Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 66 Harry never doubted his choice
Upon returning to the main hall of the Ministry of Magic, Severus immediately spotted Harry sitting on a bench against the right wall of the famous magical fountain.

The main hall was as crowded as usual, with wizards coming and going everywhere.

When Severus appeared, he was clearly being treated like a wizarding celebrity. Almost every wizard who passed by him would smile, nod, or greet him.

“Excellent remarks, Professor Snape.”

"Although you scolded me terribly in Ravenclaw, I still support your changes."

"Congratulations, Professor Snape."

"The students of Slytherin will always support you, Professor."

"Good morning, Professor."

“I will definitely speak up for you at the next Hufflepuff alumni reunion, Professor Snape.”

Severus returned the smile and nodded to each wizard who greeted him.

That's why, even though it was only a few hundred meters away, it took him almost five minutes to get to Harry's side.

"It seems you've had a good time at Hogwarts these days, Harry."

The familiar voice made Harry look up sharply. He met Severus's smiling eyes and instinctively called out.

"teacher!"

"You've been sitting here all by yourself? Dumbledore shouldn't be that careless, right?"

Harry felt he should say something when he saw his teacher again.

It could be a blessing, or it could be telling him that he didn't choose to return to the Dursleys' house, but after hearing Severus so naturally continue the conversation, as if they were meant to reunite here, he was deeply moved.

This made Harry swallow back what he was about to say. As if he had never experienced the four days of separation or made a choice with Dumbledore, he naturally answered in the familiar way they used to interact.

“He brought a Mr. Weasley with me here; I heard he’s George and the others’ father. He just ran into some colleagues from the Ministry of Magic, and they’re talking over there!”

Harry pointed in a direction, and Severus turned his head to see a tall, thin, middle-aged wizard with sparse red hair and glasses looking at them.

Arthur met Severus's gaze, immediately apologized to his colleague, and then hurried over to where they were.

"Dumbledore told me that you might be a while longer."

Arthur looked at Severus with a smile, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“William and Charlie were telling Molly and me all day that their Potions professor wished he could boil them both in a cauldron. George and Fried, on the other hand, have been complaining ever since they came back from Diagon Alley the other day that their ideas are biased.”

"Today I finally understand why my sons have such different opinions of you, Professor Snape."

Arthur extended his hand, and Severus shook it.

“Your children are all excellent, each with distinct personalities and strong opinions, Mr. Weasley.”

Clearly, Severus and Arthur had not had much interaction before.

When Severus entered Hogwarts, Arthur was already graduating in less than two years. Not only was there a significant age difference, but Slytherin and Gryffindor were also at odds at that time.

As for what happens after that, needless to say.

One is a Death Eater, and the other is a Dumbledore supporter; it's good enough if they don't have any animosity, let alone establish a good relationship.

This meeting was clearly their first formal meeting.

"Before I came here, Dumbledore told me that you might also be going to Nottinghamshire later. When do you plan to leave? The Department for the Prohibition of the Misuse of Muggle Articles happens to have some business to attend to there, so we can go together."

“How about 3 p.m.?” Severus set the time and place. “At the Leaky Cauldron, we can use the fireplace there.”

"no problem."

Just before parting, Arthur suddenly slapped his forehead, as if he had just remembered something, and took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Severus. "Dumbledore asked me to give this to you. He said it might give you some inspiration."

After finishing the handover, Arthur hurriedly took his leave, as he had other work to do back at his department.

"Where are Bloodny and Elder? And Miss Patty, where did they go?" Harry couldn't help but ask after Arthur left.

Severus opened the envelope with a puzzled look on his face as he answered Harry's question.

"After the court hearing, I let them leave first, but we will meet them at a German restaurant soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Severus finally took out the six or seven parchments from the envelope.

The yellowed paper was covered with densely packed text, and at the top of the first page of this article was its title—

Similarities and differences between fire dragon blood and wolfsbane and aconite.

The moment Severus saw the article's title, he understood the significance of Dumbledore's letter to him. Even Snape, the ghost within him, stiffened, clearly grasping its meaning.

Wolfsbane and aconite, the core ingredient of one of the greatest potions of the 20th century—wolfsbane potion.

"This task is yours. If you have any ideas, you can come to me for drug experiments." In his mind, Severus assigned the task without hesitation.

Ghost Snape simply stared at him with eyes that seemed to devour him.

"I wish he were dead! And you actually want me to help him improve the potion!"

“Don’t be hypocritical, you’ll help,” Severus said to himself as he led Harry toward the Ministry of Magic’s public fireplace.

"Your confidence is too inflated!" Ghost Snape sneered.

"You understand, this is Dumbledore's intention. Since then, you haven't even cared about your own life, but just because of this grudge from your student days, are you really going to ruin Dumbledore's plans for this?"

Severus's incisive words left Ghost Snape speechless with a dark expression.

Ignoring him, knowing he would take over, Severus and Harry went to a German restaurant in a secluded alley in London.

This place was chosen by Volpe; it was clearly a place he and Bloodny had been before.

When Severus led Harry through the door, they saw Wolpe, Bloodny, and Patty waiting for them at a long table near the corner.

"Here you are, Dudley! And Mr. Snape!"

Seeing Bloodny waving, Severus and Harry sat down together.

Upon waking up, Patty, sitting in her wheelchair, bowed earnestly and solemnly to Harry and Severus in gratitude for the first time she truly met them.

“I learned everything from Shini, thank you, Mr. Snape, and Mr. Dursley! You gave me a new life, and you protected Shini and Elder!”

Young Harry, receiving such a solemn expression of gratitude for the first time, blushed deeply and didn't know what to say.

Severus, however, had already raised his beer glass.

"Friends need no words, let's have a drink!"

The glasses were all raised, and Harry picked up his special orange juice.

The sunlight streaming through the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows fell directly onto Harry's face.

The crisp sound of glasses clinking together, accompanied by splashes of liquid, refracted the light and reflected off the adults gathered around the table.

Their genuine smiles brought out the beauty of this already colorful world.

Harry laughed genuinely.

He never doubted the choice he made.

(End of this chapter)