[HP] Astringent

"This is not the place to talk."

The bell rang for the end of get out of class, and there was a loud noise from far in the corridor.Vanessa followed Snape back to her office in a daze, and she fell down on the single sofa in front of the fireplace.

Snape lit the fireplace with a wave of his wand, and the pleasant woody fragrance spread, making the room much warmer.He put Vanessa's package and traveling cloak on the coffee table - Snape helped her retrieve everything she'd thrown carelessly on the floor just now.He stood behind Vanessa, staring intently at the crackling fire.

The two were silent for an unknown amount of time. Vanessa calmed down and said in a low voice, "Give me back the wand."

He turned to Vanessa: "Are you calm enough?"

"Calm down? Huh... If I can, I really want to kill those people with my own hands." She lowered her head, her hair covered her face and the killing intent in her eyes, "They all wear the same hood and mask, I don't know who is it."

She raised her head suddenly, grabbed Snape's skirt with both hands, and begged, "You were also with the mysterious man at the time, you know what's going on, right?"

Snape was stunned. The last time he saw Vanessa like this was in sixth grade, and it was also the only time she tore off the mask of hypocrisy to reveal her fragile and fragile heart.

Snape had long since broken up with Vanessa, and since he broke up with Lily, he has paid little attention to what happened in Gryffindor.Although he sometimes sneaked around Gryffindor Tower in order to see Lily, it seemed to be an arrangement of fate that he never met Lily again.He gradually stopped going, became more sullen, and devoted all his time to inventing spells and experimenting with potions.

Snape was used to being alone, and no one cared where he spent his usual time.He didn't take off the red ribbon on the doorknob of the abandoned classroom that was occupied, but the door was never pushed open by others.

But Slytherin and Gryffindor would always have a lot of closed classes, and he couldn't help but know that Lily and Potter were getting closer, and that Vanessa had taken leave of absence and hadn't come to class for a week.

He didn't know why he was paying attention to her, but when he heard her two friends talking about it, he followed her quietly and cast a listening spell.

A shorter girl said to another girl with short hair: "Isn't Vanessa back yet?"

"No, she is pitiful enough. Her father died a long time ago, and now her mother is also dead. She is the only one left and has to hold a funeral. It may take some time before she can come back."

Snape had never heard her talk about family affairs, and was a little shocked. He didn't expect that there were people like him whose parents had long been out of date.What's more, Vanessa's food and clothing expenses are above the average level, and he has never connected her situation with him.

The girl rolled her eyes and continued, "I wish she wouldn't come back and seduce boys."

"That's right. If those boys didn't spend money on her, with their family's economic level, they could afford to buy a robe from a clothing store? It would be good not to buy second-hand ones."

"I don't know if she will take the opportunity to pretend to be pitiful when she comes back, and seduce a few more boys."

"Tsk, sure."

Snape didn't want to listen anymore, he waved his wand, cast a spell, a girl tripped and fell down the stairs, and in a hurry grabbed another girl's coat, and the brand new robe was torn A big mouth.This was just the beginning, this small curse would not really hurt their lives, but it was enough to make them unlucky for half a month.

Satisfied after finishing all this, he walked over to the two embarrassed girls, and gave them a malicious smile without any concealment.

After more than half a month, Vanessa still hasn't come back to class. She is almost forgotten by everyone. The boys who like to hang out with her have changed their goals, and the girls who often play with her have new playmates.

Snape was still busy with his experiments. He privately planted a splendens on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Every morning he would pick some while the others were still asleep.

He sneaked out from behind the dense bushes and saw a person sitting behind a tall pine tree.Fearing it was Potter, he raised his wand and walked around behind.

A girl in a black robe was curled up there, and when she heard the movement, she raised her head in shock, with two lines of tears still hanging on her face.Her first reaction was to cover her face, but Snape recognized her right away. It was Vanessa whom he hadn't seen for a long time. She had no makeup on and looked much younger.His face was pale and haggard, like a bubble that would burst when poked.

Vanessa wiped her face with her sleeve in embarrassment, and then simply buried her face in her knees, only showing a pair of eyes, looking at him tearfully.She was waiting for Snape to leave, but Snape froze in place as if tangled in vines.

The two were in a stalemate, and Vanessa couldn't hold back anymore, and said in a muffled voice, "Aren't you going?" Tears were about to come out of her eyes again.

"You haven't come to class for a month." He stated the fact calmly.

Vanessa had a sore nose and couldn't hold it anymore, she said timidly, "Can you let me hug you?"

"What?" Snape didn't hear her at all.

