[HP] Astringent

Vanessa didn't know how long she had been sitting there, the snow outside the window had stopped, there was only a handful of soot left in the fireplace, and the hazy moonlight became the only light in the room.

It was the knock on the door that woke her up, and she opened it, and the three children Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood outside.Apparently they were taken aback by Vanessa's appearance and forgot what they had just discussed.

Vanessa let them in, hurried into the bathroom to tidy up, and tidied up her mood. When she came out, she had returned to her usual elegant and charming appearance.She lit the fireplace, gave each of the three children a cup of hot cocoa, and asked them gently, "Why are you here at night?"

Harry hesitated, Ron looked anxious, rushed to help him and said, "It's Harry, today we went to Hogsmeade village."

"Wait, I remember Harry couldn't go to Hogsmeade."

"Ron, you can't say that!" Hermione said angrily.

"But it's okay to tell my aunt." He looked at Vanessa guiltily. "On weekends you're my aunt, not Professor Weasley."

"Just this one time, never again, Ron. I'm going to write to Molly if you do that again!"

Ron wailed, "Oh, don't..."

"Harry, did something happen in Hogsmeade?"

Harry said: "Yes, it's about Black. I heard Professor McGonagall talking to them. He used to be my dad's best friend. He betrayed my parents. You all know this, don't you? You're hiding it from me!"

Vanessa said: "Harry, I have to apologize for hiding it."

"Why can't you tell me? Because I'm a child, I'm not qualified, I shouldn't know so much?" He stood up excitedly, "But none of you have defeated Voldemort! It was me, I took it from him Survived! I have the right to know all this!"

"You're right, honey, I really shouldn't treat you like a child."

Vanessa's apology left Harry speechless, and he sat back on the couch sullenly, taking a sip of hot cocoa.Harry looked at the sweet liquid and whispered, "I want revenge, I can't know about it and do nothing!"

Just now Vanessa was sitting here thinking the same thing, looking at Harry, she could feel the deep hatred and pain, it was hard to even speak to stop him.

"Harry, calm down. You can't do this! The dementors will catch Black, Black will go back to Azkaban, and, and he deserves it!" Hermione was on the verge of crying.

"You heard what Fudge said. Black was not under the influence of Azkaban like normal people. This punishment is not the same for him as it is for other people."

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, looking nervous. "Do you think there are other plans to kill Black?"

Vanessa said coldly: "If I were you, I would want to kill him."

All three children froze, looking at Vanessa in panic.Vanessa sighed: "I just thought, I can't let you get rid of negative emotions completely, as if nothing happened. To tell you the truth, I also experienced a similar thing. A person was killed by Death Eaters because of me. Dead, but I don't even know who did it."

They waited intently for her to continue: "I don't even have anyone to hate, at least you still have, and you can still fantasize about revenge."

"Then, what should I do then?" Harry's mind became even more confused.

"Do nothing, sleep, and continue to live well."

"what?"

Vanessa said: "You heard me right, my dear. The reason why we are different from Death Eaters is that we don't really kill and torture people. We know that Aurors and the law should punish those who do wrong. And you have to live well, your parents will see, they want you to be happy."

Someone else was suffering the same thing, and that alone made Harry relax.Vanessa patted him on the shoulder, hoping to give him a little strength, and hoped that she could also be stronger.

"They have no way of knowing, thanks to Blake, I never spoke to them."

"No, my parents passed away very early. But I believe they have always been by my side." Vanessa continued, "Harry, I know you are in pain, and I understand. You see, I also No parents, no family."

"Don't say that, we are all here." Ron wanted to comfort Vanessa.

Vanessa chuckled, "That's different, Molly and Arthur have your restless kids." She winked at Harry, "You know what I mean, don't you?"

Harry nodded. He liked the Burrow, it was the first place he'd ever felt like home.But he also deeply knew that it was not his home, and he envied Ron very much.Every word of Vanessa hit the mark, and he listened more carefully.

"But I was not very popular when I was in school, and I stayed in the United States for so many years. Now I come back and hardly have any friends, but you have two such wonderful friends, Ron and Hermione, and they are very worried about you. Merlin It's not fair, not everyone is born with everything, but we can appreciate what we have."

