The Fool in Hogwarts

Vade carried his trunk towards the barrier at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, his steps light. By coincidence, he ran into Hermione Granger, who was heading the same way.

They passed through the barrier one after the other and walked towards the exit of King’s Cross Station.

"I thought you would stay at Hogwarts," Hermione said.

"It was my first time being away from home for several months. Isn’t it only natural that I’d want to go back during the holidays?"

Hermione watched Vade from the corner of her eye. Remembering her conversation with Harry and Ron in the Great Hall that morning, she decided to test him.

"Vade, what do you think of Professor Snape?"

"Professor Snape may always look stern, but I have to admit that he is extremely professional and responsible."

"What if, and I mean only if, you discovered one day that he was a bad person..."

"Impossible." Vade abruptly stopped walking. "I admit that Professor Snape is somewhat prejudiced against Gryffindor, but he is definitely a good man.

"When I told him you might be in danger on Halloween, he did not hesitate before coming with me to save you."

"Yes, and I’m extremely grateful for that," Hermione said. "But don’t you think Snape is far too harsh on Harry?"

"Anyone can see that Professor Snape dislikes him, but I think there must be a reason."

"Dislikes him? He clearly hates him.

"He targets Harry whenever he gets the chance, and a considerable number of Gryffindor’s points have been deducted for no good reason."

Vade slowly exhaled. "Do you remember the first question Professor Snape asked Harry in our first Potions lesson?"

"I do. Why are you asking?"

"What would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?

"Asphodel belongs to the lily family, and in Greek mythology, it is a flower associated with the underworld.

"In Victorian flower language, asphodel means, ’My regrets follow you to the grave,’ while wormwood represents bitterness and sorrow."

"As far as I know, Harry’s mother was named Lily Evans.

"So interpreted another way, the question roughly meant: ’I bitterly regret Lily’s death.’"

Hermione’s mouth fell open. She stood there stunned for quite some time.

"So Professor Snape was apologising to Harry?"

"That seems to be the case."

"But... why couldn’t he simply say it? Why make it so complicated?"

"That is why I said there must be another reason Professor Snape dislikes him. However, as his student, I have no intention of investigating his private affairs. That is the most basic respect a student should show a teacher," Vade said earnestly.

He then looked at Hermione.

"I hope you won’t tell anyone else, especially Harry Potter.

"Professor Snape chose such an indirect way to apologise, so he probably does not want anyone else to know.

"I’m only telling you because I don’t want you to misunderstand the man who saved your life."

"I understand. I’ll keep it secret," Hermione said with a complicated expression. "But I discovered something else.

"Snape jinxed Harry’s broom during the Quidditch match. You may not want to believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes.

"He kept his eyes fixed on Harry while muttering the spell. He didn’t blink once."

Vade shook his head speechlessly. "I didn’t attend the match, but Draco told me what happened.

"Hermione, you need to remember one thing. Professor Snape is a powerful wizard who defeated a troll with ease."

"If a wizard like that wanted to curse a first-year student, and I’m not trying to belittle Harry here, do you really think Harry could have remained on his broom for that long?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I remember correctly, doesn’t a counter-curse also require the caster to keep their eyes fixed on the target?"

"So perhaps this is what happened. Someone was cursing Harry, and Professor Snape noticed and immediately used a counter-curse, preventing him from falling off his broom."

Hermione frowned. She had genuinely never considered that possibility.

"But after I stopped him from chanting, Harry’s broom returned to normal."

"You stopped him?" Vade looked at her curiously. "How did you stop Professor Snape?"

"Well... I slipped behind his seat and used the Fire-Making Spell to set his robes alight."

"The Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor for good reason. Gryffindors are famously daring and always manage to cause unexpected trouble."

"The Sorting Hat placed you in Slytherin."

"That may have been its greatest mistake. I wanted to go to Hufflepuff. But since I ended up in Slytherin, all I can do is adapt."

"You’ve adapted remarkably well. You have more friends in Slytherin than I do in Gryffindor."

"Is that something to be proud of?" Vade asked speechlessly.

He kept a low profile in Slytherin, quietly built his strength, and avoided unnecessary trouble. Although he did not have many close friends, he was on decent terms with almost everyone.

By comparison, Hermione was not doing particularly well in Gryffindor.

She was too proud and found it difficult to fit in.

"I’ll give you a more sensible explanation, one that is probably closer to the truth.

"You set Professor Snape’s robes on fire and caused a disturbance. That disturbance happened to block the real culprit’s view of Harry."

Hermione pursed her lips and gradually accepted the explanation.

Perhaps they truly had misunderstood him. Snape was not a bad person, but someone dangerous was hiding at Hogwarts and had attempted to harm Harry.

"Can I tell Harry about this theory?"

"Of course, but I doubt he’ll believe it. In his mind, Professor Snape has never been a good person."

Hermione gave a helpless smile and decided it was time to address the real matter.

"Vade, I’d like you to perform a divination for me."

"Are you certain? My divinations start at ten Galleons. I won’t offer you a discount just because you’re a girl."

Hermione awkwardly took three Galleons from her pocket. "This is all I have at the moment."

"Then come back when you’ve saved enough," Vade said bluntly. "I’d like to charge you less, but I can’t make an exception."

"We’re friends, aren’t we? Surely I’m entitled to pay in instalments."

Vade considered it for several seconds, then took the three Galleons from her hand.

"I won’t charge interest. Pay the balance before the summer holidays. That works out to roughly one Galleon a month."

"What do you want me to divine?"

"A person." Hermione glanced around and carefully lowered her voice. "Nicolas Flamel. I want to know who he is."

Vade laughed and returned the three Galleons.

"There’s no need for divination. I know a fair amount about him, so I won’t charge you."

"You know?"

"Of course. I’ve seen his name in several books."

An indescribable sense of defeat welled up inside Hermione.

"I... I searched through hundreds of books in the library and still couldn’t find him."

(To be continued.)