Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 612 On the verge of breaking out

"Severus Snape!" Sirius was the first to spot Snape's arrival, standing up like a dog with its fur standing on end, glaring fiercely at Snape.

“I should have spoken to you alone, Potter.” Snape saw Sirius looking him up and down, a habitual smirk playing on his lips. “But Black—”

“I am his godfather,” Sirius said in a loud voice, “and Dumbledore allowed me to stay at Hogwarts to visit Harry.”

Sirius's biggest fear right now is that this annoying snotty-nosed boy will ruin the few moments he has left with Harry.

“What a coincidence, isn’t it? I’m here on Dumbledore’s orders too,” Snape said coldly, his voice growing increasingly sinister. “But please stay, Mr. Black. I know you enjoy… well, how should I put it, a sense of involvement.”

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius questioned.

“Oh, I just mean, I imagine you must be pretty—ah—pretty annoyed and bored, right, not being able to do anything useful for the Order of the Phoenix.” Snape deliberately emphasized the word “useful.”

Now it was Sirius's turn to blush, while Snape turned to Harry with a victorious smile.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this at all. I didn’t want to give special instruction to a wizard like you who has no talent whatsoever, but unfortunately, Professor Slughorn has been very busy lately, and Dumbledore doesn’t have much time either, so this heavy burden has to fall on my shoulders,” Snape said coldly. “After all, the capable should do more.”

Snape also emphasized that those who are capable should do more work.

"W-what's wrong?" Harry suddenly had a bad feeling.

“The headmaster sent me to inform you, Potter, that I will be teaching you Occlumency lessons,” Snape said. “One-on-one lessons.”

"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Study what?"

Snape's sneer became even more pronounced.

"Brain Occlusion is a spell that prevents the mind from being invaded by external forces. It is an obscure branch of witchcraft, but it is very practical."

Harry's heart pounded.

He felt as if his internal organs were melting, being tutored alone by Snape—

This is the worst-case scenario!

What had he done to deserve this punishment? He looked to Sirius for help.

"Why couldn't Dumbledore teach him himself?" Sirius pressed. "Why you?"

“I think it’s precisely because Dumbledore is the headmaster that he has the right to delegate unpleasant tasks to others so he can focus on work that is more worthy of his attention, instead of wasting his time here,” Snape said shrewdly and sarcastically. “Of course, I can assure you this is not where I came from.”

“After all, this is not a pleasant job,” Snape said. “To be more precise, it is a very wasteful job of my precious time and energy.”

“Every Saturday evening at six o’clock, I’ll be waiting for you in my office, Potter. If anyone asks, just say it’s Defense Against the Dark Arts tutoring; after all, you wanted to be an Auror, and you didn’t choose my Defense Against the Dark Arts course.” With that, Snape turned and left, his black travel cloak billowing in a gust of wind. “Dumbledore doesn’t want this to become common knowledge.”

"Wait a minute," Sirius called out, stopping Snape.

Snape stopped and turned to look at Sirius with a cold smile.

“I’m very busy, Black… unlike you, I hardly have any free time…” Snape said.

“Then I’ll be blunt.” Sirius took a few steps forward and stood in front of Snape. He was much taller than Snape, and Sirius looked down at Snape.

At that moment, Harry noticed that Snape's hand was clenched tightly in the pocket of his cloak, and Harry guessed that Snape must be secretly gripping the handle of his wand.

"If I hear you using the opportunity of teaching Harry Occlumency to mess with him, I'll make you pay," Sirius threatened menacingly.

“Oh my God, how beautiful,” Snape sneered. “But you must have noticed how much Potter resembles his father, right? Except for the eyes, he’s practically a carbon copy of James Potter.” “Indeed,” Sirius said proudly, head held high.

“Then you should know that Harry is just as arrogant as his father, and any criticism he receives is like water off a duck’s back,” Snape said in a comical tone.

Sirius's expression changed, and he pulled out the wand he always wore at his waist.

At the same time, Snape quickly took a few steps back and also revealed his wand.

The two men assumed their stances. Sirius Black's face was ashen, while Snape was calculating, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Sirius Black's face and the tip of his staff.

"Sirius!" Harry called out, but he seemed not to hear him.

“I warned you, you snotty-nosed brat.” Sirius’s face was less than a foot away from Snape’s.

“Dumbledore may think you’ve been reformed, but I don’t think so—” Sirius said in a low voice.

“Oh, really? Then why don’t you tell him?” Snape said in a low voice. “Are you worried that he won’t take the words of someone who’s been hiding at his mother’s house for years seriously?”

Sirius Black's face was covered in bruises and white marks as he raised his wand.

"No!" Harry cried, jumping up from his chair and rushing over to stand between them. "Sirius, don't—"

"Are you calling me a coward?" Sirius roared, trying to push Harry away, but Harry remained unmoved.

“Hmm, I suppose so,” Snape sneered. “After all, nobody stays at their mother’s house for that long.”

"Harry—get out of the way—!" Sirius shouted, shoving Harry aside with a slap.

"Cough cough."

As the duel between Sirius and Snape was about to break out, everyone except Harry, Ron, and Hermione held their breath, ready to watch the show.

A soft cough suddenly appeared in the space.

Then the two pure white skeletons were placed on Sirius Black's and Snape's wands respectively.

Two Tyrells stood next to Sirius and next to Snape, respectively.

Instead, the two Tyrells used their skeletal right hands to grasp Snape and Sirius's wands.

With Tyrell's force, both Sirius and Snape lowered their wands.

“Professor Snape, arguing with students’ parents is not how we treat our guests,” Tyella said with a smile, standing next to Snape.

“Mr. Black, Headmaster Dumbledore granted you a temporary stay at Hogwarts to visit Harry, not so that you could attack our professors,” Tyella, standing next to Sirius, said with a smile. “If you insist on attacking our professors, we’re afraid we’ll have to ask you to leave Hogwarts.”

Harry looked around; both men wore expressions of extreme contempt and resentment.

Snape was the first to put his wand in his pocket and stride out of the Great Hall, ignoring Tyella's sudden appearance.

Just as he reached the door, Snape suddenly turned back.

“Every Saturday night at six o’clock, Potter, don’t forget.”

Snape strode away, Sirius staring at his retreating figure, his wand hanging limply to the side.

(End of this chapter)