Note: This Novel is complete in the previous chapter, from this chapter on, it is just extra side stories and the Author is releasing the chapter without schedule, so please forgive me if it will be long before it was updated again.
[Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold announced that Aurors are the protectors of the people's safety, not useless vermin colluding with Dark wizards.]
[No matter how Nott, Crabbe, Selwyn, Goyle, and others defended themselves in the courtroom, claiming they were under the Imperius Curse when they committed these acts, the members of the Wizengamot were no longer willing to listen to such excuses and ultimately sentenced these individuals to life imprisonment in Azkaban.]
[Following this, a shocking reversal occurred at the scene. Upon hearing the verdict, the criminals who had stormed Azkaban with the intent to break out prisoners immediately changed their plea, requesting the Chief Warlock to allow them to name accomplices in exchange for reduced sentences.]
[However, the individuals they named, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy, had dual guarantees from Albus Dumbledore and Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. It was confirmed in court that it was precisely due to the cooperation and undercover work of Severus and Lucius that Dumbledore was able to so easily assemble the Aurors and capture this gang of ruffians at Azkaban.]
[As for Nott's claim in court that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, and that it was Severus Snape himself who found him, this was also refuted by Severus Snape on the spot. The so-called returned Dark Lord was merely a ruse. Dumbledore, present in the courtroom, also confirmed that all rumors currently circulating about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were false, and that he had died eight years ago.]
[Compared to the Azkaban breakout attempt and the trial of these criminals, I believe the wizarding public should pay more attention to Dumbledore's final words. Over the past eight years, I have never publicly commented on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, yet this time I uncharacteristically hesitated in my stance and issued a response...]
[And as that trial concluded, the case of Sirius Black was also re-examined. Peter Pettigrew, widely believed to have been a hero who died four years ago, actually appeared in the courtroom...]
[As this case also came to light, Minister Bagnold gave a speech in court, stating that this final reckoning with the remaining Death Eaters and the rectification of injustices for the innocent signified that the last vestiges of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's influence in Britain had been thoroughly eradicated. The public would no longer have to live in such fear in the future!]
[Simultaneously, facing impeachment from the Wizengamot's Ethics Committee for her unauthorized execution of Bellatrix Lestrange and others who intended to break out of Azkaban without filing a report, Bagnold also stated that she was willing to resign from her position as Minister for Magic...]
After flipping through the recent newspapers and finding the news was still the same old stuff with nothing new, Severus casually slapped the paper back onto Dumbledore's desk.
After returning from the US, following a major trial, not only were old Nott and the others sentenced to Azkaban, but the cases of Sirius and Pettigrew were also brought back into the open. This cleared Sirius's name and sent Pettigrew to Azkaban.
Lupin, as he had mentioned to Severus and the others back in Albania, went home to visit his father, and Harry went with him. This gave Severus a perfect opportunity to rest in Britain for a while.
Just as Severus was about to rummage through Dumbledore's drawers to see what snacks he had hidden, a ghost suddenly floated ethereally into the Headmaster's office.
The ghost itself made no sound, and coupled with its owner's perpetually stiff, physiologically unsettling face, it gave Severus, who was already engaged in a bit of sneaking around, a start.
"Couldn't you show some manners? Make a sound when you enter!" Severus complained irritably.
"And you haven't been scaring students outside with that face, have you? If news spreads in the Wizarding World in a couple of days about 'Severus Snape's Sudden Demise, Suspected Curse from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', that would be far too troublesome."
Ghost Snape just looked faintly at Severus, his face still expressionless.
"Didn't you say that phrase? 'Do no evil, fear no ghost knocking.'"
"It's 'Do no evil, fear no ghost knocking at your door'! Besides, you didn't knock." Severus clapped his hands together. He had found a strawberry cake and was turning his wand into a spoon while grumbling.
Before the plan to send Voldemort into the Galileo probe, Severus had taken the opportunity to use the teacup to suck Ghost Snape out of his own body and finally release it into the wild.
This meant he no longer had to worry about a third-party perspective constantly snooping on his privacy. But for now, Ghost Snape still couldn't appear publicly, as that would inevitably cause trouble for Severus.
After discussing it with Dumbledore, they planned to find an opportunity later to publicly claim that Severus had researched a unique spell targeting souls, creating a distinctive ghost of his past self, to explain Ghost Snape's identity.
Severus rolled his eyes at this.
Watching Severus eat cake as if no one else was there, Ghost Snape remained silent for a moment before unable to resist asking.
"I knew you'd be curious about this. But your curiosity could really be applied elsewhere. We didn't discuss anything important, just some trivial matters."
"Don't try to fool me! You definitely told him about your origins!" Ghost Snape stared intently at Severus.
Severus just shrugged.
"And then what?"
Just as Ghost Snape was about to press further, Dumbledore returned after only a short time away.
He couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"So many people have been coming to the school to see me lately..." The white-bearded old man was muttering when he noticed Severus eating strawberry cake with an innocent look.
"Alright, let's continue our unfinished conversation."
After sitting back in his chair, Dumbledore began speaking again.
"I have managed to destroy all the Horcruxes you gave me. But just as you said, that locket was a fake."
"Correct. The real locket was hidden by a young man who once followed the Dark Lord."
"You know where it's hidden..." Dumbledore only got halfway through the question before he seemed to realize he'd asked something superfluous.
Since that conversation ended, he should have understood that Severus knows everything.
"To retrieve the real locket, we need the black dog to take us to his ancestral home." Severus swallowed the last bite of cake. "That Horcrux was hidden in his house by his hated, detested younger brother, on the orders of the family's house-elf."