[HP] Astringent

Vanessa secretly prepared a special Christmas present for Snape.She made a quill that automatically writes negative comments on papers.These are very similar to the cheating quill, requiring a spell to record what is to be written.

Every night after returning to the dormitory, Vanessa would lie on the bed and write down Snape's quotations on paper while recalling how Snape satirized others. The more she wrote, the more excited she was, and she wrote several pages of parchment without paying attention.Thinking about it makes me feel sorry for the children of Gryffindor.

Vanessa borrowed the school's common owl and sent the wrapped presents to everyone.

On Christmas Day, Vanessa woke up early and dressed up meticulously.She pulled her hair up, exposing her fair neck, and the tips of her hair were adorned with golden hairpins.A pair of asymmetrical star earrings and a necklace reflect each other. She chose a dark green robe that she rarely wears, which matches the natural fiery red hair, which is very suitable for the Christmas atmosphere.

She got everything ready and started unwrapping the presents under the Christmas tree.Molly gave her a ginger beanie she knitted herself and a small box of mince pies, Professor McGonagall gave her a copy of Transfiguration at Home, and Harry, Ron and Hermione sent it to her together. Liquor chocolate, Hermione should have asked her parents to buy it.

Finally, there was a black box without any decorations, which, needless to say, must have been given by Snape.She opened it curiously, and inside was a bottle of potion, with a note under it. It was not a Christmas wish, but simply said "Elimination Potion".

It is the best time to drink the joy potion during the festival. Vanessa drank all the potion in one gulp, and a warm feeling flowed through her body, as if returning to her childhood and returning to her mother's arms.She felt lighter, the sky was bluer, and the air was fresher.

When the lunch was approaching, Vanessa first went to Hagrid's cabin to find Dahei.Because there were not many people staying in the school, Dumbledore promised her that she could take Dahei to the luncheon, as long as the dog was on a leash.

When she was in the hall, the table was moved again against the wall, leaving only a long table for fourteen in the center of the room.Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, and Filch were all there.Apart from them, there were only six students: two extremely nervous first years, a sullen sixth-year Slytherin, and Harry, the three of them.

"Merry Christmas!" said Dumbledore, standing up.

This is the first time Vanessa spends Christmas at Hogwarts, and it feels a bit novel.She happily replied, "Merry Christmas."

Harry, Ron and Hermione waved at her too.Noticing that Harry didn't have the scarf she'd knitted around her, which she knew would be hard to get, she bought Harry two dozen more socks: a short pack and a tall pack.Harry quietly lifted his trousers, expressing his liking for the gift.Dahei rushed over excitedly when he saw them, and Scabbers in Ron's pocket was excited to escape.

Vanessa grabbed it first, helped it straighten the Santa hat, and conjured a chain to tie it to Ron's belt.

"You are so careless about raising pets, be careful not to let it get lost."

"Okay, aunt." Ron stared at the roast turkey on the table with bright eyes, and swallowed.

I don't know if it was deliberate, but it happened that the action next to Snape was empty, so Vanessa naturally sat there.Dahei found a place at Harry's feet and climbed down obediently.

"Firecracker!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, handing the tail of a large silver firecracker to Snape, who reluctantly took it and pulled it.With a bang, the firecrackers scattered like a shotgun, revealing a large witch's hat with a pointed top, and a stuffed mountain carving on the top of the hat.

Most of the people present remembered about the Boggart, and Harry and Ron looked at each other and grinned.Snape pursed his lips and pushed the hat over to Dumbledore, who promptly replaced his wizard hat with it.

Dumbledore was using this to show his attitude to Snape, telling him that he would be fair.Vanessa looked at Dumbledore amusedly, and he twirled his wizard hat showing off.

"Eat it!" He said with a smile to the whole table.

Vanessa got herself a big spoonful of tripe, and because it was the holidays, she was allowed a glass of currant rum.

She lowered her voice and said to Snape, "Merry Christmas, I like your present very much."

"How much did you drink?"

