Magical magic.
Brought magical effects.
The world twisted and spun with a piercing explosion. Hermione felt as if an invisible hand had fiercely clenched and released her stomach. The scene before her eyes was like a muddied watercolor painting—the Forbidden Forest's dark green shadows melted into a blur, then suddenly reformed into the familiar stone walls and torches of Hogwarts.
The night at Hogwarts was serene and mysterious. Moonlight shone through the stained glass windows, casting mottled shadows in the corridors. However, this tranquility was shattered by a strange sound.
Two people had been directly teleported onto a corridor inside Hogwarts Castle—yes, directly into the castle, not onto the grass outside.
"What is going on!?"
The knees of a first-year Little Witch went weak, and she staggered as she clung to the corridor wall. The cold touch of the stone wall confirmed it was not an illusion—they had indeed been instantaneously shifted from the depths of the Forbidden Forest to the fourth-floor corridor of the castle.
Such an experience.
Made Hermione's whole being freeze up.
After all, this was completely impossible.
It was different from what she had learned in the Hogwarts Library and her extracurricular books—Apparition was forbidden at Hogwarts, a strict rule even Dumbledore had to obey.
"This completely defies magical common sense!" Hermione muttered to herself, her head feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. The contradiction between knowledge and reality made her mind truly chaotic.
There's a restriction!
Even powerful Wizards cannot Apparate, let alone directly relocate two living people! What is happening? Hermione's brain continued to freeze up.
"Gra—nger—!"
A voice full of gritted teeth came from above her head.
It was Snape. He noticed Hermione ignoring him and thought the little Witch was doing it on purpose. The Professor of Potions at Hogwarts was always prone to such assumptions.
His body remained in a Levicorpus state, his feet dangling in mid-air, his robes gently swaying in the wind.
Realizing he had returned to Hogwarts.
Snape was naturally shocked as well. However, compared to the situation he was now facing, the restrictions or lack thereof at Hogwarts were no longer important. Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar Hogwarts hall, his brain went momentarily blank, followed by a chill that shot up from his feet to his head.
Snape hated appearing in this manner at Hogwarts.
This would stir up his childhood memories.
Or rather, his childhood traumas. Suddenly, it was as if he was back in some distant past. A flicker of vulnerability, unseen by Hermione before, flashed in his black eyes. In that moment, he was not the feared professor but a boy trapped in a dire situation. But this fleeting moment was quickly replaced by even greater fury.
"Miss Granger, quickly cast a spell to lift this ridiculous magic spell!" he reiterated, and this time, Hermione instantly realized it was the unique plea for help from the Hogwarts Professor of Potions.
"Ah, Professor."
Hermione looked up. The sight was almost too much to bear—Professor Severus Snape was suspended upside down in mid-air, his black robes hanging like bat wings, revealing a slightly worn shirt and bony ankles beneath. His old face was flushed red from the blood rush, and the anger in his eyes was nearly palpable.
Of course.
It wasn't aimed at Hermione.
Only a small bit of annoyance was for Hermione.
The rest of the anger was directed at the culprit behind this situation.
"Pro...Professor, what, what do I do, how can I help you?" Hermione's voice was as soft as a mosquito. Her mind was still processing the absurd scene before her—Snape, the ever-dark and dignified Master of Potions who made students tremble in fear, hung upside down like a bat caught by a hunter.
It's just too...hard to suppress laughter.
As a Gryffindor student, despite having respect for this professor, Hermione, too, knew from the atmosphere that Snape was a very prideful man.
Luckily, she was Hermione.
If it were Ron or any other Gryffindor student here, let alone helping Snape, they would've been kind enough not to borrow a camera or call more people to watch.
No choice.
Snape's reputation and public opinion at Hogwarts indeed have significant issues. Especially his extreme bias against Gryffindor College, which keeps him at the top of the most disliked professors' list.
At least that's how it is among Gryffindor students—let's say, for Gryffindor students, not being targeted by Snape in their journey from the first grade to graduation is virtually zero. Almost every Gryffindor student has at least once endured Snape's ire.
It might not always be obvious unfairness.
But being suppressed by Snape is certainly a norm all Gryffindor students must go through. Thus, Snape's current appearance would only seem like karma to Gryffindor students.
Sympathy might exist.
But it doesn't stop them from taking photos.
If Hermione hadn't been targeted much, she might not have been struggling to suppress her laughter like now, because, after all, holding back laughter is bad for health; one should laugh freely when jokes arise.
"I...what kind of magic is this?"
Hermione's curiosity evidently appeared at an inappropriate time.
This made Snape even more irritated.
"For god's sake, don't stand there like a dimwitted giant!" Snape's voice was twisted from being upside down, yet sharp as a knife. He attempted to cast a spell himself but failed to lift the magic.