Chapter 149: Always

    "He knows nothing, cares about nothing, except whether he can go to Hogsmeade on the day before Halloween. Of course, he''s not allowed," Snape said, half mocking and half reminding.

    It was as if he was deliberately informing his master that Harry wouldn''t be leaving the safety of the castle, subtly reminding him not to target Harry.

    "Perhaps no one was willing to tell him," Cyrus said in Harry''s defense.

    "I don''t understand your meaning, master..." Snape slowly expressed his confusion.

    "You think I should hate him more, don''t you, Severus?" Cyrus chuckled. "In a way, you''re right. Voldemort certainly hates him with a passion. But I also believe that Dumbledore has surely told you that I am different from Voldemort, hasn''t he?"

    Snape was silent for a moment before he answered, "Yes, he did."

    He still spoke as cautiously as he did ten years ago, thinking through every word before speaking.

    "I''m glad he noticed that, because we have a common enemy."

    Cyrus slowly sipped his tea.

    This was the kind of moment that called for some dessert, so he summoned a few pieces of cake. "Please, Severus, help yourself."

    One piece was placed in front of Snape, but he didn''t touch it.

    "I don''t understand."

    "Voldemort," Cyrus repeated that fearsome name once more.

    "But Master, you yourself are—"

    "I''m certainly not the same as him, and he won''t let me go unless I bow to him," Cyrus said calmly.

    These words were not really directed at Snape but at Dumbledore, knowing that Snape would relay these messages to the old man.

    "But how could I ever bow to someone without a nose? Not to mention, he might be more interested in studying me to see what anomaly caused me to escape his control," Cyrus added with an air of nonchalance.

    Snape remained silent.

    His problem was that he didn''t understand the exact nature of the relationship between Cyrus and Voldemort. He didn''t know about the Horcruxes; Dumbledore had kept that secret from everyone.

    "It seems you still don''t understand. But that''s okay, Severus. I know you''re protecting Lily''s child, and as it happens, I am his friend," Cyrus said.

    "You''re his friend?" Snape''s emotions were stirred once again. He couldn''t believe someone could say such a thing.

    But in truth, Cyrus genuinely liked Harry.

    Harry was a good kid, often more emotional than rational, but he was kind and upright.

    "It''s understandable that you don''t believe it, Severus. But I tell you, I might care about Harry more than Dumbledore does," Cyrus said slowly. "There are too many things he''s kept from you."

    In Cyrus''s eyes, Dumbledore was both a great and terrifying figure. He seemed like a machine, calculating everything down to the smallest detail. Perhaps the world appeared to him as nothing more than a game of wizard chess.

    From this point of view, Dumbledore can be said to be almost cold-blooded.

    Harry and Snape are like his tools, the blades that kill Voldemort, and even he himself is just a force that pushes the blade into Voldemort''s body.

    But in his opinion, all this should be worth it.

    Because this sacrifice is for the greater good!

    "You can''t tell?" Snape suddenly felt very ironic.

    The Dark Lord said to him in front of him that he cared more about Lily''s child than Dumbledore, and Dumbledore couldn''t find words to refute.

    He felt like he was betrayed by something in his heart.

    "I just don''t know if it''s appropriate to tell you some things now." Dumbledore said hesitantly.

    "You don''t trust me?"

    "This is not a question of trust or not. Some things must be done by Harry himself. I don''t want to put all the secrets in one basket."

    "You told me that the Dark Lord will come back one day, and you asked me to protect Lily''s child because he has a pair of Lily''s eyes."

    His soulless and empty pupils stared directly into Dumbledore''s blue eyes. Dumbledore actually wanted to escape from his sight for a moment.

    "You told me that if I really loved Lily Evans, my path ahead was clear! But now—tell me, Dumbledore, if you don''t care about him, why did you ask me to protect him?"

    "What, are you going to tell me you''ve taken a liking to the boy now?" Dumbledore could only counterattack.

    "Like him?" Snape let out a ridiculous sneer. He could never like James Potter''s son, especially since he looks so much like James Potter.

    Except for his eyes.

    He drew out his wand, swinging his arm grandly in the air, and a silvery light gushed from the tip of his wand, slowly taking shape in the narrow space of the headmaster''s office.

    "Expecto Patronum!"

    In the surging of silvery light, a silvery doe slowly took shape.

    Dumbledore stared blankly at Snape''s patronus, watching it land on the floor and leap towards the window, disappearing into the darkness. Then he turned to Snape.

    The poor man''s eyes were already full of tears.

    "Still the same after all this time?"

    "Always the same...."

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