Ambush

Muggles' understanding of the wizarding world remained at the level of children's books. They seemed to think that flying on broomsticks was what made someone a wizard.

What a charming misunderstanding. After turning seventeen, wizards could learn Apparition as long as they passed their Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Besides that, the Floo Network and Portkeys could also be used for travel. There was no need to ride a broom through the sky at a leisurely pace, risking discovery by Muggles. Muggles were obsessed with wizards, while wizards looked down on Muggles. Sometimes, that was simply how it was: the more arrogant someone was, the more people became infatuated with them. Conquest was like arm-wrestling—whoever gave up first lost. If the opponent was too weak, then even an easy victory meant nothing. But if they were evenly matched, the game became interesting. To some people, war, like wizard chess, was just a game. The chess player never worried about whether the pieces lived or died. What they enjoyed was the process of "winning."

In autumn, female praying mantises attracted male mantises to mate with them. But by then, most other insects had nearly vanished. The females needed nutrients to lay their eggs, so they ate the males.

Veela were very much like female praying mantises. They only took human form and married people when they needed to reproduce. At other times, humans were their prey.

Dementors sucked away people's happy memories, while Veela simply took all of a person's memories. That was the naivety of those people at the Ministry of Magic: they thought that if no one studied Dark magic, there would be no Dark wizards.

People needed the ability to protect themselves. Werewolves reproduced quickly by biting people. Sooner or later, they would replace humans as the most numerous humanoid creatures on Earth. If wizards did not want to "lose," they had to abandon their old prejudices and unite against the outside world. Yet those fighting separately for profit were exhausting themselves in internal conflict. How could people who did not even know who their true enemy was possibly achieve final victory in a melee?

Yes, the werewolf's kiss, which ordinary wizards regarded as a terrible monster and avoided at all costs, was essentially no different from humans dancing, socializing, and falling in love. Once they felt the target was suitable enough, they married and had children. The purpose was reproduction. Yet people praised love while telling children stories of wolves biting people as terrifying, sinister tales, making them fear the darkness and the monsters hidden within it.

A heart trembling from fear and a heart trembling from love were sometimes impossible to tell apart. That venomous snake was clearly deadly, yet it had beautiful colors and patterns. They were clearly warnings, but some people still could not take their eyes off it, thinking it beautiful. That was how people were stupid enough to get themselves killed.

The Sorting Hat had once sung during the first-year ceremony: You may think I'm not much to look at, but never judge by appearances. If you can find a hat more beautiful than me, I'll eat myself.

The Ouroboros was a symbol of alchemy. It was a snake that ate itself. That battered old hat people had worn for a thousand years, like the Basilisk, was an alchemical creation.

Those on the chessboard could not see their own positions. That was why that sweet little Pomona kept crying. Though someone in the chess player's position could see scenery the pieces could not, playing alone was far too boring. She needed an opponent, an evenly matched opponent. Otherwise, what was the point if they surrendered after only a few moves?

"Legilimency!"

Sure enough, she heard the spell. Without a second thought, she placed herself in a pitch-black forest. Soon, she heard cursing.

"Why is your Occlumency better than Harry Potter's even when you're in a deep coma?!"

Have you gone mad and forgotten that the caster must look directly into the other person's eyes to use Legilimency? How are you supposed to use Legilimency on someone whose eyes are closed?

She thought disdainfully. Just as she was about to leave the darkness and return to the moonlit edge of the Forbidden Forest, she discovered that she could not get out.

Then her tongue tasted something slick. At first, she thought it was a potion. Feeling somewhat disgusted, she wanted to spit it out. Later, she realized it was something else, so she accepted it.

On a bright, sunny day, two girls were playing by a river. One of them, a red-haired girl, held out her palm and looked expectantly at the slightly older brown-haired girl across from her. Yet the brown-haired girl was terrified and knocked away the little daisy in her palm, its petals opening and closing.

"Don't do that, Lily. Mum said you shouldn't do that!"

She was lying, Lily. Your mother never asked you to do that.

"Do it, Pomona." Albus Dumbledore spoke behind her. "If you do this, at least they'll live."

"At least... leave them a little memory." She pleaded with Dumbledore. "You can lend her the Pensieve."

That wet, slick kiss suddenly ended.

"Was it you?"

She did not want to admit it.

"When the Dark Lord found Lily's parents and wanted to find her hiding place in their memories, every memory they had of her had been wiped clean. He once said it was the most perfect Obliviate he had ever seen. He even told us not to harm the caster if we found them. I never expected it to be you." The oily-sounding man said in confusion, "How could someone like you end up like this because of a rat?"

She was not angry in the slightest. Who told her to be careless back then?

"Was it because of this?" He stroked her belly. "Did it make you weaker?"

That had been the first time he had managed to steal something from her mind. She wondered how exactly he had done it.

"I want to get rid of it," he said with unusual tact. Though she knew it would most likely end up like Neville, she still could not bear to let it go.

"It should never have been born in the first place, just like Tom Riddle. It was a mistake!"

Do you also think women who still want to give birth to a child after being abandoned by a man are fools?

Pomona felt a little disappointed.

"I can't... That day, when I entered the house, it looked just like the Potter house back then. I truly regret not killing that rat." Then he began stroking her belly again. "You taught me Sectumsempra. I kept wondering why you hadn't used it to protect yourself. Just now, I passed a delivery room. The doctor said that childbirth affected a witch's magic. I think I'll never be able to love this child for the rest of my life. When you wake up, we can make another one. Forget this one."

His voice was almost pleading. Some people, merely by existing, brought up painful memories in others—such as the Death Eaters who had neither been imprisoned in Azkaban nor executed, and Harry Potter, that Gryffindor with Lily's eyes and James's face.

"You can't leave me behind and go with Lily." He said it in a sing-song tone. "I don't want to be left alone."

Perhaps I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have used the Resurrection Stone to bring back someone who wanted release.

She returned to the dense forest once more. After killing Voldemort, Harry Potter had been utterly lost and had thrown the Resurrection Stone into the Forbidden Forest. She had picked it up.

It was a pitch-black stone, unremarkable in appearance, but she knew that it had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. She then told Dumbledore the secret. That old fool could not resist the temptation and tried to use that Gaunt family counterfeit to revive Ariana. In the end, he fell victim to the curse and got himself killed.

In Eastern terms, this was called even the wisest man making one mistake in a thousand considerations. Everyone had their weakness. Those who believed themselves invincible were often more fragile.

"This time, it isn't a contest. We won't compete over who dies first, all right?"

Has a Unicorn kicked you in the head? How could you come up with such a brilliant thing to say?!

She wanted to sit up and teach him a lesson, but suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath her feet. With a scream, she fell heavily onto the grass.

She turned back to look at what had tripped her and discovered that it was actually a "corpse."

Severus Snape, dressed in a Slytherin student uniform, lay at the moonlit edge of the Forbidden Forest. There was a bruise on his head, and his sleeping profile was as peaceful as an angel.