Side Story — Snape 6
Soon, Christmas was approaching.
Snape looked at the two children who were all alone, and his mood was terrible.
Everyone else had a home to return to.
Only these two children were homeless.
And all of this had been caused by him.
The closer Christmas got, the worse Snape's temper became.
So he decided to deduct points from Harry Potter.
Every time he saw that face resembling James Potter display an angry, frustrated, and speechless expression, he felt much better.
Ha.
Potter was so easy to provoke!
Christmas Day.
While checking the security of various parts of the school, Snape discovered that Dumbledore had given Harry Potter an Invisibility Cloak.
This should be the Potter family's heirloom.
Was Dumbledore trying to make Harry Potter the head of the Potter family just to obtain this treasure?
Harry Potter really was worthy of all those privileges.
Thinking about how James had used that Invisibility Cloak to torment him in the past, Snape angrily bought one for the cub as well.
He hoped the two Potters would fight!
It would be even better if Darren Potter took his Invisibility Cloak and swapped it with Harry Potter's.
Well, the little cub had given him several thick wizard robes, as well as a pair of warm gloves.
When had Snape ever been as afraid of the cold as that little cub?
Still, Snape put the gloves on.
He pursed his lips in disgust.
They weren't as good as the gloves from the cub.
...
Night.
Dumbledore called him out.
He asked Snape to patrol the castle and help lead Harry Potter to the Mirror of Erised.
Hmph.
What was there to look at?
It was all fake!
But he still didn't refuse.
He wickedly teased Harry Potter.
He deliberately made his footsteps audible, circling around him while making it seem as though he was about to catch him.
Listening to Harry Potter's panicked footsteps and imagining the frightened expression beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Snape felt years of pent-up frustration ease.
Finally, as Dumbledore had wished, the two children sat in front of the Mirror of Erised.
For the first time, Snape looked carefully at the cub.
The little cub stared at the magic mirror in amazement.
He saw quite a lot.
A world where no one was lost and no home was left empty at night?
A world of tomorrow?
Amusing!
How could such a world possibly exist?
But it also fit the character of that little cub.
Oh.
And he saw Lily?
Was that beautiful woman the one with eyes like the cub's?
Was she living a happy life?
Snape's eyes gradually became empty.
It was he who had killed Lily.
After that, Harry Potter came to the mirror with the cub every night.
The cub looked a little reluctant.
Snape didn't understand.
Shouldn't this child be happy to see his parents?
"At first, I really was addicted to this magic mirror. But later, I realized that it was all fake…"
Oh.
Yes.
This child had already figured it out.
He accompanied Harry Potter every day, watching images that should have been cruel to him.
He was more clear-headed than most people.
He didn't dwell on those sorrows at all.
Snape quietly left the room.
He couldn't bear to hear the rest.
It was him.
He was the one who had caused this child's tragedy.
If this child ever learned the whole truth, would he want to kill him?
Snape laughed mockingly.
In any case, he should have died alongside Lily long ago…
Because of this matter, Snape remained silent for a long time.
He was even somewhat afraid to look into Darren's eyes.
Every time he taught a class of Slytherins, it became a form of torture for him.
Until that night.
Filch said he had caught Harry Potter and asked Snape to inform Professor McGonagall so that she could deal with her students.
Snape went to Professor McGonagall with great interest.
And then he saw Darren.
What had this kid run out for?
A dragon?
Hagrid was raising dragons?
That was actually possible.
So this kid had run out to cover for Harry Potter and help him get the dragon away?
And he had just stood there stupidly, blocking the professors?
He was practically begging to be punished!
When Snape looked at those green eyes and saw Darren lower his head even more guiltily after meeting his gaze, he felt frustrated that the boy didn't understand what was good for him.
Snape turned his eyes away.
If you were afraid, then don't come out.
In the end, after Professor McGonagall dealt with everyone, the cub and Malfoy were left with him.
"Explain yourselves!"
From Malfoy's mouth, Snape learned more.
He even saw traces of the Dark Lord's and Dumbledore's handiwork in the whole affair.
Dragon egg.
Hagrid.
Heh.
Everyone was part of the plan.
Everyone except Darren…
Snape was convinced of that.
How could this child possibly be involved in everything?
Couldn't he just stay in his dormitory?
And that detention…
What was he planning to do?
That was what Dumbledore had arranged to cultivate a savior.
Why had he followed them?
Since he liked detention so much—
Fine.
"Detention! Apart from Professor McGonagall's punishment, you're going to spend a week in detention here!"
Silly child.
He still wanted to lie to Snape and say that everything had been his own prank.
Oh, Merlin!
If this little cub ever learned how to play pranks, would Snape still be able to worry like this?
Even after being punished and locked up, the little cub was still worried about Harry Potter.
How could anything happen to Harry Potter?
He was the savior!
And what was Darren?
He was a little orphan who had been taken away from his family at birth, yet he spent all day worrying about the savior!
...
The detention arranged by Dumbledore really was in the Forbidden Forest.
Snape didn't go that day because Dumbledore thought that having too many people there would make the Dark Lord suspicious.
He wanted Harry to face the Dark Lord head-on at least once.
And Dumbledore had promised Snape that he wouldn't allow the other children to become involved.
Specifically, he meant Darren.
It was just that, despite Dumbledore's assurances, Darren was still sent to the hospital wing.
He hadn't been implicated.
He had simply rushed forward on his own to save the unicorn.
Snape and Dumbledore then learned that Darren also possessed a form of magical healing.
Snape panicked for a moment.
Wizards with this kind of healing ability were extremely rare in the wizarding world.
Because with such abilities, even serious injuries could be saved.
Even the Killing Curse had a certain chance of being survived if such a healer was present.
But they used their own mental power to heal others.
Once their mental energy was exhausted, it could even lead to death.
Therefore, even if a wizard possessed such a healing ability, they would never willingly reveal it to the outside world.
They were afraid that others would capture them and turn them into someone else's personal medical tool.
Because of this, Snape and Dumbledore cast Memory Charms on the children that night, ensuring that they wouldn't remember what had happened unless someone specifically reminded them.
Even Hagrid, because he himself believed that he might not be able to keep the secret, voluntarily allowed them to erase his memories.
As for Darren, after discussing it, they decided not to do anything.
When Darren treated the unicorn, it had obviously been an impulsive act.
Even Darren himself didn't seem to understand what he had done.
As a result, although the unicorn had been saved, it was only barely alive.
A true magical healer would completely heal the injured person, or automatically stop when their mental power became exhausted.
Darren clearly didn't know how to control it.
That's why the unicorn was now practically on the verge of death, with Darren himself simply exhausted and asleep.
An ordinary healer in such a situation would either completely heal the unicorn or collapse and die themselves.
So it was better not to wake Darren.
They didn't want him to understand that, if he did the same thing again next time, he might truly give his life for it.