socalfunplaces Chapter 69 No one is perfect
Chapter 69 No one is perfect
After showing Harry the memory from the movie *The Goblet of Fire*, specifically the scene where Dumbledore placed the Pensieve, Mo Ran uttered the following statement:
"Haven't you always been curious about Professor Snape's identity? Take this opportunity to clear things up with him."
Before Harry could even ask when Mo Ran had used the Pensieve on his own, Snape had already come knocking on his door.
"Porter, I need an explanation."
At this moment, Snape's upper lip showed no sign of curling up, but Harry could see an unprecedented surge of anger in his expressionless face.
“I saw a memory in Headmaster Dumbledore’s Pensieve before, in which a man named Igor Karkaroff provided the Ministry with many names in order to lessen his guilt... and you were one of them, Professor.”
Harry's voice was calm and collected, which intimidated Snape.
Rather than condemning Dumbledore's dishonesty and carelessness, he was more worried about whether Harry already knew his deepest secret.
"When...did you already know?"
Harry sensed something was amiss with Snape's strange reaction. Logically, regardless of whether Snape was Dumbledore's spy planted in Voldemort's camp, the topic shouldn't have continued after his identity was discovered.
He looked intently at Snape and said:
"Professor, I just want an explanation from you."
Snape's eyes did not flinch; he stared intently into the pair of emerald green eyes before him, and a tightly closed door seemed to be slowly opening.
……
The cool, dark green shade of the trees blocked the blazing sun. In a grove of trees surrounded by a shimmering stream, two children sat cross-legged, facing each other on the grass.
The dark-haired boy was wearing a strange maternity dress. He looked very thin, almost like Harry when he was a child and locked in the storage room under the stairs.
"...If underage wizards perform spells outside of school, the Ministry of Magic will punish them."
"Oh no! What should I do? I've already used magic outside of school."
Seeing the red-haired girl's flustered expression, the black-haired boy suppressed the urge to smile and earnestly comforted her:
"We're fine, at least for now. The Ministry of Magic won't interfere with children who don't have wands and can't control themselves... But it'll be different when we turn 11. When we go to school, they'll start training us, and all the magic used to supervise minors will start to work."
The red-haired girl nodded, picked up the branch she had thrown away earlier, and made a series of movements as if she were waving a magic wand.
Harry recognized her; the red-haired girl in front of him was his mother, Lily Evans.
"Severus, what you're saying is true, isn't it?"
Lily put away her "wand" and asked softly:
“Magic, Hogwarts, and the four houses, you’re not lying to me, are you? Petunia always says these are just lies made up by fools.”
“It’s true for us.”
Snape Jr. spoke with conviction, seemingly full of confidence in his future.
"Don't pay attention to what the Muggles say. You, me... we are special. We will receive our acceptance letters from the owls."
"An owl? Are you kidding me? They use owls to deliver messages?"
“That’s how it usually is, but since you’re Muggle-born, I think the school will send someone to explain it to your parents.”
"So... will being a Muggle make me any different from other students?"
Lily's voice seemed to have weakened a little, and similarly, Snape's expression hesitated.
He recalled what he had read about his mother and in books, unsure how to answer. Finally, when his gaze returned to Lily's deep red hair and emerald green eyes, he made up his mind and replied:
"No, there won't be any difference..."
The scene shifted, and the image before Harry vanished. In a series of flashbacks, he seemed to see an obnoxious middle-aged man who had cast a long shadow over Snape's childhood, but before he could make out the man's face, a familiar scene appeared around him.
Platform 9.
“You shouldn’t have called her a monster. At least when you wrote to the headmaster begging him to accept you, you didn’t think this school was built for monsters.”
"Beg? I didn't!"
“I saw Headmaster Dumbledore’s reply; he declined very tactfully.”
"How could you peek! That's my privacy!"
Lily, who had just been scolded by her sister and was in tears, quickly defended Snape:
“No, Petunia. Severus saw a letter that said Muggles can’t contact Hogwarts, so…”
"I don't want you monsters meddling in my business! Monsters!"
Penny spat at her sister again, then turned and left.
As the train whistle urged the young wizards to board, Snape and Lily finally boarded the train bound for Hogwarts.
"I don't want to talk to you."
"why?"
“Because we read Dumbledore’s reply to her, Petunia hates me.”
"So what? She's just a..."
"She's my sister!"
Realizing he had gone too far, Snape stopped talking. He looked out the window at the scenery receding into the distance and changed the subject to their upcoming magical studies.
