"Pfft!"
Victor Wick, who had just woken up, nearly spat out his mouthful of hot tea.
He had just seen a report in Fleur's journal...
Snape had actually, against all odds, awarded points to Harry Potter and his friends?
This was more absurd than the idea of Snape dumping Lily back in the day to go after James.
The news was indeed bizarre, but Slytherin students had confirmed it was true.
Consequently, many believed Snape had undergone a personality shift after his recovery.
Some Gryffindors started getting ideas...
And then... Gryffindor lost over twenty points. The points Snape had awarded to Harry and his group were ruthlessly deducted once more.
Everyone realized that Snape was still the same old Snape; he hadn't changed one bit.
It seemed he had only changed toward Harry and his small circle.
Closing the diary, Victor took another sip of tea.
Others might not know why, but Victor knew perfectly well—this was Lily's doing.
He could even imagine the look of utter disdain on Snape's face as he gritted his teeth to give Harry points...
"Oh dear... poor Severus..."
Victor pulled out the bottle of Lost Mist, deciding to send a little something to soothe his favorite workhorse.
He took out his keyboard and began to get busy...
"I feel like Snape definitely has a scheme," Harry said, frowning.
Snape's attitude toward him had suddenly flipped. Even his friend Neville had avoided many scoldings and point deductions because of it. He had even awarded Neville points once!
Harry knew this couldn't be without reason.
After all, even when Snape gave him points, the loathing and disdain in his eyes remained exactly the same as before.
Harry, of course, knew nothing of the past emotional entanglements between his mother and Snape, and Lily wasn't about to tell him.
So, his thoughts naturally veered toward the worst-case scenario...
Hermione and the others agreed with Harry's assessment.
"Could it be he realized you've been secretly watching him? So he's changing his attitude to suck up to you?" Ron whispered.
"Impossible!" Harry frowned. "Given Snape's personality, there's no way he'd feel the need to do that."
"Then could someone have warned him? Told him he's not allowed to target Harry anymore?" Neville suggested, scratching his head.
"Who could have that kind of leverage over Snape...?"
They discussed it for a long time but couldn't come up with a logical explanation.
"Harry, you'd better be careful. I have a bad feeling about this," Hermione warned, her brow furrowed.
"Yeah... but if he's not looking for trouble, that's a good thing," Harry shrugged. "Whatever his goal is, at least life will be a bit easier for a while..."
Potions class arrived again the following week.
Snape was frowning as he gathered his textbooks, preparing for class.
"This is from Professor Wick." Beside him, Lily suddenly reached out. A small bottle manifested out of thin air within her ethereal palm, though her expression looked somewhat strange.
Snape glanced at Lily suspiciously before finally taking the bottle.
"Did he tell you what this is?" Snape asked cautiously.
"Professor Wick said... it's called 'Subjective Eye Drops.' He said... next time you have Potions with Harry, you should put two drops in your eyes first." The strange look on Lily's face intensified.
"Subjective Eye Drops?" Snape thought the name sounded as whimsical as the creator, and he hesitated for a moment.
He always felt Victor Wick was about to prank him.
After all, Victor could be very reliable at times, but utterly absurd at others. Who knew if he was in a reliable or absurd state when making these eye drops?
"Just use them, Severus... I know that asking you to favor Harry is... a bit hard on you." A rare hint of awkwardness appeared on Lily's pale face.
Snape was momentarily dazed by her expression.
"Pop!"
The bottle was opened. Snape didn't hesitate, dripping two drops directly into his eyes.
Suddenly, Lily's form in Snape's eyes changed from her ghostly witch appearance back to how she used to look.
Well... truly subjective! It seemed Victor was in his reliable state!
"I'm going to class. Don't worry, I won't treat Harry the way I did before."
"I... I know."
Watching Snape's departing back, Lily's expression became strange once more...
"Professor Wick... is really quite improper..."
Snape stood outside the classroom door, taking a few deep breaths to suppress his inherent loathing for Harry before opening the door and walking in.
This time, the students arrived very early. No one dared to be late.
Harry and his group were already seated in their places.
Snape strode to the podium, waving his wand to shut all the curtains.
"Turn your books to page eighty-five. In this lesson, we will learn..."
Snape's voice suddenly faltered.
Because he saw Harry's appearance slowly shifting in his eyes...
Harry had transformed into 'Hallie,' looking almost exactly like Lily did when she was young!
Harry felt his heart tremble violently as Snape's gaze shifted from hatred to a sudden, burning intensity.
'Something is wrong! You are very wrong!'
"Potter..." Snape's voice was actually trembling. "Hallie... you arrived right on time today! Sit up straight! Showing such active improvement is excellent! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
"Whoa! No way!"
The whole classroom erupted.
The Slytherin students nearly went insane. They had arrived early too! Why were points only being given to Potter?!
"Professor Wick, you really..." Back in Victor's office, Lily hesitated to speak. Clearly, she knew the effect of those eye drops.
"Oh... it's for the sake of Severus's mental health," Victor began his sophistry. "You know his hatred for Potter isn't without cause. Let's just humor him in these small details."
