Chapter - 14.2

"I don't want to get into any more trouble. I already had a couple of them in such a short time."

"Well..." Professor Snape had no comeback for that. Indeed, the Professor knew about his fight with Gryffindor in the very beginning and his overbearing show of power in front of Malfoy recently. But he felt that both instances could have been avoided if Alex wanted to. And precisely why, Professor Snape had to ask.

"Do you really not want to be as famous as Potter? Professor Snape could not help but ask, "You certainly don't fall behind in terms of looks and capabilities."

"Don't want to," Alex shook his head, "Too much attention."

"Then why do you look so interested in him?" Professor Snape asked, "You haven't averted your eyes from him all this while."

"I am wondering..." Alex started to speak but paused. He did not know if he should express his doubt to the Professor.

"What is it?" Professor Snape asked. Like a curious father, he always wanted to know what Alex had in his mind.

"I am just wondering if there is any truth behind his fame. Or there is some story behind that legend that the world does not know," Alex finally shared his thoughts with the Professor, "Or maybe someone does know about it... but chose not to let the others know."

By the time Alex ended his words, he was looking at his master. He was the prime suspect in his eyes, responsible for the tampering of the story. Well, if his deduction was right, of course.

"And why do you think so?" Again, barely moving his lips, Professor Snape asked.

"Well..." Alex did not want to bad-mouth Potter in front of Professor Snape. Alex still did not know if the Professor cared about him or not. His actions when Potter was in front of him and behind his back were contradictory. But since he decided to address the elephant in the room, he can only use some polite words.

"He is not done anything yet to showcase his talent. From what little I have known him, he can't even use magic properly," Alex started to point out the issues.

"If he is ever forced into a situation, he can't even assess the consequences of his actions. All he can depend on is his instincts and ride the wave of luck. Which I feel he has in abundance."

"As for what he is good at," Alex took a deep breath, "Maybe fly with a broomstick between his legs and stir up trouble wherever he goes." Alex laid it all out in front of Professor Snape.

By the time Alex finished, he was ready for Professor Snape to rebuke him for questioning the legend himself. But before he knew it, something unexpected happened.

"Hahahaha..." Professor Snape laughed out loud. His laugh was so loud that everyone came to a standstill for a few seconds. With their eyes on the Professor, who was always ready to chew them alive, the students thought that some evil wizard was trying to tempt them.

But soon, they knew that it was not the case. Professor Snape was actually laughing. And within seconds, the students went into a frenzy. The man who only knew how to sneer and scorn others were laughing in front of them? It was unbelievable.

Pretty soon, Professor Snape also came back to his senses. In the spur of the moment, he forgot that he was not alone. The image he had cultivated for all these could not be tarnished now. And in an instant, his face was back to being deadpan with no emotions that could be read on it. But the damage was done, and no one could stop this incident from spreading.

But the most surprised was Professor Snape. He has known Alex for about seven years, far less than many of his colleagues. Yet, the boy was the closest to him. It won't be farfetched to say that he was family to him. They had interacted countless times, and there was nothing extraordinary in their conversation. But every time they conversed, Professor Snape wanted to know more. He wanted to know more about the boy and what was going on in his head. Good or Bad, it did not matter to Professor Snape. He liked having the kid around. And he had a thought in his heart but was hesitant to go through with it for the time being.

Though a lot was going on in his head, Professor Snape showed nothing on his face.

"Ahemm... You got to know a lot about him in a single outing," Clearing his throat, Professor Snape said.

"So, Filch already told you about last night?" Alex had expected it, but he hoped Filch to hold back.

"What did you expect?" Professor Snape looked at Alex and raised his eyebrows.

Right now, Alex and Professor Snape were the only ones left on the lawn. After the unprecedented event that occurred in the long history of Hogwarts, everyone, especially the Gryffindors hurriedly made their way out of there. Who knows what Professor Snape was thinking? And if it was remotely sinister, Gryffindors might be the first to take the brunt of it. So to play it safe, they slipped away without any commotion.

"... And from the looks of it was good to have someone keep an eye on you. After all, you are already hiding things from me," Professor Snape spoke, and his lips curled into a smirk.

"It was nothing worth mentioning," Alex decided it was time to come clean, "I was only trying to do what you asked of me." After that, Alex spent a good couple of minutes trying to narrate what actually happened last night. He was as precise as he could get.

Professor Snape already had an idea of what Alex would be doing outside the Slytherin dungeon in the middle of the night. After listening to Alex, he nodded a couple of times.

"There is indeed a story behind the legend of that boy," Professor Snape said, "But... Even I am not sure about that. You might come to know more about what happened that night in the future, "Professor Snape said.

"... If you are interested, that is."

"I understand..." Alex nodded. Neither was he interested nor did he want to pry more into the affairs of Potter. Alex was never curious about anyone's personal matters except for Nicole. If he was bound to know, he would know eventually.

"But even though there is a story behind it... It is inevitable that the boy will be among those at the apex of the magical world in the future. You will have to protect him until then," Professor Snape said and turned around to leave.

"I am counting on you..." Professor Snape left Alex alone, saying so.

'Until he is at the apex? Wasn't it just seven years before?' Alex frowned. He did not like this arrangement now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Alex was frowning, he wasn't the only one who felt angry. There was one more, Potter. Potter was sitting in the Great Hall with his face twisting every time he looked around.

The news about him being the youngest seeker in history was overshadowed. And what made it worse was that it was not some earth-shattering event that had occurred.

It was Professor Snape. The fact that he laughed had overshadowed his great achievement. Everyone was talking about it. Even the Gryffindors, who were supposed to be on his side, spreading the news about him, were instead interested in Professor Snape.

Every time the name of Professor Snape entered his ears, Potter cringed, and his fists clenched. The person he hated the most right now was Professor Snape.

But it was not just the students who were surprised. When the teachers heard the news, they were also interested. Today the potions classroom was livelier than usual. Professor Snape found himself being visited by several teachers. It was so much so that even Professor McGonagall came for a chat.

"Are you alright?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"What do you mean?" Professor Snape already had a headache. He wanted all of this to stop.

"I heard..." Professor McGonagall said and paused. She leaned forward and whispered, "You are not sick, are you?"

'Fuck,'

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