"Anyway, we're off to Hogwarts now."
Upon hearing the words "Hogwarts," Lily wiped away her tears and nodded.
"You'd better be sorted into Slytherin."
Slytherin?
Another boy who had just sat down in the carriage turned around with a hint of disdain; it was James Porter.
"Who would want to go to Slytherin? I wouldn't want to go there! What about you?"
"My whole family is Slytherin."
Sirius Black's answer shocked James, who exclaimed in surprise:
"Oh my god, I thought you were a nice person!"
Sirius smiled and replied:
"Really? Maybe I'll break with tradition. But anyway, where do you want to go?"
"Gryffindor, of course! That's where courage lies hidden deep within!"
"Oh…"
James's words prompted Snape to let out a disdainful snort.
Do you have a problem with that?
"No."
Snape replied with an indifferent expression and rather arrogant tone:
"Some people would rather be all muscle and all brains."
Sirius Black chose to side with James, and he taunted:
"That's still better than you being underdeveloped in both areas."
"Hahahaha!"
Amid James's loud laughter, Lily stood up from her seat.
"Let's go, Severus."
She tugged at Snape's sleeve and said:
"Let's find another carriage."
"Bye-bye, you snotty-nosed brat!"
James and Sirius waved goodbye, watching the two leave amidst laughter.
The scene changes again.
"Lily Evans!"
"Gryffindor!"
……
"Severus Snape!"
Slytherin!
Sitting next to Lucius Malfoy, Snape stared intently at Lily at the Gryffindor table, unaware that this distance of less than ten meters would gradually pull them further apart.
"I thought we were friends, best friends?"
“That’s true, Severus, but I don’t like the guys Gurney hangs out with! I hate them! I really don’t understand what you see in them? Do you know what Avery and Moorselber are planning to do to Mary McDonald?”
"That's nothing, just a joke."
"Nothing much!?"
Lily was furious, and she shouted at them:
"That's black magic! Black magic! Severus!"
"But what kind of shady dealings did Potter and his friends get up to!"
Snape seemed to have gotten angry too; his pale face looked less sickly with anger.
"What kind of shady business does Potter have?"
"They sneak out at night! That Lupin guy is clearly suspicious; they always go out during the full moon!"
"He is sick."
Lily's calm voice only fueled Snape's anger, and he seemed unable to contain his resentment as he roared:
"You know perfectly well what I mean! Why are you turning a blind eye to their shady dealings!"
"But they didn't use dark magic, nor did they intend to harm anyone! I'm just wondering, why are you so concerned about Potter and the others? Why do you care about what they do every night and where they go?"
"I just want you to see that they are not as good as everyone thinks."
“I’m not stupid, and I don’t need anyone to tell me what kind of person James Potter really is; but you, Severus, when did you become so ungrateful? You sneaked in through the Whomping Willow’s secret passage, and it was James Potter who saved you.”
Snape's expression was almost contorted with rage, and he said furiously:
"Save me? Save me? You still say you weren't fooled? He just wants everyone to think he's a hero! Actually, he did this to save himself! And his friends! They should all be expelled! I will never let you be like him..."
"Let me? Let me?"
Lily glared with her green eyes wide open, and Snape's imposing manner immediately weakened.
“That’s not what I meant, Lily. I just don’t want James Potter to lie to you like that, to treat you like a fool. You can tell, right? He likes you, James Potter likes you. He’s a great Quidditch star in other people’s eyes, but actually he’s just a…”
“I know James Porter is a self-important megalomaniac, you don’t need to tell me that!”
Lily interrupted Snape.
If Snape had been a little calmer at that moment, he might have been able to see, just like Harry, that Lily's eyes were indeed only on him.
"Don't you understand what I mean, Severus? Compared to stupidity and arrogance, using evil dark magic is unforgivable! For your own sake, don't be friends with Murseb and the others anymore, okay?"
……
The scene changes again.
Snape was in a good mood after hearing Lily's criticism of James Potter. He passed the Defense Against the Dark Arts (DOL) written exam with a near-perfect performance and then leisurely walked out of the castle.
Under the beech tree, he met James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
"Are you alright, you snotty-nosed ... person?!"
"James said loudly."
Snape reacted quickly; he didn't even seem to have the intention of making a few sarcastic remarks before throwing off his backpack and drawing his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" (Expelliarmus)
The wand flew backward, and Sirius and James burst into laughter.