After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she took her three students from her house and left.

Hoare was left alone to face the two towering figures before him.

Dumbledore and Snape.

Dumbledore chuckled and asked, "Henry, your wandless magic was impressive. Did someone teach you?"

Hoare's heart tightened. Oh no, this has aroused old Dumbledore's suspicion.

"I read about it in a book. The situation was urgent, and it was my first time using it," Hoare feigned ignorance, running a hand through his hair with a laugh.

Snape, with a cold expression, said, "Oh, lucky for our brave William. It's a pity you should be in Gryffindor."

That was a jab at him for being impulsive and reckless.

"Hahaha, Severus, it's getting late. Why don't you take Henry back to rest?" Dumbledore laughed it off.

Snape snorted coldly, turned around, and led Henry away.

Normally, Snape would stride briskly, but now, due to his leg injury, he could only walk slowly.

Hoare had clearly seen it earlier.

Under the robe, Snape's calf was bleeding profusely.

The way to get past the three-headed dog was something old Dumbledore couldn't possibly not know, especially since he planned to place the mirror there later.

So why was Snape still bitten? Was it not communicated to him?

Was Dumbledore still wary of Snape?

Hoare felt puzzled, but then dismissed the thought.

From what he knew of old Dumbledore, although not a saint, he wasn't a bad person, especially when it came to protecting the school.

After all, the contract he signed earlier was for the Squib Potion.

The profits were split between Hoare and Hogwarts.

Albus Dumbledore, apart from his headmaster's salary, didn't take a penny.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It was because of this that Hoare was willing to prove his innocence. If it were someone else, Hoare wouldn't care if they suspected him or not.

"What is it, brave Henry? Are you pitying your weak headmaster?" Snape wasn't oblivious.

Hoare had been staring at Snape's injured leg for a while. If he didn't have this level of observation, old Dumbledore wouldn't have made him a double agent.

Hoare took out a bottle of pale white potion from his robe's inner pocket. "Professor, this is a healing potion I've recently developed for treating large bleeding wounds. I wonder if you could try it."

Hoare knew exactly what effects his potion had.

An A-level talent wasn't just for show.

He said this knowing that Slytherins generally had a certain pride.

Draco and the others, having spent more time with him, were less prideful now, occasionally showing a cheeky side.

Among this prideful group, Headmaster Snape was the most prideful.

If he directly said it was for Snape's treatment, Snape would never accept it and would likely mock him instead.

"Heh," Snape gave a mocking smile.

But he still took the potion from Hoare.

From his months of experience with Hoare, Snape knew that if Hoare claimed to have created a potion, its function could only be superior.

Though he didn't want to admit it, Snape had to acknowledge that Hoare had surpassed him in potion research.

Snape attributed this to the fact that young minds tend to have more ideas.

After taking the potion, Snape flicked his robe. "I suppose Mr. William knows the way back."

Without waiting for Hoare's response, he left on his own.

Hoare shrugged. The headmaster was clearly embarrassed.

---

"What's up with Professor Snape today?"

"No idea! It's terrifying..."

"I feel like the professor is in a good mood today. He didn't deduct a single point."

"Unless you mention that he added almost twenty points to Slytherin. We know he's biased, but today he was off the charts. Adrian Pucey just handed something to someone and got a point!"

"I got black beetle eyes all over my hands today. Normally, he'd have scolded me until I cried, but today he just told me to clean it up. I feel so uneasy."

"...You're just asking for trouble."

"The Weasley twins were up to their usual antics in class, and he actually praised them! Said their ideas were good."

"Has Professor Snape finally gone mad because of the Weasley twins?"

After Potions class, students walked in small groups, chatting in the corridor.

Hoare, passing by, scratched his head after hearing their conversation.

Had the headmaster been possessed?

With the Quidditch match approaching, Hoare was dragged off by Marcus Flint in the afternoon for extra practice.

Yes, it was Hoare training them.

Five hours later, they had just finished, and Hoare only wanted to grab something to eat in the Great Hall.

So when the Weasley twins blocked his path, he wasn't in the mood to be friendly.

"Spit it out," Hoare said, hungry enough to eat a whole cow. If these two silly brothers were here to talk nonsense, he wouldn't mind devouring them!

Hoare was puzzled as to why they sought him out.

Though they were in the same school, they weren't in the same year or house.

Even with Ron, aside from classes, they rarely crossed paths.

So he wondered why the twins were looking for him. Surely they hadn't figured out who he was.

Otherwise, with their personalities, they would've already used it to blackmail Hoare into working for them for free.

The twins exchanged a glance, then, with arms around each other's shoulders, laughed and said, "We went for a night stroll last night."

The other added, "And accidentally saw something."

Hoare remained expressionless.

"We saw you give Professor Snape a bottle."

"Is his mood today related to that thing?"

Their one-sentence-each way of speaking was quite irritating.

Hoare frowned. Were they trying to use the headmaster's injury to threaten him?

It was well-known that rumors about Hoare being Voldemort's illegitimate son were rampant at Hogwarts.

And as a former subordinate of the infamous Dark Lord, Severus Snape taking orders from his master's illegitimate child was quite plausible.

Hoare had overheard Harry and Ron discussing this version.

Clearly, they had seen the headmaster injured that day and suspected him.

Hoare looked warily at the twins. "What's it to you?"

The twins, acting familiar, each put an arm around him. "Henry, can I call you Henry?"

George continued, "We saw that the potion was white last night, and today we smelled a hint of peppermint on the headmaster."

"That's a Joy Potion," Fred said excitedly. "We read about it in a book. It's a potion that makes people feel happy."

Hoare understood. "So you acted up in class to see if the headmaster would scold you?"

The twins nodded proudly, grinning.

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