Snape felt somewhat uneasy; he had a nagging feeling that something was about to happen.
Perhaps something good, perhaps something bad. Feeling slightly irritable, he paced slowly around his office.
At the same time, he began to reflect on recent events—such as Quirrell.
That fellow's motives were impure. Dumbledore had given him a heads-up, but even without being told, Snape could have sensed that something was wrong with Quirrell.
Unless Dumbledore was a colossal fool, only then would he hire a stuttering, trembling fellow—someone who, at a glance, appeared to have an incomplete cerebrum and a non-existent cerebellum—to be a Hogwarts professor. What a height of stupidity that would be.
Yet Quirrell was here. Dumbledore couldn't truly be a hopeless, idiotic fool, could he?
Just as Snape was preparing to brew a cauldron of potion before bed to calm his mind, a knock sounded at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Who would be coming to see him?
Snape frowned slightly, then walked to the door and pulled it open just wide enough to see out.
"Harley?" There was a hint of surprise and delight in Snape's voice, but standing behind Harley was a nuisance.
"Was there something in class you didn't understand?"
Snape looked into Harley's eyes and asked in a gentle tone.
"It's something very important, Professor Snape!"
There was a pleading look in Harley's eyes, prompting Snape to gently open the door wider and step aside. "Come in. You can ask me anything."
"See, Lynn? I told you Professor Snape would agree."
With a happy tone, Harley walked briskly into Snape's office. Lynn closed the door behind them, and the two sat in armchairs that Snape had moved over with a wave of his hand.
"It's like this, Professor Snape."
Harley looked at Snape with shining eyes. "I've always wanted to know what kind of people my mom and dad really were. Although Hagrid gave me a photo, I still don't know anything about them."
"Professor, aren't you my mom's good friend? I was wondering if I could ask you to let me see them."
"Lynn has a little gadget that can project images from memories, just like this—"
Harley pressed the switch on the Illusion Lamp, and a first-person perspective of her catching the Golden Snitch during the Quidditch match appeared on the wall in front of them.
"You just have to think about the memory, and it projects it directly. It doesn't matter even if you can't remember it clearly."
Snape looked at the strange device in Harley's hand and fell silent for a moment.
Although this was his first time seeing something with a function similar to a Pensieve, it didn't surprise Snape too much. The magical world held too many secrets, and alchemical items with magical powers were innumerable. Although he didn't know where Lynn had gotten it, it didn't really matter.
Seeing that Snape didn't respond, Harley waited a moment before asking in a small voice, "Is that not okay?"
The voice pulled Snape's mind back from his reverie. He paused slightly, then nodded. "You may."
"That's great! You're so kind, Professor Snape!"
Looking at Harley's face filled with delight, Snape found it difficult to say the word "no," no matter how hard his heart was.
He silently reached out and took the small gadget, which was convenient to use and required no study.
But Snape seemed a little nervous; perhaps he was wondering where the memory should begin.
A moment later, a clear image was projected onto the blank wall. The first thing to come into view were two red-headed girls. The taller one had lighter hair, while the younger one had deep red hair. It was a day with rare, bright sunshine. As a gentle breeze blew past, the strands of deep red hair floating in the wind took on a brilliant golden-red hue under the sunlight.
"It's just like Aunt Petunia said..." Harley murmured. "Mom's hair is a beautiful golden-red in the sunlight. It's absolutely lovely."
At this moment, what Snape had said—that he knew Lily before coming to Hogwarts—became a proven fact.
But soon, Harley frowned and looked at Snape with some displeasure. She said, "Professor Snape, what you did was wrong!"
After witnessing the memory of Snape's first meeting with her mother and aunt, Harley was somewhat dissatisfied. "You shouldn't have teased Aunt Petunia. Even if she can't use magic or become a witch, you shouldn't have spoken like that or made the branch fall. And you certainly shouldn't have read Aunt Petunia's letter without permission. That was very bad."
"I..." Snape was at a loss for words, but eventually, he nodded and admitted his mistake. "Yes, I did indeed make many mistakes in the past. I may not be as good as you previously thought. In my youth, I did many wrong things."
Snape didn't want to lie to Harley. Even though he knew that showing her these things might give her a bad impression of him, he did it anyway.
"But everyone makes mistakes. I've also done things in the past that made Aunt Petunia very unhappy." Harley lowered her head slightly; she was speaking to herself, but also seemed to be comforting Snape.
This sense of déjà vu—this understanding and gentleness—caused Snape to freeze for a moment, and the guilt in his heart deepened slightly.
"My first meeting with your father was on the train."
Snape fell silent for a brief moment, and the projected image changed again.
The time shifted to September the first, the start of term. The Hogwarts Express was filled with young wizards and witches.
Snape was searching for a specific figure on the train. Finally, he stopped in front of a compartment where three people were seated.
Lily was sitting by the window. She glanced at Snape as he entered but immediately turned her head away. She had been crying, because back on the platform, Petunia had discovered that her letter had been read and had argued with her.
"I don't want to talk to you," Lily said, her voice choked with tears.
"Why not?"
"Petunia hates—hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."
"So what?" Snape's response was terrible.
Lily gave him a look of deep dislike. "She's my sister!"
"She's only a—" Snape stopped himself. Fortunately, Lily was too busy wiping her eyes to hear what he was about to say.
"But we're going!" Even though the first-person perspective couldn't show Snape's expression, one could guess his joy at that moment. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"
This cheered Lily up slightly. At that moment, her longing for magic outweighed some of the other thoughts in her mind.
Lily nodded, wiped her tears, and couldn't help but manage a small smile.
"You'd better be in Slytherin." Snape watched Lily closely, hoping for her agreement.
But just then, another voice cut in, speaking with a touch of mockery: "Slytherin?"
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze