HP Starlight

Esther walked in a maze-like alley in anger, and the identical buildings on both sides made her lose her way very quickly.The dark chimneys looked even more sinister than in the evening.She couldn't help regretting her impulsiveness, and reluctantly braved the courage to stay in a hidden corner, wondering if she should take the Knight Bus again.

Suddenly, a group of bats flew over her head, which startled her.But it also made her think that maybe it would be safer to be a bat.Her Animagus was already proficient, and she tried to think of her own bat.She dwindled in stature, wing membranes grew between her arms and legs, and she eventually became a brown bat.

She overtook the group of bats and flew with them to a grove where they stopped to rest.

"New little guy?" An older bat flew up to Esther to chat with her.

"I'm just passing by, can I take a break with you?" Esther asked cautiously.

"Of course, we welcome every friend. My name is Fili, and you, little one, what's your name? Where are you from?" Fili asked.

"Call me Al, I'm from Surrey." Esther replied.

"It's so far away, why are you here?" Fili asked one question after another.

Do bats like to inquire so much?Esther thought of Stone in the Forbidden Forest. "I'm a wizard's pet, and I came with my master. She went to find a wizard named Snape. I ran out by myself." Esther said half-truthfully.

"Snape? The guy two streets away? I know him."

The aging Bat seems to have a great fondness for reminiscing, and Esther happens to be a very good listener.

"I was born in the vent of his house. When I couldn't fly, I liked to peek inside. His father was very bad tempered, always beat his mother, and beat him too. His mother didn't love him very much, give him Wearing adults' old clothes, and always ignoring him. It's not like when I was a child, my mother always hugged me." Philip wrapped himself tightly with his wings nostalgic, "Later, when I grew up, I came here Anjia. Coincidentally, he also came here often. At first he came alone, and later he brought a little girl with red hair. I heard he called her Lily.

"They always sit together and chat, asking me to say that he likes her. But I don't understand why he didn't be more straightforward. When I first chased Maya, I told her that I liked her, and then we were together. Still There's Susan, Berena, Nika..."

Listening to the string of names he reported, Esther moved unconsciously to stay away from him.She doesn't like this playful guy a little bit.

"They didn't come much after that," Fili returned. "For a few years they only came at the hottest and coldest times, and I never saw them again. I thought They've all moved."

It turns out that they are friends who have known each other since childhood, no wonder the professor has such deep affection for her, Esther thought to herself.It seems that they have a good relationship after school. It must be troublesome for a Slytherin to be friends with Gryffindor.Esther sighed when she thought of how she got along with Leona and Harry at school.

Fili fell asleep while talking, and Esther was so sleepy that he closed his eyes.But it didn't take long to sleep before dawn.Esther finally saw the whole picture of the street and found the direction.She came back from a corner where no one was around, yawned and walked a long way before finding a dilapidated small supermarket to buy some ingredients.By the time she carried her things back to Spider's End Alley, the sky had completely lit up, and she was peering at her from a few scattered windows.She silently quickened her pace and got rid of these sights.

She knocked on Snape's door again, and it opened quickly this time.

"Good morning, Professor." Esther greeted as usual, as if nothing happened yesterday.She held up the bag for Snape to see, "I bought something to eat, do you want breakfast?"

Snape looked at her coldly, was silent for a while, and let her into the room anyway.She skillfully went downstairs to what was barely the kitchen, cleaned up briefly, and started making fried eggs, baked beans and toast.She brought out three breakfasts, and Snape was sitting on the sofa reading the Daily Prophet.A brown owl nearby hooted excitedly at her.

"Your," Snape said curtly.

Esther opened the letter it brought in surprise, it was from Leona.

Dear Esther:

I received my OWLs with O's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Charms, thanks to you guys for helping me revise!E's in everything except History of Magic and Astronomy.It is Petty who delivered the letter to you. It is a reward from my parents for my test scores. I chose it myself. Isn’t it very beautiful?I decided to let her send you the first letter, hoping she will complete the task.

Have you received your grades yet?How did you do in the exam?

Looking forward to reply.

Best friend Leona

And: just received Orion's owl, he said he got O in Potions, Herbalism and Charms, and E in the rest, it's unbelievable, obviously he slept the most in the history of magic!

