Chapter 803: Side Story — Snape 12

A long time had passed since the incident at the Duelling Club when Snape heard troubling news again.

The little cub had been made drunk by Harry Potter and ended up in the Hospital Wing. Apparently, Harry and the others had sneaked into Slytherin to investigate something.

Malfoy had told him about it.

Although Snape knew this was one of Malfoy's usual tricks, intended to use him to teach Harry Potter a lesson, he was still furious.

The little cub was so young! Harry had gotten him drunk and sent him to the Hospital Wing. Why hadn't they taken him to St. Mungo's instead?

Moreover, Snape had heard Malfoy mention that Granger had opened the door to Darren's dormitory.

Snape merely snorted.

That door had originally been enchanted to recognize Darren. It was perfectly normal for Miss Granger to be able to open it.

He regretted countless times that he hadn't paid attention to the matter back then.

He reported everything to Dumbledore.

Looking back, Snape suspected that all his attention at the time had been focused on finding ways to make trouble for Harry Potter.

And then something went wrong.

The cub disappeared.

When Snape realized what had happened, he nearly went mad.

He almost believed that the Dark Lord had returned, discovered the relationship between Darren and him, and secretly killed the little cub.

He followed Dumbledore all over Hogwarts, searching desperately.

Nothing.

Unlike the previous time, when they had at least been able to find Darren, this time there was absolutely no trace of him.

Not even a body.

Snape could only comfort himself with the thought that not finding a body was a good thing.

It meant the cub might still be alive.

Ministry of Magic officials came and went through the Slytherin common room, interrogating every Slytherin student.

Sure enough, their questioning eventually uncovered something suspicious.

Someone had either been bribed or placed under the Imperius Curse. One student had entered the cub's dormitory and planted a Portkey there.

The plan had been to hand Darren over to the Dark wizards.

However, the cub hadn't activated that Portkey. Instead, he had been taken away by another one.

They still hadn't discovered who had planted the second Portkey.

Of course, it was entirely possible that the same person had been responsible.

Perhaps those people had succeeded in capturing Darren and had erased his memories afterward.

That was apparently what had happened to the cub.

When Darren finally returned, his body was covered in wounds, and he had lost his memories.

While he was unconscious, Snape and Dumbledore examined his memories.

There was no doubt about it. Everything had been erased.

And the Obliviate used on him was exceptionally powerful.

It resembled the kind of Memory Charm Darren himself had previously used on those Slytherin students.

That meant the little cub might have cast the Memory Charm on himself.

Perhaps he had fought desperately to make his way back to Hogwarts.

Snape had felt nothing but pain when he realized this.

What kind of torture had the little cub endured to make him willing to erase his own memories?

Snape didn't dare examine Darren's wand.

Dumbledore didn't examine it either.

For once, Snape felt that he had done the right thing.

Eventually, the incident passed.

The little cub also developed a potion that could turn Squibs into wizards.

Once again, he became famous.

Snape was secretly proud of him.

Yet he still felt deeply uneasy.

He changed the enchantments on Darren's dormitory door.

He hoped that, as long as the child stayed inside that room from now on, he would be safe.

After the initial joy of becoming a father, Snape had finally begun to understand something else.

Hogwarts was not a peaceful place.

Something terrifying lurked within the school, something capable of hurting even Darren.

The thought filled him with dread.

Finally, after the youngest Weasley girl was dragged into the depths of the Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts decided to close.

Snape couldn't wait to drag the cub back into the Slytherin common room.

Even if he had to die doing it, he would make sure the child returned safely.

But—

He watched the cub board the train, only for the boy to return to Hogwarts again not long afterward.

Snape exploded.

Nevertheless, he had no choice but to follow Dumbledore and secretly trail behind the others, watching as that fool Lockhart threatened the cub.

Of course, he also saw Harry Potter and the Weasley brothers.

Somehow, the two boys had managed to get off the train and make their way back.

If Snape had been in charge, he would have seized Harry Potter and deducted points from Gryffindor until the boy cried.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore was there, so Snape could only swallow his anger.

He watched as Lockhart threatened the cub.

He watched Darren fight the Basilisk in a battle to the death.

He watched the little cub destroy the Dark Lord's...

And finally, he watched Darren rush into the fire.

It wasn't just Harry Potter who had gone looking for danger again.

Darren had done it too.

At that moment, Snape had nearly collapsed.

He thought he was about to lose the cub.

Fortunately, Darren emerged alive once more.

Snape watched him open his eyes. He desperately wanted to rush over and hug the little cub.

But Dumbledore stopped him.

Instead, Dumbledore showed Darren an introduction to the Fiendfyre Curse.

At last, the cub who had given everyone hope by surviving returned to them, and Snape was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

*Honestly, what a little fool!*

Snape seriously suspected that because the little cub's origins were so unusual, perhaps something had gone wrong while Lily was carrying him and damaged his brain.

The boy was always doing foolish things.

Still, even if Snape wanted to be stern with him, he simply couldn't do it.

After watching the cub nearly disappear before his eyes, Snape had lost whatever temper he had left.

Especially when he saw the guilt in those turquoise eyes.

He couldn't even bring himself to raise his voice at the boy.

Summer vacation was still a comfortable time.

After learning that he had a child, Snape had spent the summer reading books.

For example:

*A Hundred Ways to Communicate with Children.*

*How to Make Your Child Smart.*

*Ten Things Good Parents Do.*

By the time he had finished reading the entire pile, he was brimming with confidence.

He felt he could teach the cub properly in no time at all.

Just as he was feeling confident about his new parenting skills, Dumbledore brought him some news that shocked him to the core.

In an attempt to help someone, the little cub had actually written an IOU for two hundred thousand Galleons!

Snape was utterly exhausted.

He stared at the pile of books on the table and suddenly felt a little frightened.

Could he really set that foolish boy straight?

Even Merlin himself probably couldn't manage it, could he?

Fortunately, Dumbledore discovered that the shop involved was fraudulent.

They dealt with the shop's manager overnight, recovered the cub's IOU, and helped Miss Fleur Delacour get her own IOU back as well.

When Mr. Delacour received the document, he nearly exploded with rage.

He declared that he would give Miss Delacour a thorough scolding.

Snape, too, wanted nothing more than to show the little cub exactly how powerful his wand could be.

What a pity.

Darren wasn't publicly known to be his child.

Snape couldn't simply take the boy aside and discipline him as he pleased.

As for Harry Potter, who might have been able to straighten the cub out, Snape suspected that Harry had grown just as accustomed to Darren's trusting, innocent nature as everyone else had.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, thought there was no need to tell Darren or Miss Delacour about the incident.

Otherwise, those two might do something foolish all over again.

And, of course, keeping the little cub from releasing that helpless, sympathetic look at everyone would be another benefit...