Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 317 Revealing Neville's true parentage! A calculated scheme to deprive him of his free

Snape fell silent once again.

He knew why, and he knew that Dudley knew why, and he also knew why Dudley, knowing why, came to ask him why.

This is the mistake he made, the sin he committed.

"Not going to speak?" Dudley spoke again when he saw Snape's silence. "Then let me remind you of something else and tell you why Neville has the aftereffects of the Oblivion Curse."

That's because Neville's grandmother didn't want to see her grandson immersed in the pain of his parents being driven insane, and she didn't want Neville to have a bleak childhood!

Therefore, Neville's grandmother had been casting a forgetting spell on him for a long time, making him forget his memories of his parents and his pain.

This is what caused Neville to suffer from severe aftereffects of the Oblivion Curse!

This is what caused Neville to become forgetful and slow to react.

What is your attitude towards such a student? Since the start of this school year, in Potions class, when Neville was mixing up potions incorrectly, what did you say to him and what did you do to him?

If I hadn't attacked you during Potions class in the first week of school, and if Neville and a few other Gryffindor students hadn't seen and remembered your embarrassing situation;

If I hadn't suggested to Dumbledore the introduction of Muggle talent and implemented ideological education reforms at Hogwarts, and if I hadn't sent you to Hogsmeade Village for Muggle ideological education training courses...

How awful would you be to Neville, and to the students of Gryffindor?

Snape lowered his head slightly, no longer looking at Dudley's face or those menacing eyes.

He was overwhelmed by regret once again.

Moreover, this time, the intense feelings of regret arose from a different perspective and towards a different person.

He had previously thought of ignoring right and wrong, and of ignoring the feelings of people he didn't care about or pay attention to.

But when the stark reality was laid bare before him, he found that he could not ignore it.

Before Lily's family was on Voldemort's kill list, when he was a full-fledged Death Eater and Dark Wizard, he could be completely indifferent to strangers and not care about the lives and misfortunes of others.

But now, after Lily paid the price with her life, after he secretly sided with Dumbledore, and after so many years as a professor, he no longer possesses that utter ruthlessness he once had.

"I will try my best to make up for it. I will research and develop a potion to cure the aftereffects of the Forgetfulness Curse."

Snape secretly cast several silent calming spells on himself to forcibly maintain his composure, and then spoke in a seemingly calm manner.

"That's good."

Dudley replied briefly, releasing Snape's arm as he spoke.

His volume and tone of voice were completely different from before, giving off a relaxed feeling of having succeeded in his scheme.

He never expected Snape to be like Dumbledore, opening his heart to him and deeply analyzing and reflecting on himself.

From the very beginning, this was a routine, a scheme.

"you……"

Snape, who had used a calming spell to soothe his mind, finally realized what had happened.

Dudley first questioned him about why he was neglecting his duties and wasting time by bringing up Lily's resurrection. After Lily stubbornly refused to explain, Dudley didn't press the issue and abruptly shifted the topic to Neville's matter.

This isn't about ignoring the actual situation and hoping he'll spend all his time researching soul-anesthetizing potions; it's clearly about not wanting him to use his spare time to do anything unnecessary like targeting Lockhart.

That's why Dudley used the facts to evoke his guilt towards Neville, making him more concerned about treating the aftereffects of the Oblivion Curse on Neville, and ideally spending all his spare time on it.

Otherwise, why didn't Dudley tell Lockhart about Neville's background earlier or later, only after Lockhart issued a new duel challenge today? School has been in session for so long.

This is clearly going with the flow.

After analyzing all the events that happened today, Snape guessed that Dudley and Lockhart probably had some unknown relationship, and it was even very likely that Lockhart's teaching plan was arranged by Dudley.

I unintentionally affected Dali's plans, which led to all the things that happened today.

"Looks like you've figured it out. My stabilizing spell works, doesn't it?"

Dudley raised an eyebrow and asked in a flippant tone, naturally not missing Snape's subtle act of casting a calming spell.

He saw the look of sudden realization on Snape's face and knew that Snape had seen through part of his plan.

Kedley wasn't afraid of Snape seeing through him at all, because what he said was all true; he wasn't playing any tricks or schemes, but rather making a perfectly legitimate plan.

He didn't want to get entangled with Snape, nor did he want to have any more direct contact with him. All along, he had been indirectly arranging things for Snape through Dumbledore, the middleman.

He also knew that Snape must have put in his full effort in researching the Soul-Soothing Potion.

He sensed multiple Snapes within the Hogwarts area on more than one occasion.

We know that Snape must have used the Time-Turner to gain more research time, just like Hermione in the original story did to fill all her classes.

Knowing this, Dudley didn't want to bother Snape with Neville's matter, so he asked Lockhart to handle it instead.

But he didn't expect Snape to be so tactless, wasting his already limited free time on the fight for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and deliberately causing trouble by targeting Lockhart, whom he had arranged.

He hadn't expected Lockhart to be so resourceful today, bringing Neville's affair into the open and forcing Snape to get involved.

He could only adapt to the situation, devise further plans, and put them into action.

Since Snape's work hours are not full, and his research on the Soul-Soothing Potion has reached a bottleneck and waiting period, and he still insists on wasting this free time on unnecessary things, then let him feel guilty and increase his workload!

In a way, Snape should have been responsible for Neville's tragic past, and treating the aftereffects of the Forgetfulness Curse on Neville was his duty.

Now that Snape is involved in treating Neville, let him heal clearly and thoroughly, with all his might.

Instead of treating this as a duel or contest with Lockhart, or a battle of egos.

"Humph!"

Snape, unable to do anything about Dudley's obnoxious and self-righteous behavior, snorted and turned away.

Dudley waved his hand to remove the 'Hear and Deaf' spell, and watching Snape's departing figure, he teleported to another place with a thought.

More than an hour later, Dudley teleported to Lockhart's office again.

Lockhart had just finished his class and returned here.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Dali, that menacing figure, sitting in his chair, waiting for him with a half-smile.