[HP] Astringent

The moon streaked across the night sky and hung over the treetops in the forest on the west side. Snape put down the file and walked back to the bedroom.The bed was foreign to him, and he slept on the sofa or armchair most of the time.He couldn't stand the emptiness around him.Pulling open the drawer of the bedside table, there was only a glass jar inside, and he took it out carefully.

During the year Vanessa was gone, he could always hear her voice, which disturbed his peace.But in the past two months, the voice disappeared, and he was even more worried. He was afraid that Vanessa would disappear from her life and die quietly where he couldn't find it.

Snape pulled the snail from the sand.It was an unexpected discovery, and if it weren't for Potter, he wouldn't even have discovered the mystery of this birthday present.

Last year he was forced to protect Malfoy, helping the panicked young Death Eater kill Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time.But apart from him and Dumbledore, no one else knew their plan - they jointly planned Dumbledore's death.At that time, he was backlashed by the black magic attached to the ring of the Gaunt family for his own private thoughts. Not long after his death, he thought of this idea of ​​killing two birds with one stone. It could not only save a young man who was forced to kill but still had kind thoughts Help Snape win Voldemort's absolute trust.

From the beginning to the end, Dumbledore never considered Snape's thoughts, as if he was born to be a cold-blooded animal without emotion, and he would not feel sorry for the death of others at all.Anyway, he has long been used to it, and no one will feel sorry for him.Oh, he actually used the nasty and hypocritical word distressed.

But no plan can avoid the self-righteous savior interfering, and he can only find excuses to shut Potter's confinement.And he even moved his things without authorization. He put the gift Vanessa gave him on the desk and forgot to put it away.And the bastard dropped it on the ground!

Thanks to this fall, Snape found the conch shell buried in the sand—he understood Vanessa's nonsensical words "If one day you miss me, you can listen to look."

Snape pressed the conch shell to his ear, and there was the sound of crashing waves, a gust of sea wind whizzing by, followed by faint breathing sounds, followed by a chuckle, he could only think of it when he closed his eyes What a bright smile.Vanessa called his name over and over again: "Sev, Sev, Sev..." The tone of voice was different each time, as if she was deliberately trying to mislead him.There was a pause at the end, he could hear seagulls chirping in the distance, maybe an ocean-going ship was passing by, the siren sound was unreal, but Vanessa’s melodious voice was close to his ears, as if she was lying next to him. whispering to himself, "Sev, I love you."

Snape is not a person who likes to talk about his feelings. He was not used to Vanessa tirelessly confessing to himself every morning and evening, but now he really hopes that Vanessa can leave a few more words.In this way, even if she is really gone, I can end my life with just a few words.

He cast the Patronus Charm without thinking, and a silver-white butterfly emerged from the tip of the staff and landed on his palm.

Taking advantage of the night, Vanessa quietly opened the window and slipped out of the headquarters.Butterflies are not animals for long-distance flight, so she Apparates to Hogsmeade first.As soon as she stepped into the village, she could feel a sense of familiarity. She vaguely remembered that she went back to school from here many nights.She found a secluded corner, hid all the things that could not be taken away after the transformation, and added expulsion spells, neglect spells and protection spells.

She rubbed her hands together to relieve her fear, and secretly prayed that the spell would be successful once, and suddenly, a dexterous butterfly emerged from the robe.She flapped her wings with great effort - when she was a human, she hadn't realized how far Hogsmeade was from the castle.

It was dark in the castle, except for a room on the third floor that was still lit.There was no familiarity there, but the nature of the butterfly affected her—as a beginner, not quite free from the influence of the changeling, she flew towards the only light.

The window was closed, and she fell onto the sill, almost blown away by the howling evening wind.She tried her best to move a few steps towards the window lattice, this time she could clearly see the interior.It was a dark bedroom, the wallpaper was black, the floor and the wooden frame of the double bed were dark brown, the curtains and bed sheets were all dark green, the walls were clean and without any decoration, only the one facing the bed There is a wall of books in the location, and there are also yellowed and dilapidated tomes inside.There was a silver butterfly that was almost exactly the same as hers dancing around something on the bed. After carefully identifying it for a moment, Vanessa noticed that there was a person sitting there.He was dressed in a pitch-black nightgown, with greasy hair covering his sharp, angular face, and he sat motionless for an unknown amount of time, like a plant that had been growing in the dark.

To be honest, he was nothing special, not as handsome as Seablack, not as refined as Lupine, and not as unruly as the Potter they described.However, Vanessa's eyes were unconsciously attracted to him, as if he was the only light in the world, and she just wanted to throw moths into the flames regardless of herself - in fact, she did the same, hitting the glass window abruptly.

