Meanwhile, Snape and Dumbledore walked one after the other in silence all the way to the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor.
The bright yellow lights were switched on, instantly lighting up the spacious office. Dumbledore visibly relaxed.
He took out a bag of candy, a tin of tea leaves, lemons, and other items from the drawer of the claw-footed desk. As he brewed black tea at the coffee table, he said, "Severus, sit down. No need to be polite."
Snape did not move. He simply stood quietly by the office door, staring blankly at the orrery deep inside the office.
He still remembered that more than ten years ago, he had secretly met Dumbledore in front of an orrery as well. Back then, it had been for one reason only, to ask Dumbledore to save Lily's life.
It had been a last resort.
He knew Voldemort too well.
Once Voldemort learned of Trelawney's prophecy, he would never show any mercy to Lily's family.
Even if Voldemort's target was only Lily's child, even if Voldemort had already agreed, after Snape's pleading, to spare that pitiful woman named Lily.
When Voldemort truly stood before Lily and tried to take her child's life, Lily's death was already inevitable.
At that time, Dumbledore's help became critically important.
In this world, only Dumbledore, the strongest white wizard of the century and a fellow legendary-level wizard, had the ability to save Lily.
And so, he made a deal with Dumbledore.
He knelt before him and sincerely begged Dumbledore to grant his wish.
In exchange, he was willing to give everything he had, even his soul.
Snape knew very well that he was completely untrustworthy.
At the time, he was already a senior Death Eater, one of the core members who had followed Voldemort since the beginning. He was deeply trusted by Voldemort.
Dumbledore had no reason whatsoever to trust him.
Yet Dumbledore agreed in the end.
From that moment on, Snape became a double agent moving between Dumbledore and Voldemort.
And as payment, Dumbledore genuinely did his best to help Lily, creating a safe house protected by the Fidelius Charm.
By all rights, it should have been foolproof.
Even Voldemort could not break through a Fidelius Charm in a short time.
And if enough time passed, Voldemort's attention would naturally shift elsewhere.
Yet the accident still happened.
'That idiot Sirius Black!'
'Trying to be clever, he changed the Secret Keeper, leading to Lily's death and the complete collapse of all of Snape's plans!'
The thought caused a crimson glow to rise once more in Snape's eyes.
Those memories had long been sealed away in the deepest part of his mind. Only when night fell and his Occlumency weakened during sleep would they return as nightmares.
But at this moment, they surged up uncontrollably.
It was as though Snape had returned to that night once again.
Stepping over the debris scattered across the floor, he entered the house whose Fidelius Charm had already been broken.
The unique scent of death filled the air.
A baby's cries, the creaking of shattered doors and windows swaying in the wind, the groaning of floorboards and broken debris beneath his feet...
Countless sounds echoed throughout the house.
Yet Snape could hear nothing.
He could smell nothing.
His mind was blank.
He staggered up the stairs.
Passing James Potter's corpse, he looked like a dying man, sustained only by a single lingering thought.
And when he finally pushed open that door, every last bit of hope and determination died.
Lily's body entered his sight.
Like a sword piercing through his heart.
Pinning his soul to the cold floor.
Endless emotions surged up within him. He wanted to apologize, but those emotions and words lodged firmly in his throat, making it ache and tighten.
All he could do was hold Lily's body and sob.
And wail.
———
The scene shifted once more, returning to the Headmaster's Office.
But the time was still that night more than ten years ago.
"You promised. You promised me you'd keep them safe..."
Snape continued to wail, his voice hoarse and grief-stricken.
But Dumbledore, whose back was turned to him, interrupted without hesitation,
"Lily and James trusted the wrong person, Severus. Just as you did."
Snape froze.
He closed his eyes in pain.
Just as James had foolishly trusted Sirius, had he not also foolishly trusted Dumbledore?
"But the child is still alive."
Dumbledore continued.
Hearing this, Snape leaned weakly against the wall.
"So what? Voldemort is gone. It's all over!"
"Voldemort will return. And when he does, that child will be in danger. He needs you," Dumbledore said sincerely. "His eyes are very much like his mother's. If you truly loved her..."
Dumbledore suddenly stopped.
Because he noticed that the pained and contemptuous Snape had raised a hand.
"No one can know!"
Dumbledore shook his head.
"You don't want anyone to know your best side?"
"You must swear it!"
"Even if it means risking your life every day to protect that child?"
Silence.
———
Snape finally opened his eyes and returned to reality.
Dumbledore had already finished brewing the tea and was adding sugar cubes and lemon slices to the cups.
"You really are lucky, Severus. The newest batch of tea leaves just arrived. Even Link hasn't had the chance to try this fresh stock yet! Drinking tea at night might cause insomnia, but compared to the taste of good black tea, a little insomnia is hardly a problem."
Dumbledore eagerly stirred his teacup.
"Sit down and have some with me, Severus. Also, what's Harry done this time?"
Snape slowly turned around.
His movements were stiff, like a mummy's.
"That boy has no talent. More arrogant, conceited, lazy, and foolish than his father," Snape muttered. "He's immersed in the fame others have given him, smug and self-satisfied, not realizing that it's all meaningless. One day..."
"I don't want to deny what you've said. But honestly, Severus, we both know all this very well. You've always had this opinion of Harry, and you've never been shy about expressing it in public."
Dumbledore interrupted.
"What we also both know is that despite all those flaws you hate so much, you'll still protect him, won't you?"
"Yes. Because his eyes are very much like his mother's."
