[HP] just lover

Customers came into the store one after another, allowing Vanessa to temporarily put away the thoughts aroused by the Felicia.

She entertained the guests with the best appearance, polite attitude, pretty face, and exotic merchandise, all of which left a deep impression on the wizards who came to patronize.

Sales of Vanessa's revamped Polyjuice Potion are particularly strong.

She thought of this at the very beginning, instead of choosing the target she wanted to become and then brewing the compound potion, waiting for a long time, of course she carried the improved version of the potion with her and chose to pull out a hair. good.

However, she still provides this kind of potion for a limited time. Firstly, it is costly and time-consuming, and secondly, she cannot guarantee that people who buy this kind of potion will use it for harmless pranks, or some other things. Not a bad thing.She was afraid that the dark wizard would use it to carry out some dangerous activities. Since she couldn't avoid it 100%, she could only use it as a gimmick as much as possible and sell less.

Vanessa has been busy until the evening before she has a little free time.

Around night, people were going home for Christmas, and the bustling Diagon Alley gradually quieted down. Some shops closed early and put up signs saying "see you tomorrow".

Vanessa sat on a chair behind the counter, carefully calculating today's income.

After deducting costs, rent, and labor, her net profit today is still very impressive. She doesn't even expect to surpass today every day in the future. Just by maintaining today, she can reach her initial goal.

Vanessa couldn't help but feel a little happy. She hasn't felt this way for a long time. The satisfaction of proving herself in other ways swept away her recent depression and made her realize that life is actually very beautiful.

After nine o'clock in the evening, Vanessa was about to close the door and go home. She just got up and wanted to leave, but another guest came in outside the door.

Vanessa subconsciously: "Welcome."

She had a polite smile on her face and a gentle tone, but she froze for a moment when she saw who the guest was.

The guest was obviously a little surprised to see her, with a stinky expression on her face.

"Miss Green... is really lingering."

Snape was wearing a black wizard robe, covering himself tightly, with only a little bit of the root of his neck exposed.

Vanessa stood at the counter and said helplessly, "It's not that I'm haunted, Mr. Snape, you bumped into it yourself."

Snape frowned and stood at the door, neither entering nor leaving, Vanessa gave him the steps: "Come in and have a look, Mr. Snape, maybe there will be something you are interested in here."

Snape is a potion genius, there is no doubt about it, Vanessa even thinks that in a few years, his achievement will surpass Slughorn, or even any contemporary potion master.

In his eyes, the little things she sold may be a bit tricky, even though he is only 15 years old now.

Snape walked a few steps forward with a dark face, watching quietly in front of the counter and the window, Vanessa stared at him for a while, and when he finished reading and looked up, she asked him: "Today is Christmas." , it's so late, why are you outside?"

Snape frowned, and said in a low, smooth and magnetic voice, "It doesn't seem to be your business. Miss Green is a little too concerned about strangers, aren't you also outside?"

Vanessa smiled and said: "But I'm in my own store, and I don't have any relatives anymore, so it's the same wherever I spend Christmas."

The relaxed tone in which she said this was really surprising. Snape slightly turned his eyes away. He probably wanted to apologize for this, but with his character, he might not be able to hold back when he opened his mouth. It would be better to keep silent than to be cynical.

Wherever he looked, there seemed to be something unusual, and Snape's expression changed.

"It was you." He glanced at Vanessa and said with certainty, "On the day of Hogsmeade, you were the one who pretended to be Helen Carter."

He suddenly mentioned that matter, Vanessa couldn't react a bit, Snape raised the corners of his mouth, and said darkly and sarcastically: "Should I marvel at your talent, Miss Green? An improved version of the Returning Potion, it smells the same as You have the exact same one on your counter - I regret ever thinking you had a semblance of brains, it turns out you're stupid, no brains. Polyjuice Potion to pretend someone else is 'visiting' the Dark Lord's convention? If I had If you don't say that nonsense, can you enjoy the touching show of your poor friend Lucius collecting your body on the spot?"

Even though Vanessa was familiar with Snape's way of speaking, she still felt a little uncomfortable after hearing these words, especially when he mentioned that Lucius collected her body on the spot.

"I owe you a thank you."

After a long time, Vanessa said such a sentence, walked out of the counter, passed Snape, and closed the store directly.

