Just as Severus thought things would temporarily come to an end after handing Harry over to Percy, the twins, George and Fred, who were hiding behind Percy, suddenly asked loudly, "Professor Snape? Are you the same Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts?"
Hearing the two of them speak, Percy, who had originally focused his attention on Harry, had his expression changed.
He immediately shot his younger brothers a stern glare, trying to stop them from spouting nonsense.
But clearly, if they were actually afraid of him, George and Fred wouldn't deserve their names.
Severus did not avoid the question. Instead, he looked at the Weasley twins with great interest.
"Yes, I am Severus Snape."
George stared at Severus, his eyes gleaming with excitement and curiosity as they darted back and forth.
"But you look nothing like how Bill, Charlie, and Percy described you at home!"
Severus was intrigued by his words.
"And how did they describe me?"
Percy suddenly lunged forward, desperate to cover his brothers' mouths, but George and Fred dodged him effortlessly, shouting as they evaded him.
"Bill said he's never seen you wash your hair!"
"Charlie said you must have only one robe in your closet!"
"Percy and Mum said you're a biased weirdo! You always blame Gryffindor and favor Slytherin!"
Percy felt so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Harry's mouth hung open as he looked back and forth between the twins and Severus.
Ghost Snape's face, whose face had already darkened after Severus's earlier remark about 'lacking everything except money', became even darker at this moment.
It was so dark that if he could stand up and speak at this time, he would definitely roar about deducting 200 points from Gryffindor the moment term started!
But Severus only laughed heartily, looking thoroughly amused, especially after seeing the deflated expression on Ghost Snape's face.
"Hahaha! Absolutely right! They're not wrong at all. To students outside of Slytherin, that's exactly the kind of person I should be!"
Seeing Severus react this way, and with such genuine, unforced laughter, George and Fred exchanged bewildered glances.
Fred then asked in surprise, "But if you are really like what they said, shouldn't you be angry hearing those things?"
"Angry? I guess it should be anger out of shame, right?"
Severus seemed to be answering Fred's question, but in fact, he was mocking Ghost Snape in his body.
Then, he answered the question properly, "If I were still the same person I used to be, then of course I'd be furious."
"But people can't stay the same forever. Some things are pushing me to change, to face the flaws I had before. When I can truly accept the imperfect person I once was, hearing others talk about the old me just becomes... amusing."
Having said that, Severus patted Percy, who was flushed with embarrassment.
"So there's no need to feel ashamed, Percy. Your previous assessment of me wasn't wrong at all. The one who should feel ashamed isn't you."
Even with Severus's reassurance, Percy still didn't dare to lift his head and meet his eyes.
Meanwhile, George and Fred had a good impression of Severus at this time. They thought the legendary Head of Slytherin House is a very interesting man.
So Fred eagerly rubbed his hands together and asked, "Professor Snape, we are also going to enter Hogwarts this year, but neither Mum, Dad, nor Percy is willing to tell us what the Sorting Ceremony for new students is like. Can you tell us about it?"
Instantly, Severus understood why they had been pestering Percy so much.
He looked at the expectant faces of George and Fred, then said thoughtfully, "Well, I might just know some inside information about this year's Sorting Ceremony..."
Hearing this answer, George and Fred both showed excitement and anticipation in their eyes, but Severus soon changed the subject.
"How about you help me take care of Dudley first? If he enjoys himself in Diagon Alley later, I might be persuaded to share a few details."
Before Severus could even finish his words, George and Fred had already slung their arms around Harry's shoulders, one on each side, and declared confidently, "Then you've come to the right people!"
"Percy doesn't know how to play with children! Even our little brother Ron doesn't like him!!"
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With that, they ushered the flustered Harry out of Gringotts' entrance. Percy also hurriedly bowed to Severus, and then followed after his two younger brothers.
Watching their backs as they left in a noisy manner, Severus couldn't help but smile. Then, he turned and walked into Gringotts.
As a well-known figure in the Wizarding World and a high-profile client of the bank, the goblins of Gringotts naturally treated Severus with the utmost respect.
Soon, a goblin ushered him into the private vault belonging to the Snape Family.
Severus hadn't lied to Harry. As a Potions Master, how could he be short of money in the Wizarding World?
Under the cold gaze of Ghost Snape, Severus marveled at the various rare potions, ingredients, and alchemical artifacts in the vault. Then, he grabbed two handfuls of gold galleons from the pile of gold nearby and stuffed them into his robe pocket.
"Potions and ingredients are one thing, but why do you have so many alchemical devices?"
Severus picked up a glass orb out of curiosity. This orb seemed to be similar to the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office. It seemed to have the function of storing memories, though with far less capacity.
Ghost Snape didn't say anything, but he didn't need to say anything, as Severus found the answer from his memory himself.
"So, he is a poor guy with no money. He can only use his family heirlooms as a trade-off for making potions."
Though he was very interested by the various alchemical artifacts, Severus did not stay in the vault for long. After taking enough money, he returned the same way.
However, the moment he stepped back into Gringotts's lobby, he saw two wizards in the uniforms of Ministry of Magic's Auror waiting here. When they saw him, they walked straight towards him.
Severus had an impression of the tall, bald, dark-skinned Auror among them.
He's one of Dumbledore's admirers, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
It was Kingsley who spoke first, and he extended his hand in greeting.
"We went to Hogwarts first, then the Leaky Cauldron, before finally tracking you down here. Professor Snape, it's been a while."
Severus frowned slightly but shook his hand, "It's been a while. Since the trial eight years ago, it's rare for Aurors to seek me out voluntarily."
"Apologies for the intrusion, but there's a case we need your assistance with." Kingsley said gravely, cutting straight to the point, "Have you seen today's paper? Specifically, the report on the potion-poisoning incident?"