On the second day of Christmas, nearly everyone woke up late.
The Gryffindor common room was much quieter than usual; most people were engaged in casual conversations, occasionally interrupted by their yawns.
Hermione's hair had returned to its usual mess, and when asked by several people, she admitted that she'd sprayed a lot of instant smooth hair tonic on it for the ball. Buying those things had almost cost her half a month's allowance. "But doing it every day would be too troublesome," Hermione said practically, while she scratched Crookshanks behind the ears, making the cat purr with comfort.
"Half a month's allowance just for one night? That's such a waste—"
Even though Ginny couldn't stop yawning and her eyes were almost closed, she couldn't help but say.
Meanwhile, Crookshanks flipped his belly upward.
"But I think... it's worth it? Anyway, let's not talk about this. Harry, why did you call us to wake up so early?"
Hermione pursed her lips and blinked, steering the conversation toward Harry, who had "summoned" them this time. Of course, normally they would sit in this corner after waking up to stare at the burning fire in the fireplace or do (copy) homework, even without being summoned.
But today's situation was different, as Harry had even specifically asked an upper-year girl to wake her and Ginny up in the dormitory.
It was unusual.
"... A very serious matter. I've thought about it for a whole night and still felt it necessary to let you know." Harry took a deep breath, "Snape is a Death Eater!"
"..."
Their reaction seemed overly calm to Harry.
"You don't believe me?"
He stared at Neville, Ron, and Hermione, none of whom looked surprised. Ron scratched his head, Neville remained expressionless, and Hermione even yawned.
"Uh, mainly, Harry, it's not the first time you've accused Snape—though, a Death Eater is a new argument."
Ron hesitated as he spoke, lowering his head to carefully sort through his memories, affirming that this was indeed the first time Harry said Snape was a Death Eater.
"Ah, I already knew."
Hermione shook her head, indicating she wasn't surprised at all. "The senior told me..."
"Why didn't he tell me!"
Harry was shocked and couldn't help but stand up.
"... Maybe because you never asked?"
Hermione gave a completely reasonable "hypothesis."
"But you also didn't tell me!"
"Because you never asked!"
"..."
Harry sat back on the couch in silence, speechless, originally wanting Ginny to testify, but didn't expect... After a moment of silence, Harry took a deep breath and began to recount how he went to the garden with Ginny last night, only to run into Snape and Karkaroff "meeting in secret."
"Wait, why were you and Ginny alone in the garden?" Ron raised his hand, his tone irritable.
"Don't interrupt!" Ginny said, blushing, as she punched Ron on the head.
So Harry continued. When he got to the part about pinning Ginny down in the bushes, Ron seemed like he wanted to raise his hand again but chose to stay silent under Ginny's fierce glare.
"... Did he really say that?"
Finishing Harry's somewhat fragmented storytelling, Hermione couldn't help but frown. "But the senior told me that Professor Snape is 'completely' trustworthy!"
"Maybe the senior was deceived!!"
Harry said loudly, his eyes glaring as they all realized his intent—
Thus, inside the Room of Requirement, having just heard Harry begin, William yawned, placing a palm on Harry's forehead.
"Stop it. Professor Snape is now reformed."
"But I heard it myself, Ginny can testify—"
Harry seemed unwilling, shouting loudly, but William just shook his head, "Because I told him to do it, haven't you heard of undercover work?"
Seeing the uncomprehending look in Harry's eyes, William sighed, "Instead of worrying about Snape's morality, you should be thinking about what to do for the next task in the Triwizard Tournament. You know, Ludo Bagman's entire fortune is on you, and I forgot to mention, this time it's a knockout round—"
"!"
Harry immediately felt that whether Snape was a Death Eater or even the Dark Lord himself didn't matter anymore; the immediate concern was how to win or rather, "survive!"
The boy left, taking his group with him. But when William raised his head again, he saw a tail left behind by the group.
"Neville, did you have something to tell me?"
William frowned, looking at Neville Longbottom standing before him, seemingly hesitant to speak. He showed a friendly smile while scratching Norbert's neck, and the Fire Dragon sneezed comfortably, spitting out flames that ignited Kabuda's tail—
Watching Kabuda bolt towards the restroom with its tail on fire, Neville blinked, seeming to forget his words.
"Don't rush, speak slowly—"
William nodded and conjured a chair for Neville, indicating that he shouldn't hurry, despite having spent half the night without sleep… it was no problem (forcibly).
He gave a "kind-hearted" smile.
"I… want to know." Neville paused, asking somewhat laboriously, "Was Professor Snape really once a Death Eater?"
"… Yes."
Despite being a bit confused, William was always honest, and as for whether this accusation would further tarnish Snape's reputation—he was already so tarnished that a little more wouldn't matter.
"..."
Neville nodded; he lowered his head, visibly filled with sorrow, resentment, and… abhorrence.
William blinked, observing Neville's emotions. When the boy spoke the phrase "Death Eater," his heart was almost uncontrollably filled with fear and anger.
But logically speaking, the boy was born when Voldemort was presumably already in decline. By the time Neville began to form memories, Voldemort should have been dead for two or three years—logically, he shouldn't fear the Death Eaters unless—
"Did… did Snape do something to you?"
"No, although Professor Snape did try to poison me, at least I haven't died from it, right?" Neville shook his head wryly, forcing a strained smile.
"…If you want to talk about something, just say it."
William sighed, putting aside the impatience brought by his lack of sleep.
"I… well, although I, Grandma didn't make me keep it a secret…"
Neville took a deep breath, seeming to struggle a bit, as he took his hand from his pocket, holding a neatly folded piece of deep blue candy wrapper, although even unfolded it wasn't the size of half a palm. "This is from my mom, Senior. She and dad were Aurors—during the height of the Dark Lord's terror, they were Aurors—"
William blinked, feeling he might have guessed the plot.
Neville's voice was steady. If initially, there were stumbling and choking, the further he spoke, the calmer his tone became, almost as if recounting someone else's story. But when he mentioned his parents being tortured by Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse for a long time, until it caused permanent damage—
Finally, tears rolled down the boy's cheeks until Kabuda returned, having extinguished his flames, and placed tissues into Neville's hands, making him seem to only then realize.
"These were all told to me by Granny; she said my parents are heroes—"
"They truly are."
William nodded, Cruciatus Curse—that's not something ordinary people can endure, let alone for prolonged torture.
"So, Senior, I want you to ask for me, ask Professor Snape—"
Neville wiped his tears, the sadness slowly fading from his face. He paused, took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with resolute hatred, "Does he know the Death Eaters who tormented my parents? I want to know who they are…"