Esther couldn't help smiling when she saw Leona's unconvinced look.She found a quill and parchment and wrote her a short letter, telling her her grades.He wrote another letter to Petty, and asked her to send a letter to Aunt Connie to explain her situation so that she would not have to worry.Patty was a smart little guy, she pecked Esther's hand excitedly, and flew south.

"Hmph, friendship from Gryffindor." Snape probably saw the content of the letter, and couldn't help but sneer.

"Don't you think Gryffindor has worthy friends?" Esther said without thinking.

Snape immediately looked at Esther, his deep black eyes were like two dark tunnels, Esther couldn't help shivering, and immediately regretted his indiscriminate words.

"Good morning, Severus. Good morning, Miss Collins." Lupine came out from behind the secret door, paler than last night.

"Professor Lupine, you are here just in time, let's have breakfast together." Esther stood up politely and said.

"Is it prepared for me too? I didn't expect that, sorry, I mean, I thought I was going to find something to eat myself," said Lupine, a little embarrassed.

Snape interjected dryly, "Perhaps Collins should offer a delivery service to save you from getting lost, Lupine."

The room was extremely quiet during breakfast, only the sound of knives and forks hitting plates.Esther ate her share as quickly as she could, keeping her grace. It was exhausting being a bat, and she was starving.

"Collins, where were you last night? Both Severus and I were worried about you." Professor Lupine asked.

"Uh, friend's house." Esther said, avoiding Snape's eyes.

"Miss Collins's ability to make friends really astounds me, a first time visitor to Cokeworth can find safe friends who can let you stay. Especially in this place full of scum. I assume you didn't use confusion on him Curse? Or something else?" Snape said harshly.

"No, Professor. You can't cast spells outside the school. If I did, a warning letter should have been sent, right?" Esther said, staring at his plate.

"Maybe someone knows how to avoid these situations, otherwise she should have received a warning letter last night when she lit the fire to boil the water." Snape said calmly and indifferently.

Esther felt herself being stared at like a prey, and anxiety swept through her body.She didn't dare to look up, and she didn't dare to lie.There was an eerie silence in the room.

"Look at me, Collins!" snapped Snape suddenly.

Esther looked up subconsciously and saw the black hole-like eyes getting bigger and bigger in front of her, seeming to suck her in.She saw the angry expression on Flint's face as he rode the Nimbus 2001...the painful constriction of his whole body as he transformed in the dark...the terrified eyes of her own eyes when the basilisk pounced on Harry...Riddle's wand shot green Light shattered with his own wall of ice... Legilimency to Lockhart in his ward... Anxiously waiting for his exam results, with Harry not daring to make a sound...

"Severus, you can't do this! Stop, Severus…"

It seemed that someone was talking, but the picture in front of him did not stop.She cleaned the kitchen with a different wand than the one she used at school.In a corner where the moonlight cannot shine, Esther turned into a bat and flew up... Fili and her landed on a big tree...

"Stop!" Lupine stood up from his seat.

"This is at my house! Lupine, I have the final say!" Snape also shot back forcefully.

Esther could finally hear the sounds around her, and saw the walls filled with books again.Only then did she realize that her clothes had been soaked in cold sweat.Fortunately, the table caught her and kept her from slipping to the ground.She took a while to sit upright again, feeling that it took a lot of effort.

"Are you all right?" Lupine asked worriedly.

Esther nodded, trying to make himself look more relaxed, but his head was still humming and hurting.

"Have you forgotten all your Occlumency?" Snape said coldly.

"No, Professor. I just didn't think it would work." Esther still couldn't help rubbing his head, but it didn't work, and he still felt dizzy and swollen.

"What a good excuse," Snape sneered.

"It's not an excuse!" Esther was tormented by the feeling of drowsiness and was on the verge of losing control, and was finally stimulated by Snape, "I said I would not use Occlumency on you! Watch it if you want, and I don't Why are you afraid of knowing the secret!"

There was an awkward silence, and Esther didn't know what he was talking about.

"I'm going to wash the dishes." Esther finally found an excuse to escape, quickly picked up the cutlery on the table and went downstairs.

When making medicine in the afternoon, Snape didn't ask any more questions, and Esther devoted himself to processing the medicinal materials and recording the status of the potion.Everything was fine, except for the look on Lupine's face when he drank the medicine.

