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Snape and Esther went to the office and knocked on the door.It was Grindelwald who opened the door. He glanced at the two people, gave Esther a playful smile, and let them in sideways.

"Esther, what's the result?" Dumbledore first asked his most concerned question.

"No other poisoned alcohol or food. According to Professor Slughorn the poisoned alcohol was bought from Three Broomsticks. Ms. Rosmerta was very reluctant to talk about it when I went to investigate. I observed nothing unusual about her, But when I found the memory was chaotic during Legilimency, I suspect that she may have been cast with the Imperius Curse." Esther replied.

Dumbledore thought for a while, "I will draw more attention to her situation. Is there any movement from Voldemort?"

Snape glanced at Grindelwald, saw that Dumbledore had no intention of letting him go, and said, "He has not changed his plan for Hogwarts for the time being. The current focus is on the Ministry of Magic, and Yaxley is recruiting Potential supporters, use the Imperius Curse to control those who are not firm. But the people he controls now have no senior officials. Also, Aurors have been infiltrated, Dawlish should have joined the Dark Lord, and the Order of the Phoenix Be careful."

"It's really bad news. But it will happen sooner or later." Dumbledore said flatly, "Does he have no plans against the old Ministry of Azkaban?"

"Not yet. He seems to think that the punishment for them is not enough. He wants them to suffer more."

"Tom's vengeance is still strong. Have you seen Narcissa?"

"Yes, she asked me about Draco. She was afraid that someone would suspect him."

"She didn't reveal some of what Draco was doing?"

"No, she doesn't seem to know either. Draco probably only told the Dark Lord about his plans."

Esther heard this chimed in, "I have a little idea about Draco."

All three people in the room looked at her. "Tell me," said Dumbledore.

"Harry has been paying attention to Malfoy. When he used the Marauder's Map to monitor him, he found that sometimes he would disappear on the map. The places I know that the Marauder's Map can't show are the Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets. The door of the Chamber of Secrets It's locked, so he's presumably in the Room of Requirement. Harry mentioned that he went to Borgin-Bock's shop before school started and asked him to fix a couple of things. I think that's supposed to be in the Room of Requirement, but I didn't find out what it was."

"When will Potter learn not to meddle in his own business!" Snape said angrily.

"Harry shouldn't be involved in this, and we know Draco is using the Room of Requirement," said Dumbledore.

"Then why can't he just occupy the Room of Requirement? Then he won't be able to go in and complete his plan." Asked Esther.

"No, don't interfere with what he's doing. The first two attacks showed he panicked. There's no guarantee what he'll do when he's cornered. I don't want to see anyone hurt again even death."

"Then it's not good to control him directly?"

"Then Voldemort would notice and kill him. His family would be devastated."

"Then we can only watch him advance the plan until it succeeds? Then...then let him kill you?"

"He can't do it. His soul hasn't fallen to that level. He won't kill me."

"Hmph, your principal is always stupidly hoping to save others, even if that person is not worth saving at all." Grindelwald, who had been silent all this time, suddenly sneered in a mocking tone.

"No one is unworthy of saving, Gellert. As long as he has the possibility of reforming, we should give him this chance." Dumbledore looked at Grindelwald sharply.Grindelwald pouted and looked away.

Esther frowned, "Severus can be sacrificed because Malfoy is worth saving? Why don't you give him some of your kindness? Why do you have to force him to kill you?"

"Severus can't escape. If Draco fails, Voldemort will still give him the task. If that's the case, why not let Draco get away with it?"

Dumbledore's bright blue eyes looked at Esther sharply, and then said, "Esther, you said that you will not affect your mission because of your feelings, you know what Severus wants, and you will take care of the overall situation .I hope you don't just talk."

"No need to remind me now, Dumbledore," Esther said wearily, avoiding his gaze, "I know what to do."

"Then let's talk about the future, Esther. After I die, Severus will return to the ranks of the Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix will regard him as an enemy. They may insult him and attack him. Can you Do you keep your mouth shut and keep your secrets in your heart? If you meet on the battlefield, can you guarantee to fight him like an enemy? You won't panic, you won't show mercy, and even if he is injured, you won't show any abnormalities .Can you do it?" Dumbledore asked seriously.

"I—" Esther clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh.She really wanted to say yes, but the word was on her lips but she couldn't make a sound.Esther couldn't help shaking at the thought of him falling to the ground covered in bruises, just like last time.