"It's more convenient for us to talk like this." Vanessa turned around and looked at him.

Snape also turned sideways to face her, and the two of them stood a little closer now, which made him feel that the air in the store was much thinner.

"If I knew that the boss was you, I would never have walked into this potions shop today." Snape said coldly.

Vanessa asked him, "Are we at least friends?"

"Friend?" Snape sneered. "Of course not. What gave Miss Green the illusion?"

Vanessa was silent for a while and said: "No matter what, I have to thank you for what happened last time. If it weren't for you, I would have no chance to stand here."

Snape didn't speak for a long time this time. After a long time, he finally said, "We're even."

Vanessa froze.

Snape said disgustedly, "I don't owe you that school robe."

"...I didn't intend to let you pay it back." Vanessa had a black line on her forehead.

Snape glanced at her and started to leave, Vanessa saw something odd in his black robes as he moved.

He seems to be holding something.

"Is that a potion in your hand?" Vanessa said as he walked to the door.

Snape paused, his back was a little stiff, Vanessa changed her tone and said, "Actually, I've always wanted to contact you, but I thought you wouldn't talk to me. I have an idea, I don't know if you're interested. "

Snape turned his head, black mid-length hair brushed his cheeks, making his complexion paler.

"Are you interested in joining my potions shop?" Vanessa said. "Actually, this shop just opened this morning. At present, there are only me and Mason, the best healer in St. Mungo's. If Snape It would be great if sir is willing to join." She said earnestly, "Although Mr. Snape hasn't graduated yet, I think your level of potion is far superior to mine, and you will even surpass Mason's treatment soon. division."

Snape froze there, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed.

"You don't need to reply me so quickly, you can go back and think about it, and write to me after making a decision." Vanessa spoke softly, her voice was beautiful, like the most beautiful notes combined, coherently It's hard to say no to her when it's flowing.

Especially when the person listening to her is a man.

"Whether you agree or refuse, you must write to me." Vanessa emphasized and opened the door for him.

Jingling bells, the hanging on the door rang, Snape kept his head down and did not speak. After Vanessa opened the door, he walked into the snowy night without hesitation.

He was out late on Christmas night, definitely not just hanging around.

Snape's father was a Muggle. At first glance, his background was somewhat similar to Vanessa's, but Vanessa couldn't compare with him at all.

For one thing, his talent is different from ordinary people, and he has mastered the mysteries of potions that can kill people. Moreover, he is a male, which is more free and convenient.Thirdly, his mother is not a lady from an ordinary family like Roxie, who can be called a pure-blood traitor—Snape's mother is from the Prince family that specializes in potions masters, and Prince There were no other members of the family at present, and Snape would inherit the family sooner or later.

He has outstanding abilities and has an unlimited future, even if he is of mixed race, even if his family is poor at the moment.

Vanessa guessed that he appeared here today probably because he wanted to see how the newly opened potion shop was doing, sell some things by the way, and make a turnaround. He definitely didn't expect to meet her.

She didn't expect to meet him either.

Hastily closing the shop, Vanessa Apparated home.

It's past ten o'clock now, and she hasn't eaten anything except this morning, and her stomach is already protesting.

As soon as she stood firmly, Vanessa wanted to go to the kitchen to find something to cushion her stomach, but when she turned around, she saw someone falling asleep on the table.

It's Sirius.

He was wearing a black wizard robe and a gold-red scarf, with his hands on the table, his head resting on his hands, and he was sleeping soundly.

He seemed to be having a good dream, the corners of his mouth were slightly hooked, and he was smiling.

Vanessa slowed down and approached him step by step.

How did he get in?Looking at the door, is it a door opening spell?There were no marks on the door, her protective spell should still be there.

If it wasn't the door opening spell, how did he get in?

Thinking of this, she had already walked to his side.

Vanessa bent down slightly, approaching his face, a little hesitant to wake him up.

Today is Christmas, did he run away from home again?Although he mentioned before that he would come to see her during the Christmas holiday, she thought it would be the next few days, but she didn't expect it to be the same day.

She didn't notice that when she was thinking, her cheek was unconsciously close to his. Then, the sleepy boy suddenly raised his head and kissed her very close lips.

