HP Starlight

Snape sat in Dumbledore's office, his eyes darkened, and he looked like he hadn't had a good rest for a long time.

"I checked every one of the underground classrooms, as well as the common room, and I didn't find anything suspicious."

"Is there anything unusual about the students?" Dumbledore said dreamily, looking at the table.

"No, the students are also guessing wildly. It seems that no one knows. And because of the hostility of other colleges towards Slytherin, the prefects spontaneously escort the lower grades to class, and the senior grades are also accompanied. If some people have Problems will definitely be found."

"Severus, I don't know if you've noticed that Esther didn't attend the Halloween party. She and Harry were the first to discover Justin Finch and Nearly Headless Nick in the corridor today..."

"I suppose it's just a coincidence, Dumbledore. There's no way she's capable of such Dark Arts."

"It seems that you trust her very much," Dumbledore looked at Snape, "but I didn't say she did it. I just wondered if she knew something. I heard that she even used Parseltongue to scare her today." A couple of Hufflepuffs. Although I didn't find anything when I touched her, maybe it's because of her Occlumency..."

"I see. I'll keep an eye on her behavior," Snape said deadpan.

It was Christmas again, and Snape looked at the greeting card on the table solemnly, feeling a little complicated.Was Collins really hiding something?Does she really speak Parseltongue?

Snape opened the gift box, and it was a pack of handmade nougat.Snape frowned, this was probably the worst gift ever.He casually threw the box into a desk drawer and closed it tightly.

Even during the Christmas break, Hogwarts professors don't have much time off.In addition to his original work, Snape has been studying the potion formula given to him by Dumbledore.He wants to make sure that the potion that can restore the students and ghosts can be dispensed as soon as the mandrake is mature.He was taking notes while experimenting, and when the crucible improved slightly, he realized that he had missed dinner time.He rubbed his aching stomach, opened the drawer and put away the experimental records.

Some colorful colors in the corner of the drawer caught his attention.Then he remembered the Christmas present that he had forgotten.

Under the strong suggestion in his stomach, he reluctantly took out a candy and put it in his mouth.Unexpectedly, the candy has only a touch of sweetness, and the right milky aroma mixed with the aroma of nuts fills the void in the stomach.Snape couldn't resist taking another piece.Although he still thinks it's the worst Christmas present, it doesn't stop him from filling his stomach with them.

The weather is getting warmer, and the mandrakes are finally ripe.Snape was about to go to the school hospital to brew a potion to de-petrify, when he heard Professor McGonagall call all the staff to the lounge.With an ominous premonition, he hurried over and learned that Ginny Weasley had been kidnapped by the heir of Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall decided to send all the students home immediately.After Snape arranged for Slytherin, he immediately returned to the school hospital to start making medicines. He wanted to cure the petrified students before tomorrow morning, so that they could go home with everyone.

When the potion was still in the last few steps, Wilkes suddenly rushed to the school hospital in a panic.

"Is Professor Snape here? I heard Bloody Barrow say that Professor Snape is here?" Wilkes shouted out of breath.

"Keep your voice down, child!" Madam Pomfrey said dissatisfiedly, "This is the school hospital!"

"Life is at stake, ma'am! Is Professor Snape there?" Wilkes called persistently.

"What's the matter?" Snape came out of the inner office.

"Professor, Esther asked me to tell you that the entrance to the chamber of secrets is in the girls' bathroom on the second floor! Potter and Weasley took Professor Lockhart down! She told me and chased after her too!" Wilkes said He finished speaking at the fastest speed, as if he had practiced it several times.

Snape felt like a stone fell from his heart.It seemed that Dumbledore was right, Collins did know something.After he explained how Madam Pomfrey took care of the potion in the cauldron, he and Wilkes rushed to the bathroom on the second floor.

In the bathroom Myrtle was humming and looking very happy.Snape ignored her, told Wilkes to stay on top, and jumped in through the hole himself.