Hearing that, Dumbledore smiled knowingly and lifted his teacup for a sip.
But at that moment, Snape continued quietly, "For more than ten years, I've been doing this one thing. By now, it's become a habit. I believe I'll continue doing it in the future as well. But precisely because of that, I want to ask you a question.
What is that boy to Voldemort?
Or rather, what relationship does he have with Voldemort?
And what do you intend to use that boy to do against Voldemort?"
Dumbledore froze with the teacup halfway raised.
His expression changed rapidly.
First shock.
Then confusion and disbelief.
As if he couldn't understand how Snape could possibly say such things.
But eventually, everything settled.
Dumbledore put down the teacup and sighed.
"You already know?"
"Harry can speak to snakes. He's a Parselmouth. But unlike Link, whose Flamel family once intermarried with the Slytherin family, the Potter family has always been independent. There's never been any record of a Parselmouth appearing in the Potter family."
Snape stared at the orrery.
"Additionally, his mind is unusually easy for Voldemort to invade. And the nature of that invasion is highly unusual. It's two-way."
"That is to say, Voldemort can perceive Harry's experiences through his mind, his memories, even his vision."
"At the same time, Harry can see and feel Voldemort's thoughts. Though because the difference in willpower and mental strength between them is far too great, usually only Voldemort can look into Harry's mind."
"Even when Harry sees Voldemort's thoughts, it's only because Voldemort intentionally allows him to."
"But regardless, this form of mental invasion is far too bizarre."
"No known method can achieve this."
"Legilimency can't."
"The Imperius Curse can't."
"With those two clues, the rest isn't difficult to guess."
"Harry and Voldemort must share some kind of special connection."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Dumbledore applauded.
The crisp sound echoed throughout the office, startling the portraits of former headmasters who had emerged after hearing Snape's speech and causing them all to shut their eyes again.
"Just as expected of you, Severus. That insight is truly frightening."
Leaning back on the sofa, Dumbledore sighed.
"Now that things have reached this point, I suppose it's time I told you the truth."
"Yes."
"That's right."
"Harry is indeed connected to Voldemort."
After receiving Dumbledore's confirmation, Snape's expression did not change.
He remained silent.
Dumbledore understood that he was waiting for an explanation.
With a sigh, he began, "That night, Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry. Lily Potter used her own life to create a shield around him. It was an ancient blood magic... powerful, strange, long lost, yet somehow rediscovered by Lily Potter."
"It has always protected Harry from Voldemort's harm. That's also why Harry was raised by his aunt. Only by remaining close to blood relatives could the magic continue to function until he reached adulthood."
"Everyone knows that. I don't see what it has to do with Harry's current abnormalities or his connection to Voldemort."
"Of course it does! Severus, you're being too impatient!"
"The truth is, you don't know how that blood magic saved Harry, nor do you know what really happened that night!"
"The reality is that when Voldemort faced Lily's blood magic, his Killing Curse rebounded."
"But Voldemort himself couldn't die because he was protected by multiple Horcruxes."
"As a result, when he was resurrected, a fragment of his soul was torn away and attached itself to the only living soul in that house."
"Harry."
"Part of Voldemort has been living inside Harry. You can think of Harry as another Horcrux of Voldemort's... a Horcrux even Voldemort himself doesn't know about."
"As long as that lost soul fragment remains safely protected inside Harry, Voldemort cannot die!"
As Dumbledore nearly roared out his explanation, the portraits throughout the office let out a series of shocked cries.
But the sounds quickly faded.
The atmosphere in the room was too strange.
Snape still showed no excessive emotional reaction.
Instead, he asked calmly, "So the boy... the boy must die?"
Dumbledore lowered his eyes.
He wanted to tell Snape that according to his plan, if Voldemort personally cast another Killing Curse on Harry before Harry came of age, it might be possible to destroy Voldemort's soul fragment while preserving Harry's life.
However, that was only a guess.
Dumbledore didn't know whether it would work.
Nor did he particularly care.
His goal was only to destroy Voldemort's soul fragment. If Harry survived, all the better. If he didn't, that was acceptable too.
But what about Snape?
He had already disappointed him once more than ten years ago.
What would happen if he disappointed him again?
After only a brief hesitation, Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes. He must die. And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That's very important."
A long silence followed.
Then Snape spoke, "I thought... all these years... we were protecting him for her sake. For Lily."
"We have been protecting him. Because we must teach him and prepare him so that he'll have enough courage," Dumbledore said with difficulty.
"At the same time, the connection between him and Voldemort has been growing like a parasite."
"You aren't the first person to suspect this. Link also learned the truth and has been searching for a way to prevent the tragedy. Unfortunately, he hasn't found one yet."
"Sometimes I even suspect Harry himself has guessed the truth. If I'm right, once he's made all the necessary arrangements, he'll willingly go to his death."
"And that will mean Voldemort's end."
"I should have realized it long ago. Harry's identity as the 'Chosen One,' and the achievements of his parents, simply don't justify the special treatment you've given him. Just look at Neville."
"He met all the conditions of the prophecy just as Harry did. His parents even gave up their minds for the Order of the Phoenix."
"And yet?"
"You stood by and did nothing as Neville lived with fear and inferiority."
"You offered him no help."
"As for Harry, yes, you've given him enough care. But the reason you've protected his life all this time was so that he could die at the critical moment."
As he spoke, Snape's right hand had already moved to cover his chest.
The exact place where the "Spatial Anchor" was located.
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