"Mm... What's wrong? What..."
Harry shouted in panic after being slapped awake, but when he saw Snape coldly looking him over, he covered his own mouth, and the scream stopped abruptly.
Only after quite a while did Harry finally calm down, constantly looking toward the bed opposite his.
"Stop looking. I used a Silencing Charm. Even if you scream your throat raw, you won't wake them."
Hearing that, Harry first relaxed, then touched his sore cheek and said in confusion, "Professor Snape, why are you here? And why does my face hurt so much?"
"You hit the wall by accident when you woke up," Snape said indifferently. "As for why I'm here, I think I already said it. We need to leave this place."
"Leave? I don't understand what you're talking about!"
Harry spoke with obvious dissatisfaction.
He was really angry right now. Aside from being woken up in the middle of the night, most of his anger came from Snape interrupting his dream.
During this period, Harry had relied entirely on those wonderful dreams to keep going. They could even be called his spiritual support.
But looking at Snape's calm face, Harry quickly thought of a possibility. He sat upright on the bed and said in disbelief, "You succeeded? You've already put the 'spatial anchor' into the Headmaster's office? Tonight? Good heavens! You're really fast!"
Snape said nothing and merely stared blankly at Harry.
More precisely, he was looking at Harry's eyes.
Under the dim moonlight, those eyes looked especially lively, making Snape recall many beautiful memories from the past.
After waving his arms around excitedly for a while, Harry suddenly said, "But I still can't leave. I still have important things to do at Hogwarts!"
Harry spoke with absolute certainty.
Snape nodded at those words without showing the slightest dissatisfaction.
But in the next moment, he raised his wand.
"Imperio."
A thick mist floated from the tip of his wand and quickly entered Harry's nose and mouth before he could react.
Realizing something was wrong, Harry's expression first turned fearful, then confused, and finally became a meaningless grin.
Snape nodded and directly led Harry, who now looked like a walking corpse, out of Gryffindor Tower.
When it came to understanding Harry, Snape was definitely among the best in the world.
Even Sirius Black, who was already living with Harry, could not compare to him.
Because when Harry was with Sirius, he would at least hide some things he considered bad.
But with Snape, he had no such concerns.
After all, their relationship had already reached the absolute worst.
Because of that, Snape had never planned on asking that stubborn boy for his opinion.
The reason he had slapped Harry awake was simply because, without Lily's eyes softening it, that face which resembled James Potter looked far too punchable.
And the reason he bothered explaining a few things afterward was because he wanted to look at those eyes a little longer.
As for saving Harry and taking him away from Hogwarts, Snape had always felt that Harry himself had nothing to do with it.
He simply wanted to save him.
Thinking this, Snape, who had just stepped out of Hogwarts Castle with Harry, could not help laughing.
He realized that his thoughts about saving Lily's son were exactly the same as Link's thoughts when he wanted to save him.
Could this be called a meeting of minds between master and student?
Or had he been influenced by Link?
He didn't know, but he was enjoying the process.
After casually bringing over a Thestral carriage, Snape directed Harry to sit inside.
However, just as Snape was about to lead the carriage toward the school gate and officially fly it after leaving, Harry suddenly stuck his head out through the window.
His face was full of anger and confusion. His eyes were fixed on Snape, as if he was about to burst out in curses.
This surprised Snape.
Because it clearly showed that Harry had broken free from the Imperius Curse.
But after remembering that Harry had received training in Occlumency, it made sense.
Occlumency was originally a kind of magic that tempered the mind and will.
With enough practice, even someone only half-skilled might break free from the Imperius Curse.
So he straightforwardly raised his wand again, preparing to give Harry another one.
"W-wait! Please! For my mother's sake!"
Harry frantically waved his hands.
Snape stopped because of that final mention of his mother.
He stared expressionlessly at Harry and only spoke after a long time.
"Your mother's name isn't something to be used like that."
"Fine, I apologize, to you and to my mother," Harry said very simply. "But you really don't need to use the Imperius Curse on me again. We're in the same boat now. As long as you explain things clearly, I can go with you. Besides, the Imperius Curse gives me a terrible headache!"
Snape didn't answer.
He looked back at Hagrid's hut. Seeing that it was still completely quiet, with Hagrid's exaggerated snores faintly audible, he relaxed. Then he took hold of the reins and continued forward.
Seeing that, Harry let out a slight sigh of relief.
Looking at the increasingly close Hogwarts gate, he cautiously asked, "So, you really put the 'spatial anchor' into the Headmaster's office?"
"Yes."
"Professor Snape, I knew you could do it! Good heavens, when I saw you and Dumbledore leave during dinner, I thought you were going to betray me! But I still don't understand. Why are you taking me away from Hogwarts?"
"Because that spatial anchor is about to activate."
"Impossible! Link hasn't returned to Hogwarts yet. The spatial anchor can't activate. They promised me that!"
"Oh? Who are 'they'?"
Harry was still excited and almost blurted out the answer.
But he finally reacted and suspiciously said, "Professor Snape, you're not trying to trick me into revealing who they are, are you?"
As soon as those words came out, Snape suddenly stopped walking.
He slowly turned and looked at Harry.
His gaze was cold as ice, like a bucket of icy water poured over Harry's head, finally pulling him out of his excitement.
Harry had almost forgotten.
The Snape in front of him had just dragged him out of bed and out of Hogwarts.
In Harry's eyes, anyone who could do something like that might already be insane.
And when dealing with a madman, did it even matter whether he was lying?
If he really angered Snape, the man might just hit him with another spell.
