Hogwarts Raven

You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my P*treon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395

The heavy curtains draped over the window cast the room into a somber gloom. Scattered oilcloths and the unsettling sight of dismembered corpses littered the floor. If Snape hadn't recognized this as one of his own neglected properties, he might have mistaken it for a dark wizard's sinister lair.

"You're telling me you bumped into a dark wizard on the street, and a note just happened to fall out of his pocket?" Snape's voice dripped with disbelief, his face a map of fury, eyebrows drawn into a tight knot. "And this note, by sheer coincidence, contained instructions for a powerful dark spell, which you then proceeded to learn?"

"Professor, I swear I'm innocent! I'm the victim here!" Ian pleaded, his green eyes wide with feigned innocence. "I was so terrified by the encounter that I couldn't sleep a wink last night!"

Of course, his words were a mixture of truth and deception.

Ian knew that books like The Secrets of Darkest Magic were considered highly dangerous in the wizarding world, akin to forbidden knowledge. 

Claiming that Aurora, with her Grindelwald name, had given him the book might not absolve him entirely, but it was certainly better than admitting he'd found it himself. Possession of such a book could have serious consequences, potentially branding him as the next Voldemort.

"I had no idea this place was… well, a graveyard," Ian continued, his voice trembling. "When those corpses started crawling out from under the floor, I nearly fainted!"

He exaggerated his plight, desperate to appear as harmless as possible.

But Snape wasn't buying it.

"Do you really think I'm that easily fooled, boy?" Snape's voice was sharp, a dangerous edge in his tone. "Do you think dark wizards are lurking around every corner?"

He dismissed Ian's story as ludicrous.

"It was a dark wizard," Ian insisted. "I encountered one in London too. He kept following me, trying to capture me for some nefarious experiment. It might even be the same one!"

He tried to bolster his claim with the previous encounter, but this only seemed to infuriate Snape further.

"Shut up!" Snape roared, his voice booming through the room. "Tell me the truth!"

Snape's imposing aura intensified, making Ian's resolve waver. After all, he was just a naive college student before crossing over, easily swayed and easily deceived. If Snape hadn't barged in, forcing him to confront the unsettling emotions swirling around the room, he might have continued with his fabricated story.

"Do you think I believe a young wizard from a Muggle orphanage, someone who barely understands magic, could independently learn such a complex dark spell?" Snape scoffed. "The Corpse Control Curse? Even fourth- and fifth-year students wouldn't dare claim to master it in a few days!"

"Perhaps you possess some hidden talent," Snape mused, pacing the room, his eyes fixed on Ian. "A natural Legilimens, perhaps…"

"I never said that Professor," Ian muttered, his voice small.

"It seems your History of Magic textbook has been getting some use lately," Snape observed. "You know who You-Know-Who is… that's good."

He continued to study Ian's reactions.

Then, abruptly changing the subject, Snape's voice rose again.

"But you shouldn't use your Troll-like brain to concoct such a ridiculous lie, trying to convince me that you're more powerful than You-Know-Who himself!"

"I can assure you," Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "even at your age, You-Know-Who couldn't have performed this level of dark magic."

Classic Snape.

"Gasp, you know You-Know-Who's true identity?" Ian exclaimed, attempting to change the subject.

Snape ignored the feint. His glare remained cold and intense. "I could send you to Azkaban right now, let the Aurors use your supposed Legilimency to pry into your mind, and you'd spend the rest of your life there with the Dementors."

"The only reason I haven't done so," Snape continued, his voice dripping with icy disdain, "is to give you a chance. Understand that this opportunity is solely due to your status as a Hogwarts student."

"Professor, I don't want to go to Azkaban," Ian pleaded, his eyes wide with a mixture of genuine fear and feigned innocence.

This was a calculated performance. He was certainly afraid, but not of Azkaban. He understood there was a connection between him and Snape, a connection that went beyond a simple teacher-student relationship. 

He knew that if he truly fell out of Snape's favor, forget about favors like money or accommodations— even a simple trip to Diagon Alley to buy secondhand textbooks would become a distant dream.

"If you don't want to spend the rest of your life in prison," Snape said, his voice low and dangerous, "then tell me, who taught you this dark magic?"

Snape's gaze bored into Ian.

"It was a dark wizard," Ian insisted, clinging to his original story. He couldn't bear to part with Grindelwald's annotated Secrets of Darkest Magic. Knowledge, he believed, was innocent.

"Good! Very good!" Snape slammed his hand on the table, his anger palpable. "You think just because I can't find this mythical dark wizard, I can't verify your ridiculous story?"

He gritted his teeth, the words seemingly forced out.

"I'm telling the truth," Ian insisted, maintaining his innocent facade.

It was the truth, in a way. Not the whole truth, of course, but with a healthy dose of artistic embellishment… how could that not be considered the truth?

"Self-righteous brat!" Snape sneered.

He snatched a piece of parchment and a quill from the table and began to write furiously.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked, his curiosity piqued.

"This is a note dropped by a dark wizard," Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Come on, Mr. Prince, prove your talent surpasses even You-Know-Who's… perhaps even Dumbledore's…"

Snape handed the parchment to Ian.

"Are you… are you teaching me magic?" Ian asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Snape's eyes narrowed, a mocking glint in them. "Perhaps."

Ian eagerly examined the parchment. Sure enough, it contained detailed instructions for a powerful spell.

(End of chapter)