients needed to brew the anti-magic potion."

Snape nodded, calmly saying, "Yes, Headmaster."

Dumbledore, "Then, this Australian Bluemantle Slug Shell is…"

Snape, "It's for a new recipe I'm trying."

"But the quantity is too much."

"For error allowance, Headmaster." Snape said matter-of-factly, "I haven't brewed an anti-magic potion in a long time. It's normal to make a few mistakes. So, I need to have plenty of ingredients."

"It seems I have no reason to object." Dumbledore picked up a scarlet feather quill and quickly signed his name on the parchment.

"Mr. Mickel will thank you for your generosity, Headmaster Dumbledore." Snape's eyebrows raised slightly.

Taking the sheet of parchment full of personal items, Snape was eager to fill his private collection... no, I mean to brew the potion for Mickel.

But at this time, Dumbledore casually said, "Severus, what do you think of Kyle?"

"Kyle?" The smug look on Snape's face disappeared. He sneered, "Do you have another plan, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"No, no, no, Severus, I think you've misunderstood. It's just a normal reaction for a Headmaster to see a good student. If you don't want to say, then don't."

Dumbledore grabbed a cockroach-shaped candy and threw it into his mouth. He even kindly offered Snape one, "Want to try it? It's very good."

"No need," Snape said with disgust.

He couldn't understand why, with all the different kinds of candies in the wizarding world, Dumbledore just had to like this odd-looking thing.

It looked more sickening than Flobberworm mucus.

Dumbledore acted as if he hadn't seen Snape's disgusted expression. He continued, "Kind, brave, honest, calm under pressure. Hogwarts hasn't had such a good first-year wizard in a long time.

I remember her mother, Diana, was also in Slytherin. She was only one year older than you."

"Shut up!"

Hearing this, Snape's eye twitched. His face darkened, "Never mention that name in front of me. Ever! Never!"

He even shouted the last few words.

This made the portraits of past Headmasters extremely unhappy. They reprimanded Snape for being disrespectful and daring to talk back to the Headmaster.

Unfortunately, Snape didn't care about them.

He would even shout at the current Headmaster. Why would he be afraid of a few paintings?

He only called them Headmaster as a courtesy. Without that, they were just a piece of paper. They were too hard to even use to wipe a cauldron.

"I didn't expect that it had been so long, but you still remember it."

Dumbledore didn't pay any attention to the portraits that were arguing. He sighed softly and said, "But Severus, even now, I still think you were wrong at the time.

Diana was a well-mannered and kind girl. If you hadn't said that bad word to Chris, she wouldn't have been in the common room every day to block your way..."

"Bang!"

Before Dumbledore could finish his sentence, a loud bang from the door interrupted him.

The sound was so loud that even Fawkes, the phoenix who was sleeping next to them, was startled. He flapped his wings vigorously towards where Snape had left, expressing his dissatisfaction at being woken up.

"Pfft…"

Looking at Snape's angry departure, a fat male portrait suddenly couldn't help but laugh. But when he saw Dumbledore's playful gaze, he quickly covered his mouth and ran into another frame.

Dumbledore soothed Fawkes, muttering softly, "Really, why do people get more attached to the past as they get older…"

"Heh, hypocrisy."

On the wall, Phineas Nigellus Black, the former Headmaster with a goatee, couldn't help but say, "Don't think I don't know, you're doing this on purpose. Look at your pettiness, young Snape just wanted a few more potion ingredients. What's the big deal? Back when I was Headmaster, I…"

"Wait, Dumbledore, what are you doing? Stop it, I won't say anything anymore. Don't come over here!"