Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 57 Harry's Castle and the Ghost

Scrimgeour had just arrived at Crouch's office when the radio started playing an advertisement.

Seeing him knock and come in, Crouch turned off the radio and gestured for Scrimgeour to sit down.

"Have Snape and the others been arranged yet?"

Scrimgeour's face hadn't looked good since last night, and he nodded.

"They were all temporarily detained in the detention cells on the seventh floor."

"What about that Muggle named Patty?" Crouch looked at Scrimgeour. "According to protocol, you should have erased her memories and sent her home, right?"

Upon hearing this, Scrimgeour's expression worsened.

"That's how it should have been, but last night that vampire proposed to her, and she said yes. Wizards don't have any kind of marriage certificate; as long as two people publicly declare themselves husband and wife, they are considered husband and wife. Last night, countless newspapers captured that scene; almost every wizard in Britain can vouch for them!"

Crouch crossed his arms, his expression remaining largely unchanged.

"In other words, according to the standards of the International Secrecy Act, she can already be included in the ranks of wizarding family members and has the right to know about magic, right?"

“She’s an adult, she has the right to make her own decisions, so that’s how it is,” Scrinker nodded.

He was prejudiced against all Death Eaters, and he also looked down on vampires and banshees, dark creatures that were classified as human under magical law but were often discriminated against and scorned.

But Scrimgeour was just rigid, stubborn, and opinionated; he actually had considerable respect for magical laws.

"Moreover, many people are watching how the Ministry of Magic intervenes in this matter. Some have even written to demand that the trials of Snape and others be made public so that journalists can follow them throughout."

After listening to Scrimgeour's words, Crouch frowned slightly, his expression looking somewhat serious.

"So, have you already conducted the initial questioning of Snape and the others?"

“Last night, after bringing them back to the Ministry of Magic, I immediately separated them and questioned them personally. But they all chose to remain silent, saying they would not say a word until they were brought to the Wizengamot Grand Inquisition.”

“And that child.” Scrimgeour hesitated.

This made Crouch look up.

What happened to that child?

"That boy named Dudley, we just brought him back to the Ministry of Magic last night to separate him from Snape and the others, and Dumbledore came and took him away. The reason is that a nine-year-old child is not suitable to be detained by the Ministry of Magic, and Hogwarts will take care of him in the meantime before the trial."

The atmosphere in the office became quiet for a moment, and Crouch didn't know what to say to Dumbledore's actions.

After a long while, he shrugged and said.

"So, there's nothing we can do right now?"

Scrimgeour opened his mouth, reluctant to admit it, but after Snape and his group threw down their wands and surrendered in public, the matter had nothing to do with the Aurors or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

At most, Crouch would participate in their interrogation as an interrogator at the beginning of the trial.

"The Aurors will hold Severus Snape accountable for obstructing our law enforcement!"

After holding it in for a long time, Scrimgeour finally uttered a sentence.

Harry opened his eyes and sat up somewhat blankly from the large, soft four-poster bed.

His mind was a little muddled from just waking up, and after a dozen seconds of recalling, he remembered how he got here.

Last night, I turned myself in with my teacher. After being taken back to the Ministry of Magic by the Aurors, they assigned an Auror to search me and then put me in solitary confinement.

Harry was extremely nervous at the time.

Severus had emphasized to him that his true identity couldn't be revealed yet, otherwise it would cause trouble for many people. But Harry, only 9 years old, couldn't resist anything, and could only keep delaying by using the excuse of going to the toilet.

Just as he was saying for the fourth time that he was about to burst again, an old man with a white beard wearing strange crescent-shaped glasses suddenly found him.

The wizards around him all respected him. The old man introduced himself as the headmaster of the magic school, named Dumbledore, and invited him to visit Hogwarts for a few days.

Harry didn't agree immediately. He remembered what Severus had told him: "When dealing with Dumbledore, remember to be careful."

But Harry also knew that the white-bearded old man clearly knew his identity, and that he came to take him away in order to cover up his identity.

So, after hesitating for a moment, Harry followed him to the castle.

After bringing him here, the white-bearded old man didn't ask any questions right away. Instead, he had a creature called a house-elf, just like the Slughorn family, prepare dinner for him and then find him a room to sleep in.

Harry was indeed tired after spending the whole day as a painter yesterday.

He had just climbed into bed and had been sleeping soundly ever since.

After he sat up in the four-poster bed, the house-elf who had brought him dinner the night before suddenly appeared again and brought him breakfast.

Harry tried to call out to it, but the creature seemed shy and afraid of strangers. After putting down the breakfast, it disappeared again.

Harry had no choice but to wash up first, eat a quick breakfast, and then carefully push open the door and leave the bedroom.

He looked around the huge castle, finding everything new and fascinating.

"Cowardly brat! Raise your lance! Like Sir Cadogan!"

An animated knight portrait gave Harry instructions.

This made Harry instinctively shrink back, repeatedly saying "Sorry, sorry," before quickly moving away from the portrait that made him feel like something was wrong with his head.

Then he encountered two more armored figures that were moving. They looked like they had just finished a fight and were picking up the fallen parts from the ground to repair themselves.

Harry, like a thief, didn't dare disturb them and tiptoed away.

He wandered aimlessly through the castle, and then encountered a skinny, dark gray cat. After just one glance at the cat, Harry inexplicably felt that this creature did not get along with him.

Not long after, a ghost with hollow eyes, a gaunt face, and silver bloodstains on its robes passed by around the corner, which terrified Harry.

This was the first time he had ever seen a ghost in person, and it was terrifying!

"Not a Hogwarts student?" the ghost spoke, his voice cold and hollow.

Harry pressed himself against the wall, swallowed hard, and said nervously.

"I am a student of Severus Snape!"

“Snape?” The Ghost seemed surprised to hear the name, but his voice softened considerably. “Snape actually took in a child who wasn’t old enough to be his student.”

"You know the teacher?" Harry's tension eased a little.

“He was excellent. Even tracing back through history, Snape was a remarkably outstanding Headmaster of Slytherin.” The bloodstained ghost scrutinized Harry. “Are you lost?”

“I want to go find Dumbledore,” Harry said.

Whether it was because of Snape's influence or because this terrifying ghost was actually a kind-hearted one, he offered to lead the way for Harry.

"Come with me, I'll take you there."

(End of this chapter)