Vanessa stared at him with wide eyes, and Sirius slowly opened his deep gray eyes, kissed her lips again, and then pulled away abruptly, dodging her hand.

"Huh." Sirius stood aside and said happily, "Fortunately, I hid quickly, otherwise that slap would have hit me on the face."

Vanessa straightened up, put her hands behind her back, and clasped them uncomfortably.

"Are you pretending to be asleep?" She frowned, "Don't do that again next time."

Sirius scratched his hair. In fact, he was not in a good condition, his face was pale and his lips were dry. He said, "I'm not pretending to be sleeping to lie to you. I was really sleepy and fell asleep." Because as soon as I left Hogwarts Ci, apart from James' house, she is the only place where he can sleep peacefully.

"It's just my reaction is too sharp, I woke up when you approached." Sirius walked a little forward, looked down at Vanessa, who was no longer tall enough for him, and said slowly, "I thought you were relying on me So close, you want to kiss me." He said quickly, "But you may be embarrassed, and I can't let the girl take the initiative in this matter, so..."

"I didn't intend to kiss you." Vanessa immediately interrupted him and corrected him, "I was just thinking about how you got in, and I didn't react for a while."

Mentioning this matter, Sirius twitched the corner of his mouth, coughed lightly and said, "I can't use magic outside the school, so don't worry, I didn't use door opening spells or other ways to destroy your protective spells."

"Then how did you get in?" Vanessa covered her lips, her face still not looking good.

Sirius was silent for a long time before he said in a low voice, "There's a skylight on your roof...it's open."

Vanessa's eyes widened, and Sirius said, "I saw it on the broomstick."

"I have to go and close it." Vanessa hurried to leave.

Sirius took her hand directly, and due to inertia, she was directly pulled into his arms.

"I've already closed it." Holding her, Sirius said softly, "You don't need to go again. Just remember to close it next time."

Vanessa was silent and didn't speak. She struggled for his hand, but didn't.

"It's okay if you don't close it, or I will wait at the door next time." He pressed his cheek against her forehead, and said in a sour tone, "Can't you get a password? Or anything else, at least to accommodate I haven't graduated yet." He complained, "It's really cold outside, you're not here, I'm alone in the Muggle community and I can't even use the Warmth Charm."

Vanessa couldn't hear what he was saying at all now.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she wanted to break free from his embrace, but the boy sighed and said to her, "Just give me a hug, Vanessa, today is Christmas."

Of course Vanessa knew it was Christmas.

She asked after a while, "Did you run away from home again?"

Sirius was silent for a long time this time before saying, "No."

"What?" She looked up at him, they were so close that their breaths were intertwined.

Sirius' voice was hoarse, and it took a while before he said: "Today... at my house, there was a party, and my mother was worried that I would mess it up and make that adult unhappy, so she kicked me out." He She laughed at herself, "It's not safe to lock it up. You have to drive it out. You can imagine how afraid she is of that adult."

Vanessa saw restrained self-loathing in his face.

The stomach began to twitch again, and the temple of five internal organs began to howl. Vanessa pursed her lips, realizing that there was more than one voice.

is two.

She silently looked at Sirius, and Sirius looked at her.

"I went to cook."

Vanessa looked away first, and this time she managed to get out of his warm embrace.

"I'll help you." Sirius folded his arms regretfully, followed her into the kitchen, and stood by the counter and asked, "What can I do?"

Vanessa put on her apron and pushed him out: "Just wait outside, you are a guest, how can I let you do it."

Sirius left the kitchen passively, and when Vanessa had gone back, he said unwillingly, "I'm not a guest!"

"Well, you're not a guest!" Vanessa's perfunctory words came from the kitchen.

Sirius frowned. He was extremely depressed when he left home. He originally wanted to go to Godric's Hollow. He felt that his current state was not suitable for seeing Vanessa, but unconsciously, the broomstick seemed to be conscious. brought him here.

Standing at the door of the kitchen and looking inside, he almost looked obsessively at the busy young girl. Her golden hair was draped over her shoulders, shining like a river covered with diamonds.

Grimmauld Square NO.12.

Snape arrived here on time after leaving Vanessa's potions shop.

He stood at the end of everyone, listening to the Dark Lord's instruction.

