Snape's Behavior Is Impossible to Judge

Including Lockhart, who has already gone mad, students have been forced to cancel three classes.

Therefore, apart from a few carefree individuals who might be happy about skipping classes, the entire school is now eagerly awaiting the ripening of the Mandrake.

More than half a month passed quietly, and finally, on the afternoon before Valentine's Day, Harry met Neville, who had rushed over.

"It's done... Harry, it's done!"

Neville gripped Harry's shoulders tightly, too excited to utter a complete sentence.

But Harry knew what he meant: the Mandrake was fully mature!

"Let's go, to the Hospital Wing right now!" Upon receiving the news, Harry immediately sprang into action, heading towards the Hospital Wing with Hermione and Neville beside him.

He didn't need to go back to his briefcase to check the situation; Luna Lovegood and Cedric Diggory were there, and they must have already delivered the Mandrake to Madam Pomfrey.

Sure enough, when Harry arrived at the treatment room of the Hospital Wing, Cedric Diggory, wearing earmuffs, was carefully picking the mature grass from the flowerpot under Madam Pomfrey's wand guidance.

Cedric Diggory had actually noticed that the Mandrake was fully mature that morning, but just to be on the safe side, he, Neville, Luna Lovegood checked it again at noon, and finally received the good news.

At this moment, he was taking the entire Mandrake out of the pot and carefully cleaning the soil off it.

As for Luna Lovegood, she leisurely watched the show from the sidelines, since it wasn't her forte.

"After that, wash the harvested herbs in a basin... Oh, Harry, you've come at the right time! I was just worried about not having anyone to help me process these herbs. Hurry up and put on your earmuffs and come help me!"

Upon seeing Harry, Madam Pomfrey lit up with joy, and she wrote down a series of tasks for Harry through the window with her wand.

"Okay!" Harry nodded and put on the earmuffs that had been prepared beforehand.

"Hermione, take Neville to prepare the Cauldron and vials... You'd better stay out of the way while Madam Pomfrey and I are preparing the medicine," Harry instructed Hermione before going inside.

Mandrake look very much like human figures, so the medicinal processing later on will definitely not be a pleasant viewing experience.

"I understand..." Hermione nodded hesitantly, then immediately turned and left, clearly knowing what was about to happen.

Neville, however, didn't leave; instead, he looked at Harry with a hint of expectation.

"Neville, is something wrong?" Harry asked curiously.

"Harry, can I stay and watch..." Neville asked, scratching his head sheepishly. "It might be a little scary, but... I'm quite interested."

"Then put on your earmuffs and come in together~"

Neville naturally wouldn't refuse Harry's request. After Neville fastened the earmuffs, he pushed Neville directly into the treatment room.

Let's begin.

The Mandrake inside the room were howling, so Madam Pomfrey didn't have time to write much with Harry using her wand. Seeing that he was already in place, she immediately signaled him to begin.

Harry, of course, did the same without hesitation. With a calm expression, he grabbed a Mandrake that had been thoroughly washed, slammed it onto the disposal table in front of him, and then picked up a knife and swiftly brought it down!

Ah!!

The Mandrake let out its most piercing scream since it began to grow, but its head, which had separated from its body, quickly withered and eventually could no longer make a sound.

"Hmm..." *2

Neville and Cedric Diggory both felt uncomfortable with the scene before them.

Luna Lovegood seemed alright, though her eyes weren't as lively as before.

Harry and Madam Pomfrey, busy with their own tasks, had no time for such things; they were currently preparing to peel, chop, and mash the Mandrake for later use.

"Not bad~" During the short rest, Madam Pomfrey took a moment to look at Harry, whose expression was as usual, and then nodded in satisfaction.

She was probably the only staff member in the entire school who hadn't had much contact with Harry, yet still admired him immensely, because she simply loved Harry's talent.

Putting everything else aside, just the mental fortitude he displayed when dealing with Mandrake would definitely make Harry an excellent therapist in the future.

"Phew... finally done." After all the Mandrake had been peeled and amputated, Madam Pomfrey let out a long sigh of relief, removing her slightly sweaty earmuffs. "Harry, now I'll trouble you to boil them into a medicinal decoction. I still need to prepare other adjuvants for a few patients."

"Don't worry," Harry nodded with a smile, while quickly gathering all the Mandrake together.

"Harry... have you ever considered becoming a therapist after graduation?"

Harry would have a very promising future as a healer... Madam Pomfrey has had this idea for a long time, and today she finally had the chance to ask him.