Ron and Hermione also put their hands on Harry's shoulders, and Harry's face softened a lot.

This is how to comfort others. You have to let the other person know that your experience is in common with him, and it is better to be more miserable than his. Then respect his ideas, don’t refute them, but let him gradually accept your logic.Aside from these techniques, all that Vanessa says is genuine.

Hermione said, "Really, Harry, we were all worried about you doing something stupid."

"Yes, buddy, I'm still wondering if you're going to take revenge, should I preview the Killing Curse in advance." Ron patted his chest, "I heard it's difficult, but I'm really afraid I won't be able to learn it myself."

Several people were amused.

Vanessa duly gave Harry some space.After reassuring others, she herself felt a little better, turned to Ron and Hermione, and chatted, "How was your day in Hogsmeade Village?"

Hermione said: "It's not bad. We went to Honey Duke. There are a lot of new flavors recently."

"Really? I haven't been there since graduation, so I must visit next time."

"My parents really like the Mao Maoya mints there." When talking to the older people, Hermione was a little girlish than usual, and her fluffy hair was very cute.

"I prefer Zizi honey candies."

"That's not bad, but my parents don't let me eat more, because it's bad for my teeth."

Ron said, "Forget that, guess who we met at Honeydukes?"

"Draco Malfoy?" Vanessa guessed.

"It's scarier than that, it's Professor Snape!" Ron finally remembered adding the title.

Vanessa was also shocked: "What is he doing?"

"I don't know, we quickly hid! He almost ran into Harry!"

Harry nodded with lingering fear: "But he didn't find fault with Ron and Hermione this time."

Seeing a little smile on Harry's face, Vanessa felt relieved: "It's Christmas, it's normal to buy some gifts."

Ron said: "It's not normal, who would exchange gifts with him!"

"Sorry, Ron, I was going to give him a gift, and I think many teachers will also give each other."

Ron touched his nose and didn't speak again.

A grey-brown owl flew by the window, beating with its beak, and Vanessa walked over suspiciously and let it in.It threw down a paper bag with the Honeydukes logo printed on it, and when it was opened, there was a large jar of zizi honey candy inside.The gift didn't even have a wrapper, nor a gift card of any kind, and only Snape could give such a gift.

It's not my little girl anymore, and you still give me candy?Vanessa thought it was funny, and then she thought that when he was unhappy, she gave him a candy, and this time he rushed to Honeydukes to buy her a can of candy, which must have scared many children along the way.

Vanessa was so happy in her heart, it was like being soaked in honey.

Ron yelled: "Zizi honey candy? Who will give you candy at this time, and it's not Christmas yet."

"I can't have a little secret of my own." She gave Ron a blank look, "Okay, curfew is almost here, you guys go back to your dormitory."

Ron also wanted to know who gave the gift, but was forcibly pulled away by Harry and Hermione.Vanessa gave each of the three of them a handful of honey candies without hesitation.

There was still a lot left, and Vanessa peeled one and put it in her mouth, it was much sweeter than her candy.

Vanessa didn't rush to read the books she bought.She asks Molly for her Christmas gift suggestions and starts working on Christmas presents.Molly sent her a second-hand hand-knitting book, and she mail-ordered red, white, and gold yarn to knit Santa hats for Big Black, Scabbers, and Crookshanks as written in the book. Harry knits a scarf, so first practice with three pets.

It's already a holiday, and the school is deserted.Taking advantage of Snape's absence, Vanessa occupied Snape's potions office with her stuff.Snape was going to chase him away, but after Vanessa smugly shook a jar of honey candies, he relented.Vanessa's relapse must have made Snape regret his unnecessary actions.

In fact, Vanessa can't see others, and he spends most of his time brewing potions in the laboratory.As a matter of course, she occupied the entire space of the sofa and coffee table, and lay half-lying on the couch leisurely. The coffee table was full of mail-order snacks. She even asked Arthur to help him buy potato chips and wafers in the Muggle supermarket And Cokes, and a few cases of Sprite, because she's recovering from alcohol.Arthur would be more than happy to do her this little favor, and he still writes every day to tell what he saw in the Muggle supermarket.

Snape came out of the laboratory, saw that there were a lot more things on the table, and said with a dark face, "Professor Weasley, when are you going to go back to your own office?"

"My office is on the eighth floor. I have to climb up and down every day to eat on the first floor and walk the dog. It's very tiring."

"I think the distance between the eight floors must be farther and more dangerous than the Ecuadorian rainforest. With your magic ability, you can't go back smoothly."

"How do you know that I have ventured there and bought my book secretly?" Vanessa raised her eyebrows, "Do you want to sign an autograph for you—dedicated to my most loyal reader, Severus Snape Sir, I wish you the same courage and strength as me soon, your favorite beauty adventure writer Vanessa wrote it herself."

"I'd rather see Lockhart's new Memoirs of St. Mungo, at least as a joke."

Vanessa couldn't stand up with laughter, it was so funny to hear Snape taunt someone, or someone she hated.

For a long time, when Snape almost couldn't resist giving her a tongue lock, she was about to stop smiling.He casually picked up a bag of potato chips from the side of the sofa and tore it open, asking, "Do you want some, Severus?"

"unnecessary."

She took a big mouthful with enjoyment, looked at the glass in Snape's hand, and said vaguely: "What are you holding? Another potion for Lupin? I haven't been sitting still lately." If I'm getting fat, you can help me boil some slimming potion."

"Dreaming." Snape was becoming more and more lazy to waste words with Vanessa, he could express himself in two words without saying a word.

"Then can I borrow your tool to cook by myself?"

"You can't blow up my lab."

Vanessa stuck out her tongue quietly: "Oh, well... You still have to deliver medicine to Lupin, it's such a trouble, can't he come down and get it by himself? Come back sooner."

Snape snorted coldly.

She felt much more peaceful when making things by herself, and it was simpler than imagined.By the day before Christmas, she finally finished knitting a red scarf with messy patterns and three crooked Christmas hats.When she gleefully showed it to Snape, she received a distasteful stare.But this was the limit, and she couldn't make them look any better after working hard for a long time.

Snape finished brewing all the potions and kept Vanessa's things out after she protested, and now he was sitting pitifully on the cleared armchair, reading a potions book.

Everywhere in the school is decorated in a very Christmas atmosphere, and there is a small Christmas tree beside the fireplace in each teacher's office.

Snape couldn't help but relax, and the brows relaxed.

On the round table at hand was a tea set, a teapot just big enough for two people and a pair of teacups.On the teacup, Santa Claus is sitting on a sleigh pulled by elk, throwing down presents. When the presents fall to the bottom of the cup, silver fireworks bloom immediately on the tray.

He read the book for a while, took a sip from the teacup - Indian black tea blended with Qihong, less milk and less sugar, Vanessa made it, but it was his favorite flavor.

"Severus, I know why this pattern is crooked, I made a mistake in the fourth step!" Vanessa looked back, resting her head on the arm of the sofa and holding the book above her head.

Without looking up, he said, "Yeah."

"You didn't even read it!" She turned around, pushed the book under his nose, and told him where she made a mistake in knitting. At the end, she vowed, "I will do it next time, and I won't make such a mess again." Ugly."

Snape sneered.

Vanessa said: "You should be glad that I found the problem later. I think the striped one is good, but the solid color one with a snake on it should also look good. Which one do you like?"

"What are you going to do again?" Snape looked at her displeased.

"Knitting you a Christmas present."

"I don't need such a stupid scarf"

"You're so smart that no scarf will look stupid on you."

Snape racked his brains to find an excuse to evade: "I don't believe that with your level of ingenuity, you can finish knitting a scarf by tomorrow."

"So I want to start weaving today, and I will be able to weave it perfectly by today next year."

"I'd rather you take this pile of trash and go back to the lion's den sooner."

"Dream." Repeating the original words, Vanessa gave him a white look, and continued to carefully trim the fur balls on the Santa hat.