As the first batch of undergraduates who will be officially awarded the mark this year, everyone standing in the hall is proud.

except him.

He still had the same expression on his face as always.

Lucius stood on Voldemort's left, and beside him stood Narcissa, Bella, Walburga, and Orion.

Standing on Voldemort's right are the prospective heirs of the Lestrange, Greengrass, and Rozier families.

Hunter Rozier was wearing a dark green wizard robe, and his eyes drifted to Narcissa from time to time. Narcissa avoided looking at him, so he could only withdraw his gaze unwillingly.

And Simon Lestrange beside Hunter Rozier stood in front of his brother Rodolphs without turning his eyes. Rodolphs stared at his back gloomily, as if he would turn to him at any moment. It's like his own brother shooting a death curse.

Lucius' indifferent eyes flicked past them, into the crowd, and settled on Snape.

Snape and him looked at each other for a few seconds, and they nodded slightly in tacit understanding.

This gathering has been in preparation for nearly a year since the Dark Lord first mentioned it.Lucius, as the main person in charge, managed it in a smooth manner and without any mistakes.

The students stepped forward one by one and got the Dark Mark from the Dark Lord. Their faces were full of excitement and excitement, which seemed very dramatic to Lucius.

Snape was the last.

He stood there with his head bowed humbly, showing his pale and bloodless right arm.

"Severus." Voldemort called his Christian name affectionately, which made Snape's head bow even more.

"You are an excellent Slytherin. Your talent is exactly what I need. I appreciate you very much." Voldemort smiled, staring at the young boy in front of him with red vertical pupils, Snape felt a burst of power invade his mind, Consciously remembered Lucius' reminder.

It is Legilimency.

The Dark Lord liked to use Legilimency on his unsuspecting servants by surprise, thinking it would allow him to know more and be more comprehensive.

Snape knew Occlumency.

He has an extremely strong desire to protect his heart, so even when he was a beginner, he played well.

Satisfied, Voldemort withdrew his magic, and decisively branded the mark on his arm.

The mark that both Lucius and his future self felt quite humiliated.

The night is still long.

They were going to hold a dance here, and of course the Dark Lord wouldn't be there, even though Bellatrix was so brave about asking him to dance with him.

Voldemort had other things.

Before he left, he met Lucius alone in the first-floor room of Black's house.

Narcissa stood in the hall and watched them enter the room one after the other, and was a little worried to follow, but Walburga held her back.

"It's an honor for the Duke of Darkness to meet Lucius alone. What are you worried about?"

Narcissa was speechless, how could she say that the Dark Lord seemed to have changed completely recently, and became moody?

She didn't need to face the Dark Lord directly, and she was a little scared. Lucius stood in the closest position to the Dark Lord every time, and often received secret orders to go home with injuries, even if there was no love between them, but they With friendship, this feeling is no worse than love, and she will be worried.

Not to mention, in the eyes of outsiders, they are still husband and wife, a connected whole.

Narcissa's worries were not unnecessary.

The Dark Lord had nothing good to do with Lucius.

Lucius knew it when he saw his expression.

"Lucius, my dear friend."

The Dark Lord spoke softly, and Lucius just wanted to laugh.

Dear friends?Voldemort never regarded any Death Eaters as friends, even Lucius' father Abraxas, the person who claimed to know Voldemort best in the world and claimed to have his trust, never succeeded at all.

Abraxas had been fooled, and all Death Eaters like him had not escaped the Dark Lord's deception.

Lucius didn't escape either.

At least he had been fooled once, too.

Voldemort doesn't need friends at all, all he needs is servants who serve him and provide convenience.

"Why haven't I received your good news yet?" Voldemort was a little impatient when he said the second sentence, pinching the terrible yew wand with his blue-black fingers, and said gloomily, "Are you Are you stalling for time, Lucius?"

Lucius immediately said: "Of course not, Your Highness the Duke of Darkness, I have been doing my best after you mentioned it, but I am too busy recently, I rarely go home, and you know that it is difficult for wizards to give birth to the next generation, so I ..."

"Enough!" Voldemort interrupted Lucius' explanation irritably. He is very arbitrary now, as long as he concludes that Lucius is making excuses, he will not give him a chance to explain, "Don't think I don't know how you Think, Lucius. Your father has never been as disobedient as you, and you are getting more and more difficult to please me." He said this, suddenly waved his wand, and hit Lucius with a Cruciatus Curse, He couldn't dodge at all, and if he did, the Dark Lord would only be angrier.

