[HP] Astringent

There was lightning, thunder, and thunderstorm outside the window, and Snape followed Fox to the principal's office.The first thing I did was to look around. Vanessa was not there, and my heart stopped beating suddenly.Maybe she just has a new mission, he persuaded himself.He leaned on the back of the chair without showing any signs, and looked around again. Everyone looked mournful and their faces were heavy.An overwhelming sense of insecurity hits.Finally, he turned his gaze to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's ice-blue eyes were covered with tears, and he looked at Snape guiltily, his voice couldn't be softer: "I'm sorry, Vanessa..."

Snape couldn't listen to anything he said, his mind was buzzing like a string snapped, and all his senses disappeared, as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him.

"I don't believe it, Albus, I don't believe a word you say." His voice trembled violently, and his deep voice became shrill, "Where is Vanessa? You promised me, You said it! I worked my life for you, not to get this result!" He drew out his wand, and let it hang down feebly, not pointing at Dumbledore after all.

Black rushed forward, standing between him and Dumbledore: "What are you going to do? This has nothing to do with Albus! It was me, I didn't catch her in time! We are going to fight the five Death Eaters together!" Hell, she's hurt..."

"Is she still injured?" Snape's voice became a little colder, and then he made a movement that no one expected - punched Black in the face.Blake was caught off guard and backed away again and again, spitting out a mouthful of blood.He quickly drew out his wand, and Snape didn't show any weakness. All of a sudden, the headmaster's room was full of dust, spells intertwined, and the huge desk collapsed with a loud noise.

Dumbledore held Snape, and Lupine held Black.The two stared at each other with hatred, not giving an inch.

"It's the third time, Blake! This is the third time! A useless piece of trash who has more success than failure!" In his anger, his voice became deeper and deeper, expressing his resentment vividly.

"It's not your turn to teach me, snot!" Blake growled, "If you hadn't overheard the prophecy, James wouldn't have died at all!"

"What?" Harry looked up, being blocked by Moody and Kingsley.

Snape's face was ashen, shrouded in a thick dead air.The last trace of blood had faded from the lips, and the base of the neck was flushed with anger.He sneered, his lips twisted, and his teeth were exposed: "What qualifications do you have to mention this! You stupid idiot! If you didn't believe in Wormtail... even if you believed in that werewolf just once, Lily would It will be fine! It's because you didn't protect Lily well!"

Harry was shocked by what he heard, he never thought Snape would be so angry about his mother.

"What do you mean by that!" Harry blurted out in confusion.

For the first time that night, Snape's black eyes looked at him, the fire of hatred in them had been extinguished, like two gray rough black stones.Looking at Harry as if he was just dead, or maybe Snape was the dead one.

Dumbledore winked, and Moody led everyone except Lupine and Black out of the headmaster's room. Tonks took Harry's arm and half dragged him out of the room.

Snape's empty and cold eyes returned to Black again, black hair covered them like curtains, shadows fell on his face, covering his expression, and the huge hooked nose grew abruptly on his face: "The last time you left Vanessa there alone and tortured her, this time you watched her fall... into the curtain? And you went back to school as if nothing had happened?" he said in his throat Weird incoherent sneer.

Blake was choked by his words, opened his mouth but couldn't make any sound.He knew Snape was right.

Dumbledore wept from the corners of his eyes, and comforted him, "Severus, it's not Sirius' fault..."

"Shut up, Albus." It was the first time he had spoken to Dumbledore in such a disrespectful tone. "I've had enough of your nonsense. I died for you, and what did you give me? From the beginning, You shouldn't let her join the Order of the Phoenix! America, France, Germany, you can't go anywhere, why, why..."

Snape's legs gave way, and he sank into the armchair, his black hair hanging down, covering even his aquiline nose this time.He couldn't go on anymore, because all the choices were made by Vanessa herself, and she couldn't blame others.In terms of resentment, he can only resent himself, so he should follow her every step of the way and protect her.What's even more ridiculous is that he always thought that even if someone would die, he should die before Vanessa. He even made a will behind Vanessa's back, and Vanessa owned all the property.

The door opened and closed, and the office was quiet except for the pecking of Fox's feathers and the crackling of the firewood.Dumbledore returns to headquarters with the rest of the Order.

The light in the room was dim, but it was not as gray as the world Snape saw.He seemed to be soaking in a black lake in the twilight of winter, every trace of cold penetrated into the marrow of his bones-he knew that his stove was gone, gone forever.Cold tears flowed down his nose, soaking his dry lips, which were full of saltiness.

The storm did not know when it stopped, Fox woke up from the dream, and Dumbledore returned to the office quietly.Snape remained the same as he had left, like a statue that would neither resurrect nor disappear, but slowly fade away with time.

