Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 311 The Doe
On Boxing Day night, the moon is full.

The bonfire in front of the Forbidden Forest vegetable garden burned brightly, accompanied by the voice of the Muggle Studies professor telling wizarding stories. The guests at the banquet had different thoughts, and apart from the half-giant Hagrid, the others were no longer paying attention to the food.

The story of the Deathly Hallows is not complicated.

"One midsummer evening, the three Peverell brothers were traveling along a secluded riverside path when they came across a swift and deep river that they could not wade across. So the three brothers, who were skilled in magic, cast a spell and summoned a bridge across the river."

Melvin recounted: "Just as the sun was setting completely, they reached the middle of the bridge when a hooded figure emerged from the river and blocked their way."

“My mom said it was midnight!” Ron objected.

Melvin smiled gently: "Mrs. Weasley is right. There are many versions of the story of Death and the Three Brothers. The bard Beedle only recorded one of them. Whether it was in the evening or at midnight, the academic community has not yet reached a conclusion."

"I think Death should appear at midnight."

"..."

Melvin didn't seem to care, and continued speaking at a leisurely pace:
"The visitor called himself Death. He was furious because travelers in the past usually drowned in the river. The three brothers' magic cost him three living sacrifices. If other wizards followed suit, he would lose even more sacrifices."

"The greedy Grim Reaper was unwilling to give up. He wanted to take the lives and souls of the three brothers, but he was unwilling to clash with the three brothers who were skilled in magic. He was cunning, so he pretended to praise their magic and congratulated them on escaping death, saying that each of them could receive a reward."

"Those three fools, they don't know that the devil's rewards always come at a heavy price..."

Ron wanted to comment, but under the watchful eyes of his two friends, he could only keep quiet.

Hagrid lazily waited for his stomach to empty, while Snape's face was illuminated by the campfire, his eyes reflecting the flickering flames.

Melvin added new firewood to the campfire: "The eldest of the three brothers, Antioch, is a brave and warlike sorcerer. He wished for the most powerful wand in the world, a weapon that could help its master to be invincible."

"So Death came to an elder tree on the shore, picked a hanging branch, and gave it to the eldest brother."

Antioch gladly accepted the wand. After the three brothers went their separate ways, he took the Elder Wand to a remote mountain village and got into an argument with a drunk wizard in a tavern. The argument quickly escalated into a duel.

"He killed the other man very easily with that elder wand."

Antioch was smug, thinking himself the most powerful wizard in the world. He boasted in the tavern about the spoils he had obtained from Death and how the Elder Wand was invincible.

"He was so drunk that he had to stay at a tavern. While he was lost in his dreams, another wizard sneaked into the room, crept up to the bedside, stole the Elder Wand, and slit his throat."

"And so, death took the boss's life."

Harry and Hermione weren't particularly moved by the story, but Ron's eyes shone with longing. He imagined that if he were in control of the Elder Wand, he would never get drunk easily and would set up warning spells in his room before going to sleep.

Melvin's eyes gleamed, and he was curious about the Elder Wand, but that was all:
"The second of the three brothers, Cadmus, was a passionate sorcerer. He wished for the power to bring the dead back to life and to see his deceased wife again. Death picked up a stone by the river and told him it was the Resurrection Stone, which could bring the dead back to life and allow the deceased to return to the world."

Upon hearing the words "Resurrection Stone" and "resurrection," Harry and Snape's expressions changed. The third-year boy couldn't hide his thoughts; he gripped his sleeves tightly, his bright green eyes fixed on Melvin, not wanting to miss a single word.

A flicker of emotion crossed Snape's eyes, but it quickly subsided.

Having been a seasoned Death Eater who followed Voldemort, he had witnessed all sorts of incredible magic, but even Voldemort could hardly bring the dead back to life.

His reason told him it was impossible, but his emotions held onto hope.

Amid the crackling of the burning firewood, Melvin slowly recounted: "After Cadmus returned home, he immediately followed the method taught by Death, holding the Resurrection Stone in his palm and spinning it three times. The girl he once loved deeply but who had died immediately appeared before him, but Cadmus did not get what he wanted."

