Chapter 181 Could It Be Snape?
Harry narrowed his eyes and observed the two bright silver-white Patronuses, seeing the stag and the doe in the night sky.
"Harry, I can't believe it... You conjured a Patronus that drove all those Dementors away! That's highly advanced magic," exclaimed Hermione.
Harry didn't reply; he just stared at the silver doe.
His intuition told him there must be a close and unclear connection between this Doe and his Patronus. If his patronus, like his father's, was a stag, then this Doe would be...
"Don't do it!" Hermione seemed to realize what Harry was thinking. She reached out and gently pulled him. She murmured, "You did well, we can only stay here, we can't interfere again..."
Harry seemed not to hear what she was saying. Suddenly, he turned, pushed Hermione aside, and rushed down the first-floor corridor with a surge in his heart. He needed to know who had conjured the Patronus.
If he and his father's Patronus are both stags, then this Doe could have been conjured by his mother.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for it to be so coincidental.
Yes, the other person who cast the Patronus must be his mother herself, she is not dead yet!
As soon as he thought of his mother, Harry gasped a little more.
In the dark and narrow corridor, he ran downstairs at full speed. He needed to know who it was, he needed to see his mother...
Then, Harry stopped behind the huge curtain on the second floor.
He heard a voice from the downstairs hall. Just a few seconds before he ran downstairs, the teachers and students who had been dining in the Great Hall all came out, surprised to see what was happening in front of them.
Harry gasped and hid behind the curtain, peeking into the first-floor Hall. He saw Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Hagrid...
There were more than a dozen people in the Hall, but his mother was not there.
Had she gone outside the castle to save him? Harry advanced again to see clearly.
"What are you doing?" Hermione gasped and caught up with him.
She dragged Harry back to the curtain and said angrily, "We have to go back, Harry, you'll be discovered!"
"We can't go back, I have to know who conjured the Patronus," Harry hesitated to voice his guess, "I have to know..."
"There are a lot of people outside, everyone has that possibility," Hermione looked carefully through the curtain and then pulled Harry's arm, "Look, it's Snape, he's leading us back to the castle."
Snape conjured four hovering stretchers, on them lay the motionless bodies of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Sirius Black, the latter tied with black ropes.
The people inside the castle brought Harry in, Hermione dragged him back.
Silently, they returned to Professor Lupin's office on the third floor, and no one spoke.
Harry felt like his head was in chaos. If his mother conjured the Patronus, where could she be right now?
Just outside the castle, Snape saved him, Hermione, Ron, and Sirius. If he was there at that moment, would he have seen her?
At that instant, Harry suddenly remembered the Marauder's Map that had always been in his possession. He hurriedly took it out. He scolded himself for not thinking of it earlier.
"I solemnly swear that my intentions are not good." He took out his wand, lightly touched the parchment, and quickly looked down.
He saw that four people, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and himself, were in the first-floor Hall. In fact, almost everyone in the castle was there. Harry's gaze searched frantically through the castle, but he didn't see the figure of his mother.
"Do not dwell on that Patronus, Harry. It cannot be your mother. It must have been a professor who conjured the Patronus. It turned out to be a doe." Hermione also approached. "Think it over carefully. It was Snape who brought the four of us back; perhaps he conjured that Patronus..."
"Snape!?" Harry was astonished.
"Exactly, at that moment there was only one of him there."
"It's impossible; Snape's Patronus cannot be a doe!" Harry shrugged stubbornly. He preferred to believe that Professor McGonagall had conjured the Patronus, not Snape.
"Instead of worrying about the Patronus, you should worry more about Evan and Sirius!" Hermione glanced at her watch nervously, saying, "It's almost time. Why hasn't Evan returned yet? Dumbledore closed the door to the Hospital Wing a while ago. There are still forty-five minutes left. We must return there before someone discovers we are missing."
Upon hearing Hermione's words, Harry's thoughts turned to Evan and Sirius; if Evan didn't catch Peter Pettigrew, then they had to find a way to save Sirius. They couldn't let the Dementors suck out his soul...
The dark office was quiet, Harry and Hermione were waiting.
They saw on the Marauder's Map that Professor McGonagall had sent the three of them to the school infirmary, and Professor Flitwick had locked Sirius at the top of the tower. As for Snape, he left the castle again, as if searching for something, Hagrid was with him.
Harry immediately became nervous. What were they looking for, could it be his mother?
They approached the Forbidden Forest. A few minutes later, Harry saw Evan's name pop up on the edge of the Map, and then Snape went and sent him back to the castle.
Snape did not leave again. He went to the top of the tower where they had Sirius. They didn't know what to say. In a short time, Dumbledore's figure appeared in his office. He didn't pause and went straight to the room.
"There are still fifteen minutes left. Why hasn't Evan returned yet?" Hermione said uncomfortably, staring at her watch.
Harry shook his head. His mind was filled with bewildering speculations.
If Evan didn't catch Peter Pettigrew, they would have to find a way to save Sirius, but Snape remained at the top of the tower.
With him there, they wouldn't stand a chance.
As time passed, Harry clenched his fists. He knew he had to try. When he was ready to act, he saw the figure of Evan appearing on the edge of the map with Peter Pettigrew and Firenze the Centaur.
Harry still remembered meeting this Centaur in the Forbidden Forest in his first year, and the latter had saved him from Voldemort's clutches.
He didn't know why Evan was with Firenze, nor did he have time to ponder such matters. They immediately set off.
Harry was excited at the thought that by catching Peter Pettigrew, he could prove Sirius's innocence. He could move out of the Dursleys' home next summer and live with his godfather. That would be the best Christmas gift he could ever receive in his life.
Then he thought of the silver doe Patronus.
If it wasn't his mother, who could have summoned it?
Could it be Snape as Hermione suggested?