Dumbledore considered his tone and said slowly: "I don't think Vanessa is dead..."

Snape's fingers twitched, and he looked up at Dumbledore lifelessly.He continued, "Molly wanted to give Vanessa a funeral...but she couldn't find Vanessa's home. You hid it right?"

His eyes finally became brighter, and he nodded stiffly and slowly.It took a long time before he realized what Dumbledore meant, that the secrecy spell had not expired, which meant that Vanessa was not dead.He slowly opened his eyes wide, an unbelievable ecstasy and apprehension tormenting him at the same time.

"Go and see, Severus."

Dumbledore cast a spell on a piece of wood from the desk and it became a Portkey.Snape grabbed it tremblingly, feeling dizzy, and stood at Vanessa's house in Godric's Hollow.

The Secrecy Charm was indeed still there, but the room was empty, and there was no sign of anyone returning.The house was small, but Snape thought it was eerily empty.Vanessa was afraid that the furniture would get dusty, so each piece was carefully covered with white cloth.It was an unlucky color, and in Snape's eyes, it was as if she had held an early funeral for herself.He tapped the dust cover with the tip of his stick, and it turned all red, trimmed with gold lace, just like the way Vanessa dressed her office for his birthday.

He walked from the living room to the kitchen, and up the stairs into Vanessa's bedroom. He came only once and never took a close look at the place where Vanessa grew up.The wallpaper is light green and light yellow, and the furniture is mostly pure wood, simple but warm.The bookshelves are full of unnutritious romance novels, fortune-telling, and a few cookbooks.There are only a few spell books, and they are not well selected.Finally he saw the cardboard box on top of the cabinet, with a Half-Blood Prince emoji on it.Snape's heart beat violently, opened tremblingly, all related to him, each one seemed to carry countless pasts.If there was a pensieve at this moment, Snape would be able to see Vanessa's entire youth when he pulled out the memory against these old objects - that was the past that belonged to only the two of them that he hadn't bothered to pay attention to.

Tears seemed to be frozen in his eyes, and he sat hopelessly on the ground next to the open cardboard box, his intense sadness made him breathless.He suddenly remembered the summoning spell that Vanessa left her, he waved his wand over and over again, and said that spell over and over again, and he added her name before the spell every time according to Vanessa's instructions——Ke Fan Nissa lied to him.

"Use this when you can't find me in the future, and I can come back to you no matter where I am."

Vanessa's voice, appearance and appearance when she said these words were still imprinted in his mind, and she never appeared.

Snape sat on the teacher's bench with a dead face, the hall was decorated in Gryffindor colors, and they won the house cup again.All this has nothing to do with him, if not for Dumbledore's request, he would not have come to the closing ceremony at all.But what Dumbledore said is also reasonable. After Vanessa joined the job, she hasn't seen a ceremony yet.He had to take a good look at Vanessa and tell her one by one when she came back.

The tray in front of him was filled with sumptuous food, and he put Vanessa's favorite medium-rare red-eye steak on her tray.No one moved from beginning to end.Snape brought the meat over again and cut it into medium-sized pieces—Vanessa must have been too excited to see her winning the college championship and forgot to eat. Where is willing to move.

Snape wasn't crazy, he knew that his fantasies were all false, but he didn't want to wake himself up.Now even Potter can easily invade his brain, but he doesn't care anymore, they can watch it if they want, it doesn't matter if the identity of the spy is exposed, he doesn't have to be tied between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix, he voluntarily Walking into the curtain, whether behind the arch is hell or heaven, whether Vanessa is there or not, he can spend the rest of his life looking for it slowly.

But cunning Dumbledore...

The screech of the knife across the plate was unnoticed, but the noise was drowned out by the loud chatter of the students.He pushed his plate forward, unable to eat any more.

What did Dumbledore say?Yes, he said in that tone that no one could refuse: "You swore, Severus. You said I could make you do anything."

Snape was left speechless.All of this is his own fault. He is an unforgivable sin. He has already given his life to others on credit. How dare he accept Vanessa's sincerity before paying off his life debt.Potter could stand in front of Voldemort when she went to kill Lily, and die for her.And not only could he not fight side by side with Vanessa, he couldn't even find her...

Lily was right, at least at this moment, no matter how much Snape hated Potter, he had to admit that Lily had found someone who treated her sincerely, while he had hated Potter for most of his life, but couldn't do what he could do.It's ridiculous that Vanessa is still not as smart as Lily. After so many years of picking and choosing, half of the boys in the school lined up, and finally gave her heart to herself.

Dumbledore also said: "Wait until Voldemort is destroyed."