"Can't you put some sugar or lemon juice too?" Lupine curled his lips like a child.Esther laughed amusedly.

Snape said coldly: "No, this potion is too complicated, and anything added may lose its effect. You are no longer a child, Lupine, you need sugar to take a potion."

Lupine was better than when he came here. Although he was still pale, being able to eat every meal on time still made him feel better.After dinner, he asked Esther to pay for the meal, after all, he couldn't let a student pay for it.But Esther refused.

"Maybe you can teach me something too, like Professor Snape." Esther said expectantly.

"I was originally your professor, and it's my job to teach you, which has nothing to do with this." Professor Lupine insisted.

"How about teaching some extra work outside of the textbook?" Esther blinked, "Let me see the Unforgivable Curse?"

"That won't work! That's not what students should be exposed to!" Professor Lu Ping decisively denied it.

"Then wait until you think about it, anyway, you will see me in the improvement class, we have plenty of time to study and learn something." Este said happily.

Snape snorted coldly, as if he didn't think Lupine could teach anything useful.

When eating breakfast the next day, Esther was going to go back to celebrate Harry's birthday after eating, and came back in the afternoon just in time to make the potion.She was counting the time back and forth when an owl knocked on Snape's window and delivered the Daily Prophet.

Snape opened the newspaper as usual, only glanced at it, then stood up suddenly, his whole body was tense like nervous or excited.

"Collins, look at Lupin, I'm going out." Snape said a little excitedly, put on his traveling cloak and rushed out the door.

Esther thought that his plan to go home was in vain, and hoped that Aunt Connie could help him deliver the gift to Harry.She took the newspaper to see what Snape had seen.

The first page was a wanted warrant, in the most prominent position in the middle, a large photo almost took up more than half of the page, with his name, Sirius Black, written below it.

Esther has never heard of this name, and has no impression of this person.But when she saw the photos, she thought that Azkaban was really not a good place, the people inside were so haggard.Hagrid is like this, and so is this one.

Lupine came out of the secret door at this moment, "What are you looking at, Collins? Where's Severus?"

"He's out. There's a wanted notice in the paper, and a man named Sirius Black has escaped." Esther handed the paper over.

Lupine froze, forgetting to take the Daily Prophet that Esther handed over.

"You know him? Acquaintance?" Esther asked curiously, sensing Lupine's shock.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes." Lupine said perfunctorily, taking the newspaper from Esther and reading it carefully.

Esther knew that Lupine had a better temper than Snape, she didn't dare to ask Snape, but she could with Lupine.

"He looks a little haggard, like he's dead." Esther asked, observing Lupine.

"Yeah, much thinner than before." Lupine said coldly.

"Why was he imprisoned?" Esther pressed.

"He turned to Voldemort and betrayed his friends." Lupine's voice was pale and weak.But Esther felt his faint pain.

"Don't you believe he did it?"

"No, I believe, the facts are there." Lupine didn't seem to want to continue this topic.

"Who did he betray?" Esther continued to ask, ignoring Lupine's mood.

Lupine was silent for a long time before speaking hoarsely, "James and Lily, Harry Potter's parents."

Esther finally understood why Snape was so excited.He was Lily's murderer, and maybe Snape was looking for revenge all over the world.

Snape didn't return until lunchtime, along with Dumbledore.

"I heard from Severus that you are helping him, thank you for your willingness to help." Professor Dumbledore said gently.

"You're welcome, professor, I also want to learn more. It's really rewarding to make potions with Professor Snape. I've prepared lunch. Would you like a sandwich?" Estelle asked.

"That's great, to be honest, I haven't had a good meal these days." Dumbledore happily sat down at the table, "Can I have another cup of the black tea that day? I miss that taste very much. "

Esther nodded and went downstairs to boil water and make tea.

Since Snape came back, Esther noticed that the atmosphere here seemed to have changed subtly.Snape returned to his loathing eyes for Lupine, and had an extra touch of vigilance.Lupine became silent, always sitting there lost in thought.

After another four days, Esther finally saw the transformed werewolf with his own eyes.Snape was extra cautious, even allowing Esther to take out his wand just in case.Lupine, who had turned into a wolf, lay listlessly on the bed, motionless.Esther tried to get closer to see if he could still recognize her, but Snape grabbed her.