Such a small sound still alarmed the man, and he looked over vigilantly. Vanessa was too small for him to notice.Vanessa finally saw his appearance clearly, and those obsidian-like clear eyes were imprinted in her heart, and she recognized this man, Severus Snape.

Seeing the man walking quickly to the bed, Vanessa let go of her slender legs in fear, letting herself disappear into the night sky with the wind.

Vanessa's heart was still pounding as she lay back on the bed, Snape's face haunting her mind.In the next few days, she was immersed in this short encounter, and almost cut vegetables several times.Molly took her out of the kitchen in fear and asked her to rest more.

Tonks had moved in with her parents, she was about to give birth, and Lupine was juggling duties and family, rarely coming to headquarters.It's easier for Vanessa to sneak out at night.

On Friday, Vanessa used the same method to sneak into Hogwarts and went straight to the principal's office on the third floor.This time Snape sat on the leather armchair next to the book wall, with a book spread out on his lap, and the quill was caught in the middle. He kept his head resting on his pale hands, and remained silent for a long time.Suddenly his head drooped, and he woke up with a start.

It turned out that she was asleep, and Vanessa felt a little distressed for some reason.

Snape turned the pages of the book and looked at it intently for a while. The quill pen scribbled a few lines between the book gaps, his eyes were half-closed, his fingers relaxed uncontrollably, the quill slipped from his hand and rolled to the ground.

Curiosity trumped the evaluation of Snape instilled in her by members of the Order of the Phoenix, and she wanted to go in and meet the man.

But she doesn't have a wand now, and she can't open the closed window at all.After much deliberation, she only thought of one stupid solution.She flew some distance away from the window, flapped her wings like a run-up, and slammed into the glass with all her strength.Snape seemed to be falling asleep, and the noise didn't wake him up this time.She tried several times, but she was dizzy and dizzy, but it didn't work, so she had to find another way.She walked around to another part of the castle, where the outermost window was supposed to be the headmaster's office.Her luck is not too bad, the window here is open a crack.Vanessa folded her wings and got in.

The portraits of the headmaster on the wall were all immersed in sleep, and Vanessa transformed back into a human form without anyone noticing, and walked into the bedroom silently.Every time Vanessa took a step closer, she had to be careful whether he would wake up. When he got close, his fingers moved, as if he was about to grab something, and Vanessa stopped immediately.She knelt down and looked up at Snape's face, there were deep dark blue marks under his eyes, and there was a bottle of refreshment on the shelves near her hand - she had seen Moody drink it many times.She stretched out her fingers tentatively, and slowly touched the tip of his nose.Snape frowned slightly, and Vanessa was too scared to move.She didn't move until he fell asleep again.His brows were furrowed, as if there was an unresolved melancholy in his heart, she gently rubbed his brows away with her fingers.

Snape still felt the faint movement, and opened his eyes dimly.Vanessa was startled, turned back into a butterfly at the fastest speed, and hid under the chair.Snape also came to his senses, but he wasn't sure if that flashing figure really appeared.He raised his wand and walked cautiously to the door. There was no one else in the room.

Taking advantage of the opportunity he was looking for, Vanessa flew to the bed, she was too fast to hear Snape's vaguely calling - "Nissa", he called her name.

After gaining experience, Vanessa became bolder, and she finally convinced Molly, and with the absence of Tonks and Lupine, there was always not enough manpower.She started to complete some simple tasks for the Order of the Phoenix, passing on some news, and used the compound decoction she made every time in order to avoid the risk of her identity being exposed.She finished it easily, so she bought a little time and flew back to Hogwarts secretly.It also made her see more different things.

Snape seen in front of people seems to be different from behind people, he is a complex of contradictions.When others were around, Snape was as vicious and cunning as Black said, speaking mercilessly, like a king of snakes who would never be defeated, or the kind who did all kinds of evil.And he is so fragile when no one is around—even though only Vanessa can understand this fragility, there is always an indelible sadness between his brows.Sometimes he sits at a dimly lit desk, sometimes he stands on a high tower. He seems to have no connection with this world and will disappear at any time.Every time she saw such a scene, Vanessa would feel flustered for no reason—so she ran to Hogwarts more frequently.

The castle remained the same, shrouded in darkness. Even when meeting little wizards in the corridors, it seemed that they rarely stopped to chat. The Quidditch pitch was even more deserted and panicked.Only some of the Slytherin students held their heads high and smiled maliciously.All of this made Vanessa very uncomfortable.

