[HP] Shh, it's a secret

Pushing open the door of the principal's office again, it was the next morning.Things were always so interesting and elusive that even Draco himself never imagined that he would spend almost the whole night in the principal's office on the first day of the second seventh grade.

Now, standing under the largest beech tree by the Black Lake, he let himself go for a little while.The mist floating around the black lake wet his hair, everything around was cold and dark, the sun had not yet appeared on the horizon, the sky above his head was as cold and clear as watered blue ink, and the ink-colored lake surface complemented each other, the surrounding was quiet horrible.Draco stood quietly, his mind began to replay what the old man in the portrait the night before told him over and over again, and he couldn't help feeling chills in his body.

"... yes horcruxes, you heard me right... the purpose of splitting the soul through murder in order to achieve eternal life..."

"He prepared seven copies, seven different ones... The crown is just one of them... Only by killing them all can he really be finished."

"Severus? ... No, he doesn't know."

"Son, I can't put my eggs in one basket, especially if the basket is hanging from Voldemort's arm almost all the time..."

"Decided to tell you because you already know... an accident, and a surprise..."

"I hope you can help Harry when the time is right, as you have been doing for the past month..."

"No no no, no one's watching you...another portrait of Phineas (a former headmaster named Blake) that happens to be in Granger's beaded pouch right now...they sometimes say your turn……"

……

Horcruxes, Murder, Split Soul, Seven, Kill All...

The more Draco knew, the more powerful and invincible the Dark Lord felt.That dilapidated crown is only one of his seven Horcruxes, what about the remaining six?They could be a book, a jewelry box, a lamp...anything he thought possible or impossible.Draco had the vague feeling that Dumbledore knew about them, at least some of them, but he didn't ask.Just knowing the unforgivable word "Horcrux" had forced him to the point where he had to rely on Potter. He couldn't imagine that if he knew everything...

These are not the scariest thing, what really makes him shudder is the phrase "they sometimes talk about you".

He thought that what he did was very secretive, even if someone found the coin, it would be impossible to find it on his head, but he didn't expect that Potter already knew it, and he was talking about him to his Gryffindor friends. Stupid Potter who can't control his mind!

The Dark Lord lives in Potter's head, it's over, there's no hope...

Do not!

Draco opened his eyes suddenly.

He had been caught, forgetting the old man's cunning.He did it so covertly to Harry.It was impossible for Potter to know that Dumbledore had set a trap for him. He was testing him and testing his reaction, but he jumped up and asked about "surveillance" without any rebuttal.Draco bit the root hard - it was really too naive to let Dumbledore take control of his emotions easily and tie him to Harry.Potter's chariot.

Draco took a sharp breath.

Empty your mind.

Dawn finally came slowly, coloring the mountaintop little by little, soaking the sky in the east, and then casting a reflection in the lake.As time went by, the surface of the lake changed color silently, and soon, the huge figure of the castle joined in the middle.At this moment, Draco's tense shoulders finally relaxed in the brief silence. He pulled the tie on his uniform that taught him to suffocate, and lay down on the dewy lawn.

Half asleep, Draco thought maybe he should talk to his father, things were getting out of hand.But his father, Wormtail... and his mother... no news...

At the same time, looking down from the semi-circular floor-to-ceiling windows of the headmaster's office, in the pale golden mist of dawn, the boy was lying there, on the shore of the Black Lake, wearing a navy blue Slytherin uniform with his tie loosened, The sleeves on the forearms are rolled up, the robe is draped behind, and the legs are stretched towards the lake...

It all seemed as comfortable as a hallucination.

Behind the glass, Snapeura drew the curtains and turned to face Dumbledore's portrait on the wall behind the desk.

"What have you been saying to that kid all night?" he asked in a low voice.

"I thought you weren't curious about Severus," said Dumbledore after a moment's silence, "and added some information about what he already had."

"Information—" Snape drew out, "tell him but avoid me...you don't trust me."

Dumbledore smiled.

