After a long while, two figures gradually emerged in the previously empty corridor—it was Harry and Ron.
Harry was on his knees, his eyes bloodshot, while Ron stood behind him, one arm wrapped tightly around Harry's waist, the other hand covering Harry's mouth.
Drip. Drip.
The empty corridor echoed with the sound of dripping liquid. If one followed the sound to its source, they would see fresh blood trickling from Ron's hand—the very hand that was pressed against Harry's mouth.
Just moments ago, when Harry saw Snape take his mother's origami crane, he had instinctively lunged forward to snatch it back.
Especially now, knowing that Professor Snape had once been a Death Eater. The very Death Eaters who had served Voldemort—the man responsible for his parents' deaths.
Harry could not bear the thought of the man who had aided his parents' murderer walking away with a relic of his mother.
But just as Harry was about to charge forward, Ron, anticipating his reaction, had grabbed him from behind, restraining him while covering his mouth.
Had Snape's odd behavior not drawn the attention of Quirrell and Filch—had Snape himself not lost composure the moment he saw the origami crane—Harry's sudden movement would surely have been noticed.
As he watched Snape walk away with his mother's keepsake, utterly powerless to stop him, Harry finally sank to his knees once the corridor was empty.
At that moment, his Invisibility Cloak slid from his shoulders, revealing both him and Ron.
As Harry slowly regained his composure, he remained kneeling on the ground, his shoulders shaking in silent grief. Seeing this, Ron finally loosened his grip and withdrew his bloodied hand from Harry's mouth.
Ron gently patted Harry on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Harry, you have to pull yourself together! Even if you want to avenge your parents, now isn't the time."
Harry shook his head, his voice choked with emotion. "I will avenge my parents. But before that—I have to get my mother's keepsake back! I won't let an accomplice of her murderer keep something that belonged to her!"
Ron looked at Harry with sympathy and sighed. "But Harry, you can't beat Snape. Even if we had Hermione, or—even Merlin help us—even Draco, we wouldn't stand a chance against him."
Harry was silent for a moment before standing up, his gaze fixed in the direction Snape had disappeared. "Then we'll add Wentworth to our side. And Wentworth's friends. They're not just any Hogwarts students."
"Snape isn't Dumbledore. I refuse to believe that, with all of us, we still wouldn't stand a chance against him!"
Ron clutched his injured hand and grimaced. "Harry, even if you and Wentworth are friends, do you really think he'd be willing to risk himself for this? Snape is a professor, Harry."
Harry didn't argue. Instead, he nodded. "We have to try. If he's willing to help, I'll do whatever it takes."
Seeing Harry's determination, Ron didn't press further. He simply patted Harry's shoulder firmly and said, "No matter what, Harry, I'll stand by your side."
Harry turned to Ron, glancing at his bloodied hand with guilt. But in the end, he simply looked into Ron's eyes and whispered, "Thank you."
With that, the two of them pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over themselves and quietly left.
...
"What?! Are you two insane? He's a professor!"
When Ron told Hermione and Draco about Harry's plan to take back his mother's keepsake from Professor Snape, Hermione immediately voiced her disapproval.
Draco, on the other hand, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He kept glancing back and forth between Harry and Ron before exclaiming, "Merlin's beard! You Gryffindors really are reckless."
Hermione shot a sharp look at both Harry and Ron before rolling her eyes. "They're reckless, Draco. They don't speak for all of Gryffindor."
With that, she sat down—intentionally shifting a little closer to Draco.
Seeing Hermione's reaction, Ron quickly jumped in to defend Harry. "It's not like we want to go after Snape. But he took Harry's mother's keepsake! You know who killed Harry's parents! You know Snape was a Death Eater! Are we just supposed to stand by and let him keep it?!"
Hermione glanced at Harry, who had been silent throughout. And for a brief moment—she softened.
After a pause, she finally spoke. "How can a former Death Eater even be a Hogwarts professor? Shouldn't he be in Azkaban? If we tell Dumbledore—"
But before she could finish, Draco cut her off. "I know what you're going to say. It won't work. The real Death Eaters? They're either locked up in Azkaban or rotting in some sewer by now."
"The ones still walking around in the wizarding world? They were probably Imperiused into joining Voldemort. They've all been tried and cleared by the Wizengamot."
Ron's face darkened with anger. "Cleared? How could they just walk free after everything they did? What, did the Wizengamot take bribes?"
He had only been venting, but to his surprise, Draco actually nodded in agreement. "Ron, for once, you're absolutely right. I don't know if they were bribed, but my father once told me—'The Ministry of Magic is just another Diagon Alley.'"
Ron scowled but slumped back into his seat, resigned.
At that moment, Harry—who had been staring at the ground—lifted his head. His green eyes burned red with determination.
"I will get my mother's origami crane back. No matter what it takes."
"I'm going to Wentworth. If he and his friends agree to help, then we do have a chance."
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