Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 17 Defamation
"Do you have evidence?"

Slughorn said, feigning calmness.

Severus stared into his eyes.

“Professor, regardless of whether there is evidence now, and regardless of how you evaded Shackleton when he came, if the investigation into the potion matter is thorough, he is very likely to find you.”

This caused Slughorn to grip the armrest of the recliner tightly, his hand, which had been resting comfortably on his stomach.

But he remained defiant.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Severus! I’ve never concocted any potent Hellfire Potion! If you’re trying to use this as leverage to threaten me into returning to Hogwarts, you’ve miscalculated!”

“This is not a threat, Professor,” Severus advised. “There is no room for luck in these matters. Millison Barnold will be retiring soon, and she will not let this be the last stain on her tenure. She will definitely find a way to get to the bottom of this, and you should understand.”

Slughorn slumped in his recliner, silent, no longer arguing or admitting anything.

Severus did not stop talking.

"The Aurors have basically locked onto their target. In the entire British magical world, there are no more than five wizards who can brew that Living Hell Potion: me, you, Assani Giger, and Libashe Pollach. The other two mainly focus on theoretical research and writing books, and their practical skills are far inferior to yours and mine."

"Moreover, Polach is a South American, and he only spends one or two months a year in England, so it's easy to rule him out. Gigg is a rigid and honest man, and the Aurors will not have any more doubts about him once they conduct their own investigations."

"After ruling out those two people, who else could they suspect?"

"Zigmund Bach? He was indeed the greatest pharmacist of all time, but he died in the seventeenth century."

These words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, leaving Slughorn unable to remain silent any longer.

He shouted excitedly.

"I am innocent! That bottle of Hellfire Elixir was just a personal heirloom of mine! Someone stole it! How could I know that the person who stole it intended to use it to harm people!"

The drawing room became extremely quiet, with only Slughorn's heavy breathing audible.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

He didn't quite understand the verbal exchanges between adults, but at this moment he could certainly see that the chubby old man in front of him, with a walrus-like beard and a sweet tooth, had completely admitted that he was involved in the poisoning case.

When Slughorn finally admitted that he was the one who made the potion, Severus did not smile. He simply nodded seriously.

"I believe you, Professor. No matter what, you would never intentionally harm anyone."

Slughorn didn't speak. He looked at Severus and remained silent for a long time. After almost a minute, he finally spoke irritably.

"Fine, believe it or not, that's how things are now!"

"Just like you said, the Auror will soon eliminate other suspects and focus on me. Once this gets out, what will others think of me? Even if I didn't sell that bottle of medicine, what will they say about me behind my back?"

Severus simply watched him quietly until Slughorn had completely calmed down before he spoke again.

“I can help you with this, Professor.”

"You'll handle it?" Slughorn instinctively raised his voice.

“I will resolve this problem and, afterward, have Dumbledore publicly invite you to return, minimizing the impact on your reputation, as long as you agree to come back to Hogwarts.”

Slughorn hesitated.

He avoided looking directly at Severus and began to weigh the deal in his mind.

"How do you plan to solve this?" Asking this question means that he is actually already interested.

"Push that bottle of medicine on my head."

Severus said, "When Shackles finds you again, pretend to admit that you were actually covering for me before, and that you knew I brewed that medicine."

Not just anyone can take the blame for something like this, but Severus perfectly fits all the criteria.

He was also a renowned potions master in the British magical world, whose abilities were even stronger than Slughorn's, and brewing such a living hell potion was no problem for him.

However, Snape's face darkened noticeably after Severus offered to take the blame.

Slughorn had also thought of this, and he certainly knew that Severus would be the best scapegoat if he was willing!
He didn't agree immediately, but instead gave Severus a deep look.

"What are you planning to do if you want to leave Hogwarts temporarily?"

As a contemporary of Dumbledore, and having lived to such an old age, Slughorn is no fool.

He naturally realized that the main reason Severus personally invited him to return to Hogwarts was because he wanted to leave.

Perhaps letting Dumbledore take over Slytherin again was a difficult problem he set for Severus.

Slughorn had already guessed most of the facts, but Severus didn't mind that he knew.

"You can tell I'm making changes, Professor. Leaving Hogwarts for a while and traveling around is one of the changes I'm planning to make."

