HP - Shadow Monarch - Chapter 159 - Returning to the Hogwarts routine.

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV

Hogwarts.

...

...

In the next moment, an immense amount of food began to appear in front of Snape, with everything he could possibly ask for, even making him raise an eyebrow at the food the elves had prepared for him.

"What is this?!" someone shouted, looking at the quantity of sweets and dishes that were usually served only on special occasions.

"They certainly overdid it..." Snape couldn't help but comment.

"Why did you get this?" Clarisse looked at him suspiciously.

"Ask the house-elf behind us," Snape said as the space behind him distorted and a house-elf appeared at that moment—none other than Dobby’s father.

"Professor Snape, welcome back!" he said cheerfully, surprising many students who didn’t even know about the existence of house-elves at Hogwarts.

"Hello, Dobei," Snape greeted him.

"If you need anything, just call us, Professor Snape! I'm so happy you're back!" he said excitedly while everyone continued to stare in shock. "Anyway, I hope you have a good meal. See you later!" he said before disappearing.

"This is a good way to be welcomed..." Snape muttered before turning back to his food.

"What was that, where did that house-elf come from?!" someone murmured nearby, as other students began gossiping among themselves.

"Forget him. I'm not going to eat all of this—do you want some?" Snape asked, seeing the longing looks from the other students eyeing the sweets he had received. It wouldn't hurt to share.

"I want some!" a girl immediately exclaimed before cautiously glancing at Snape, given his reputation for punishing students.

"Help yourself." Snape moved his hand, and the food floated toward her as if through telekinesis.

"No wand?" Clarisse murmured beside him, staring directly at him.

"Some tricks I learned while I was away," Snape shrugged.

"Away? You disappeared! Did you get my letters?" she asked while the students were either stunned by Snape’s wandless magic or fighting over the food.

"I had some problems..." Snape said while eating an omelet with bread and bacon.

"My father said you were having trouble with your shop—after all, it closed without restocking! Your house-elf was terrified..." she murmured.

"I’d rather you not tell anyone about that. Besides, I already reopened it a few days ago," he said before looking toward the professors. Someone had been staring at him the whole time, though none of the others were really paying attention to him. Despite making a few comments about the house-elf that had appeared, they seemed worried.

"Why are the professors so tense?" Snape asked, ignoring the intense gaze he was receiving from the History of Magic professor—someone he would have to talk to later.

"You don't know... The headmaster hasn’t returned to the school yet... The newspapers are saying he was fighting someone in Diagon Alley last night..." she said, showing him the newspaper in her lap. "It says their battle was so intense that they believe the headmaster faced You-Know-Who himself..." she murmured.

"I see..." Snape said, already knowing why they were so concerned—after all, he had trapped the headmaster in his ring. At the same time, he wanted to find out what Clarisse knew about it.

"Why is that new professor staring at you so much...?" Clarisse couldn't help but notice the red-eyed professor—whom most students feared, while others seemed infatuated with her. Despite everything, she was looking directly at Snape.

"Besides!" Clarisse suddenly remembered something and turned to him with suspicious eyes. Her intuition told her that something was very off. "She’s been asking about you in class! I just remembered—she seemed way too interested, much more than someone simply wondering about a student who had been absent for the last two weeks..." she murmured.

"Maybe I know her from somewhere," Snape simply said, looking at Clarisse as if to say that was all he would reveal.

"Wait, you still haven't said where you were during the holidays." She almost demanded from him.

"I was busy," he said, eating again.

"How busy?" She asked again.

"Very busy," he replied, still eating.

"You're not going to say anything?" She seemed upset about it.

"I had to take care of some important things, but if you really want to know, I was outside of England. I happened to run into this professor along the way. I don't know what she's doing here, but it's quite the coincidence..." Snape replied as he ate, seeing no problem in telling her that, but omitting the fact that he had invaded her father’s house, fought him, and taken a painting.

"I see..." Not that this really satisfied Clarisse, but she knew Snape wouldn't say anything more.

"Anyway, do we have any classes this morning?" Snape asked. It was Wednesday, and he still had no idea how the class schedule worked.

"We’re free until 10, then we have Potions. In the afternoon, we have magical dueling, just like last year..." she informed him.

"I see... so I still have two hours to train," he said and disappeared after taking his last bite of food.

"He left so quickly..." Clarisse murmured, as her gaze lifted to see all the other students who weren’t eating the sweets, staring at her and Snape’s empty seat, clearly having wanted to listen in on their conversation—not that Snape had let them, of course.

"What are you all looking at?" she asked, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

"Oh, Clarisse, don’t be so silly. We’re just curious about you and your boyfriend," one of her friends couldn't help but comment.

"Fiancé... Hm?!" Clarisse said before suddenly shutting her mouth. She had spoken on impulse—only needing Snape’s confirmation for it to be true. Her father had mentioned the proposal, and she felt both happy and strange about it at the same time. She hoped Snape would accept in the end.

