Though he said that, Tver could tell from Dumbledore's fairly confident manner that this was not something he needed to worry about.
So the three of them continued silently dealing with the delicious desserts in front of them.
...
No, more accurately, Snape watched the other two deal with all kinds of little cakes.
Only now did he realize that, as someone who did not care for sweets, he was rather out of place here.
"By the way," he said after thinking for a moment, still finding a topic, "what are you planning to do about that Potter boy?"
"As long as you teach him Occlumency properly, a lot of problems can be avoided…"
"That is not what I meant!" Snape frowned, cutting Tver off.
Teaching Occlumency was torture for both him and Harry.
To put it bluntly, he would rather deal with Voldemort than stay in a small room with Harry again.
"I mean the reason his mind can connect with Voldemort's!"
Oh, big trouble.
Tver glanced at Dumbledore, whose movements were gradually slowing.
Naturally, such a difficult matter should be left to Dumbledore.
"We have discussed this, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, even sounding somewhat cold. "As long as the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside Harry has not been dealt with, we cannot solve this problem."
"We cannot even truly kill Voldemort."
"Then deal with that soul!" Snape said, suppressing his anger.
All this time, he had fulfilled his duty as an undercover agent very well, but that did not mean he was willing, or rather, used to it.
Especially every time he came into contact with Voldemort, and every time he saw the Dark Lord's evil in Potter's green eyes, it brought back the painful memory of how he had leaked information to Voldemort and caused Lily's death.
For Snape, that torment was like a dull knife cutting across his already scarred heart. It could not kill him, but again and again, it awakened all the pain he had accumulated before.
To put it directly, he would rather let his heart die than continue enduring such torture.
"But in truth, you have already done enough for Harry, Severus."
As if sensing the grief beneath his cold exterior, a trace of pity flashed across Dumbledore's face.
"I know the guilt in your heart, but you can also think about your own life. Whether it is studying the dark magic you once loved, or the potions you excel at…"
"That's right. My potions workshop could really use your help," Tver said expectantly.
Compared with having Snape work undercover, Tver would much rather see him become a professional potions master.
Ideally, one dedicated to developing potions for all sorts of rare and difficult illnesses.
When that time came, Tver would not even need to promote him. Snape would be hailed as a light of humanity on his own.
Looking at Tver's openly profit-minded expression, and thinking back to how Tver had taken his improved potion formulas from him through every possible method, Snape's mouth twitched.
"No. Keep your workshop for yourself. I am more concerned with how you plan to handle Potter and Voldemort."
He paused.
"After that, I will consider other matters."
Sensing the firmness in his words, Dumbledore did not continue persuading him and could only follow the topic back to Harry.
"The Horcrux inside him is awakening. I suspect Voldemort has noticed this as well, so we need to move faster."
"Move faster with what?" Tver asked curiously.
"Let Harry gain the ability to face Voldemort as soon as possible," Dumbledore answered solemnly.
Snape froze.
"How could Potter possibly face Voldemort?"
Even without prejudice, never mind Potter's talent, even Tver, the most gifted of the three of them, would not have been able to face Voldemort before graduating.
With prejudice included…
Potter might as well start thinking about how to arrange his own funeral.
"I don't mean ability…"
Dumbledore hesitated. He had discussed this with Tver before, but he had never brought it up with Snape, precisely because he feared Snape would be unable to accept it.
"I mean cultivating the courage in him to face Voldemort."
Snape was so angry he laughed. In the entire wizarding world, how many people could say they would still have the courage to resist when facing Voldemort directly?
"The courage to go to his death, you mean?" he said mockingly.
Seeing Dumbledore and Tver fall into an extremely solemn silence, a wave of panic rose in his heart instead.
"You are not truly planning to send him to his death and destroy the Horcrux along with him, are you?"
Watching the two remain silent, Snape demanded in a hoarse voice, unease twisting through him, "Answer me!"
Such a commotion not only went against Snape's usual image, but also caused no small disturbance in the empty restaurant.
However, the waiters had all been warned by the manager, so they only stood at a distance, occasionally casting curious glances over.
Seeing this, Tver could only try to soothe him. "As long as Voldemort uses the Killing Curse, only one soul will die. Only one soul."
"There's no guarantee it will be Harry. Perhaps we'll simply be lucky, and only the Horcrux will be destroyed."
Although that was indeed how it happened in the plot, according to Tver's understanding, and even Marvolio's as someone directly involved, this was actually a fifty-fifty gamble.
"But with the two of you being so powerful, can't you separate the soul inside his mind? Like that ugly Imp Spell of yours?" Snape asked unhappily.
It was clearly quite cute. What was ugly about it?
But with the atmosphere so tense, Tver did not argue that point.
"We can't separate it. Just as we can't be certain which soul will die when the Killing Curse strikes Harry."
It was not completely impossible, unless Harry's research into the soul could surpass Tver's, allowing him to sort through his own soul piece by piece and remove the parts that did not belong to him.
Of course, the odds of that were roughly the same as cloning another Harry.
"No. As long as Harry can make use of the magic his mother left in his body, we can ensure that he will not be killed by Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.
Lily's magic could protect Harry from being killed by Voldemort. So under those circumstances, the Killing Curse cast by Voldemort would only strike the other, unprotected soul.
This was the greatest result of Dumbledore's research during this period.
His confident manner immediately put Snape and Tver a little more at ease.
"But the problem is, Potter will come of age around this time next year, won't he? By then, Lily's… magic will disappear, won't it?" A trace of sadness flashed through Snape's eyes.
Was this the last mark Lily had left in this world?
Looking into his eyes, Dumbledore seemed to want to give him strength through that gaze alone.
"No. Lily's magic has always remained in his soul."
Snape opened his mouth slightly, but in the end, he only braced a hand against the table and stood.
"Thank you for the meal. I need to go deal with my own affairs…"
His movements no longer had their usual sharpness. Instead, he turned slowly and left, like a hesitant old man.
Watching Snape's retreating figure, Tver quickly asked the question that had puzzled him all along.
"Can Lily's magic really last that long? And what exactly is that ancient magic? Can it really protect Harry from Voldemort's harm forever?"
A protective magic, even one using life as a medium, that could protect someone forever from being harmed by another person was something Tver had never heard of. He had never seen any similar explanation in any book.
It could even be said that no one had ever dared imagine such an impossible, fantastical magic.
Seeing Tver looking like a curious child, Dumbledore calmly shook his head.
"I'm not sure either."
"…"