"Madam Pomfrey, I'm only in my second year, it's way too early to talk about these things," Harry chuckled. "Besides, even if I really wanted to be a healer, I'd have to wait until I completely defeat that person!"

"You're right..." Although Madam Pomfrey was somewhat disappointed by Harry's answer, she understood Harry's predicament.

This child carries an excessively heavy burden of fate, and often finds himself unable to make choices based on his own preferences.

"Therapists are actually pretty good too~"

Harry did not directly agree to Madam Pomfrey, but he was absolutely open to becoming a healer.

Being a doctor was one of his future career plans, and a healer is a doctor in the Wizarding World.

Harry, with his background in forensic medicine, is very interested in many unique diseases in the Wizarding World, such as Dragon Pox, which terrifies all wizards.

Harry had specifically looked into information about Dragon Pox, a contagious disease with a fatal risk in the Wizarding World. Patients' skin would turn blue and leave unsightly scars. Some mild cases would also involve rashes growing between the toes or sparks coming out of the nostrils when sneezing.

The Britain Ministry of Magic has also compiled statistics showing that more wizards die each year from Dragon Pox than from duels and various magical accidents combined.

But in Harry's eyes, this disease was definitely a mutated form of smallpox.

Smallpox was completely eradicated in the world of ordinary people by 1980, but although the Wizarding World has mastered a treatment for the disease, it has never been able to completely eradicate it...

In the adjacent treatment room, as Harry brewed the Mandrake in Cauldron prepared by Hermione, Harry mind was filled with many thoughts.

It's about the healer and Dragon Pox, about how to fight Voldemort in the future... and of course, more importantly, about tomorrow.

The fact that the Mandrake could ripen on February 13th was truly a stroke of good fortune; at least Harry wouldn't have to constantly worry about it.

However, this raises another problem... Snape will also wake up.

The time spent brewing the potion passed quickly. As night fell over Hogwarts Castle, Harry and Madam Pomfrey finished sealing the Mandrake Restorative Draught.

Holding the potion meant for Snape, Harry gripped the ring tightly, seemingly having finally made up his mind...

(P. S. I'll be very busy today due to the holiday, so I'm posting this all at once around noon. Wishing everyone a happy holiday!)

As an aside, if we consider the onset times of some famous patients, the prototype of Dragon Pox should actually be closer to the Black Death, that is, the plague. However, the HP Wikipedia states that its prototype may be smallpox or Sanmiao. Therefore, for the sake of subsequent plot considerations, we will treat it as smallpox here.

Also, Sanmiao won't be starting the Prisoner arc anytime soon. There's still half a semester left in the second year, so we can write some other stories. Besides, the Chamber and Prisoner arcs probably won't be separated into their own volumes. The title of this volume is "The Young Eagle Spreads Its Wings," and the second and third years are basically the process of him spreading his wings.

That concludes my message, and once again, I wish everyone a happy Lantern Festival!

Chapter 186 Snape's behavior is beyond evaluation.

As night falls, the entire Hogwarts Castle is shrouded in a thick, dark curtain. With the absence of mischievous students who like to sneak out to explore after bedtime, the campus is exceptionally quiet.

In a ward in the Hospital Wing, Harry stood expressionless by the bedside for a long time, looking like a cold, hard stone sculpture.

The man lying motionless on the hospital bed was now completely stiff, his limbs still in the fighting posture he had been in when he was killed.

Harry had previously told Madam Pomfrey that it would be best to give the victims the Mandrake Restorative Draught at night, so that after a whole night of absorption, everyone should be able to wake up successfully the next day.

Madam Pomfrey accepted this explanation, and therefore she was currently busy administering potions to the other victims and would absolutely not bother Harry... or the petrified Snape.

After a long silence, Harry carefully poured the potion into Snape's mouth, and then fell into a wait once again.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long this time. Snape was the last to be petrified, so the time it would take him to recover his physical functions should be the shortest among all the patients.

Before long, Harry keenly noticed the tremor at the corner of Snape's mouth; he was beginning to wake up!

However, Harry's expression was neither excited nor delighted by this result. Instead, he immediately took out the Veritaserum he had prepared beforehand and poured the last few drops into Snape's mouth!

"Huh?!"

Snape, being a seasoned wizard, sensed Harry's actions and almost instinctively tried to cast a spell to counter them. However, the few drops of potion seemed to be accelerated, quickly sliding down Snape's throat.

This is actually a clever application of the water element. Liquid potions can also be considered a type of 'water,' and Harry can easily manipulate their movement.

With his ability to control water, Harry will almost certainly succeed in giving people any liquid potions in the future.

Harry, however, found his own actions rather ironic.