Vanessa flew to the principal's office, but there was no one there, so she walked along the corridor looking for the person she cared about most.This time she found him in a corridor on the eighth floor, and she saw the thin, tall, muscular figure at a glance.She landed on the shoulder of the stone statue beside her, quietly watching what happened in front of her.

Several young wizards were captured by Slytherin students. The Carlo brothers and sisters—two adult wizards who looked like Death Eaters grinned grinningly and said to Snape, "Principal, behind this wall must be their secret base!"

"Is that so?" Snape's oily voice sounded. "I don't see any difference between this stone wall and the others."

"Draco Malfoy, didn't you say that you took Umbridge and found a magical room here last year?" Alecto, the female Death Eater, turned to a platinum-blond haired Slater. Lin said.

Snape looked over with dark eyes, and Malfoy lowered his head uncomfortably: "I don't remember."

Alecto cursed fiercely, and said to Snape, "But we caught these students here!"

"I think you're blinded by power, aren't you?" Snape raised his eyebrows with a sneer. "It's nice to be able to punish students at will, isn't it?"

Amycus nodded: "This is the right given to us by the Dark Lord."

"I didn't deny this, but I don't know that you are wasting your time on such a trivial matter. It has been almost a year and the whereabouts of the savior have not been investigated. How long will the master let you stay in this position."

The Carlo brothers and sisters showed a look of fear: "We can interrogate them, they must know!"

"They don't know." Snape frowned impatiently, "I have taught Potter for six years, and I know him better than you. He is a pushy idiot. If he knew their situation, he would not go back to school and leave them alone? Fuck your fuzzy caterpillar brains, they can't get to Potter."

The Carlos were persuaded, but then changed their minds, cast a few Cruciatus spells, and the little wizards screamed.Snape stopped them before they could raise their wands again, and the Carrows said disgruntledly, "Headmaster, we don't understand you anymore. Are you trying to help these bastards?"

"Of course not. I'm just fulfilling the mission entrusted to me by the Dark Lord. The master said not to waste any drop of wizard's blood. And these few, as far as I can see, are at least half-breed."

Unconvinced and unable to speak against him, the Carlo brothers and sisters kicked the little wizards in the stomach to vent their anger, and led the Slytherin troops to retreat in annoyance.

Snape snorted coldly, turned around and left as well.The little wizard spat at his back and cursed in a low voice: "Traitor, coward, bastard..." They wanted to use the most vicious words on him.

Snape paused and quickened his pace.

Vanessa hurriedly followed, but Snape walked faster and faster. Her little wings were not as practical as a bird's. In the end, she just took advantage of her light weight and landed on Snape's shoulders, letting him carry her around the castle. wandering indiscriminately.She had the audacity to lean against Snape's hair, but Snape didn't notice, and she became even more presumptuous.

Vanessa felt that this position was too comfortable, and she didn't realize that the two had already walked into the principal's office.Snape closed the door, took her thin wings, and lifted her up to his eyes.Vanessa struggled, her wings were sorely torn, she looked around and found that the windows in the room were tightly closed, and a sealing spell was added.

Snape's eyes were getting closer and closer: "Let me take a look..." His voice was low, but his tone was full of faint expectation.

Vanessa closed her eyes as if she was dead, a spell was cast on her body, and she turned back into a human form.Before she could react to what happened, she was hugged by the person in front of her.

Snape guessed that he must be crazy to see Vanessa, but the real touch in his arms was so real.Vanessa was uncomfortably strangled, but she didn't resist this hug at all, but felt at ease.

But there were too many things she couldn't figure out, she struggled slightly, and Snape froze.Taking advantage of this gap, Vanessa distanced herself from him.She looked at him in bewilderment and asked, "Are you... the Half-Blood Prince?"

Snape's eyes widened, equally bewildered, and at the same time he raised his wand and said grimly, "Who are you?"

Vanessa is unarmed, but she just trusts this man not to hurt her.She raised her hand to fend off her wand and said, "I'm Vanessa Weasley."

"You..." Snape's voice was full of pain, "you don't know me?"

"I know you." Vanessa nodded, this sentence did not relax Snape, she continued, "You are Severus Snape, Sirius told me."

"Sirius? Sirius Black?" Hate distorted his face, and Vanessa held his face with her hands uncontrollably. She didn't like to see his expression.

Vanessa felt that she should take the initiative to say something to ease the atmosphere. No one taught her how to make Snape happy, but this matter seemed to be much easier than relearning the charm, and she might be born with it.She tilted her head and said with a smile on her face, "You are my half-blood prince, right?"