"If you show a little abnormality, Voldemort will notice it, and his situation will be more dangerous. It would be a good thing if you can die quickly, but Voldemort will not let a traitor go so easily. There are many ways to torture people, for sure Worse than anything you've ever seen. Like—”

"Enough, Dumbledore, don't you think you're going too far?" Snape interrupted Dumbledore.He looked at Esther, who was biting her lip and frowning slightly, "She will know what to do when the time comes."

Dumbledore glanced at Snape, and his tone was milder, "You will be the only source of information for Severus to understand the operations of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's movements. You need to trust each other and cooperate tacitly, and you must not show your feet .Esther, are you sure you can do it?"

Est struggled to nod slightly.

Dumbledore studied Esther, as if to make sure she really understood the nod.

"Then cast a spell on him now. Any spell will do," said Dumbledore.

Esther looked up at Dumbledore suddenly, as if he was speaking a language he didn't understand.

"Attack him with your wand, Esther. I'll make sure you're capable of being his partner," said Dumbledore sternly.

Snape stepped forward to stop him, "There is absolutely no need to do this, Dumbledore. When it comes to the battlefield, the environment will not give people the opportunity to hesitate. But it is different now, there is no need to force her."

"It's painful to point your wand at your lover for the first time, Severus, and you have to let her get used to this feeling in a safe place. Please prepare to resist, this is not a joke." Dumbledore insisted.

Snape looked at Esther, and after a moment's hesitation, he drew out his wand in a defensive posture, waiting for Esther's attack.

Esther looked at Snape sadly, and reluctantly took out her wand, but couldn't pronounce a single spell.

"Severus, you go first," said Dumbledore.

Without any hesitation, Snape turned his wand lightly from defense to attack, and a silent spell hit Esther.

Esther defended in time, the spell hit the invisible shield, and a red light popped out.

Snape continued to increase the frequency of his attacks, and Esther's defense became more and more difficult.She stepped back step by step, bumping into a shelf full of books behind her, and the shelf let out a wailing sound.

"Fight back, Esther, fight back!" Snape's attacks became more and more fierce, as if he hated iron for steel.

"Eliminate your weapon!" Esther barely uttered a spell.

Snape was defenseless, but the spell just passed so lightly that the wand didn't even slip out of his hand.

Esther put down her wand and hung her head feebly.She felt so useless that she couldn't even succeed with a disarming spell.

"Not as strong as you were in first year, which is disappointing," Snape said sarcastically. "No wonder you and Potter can become friends. You are just as weak, useless, and manipulated by your own emotions. What a waste of time teaching you in the past, it's hard to believe that you are a student who graduated from Slytherin, and even one—"

Est was irritated by his words.She flicked her wand without warning, and a fiery light whipped towards Snape.

"That's all it takes?" Snape easily brushed aside the firelight, and continued to sarcastically, "If it's just this level, I'm not worthy of working with me. I don't need a burden by my side."

Esther stabbed hard with his wand, and an ice pick spun at Snape at high speed.Snape got serious.He spun his wand violently in the air, and the ice pick was caught in the air and turned into an iron chain to attack Esther.Esther swung his wand wildly so that the chains entangled into a net and pressed towards Snape.Snape split the net and turned into two snakes crawling up to Esther.Esther turned them into two puffs of black smoke that dissipated in the air.

"Okay." Dumbledore suddenly stopped Esther's next spell. "Good job, Esther, let's call it a day."

Esther glared at Snape not to be outdone, and melted away the six skates in front of him that were ready to go.Snape looked back at her calmly, the mocking expression just now was gone.Esther suddenly realized that he was just provoking himself to do it.But this made her feel even more irritated that he used her emotions to control her so unscrupulously, without any regard for her feelings.

From Dumbledore's office, Esther ignored Snape for the first time.She went straight back to her dormitory and slammed the door shut in Snape's face.

Esther didn't visit Snape again all week.She locked herself in the house every day and carved spells on the silver armor and silver shield she brought for herself.This is a very labor-intensive task, and if you don't pay attention to it, it may lead to failure, and the result of failure is often damage to the utensils.Goblin-crafted silver is not like ordinary items that can be restored to their original appearance with a simple restoration spell.Esther looked at the debris on the ground and couldn't help but lamented his prodigal behavior.

Dumbledore left the school again.Astor increases the frequency and duration of night patrols.This made it easy for Snape to 'run into' her again.

"Good evening." Snape greeted Esther as usual, as if he didn't notice her recent abnormalities at all.

"Good evening." Esther responded indifferently.

Snape didn't speak anymore, just walked quietly beside Esther.

"Aren't you going to bed? No class tomorrow?" Esther said irritably.

"Control your emotions, Esther. Your irritability is also an expression of emotion. You have to hide it," Snape said flatly.