She tilted her head wonderingly: "It's all finished."

"Didn't you read the words on the card?"

"Look, it's just those three words - euphoria."

Snape gritted his molars and said viciously, "I'm talking about the words on the back of the card."

"I didn't notice, what's wrong?"

"That bottle is for ten times."

"That means I can be happy for ten days, which sounds good."

Snape snorted heavily, and said angrily, "Drinking too much at once can lead to dependence."

Vanessa asked in a panic, "What should I do then?"

"Deserving it."

Vanessa ate the food on the plate pitifully, and after a while, she turned her head and asked Snape, "You gave me the euphoria, you hope that I will be happy."

Snape stopped cutting the steak and glared at her.

Vanessa smiled instead, thinking, anyway, she drank the euphoria, so she was happy no matter what.

Everyone was eating when Trelawney slid over.Dumbledore stood up again and said, "It's a pleasure to have you, Sybil!"

Trelawney said in the faintest and most distant voice: "Headmaster, I have been looking into the crystal ball, and to my amazement, I see myself abandoning my lunch alone to join your dinner party. What am I How can man resist the urging of fate? I walked out of my building at once, and I sincerely beg your pardon for my lateness..."

"Of course, of course," said Dumbledore, his eyes shining. "There's just one place vacant."

"Oh, it's too bad I didn't realize earlier that there are already thirteen people at this table. There is nothing more inauspicious than thirteen, and never forget that if thirteen people eat together, the first person after the meal The one who stands up will be the first to die. Headmaster, you are too dangerous... too scary..."

Meg said impatiently, "Sit down, Sybil. The turkey is going to be as cold as a rock."

Trelawney sat on the empty chair with a sigh, looked around, and asked, "Where is dear Professor Lupine?"

"I'm afraid the poor man is ill again," said Dumbledore, motioning for dinner to begin. "It was very unlucky for him to be ill at Christmas."

"But you must already know, don't you, Sybil?" McGonagall raised her eyebrows as she spoke.

"I've seen that poor Professor Lupine won't be with us for long. He himself seems to understand that his time is running out. When I volunteer to show him the crystal ball, he always avoids..."

Dumbledore raised his voice and said cheerfully, "I don't think Professor Lupine will be in any immediate danger. Severus, have you concocted another potion for him?"

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape.

Vanessa suggested: "Severus, you might as well boil some slimming potions for me when you have this time."

"Even better is to go back to your Gryffindor tower every day, so you can walk a few more steps."

Vanessa opened her eyes wide and said aggrievedly, "You really think I'm fat."

Snape glared at her again.

Two hours later, the Christmas dinner was over.Vanessa didn't go to Snape's office anymore because she decided to go home for a few days.Dahei was fostered with Hagrid first, and at the same time asked Harry to visit him.Because she hasn't returned to her previous home for too long, she has to go back and tidy up first.

All the furniture was covered with off-white covers, covered with dust.It took her three whole days to clean the house, keeping all the furnishings in place, just like before.

Vanessa spent another day adding some decorations and essential household items.She rummaged through some old photos she found with her parents and made an exquisite photo wall.She also sorted out all the textbooks and stuffed them into the empty bookcase.

In addition, she found a large sealed cardboard box with a label on it that said the words Half-Blood Prince.Needless to say it belonged to Snape, she'd peeked at the name from his book.Snape was sometimes a serious and boring person, and when she saw him, she would call herself nicknames in private, which was very strange and nice.But she never asked him what the name meant.

Inside were a bunch of odds and ends about Snape: a silver cauldron that hadn't been given away—because she found out that Lily had bought Snape an identical one for his birthday; Silver cufflinks with the logo of Mrs. Magickin's robes store, which were picked up by Vanessa when Snape dropped them in the grass after a fight with Potter; a draft paper with Snape on it. Notes that Pup helped him correct; a Daily Prophet with a photo of Sirius being arrested on the cover page and a report on Snape's interrogation in the lower right corner of the innermost page, the Wizengamot Supreme Court declared that he Acquitted... Flip to the bottom, revealing a half-written paper by Snape.

