The gentle days of April slipped quietly away, and signs of summer began to appear across the castle grounds.
By evening, the wind that drifted between the castle's towers had grown soft and lazy. The setting sun gilded the surface of the Black Lake with a honey-colored glow, while the giant squid stretched its tentacles in the shallows, stirring gentle ripples.
At the end of April, during the Apparition Examination, Snape and Pandora both passed without issue. Abbott, however, grew so nervous during his attempt that he Apparated directly onto the poor examiner's head, tearing out the few strands of hair the man still had left in his panic.
Although he had failed the exam, Abbott bore no resentment toward the examiner. Quite the opposite, he was overcome with guilt.
"By Merlin's beard," Abbott muttered over and over, "you didn't see his face, pure despair! He was clutching those few hairs like they were his last hope..."
One afternoon after Charms class, Professor Flitwick delivered a message from Dumbledore to Snape: the Headmaster wished to see him in his office after dinner.
"Good evening, Professor," Snape said, gently pushing open the oak door. "You wanted to see me, what is it this time?"
"Good evening, Severus," said Dumbledore kindly. "I have a small matter that requires your assistance. I'd like to use the Room of Requirement. Can you help me open the door?"
"Hmm..." Snape scratched the back of his head awkwardly. They had occupied that magical room for quite some time, and though most students didn't know it existed, he still felt a little guilty. "Professor, if you'd like, I could just bring you two chamber pots instead. It's normal for elderly men to need the loo at night, no shame in that."
"Silence, boy," Dumbledore said, glaring at him in exasperation as he rose from behind his desk. "Come with me."
The two of them walked along the corridor until they reached the entrance to the Room of Requirement.
Under Dumbledore's firm gaze, Snape had no choice but to use the secret signal to summon Myrtle.
After a few familiar sounds, the door appeared in the wall and slowly swung open.
Dumbledore followed Snape inside.
"Headmaster, you're here too?" Myrtle exclaimed in surprise.
Dumbledore smiled warmly at her in greeting.
Seeing Myrtle and the special door mechanism, he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
"What a clever design," he said. "No wonder no one can disturb you here.
"But now, I'll need to use it for something else. Myrtle, would you mind stepping out for a little while?"
Myrtle looked uncertainly at Snape.
"Let's go out for a bit," Snape said to her gently. "Take a little wander somewhere else, and come find me later."
Once the Room of Requirement was empty again, Dumbledore paced silently up and down the corridor three times.
With his steps, the vanished door appeared once more.
When he opened it, Snape found that they had entered the enormous hidden chamber where Hogwarts students and teachers stored discarded or forgotten items.
"Professor, are you here to hide something, or to find something?" Snape asked.
Dumbledore did not answer. He moved between the towering walls of clutter, and Snape followed closely until they came to a heap of broken tables and chairs.
With a flick of Dumbledore's wand, a magnificent, floor-to-ceiling mirror appeared before them.
It was grand and imposing, framed in ornate gold, its two clawed feet gleaming beneath, and strange words were engraved across the top.
The Mirror of Erised, Snape thought to himself.
"Would you like to take a look, Severus?" Dumbledore turned to him, a faint trace of anticipation in his eyes. "This mirror is enchanted."
"Sure," Snape said. He was curious, he wanted to know what he would see in it. "Why not have a look?"
He stepped closer, stopping right before the Mirror of Erised, holding his breath as he gazed into it.
To his surprise, all he saw reflected back was his own calm face. Nothing else.
"What do you see in the mirror?" Dumbledore asked.
"I see myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks," Snape replied without the slightest change of expression.
Dumbledore froze, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
"You know how it is, Professor," Snape said evenly as he turned away from the mirror. "You can never have too many socks."
"There's no getting the truth out of you," Dumbledore sighed, shaking his head. He then stepped to the spot where Snape had stood moments earlier and gazed silently into the Mirror of Erised.
His face betrayed no emotion, his body did not move.
Snape sat quietly on an old desk nearby, waiting without a word.
The room was so silent that only their soft breathing could be heard.
After a while, Dumbledore spoke.
"All right, Severus," he said, turning away from the mirror. "We can go back now."
"Professor, may I ask you a question?" Snape said as he slid down from the desk, standing on the dusty floor.
"Aren't you already asking me one?" Dumbledore said with a gentle smile. "But very well, you may ask another."
"I won't ask what you saw in the mirror," Snape said, raising his head. He reversed the strange inscription on the frame and read it softly: "I show not your face but your heart's desire."
"Oh," said Dumbledore, mildly surprised. "So you've already guessed what this mirror does."
"Yes," Snape said quietly. "You haven't seen it in a long time, have you, Professor? Do you... miss it?"
"A little, perhaps," Dumbledore said with a smile. "It has indeed been many years."
Snape stepped back in front of the mirror once more, glanced briefly at his reflection, and turned to ask, "Professor, what do you think matters most to old people?"
"That's your third question, Severus," Dumbledore said. "But I'll answer it anyway. I think it's family."
"Then do you plan to seek the Resurrection Stone?" Snape asked, his eyes sharp and probing.
He fixed his gaze on Dumbledore, watching closely for even the slightest change in expression.
"Not yet," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Why don't you take the mirror with you?" Snape asked.
"Let's go." said Dumbledore.
With a wave of his wand, he made the Mirror of Erised vanish. Without another word or a backward glance, he strode toward the door of the Room of Requirement.
In the dim light, his tall silhouette looked quietly solitary.