"So we went through all that hardship to get here, only to find a cursed fountain?"

Harry looked somewhat deflated as he said disappointedly.

Lupin, however, smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Even if the fountain is cursed, there are plenty of rare herbs here, right? We can gather them, that's also a considerable treasure!"

Draco pouted, scanning the surrounding flowers and plants.

"How much could these pieces of junk be worth?"

That, of course, required a professional estimate, and Severus was clearly the professional.

"Some of these herbs here are almost unseen in the wizarding world… they are priceless and unavailable. Even if we estimate at the lowest price... the things here are worth at least 7,000 to 10,000 Galleons."

This figure made even Draco, who had seen grand scenes with Lucius, widen his eyes in surprise!

"They're worth that much!"

"And that's a conservative low estimate. If we can find reliable channels to sell them slowly, they could actually fetch around 15,000 Galleons."

"We're going to be rich!" Draco and Harry cheered excitedly again.

They ran towards the surrounding herbs, but fortunately, Lupin stopped them in time.

"Picking and transplanting these herbs requires professional knowledge. Watch from the side first, let the adults demonstrate for you."

The adventure originally targeting the Fountain of Fair Fortune thus turned into a herbology lesson.

Severus and Lupin handled the herbs while teaching Draco and Harry to identify the different plants.

This continued until the sky was completely dark, and no one else had reached the location of the Fountain of Fair Fortune.

By then, Severus understood in his heart.

The fact that they could make it here might not actually be due to their incredible luck, but rather because someone had been guiding them here from the very beginning.

But he showed no sign of this on his face.

Before leaving, Harry was worried about what would happen if other wizards found this place later but didn't know about the curse in the Fountain and got hurt.

In the end, Severus set up a sign by the fountain, writing a warning in English: [Fountain Cursed]

Then he and Lupin led Harry and Draco back down the way they came.

The return journey was smooth, without any obstacles. But when they emerged from the stone archway they had entered through, they found what seemed like all the wizards of Albania gathered there.

However, the entrance to the stone door had been closed at some point, and those who came later had no way to enter.

Before Severus and the others emerged, many wizards had returned empty-handed. They either couldn't climb the steep mountain or were stumped by the river with no bridge.

Apart from Severus's group, no one had even been lucky enough to reach the maze.

When their group emerged, they were surrounded by reporters from various newspapers who had rushed there, all vying with each other to interview them about what they had encountered inside, and whether they had finally found the Fountain of Fair Fortune.

Faced with the reporters' questions, Harry and Draco, being inexperienced children, instinctively wanted to tell the truth, to inform others that the so-called Fountain was actually cursed and unusable.

But before they could speak, Severus pulled them back and began giving vague answers to the reporters, saying they had also been stuck by the river, searched for a long time without finding a way, and had simply returned.

Only after returning to the tent did Severus explain to the confused Harry and Draco why he had said that.

"If they haven't seen it with their own eyes, no one will believe what we say. Those reporters will just treat it as big news to spread, reporting that we wanted to keep the Fountain for ourselves and deliberately said that. What was originally no trouble could instead bring a lot of trouble coming to us on its own."

The two children were clearly still in a state of half-understanding regarding these complexities of adult society. Harry just continued asking,

"So we just act like we know nothing about it?"

Severus shrugged.

"Not exactly. We just need to find a reliable person to convey the message. Before leaving this forest, I will go find the Albanian Auror Director and tell him about it."

After having a simple late-night snack in the tent, the boys, both physically and mentally exhausted, went back to rest. Only Lupin looked at Severus with a wish-to-speak-but-stopping expression since dinner.

Severus clearly guessed what he wanted to ask, but after glancing out of the corner of his eye at the Puffskein, he just gestured to Lupin that these matters should be discussed later.

After the late-night snack, Severus also returned to his bedroom.

Here, Ghost Snape finally completely lost his patience.

[What are you still waiting for! You've clearly discovered he's there, why haven't you acted yet! He's right next to Potter now, with every opportunity to harm the boy!]

'Let's not even mention whether he still has that ability now. Even if he could harm Harry, he definitely wouldn't do it.'

Severus just said calmly, reassuring Ghost Snape.

'Relax, don't worry. Remember what I told you during the day? His behavior has already proven that, in his mind, testing whether my loyalty still exists is more important than drinking the unicorn's blood.'

;'And my actions have indirectly proven my loyalty. In his mind, he must believe that if I hadn't ultimately discovered the unicorn was an illusion, a spirit, I would have already offered that pure blood to welcome his return.'

[Then why hasn't he made a move yet?]

'That's why he could become your master, and you could only be a servant back then.' Severus teased him, then, before Ghost Snape's darkened face could erupt in anger, he continued.

'He must already know that if I'm not an idiot, I would have noticed something. And by now, there's no need for him to continue hiding. He will definitely come to me. Tonight.'

After Severus's definitive words fell, Ghost Snape didn't speak again. Both fell silent, neither saying another word.

They let time pass minute by minute until close to midnight, when everyone else in the tent was completely asleep.

At a certain moment, Severus could clearly feel the Dark Mark on his arm, which had been dormant for eight years, burning!