He paused briefly: "That girl has no body, only a soul. She cannot be resurrected as an ordinary person, nor can she return like a normal soul. She can only wander the world like a ghost, even more painful than a ghost without perception."

"She doesn't belong here, yet she can't make a choice, immersed in endless pain and sorrow. She also can't enjoy life with Cadmus, no matter what kind of magic she uses, no matter how much she uses the magic of the resurrection stone, there will always be a veil between life and death."

"The witch was cold and lonely, and Cadmus was equally tormented. His deceased wife was right in front of him, yet she was still out of reach. He was soon driven to madness by longing and pain, and committed suicide in order to be with the girl he loved."

"And so, Death took his soul."

Snape's glimmer of light faded, and Harry's expression also darkened, as long as Ron still hoped for the story to come: "Soon it will be the Invisibility Cloak, right? The one Harry has!"

"Judging from your current expressions, you probably don't care about the story of the Invisibility Cloak."

Melvin smiled slightly and put his hands in his pockets. Hermione stared at him expectantly, afraid that he would pull out a handful of candy. But when she saw that it was a black gem, her gaze was unconsciously drawn to it.

With its obsidian-like texture, subtle engravings, vertical lines representing the Elder Wand, rings representing the Resurrection Stone, and triangles representing the Invisibility Cloak, this item from ancient legends has crossed time and space to come before me.

Harry and Snape's eyes were also fixed on the black gem, incredulous yet expectant.

“Harry, when you faced the Mirror of Erised, Dumbledore warned you not to indulge in false illusions. I don’t know if what the Resurrection Stone shows you is an illusion, but I need to remind you that there is an insurmountable boundary between life and death.”

Melvin handed over the black gemstone, solemnly reminding him, "Stay rational; it's for your own good and for the good of your loved ones."

Harry took the gem with trembling hands, feeling as if a golden snitch was flying through his mind. He had heard countless stories about his parents from others: his mother was Muggle-born, beautiful, and academically excellent; his father was pure-blood, skilled at Quidditch, and mischievous...

Everyone told him that his parents were honest and kind, had escaped the Death Eaters' pursuit many times, and ultimately died in Godric's Hollow while protecting him.

Harry sometimes felt that his parents' glorious and great reputation was unreal. Only when the Dementors made him unconscious would the real memories of his parents surface, and he would scream, wail, and be miserable.

Professor Levent's voice seemed to come from a great distance, and the sound of a burning campfire filled the world. Harry didn't know how to answer; at that moment, only one thing was on his mind.

Close your eyes, grip the resurrection stone tightly, and spin it three times. The sound of the campfire fades into the distance, gradually disappearing. A slight movement comes from the snow, like a light body moving its feet—so familiar, so comforting.

Harry opened his eyes and saw two figures that looked remarkably like those in the photograph, their faces beaming with smiles. His eyes were filled with only two spirits, and before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face.

James was wearing the clothes he wore the night he died, his hair was messy, and his glasses were askew.

Lily still looked the same as when she was young, with her long, beautiful hair swept back, her green eyes staring at him without blinking, smiling so happily that everyone couldn't get enough of her.

They are neither ghosts nor living people staring at with flesh and blood, but more like images from when the mirror is opened, memories that have almost become physical.

“Dad…Mom…” Harry called out carefully, his voice hoarse, afraid of disturbing Death.

……

They sat around the campfire in the snow, the meat soup in the stone urn still bubbling, with the occasional crackling of firewood. An invisible, colorless bubble kept the wind and snow out, but no one spoke, and they felt a chill for no reason.

Harry's behavior seemed a bit strange, not the kind of strangeness of hysterical shouting or crazy running and jumping, but rather the strangeness of holding the stone and standing there quietly, speechless, yet with tears streaming down his face.

"Have they arrived already?" Ron's voice was hoarse. Because of the existence of ghosts, wizards do not believe in ghosts, but at this moment they have no choice but to believe.

"Judging from Harry's expression, it should be him, right?"

Hermione felt inexplicably uneasy, as if someone was watching them and perhaps talking about them, but only Harry could hear such conversations.