After being subjected to this Cruciatus Curse, Lucius was the majestic Malfoy Patriarch one moment, and fell to the ground and curled up in pain the next second, his handsome pale face was full of struggling expressions.

"I don't need your repeated excuses." Voldemort looked down at him condescendingly, and threw another black curse, Lucius vomited blood directly, "I need you to give me a satisfactory answer, you know how to punish me best Someone who displeases me."

Lucius fell to the ground, put his hands on his throbbing heart and said hoarsely, "I'm really trying my best, Your Highness the Duke of Darkness, I'm sorry..."

"Do you want me to brew the birth potion for you myself?" Voldemort finished his dark voice, and raised his voice, "Crucio!"

Cruciatus again.

It's almost becoming a routine.

Lucius just felt his mind go blank.

For a moment he felt that he might not be far from death.

He fell to the ground, his breath full of blood.

The last thing he heard was Voldemort's high-pitched, grim laughter.

"Don't try to disobey me. Even if you are smart enough to guess my intentions, you will still have to obey my arrangements in the end. Resistance will not bring you any benefits, Lucius Malfoy."

There was the apparition sound, and he was gone at last.

Lucius lay on his back directly on the floor, his gray-blue eyes staring blankly at the luxurious chandelier on the ceiling, when the door opened, Narcissa rushed in, her red eyes were treating his bleeding wound.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Vanessa cooked a sumptuous Christmas dinner and ate with Sirius face to face, talking and laughing.

When Vanessa served Sirius dessert, Lucius, who was lying in a pool of blood, slowly closed his eyes.

These two images, one bloody and the other warm, are like two completely different worlds, but they really exist in the same time and space.

"How do you feel now?"

Narcissa's voice was right next to his ears, Lucius struggled for a long time before barely opening his eyes.

He returned to his home, the Malfoy Manor where he had grown up.

"I'm wondering whether to ask Vanessa to come over. She is a therapist and knows how to help you better than me." Narcissa kept frowning and looked at him worriedly. She clearly saw that in the The struggle in Lucius' eyes when she mentioned Vanessa.

"No need." He said with all his strength, and closed his eyes again, "Just let me lie down and rest, don't do anything, that's it."

Narcissa sat by his bed, remained silent for a long time and still said: "What did he ask you to do, you want to disobey him like this?"

Lucius was silent, lying lifeless as if dead.

Narcissa couldn't help but said: "Even if you don't tell me now, I will know sooner or later. I should be mentally prepared."

After she finished speaking, Lucius opened his eyes again, looked at her quietly for a while and said, "He forced me to give birth to an heir as soon as possible. The purpose is very clear. He wants to control me better. After he has suffered so much The moment of betrayal."

Narcissa was stunned, with an incredulous expression on her face, and Lucius continued to ask her in a pale and weak voice, "Are you willing?"

Narcissa shook her head immediately, came back to her senses, and frowned slightly.

She pursed her lips, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "This is not a good time to raise a child, Dark Lord...he has become like I almost don't know, we can't expose children to his control. Lucius , we can't give birth to an heir now." Narcissa finished speaking firmly, blinked her eyes and said, "Also, I'm not fully prepared yet."

Lucius seemed to smile, and said, "Don't worry. If he mentions it to you, just say we're working hard."

"Then you..." Narcissa hesitated, "Then I'm afraid what happened today will happen again."

Lucius was silent for a long time this time, when Narcissa thought he had passed out, he said calmly, "It doesn't matter, he will kill me if he has the ability."

Narcissa was completely speechless.

Sirius returned to NO.12, Grimmauld Place late at night.

He didn't really want to come back, he'd rather spend Christmas with Vanessa, but he knew now wasn't the time.

Things are too hasty, and things will be reversed at the extreme. He has to give her some space.And, even though he was kicked out, he also wanted to see what the Dark Lord was plotting in his dark home.

When he came back, he unexpectedly found that his parents were sitting in the lobby on the first floor, their faces were gloomy, and he didn't know what they were discussing just now.

Seeing him, Walburga said with an ugly expression, "Go back to your room! Don't let me see you!"