Severus always has a smile on his face when he talks about himself.

“Life can’t be confined to that castle forever, can it? The world outside is vast, and I want to see as many places as possible while I’m still young.” If the old Severus Snape had given such a reason, Slughorn would never have believed it.

But now, he has few doubts.

Taking a deep breath, Slughorn finally agreed.

"If you can do what you say, I can agree to return to Hogwarts and take your place."

Severus was not surprised that he would eventually agree.

The potion poisoning case caused quite a stir in the British wizarding community, as it not only harmed a Muggle but also involved the Secret Service Act.

If it is discovered that the potion came from Slughorn, regardless of whether he intentionally leaked it, it will severely damage his reputation.

However, Severus's willingness to take the blame for him does not mean he is willing to admit to the crime.

"Then tell me about what happened with that potion."

"You want to investigate this case yourself?" Slughorn asked in surprise.

“Try investigating.” Severus didn’t deny it. “If I can catch the real culprit before the Aurors come looking for me, then even if the potion is determined to be made by me, they won’t think there’s anything wrong with me, right?”

Slughorn couldn't help but sigh as he recalled the moment a week ago when he discovered the potion was missing.

"It must have been stolen on the 13th, at the dinner party the club hosted this month."

Severus listened attentively to Slughorn's story.

"That bottle of Hellish Potion was indeed an accidental discovery of mine. After improving some of the formula and appropriately increasing the amount of Sleepy Beans, it can almost put the person who takes it into a permanent sleep."

"But even so, it was just an accidental discovery. The Living Hell Soup itself is not a poison, and permanent sleep is nothing new. So after that, I put it together with the ordinary Living Hell Soup without any special labeling."

"However, it was lost right after the banquet on the 13th! I only discovered it was missing two days later, and I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked."

"It wasn't until I saw the news in the newspaper and Shaker came to my door to ask me about it that I realized someone had stolen it to harm people!"

Severus then spoke up and asked a question.

Who attended the banquet that day?

Slughorn rocked back and forth in his recliner, reminiscing.

"There are too many people. You know I have a wide circle of friends, almost including all kinds of celebrities in the British magical world."

"Do you remember who went in and out of the room where you stored the Hellfire Elixir?"

“Those potions were all put into the cellar. When the banquet was held, the cellar was temporarily used to store wine. Many people went in and out at that time. The Living Hell Potion is not a precious potion. I did not lock the room where it was stored.”

His answers offered almost no clues, and after a moment's thought, Severus continued to ask.

"Were there any newlyweds attending the banquet that day for the first time?"

Slughorn looked at the ceiling and recalled.

"There were about seven or eight newcomers that day: Alvin Fleck, editor of the Daily Divination, Marvin Mike, the maker of the Comet series of magic brooms, and his son."

"Elder Wolper, a commercial writer who has gained fame in the last two years, along with his vampire friends, former captain of the Hellhead Happy Quidditch team, Gwenorg Jones, and Donahan Tumlett and several of his friends, are members of the quirky sister band."

As Slughorn said, his social circle was very wide. Among the newcomers who came to the club banquet for the first time that day, there were no overlaps in their professions. There were editors, authors, broom makers, golfers, and band members.

Furthermore, it's not necessarily true that these people were the ones who stole the medicine.

Severus shook his head. He couldn't find any valuable clues from Slughorn. If he wanted to investigate this matter further, he would need to use other channels.

"Since you improved that potion of living hell, no one should be able to develop an antidote faster than you. If you have some free time during this period, Professor, you might as well try to brew a potion of the antidote."

Upon hearing this, Slughorn smiled wryly.

"After learning about this case, I started trying to brew an antidote. This is the only compensation I can offer to the victims."

How long will it take for the antidote to take effect?

"It will take at least two weeks. I added some special ingredients to the modified Hellfire Elixir, and it won't be easy to counteract its medicinal properties."

"Then please do it as soon as possible."

After saying that, Severus prepared to take Harry and leave.

Before seeing them out, Slughorn asked one last worried question.

Where do you plan to go next?

Severus, for Harry who was too embarrassed to eat grapes, grabbed two bunches of grapes and put them in his large pocket.

"Go to the Ministry of Magic."

(End of this chapter)