Snape gave him the recipe and all the ingredients without reservation, and even left him a bottle of Felix Felicis, which enabled Harry to successfully create the Veritaserum...

But in the end, Harry used it on Snape instead.

Finally, Snape seemed to have resigned himself to his fate; his eyes stopped struggling, and his expression gradually calmed down.

"Severus Snape, can you hear me?" Harry asked Snape in a low voice.

"I can hear you clearly..." Snape's tone was neither sad nor happy, completely devoid of any emotion.

"What exactly did you tell Voldemort about Sibyl Trelawney Trelawney's Prophecy?"

"I told Voldemort everything I had heard..."

Under the influence of the Veritaserum, Snape revealed the whole truth about what happened back then.

In early 1980, in order to secure a position as a Divination professor at Hogwarts, Trelawney was interviewed by Dumbledore at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade Village, where she made that important Prophecy for Dumbledore.

Snape, who was Death Eater at the time, happened to overhear this Prophecy outside the door and then told it to his master at the time, Voldemort.

However, Snape only heard the first half of the Prophecy before being thrown out, so Voldemort only received half of the information.

The Boy Who Lived was born into a family that had defeated the Dark Lord three times, and was born in the seventh month...

It was based on these two incomplete Prophecy that Voldemort made Harry's parents— James and Lily —his targets who had repeatedly outmaneuvered him and escaped unscathed.

If Snape had listened to just one more word and let Voldemort know the 'active marking' part of the Prophecy, Voldemort might not have wanted to invite trouble and ultimately messed things up.

If Snape had heard all the Prophecy, Neville might have ended up taking Harry's place... because there were two children born at the end of July, but Neville was born a day earlier Harry.

Unfortunately, Snape only heard so much at the time, so when Voldemort deduced from the fragmented clues that 'the Boy Who Lived is James and Lily's unborn child,' the young Snape completely panicked.

He had begged Voldemort to spare Lily, Voldemort generously agreed; however, Snape was worried about Voldemort's tarnished reputation, so he hurriedly went to Dumbledore, hoping that Albus Dumbledore could find a way to protect Lily.

What follows is another story. The Potter family' location was protected by the Fidelius Charm, but unfortunately, the Secret Keeper was unreliable, and they were ultimately forced to confront Voldemort.

From that moment on, Snape lived almost every day in self-reproach.

He resented himself for revealing the Prophecy, resented James Potter for failing to protect Lily, resented Voldemort for going back on his word, resented Neville Longbottom for not being born sooner to take the blame, and even more so, he wished he could tear Sirius 'leaked' the prophecy, to pieces!

This man devoted almost his entire life to loving Harry's mother, Lily; this profound devotion...

There's simply no way to evaluate Harry!

Because of the effects of the Veritaserum, Snape's words were not a true confession at all; they were just blaming everyone and everything!

Objectively speaking, Snape's unwavering loyalty to love is indeed admirable, but he was, and still is, to a large extent, a cold and treacherous villain.

Snape didn't care at all whether Harry or Harry father James lived or died.

All he cared about was Lily, and it wasn't until James and Lily died that he began to place all his hopes on Lily's son— Harry himself.

So that's why he always likes to stare into his eyes... Harry thought regretfully.

Hagrid once said that Harry looked almost exactly like his father James, except that his eyes resembled his mother Lily.

Harry silently shook his head and took off the glasses that had been perched on his nose.

"Severus Snape, look into these eyes, I need you to tell me... have you always deeply loved my mother?"

The room was pitch black, but Harry's eyes shone brightly. When Snape saw those incredibly familiar blue eyes, his own eyes seemed to regain their luster.

"It always has been."

His tone was flat, yet within that single word seemed to lie a steadfastness that transcended time and death.

"So that's how it is... So, all the care you've given me up to this point has been because of my mother?!"

Thank goodness he wasn't a woman... Harry even felt a chilling sense of lingering fear!

Looking into Snape's eyes, he thought of his mother Lily; watching himself brew Potions, he thought of the girl he grew up with...

His profound and sincere emotions would inspire admiration in anyone else, but Harry is the only exception!

Because Harry is his student, not a substitute for his mother Lily!

"So... after all this time, what exactly has been your opinion of me as a student?" Harry asked Snape indifferently. "Professor Snape... stripping away the influence of my parents, have you ever truly acknowledged my talent and hard work?!"

"..." Snape did not answer Harry's question. Instead, he pursed his lips and adopted a completely uncooperative and indifferent attitude.

"Don't use that damned Occlumency on me!!"

In the hospital room, Harry, enraged by Snape's behavior, angrily raised his wand!