Whether it was seeing Dumbledore's smugness or simply wanting to mess with him, Snape quickly put away his shocked expression and resumed his usual gloomy demeanor.
"Alright. Starting now, every Friday afternoon, you will come here. I have tasks for you," Snape said in a low voice.
Dumbledore's face fell again upon hearing this. Seriously? He had to spend another afternoon every week alone with this old bat? That was true suffering!
But Snape was a professor and the Head of Slytherin House—Dumbledore couldn't disobey.
As if deliberately trying to make him even more uncomfortable, Snape brought up another matter.
"Also, let's talk about the spell incident."
Dumbledore grimaced. What was bound to come had finally arrived. Snape was probably going to interrogate him about what happened on the train.
Although in the original timeline Harry and his friends had also cast spells on Malfoy aboard the train, Dumbledore couldn't be sure whether he'd be treated the same way as the so-called "savior."
"Professor, Malfoy insulted my friend first, so I took action," Dumbledore explained as calmly as he could.
"What Malfoy?" Snape asked, genuinely confused.
To Dumbledore's surprise, Snape seemed to have no knowledge of the incident at all. He frowned slightly.
"It's about the time I attacked Malfoy with a spell on the train… Uh… Professor, you don't know about it?"
Snape waved a hand impatiently. "That kind of thing is not important! I'm asking you why you know so many advanced spells—and even mastered Apparition! That's an extremely dangerous spell!"
Dumbledore blurted out, "So, Professor, I won't be expelled for casting spells on a classmate?"
Snape snorted coldly and pointed to a parchment on his desk. "With this thing here, as long as you haven't killed anyone, I won't let you be expelled!"
Dumbledore was stunned. He didn't expect the Polyjuice Potion to have such a powerful effect. It actually made Snape protect him to this extent?
At that moment, Marcus's words at the Slytherin table echoed in Dumbledore's ears: "In Slytherin, humility is not a good quality!"
Seeing Snape's current attitude, Dumbledore finally felt a bit more at ease. As long as he wasn't going to be expelled, it was fine.
He relaxed considerably. His earlier conversation with Marcus, combined with Snape's surprisingly protective attitude, made something very clear to him.
He absolutely couldn't hide his abilities. Pretending to be some clueless first-year child was completely unacceptable.
He was a super genius.
Why?
Because at Hogwarts, there were many places only accessible to those with exceptional talent—like the top student of the year, or someone known for their remarkable achievements.
And if you were talented enough, even the school authorities would turn a blind eye to certain behaviors. Just like Voldemort back then.
So, to fully explore Hogwarts and gain special attention and privileges from the school leadership, he had to show his sword—his power.
Anyway, with the Transmigrator entry, he didn't fear Legilimency. So what was there to worry about?
Let them see what a true genius looks like!
Thinking of this, Dumbledore leaned back comfortably in the chair, as if he were back in his own home.
Snape's frown deepened as he noticed Dumbledore's casual demeanor.
Dumbledore straightened his posture and said confidently, "Professor, the reason I know so many spells isn't because I've had dealings with dark wizards, nor have I done anything illegal. It's because…"
He looked Snape straight in the eye, his expression firm and serious.
"Actually, I'm a genius. I can learn spells just by watching them once."
"For example, Apparition—I figured it out just by watching others do it a few times. After that, I could use it proficiently. The same goes for other spells."
After he finished speaking, silence filled the room.
Snape sat with his hands clasped, half of his face hidden behind them and his curtain of black hair. Dumbledore couldn't tell what he was thinking. Maybe he was holding back a laugh? Or maybe he was deciding how believable this story was.
Of course, Dumbledore believed the former was more likely.
"You can learn just by watching others cast spells?" Snape repeated slowly.
"With no prior training, no systematic instruction, and having your wand for only a month—you can master spells that even upper-year students can't handle?"
Dumbledore nodded repeatedly. "Yes, exactly."
Bang!
Snape suddenly slammed his hands onto the desk. The books shook violently from the force.
"You think I'm an idiot?" he growled.
The dark figure abruptly stood up, leaning forward and pressing toward Dumbledore.
Snape's eyes locked onto his like two sharp blades. The anger in them was almost palpable.
The distance between them was so close now that Dumbledore could even smell Snape's shampoo—or maybe that was just the scent of greasy hair.
Dumbledore completely understood Snape's reaction. After all, they'd lived together for a year.
And he'd never once hinted that he was some kind of prodigy when it came to spells.
So it made sense that Snape didn't believe him right away.
But facts were facts. He did know a wide range of advanced magic.
And considering everything he had done before—like brewing Polyjuice Potion and modifying his wand—Snape had probably already been shocked enough.
Now came the revelation that he was a magical prodigy?
Of course Snape would resist believing it.
But Dumbledore hadn't told a single lie.
So he wasn't afraid of being tested.
Just as he was about to say something else, Snape ignored him and walked straight out of the office.
But before leaving, he turned back and warned him.
"Stay here. Don't leave, and don't even think about entering the storage room."
Now alone in Snape's office, Dumbledore was incredibly tempted.
He desperately wanted to check out the storage room.
But he also had this feeling—Snape might walk back in at any second.
He wrestled with the temptation countless times.
It was exactly like that feeling from his past life, when he wanted to sneak his phone after his parents left the house.
Finally, after struggling with himself over and over again, Dumbledore decided to take the risk!
He jumped off the chair and headed toward the storage room door.
First, he tried turning the knob manually.
It didn't budge.
No problem.
Dumbledore immediately pulled out his wand.
"Alohomora!"
He was now quite skilled at the unlocking spell. And since Snape's storage room hadn't yet been fortified by the likes of Hermione or Dobby, its security wasn't particularly impressive.
With a simple spell, the door unlocked.
Dumbledore smirked, just about to explore this holy grail of potion ingredients, when—
"What are you doing?"
The voice hit him like a bucket of ice water in winter.
Dumbledore froze in place, his whole body trembling.
He turned around slowly.
Snape stood there with a face like a thundercloud.
"Come with me," Snape said coldly.
Strangely, he didn't seem angry about the attempted break-in.
Instead, he simply continued in that same cold tone, "We're going to test if you really are the so-called 'genius.' In actual combat."
Dumbledore smiled slightly.
He'd been waiting for this!
Words were never going to convince Snape anyway.
So he followed him out of the office, ready to prove himself.