Realizing this, Harry shivered and quickly said, "They're French wizards. Or more accurately, French wizards who remain in Britain's magical world."
"They formed a resistance organization to fight against the British Ministry of Magic and stop Britain's invasion of the French magical world! One of their Animagi brought in the spatial anchor."
"So if their goal is to fight the British Ministry, why enter Hogwarts? Shouldn't they attack the Ministry?"
"Because compared to the Ministry, Hogwarts has weaker defenses. Besides, the person who actually controls the British Ministry is also at Hogwarts!"
"Their target... is Link?!"
Snape was clearly shocked and gritted his teeth.
Seeing his twisted expression, Harry hurriedly said, "Isn't all of this Link's fault? If it weren't for him and Dumbledore, how would the French magical world have become like this?"
"Do you know, Professor Snape? The French magical world is practically hell now! Everyone's gone mad. They're either killing people or looting, and they don't even spare children!"
"You're British!"
"Wrong! I have to be a human first, and only then am I British!"
"Ridiculous!"
Snape closed his eyes in pain.
At that moment, he truly felt that Harry had gone mad.
Link and the British Ministry of Magic were indeed no saints, but how much better were those people in the French Ministry?
They were all basically the same, and the French magical world, which refused to admit defeat and instead played the victim, was even more shameless and completely unworthy of sympathy.
Only someone as naive as Harry would believe those people.
Snape could even guess what they had told Harry.
Without question, things like, "We only target Link and Dumbledore. We won't hurt anyone else."
But was that even possible?
This was hatred between nations and families.
And once people started fighting and blood was in their eyes, who could still control themselves?
Snape opened his eyes and looked at Hogwarts Castle again.
He had a feeling that before long, this place would become a living hell.
"Professor Snape, are you regretting it?", Harry asked anxiously.
This was what worried him the most.
Snape merely gave him a deep look and then pulled the reins harder, moving faster along the road leading away from Hogwarts.
Regret was inevitable.
In fact, Snape understood very clearly that with Harry on one side and Link on the other, no matter which choice he made, he would regret it eventually. The only difference was when and how deeply.
And at this point, saying anything more was pointless.
What mattered most now was reaching Hogsmeade Station at the end of the road as quickly as possible.
Only there could they truly take off in the carriage and escape Hogwarts.
"Professor Snape! Say something! Why are we leaving Hogwarts?"
Harry asked again.
He was really starting to panic.
Everything that happened tonight had come too suddenly. He had no preparation at all.
Snape sighed.
"Harry, have you ever thought about what the consequences of what you've done would be?"
"Of course I have." Harry said happily. "Those French wizards probably won't be able to seriously hurt Link, but this incident can at least serve as a warning to him. I believe that after this, Link and Dumbledore will definitely reflect..."
"No. I mean what you'll face after this."
"I'll probably be expelled from Hogwarts. After all, I betrayed Link and Dumbledore. It's only natural for them to hate me. But if it can help them return to the right path, then it'll all be worth it."
"You're too naive, Harry. I thought your father was foolish enough. I never imagined you would surpass him."
"What right do you have to say that? My father..."
"First of all, those French idiots have no chance of defeating Link and Dumbledore. You have no idea how terrifying legendary wizards are."
"In terms of destructive power and deterrence alone, each one is equivalent to a nuclear bomb in the Muggle world, except one with high mobility, intelligence, and the ability to be used repeatedly! And Hogwarts has two such weapons!"
"More importantly, even if they somehow won, so what? Do you think they'll treat you kindly and honor you as a great hero? Stop dreaming!"
"Attacking a neutral magical school is a crime severe enough to draw condemnation and punishment from the entire world!"
"To cover it up, they'll only silence you, the witness!"
Snape suppressed his emotions, making his voice tremble.
"As for Link and Dumbledore, you actually think that after what you've done, they'll simply expel you from Hogwarts? And you're acting as though you've made some great sacrifice for their sake? Ha, how stupid!"
"I can tell you clearly right now. Whether it's Link or Dumbledore, after what you've done, the only thing either of them might do is kill you!"
"You're lying! I don't believe Professor Dumbledore would..."
"Listen, Harry! I've known Dumbledore since the day I entered school at eleven. It's been decades! As for Link, I've watched him grow up since he was little! Compared to you, which of us do you think knows them better?"
Harry's lips moved slightly. He wanted to argue again, but in the end, nothing came out.
Because deep down, he also felt that Snape's words made sense.
He simply couldn't accept such a cruel truth.
Seeing that, Snape sighed and turned back to continue driving the carriage.
"So leaving Hogwarts is our only option. I don't know when you and those French fools agreed to launch the attack, but I placed an explosive spell on that spatial anchor."
"If they don't want the entire plan exposed, they'll have to act before midnight, one hour from now. And that should be enough time for us to get far away."
Harry raised his reddened eyes and stared blankly at Snape.
Snape's analysis had completely shattered his reason. At this moment, the person before him had become his only support.
Instinctively, he asked, "T-then where are we going?"
Snape shook his head and did not answer.
Because he truly couldn't answer.
Britain was obviously impossible. It was Link's stronghold.
France and America were no good either.
The former had the French Ministry of Magic, and according to what Snape knew, Mrs. Flamel also had many properties and forces in the latter.
As for the other places with independent Ministries of Magic, Link could issue wanted notices through the International Confederation of Wizards.
Which meant there were almost no places left for them.
Perhaps Antarctica or the Arctic would be good choices?
Snape could not help letting his thoughts wander.
But at that moment, a huge explosion suddenly erupted from the direction of Hogwarts Castle.