Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 602 Forever
"I," Snape suddenly choked up, and said in a low, dejected voice, "I thought... all these years... I thought we were protecting him, for her, for Lily."

“We protect him because we must train him, nurture him, hone his abilities, help him grow, and make him capable of standing on his own,” Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair and slowly closing his eyes, seemingly unable to bear looking at Snape’s face, filled with pain, ashen color, and bitterness. “At the same time, as Harry grows older, as Voldemort’s soul lingers within him longer, the connection between them grows stronger, like a parasitic life form. Sometimes I feel as if Harry himself is aware of this. If I were him, I mean, if I were Harry, I think I would arrange everything so that when I resolutely face death, it would signify the true end of Voldemort.”

Dumbledore opened his eyes and saw Snape's terrified face.

"You let him live just so he can die a noble death at the right time?" Snape questioned.

“Oh… don’t make such a fuss, Severus. How many men and women have you and I witnessed dying?” Dumbledore calmly retorted. “You’ve softened your heart for Harry.”

“Lately, it’s only those I’m powerless to help,” Snape said, then he stood up angrily. “You’ve used me.”

His voice was high-pitched and undulating, like a volcano suddenly erupting, or a tsunami accompanied by thunder and rain.

“I acted as your spy, I fabricated lies for you, I risked my life—all to ensure the safety of Lily Potter’s son, and now you’re telling me he’s going to die? You’ve raised him like a pig waiting to be slaughtered—”

“Oh, Merlin, how touching, Severus,” Dumbledore interrupted seriously. “Have you really started to like that boy? Don’t tell me you’ve started to genuinely care about him?”

"Like him?" Snape almost shouted, raising his hand in a perfect arc above his head and waving his wand. "Palmtops of Exile!"

A silver doe sprang from the tip of his staff.

The silver doe landed on the floor, leaped lightly to the other end of the office, circled once inside, and then flew out the window.

Dumbledore stood up in shock, watching the doe disappear into the distance, watching its silver light vanish, then turned to look at Snape, whose eyes were already brimming with tears.

"It's been so long, and it's still like this?" Dumbledore asked, surprised and delighted.

“It has always been like this,” Snape said. “It will always be like this.”

“But I’m so sorry, Severus… In my original plan, Harry had to die… Harry definitely had to die.” Dumbledore said to Snape, “Only when Harry dies can Voldemort truly be exposed from the protection of the Horcruxes. Only when Harry dies will Voldemort show his weakest moment… Only when Harry dies can Voldemort be killed by us.”

“But that’s not necessarily the case in Tierra’s plans,” Dumbledore said.

“Harry may be hurt, he may despair, he may be in excruciating pain, he may spend the rest of his life in regret and suffering, just like you and me… But he will live.” Dumbledore stared into Snape’s eyes and said in an almost resolute voice.

“Lily Potter’s child may be alive,” Dumbledore said.

The entire office fell into a long silence once again.

Although Snape's face remained ashen, his violently trembling lips revealed the inner turmoil he was experiencing.

"……good……"

Snape said in a hoarse voice, as if he had made a difficult decision, emphasizing the word with an almost gambler's mentality and tone.

This simple word seemed to drain all his strength, and like hope and vitality, it made Snape look utterly dejected.

Then, Snape mustered his strength and stared intently back at Dumbledore. His resolute and determined gaze was like a sharp sword piercing Dumbledore.

“This is the last time I’ll trust you,” Snape said, his voice strangely hoarse.

"I will not betray your trust," Dumbledore said calmly, responding to Snape's gaze without any hesitation or reservation.

"Hmph." Snape flicked his sleeve, turned and rushed out of the headmaster's office.

Then, feeling utterly dejected... or rather, with an air of utter despair, he stepped onto the downward staircase.

Snape had never felt so powerless. This was the first time he seemed to see something clearly, like a drowning person in the torrent of fate.

His love and devotion to Lily seemed to have become an almost obsessive survival instinct, supporting him as he clung to that only straw.

Until Snape disappeared down the spiral staircase that gradually disappeared into the darkness.

The heavy iron door to the principal's office slammed shut with a loud "bang."

Snape left in such a hurry and in such a disheveled state that he even forgot the decorum he had always tried to maintain.

Dumbledore sat alone behind his large desk, watching Snape leave and disappear into the swirling darkness, his gaze deep and unfathomable... as if he were sitting on his own throne, high above yet ethereal.

"Oh... Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry..."

Dumbledore suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter a soft, dark smile, like that of dusk.

He slowly took off his crescent-shaped glasses and gently wiped them.

But as Dumbledore wiped them again and again, the glasses slowly disappeared from his hands.

Along with it, the image of Dumbledore also disappeared.

Like sand slipping through one's fingers, or the morning mist dissipating, the image of Dumbledore sitting behind the headmaster's desk gradually disappeared and crumbled, replaced by Tyella, sitting in her original spot, smiling softly.

“Oh Harry, Harry, Harry…” Tyella said, as if talking to herself, “Grow up quickly, Harry, you don’t have much time left to grow up quietly…”

"Professor Dumbledore, I'm done." Tierra slowly stood up, gently placing her hand on the crystal ball on her desk. After speaking, Tierra turned around and emerged from behind the desk, her figure gradually disappearing as if merging into the light and shadow of the office.

"I don't have much time left..."

Heavy sighs lingered in the now-empty office.

(End of this chapter)