Chapter 12: The Pensieve of Lies and the Potion of Truth part- 1
[System Alert: Anomaly Detected.][Priority Level: EXTREME.][Location: World 3 - The World of Wizards (Harry Potter Universe).][Target Host: Severus Snape.][Villain Identity: "Lord Blackwood" (Transmigrator from 21st Century Earth).][Villain Objective: To seduce Lily Potter (Evans) using a "Redemption System" before the timeline solidifies. Note: Characters are aged up to University Level for this iteration.]
Ethan froze. (Snape? Oh, come on. That is playing on Hard Mode! The guy is a walking red flag of bitterness. And saving his relationship with Lily? That ship sailed, hit an iceberg, and sank ten years ago in the canon!)
[Correction: This is an alternate timeline where they are colleagues at a Magical University. The relationship is salvageable. But the Villain is using "Future Knowledge" to frame Snape for Dark Arts rituals he didn't commit.]
(Framing him? Okay, now I am angry. Nobody bullies the greasy bat but me. Beam me up, Scotty. Let us go teach some wizards a lesson about interfering with destiny.)
[Initiating Transfer...]
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World 3: The World of Wizards (HP Universe - University Setting)
Ethan arrived with the sensation of being squeezed through a tight rubber tube. He hated magical travel.
He opened his sensors. The world was dark, smelling of potions ingredients, old parchment, and despair.
He was in a dungeon. Of course.
Severus Snape stood over a bubbling cauldron, his black robes billowing even though there was no wind. He looked younger than the movies—maybe late twenties—but the scowl was timeless. He was furiously stirring a potion that was turning a sickly shade of orange.
(Snape!) Ethan barked.
Snape didn't jump. He didn't even flinch. He just sneered.
"Great," Snape muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I have finally inhaled too many fumes. Now I am hearing voices. If you are a demon, begone. I have no soul left to sell."
(Drama queen. I am not a demon. I am the Anti-Netorare System. And you, my friend, are about to be screwed over by a handsome transfer professor named Lord Blackwood. Put down the ladle and listen.)
Snape paused. "Blackwood? The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
(The very same. The one with the perfect teeth and the suspicious knowledge of ancient runic love spells. He is currently upstairs in the Staff Room, showing Lily a 'memory' in a Pensieve. A fake memory. Of you kicking a puppy.)
Snape froze. The spoon in his hand snapped in half. "I have never kicked a puppy. I find them annoying, but I do not kick them."
(I know that. Lily knows that... usually. But Blackwood's Pensieve is modified. It plays deep-fake memories. If she sees it, you are done. She will marry Blackwood, Harry Potter will be born with a trust fund and an attitude problem, and you will die alone eating expired beans. Is that what you want?)
Snape turned, his cape swirling dramatically. His eyes burned with a cold fury.
"Where is he?" Snape hissed.
(Third floor. Staff Room. Bring your wand. And maybe some shampoo? No? Okay, just the wand then. Let's go.)
Snape swept toward the door, kicking it open with a bang.
(Why does everyone I host for love kicking doors? Is it a masculinity thing?) Ethan wondered as they ascended the stone stairs of the University of Magic.
"Silence, voice," Snape snapped. "I am composing a curse."
(Make it a painful one,) Ethan agreed. (I suggest something that causes uncontrollable flatulence during romantic confessions.)
Snape's lip curled into a microscopic smile. "I like the way you think."
World 3: The World of Wizards (Magic University Alternate Universe)
The stone corridors of the University of Magical Arts and Sciences were drafty, echoing with the sound of Severus Snape's furious strides. He moved like a storm cloud—dark, billowing, and promising nothing but thunder.
(Okay, slow down, Speed Racer,) Ethan panted metaphorically inside Snape's mind. (You are going to hyperventilate before we even get there. And fix your hair. You look like you just wrestled a Whomping Willow.)
Snape ignored the advice about his hair, but he did not slow down. "He is dead," Snape hissed under his breath, startling a portrait of a fat lady eating grapes. "Blackwood is dead. I will turn his intestines into shoelaces."
(Violent. Creative. I like it. But remember, we cannot just murder a faculty member in the hallway. We have to discredit him first. He is playing the 'Nice Guy' card. If you attack him, you prove his point that you are an unhinged dark wizard.)
"I am a dark wizard," Snape muttered. "Or at least, I am proficient in the arts."
(Yeah, but Lily doesn't like that. Lily likes kindness. And apparently, she likes puppies. Which brings us to the fake memory. Do you have a plan, or are you just going to hex him until he explodes?)
Snape stopped abruptly in front of a gargoyle guarding the staff lounge. "I plan to expose him."
(With what? Your charming personality? No, leave the technical stuff to me. I am scanning the local magical frequency. That Pensieve he is using? It is not standard issue. It is a 'System Item' called the 'Director's Cut Pensieve'. It allows the user to edit memories in real-time. It is basically the Photoshop of the wizarding world.)
Snape sneered. "Photoshop?"
(Muggle thing. Never mind. The point is, since it is a System Item, I can hack it. But I need time. You need to stall him. Talk to him. Do not curse him immediately. Can you do that? Can you be civil for three minutes?)
Snape straightened his collar. He took a deep breath, composing his face into a mask of indifference. "I can be... excruciatingly polite."
(That's the spirit. Now, open the door.)
.............
Location: The Senior Staff Lounge.
The room was warm, lit by floating candles and a roaring fireplace. It smelled of earl grey tea and old leather. In the center of the room, sitting on a plush velvet sofa, was Lily Evans. She was beautiful, her red hair cascading over her shoulders, but her expression was one of horror and sadness.
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