Snape had plenty of time, and as long as he was alive, he could wait, if waiting would bring Vanessa back.But can Vanessa really afford to wait?It was an unknown world. The researchers of the Department of Mysteries changed batch after batch. No one had ever figured out the secret behind the curtain, and no one had ever come out alive.

"Monster!" "Bastard!" "Snotling!" "Greasy old bat!"

His parents, Jiedao foursome, and countless other people who had scolded him played back in his ears, and they were right.What qualifications does he have to accept Vanessa's love, and what qualifications does he have to keep her waiting.

Spinner's End is full of traces of Vanessa's life.

Lying on the bed, Snape seemed to hear someone whisper goodnight in his ear, a warm finger brushed across his forehead, brushed away his broken hair, and then soft lips pressed against his forehead .But when he opened his eyes, there was only nothingness around him.

He walked into the kitchen, with the wind blowing behind him, a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist, and his cheeks rubbed against his back, urging him to feed himself a French fries before putting it on the plate.But when he came back to his senses, no one asked him to dip him in some ketchup like a chick waiting to be fed.

When he came to the laboratory, even if he stayed for a whole day without eating or drinking, no one broke in, forcibly pulled him out, no one asked him to serve tea and water, and no one asked him to read and chat with him.

The locust tree in the yard has sprouted new buds, and its bare branches are covered with tender green leaves. It will be decades before it can barely hang a swing.Vanessa once said that she is not in a hurry and can wait slowly.

On the tenth day of the holiday, Malfoy came to his house in dismay, drinking Polyjuice Potion and pretending to be a stranger, because the Ministry of Magic was after him, and Voldemort would not let him go.

Snape was staring at him indifferently, which made him uncomfortable.He looked around, originally he just wanted to make a joke, but his tone was always sarcasm: "Weasley's idea? Although it's a bit shabby, the taste is good."

"I don't think you want me to ask the Aurors to capture you myself." Snape said mercilessly.

Malfoy's face darkened: "Don't forget to be grateful, Severus. I saved her life."

"The Imperius Curse? What a good idea." Snape sneered.

"What can I do, should I kneel in front of the Dark Lord and intercede for her?" Malfoy narrowed his eyes, "If it weren't for what you said during the World Cup last year, I shouldn't have cared about Weasley's life in the first place, maybe The prophecy ball will also shatter."

"You still like to pass the buck as always, Lucius. Don't blame others for your failures."

Malfoy pulled out his wand almost at the same time, but it was still half a beat late, and Snape's wand was pointed directly between his eyebrows.He cursed under his breath, slipped his wand back into the cane, and took a step back.

"I came to give you a warning." Snape raised his eyebrows, gesturing for him to continue, but the wand in his hand did not lower, and Malfoy lowered his posture, "Cissy, Sissy told me that the one who wants to Come to your house. You better put these away."

Snape looked him in the eye, knew without Occlumency that he was telling the truth, and he wanted to trade the news.He stared at the other party, put down his wand: "Tell me, what do you want from me?" He laughed mockingly, with indescribable fatigue in his tone.

"I want you to help me protect Xiaolong and Sissy. I would rather be imprisoned in Azkaban than return to the Dark Lord. At that time, the Dark Lord will definitely ask them to accept punishment instead of me." Malfoy's voice was filled with worry. Shaking with fear, he looked at Snape earnestly, "I want you to swear to help me protect them."

Snape closed his eyes, and when he opened them again there was only a hollow silence in his pupils, and he nodded with difficulty.

Snape used the Muggle method that Vanessa had ridiculed, personally put the furniture and decorations she picked into boxes and locked them in the storage room, and the last bit of popularity of this house disappeared. He also put memories and emotions Locked deep in the brain.

In the evening, Voldemort brought the Lestrange couple here. Snape put on a "mask" of reverence and surprise, and knelt down at Voldemort's feet: "Master, I have found a way to bring the ring back."

Hogwarts was pitch black except for an oil lamp lit in the headmaster's office on the third floor. Dumbledore pulled out the Gryffindor sword from the sorting hat and slashed resolutely at the ring inlaid with the resurrection stone.

The author has something to say:

Regarding the secrecy spell, I think the original book has bugs, because I read that people can see the ruins of Potter's house because Potter died, and the secrecy spell was naturally broken.But after Black died, others still couldn't see Black's old house.According to the settings related to magic, after the death of a wizard, the spells he used will become invalid. (hope I remember correctly)

So I added a private setting. When the secret keeper dies, everyone who knows the location of the house will automatically become the secret keeper (in line with the original setting), and if the wizard who signed the secret spell dies, the spell will automatically expire.

And in the original book, Blake fell into the arch with a death curse, so he was dead, dead, and Vanessa fell in alive.