It has been seven months since Vanessa and her friends made a bet to catch Snape. From the end of summer to the beginning of the next spring, there was little progress. The relationship between them only changed from strangers to ordinary friends, of course Snape didn't admit they were friends, and he still called Vanessa "Miss Weasley" to this day.

Not only did Vanessa not feel disheartened, but she became more frustrated and courageous. She didn't even pay attention to the boys who courted her, and all she could think about was how to attack Snape.

However, this matter was done in a very secretive way. Not only did Snape never want Lily to know about it, but Vanessa also didn't want others to know about it—the boys she dated before were either very handsome or very rich. Snape fit neither of these criteria.

Vanessa didn't dislike Snape either, but she was just ashamed to be known by others, let alone she was chasing him.

Alice and Annie asked her to go to the library with her that day, and it was hard for her to refuse.

While picking out the books needed for exam review, Alice said to Vanessa: "Do you remember the Ravenclaw senior I saw in Hogsmeade last time? Let me help him ask you to go Do you want to take a walk by the Black Lake?"

"No, you can help me refuse."

Annie asked: "Why, that senior's father is a member of the Wizengamot, so he has a bright future."

"Not interested." Vanessa focused on picking out the books. She thought that Snape would go to the abandoned classroom on the weekend, just in time for him to help her focus.Despite her distaste for studying, she couldn't fail her Ordinary Wizarding Orders.

"You don't really like Snape, do you?"

Vanessa shook her hand, and the book almost fell off. She didn't dare to look into the eyes of the two of them: "How is that possible?"

Alice squinted at him, and jokingly said, "You really didn't like him? I don't think you're in the dormitory, are you going on a date?" She just found a Hufflepuff half-breed not long ago. There are two wineries in France, and they look good, and now they are arrogant when talking to Vanessa.

Vanessa was even more ashamed to admit it, and covered it up: "Of course not, you are overthinking. It's not like you don't know my standard for choosing boyfriends."

"That's right." Anne said, "The boys Vanessa has dated with were either rich or expensive. How could a Slytherin half-blood fall into her eyes."

"I heard that his family is not very good. The school uniform and robes and textbooks are worth a lot. He even buys second-hand ones."

The two sang together to see Vanessa's jokes. Vanessa pretended to be looking for a book and kept silent.

Alice patted Vanessa's arm: "What on earth are you thinking?"

"Annie is right, how could I fall in love with him."

Vanessa approached Snape with a game attitude at first, but she felt like everything was starting to spin out of control.

"Look, I'll just say it. But we gambled on catching Snape within a month, but later you said it was too difficult, so we changed it to half a year. It's all up to now, you haven't succeeded yet, have you?"

Vanessa's heart became sour, but she pretended to say casually: "Who told Lily Evans to have too much influence on him?"

"If you forget it, you don't have to fulfill that bet. It's so boring to spend such a good time on him."

"Well, that's exactly what you said." Vanessa replied, "If I haven't caught up before the end of this semester, I will be considered a loser. In addition to the skin care potion I gambled before, I will give each of you a set of hair care potions. .”

Alice cheered: "Okay, I'm just trying to save money to buy it, and I'm waiting for you now."

"Are you so unconfident in me?" Vanessa asked back.

Anne said: "How is that possible. But to be honest, if you chase Snape, it won't affect your date with others, right? Just don't wear clothes. I think that Ravenclaw senior is really good, so don't miss it."

Vanessa shrugged her shoulders: "You're going to date him after seeing you. What about Ravenclaw, who can't even memorize the formula of Felix Elixir, and dares to pretend to be knowledgeable in front of me. Isn't he ashamed? ?”

"When did you value boys' grades so much?"

"How do you know that the formula of Felicia he said is wrong, you can recite it?"

