Chapter 188: Time of Reckoning

Chapter 188: Time of Reckoning

Hermione's peculiar behavior caught Harry off guard, erasing the angry expression from his face.

He wasn't sure whether to continue being mad or if that would just make him seem unreasonable. Ron took the opportunity to put an arm around his shoulder. "Harry, let's talk about this later during dinner. Hermione's got a point— we're really running late."

During Transfiguration class, Harry was absentminded the whole time, his thoughts still occupied by where Hermione could have learned that information. Perhaps Professor Snape? But the ages didn't match up.

He pondered so deeply that he completely ignored the many glances cast his way.

In the previous class, during Divination, Professor Sybill Trelawney had interpreted the shapes of his tea leaves, revealing a death omen that sent shivers down every young wizard's spine—a ghostly black dog roaming in a graveyard.

Her words unsettled Harry deeply, as he had seen the ominous black dog, a symbol of death, not just once. From the cover of the book "Death Omens" in the bookstore to the suspicious dark figure he had glimpsed on the night he left the Dursleys on Magnolia Crescent.

After the rushed Divination class, Hermione unintentionally let slip some things to Harry in her attempt to counter Trelawney's viewpoint. She revealed that she had known certain things about his father for a while but had kept them to herself.

That was the real reason for Harry's anger.

At lunch, the young wizards flooded into the Great Hall, buzzing with chatter. Harry grabbed some sausages and fried tomatoes, but his appetite seemed diminished, as if he had already been fed up with all sorts of worries.

Hermione pushed a small dish of dip toward him. "Harry, you heard Professor McGonagall's words too. Trelawney predicts a student's death every year. It's her way of welcoming the new class."

However, Ron said with genuine concern, "You haven't seen a roaming black dog anywhere else, have you, Harry?"

Harry's stomach clenched suddenly. "No, but I have seen one," he said, "on the night I left the Dursleys."

Ron dropped his fork, visibly anxious.

But Harry was more concerned about something else. He looked at Hermione and said with a stern tone, "You still haven't told me about my father."

"Well, um..." Hermione shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze, "okay." She took a deep breath. "Remember the time Professor Snape gave us detention?"

"Of course, it was last school year." Harry ransacked his memory. "We suspected Professor Snape was involved with the attacks connected to the Chamber of Secrets. We followed him into the Forbidden Forest and got caught. We lost ten points each for our Houses, and had a full weekend detention. And it was with Malfoy."

He had no idea how this connected to his father.

Hermione looked at him and said, "It was the content of that detention, Harry. Professor Snape had us copy a stack of old records from Professor McGonagall. They were about students' breaches of rules and the corresponding punishments."

Harry recalled more details. He remembered Malfoy chattering away beside him while copying the records.

But he soon realized the crux of Hermione's words. His eyes widened. "You saw my father's name on those records!"

"Everything you can tell me."

Snape looked at him with a disdainful expression. "There's not much to say. Potter, Black, Lupin, and that one, Pettigrew. They were practically inseparable during school, always causing trouble."

"Especially Potter, arrogant and full of himself, unbelievably foolish to trust that traitor..."

"Did you have a bad relationship during school?" Felix inquired.

Snape's expression stiffened, and he said slowly, "You've managed to unearth quite a bit."

Felix smirked, "All of it was out in the open. After all, you and him were the shining stars of that era. Many people haven't forgotten about you two, like the landlady of the Three Broomsticks."

"Stop prying into my affairs, Felix. I warn you—"

"We're on the same side, aren't we, Headmaster?" Felix shifted the address. "But you'll have to give me more information. If it's a personal grudge, then I'm sorry, I won't help you deal with Professor Lupin."

After a long gaze, Snape tilted his head slightly and whispered, "Personal grudge? You'll be surprised when you see through Lupin's true nature, Felix. You can stay out of it, and I can handle Black alone, savor the sweetness of revenge."

"Did they ever gang up on you? Professor, you weren't beaten up badly during school, were you?" Felix inquired curiously.

Snape's gaze turned menacing, and Felix tried to salvage the situation. "Oh, of course not. At the very least, it was a level playing field. Otherwise, who do you think Professor used to test his curses on?"

Snape stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor with an ear-piercing sound. He cast a quick glance at the Gryffindor table, just as Harry was looking over. Their gazes met.

The surprise on Harry's face had yet to fade, while Snape's eyes were as calm and still as deep springs.

After a while, he left, swishing his robes.

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