Sirius withdrew his gaze indifferently, walked to the second floor, walked around the corner, and met Regulus.

Regulus is in the fourth grade this year and is slightly shorter than him.

"Sirius." As a younger brother, he stood there and greeted him with impeccable tone and expression.

The more he was like this, the more uncomfortable Sirius felt.

"You don't need to treat me with this attitude." He said indifferently, "In this family, you are their real son, and I'm just a villain. You can completely face me with your true heart like them. will be angry."

Regulus' face turned pale. He put his hands behind his back and put his left hand behind his arm. He pursed his lips and said, "No matter what they think, you will always be my elder brother in my heart."

Sirius looked at him with complicated eyes, and after a while, he asked him, "Did they introduce you to the Dark Lord?"

Regulus didn't expect him to ask such a question, and froze for a moment.

"It seems to be." Sirius raised his foot and wanted to go, halfway there, looked sideways at the younger brother who looked like him, and said for a long time, "You can pretend that I didn't say that - think about the future Regulus, no one can use the family to suppress you, and you don't have to violate your heart in order to bear any responsibility."

After he said this, he left. Regulus looked at his back and said, "Then just like you, evading responsibility and family? But have you ever thought that this is the family that gave birth to you, You can throw those responsibilities on me, but who do you want me to throw them on."

Sirius stopped and looked at him in surprise, as if he didn't expect him to say that.

"Sirius." Regulus said with a pale face, "We must have someone who will take care of the Black family. If you don't love this family, don't you just have the heart to watch it go to ruin?"

After he finished speaking, he returned to his room, and Sirius stood there for a long time, smiling self-deprecatingly.

His younger brother accused him of not loving this family enough, but who in this family gave him love?

Regulus had never been locked up, scolded by his parents, fasted, beaten, or even cursed.

How could he feel the feelings of Sirius, a villain who didn't even respect the house elf Kreacher?

Rome wasn't built in a day, nor did prejudice and resentment happen overnight, everything happens for a reason, and everyone in the Black family actually has an inescapable responsibility to get to this point.

late at night.

Vanessa woke up from the bed, gasping for breath.

She clutched her chest and grabbed the fabric on her chest, an unspeakable pain gushed out from the inside out.

She had a nightmare, dreaming that Lucius was hit by the Dark Lord's death curse, and then she woke up with fright.

She got out of bed in a daze, poured a glass of water with magic, and drank it in one gulp, only to calm down a little.

Today is Christmas.

She remembered that at Hogsmeade, Voldemort had said that there would be a party tonight at which those in the Death Eater Reserve could be formally marked.

Is something wrong.

Vanessa was particularly disturbed, walking back and forth in the room, the window was knocked at this moment, she looked over and saw an owl.

Vanessa immediately went to the window, took the owl in, and took off the letter from its feet.

The letter paper was very familiar, it came from the Malfoy Manor, which made Vanessa's heart tighten even more. She frowned and opened the letter paper, and what she saw was completely unfamiliar handwriting——

"What is the healing spell that will most effectively mitigate the damage from the Cruciatus Curse?"

It was a letter from Narcissa.

Vanessa thought almost immediately of her dream.

Something really happened to Lucius.

She didn't know how long it had taken the owl to get here, maybe Lucius was healed by now.

Why is Narcissa writing this letter?

Vanessa calmed down and understood.

Narcissa was telling her what happened tonight in this way.

Perhaps, she was also hinting that she was going to Malfoy Manor.

But she can't go.

Even if she goes now, it's useless. Narcissa is the young lady of the Black family, and she will definitely be able to take care of his injuries. Although she may not be as professional as her, it won't be a big problem.

Her going now can only mean that she still can't let go of him, she will still worry about him, and rush over desperately for him.

But they were over, and she had long since decided to let go of the relationship.

Vanessa stood there, looking at the letter. After a few seconds, the letter burned in her hand. She let go, and the letter turned into ashes and floated in the air.

She returned to the bed, covered her head with the quilt, and covered her ears vigorously.

It's as if you don't have to think about anything, and you can't hear anything.

The author has something to say: It may not be possible to update daily in a few days. I have some things to do. If the update is slowed down, I will tell you in advance, and I will update it for the time being.