Snape deliberately emphasised the words "Potions Professor."
The implication couldn't have been clearer.
Hearing this, Dumbledore's expression became slightly more serious.
"The Patronus Charm is a very special form of magic. If you study it closely, it touches upon the soul to a certain extent. And Lucien's Patronus Charm clearly has unusual characteristics of its own. Perhaps it reaches even deeper into that domain..."
He paused and looked at Snape from behind his half-moon spectacles.
"That is still a field where someone should be watching over him as he moves forward..."
Dumbledore didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Magic involving the soul was different from ordinary spellwork.
If something went wrong while practising a common charm, perhaps a desk would explode, a wall would crack, or someone would spend a few hours in the hospital wing.
But when the soul itself was involved, the consequences could be far more difficult to reverse.
Seeing that Snape remained unmoved, Dumbledore changed his approach again.
He winked, and his tone suddenly became lighter, carrying a hint of cunning.
"Besides, the Patronus Charm is part of Defence Against the Dark Arts, isn't it? That falls within the subject you're currently teaching, Severus."
Snape's expression stiffened slightly.
"And you have considerable expertise in Legilimency and Occlumency as well," Dumbledore continued. "Naturally, you have certain advantages when it comes to matters involving the soul..."
This wasn't flattery.
Aside from the Patronus Charm, Snape was indeed an expert in forms of magic involving the mind and soul, such as Legilimency and Occlumency.
He truly was a very suitable person to guide Lucien.
The moment Defence Against the Dark Arts was mentioned, Snape found himself unable to argue quite as easily.
He felt deeply helpless.
When it came to mastery of soul-related magic, Dumbledore himself was a top-tier Legilimens and had even developed advanced applications of the Patronus Charm for transmitting messages.
By every measure, Dumbledore was more than qualified to teach Lucien himself.
But, as the saying went, Dumbledore was simply too busy.
Then again, Snape himself was hardly idle.
With two subjects weighing on him, lesson planning, grading homework, night patrols, dealing with student disputes... which of those didn't take time?
And now Dumbledore wanted to add private tutoring on top of everything else.
Thinking of this, Snape coughed lightly, his tone carrying a hint of probing.
"I think that if I could focus on teaching only one subject, I would have more time and energy. Whether for teaching those foolish students, or guiding Lucien in mastering the Patronus Charm and other magic."
He looked meaningfully at Dumbledore.
The hint was hardly subtle.
He wanted Dumbledore to understand that, starting next school year, he should be made the official Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.
After all, finding a Potions professor wasn't difficult.
Aside from Slughorn, who could return at any time, there were plenty of other accomplished Potioneers who would be willing to do Dumbledore a favour.
But when it came to finding a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor...
Well.
The position changed hands every year, and its reputation had long since become rather ominous.
Moreover, a ready-made candidate who was both willing and capable of teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts was standing right in front of him.
Who else would Dumbledore choose?
Dumbledore stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.
"Thank you for your hard work, Severus. You don't need to worry about the professor candidate. I already have someone in mind. I've simply been too busy lately, so communication with that person has been rather slow."
Hearing this, Snape naturally assumed that Dumbledore was probably referring to one of those old fellows, perhaps a member of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers or a recipient of the Golden Cauldron.
Any one of them would be more than qualified to teach Potions to a group of young witches and wizards.
In that case, there was nothing for him to worry about.
Snape wasn't in a hurry.
He had already waited so many years.
A few more months wouldn't matter.
As for Dumbledore being "very busy", Snape had his own thoughts.
In previous years, Dumbledore had been quite attentive to school affairs, handling whatever needed to be managed and dealing with whatever required his attention.
But ever since Harry Potter entered Hogwarts, Dumbledore's focus had clearly shifted.
There were more unexplained absences, more private investigations, and more matters that had little to do with ordinary school administration.
Snape understood, of course.
The highest priority was Voldemort.
It had to be Voldemort.
Compared with the possibility of the Dark Lord's return, school affairs were ultimately secondary.
As long as Voldemort was dealt with completely, the wizarding world would finally have peace, and the younger generation could attend school however they pleased.
Snape stood up, straightened his robes, and returned to his usual cold expression.
"I'll take care of Lucien's matter."
Dumbledore smiled but wisely said nothing.
"Also, I'm still very busy. Taking time out to tutor a single young wizard..."
Snape paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"So remember to make that boy pay, hmm, tuition."
With that, he turned and walked toward the spiral staircase without waiting for Dumbledore to respond.
His black robes billowed behind him, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.
Dumbledore watched the direction in which Snape had disappeared and shook his head helplessly.
Tuition.
He must have picked up that term from Lucien.
Dumbledore knew his old colleague's temperament all too well.
No matter what he said, Snape would never neglect what needed to be done.
He might complain, sneer, and make the entire matter sound like an unbearable inconvenience, but once he accepted responsibility for something, he would see it through properly.
Dumbledore's gaze passed through the moonlit window and settled on the silhouette of Ravenclaw Tower in the distance.
________
(^///^) Please support this fic and also read 12 chapters ahead at Patreon.com/DrakDevil1