He first met Weasley and Lockhart, who was already stupid.Hearing that Potter and Collins had been in for a while, he cursed secretly.It's okay for Porter to be reckless, but Collins has always been calm and made such a stupid move.He ran in anxiously, for fear that they had turned into two cold corpses.

Hearing the voices speaking inside, Snape had a little hope in his heart, at least he was still alive.Seeing that the three students were all safe and sound, he raised his face and urged the students to go up quickly.Potter's vigilant gaze made him a little angry, but Collins' words made him temporarily put down his emotions.And Fox's arrival meant that Dumbledore had returned, and he couldn't trouble Potter at this time.

After letting Potter leave with Ginny Weasley, he checked the secret room carefully to confirm that there were no other threats. Then he was relieved and listened to Collins' story.

Contrary to what he had expected, Collins discovered the entrance to the secret room only by bumping into Potter by accident.He was a little glad that he saw her right.Hearing that her Ice Shield had resisted the Killing Curse, Snape couldn't believe it.He tried Collins' spell himself, and it really wasn't very strong, but with a little modification, it should become a good defensive spell.He silently put this task in his schedule in his heart.

Since he was still thinking about the potion in the school hospital, Snape simply packed up some things from the basilisk as potion ingredients, and then led Collins out of the secret room.

Fox was waiting for them at the bottom of the pipeline.He wanted Collins to go up first, and then let Phoenix pick him up.Unexpectedly, the little girl didn't know how to avoid taboos at all, and invited him to fly up with her with a smile.When the girl's soft hand grabbed him, Snape felt a flash of resistance in his heart.He is not used to this kind of physical contact.But soon the magic power of the phoenix was transmitted through the girl's hand, warm, enthusiastic and full of hope.A strange feeling swept over his body, and Snape felt his whole body become fuller.He was a little obsessed with this feeling, but his reason refused to accept it by himself.So the moment he landed, he quickly withdrew his hand, pretending to be nonchalant.But the pounding of his heart reminded him how much he missed being alive.

Snape suppressed the emotions that should not belong to him, and directed Collins and Wilkes to help him complete the last few steps of the potion.When he finished the potion, he had already forgotten the unusual emotion just now.Seeing that Mrs. Norris, who was given the potion first, got better, Snape quietly left the school hospital to report to Dumbledore.

He found Dumbledore in Professor McGonagall's office.The old headmaster thanked him for his work and awarded points to Collins and Wilkes.Seeing Wilkes finally get rid of the stereotype of the son of Death Eaters in the eyes of others, Snape didn't realize that there was a touch of tenderness in his eyes.

Another year of summer vacation began, and Snape read the unknown book every day, trying to improve Collins' ice shield technique.In the middle of the holiday, Dumbledore suddenly visited Spider's End, which surprised Snape.

Dumbledore conjured up a pot of tea, handed Snape a cup, and said casually, "I'm going to let Remus Lupine be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts next semester."

"Sorry, if I remember correctly, he was a werewolf," Snape hissed.

"I'm sure your memory is as good as mine," said Dumbledore lightly.

"You want to hire a werewolf?" said Snape savagely. "A werewolf who nearly killed someone?"

"It was an accident, Severus, he didn't mean to kill you, if you hadn't followed..." Dumbledore said patiently.

"Are you reminding me that I was the one who made the mistake?" Snape said angrily.

"I just wanted to say that Lupine is in no danger."

"But what if?"

"That's why I came to you, Severus. I hope you can make him a potion of wolfsbane to keep him safe through the full moon night."

"You want me to make him a potion of wolfsbane?" Snape almost bit the words out.

"Severus, I know you are reluctant, but I still hope you can help me." Dumbledore said gently but firmly.

Snape's angry and pale face twisted unnaturally, but he finally nodded in agreement with the old man's request.

"I hope to try the effect of the potion before school starts. Is it okay to prepare it before the full moon this time? The cost of the medicinal materials will be provided by the school." Dumbledore said.

"Does that mean I have to start working today? Is the vacation over early?"

"You weren't looking forward to the holiday either, were you?" said Dumbledore, smiling.