'He's here!' He whispered inwardly, while outwardly he acted as if suddenly awakened, his face full of alarm and suspicion.

The bedroom was still empty, devoid of anything. Severus's voice, full of fear and trepidation yet also joy and surprise, rang out towards the empty air.

"Master! Master! Is it you? Have you returned?"

Ghost Snape, watching this, couldn't help but clench his hands, inwardly cursing: 'This damned liar, this actor!'

A wind blowing in from outside rustled the curtains, as if responding to Severus's call.

An illusory, spectral figure, more transparent than a ghost, with an indistinguishable face, more like a being composed of colored gas, appeared before Severus.

"Sometimes, fate is truly marvelous, isn't it?"

The humanoid gas's voice didn't seem to come from a throat… it was distinctly shrill, yet completely in Voldemort's own tone!

"I've thought about which of my former loyal servants might come here to find me. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Augustus... But what I didn't expect was that the first to find me, the one who came looking for me, would be you, Severus."

His words made Severus's body tremble. The face that held only coldness and emptiness towards others now showed only excitement and submission upon seeing this man.

"Master! I have been searching for you! I tried every means to find you! Today I have finally found you! I have finally found you!!"

"You found me. And what about the names I just mentioned?" Voldemort asked indifferently.

"They were all captured and sent to Azkaban!" Severus said excitedly, "After your disappearance, the Aurors were hunting us down on a large scale! Some betrayed us, some switched sides, and some kept searching for you madly! The Lestranges, in their search for you, captured the two Aurors, the Longbottoms, trying to force your whereabouts from them, but were ultimately captured by the Aurors!"

"And you?" The humanoid gas kept its gaze fixed on Severus, "What were you doing at that time?"

"Master! Please forgive your loyal servant's act of desperation!" Severus bowed his head deeply, humbly and honestly recounting his experiences after that to Voldemort.

"At that time, I too was searching for you like mad! But I knew ordinary people wouldn't know where you were! The person most likely to have news of you was the one who always opposed you!"

"I used the Potter affair to gain Dumbledore's trust, infiltrated Hogwarts, staying close to Dumbledore, constantly gathering information about you from him!"

"Finally, it was from the Ravenclaw house ghost, the Grey Lady, that I heard some of your past regarding how you wisely obtained Ravenclaw's Diadem from her, which led me here!"

This answer left Ghost Snape, who had been holding his breath in tension, completely bewildered.

'The Grey Lady?'

'What does she have to do with this?'

'He had all his responses prepared in advance?'

After listening to Severus's full account, Voldemort was silent for a few seconds. He didn't comment on the story Severus had told, but simply said in a subtle tone,

"These years by Dumbledore's side have changed you greatly, Severus. I never discovered you had such eloquence before."

"Master! It was all to gain Dumbledore's trust! Otherwise, he would never have entrusted Harry Potter to me! Nor would he have allowed me to stay at Hogwarts with such ease of mind!"

Severus's voice was sincere and wronged, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"Your servant has prepared everything these years! Now everyone in the wizarding world believes that Severus Snape has turned over a new leaf, reformed! Only then would they not suspect that I am still searching for you! Dumbledore and the Aurors wouldn't focus more attention on me!"

"As long as I could find you, let you return! No matter what I had to do, it was worth it!"

If Ghost Snape hadn't known exactly what Severus was planning, even he might have been fooled by this heartfelt speech.

At this moment, Severus acted as if he had suddenly remembered something. He sharply raised his head and began urgently reporting.

"And that Barty Crouch Jr.! He was also captured and sent to Azkaban, but later his father secretly rescued him! Some time ago, he gathered those of your servants in Britain who weren't caught, with great fanfare using your name, trying to rally all the former Death Eaters!"

"All the Aurors were alarmed by his actions! Those fools at the Ministry had already believed you could never return and had grown lax towards us, but because of what he did, they began hunting extensively the wizarding world again!"

"Because of this, I specifically went to find him, warned him that such high-profile behavior was of no benefit whatsoever to finding you! But he turned the tables on me, accused me of betraying you! Claimed he was the truly loyal one!"

"Master! Because of him! I almost couldn't find you!"

After hearing Severus's full account, Voldemort finally gave him words of affirmation.

"Good. You have done well, Severus. You have done better than all the others. I will reward you."

Hearing this, Ghost Snape's face showed delight.

He thought Voldemort believed Severus's words and had completely dismissed his suspicions!

However, Severus understood perfectly well.

This not-yet-noseless Dark Lord would never fully trust anyone, not even the Lestranges like Bellatrix.

The reason he said this was because he had no way to verify the things Severus had said.

And after the test at the Fountain, which ensured Severus indeed had loyalty, his appearance now proved that he could only trust Severus for the time being.

The earlier words were merely a ruler's way of keeping a servant in check.

Eight years had passed.

Even for wizards, whose lifespans are normally longer than Muggles', eight years is not a short time.

Voldemort needed to make Severus recall the feeling of submission to him.

"Severus, that woman chose to seek death herself. I failed to fulfill the promise I made to you back then, to kill her. Do you not resent me for that?"

Voldemort's voice was very soft. This question sounded like an ordinary inquiry.