Can Vanessa remember, the last time she tried to help Snape, after nearly destroying a pot of potion, Snape almost killed her, and finally ordered her to memorize the potion formula, otherwise she would die. Never let her enter the door of the abandoned classroom again.

It was only after seeing the formula that Vanessa knew that what she was going to memorize was Felicia Potion. Which normal person would brew such an advanced potion by himself in the fifth grade!No matter how angry she was, she still recited the formula backwards.

Vanessa glanced away, licked her lower lip, and said, "The main thing is that Ravenclaw's looks are really not my thing. Please don't bring it up again."

After the three of them walked to the second row of bookshelves, Anne said, "Okay, but you really like Snape, right?"

Before Vanessa could speak, Alice answered for her: "How could it be possible to really fall in love with him."

Vanessa casually agreed: "Yes, how is it possible."

They suddenly heard the sound of books being slammed on the table, and Vanessa saw that not far away, Snape looked at them indifferently, and roughly stuffed the things spread out on the table into the school bag, Walked straight through them and out.

Vanessa was bumped by his schoolbag and knocked on the table.Alice supported her: "Why is Snape so rude?"

Annie said worriedly, "He didn't hear everything, did he?"

"Hear it as soon as you hear it, what can you do? He doesn't know what his own conditions are. He is taking advantage of us Vanessa being so beautiful and playing with him for so long." Alice said.

Her heart was so cold that she couldn't imagine what would happen if Snape heard what he said just now.She saw that Snape hurried away, and a piece of parchment was swept to the ground.

She picked it up and chased it out.

For several days in a row, Vanessa did not hesitate to ask for leave, skipped classes, and stopped Snape at the door of his classroom on time.Each time Snape ignored him and walked straight past.Vanessa felt ashamed and didn't dare to do anything, so she could only look for him next time.

Today, Vanessa finally reached the limit of her patience, and no amount of guilt was worn away.Even if her original purpose was not pure, how she has treated him for so long, doesn't he know in his heart!

Snape walked over without looking away again, and Vanessa directly and forcefully grabbed his wrist and dragged him to a remote aisle next to the classroom.

Snape violently shook her hand away: "What do you want to do, haven't you played enough? Come and ask me to cooperate with you to help you win that bet?"

Vanessa's attitude softened instantly: "I'm here to apologize to you, not what you imagined."

"Isn't it what I imagined?" Snape raised an eyebrow, "You didn't bet?"

"I... I bet." Vanessa summoned up her courage again, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect things to turn out like this."

"Didn't expect to be heard by me? Why are you here apologizing to a Slytherin half-blood who can't catch your eye." Snape smirked imitating their tone at the time, and said mockingly, "I'm sorry, Weasley Miss, I really don't have time to mess around with you."

Vanessa was about to cry, and said anxiously: "Don't do this, I feel bad."

"It's unbelievable that Miss Weasley is still able to maintain your acting skills," said Snape, his tone terribly cold.

Vanessa tried to take his hand, but was dodged.She shook her head desperately: "I'm sorry, but I'm not acting, I really like being with you. Can you forgive me?"

"And become your trophy? I'm not interested." Snape sneered.

Vanessa couldn't listen to Snape's apology. She thought maybe she should give him some time to calm down, and she should also give herself time to think about why just a look from him could make her so sad.

She had never tolerated any boyfriend staying with her for more than three months, and it seemed like only a few days after being with Snape for so long, and she was already dreading life without him.

If Snape could forgive her this time, even if she told everyone that she was chasing him, she would give anything, as long as he didn't blame herself.

"If you don't want to see me now, then I can not bother you for the time being, and I will come to you when you calm down." Vanessa looked at Snape beggingly.

Snape gave her one last look that pierced Vanessa's heart like an ice pick.

Like a deflated balloon, Vanessa said weakly, "Your paper is still here..."

She took out the flat parchment without any creases, Snape said casually, "I don't need it anymore."

From that day on, Snape completely ignored her.If she had known that this relationship would always remain in her heart, then she would not have let the two of them break contact so easily.