Snape set off immediately after Dumbledore left to buy the ingredients needed for the Wolfsbane potion.But luck seems to be bad, the aconitum in the pharmacy can't meet his dosage.He was planning to visit other places when Collins suddenly appeared in front of him and told him that he could provide him with some aconites.

Snape decided to accept it, after all he really needed it urgently.But I didn't expect Collins to send it over in person.He was a little dissatisfied with the girl's cleverness in trying to spy on him.But thinking that she was eager to learn, and that he could indeed gain a lot of benefits, Snape still decided to keep her.

With the cooperation of Collins, the first production of Wolfsbane potion went smoothly.Snape guessed that Dumbledore would come to fetch the potion, but unexpectedly he brought Lupine along.

Snape dismissed Collins and pushed the potion to Lupine.Seeing Lupine's disgusting expression after gulping it down, Snape couldn't help but lose his temper with Dumbledore, "Why did you bring him here? When the moon is about to be full?"

"Severus, as I said, I want to confirm the safety of the wolfbane potion. I hope he can stay here for a week until the transformation is over. It is also convenient for you to observe the effect of the potion." Dumbledore explained.

"Is he going to live here for another week? To be a werewolf in this house?"

"If the potion works, there's no danger. If it doesn't, I'm sure you can control him, too."

Snape stared lividly at Lupine, then at Dumbledore, too angry to say a word.

The sound of heavy footsteps behind the secret door slowly approached, and Snape suppressed his emotions and swung his wand to open the door.He took a sip from the teacup that Collins handed over, the faint sweetness was similar to the nougat she made.My stomach warmed up and my mood felt better.

As in his youth, Dumbledore asked Collins to keep Lupine's werewolf identity a secret.Snape shot Collins sideways, to see her reaction.Unexpectedly, she pushed the problem back to herself.Cunning girl, Snape snorted inwardly.He knew he couldn't refuse Dumbledore, so he agreed to keep Lupine.

Dumbledore left satisfied.Snape also wanted to send Collins back, after all, a werewolf living in the house was dangerous for an underage wizard.He took out the Floo powder for her, but the Collins family was not connected to the Floo network.He felt a little strange. In his impression, although Collins was of mixed race, he had been exposed to magic before entering school, at least not living in a Muggle family.But it is unusual for a family to travel without a fireplace.Snape was hesitating whether to see her off himself, after all it was late, and he was a little worried about letting the girl go alone.At this time, when Collins offered to stay, Snape reprimanded her as the headmaster.Unexpectedly, the girl was uncharacteristically, instead of accepting his criticism, she left in a fit of anger.When Snape chased out the door, the girl had disappeared into the dark and narrow alleyway.

"Didn't catch up?" Lupine asked worriedly when he saw Snape coming back alone.

"Mind yourself, Lupine. I think you know where you're supposed to be. Go back to your room!" Snape said angrily.

The corner of Lupine's mouth moved slightly, but he said nothing, turned around and went upstairs through the secret door.

Sitting in the dimly lit room, Snape took out the big black book and read it word by word, but finally found that he didn't read a single word.He snapped the book shut and cursed viciously.Since Dumbledore's arrival in the morning, nothing has gone his way.

Snape ended up falling asleep on the table.He slept very restlessly, and the nightmare continued all night.From dreaming of Lily dying at the beginning to turning into Collins' bruised corpse later, just like what happened in this alley.

Suddenly he was awakened by a knock on the door, and the door opened before his brain had time to think.Seeing Collins outside the door standing in front of him radiantly, he suddenly felt lucky.

Snape hid his true emotions and let Collins into the house.While waiting for breakfast, two owls flew in through the window one after another.Snape took the Daily Prophet from the first owl's foot and paid it five Knuts, and was about to get the letter from the second owl's foot, but the owl nimbly jumped aside.

"Come here! Don't wait for me to cast a spell!" said Snape, glaring at the owl.

Unexpectedly, the owl remained unmoved, still looking around with its big round eyes.

