#415 - Chapter 415: Hogwarts, a Sieve

All doubts seemed to vanish at that moment, and Harry's heart finally found unprecedented relief.

Although he still found it hard to accept the fact that his father, James Potter, had been a bully, he had to admit that James wasn't entirely worthless, and those bright spots were also real.

This realization made Harry's tense heart feel like it had been relieved of a great burden, and his body slowly relaxed.

At the same time, he understood a truth: his origin, his bloodline, his name—these were all arrangements of fate, impossible to choose or change. Instead of feeling confused and ashamed about the past, which he couldn't control, he should let go of the burden and focus on the future.

"Feeling better?" Sebastian's gentle voice sounded in Harry's ear, interrupting his thoughts.

He looked up, a hint of relief in his eyes: "Much better, not so agitated."

"In that case, let's have breakfast." With that, Sebastian summoned a house-elf to prepare a lavish breakfast for Harry.

Seeing the delicacies on the table, Harry's stomach rumbled in response. He smiled embarrassedly and picked up a piece of bread, taking a large bite.

"Professor... how did you know I hadn't had breakfast? My Occlumency..."

He asked, his words muffled, as he thought his acting should have been flawless. Besides, Professor Swann had admitted that his Occlumency was perfect.

"Your Occlumency isn't the problem, but remember that emotions can also leak information. Remember to pay attention to your emotions when using Occlumency in the future."

Harry nodded, swallowed the food in his mouth, and hesitantly asked his second question: "Professor, how... how should I apologize to Professor Snape? I'm a little afraid to face him."

"Don't be so stubborn, be more tactful." Sebastian waved his hand. "Although you didn't do it on purpose, those memories are deep scars for Severus. Don't let him know you saw them, it will only make things worse."

"That man is very concerned about his pride. If he knew those memories had been窥见 by you, he would only feel very embarrassed. So, let this matter end here, keep it to yourself, and pretend nothing happened."

Harry frowned, chewed on the last piece of bread, and nodded thoughtfully: "I understand. But, is Professor Snape really a Death Eater?"

"Yes," Sebastian paused. "He was unlucky and was drafted by the Dark Lord, but don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"Now that you have mastered Occlumency, you are also qualified to access some secrets."

Secrets?

Harry perked up, finished the milk in his cup in one gulp, wiped his mouth casually with the back of his hand, and then stared at Sebastian with burning eyes.

"Harry, Severus is Dumbledore's man. To put it bluntly, he is a spy planted by the headmaster in the Dark Lord's ranks."

Merlin!

Harry gasped. This news was too explosive, instantly invigorating him.

Great, Professor Snape isn't a bad person, he's doing a great job.

It was right to learn Occlumency. Otherwise, the professors would definitely continue to treat him like a child and wouldn't tell him anything.

It's no wonder that there's a special connection between him and Voldemort, allowing them to see each other's minds. Before learning Occlumency, it would have been dangerous to know this information.

"So, Harry, you can trust Severus at any time."

Harry nodded emphatically: "I understand! By the way, Professor, what other secrets can I know?"

"Of course," Sebastian smiled gently. "The second point is that there are bad people among Hogwarts' visitors, and you need to be more vigilant."

"Karkaroff!" Harry blurted out, relaying Snape's words to him.

"Karkaroff is one, but he probably won't directly attack you. Barty Crouch is more dangerous to you. In addition, Professor Moody isn't completely without suspicion, but the suspicion against him is very low, so don't worry too much. Finally, during the third task, you'd better also pay attention to the champions from other schools, they may also pose a danger to you."

How could this be?

Harry widened his eyes.

So many suspects?

At this rate, wouldn't Hogwarts be like a sieve? This is too chaotic.

"Harry, the Dark Lord has been trying to kidnap you from Hogwarts," Sebastian continued. "This is related to his resurrection ritual. Those people came here to cooperate with his plan."

"Resurrection ritual? What does it have to do with me?"

"It has a lot to do with you," Sebastian's tone became serious. "It's an ancient form of dark magic, one step of which requires an enemy to unwillingly offer blood. For the Dark Lord, using your blood to resurrect is the most perfect."

Harry frowned, and many unresolvable questions surfaced in his mind. He looked at Sebastian, waiting for further explanation.

"You know, your mother left a powerful protective charm on you, it exists in your bloodline and allowed you to escape the Dark Lord's murder."

"Therefore, after the Dark Lord failed, a saying spread in the wizarding world: Harry Potter is the savior, the Dark Lord can't even touch a hair on his head. This saying greatly damaged the Dark Lord's prestige and even made his followers waver."

"But, if the Dark Lord completes the resurrection ritual with your blood, he can break this rumor. He can not only touch you openly, but also re-establish his authority, which is crucial for his comeback."

Now there's a problem: the Dark Lord is very suspicious. In his current, very weak state, even if Harry's blood were sent to him, he wouldn't dare use it.

He only trusts his own plan, only trusts the blood taken from Harry on-site, so to resurrect him, you must cooperate with him and act out the play, otherwise he may give up on resurrecting, continue to hide, and then look for opportunities.

The risk of cooperating with the plan is also very high, because before saving Harry, he will have to face the Dark Lord alone for at least five minutes.

Therefore, Sebastian explained in detail and gave the decision to Harry himself.

"Professor, I'm willing..."

"Don't rush to answer," Sebastian waved his hand, interrupting Harry, who wanted to express his position. "It's a matter of life and death. Before the third task, you have enough time to think it over. I think you didn't sleep well last night, go back and take a nap now."

Harry nodded, left Sebastian's office, and muttered to himself on the way back to the dormitory.

There's nothing to hesitate about when it comes to dealing with the Dark Lord. Isn't this what he's been working so hard for?

Wait a minute, anyway, from Professor Swann's words, it can be heard that the key lies in the third task. Before that, just prepare well.

That's right, he also needs to casually show off his Occlumency to Draco, let him know how amazing he is, hehe.