The atmosphere at Hogwarts in 1977 was far from as relaxed as it would be later.
Based on his current performance, Dumbledore was not a qualified Headmaster, or rather, educator.
He had controlled the school for decades, and his high reputation in the Wizarding World had been maintained for nearly thirty years, yet he still hadn't fully controlled the students' thoughts.
In the Muggle world, students coming out of a school where the Headmaster had served for a long time were all die-hard loyalists of that Headmaster.(TN: Since when?)
Moreover, Hogwarts was a seven-year boarding school; the young Wizards of the Wizarding World spent their most impressionable years, from ages 11 to 18, within this Castle.
But Dumbledore seemed to have no intention of correcting their thoughts, allowing those who might grow crooked to continue doing so, making Hogwarts Castle almost a microcosm of the outside Wizarding World.
Almost all students in Slytherin came from families that supported Lord Voldemort; they huddled together and secretly studied the Dark Arts in private.
And Gryffindor found these people particularly objectionable; for instance, the conflict between Snape and James at the beginning was triggered by their Houses.
Dumbledore seemed to turn a blind eye to this, focusing only on the magic teaching work; as for what those students would do after learning magic, whether they would become a scourge of the Wizarding World or join the Aurors, it seemed irrelevant to him.
Now that Snape had reached his thirties, he could understand Dumbledore's difficulties.
It wasn't that the old man didn't want to do these things, but if he did, it would touch the sensitive nerves of a large group of people.
Hogwarts had never been the private property of any one person; even when it was first created, it was shared by the four founders.
Nearly a thousand years later, the situation had become even more complex.
This only magic academy in Britain was subject to two major constraints: the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors.
And Dumbledore, the so-called Headmaster, was legally nothing more than an employee hired by the Board of Governors.
As long as those governors were willing, they could vote to remove him from his position at any time.
Of course, they usually gave Dumbledore plenty of face and power and generally never interfered in school affairs.
But if Dumbledore wanted to openly spread his ideology, the Board of Governors could not let it go.
After all, those who could hold the position of governors of this thousand-year-old school, Hogwarts, were all true Wizard families in the Wizarding World.
And among these families, quite a few had ambiguous relationships with Lord Voldemort (such as the Malfoy Family).
So, while it seemed Dumbledore was doing nothing, in reality, it was impossible for him to do anything.
Unless he used his own power to establish a dictatorial rule over Hogwarts, but he would never do such a thing.
At this time, it had been over a week since the new term at Hogwarts began; although major events were constantly occurring in the outside Wizarding World, it remained peaceful within the Castle.
Snape entered the school through the secret passage from the Shrieking Shack; he had now drunk the Polyjuice Potion containing the hair of the Snape of this era, transforming into his student-self.
Getting the magic notebook Sherlock had given him into Lily's hands and making her willing to accept it was not an easy task.
But now, Snape had thought of a method worth trying.
It was just past eight o'clock, and the curfew in the Castle hadn't started yet, but there were already few students lingering in the corridors.
After entering the Castle, Snape followed an extremely familiar route all the way to the dungeon and arrived at the door of the Slytherin Head's office.
He swallowed slightly; the voice-changing potion made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he had to force himself to suppress the urge to clear his throat and lightly knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
Only after an aged voice came from inside did Snape push the door and enter.
The Slytherin Head's office during this period was very different from what it would be over a decade later.
The lighting in the room was warm, and the air was filled with a sweet scent; the shelves against the walls weren't filled with various terrifying animal organs as they would be later, but instead held flowers, plants, and books.
A fat old man with a moustache like a walrus was lazily lying on a recliner, with various honey candies placed on the desk in front of him.
This was the Potions Class Professor who had worked at Hogwarts for forty years before Snape, the Slytherin Head—Horace Slughorn.
"Professor," Snape called out in a voice that sounded somewhat youthful yet still stiff.
Slughorn sat up from the recliner and saw Snape, a kind and warm smile appearing on his face.
"So it's Severus. What brings you to me at this hour? Is there another Potions formula you feel has a problem that can be improved?"
Snape's performance in Slytherin during his student years was particularly prominent; he could be said to be the most outstanding student in the House. Slughorn, who naturally liked to associate with talented people, treated him with extra care.
"No, it's not about Potions." Snape's face remained indifferent. "I would like to ask you for a favour, to borrow your identity."
The smile on Slughorn's face faded slightly, and his eyebrows arched noticeably as he asked thoughtfully.
"Oh? That's truly an unexpected request. May I know what you intend to do with my identity?"
Snape's acting was poor, but as long as he maintained a deadpan expression, most people couldn't see any flaws.
Since his break with Lily, he had basically presented himself this way at school.
"You should know about Lily and me; she doesn't want any contact with me, but I have something to give her. If I send it directly, she won't accept it. Among the people I know, she only trusts you."
Slughorn was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Although Lily was a Gryffindor student, she did have a very good relationship with him, the Slytherin Head.
His judgement of people was not based on bloodline but on talent and ability.
"It's normal for some small conflicts to occur between young people," he said with a chuckle, clutching his stomach. "But since Lily still won't forgive you after so long, she must be truly angry with you. I know that girl's personality; once she makes a decision, she won't change it easily."
The expression on Snape's face didn't seem to change, but his hands hidden in his robe sleeves couldn't help but clench.
"She hasn't forgiven me, but I must still remember our past friendship."
Slughorn sighed softly, scratched his hair, plucked a strand, and handed it to Snape.