Snape felt good giving points, Harry felt good in class, and Lily didn't have to worry anymore. A triple win!
No, because of this, Snape would work even harder for him... it was a quadruple win!
Honestly, these eye drops made from Lost Mist were quite useful...
Victor felt he had unlocked another special use for the Lost Mist.
Lily could only accept Victor's reasoning, as he did have a point.
Snape had only barely agreed to stop targeting Harry because of her. Given his stubborn nature, it really was asking too much of him otherwise.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
A sudden knock came at the office door. Lily quickly dove into the Soul-Summoning Banner to hide.
Her existence was still a secret for now.
Once Lily was hidden, Victor spoke, "Lucky, get the door."
The big yellow dog trotted over and unlocked the door.
Sirius walked in, affectionately ruffling Lucky's large head before taking a seat opposite Victor's desk without being asked.
"Yo, you actually have time to come see me today?" Victor asked, slightly surprised.
"Regulus was sent off on an errand by you, wasn't he?" Sirius took the teapot casually and poured himself a cup.
"Yes. Did you want to ask where he went?"
"Oh... no, of course not. I know there are things I shouldn't ask. Besides, being able to work for you means that brat is finally on the right track... I just hope you'll let me know when he returns so I can give the fellow a good thrashing."
Victor was instantly intrigued. Sirius certainly wouldn't want to beat his younger brother without reason.
"Didn't you just say he's on the right track? Why do you want to hit him?"
"Oh... Victor, do you have any idea how many Galleons are in our Black family vault?"
Victor leaned back in his chair, looking at Sirius. "I heard... they were piled as high as hills?"
"They used to be." Sirius gnashed his teeth.
"You don't mean to say... that Regulus squandered your family vault over the years, do you?"
"That spendthrift!" Sirius stood up agitatedly. "I don't even know how he did it! So much wealth! He actually... actually... do you know how many Galleons were left when I went to the vault? Fifty Galleons! The entire Black family vault only has fifty Galleons left! If I hadn't wanted to withdraw some money to buy Harry a gift, I wouldn't have known the Black estate had been squandered by him!"
"Then he definitely deserves a beating..." Victor expressed his agreement with Sirius's anger.
Mountains of Galleons were enough for a wizard to live several lifetimes. For that guy to blow through such a massive fortune... in a way, he was quite talented.
"I'll notify you as soon as he's done with his task. If you don't feel that's enough, I can even assign Dorcas to you..." Victor helpfully suggested.
"No, no, no... that's a bit too extreme!" Sirius quickly stopped Victor's dangerous suggestion.
That woman was too fierce; only Victor could handle her... He was genuinely worried his brother would be beaten to death by her.
"Alright then..." Victor said with a hint of regret. "So, do you want to borrow some Galleons?"
Sirius looked at him with a strange expression. "To be honest... I did come here today wanting to borrow some money... Merlin's underpants! This is the first time in my life I've had to ask someone for a loan!"
Sirius was so conflicted he scratched his flowing long hair into a bird's nest.
Victor could understand how a trust-fund kid felt being forced to borrow money.
"Hey... don't say that. Everyone has hard times. Tell you what, I'll lend you one thousand Galleons. Give out nine, return thirteen, with a one-month deadline..."
Sirius jumped up. "Wait... give nine, return thirteen? If I'm not mistaken... I only get nine hundred, and I have to pay back one thousand three hundred in a month?"
"Yup! Exactly..."
"Goodbye!" Sirius suddenly felt he wasn't that desperate for money.
"I'm just joking..." Victor laughed.
Sirius then turned back and sat down again. "I knew you weren't such a black-hearted fellow."
"What exactly did your Black family do for business in the past? How did you accumulate so much wealth?" Victor asked curiously.
"My ancestors were astrologers serving the royal family... and that's how they built up a massive fortune. Later, when the wizarding and Muggle worlds were separated, the Black family started dealing in dark artifacts, antiques... buying low and selling high. There were other avenues, but I was kicked out of the family so early I didn't get a chance to learn about them. Besides, with Regulus missing and me locked up these years, those connections are definitely broken. So, if you lend me money, I might not be able to pay it back so quickly. Actually, I only came to ask for a few hundred Galleons..." Sirius looked uncharacteristically embarrassed. Victor understood the feeling—it was like a rich kid suddenly having to ask a friend for a few bucks for a meal. Humiliating.
"How about this? I'll still lend you a thousand Galleons. Don't be so quick to refuse—it's not for you to just spend. I happen to have a few profitable business opportunities here. Take this money as capital and go revive the Black family. Just give me a twenty percent cut of the profits." Victor said casually.
Victor didn't lack money, but he lacked people who could get things done.
Ever since Grindelwald's visit, Victor had been careful to keep an extra card up his sleeve. He didn't plan on leaving everything to those young kids in the Knights Templar.
Since he knew Sirius was broke, the man couldn't get away. He was destined to become another one of Victor Wick's diligent workhorses!
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