"Thank you for the teaching, professor. But if I hide my emotions, how can you use them to control me?" Esther yelled in a low voice.

Snape raised his eyebrows, "So you're angry because my words offended you?"

"I doubt whether you love me, sir. You can do nothing about my feelings in order to achieve your goal, can you?" Esther said it directly without going around in circles.

"I just said that because I was too concerned about your feelings. Otherwise it would be too difficult for you to attack me. Remember the embarrassment I gave you before Christmas? You didn't even shoot me at that time. I can't figure out how to force You give in and can only belittle you, and Potter, as much as possible. You have always cared about your friends, and I think it will help you to say that." Snape explained solemnly.

Esther rolled his eyes, he still mentioned what happened before Christmas, did he really think that he would tolerate his actions infinitely?

Snape saw that Esther didn't speak, so he fell silent again.Until the two came to a hidden corner, Snape grabbed Esther and dragged her into the shadows.

"Still angry?" Snape asked.

"Yes, I can't be as calm as you. I just get angry, soft-hearted, worried, and agitated. How about it?" Esther shook off his hand, trying to walk around him.

Snape grabbed Esther's shoulders, made her look at him, and said seriously, "I will too, I was very distressed when I saw you trembling with fear from Dumbledore's words that day. But distress cannot save you, I must Help you become stronger. We are the last support of the other party, and we are partners who will fight back to back to the end. You certainly don’t want me to be exposed because of your fault, right? You will feel more uncomfortable then. Rather than that, it’s better to force you now Take a step so you won’t regret it in the future.”

"So you're training me like a partner, right? I'm just like any other member of the Order, as long as it doesn't hold you back, right?" Esther said angrily.

Snape said still unhurriedly, "Of course it's different. I don't care if they blame themselves, if they're happy. What they think has nothing to do with me. I only care about your mood. If it's just a partner , I won’t come to you today, and I won’t do what my partner shouldn’t do.”

Esther was still thinking about what a partner shouldn't do, and Snape's black eyes were already in sight.His cold thin lips tightly covered Esther's lips, using her lips to keep warm.Soon both lips became warm.

The anger in Esther's heart was like a loose balloon, and it disappeared without a trace in an instant.Her gradually rapid snorting with heat made the kiss heat up again.

A kiss separated them, both gasping for air, letting the cold castle night air rush through their lungs.

"It doesn't feel like I just see you as a partner anymore, does it?" Snape said with a raised lip.

Esther sighed, "You should do that, and it will be easier for me to be unfeeling."

Snape hugged Esther into his arms, and seemed to whisper something, but Esther didn't hear clearly.She smelled the bitter smell on Snape's body, and her breathing calmed down.He was still the same Severus, the one she loved.No matter what she will face in the future, she will be firmly with him.Dumbledore and Severus were right, she had to make herself strong enough to cope with all the difficulties that might arise in the future.

In the following time, whenever Snape had time, he would practice fighting against Esther in the basement classroom.She had just realized that when he confronted Snape in the headmaster's office that day, he hadn't tried his best.Although Esther has improved a lot in duels through Grindelwald's guidance, she still finds it very difficult to face Snape.

Snape was enjoying it.He watched Esther dodging left and right under his control, and couldn't help raising the corners of his mouth. "That's what you said, fight me when I'm healed? I think you should take advantage of my injury and have a chance of winning." There was a hint of pleasure in his velvety voice.

Esther managed to control the situation, leaned against the wall in embarrassment and panted, secretly slandering the man's narrow-mindedness and ability to settle old scores.

After entering May, Dumbledore no longer left the school.Grindelwald helped Esther experiment with her protection inscription more times.Due to the rapid consumption of materials, Esther also used the slightly larger fragments.After countless attempts, a perfect inscription charm was finally inlaid on a silver armor fragment.She tied the fragments to the rats and tested the effect with the Killing Curse.The rune did resist the Killing Curse, but debris from the crumbling armor lodged itself in the rat.The mouse screamed and broke free, dragging a long trail of blood under its body.

"That's it. I think this result is acceptable." Esther said calmly, looking at the mouse that had lost too much blood and finally became limp. "Then there will be a healing spell."

"Are you sure you can still use the healing spell when you're so injured?" Grindelwald said, poking the dead mouse.

"I don't have much left, and I can't even make this level of armor if I waste it." Esther rummaged through the remaining relatively large pieces, "I hope Severus can focus on some, if hit a place beyond the protection..."

Grindelwald smirked and said, "Then I'll hide the dead body that the dummy turned into, one is enough."

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The paragraphs before and after the blank line here are a bit cornered, not big, you can ignore it if you find it troublesome