HP: Embrace the Darkness

Although Asseth's tone was as gentle as ever, Dumbledore could hear the undoubt in it. He was afraid that if he didn't give in now, this memory would disappear from his mind immediately.

From the fight he just saw, he didn't think he could compete with Asseth.

"I understand." Dumbledore was silent for a long time, and finally compromised.

Artes was very satisfied with Dumbledore's knowledge and took out an invitation from the alchemy ring.

"Invitation to Mueller's auction. Voldemort will come. His location is next to this box. You can go and have a look with Gellert. If you want, the box's defense is good, but I haven't found all the Horcruxes yet. You guys shouldn’t start fighting, right?”

Dumbledore silently accepted the invitation.

The names of two people were written in gold-plated cursive, and the last stroke and the first stroke were connected together. They were indescribably intimate, just like...them back then.

"Can I ask Gale...what did he use in exchange?"

"The only unique ability he has."

Artes didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but Dumbledore finally gave Snape a stable life for more than ten years. Even if he had other intentions, he couldn't erase the help.

"You should talk to him. He never had the ability to get out of the prison in Nurmengard. Instead, he was willing to stay there. Why? If you ask, maybe he will tell you himself."

Dumbledore didn't know what he was thinking of, his chaotic eyes filled with tears, and his rough fingers rubbed Grindelwald's name back and forth on the invitation.

Seeing his behavior, Asses guessed his choice after returning, "I'm not feeling well, so I won't send you more. I'll let someone else send you back."

He shook the silver bell beside the bed, waited for Joel to come out, and ordered: "Arrange for Manan to send Principal Dumbledore back to Hogwarts."

Joel nodded and led Dumbledore out.

There was no one else in the bedroom, and it suddenly fell into deathly silence.

Aces thought about how to explain.

Snape was thinking the same thing.

"you--"

"you--"

The two said in unison and stopped abruptly.

"You speak first."

"You speak first."

Still speaking in unison.

The result of speaking at the same time twice was that they fell into silence at the same time, and the stagnant atmosphere pressed between the two people.

Snape secretly glanced at Artes who was leaning against the head of the bed, regret spreading throughout his limbs.

It was obviously the same as the countless times they had been in the same room before, but the atmosphere was no longer as harmonious as it once was. There had never been such a stagnant atmosphere between them.

It was all caused by him.

Artes didn't realize what Snape was thinking.

He was still thinking about how to explain Haierbo and Rowena, and was interrupted twice in a row. His courage to try to confuse the past disappeared.

Unlike Dumbledore, if he used the same words to deal with Snape.

It was not easy for him, and neither was Snape's.

"I……"

Snape's voice, as elegant as a cello, was too tight and hoarse, destroying the beauty of it, but he didn't realize it and continued talking on his own.

"I was...wrong that day, it wasn't...no, it was my memory. My memory was on the horse that night -"

He stumbled over his explanation, and when he came to what happened in Malfoy Manor, he realized that he couldn't talk about it, so he held it back, trying to find another explanation.

But he found that there was no way to explain it without talking about what happened in Malfoy Manor.

In the end, the Potions Master's rare explanation failed.

He lowered his head and simply gave up on himself.

"are you angry?"

Aces looked at Snape quietly, and he found that things seemed different from what he thought.

"Why should I be angry?"

"I scolded you...and..."

Snape couldn't say the word "disgusting" out of his mouth. At the time, he didn't think the word was very hurtful, but later he experienced it personally and it was very painful.

"Can you come and sit over? There's a bit of distance between us. Sit over and let's talk."

Talk?

Snape couldn't help but think of the Divine Edge Wuying sent towards Artes that morning, and the position of the arm in his sleeve against the wand began to feel uncomfortable again.

If he said it was a mistake, would Ass believe it?

But mistakes...can't erase the damage.

Snape was silent for a long time and made no move.

Aces thought he had a grudge, so he said no more, pulled out all the speculations, eliminated them one by one, and then went straight to the topic.

"Are you worried about calling me disgusting, so I'm angry? If that's the case, I don't take it to heart. Is there anything else you want to know?"

He was ready for a quick victory.

There was no way, he was too tired, he was in a safe environment and had someone he could trust beside him, all of which made the fatigue of recent days flow into his soul, forcing his brain to constantly urge him to rest.

He felt that he could fall asleep even while sitting, and his eyelids were not under control at all.

what else?

With a pale face, Snape forced himself to think back on what he had done and said that morning.

And... name!

It was like cold water pouring over the whole body, the hardness that had been strong for a long time shattered, and panic spread uncontrollably.

Snape finally realized that he had been overlooking something - since they met, Artes had not called his name, not even once.

"Can you……"

The memory of him angrily scolding Artes and stopping him from shouting his name made Snape unable to say the rest.

"Huh?" Asseth forced his eyelids open, which were almost closed, and kept them in a half-closed state. "What did you say? Can I do anything?"

Forgive him, he is so sleepy that he can't even hear what he is saying. Silver won't be angry, right?

Asseth's eyelids closed uncontrollably again.

But I was really sleepy and could hardly hold on any longer. It was all Haierbo's fault. He didn't let him sleep even if he didn't sleep.

Can you please call me by my Christian name, even if it's not Sif, just once.

Snape was never able to say this sentence, because he saw Artes slowly closing his eyes and falling asleep.