"It's not about trusting Severus, as I explained to the kid, I don't want to keep all my secrets in a basket that hangs on Voldemort's arm for a lot of time, and you have enough to hide .”

"Don't forget Dumbledore, that child is also hanging on the arm of the mysterious man now, he needs to hide no less than me."

"Yes, but so far he has done a very good job, very well," said Dumbledore. "I think he deserves more."

"You're gambling!" Snape couldn't control his emotions, "You're betting that kid's life! Isn't it enough to have a Harry Potter? What he went through, what the kid went through ...You once asked me to end your life because you didn't want to spoil the child's soul, have you forgotten? So how can you now, what are you expecting! What are you expecting? superior……"

"Because of this, Severus!" Dumbledore interrupted him, "Because of what Draco Malfoy went through, he knows the cruelty of this war more deeply than any of us, and wants to End it as soon as possible. Don't forget that Severus, who helped Harry by hiding Voldemort, has made his choice."

Snape didn't speak, reason kept him silent, but he couldn't calm down in his heart.Indeed, yes, Draco made a choice, he chose to kill Dumbledore himself when he knew everything, he concealed the mysterious man, and he helped Potter.But none of that should be an excuse for him to be used, he wasn't him, he wasn't Severus.Snape, he didn't need atonement.

"Don't tell me you didn't see it, he has no way out." Dumbledore's voice continued, sounding so cruel, "Voldemort will not let him go now, and he is still alive because of Lu Hughes. Malfoy is already 'dead', and Voldemort needs a puppet with Malfoy blood to support the operation of his lair. Once he has no use value, he will be discarded like garbage."

"Yeah, won't let him go—" Snape closed his eyes wearily, how could he not know, "You are all the same, you and You-Know-Who. Use everything at your disposal just to achieve your goals Purpose."

To Snape's surprise, Dumbledore readily admitted.

"Maybe Severus, maybe. Most of the time I have no choice," he said, sounding bitter and resigned.

Snape was unimpressed. He needed to know more, so he continued, "So what did you have that kid do? Another spy?"

"No, just to help Harry when he can," Dumbledore replied.

"He will lose his life for this." Snape kept his voice as calm as possible. "His spirit is on the verge of collapse. You will destroy him."

"You'll help him, help him, I know, as you help Harry," said Dumbledore.

"You know what I'm for!" Snape snarled, unable to bear it any longer. "You told me the whole damn thing was for Lily. Potter's son! I spied for you, made up Lie, now I have to catch up with my godson! Help Potter? Let him die resolutely at the right time? Now you ask me to help Draco, how to deceive the Dark Lord, and then how to step into Hell? Do you want to drag his parents and his whole family along the way?"

Before Dumbledore could open his mouth to argue, Snape had already pulled the curtains aside with one stride.He pointed to the boy who seemed to be asleep by the black lake outside the window—

"Dumbledore, look at him. He's only 17 years old. He still has a long way to go. He's still a child."

The sudden light stung his eyes, but Snape couldn't care less.

"The war made him grow up. You should listen to him. He will tell you that he is no longer a child."

"That's just immaturity. Bravery, self-righteousness...you don't know it!"

"Severus, you're so excited, it's not like you."

Snape clenched his fists, then released them.

Throat is surprisingly tight.

"So... there's no other way? Something else to make life easier for him..."

Dumbledore just looked at him calmly, as if that was the answer he could give.

Other than that... nothing more.

They all knew, even Draco himself.

Sunlight poured in from outside the window, slanting, just between the portraits of Snape and Dumbledore, like an unbridgeable gap, only the dust shone in the light band.

"I heard that the Carlo brothers and sisters have already taken office?" The old man in the portrait in the shadow suddenly asked.

"Yes, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies," said Snape, his voice calm again.

"Really? Muggle studies are fine, Defense Against the Dark Arts... that man... hope the children can learn something before the big war begins."

that person.

Snape lowered his eyes and said nothing more.

The bell on the tower clangs, a new day.