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Chapter 222 — He Must Have Known!!
Potions class had barely ended when Snape stormed straight into Dumbledore's office.
"Oh, Severus, aren't you going to the Great Hall?"
Dumbledore blinked at him. "I heard they're serving treacle-syrup cake today."
Snape opened his mouth—ready to spill his suspicions—then abruptly stopped.
He blurted out something entirely different.
"Dumbledore, Harry Potter knows we gave Darren Potter Veritaserum."
His expression twisted. He had just used Legilimency on Harry.
Yes—Legilimency.
Looking at Potter's ridiculous attempt at a confused face, he knew immediately that something was off.
If Potter had seen Malfoy turn into a swollen mess, how could he possibly look puzzled? He should've been delighted.
So Snape had dipped into his memories without hesitation.
And in Harry Potter's mind, he found it—the boy had watched Snape and Dumbledore administer Veritaserum to Darren.
And worse…
He found that Darren had been pretending to be angry with him, deliberately creating distance.
Immature brat.
As if Snape cared about such things.
He told himself he didn't, anyway.
(Despite the inconvenient fact that since seeing that memory, he hadn't managed to shout at a single student properly.)
"Well," Dumbledore said softly, "I know."
"You know?" Snape stared at him. Then his expression soured. "Of course. You always peek into the mind of your precious Chosen One, don't you? Can't go one day without the Regents' Mind?"
"Oh, Severus, don't accuse this poor old man again."
Dumbledore leaned back, looking worn out. "I'm far too old for constant adventures."
Snape snorted but didn't bother mocking him further. His mind had already drifted back to Darren.
Darren Potter… could he truly—
No. Without verification, it was pointless to hope. Years of experience had taught him that.
Snape sneered at himself internally.
But he couldn't stop the urge to confirm his suspicion.
It clawed at the back of his mind.
No.
Absolutely not.
If it were true, he could never let Dumbledore know.
He might be acting as double agent for Harry, but he would not let Darren be used, calculated against, or manipulated because of him.
Last time Darren was attacked inside Hogwarts, everything that followed had driven away the doubts Dumbledore once had. Now Dumbledore had begun protecting Darren—restricting letters, stopping gossip, sheltering him.
Snape couldn't risk undoing that.
If he slipped… Darren could be in danger again.
Dumbledore, oblivious to Snape's inner storm, continued calmly.
"I'm at fault as well. I didn't expect those children to use an Invisibility Cloak and sneak into my office. But where did that cloak even come from?"
He sighed.
"From their memories, I learned that the cloak was stolen from Darren's cat—Lezi—from Merlin knows where. But I've been keeping an eye on Lezi. No clues. And the cloak hasn't appeared again."
Dumbledore folded his hands.
"So, Severus, have you been watching the Slytherins? Is one of them carrying that cloak now?"
"Why don't you suspect Darren Potter?" Snape asked coldly.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"No. I checked Darren's dormitory. There's no trace of the cloak."
He sighed again.
"It must be someone else from Slytherin… or perhaps Death Eaters. Your mention reminded me—maybe the reason they've never been caught is because of that cloak."
Snape stiffened as Dumbledore continued, voice low and grim.
"It's entirely possible they entered Hogwarts using it. You know the quality of that cloak—it can hide from my eyes, my wand, even Fawkes. It could evade the wards and slip right into the castle."
He folded a letter quickly and handed it to Fawkes.
"Go, Severus. Get dinner while you can. I only hope the Death Eaters are captured soon. Otherwise, I won't dare allow Darren or Harry to leave the school."
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"He knows it was me!"
Harry's panicked whisper echoed off the tiled walls as he, Ron, and Hermione slipped into the girls' bathroom.
His face was twisted with fear and dread.
"Oh, Harry, don't be ridiculous."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"If Snape knew it was you, he would've fed you the real thing—or marched you straight to the Ministry. Think, will you?"
She sounded irritated, likely because Harry had repeated this topic five times already.
She was even more irritable after learning Harry had accidentally injured Darren and then run to the hospital wing to check on him.
"It only takes two weeks," Hermione muttered as she dumped today's stolen herbs into the cauldron. "If Darren were here, we'd probably do even better. Honestly, if he were here, he'd improve this Polyjuice in no time."
"Yeah, and scare the life out of us every day?" Ron muttered, mimicking her earlier tone.
Hermione shot him a glare.
"It's impossible to understand her sometimes," Ron whispered to Harry once they left the bathroom. "I never know what she wants."
But Harry wasn't listening.
Snape knew.
He was sure of it.
And Snape was not going to let him go.
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