The girl made it clear with her actions, she wrapped her arms around Snape's waist, and pressed against him, her cheek on his shoulder, like grabbing driftwood.She didn't care about her image anymore, and burst into tears.

Snape, hands hanging by his sides, did not push her away, waiting stiffly for her to calm down.The girl is not short at all, and she always wears high heels, almost at eye level with him.Now that she is wearing flat shoes, she has lost a lot of weight and looks much petite.Like a small animal, she buried her head on his shoulder.

Vanessa choked up and told her story: "My family is gone, they don't want me anymore... This time my mother also left me... My dad has been away from home since I was very young. He only loves Adventure. I remember when I was seven he promised to come back for my birthday, but he was attacked by a vampire in Mormale Forest and died, and I didn't even see him the last time...my mom thinks I don't have a dad anymore For fear that I will be wronged, no matter how poor our family is, we will buy me the best things... I always deliberately make her angry. In fact, I want her to scold me, but she always cries secretly in the middle of the night... I know all about it. She didn't tell me that she was sick, and she was afraid that I was worried and kept hiding it from me... Why did she leave suddenly, and I couldn't see her for the last time..."

She cried so much that she couldn't speak smoothly. Her mind was very confused, so she kept saying repetitive things, and she said a lot.Snape listened to her quietly, without interrupting.

Leaning in his arms, listening to his even breathing, the grief in her heart seemed to be shared by others, and she felt much better.She felt a hand gently pat the top of her head, like the illusion brought by a gust of wind.

Vanessa's fiance?Snape had strong doubts in his heart, but he didn't intend to ask.This, he told himself, was normal.Their peers have already married and had children, and Lily's son is already in the third grade.She was once engaged which is normal.

But he became uncomfortable, the two of them were too close, and the fire was so hot that her body was still emitting a cold air.Vanessa clutched at the hem of his shirt, looking at him longingly.

Snape vaguely remembered something. Just before the Mysterious Man was defeated, he was planning an interesting hunting event. He wanted to punish those pure-blood wizards who betrayed the honor of pure-blood and tried to get close to Muggles.Bellatrix Lestrange was the first to confess her sister Andromeda Tonks, and Barty Crouch Jr. offered to capture them and torture them in front of their Muggle lovers , let them see if those muggles will betray them.

The mysterious man was invincible at that time, and he was full of confidence in killing the prophesied boy. This task was given to Bellatrix and Crouch Jr. to do.

Snape didn't pay attention to this matter, because he was circling between You-Know-Who and Dumbledore, in order to make up for his mistake of snitching, and in order to save Lily's life, he had no time to care about other things.

At that time, the mysterious man put the list in front of him, wanting to take the opportunity to test whether he had changed the object of allegiance, but in order not to reveal his flaws, he did not read it.If he just took a look, and just sent a message to Vanessa, with his Occlumency technique, he could still hide the mystery from the mysterious man, and maybe her fiancé would be spared.But he didn't look. He was afraid of taking a wrong step. If the mysterious person suspected him, he wouldn't be able to get the information in time, and he wouldn't be able to save Lily.

In the end, no one was able to save them.

Snape clenched his fists, suppressing the familiar feeling of powerlessness.

A dark cloud rolls in outside the window, covering the last bit of sunlight, and the sky grazes the treetops heavily.

Of those two people, one was imprisoned in Azkaban and the other was already dead, so what was the use of her knowing?Her bright, warm eyes would become like his, hiding an unresolved hatred; every time she looked in the mirror she would hate her incompetence, day after day.

Snape remembered that Vanessa loved smug beauty the most, as long as she saw something that was reflective, she would take endless photos.

"You know that, right?" Vanessa's eyes were full of hope.

Snape shook his head, "I don't know."

"Ah, that's it."

Vanessa's hands drooped feebly, and she no longer had the strength to support herself standing here, her forehead rested lightly on Snape's shoulder.It was far less intimate than a hug, and after walking alone in the floating world for so long, she finally found something to rely on.

She wanted to hug him desperately, her arms were about to wrap around his waist, but reason forced her to stop.

She has grown up and can't afford to love her anymore. She just wants someone who can care about herself wholeheartedly. She doesn't even need any vows or deep feelings, just a simple company and support.

Anyone can do this simple need, except Snape, because no one knows better than Vanessa, he gave all his heart to Lily, Lily passed away, his heart can't be taken anymore I'm back.

Vanessa took out the wand that was still in Snape's pocket, and made up her mind to draw out the warmth at her fingertips.She smiled unsuccessfully and said, "Severus, I want to be by myself for a while."

Snape said, "I don't care what you want to do, but at Hogwarts you'd better control your mind and do nothing."

Vanessa didn't understand her hint and nodded indiscriminately.