Snape suddenly realized that he was no longer alone in the house.Not knowing if it was Collins's or bloody Lupin's, Snape rolled his eyes and ignored the hideous owl.

When Collins appeared with breakfast, the owl hooted.Snape knew the letter belonged to Collins.He glanced over the Daily Prophet to read the letter, which was from Leona Brown of Gryffindor.Seeing the mention of Wilkes in the content, Snape was more sure of their ambiguous relationship.However, it seems that Gryffindor seems to be more loyal to friendship than love, and even gave Collins the opportunity to write the first letter.

After breakfast, Lupine asked where Collins had spent the night before.Snape didn't want to mention this matter again, but seeing Collins's dodgy eyes, he became suspicious of her.

Without warning, Snape used Legilimency to check Collins' memory.He felt that his consciousness was unstoppable, directly violating her brain.He could hear Lupine blocking, but still insisted on finding out what she had been through last night.It wasn't until seeing Collins lighting a fire with an unfamiliar wand, and seeing her transform into a bat, that Snape withdrew from her consciousness.

It wasn't until he saw Collins' embarrassed look that Snape realized how much he had gone too far.He knew how painful it was to have someone mess with his head.He was annoyed why Collins didn't use Occlumency against himself.The little girl's words were unexpected, she said that she would not use Occlumency on herself, she was not afraid of secrets she knew...

The overly straightforward statement stunned everyone present.Snape remembered that Dumbledore had said that Collins' Occlumency had worked.But in front of him, she really had no defense at all.She was a little too obedient to herself, making him forget the boundaries he should have.

Seeing Collins leaving in a hurry, Lupine coughed softly and said, "Severus, even if she is your student, you should respect her. What's more, she trusts you so much. You should at least talk to her about today's matter." She apologized."

"I know her better than you, Lupine, and I don't need you to teach me how to do it!" Snape said irritably.

While brewing the Wolfsbane potion in the afternoon, Snape was so engrossed in his work that he temporarily forgot about the unpleasantness of the morning.After the potion was made, before Snape could speak, Esther put the potion into a goblet, cleaned and arranged the used tools.Only then did Snape realize that their cooperation was so tacit.He was so focused just now that he didn't realize that every time he needed the materials, the tools he needed were in his hands in an instant.

He grew fonder of Collins, and more remorse for his rough behavior in the morning.

With the help of Collins, Snape lived a regular life at Hogwarts again.Although he already knew that Collins was popular, seeing her getting acquainted with Lupine so quickly and agreeing to take extra tutoring, Snape felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

The next morning, Snape saw the news of Sirius' escape from the newspaper, and hurried to find Dumbledore, hoping that he would no longer hire Lupine.After all, Lupine and Sirius used to be best friends.And Sirius was very likely to threaten Potter's safety, and he didn't think it should be taken.But Dumbledore insisted on trusting Lupine, and Snape felt that Lupine was an eyesore even more.

Finally, after the transformation period, Snape dismissed Lupine and sent Collins home.He hadn't used the Muggle way of travel for a long time, and it reminded him of taking the train to school every year when he was a child, and his mood became bad again.

Outside Collins' house, Snape left her an assignment.In fact Snape just didn't want her running around, after all she lived so close to Harry that she was likely to be targeted by Sirius.And seeing the little girl looking at him with a bitter face was really interesting, and Snape felt a little better.He didn't go to see Harry. After all, Dumbledore gave him a lot of protection. As long as he didn't run around, there should be no problem.

Entering the deserted Spider's End again, Snape was not used to it.Although it was only a short week, Collins left some traces in this lifeless old house.The room no longer only smells of decay and mold, but a bitter freshness.

Snape buried himself in his books to pass the time again, but Collins kept his stomach squeamish and reminded him that it was dinner time.Snape reluctantly stepped into the kitchen, not expecting Collins to leave him something.He briefly ate some bread and bacon, and took a set tea bag and added some hot water.He found that he actually began to miss Collins's lively face saying good night and good morning to himself with a smile.