HP Approaches the Magic World

"Yes, yes, your spirit is commendable."

Snape said in a dry voice,

"Of course, you being in jail won't be of much use to him, but it's certainly a nice gesture—"

"attitude!"

She screamed, looking a little crazy in her rage.

"While I was suffering from the dementors, you were hiding in Hogwarts, comfortably playing Dumbledore's pet!"

"Not really," Snape said calmly, "He wouldn't give me the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, you know.

He seemed to think it would lead me back to bad behavior... and lure me back into my old ways."

"Is that your sacrifice for the Dark Lord? Not being able to teach your favorite subject?"

She sneered, "Why did you stay there, Snape? Still spying on Dumbledore, for a master you believed to be dead?"

"Maybe not,"

Snape said, "But the Dark Lord is pleased that I have not given up my teaching position: when he comes back, I can provide him with sixteen years of intelligence about Dumbledore, rather than endless recollections of the miserable conditions in Azkaban."

Come on, this is a more valuable meeting gift..."

"But you stayed -"

"Yes, Bellatrix, I stay."

said Snape, showing impatience for the first time.

"I have a comfortable job, why go to Azkaban and go to jail?

You know, they were rounding up Death Eaters.

Dumbledore's protection saved me from prison. I don't need to use such convenient conditions in vain.

I repeat: The Dark Lord didn't complain about me staying, I don't understand why you make such irresponsible remarks.

I guess the next thing you want to know is,"

He pressed forward, raising his voice slightly as Bellatrix made it obvious that she wanted to interrupt him.

"The question of why I prevented the Dark Lord from getting the Philosopher's Stone is easy to answer.

He didn't know if he could trust me. He thought, as you do, that I had gone from being a loyal Death Eater to being Dumbledore's lackey.

He was in a pitiful situation, very weak, sharing a body with a mediocre wizard.

He didn't dare expose himself to a former supporter, what if that supporter reported him to Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic?

I feel very sorry that he didn't believe me.

Otherwise, he could have made a comeback three years earlier.

At that time, all I saw was the greedy and incompetent Quirrell trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and I admit that I tried my best to stop him."

Bellatrix's lips moved, as if she had swallowed a particularly unpleasant medicine.

"But when he came back, you didn't come back immediately. When you felt the Dark Mark burning, you didn't rush to his side—"

"That's right. I went back two hours later. I followed Dumbledore's orders."

"Follow Dumbledore-"

"think about it!"

Snape showed his impatience again,

"Think about it! After waiting for just two hours, just two hours, I guaranteed that I could continue to stay in Hogwarts as a secret agent!

I made Dumbledore think that I was following his orders when I returned to the Dark Lord, so that I could continue to report information to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix!

Think about it, Bellatrix: in those months, as the Dark Mark became clearer and clearer, I knew he was definitely coming back, and all the Death Eaters knew it!

I have enough time to think about where I'm going and plan what I'm going to do next, like run away like Karkaroff, right?

"I explained to the Dark Lord that I had always been loyal to him, even though Dumbledore thought I was his.

After hearing my explanation, the Dark Lord's dissatisfaction with my late arrival disappeared without a trace.

Yes, the Dark Lord thought I had left him forever, but he was wrong."

"But what role did you play?"

Bellatrix asked sarcastically, "What useful information have we gotten from you?"

"My information was given directly to the Dark Lord," said Snape, "and since he did not tell you about it—"

"He'll tell me everything!"

Bellatrix was furious: "He said I was his most loyal and reliable -"

"Really?" Snape said, changing his tone slightly to express disbelief. "Is he still saying that after the failure at the Ministry of Magic?"

"That's not my fault!" Bellatrix said with a blush, "In the past, the Dark Lord entrusted me with his most precious things - if it weren't for Lucius -"

"How dare you - how dare you say it's my husband's fault!"

Narcissa said in a low, vicious voice, looking up at her sister.

"There is no use trying to figure out whose fault it is," Snape said calmly, "what needs to be done has been done."

"But you did nothing!" Bellatrix said angrily. "Yes, the rest of us were risking life and death, and you were not there again, weren't you, Snape?"

"My orders were to stay behind."

Snape said, "Do you disagree with the Dark Lord's idea? Do you think that if I join the Death Eaters' camp and fight against the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore will not notice it at all?"

And - please forgive me - when you talk about risking... you're actually just dealing with six teenagers, aren't you?"

"You obviously know that soon half of the Order of the Phoenix joined in!"

Bellatrix roared,

"Also, since we're talking about the Order of the Phoenix, you still claim that you can't reveal where their headquarters is, right?"

"I'm not the secret keeper and can't name the place.

I think you should understand how that magic works, right? The Dark Lord is very satisfied with the information about the Order of the Phoenix that I passed on to him.

As you may have guessed, my information led to the recent arrest and murder of Emmeline Vance, and undoubtedly helped to solve the problem of Sirius Black. However, the credit for his life is still yours."

He tilted his head and raised his glass to greet her. Her expression did not soften at all.

"You are avoiding my last question, Snape.

Harry Potter, in the past five years, you could have killed him at any time. But you didn't do it, why?"

"Have you discussed this with the Dark Lord?"

"He...recently, we...I'm asking you, Snape!"

"If I kill Harry Potter, the Dark Lord cannot use his blood to gain new life and make himself invincible——"

"Do you dare to say that you foresaw that he was going to take advantage of that boy?"

"I didn't say that. I knew nothing about his plan. I just admitted that I thought the Dark Lord was dead.

I just wanted to explain why the Dark Lord didn't feel sorry to see Potter alive, at least until a year ago..."

"But why did you let him live?"