They all unconsciously lowered their voices, afraid of disturbing the spirits of the dead.

Only the half-giant remained unperturbed, patting his chest and casually calling out, "James? Lily? Is that you?"

Melvin blinked, a silvery light like moonlight flashing in his pupils. The boundary between life and death quietly melted away, and the figures of two dead souls were reflected in his eyes.

The strikingly beautiful man and woman were Harry's parents, embracing their crying child. The family of three looked exceptionally happy, yet they didn't seem like spirits who had crossed the illusionary realm to return here. Their figures bore traces of Harry's magic.

A reflection of memory?

Just then, James and Lily turned around, nodded at him, and smiled gratefully.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the campfire swayed back and forth as if it had a spirit, casting shadowy patterns on the snow, and the surrounding air was filled with an indescribable texture.

"Hey... I knew you guys would remember me!" Hagrid grinned.

Melvin was still a little unsure; it seemed to have a real independent consciousness, not just a phantom created based on Harry's memories.

The wizards present were all observing silently, but Snape stood frozen in the snow, not uttering a word, his body stiff, as if a sword had ripped out his heart and thrown into the Black Lake, tiny ice shards piercing his veins, causing waves of stinging pain.

Guilt, regret, self-loathing...

The emotions that had plagued him day and night for over a decade surged up at once, and Snape almost fled in panic. He dared not face Lily, nor did he know how to face her. A strong sense of fear urged him to leave quickly, but another inexplicable emotion kept him here.

In his dim eyes, two emotions were tearing and struggling, and this torment almost tore his soul in two.

The broth in the pot bubbled and simmered, and time ticked by.

Hermione stopped staring at Harry. He was crying with his eyes closed, snot and tears streaming down his face. He looked quite unsightly. The little witch turned her head and said, "Professor Levent, finish telling the story of the Invisibility Cloak. I want to hear it."

Melvin did not refuse: "The youngest of the three brothers, Ignatius, is the most humble and the most intelligent. He has never believed in Death's lies, so he asked for something that Death could never find him no matter what."

"Death had no choice but to reluctantly give him his cloak."

"For many years afterward, Death searched for him but never found him. Ignatius lived until he was very old and frail. On his deathbed, he took off his invisibility cloak and greeted Death as if he were meeting an old friend again, leaving with him as an equal."

Her best friend was meeting with her deceased parents. The three brothers in the story met a tragic end. The little witch sighed, "In the end, only Ignatius survived. Only he defeated Death."

“No, Hermione, there are no winners in the battle against death,” Melvin said softly. “Antioch and Cadmus died because of their own desires, and Ignotus ultimately couldn’t escape death either; he just… delayed it longer.”

"Exactly! Spending half your life hiding under a cloak, what kind of victory is that? It sounds so frustrating!"

Hagrid got up and made himself a bowl of soup, his stomach now empty: "Those three brothers are incredibly stupid. They have the invincible Elder Wand and the Invisibility Cloak to evade pursuit, yet they're still fighting Death on the bridge!"

He muttered to himself, "Hiding and dodging, like a coward, can he really hide? Can he hide forever?"

Upon hearing this, Snape's lips trembled, the tearing fire in his eyes vanished instantly, and he stood still in the snow.

That year, Lily refused to see him even while he waited outside the Gryffindor Tower. He declared he would sleep in the corridor. He finally met Lily, but their meeting ended badly after only a few words, because of the phrase "Mudblood" that could not be taken back, and the unspoken apology.

They lost contact after that and drifted further apart. Unwilling to admit his mistakes and repent, he continued down the wrong path, revealing prophecies, which led Voldemort to target Lily and cause the tragedy in Godric's Hollow.

For more than a decade, Snape would occasionally wonder if things would have been different if he hadn't run away when he stood at the entrance to the portrait hole that year.

Snape turned to look at the student who was crying so miserably. He closed his eyes and looked even more repulsive. He pursed his lips, no longer wanting to run away like he did in his student days.

Some things need to be said in person, and no matter the outcome—whether it's scolding, disdain, or hatred—he has no complaints.

(End of this chapter)