i am snape

Behind a wide desk, Dumbledore was hunched over documents by candlelight. He wore pristine white pajamas and a magenta velvet dressing gown, yet he looked remarkably energetic. On a shelf behind him rested the tattered, wrinkled Sorting Hat, and beside it, in a glass case, lay a shimmering silver sword. 

Dumbledore looked up. "Ah, Minerva. And James and Severus, good to see you again." 

"Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said, clearly annoyed, "they were just fighting each other with magic in the girls' lavatory! What an outrage!" 

"Not fighting," Snape interjected immediately. "I was defending myself." 

Professor McGonagall turned to look at Snape, a slight frown creasing her brow. 

"Was James injured?" Dumbledore asked. 

"I'm fine!" James quickly said, sounding rather annoyed and defiant. 

Snape, meanwhile, inwardly rolled his eyes, wondering who Dumbledore mistrusted more. 

"Tell me what happened." Dumbledore put down his documents, his sharp blue eyes darting between Snape and James. "Who wants to go first?" 

"Oh, I don't mind," Snape shrugged. 

James looked both resentful and a bit flustered. "Headmaster, I found him sneaking into the girls' lavatory on the second floor in the middle of the night, so I wanted to see what he was doing in there." 

"And did you 'see' with a Stunner, perhaps?" Snape retorted unceremoniously. He pulled a shimmering, liquid-like Invisibility Cloak from his robes. "Mr. Potter, do you know whose little trinket this is?" 

"Give it back!" James snatched the Invisibility Cloak from Snape's hand. 

Dumbledore's gaze fell upon the silver-grey Invisibility Cloak, his eyebrows subtly raised, a flicker of complex emotion passing through his eyes. 

"Sir," Snape said, "do you think it's necessary for Potter to use an Invisibility Cloak within the school grounds?" 

"Of course not," Dumbledore said calmly. "I trust Professor McGonagall will assign appropriate detentions." He turned to Professor McGonagall and asked, "Minerva, do you have any thoughts on this?" 

Professor McGonagall nodded, recounting what she had witnessed and her proposed solution: "Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin each, plus a week of detention, starting tomorrow evening at six o'clock." 

"Very good," Dumbledore said. "Magic is for protection, exploration, and learning, not for squabbles between classmates. I hope you both learn from this and don't make the same mistake again." 

"Headmaster," Snape prompted, "I've seen Mr. Filch's list of prohibited items, and the Invisibility Cloak is listed as number one hundred and twenty-eight." He certainly didn't want James to keep this un-charmable cloak, or he'd be constantly on edge. 

"Severus, even as Headmaster, I cannot simply confiscate a student's precious belongings," Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "This is an extraordinarily valuable Invisibility Cloak." 

"You can't just uphold school rules only when ordinary students make mistakes," Snape said discontentedly. "Isn't a valuable Invisibility Cloak still an Invisibility Cloak?" 

"Sir, he was in the girls' lavatory in the middle of the night; he couldn't have had good intentions!" James said urgently. "I couldn't just let it go. I was only using it to—" 

James tried to explain but was interrupted by Dumbledore raising a hand. "Young people are always full of curiosity and adventurous spirit." Dumbledore still smiled, looking at Snape with gentle eyes. "Severus, what were you doing in the girls' lavatory? Please don't tell me you were chatting with Myrtle; you and I both know you're not well acquainted with her." 

"I hope to tell you this privately later, and I believe you will be very interested," Snape said, neither humble nor arrogant. "Of course, that's after Mr. Potter's Invisibility Cloak has been properly dealt with." 

"Sir, this was passed down to me by my father," James said, glancing anxiously at Dumbledore. "If it's gone, I won't be able to explain it to him." 

Snape ignored James's angry, threatening glare and said to Dumbledore, "You could simply hold onto the Invisibility Cloak for him temporarily and return it to Potter at the end of the term." 

"Hmm... that's a reasonable suggestion. So be it, James," Dumbledore said. "I'll keep it for a while, and I'll return it to you when you go home." 

James hesitated for a moment, then nodded reluctantly, handing the Invisibility Cloak to Dumbledore. 

"It's getting late. You two should go back and rest," Dumbledore waved his hand. "Perhaps Severus still has something to tell me." 

"Wait!" James suddenly exclaimed. "There's something else! A parchment of mine is with him." 

"That blank parchment? Perhaps you heard, I flushed it down the toilet not long ago." 

"What?" James stared at Snape with shocked eyes. "What did you say?" 

"I'm truly sorry, Potter. How about this: I'll buy you a whole ream of parchment as compensation." 

"That's not the same thing at all!" 

"Oh, I know, a ream of parchment is obviously much more, but to show my apology, you're welcome." 

Snape's words seemed to push James to the brink of frenzy; his cheeks flushed, and his lips trembled, unable to speak. 

"Alright, Professor McGonagall, please take James back to the tower," Dumbledore dismissed them. 

Professor McGonagall nodded to Dumbledore and led a reluctant James out of the Headmaster's office. 

"Muffliato," Dumbledore cast the spell before Snape could even ask. "You can speak freely now." He looked intently at Snape through his half-moon spectacles, his light blue eyes piercing. 

For some time now, Snape had been pondering how to break the deadlock. On one hand, he had no reason to ignore Dumbledore, a "White Lord" who was at the peak of both power and intelligence. He needed Dumbledore's help. On the other hand, it would be difficult for him to undertake any unusual actions at Hogwarts without Dumbledore knowing, as every portrait in the castle was Dumbledore's eyes and ears. Therefore, he decided to reveal some of his discoveries to Dumbledore to gain his trust and assistance. Of course, he didn't intend to reveal everything, as he still had some reservations deep down. 

"Professor," Snape said, sitting in the chair opposite Dumbledore, "I went to the girls' lavatory to see Myrtle because I wanted to learn something about Tom Riddle. Do you know him?" 

Dumbledore suddenly stood up, so quickly that it startled Snape. He stared at Snape, his gaze so sharp it was like an ice arrow trying to pierce Snape's eyes.