"Did you die? Or do you want to be a werewolf too? I almost forgot, you really like being a little animal. Why don't I help you with the Transfiguration Charm!" Snape said angrily.

"I just want to try the effect of Wolfsbane Potion. The introduction says that the effect of the potion includes being able to maintain consciousness after transforming into a werewolf. I want to see if he can still communicate simply." Esther said unconvinced.

"Have you been with Gryffindor for a long time, and you have become reckless and stupid? If the potion instructions are not accurate enough, you will be torn to pieces by him. Of course, I can collect your pieces and send them to you." The Ministry of Magic is suing Belby for inaccurate description of the potion instructions. The Gallon of compensation may be able to make you a better tombstone!" Snape's tone was sarcasm.

"Then I hope you can write an inscription for my tombstone. Your language art will definitely attract more people to stop in front of my tomb." Esther fought back not to be outdone.

Snape had always known that Esther was not afraid of him, but it never occurred to him that this girl would openly contradict him.He looked at Esther, as if he knew her again.

"Recording the effect of use, this is the work you entrusted to me, Professor." Esther calmed down first, and said softly but firmly: "I am not reckless, but I am serious and responsible for my work."

Seeing that Snape no longer objected, Esther slowly approached Lupine.She stopped at every step to watch Lupine's reaction, ready to run away.Finally Esther came up to Lupin's side and put a hand on his shoulder.

Lupine looked up at her slowly, half-open eyes full of tiredness.He hummed softly and fell into a deep sleep.

As the moon went down the next morning, Lupine slowly transformed back into human form.He got dressed and opened the door, and saw Esther curled up by the door with her wand in her arms, sleeping soundly.

"Collins, you can go back to your room and sleep." Lupine patted her awake.

"You changed back? That's great!" Esther rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch. "It's 5:20, the moon has set and the sun has not yet risen." Esther wrote seriously in the notebook .

"Go and rest first. And what Severus said last night was right, you shouldn't approach me rashly, it's too dangerous." Lupine said earnestly.

"Do you remember what happened last night? Thank you for telling me, this must be recorded." Esther added a few strokes to the paper.Lupine looked helpless.

After breakfast, Esther transcribed the records of the past few days and handed them to Snape to prepare to leave.

"Wait, I'll take you back," Snape said.

"I can go back by myself. The Knight Bus is convenient, but a little exciting." Esther joked.

"If you don't want to encounter a dementor, you'd better reveal yourself with my followers." Snape's tone was unquestionable.

Lupine was the first to leave Spider's End.Esther packed her things and followed Snape to a deserted grove, Esther remembered that this was where she spent the night.She looked up, but there was no sign of Philip and them.Bats are always good at hiding.

"Hold on to me, and don't let go under any circumstances." Snape held out an arm.

Feeling Esther tightening his grip, Snape continued, "Focus now and follow me."

Esther didn't know where to focus or how to follow.She was hesitating to ask, when suddenly she felt the darkness in front of her eyes, as if a force had pushed her into a narrow rubber tube.Subconsciously, she gripped Snape's arm even tighter.

It took only a moment for her to squeeze out of the tube, but her chest was still painful.Panting heavily, she regained all her senses bit by bit, her eyes were still there, her nose was still there, and her ears were still there...

"Have you gotten used to it yet?" Snape asked impatiently.

"Okay." Esther said reluctantly.She looked around and realized they were in Diagon Alley. "This is not my home."

"I don't know where your home is. I'll go to the pharmacy with me first, and I'll take you back later." Snape said matter-of-factly.

Esther didn't know what to say for a while, so she followed silently.

Snape also bought a large quantity of chamaejasma aconitum, probably saving some for later.Then follow Esther back to Magnolia Road by Muggle transportation.Sitting restlessly on the train, he glared fiercely at two people who were looking at him curiously, scaring them away.Esther thought Snape was much scarier than Black and the Dementors.

"Come in, Professor?" Esther asked Snape politely at the door.

"No. Go back and write a twelve-inch paper on the relationship between the different components of potions, and treat it as your homework for the past few days. The summer vacation of the fifth grade is too free, so don't run around." After saying that, Snape Apparated and disappeared.