Hogwarts in the shadows

"Hephis, follow me." Snape said gloomily.

"Okay, professor." Hephis looked at him with some confusion.

What's going on?

They soon arrived at the Potions Office.

Snape turned around and looked at Hephes with complicated eyes.

Hephis felt a little frightened when he was stared at. Was it because of Moody?

He asked cautiously, "Professor, what's wrong?"

Snape sighed heavily, with an indescribable struggle in his voice.

"You...Dumbledore, something's wrong."

Hephis thought of the dry and black hand at the opening banquet. "Is the situation very bad?"

Snape's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a bitter smile.

"He has been struck by an extremely rare curse and has about half a year left to live."

Hephis was shocked. What kind of curse could not only make Dumbledore fall victim to it, but also endanger his life.

"You want me to save him?"

Snape pursed his lips and said nothing, but his solemn expression said it all.

"Okay, I'll save him." Hephis responded simply.

Snape let out a long sigh, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Actually, I don't know whether I should save him or not, but..."

"You are afraid that he will affect my future plans!" Hephis hugged Snape gently.

"Not to mention that I'm not afraid of Dumbledore at all now."

He looked at Snape seriously, "More importantly, the most important thing for a person to live is to obey his heart. If you don't save him, it will become a knot in your heart, so I will help you."

Snape sighed, feeling somewhat relieved.

He hesitated for several days before speaking to Hephes because Hephes was too smart and too sensible.

He knew that as long as he asked, Hephis would do his best to do it, no matter how difficult it was.

But this is really unfair to Hefeth.

"Thank you, Hephis."

"If anyone wants to say thank you, it should be Dumbledore who thanks you." Hephis blinked.

Snape felt mixed emotions. "No matter what, it was indeed him who saved me thirteen years ago, allowing me to have the peaceful life I have now."

Hephis teased, "He's well-deserved to have a Potions Master like you at Hogwarts."

Snape's mouth curled up slightly. "By the way, be gentle with Moody. Because of you, that old lunatic hasn't even left the house except for classes."

After he finished speaking, an irrepressible smile finally appeared on his face. It was obvious that he was actually very satisfied with the result.

Hephis snorted and tried to argue.

"Tsk, maybe he doesn't go out simply because his legs and feet are not good."

Hearing this, Snape could no longer control the smile on his face.

"Well, you've done well recently. Moody is very prejudiced against Slytherins, and now he no longer dares to blatantly discriminate during class."

Hephesus looked at Snape with a smile. He didn't care at all about the praise from outsiders.

But it still feels good to be recognized by my family.

"Go back and rest early!" Snape began to chase people away.

He has a lot of things to do right now. The improved physical constitution potion has not yet been developed, and the gender transformation potion is also a long way off.

And I have to go to Fulla's place later to discuss some "serious business".

"Okay, professor, you should go to bed early too." Hephis waved at Snape, turned around and walked towards the third floor.

He was used to doing things quickly, so it was better to solve Dumbledore's problem as soon as possible.

He slowly came to the stone monster on the third floor.

When the stone monster saw Hephaestus, it jumped aside on its own accord.

The wall behind it slowly separated, revealing a spiral staircase behind it.

"Thank you." Hephis nodded to it and stood on the stairs.

The stairs slowly rotated and brought him to the principal's office on the eighth floor.

He knocked on the door gently.

Dumbledore's voice came from the other side of the door: "Come in."

"Good evening, principal." Hephis greeted politely and walked into the principal's office.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk at this time, apparently writing a letter to someone.

He raised his head with a gentle smile on his face, "Hefeis, good evening!"

The furnishings in the principal's office remain the same, without any changes.

Suddenly, a fiery red object rushed straight towards Hephes.

Hephis hugged it and said, "Good evening, Fox."

Fox rubbed his little head affectionately in Hephes' arms.

Hephis took out a large bag of bamboo shoots directly from his pocket and gave it a snack.

Fox chirped happily, stuck his little head into the bag and started to devour the food.

Dumbledore watched this scene, complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

"Fawkes really likes you." There was some emotion in Dumbledore's voice, and a hint of entrusting his son to someone else.

Hephis held Fawkes in his arms and sat in front of Dumbledore. "Headmaster, show me your hand!"

Dumbledore was slightly stunned, then a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"It seems that Severus couldn't help himself and told you!"

"You told the professor just to let him tell me, didn't you?" Hephis curled his lips in disdain.

"Hephis, there is one thing you may not understand. For wizards, death is not the end. I always look forward to my next trip."

Dumbledore looked at Hephaestus with deep eyes.

Hephis shrugged, with a hint of teasing on his lips, "Oh? To a world without Gellert?"

Dumbledore's smile froze instantly and he lowered his head dejectedly.

Based on his understanding of Gellert, if he had gone first, Gellert would definitely not have survived alone.

But whether they can meet again on the next trip is very slim.

Hephis had no interest in bullying an old man again.

"Let me see, Headmaster. You need more life, don't you?"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, but did not refuse and slowly stretched out his slightly withered and blackened hand.

Hephis touched it lightly with his finger, frowning slightly.

There was a very powerful curse power on Dumbledore's arm, which was blocked in the forearm of his right hand.

But the curse had already embedded itself into his soul like a maggot.

If you want to solve it, there is only one way.

That is to use the power of the Phoenix's nirvana and rebirth, and burn it when it is reborn.

"This curse... This is obviously a curse that can only be inflicted through contact. You wouldn't be so stupid as to touch it directly!"

Hephis looked at Dumbledore in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore showed a bitter smile on his face. He was indeed careless in this matter.