"Fiancé?!" The student widened her eyes at this.

"No! I misspoke!" Clarisse shouted in embarrassment, trying to make those girls stop talking about it. After all, nothing had been confirmed yet, and she didn't want Snape to hear that she was spreading falsehoods.

Meanwhile, once again, Snape was outside the castle, beginning his daily exercise routine for the system.

While inside the dungeons, the system hadn’t required this, but as soon as he left, he had to comply. Besides, he had points to earn for his level before reaching a new bottleneck, allowing him to further increase both his physical and magical stats—without anyone noticing his steadily growing magical power while he was using the ring.

He kept running past the castle, passing the Quidditch field and moving forward until Hagrid’s hut came into view.

The half-giant was surprised to suddenly see Snape running past his house, while his dog lifted its head, curious about Snape.

"He's back..." It wasn’t an unusual sight for Hagrid, but he had always had a certain fear of Snape, and seeing him made him a little uncomfortable...

Snape didn’t pay much attention to Hagrid and continued his exercises, heading toward the southern side of the Black Lake, taking advantage of the space to complete his 10 km run before doing the exercises required by the system. To him, controlling his body was so effortless that it all felt automatic.

When he finished, he stopped and saw that it was still only 9 o’clock. He had one more free hour, so he took the opportunity to enter the lake, as he always did.

He swam toward its depths before diving further, spotting his old diving companion.

'Well, I’m back, you strange octopus...' Snape murmured to the creature.

The animal immediately noticed his presence, stretching its tentacles directly toward him.

Outside, Hagrid was surprised as he looked at the lake, watching the tentacles emerge from the water, as if the creature had been agitated.

"Why do I always feel like that boy is the cause of this? Every time he’s here, that cute little animal acts this way..." Hagrid muttered to himself, while his dog just let out a low sound before lowering its head.

After a brief struggle with the giant squid—if it could even be called a struggle—Snape emerged from the lake, walking back toward the castle. Now dry, he passed by some younger students, probably first-years, who were practicing exercises with their broomsticks. He ignored them and continued toward the castle entrance, where a figure was already waiting for him.

"Mr. Snape!" Professor McGonagall called him with her usual formality.

Minerva pressed her lips together upon seeing him, clearly displeased. The boy had given her plenty of headaches the previous year, and it seemed likely that he would continue causing trouble. But, as always, she tried to remain calm.

"I would like you to accompany me. We need to discuss your return. Headmaster Dumbledore is not here at the moment, so I will have to handle this while your guardian is teaching..." she said.

Snape nodded and followed her through the castle corridors, passing by other students until they reached the Transfiguration classroom. As soon as they entered, McGonagall turned to him with a stern look.

"Severus, may I know exactly where you’ve been for the past two weeks?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I had some issues with my potions," he answered calmly.

"Again, Mr. Snape?" McGonagall emphasized, clearly not believing his excuse. "In any case, do you have any written justification for your absence?"

"No," Snape answered bluntly.

She sighed, visibly frustrated. "Then you know I cannot simply overlook this and let you return without consequences."

Snape remained silent, waiting for his punishment.

"I am deducting 50 points from Slytherin. Do you have any objections?" she asked, staring at him intently.

"No," was his only response.

She observed his impassive expression for a few more seconds before sighing again. She knew that losing points didn’t mean much to him. But in the end, it wasn’t her decision to make.

"I will allow you to resume your normal classes... but your punishment will be dealt with directly by Headmaster Dumbledore. He will decide what to do with you, so we will have to wait for his return..." she stated before pausing.

"Anyway, here is your schedule. I hope you have all the necessary materials," she said, handing him a parchment with his school commitments.

"Yes, I have everything," he said, as he had already purchased the necessary supplies a few days earlier, anticipating his return to Hogwarts. The Headmaster had managed to send a letter directly to his home with his enrollment details and a list of required materials.

In the end, Snape simply nodded and began to leave. After all, he had Potions class at that moment.

"May I ask you one last question, Mr. Snape?" McGonagall said before correcting herself. "Actually, two."

Snape turned and nodded, allowing her to continue.

"Will you be attending my classes? I would like you to do so, even though you still refuse to call me Professor McGonagall, which displeases me greatly," she murmured.

Snape seemed to consider it for a second before responding. "I don’t see a problem with that," he said calmly.

"Good, then I will be expecting you," McGonagall said, satisfied. "And another thing... Regarding Professor Rosaria, the new History of Magic teacher. We were surprised that she was hired so urgently, when Albus already seemed to have another candidate nearly confirmed for the position. Moreover, she has been asking very persistent questions about you," she remarked, narrowing her eyes.

Snape maintained a neutral expression.

"Do you know her in any way?" McGonagall asked, still suspicious.

"Perhaps," was all Snape said, shrugging before heading out of the room, leaving the professor to merely sigh.

In the end, it seemed that Snape hadn’t changed at all.