"Go see her. Don't use my identity for anything else. Well, such a reminder is perhaps redundant for you; with your personality, there's nothing else worth your while."
Snape took the hair from Slughorn's hand but didn't move, continuing as he stood there.
"Please, Professor, you must keep this a secret for me; do not tell anyone about this."
"Mhm, if it's your request, I will."
Snape looked at the fat old man lying back on the recliner, a rare flash of gratitude appearing in his cold eyes.
"Goodnight, Professor."
"And I wish you a smooth talk with Lily."
After the brief greetings, Snape withdrew from Slughorn's office.
He put the hair into a new bottle of Polyjuice Potion and then drank it in one gulp...
At the moment the explosion sounded, Sherlock immediately grabbed Eddie's arm and rolled to the side!
The massive impact directly shattered the black door of the Time Room, and countless wood chips scattered in all directions like flower petals.
Although the door was shattered, no one broke in; only a series of shrill shouts came from outside.
Sherlock and the others were very close to the door just now; if he hadn't reacted in time, both Eddie and he would have been injured.
The two stood up from the ground and looked at each other, both seeing what the other was thinking.
What they had guessed in the office earlier had probably come true!
Eddie immediately said in a hurried tone.
"I'll go outside to help; you take Amy and leave from here!"
Sherlock tried to use Apparition directly in front of him; his body twisted slightly for a moment before being pushed out of the space again.
This place had clearly been covered by an Anti-Apparition ward!
"We can't get away," Sherlock's voice remained calm. "The only way out is through the door!"
"Are there any other rooms in the Time Room that lead outside?"
"We can try the Hall of Prophecy, but there's no guarantee!"
While Sherlock was talking to Eddie, he directly released all the wands from his magic pocket.
Two hundred wands of the same length and texture floated densely around him, like a swarm of bees surrounding a hive.
This was the first time Eddie had seen him use all the wands he could control, and the shock in his eyes couldn't be hidden.
"You can control so many wands at once!"
"Even more is possible, but then I wouldn't be able to use many spells." As he spoke, he pointed his own wand at himself and chanted the incantation, "Protego!"
Sherlock said with a solemn expression.
"Wake Amy up and ensure her safety first before you talk about helping."
Eddie suppressed his urge to immediately rush out and help his colleagues, gritted his teeth, nodded, and pushed open the door to Amy's room.
Amy had already been awakened by the explosion; she stood by the bed in her pyjamas, looking confused.
"What happened?"
"A small accident, come with Daddy." Eddie hurriedly grabbed Amy's hand.
Sherlock stared at the entrance of the Time Room; while Eddie went to get Amy out, a dozen Black-Robed Persons wearing hideous iron masks had already rushed in!
Without any hesitation, he controlled the fifty wands floating in the air to wave together.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
More than fifty red beams of light erupted from the tips of the wands!
The area of the door wasn't large, and the number of Death Eaters rushing in wasn't many, so fifty shots were just right; any more spells would only drain Sherlock's stamina without achieving the desired effect.
The distances between the wands and these Death Eaters varied, so the spells hit them at different times.
Those Death Eaters were all protected by Shield Charms; the first dozen spells shattered the Shield Charms of the five Death Eaters in the lead, and then the spells that could actually take effect followed!
On the spot, those five Death Eaters were petrified and fell backwards powerlessly.
But similarly, they blocked Sherlock's Petrificus Totalus with their bodies, preventing it from affecting those behind them.
Sherlock's casting movements hadn't stopped; the countless wands in the air, like spirits with their own consciousness, waved together.
The fragments of the black door that had been blown to bits were controlled by the spells, floating up from the air; magic reshaped their matter, performing a grand Transfiguration!
The wood chips grew wildly!
As if endowed with a new life to flourish again, the new branches continuously intertwined and connected, attempting to block the gap blown open by the Death Eaters once more!
However, just as that wall of vines formed by Transfiguration was about to take shape, a piercing female voice chanted an Unforgivable Curse!
"Avada Kedavra!"
A green light filled with death and desolation passed through the gap before the vine wall finally closed, shooting straight towards Sherlock!
The moment the incantation sounded, Sherlock's nerves tightened even more.
His rapid neural response allowed him to flip to one side; the green spell was as fast as lightning, narrowly grazing his hair as it streaked past!
"Boom!"
The Killing Curse eventually hit the largest one among a pile of hourglasses near the door of Amy's room!
The sound of glass bursting rang out, and the giant hourglass was blown to pieces by the spell!
In the upper part of the hourglass, those blue light particles vanished without a trace upon contact with the air, like ice melting in water.
But in the lower part, those golden, sand-like substances floated slowly in the low air like a nebula.
Eddie pulled Amy out of the room at this moment.
The floating height of those golden light particles was only at Eddie's waist, but they happened to drift right before Amy's eyes.
She blinked, and the light particles, like iron filings meeting a magnet, quickly yet silently gathered into her eyes!
"Daddy, Amy has sand in her eyes."(TN: I swear if she gains some special abilities due to these particles.)
Amy, with one hand pulled by Eddie and the other rubbing her uncomfortable eyes, said.
Eddie had no time to pay attention to her words; although Sherlock had blocked the door of the Time Room with Transfiguration, those Death Eaters were still relentless, and the sound of explosions continued outside; that wall woven from vines clearly wouldn't hold for long.
Sherlock stood up from the ground somewhat dishevelled, while controlling the wands to continue using Transfiguration to thicken the wall, he spoke rapidly.
"Go into the Hall of Prophecy! There are too many people outside; even if I can control many wands, there's not enough space to manoeuvre here!"