"You knew long ago that the Dark Lord would turn the Resurrection Stone into a Soul Artifact?" Snape frowned. "So that was your backup plan before coming here."
"No, I didn't know." Dumbledore shook his head, "And as for this Magic Contract, it was already made a year ago. If it weren't for today's events, I would have almost forgotten it existed."
"A year ago?" Snape was even more baffled.
Who has so much free time to put themselves under a Magic Contract for fun... And Dumbledore hardly looks like a brainless fool.
"It was Kael..." Dumbledore suddenly said, "The other half of the contract is with him, and actually, the contract was his idea first."
"Wait, what does this have to do with him?" Snape hadn't expected to hear that annoying name here as well, and asked with suspicion, "But didn't you just say, the contract is bound to the Soul Artifact?"
"Kael has a Soul Artifact." Dumbledore said calmly, "The legendary Slytherin's Pendant Box is in his hands."
Snape blinked, taking ten seconds to try to grasp what Dumbledore meant.
Ten seconds later…
"You—you dared give something as dangerous as a Soul Artifact to a student!" The veins on Snape's neck bulged, and his voice was so loud it shook dust from the ceiling.
"What if there was a curse on it... What if someone else accidentally touched it, what were you thinking!"
Seeing Snape's expression, he almost looked like he wanted to give Dumbledore a kick.
"Relax, Severus, don't panic." Dumbledore said hastily, "I've checked it already. There are no curses on that Soul Artifact, and no other harmful magic; it won't threaten Conna's safety, I promise."
Dumbledore had instantly picked up on the key point.
"It had better be so." Upon hearing it wouldn't affect Conna, Snape finally calmed down a bit. As for Kael having the Soul Artifact—who cared about that?
"So, in the beginning, you planned to use this Magic Contract to control Kael, is that it?" Snape sneered. "How amusing, I didn't expect it would end up saving your life instead."
"It is rather amusing." Dumbledore replied, "But I must say, this was entirely Kael's idea. I never planned to control him with magic."
"You're saying he knew long ago that the Resurrection Stone would become a Soul Artifact?" Snape's voice rose slightly.
"I suppose… probably not..." Dumbledore glanced again at his own arm, speaking softly, but what he was really thinking, no one could say for certain.
...
After collecting the ring, the two left the Gaunt house. Dumbledore waved his wand, and the vines that had been pulled apart slithered back over the house.
Then the thickets closed up again, hiding the Gaunt house from view as if nothing had changed.
"What do you plan to do with the Resurrection Stone?" Snape asked.
"It has to be destroyed, of course." Dumbledore replied.
The Soul Artifact obviously couldn't be left lying around, that much was certain, but he didn't say exactly how or when he'd destroy the Resurrection Stone.
Fiendfyre was the simplest method, but for some reason, both Dumbledore and Snape seemed to forget about that magic, and neither mentioned it.
"I still have some other matters to attend to." Dumbledore looked up at the heavy clouds overhead and asked, "Do you intend to keep following me, or will you return to Hogwarts?"
"Where are you going?"
"Perhaps... to Devon first," Dumbledore said.
"I have class this afternoon." Snape glanced at him, as if wanting to say more, but in the end changed his mind and said instead, "Don't touch that curse. Or you're as good as dead."
"Ah, I know." Dumbledore replied coolly, "And even if I wanted to, I couldn't do a thing. I can't break the restrictions of a Magic Contract on my own."
Snape said nothing.
A gust of wind swept past, the hedges on both sides swayed, and a few leaves drifted down, but there were no more traces of the two men on the dirt road.
...
Snape Apparated to Hogsmeade. He didn't linger, but strode straight back to the school and dragged Kael out of the greenhouse.
"Professor, what are you doing..." Kael muttered, "The exams are coming up, and Poisonous Tentacles are actually an important subject."
But Snape couldn't care less. He led the way to a spot far from the greenhouse before coldly demanding, "Where is the Slytherin Pendant Box? Hand it over!"
"What?" Kael blinked in confusion.
"Don't play dumb." Snape narrowed his eyes, "I know you have it. Give it to me now."
"As Head of Slytherin, I have the right to safeguard Mr. Salazar's belongings."
Kael turned his head aside and murmured, "Then you should go look for Professor Dumbledore..."
"Are you about to say you already gave it to the Headmaster?" Snape let out a cold laugh, "Funny thing—he's the one who told me the Pendant Box was with you."
Kael fell silent. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to be such a blabbermouth, telling everything—this was Slytherin's Pendant Box for Merlin's sake! How could he let Snape know... This was just like waving a steak in front of Fang.
"Hand it over, now." Snape reached out his hand.
"Sorry, Professor..." Kael replied with perfect composure, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but I really don't have the Pendant Box anymore. I gave it away."
"Gave it away?" Snape seemed to realize something, and his voice immediately sharpened, "Damn it, don't you know how dangerous that thing is!"