A Deeper Connection: A New Beginning

A Deeper Connection - Part II

Internally applauding the fearlessness of the pale witch, the dark Lord's Glamoured eyes darted between the Headmaster, twinkle absent and looking furious, and the Historian, fearlessly standing tall, wondering what would happen next.

"Headmaster, while I can understand your suspicion and will excuse the breach of privacy once," Severus sighed, trying to defuse the situation as he stepped between the hardened fronts, "the least you can do is apologise to Thomas."

For a moment, Dumbledore looked like somebody had stolen all his lemon drops, exposed all his secrets, and changed the lavish patterns and colours of his robes into something utterly dull, as he was trying to process the words of the Potions Master.

"Albus, we can resolve the situation. You simply Revived Mister Prince. You did nothing wrong," Professor McGonagall stepped in. When she did not receive an answer from her mentor, her jaw dropped, although not completely as she whispered, "Or... Or did you really perfo-"

"Mister Prince, I am sorry for the magic that was used against you," Dumbledore said, cutting short the Transfiguration professor and one of his biggest devotees, lying through his teeth, "also, I am glad to announce that the results of the examination are sufficient for you to be placed in second year, although you certainly must improve your practical Transfigurations work. Congratulations on your performance. I hope the remainder of your holidays will be pleasant."

After that, he fled, effectively ending the examination.

"Unbelievable," Bridget Hawthorne and Professor McGonagall said at the same time once the lavender robes of the old coot had fully disappeared. For a fraction of a second, the two witches stared at each other, clearly surprised by their identical reaction. Meanwhile, the remaining teachers were leaving the Great Hall, desperate to get away from the rather awkward situation, quietly talking amongst themselves.

"I still cannot believe that he performed Legilimency on a minor in public," Bridget Hawthorne said, shaking her head in disbelief, "he makes it seem like the Dark Lord is posing as your cousin, Severus. Why do you refrain from taking legal acti-"

"Apparently, Thomas reminds the Headmaster of him when he was still a student," the Potions Master sighed.

"Now that you say it, there are similarities, particularly their bone structure," Professor McGonagall gasped, her head slightly tilted to the side, reminiscent of her Animagus form, "still, he looks much more like you, Severus, than You-Know-Who."

"Really?" the Historian asked, sounding not quite convinced, "a lot of magical lines share similarities concerning their appearance as we all know."

"True. Off the top of my head, I could name at least seven former students who also look rather similar to You-Know-Who before his appearance started to... change," Professor McGonagall replied, sounding far less threatening than usual when conversing with her colleague, "may I ask why you are referring to him as 'Dark Lord'? Also, where and why did you study the Mind Arts?"

"I am merely using his official title," Bridget Hawthorne shrugged, "there is nothing more to it. Also, I think this whole You-Know-Who moniker is rather silly. As for the other question, let us just say that other educational environments can be rather resourceful at times, especially since it is rather advantageous in my line of work to be able to shield one's mind. Just imagine trying to unravel an ancient Ritual sight when a bunch of Cursed sentinel objects are trying to get into your mind. Occlumency and Legilimency certainly have their benefits in situations like these."