10. I'm a Professor, So I Can

Twenty minutes later, a fully dressed Harley sat at the dining table.

She saw her aunt and uncle huddled on the living room sofa, faces full of terror. Dudley was squeezed between them, struggling even to breathe, and they didn't dare make a sound.

Given the disparity in their sizes, the scene looked quite absurdly comical.

It seems this professor did something to them, Harley thought.

She looked down at the letter in her hand: "Uh, a school for wizards? Is it the kind I'm thinking of? Sir, you aren't joking with me, are you?"

Snape tried his best to make his expression look gentler.

However, he spoke like Tom Hanks after being stranded on a desert island for a decade: "Yes. Things will be a bit different this year, but it remains a place that teaches people how to master magic."

Harley glanced at the letter in her hand again and suddenly asked, "Sir, do you know me?"

Snape looked at her. Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. Her red hair, those emerald-green eyes.

For a moment, Snape thought he had returned to the past.

For some reason, he didn't answer the question, instead awkwardly changing the subject: "Miss Potter. If you are willing, I can take you to make your pre-enrollment preparations now. We officially start on September 1st, so there are two days left."

Harley smiled and pushed up her glasses: "I think I already have my answer, Professor Snape."

"However, I don't think I have a choice. Goodbye, Aunt Petunia, goodbye Dudley, goodbye Uncle Vernon."

Harley laughed, drained the cup of warm milk in front of her—which had originally been Dudley's—and then said, "So, how are we getting there?"

"Do you not need to bring anything? Like a change of clothes or the like?"

"Ah, I only have three outfits to rotate, and they're all quite tattered."

The girl scratched the back of her head, feeling a bit embarrassed, but her smile remained bright: "The school will issue uniforms, right?"

Snape nodded.

He carried his leather suitcase, and Harley followed him out empty-handed. They arrived at a quiet corner of the neighborhood. Snape closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and channeled the magic he had prepared through meditation to open a Space Gate, leading to a place Harley had never been.

The streets were neat and clean, and the gorgeously decorated shops had large, flashing signs. At this moment, Snape noticed the girl appearing more uneasy and constrained than ever before.

He stepped forward into the Space Gate and held out a hand, signaling for the girl to take it. Harley felt a strange tremor as she crossed through, and just like that, they arrived at a commercial street in London.

"I thought the places wizards went would be a bit more... eccentric," Harley said softly, smiling reluctantly.

"This. This is not a place for wizards."

For some reason, he couldn't even bring himself to say the word "Muggle," opting instead for an obscure term: "This is where ordinary people buy clothes."

"Oh!"

Harley seemed a bit uneasy. Only then did Snape realize that the indifference and maturity beyond her years the girl had displayed in that nightmare of a house were likely just a facade of self-protection.

Harley pinched her oversized, tattered sleeve, wanting to say something. But Snape just pulled her forward, his tone firm: "To ensure you don't cause any minor trouble for the image of Hogwarts, I believe you need some new clothes, Miss Potter."

He looked up, not wanting Harley to see his expression.

Consequently, he didn't see Harley's expression either. It was a heart-wrenching smile, filled with both gratitude and bewilderment.

They walked into a high-end clothing store that carried everything from menswear and womenswear to children's clothing.

Snape said to the clerk in an awkward tone: "Please find some well-fitting clothes for this young lady. Money is no object. Five sets each of summer and winter wear, and I also need socks. Long socks, short socks, wool socks—about ten pairs. Also, please prepare five pairs of shoes."

The female clerk looked at Snape, her eyes seemingly glowing: "Certainly! Sir!"

Harley tugged on Snape's sleeve and whispered, "Isn't this a bit too extravagant, Professor?"

Snape glanced at her, attempting to pull a comforting smile onto his face.

But his atrophied facial muscles clearly couldn't manage such a friendly expression, and the result, looking more like a grimace than a smile, made Harley burst into laughter.

Snape turned his head away and muttered under his breath: "Fine, fine. I suppose that counts as achieving the goal."

Two hours later, Harley walked out of Gringotts wearing a well-fitted black suit; she had also changed into a new pair of glasses.

Snape followed behind her, looking like a butler.

Harley's remaining clothes were packed in his black leather suitcase. Having changed into a high-end custom suit, Harley had also had her hair cut short; her red hair was no longer a mess, but styled into a neat, ear-length bob.

She hummed a song Snape didn't recognize, looking cheerful, and would occasionally glance back at him, squinting with a smile.

"It feels strange to be a rich person, Professor. But it's nothing compared to discovering that everyone here seems to know me."

She greeted a hunchbacked wizard in black robes who passed by, and the fellow looked pleasantly surprised. Snape stared coldly at him until the man scurried away in a panic.

He followed behind Harley, weighing his words: "You are indeed quite famous."

Harley had her back to Snape, so he couldn't see the girl's expression, only hearing her voice: "Is that so?"

Snape stepped forward and signaled for the girl to stay close.

"Originally, I would have needed to purchase your wizarding robes, wand, textbooks, and a pile of miscellaneous items. But we have a new method this year; those things can wait."

He brought Harley to the entrance of a noisy pet shop and pushed the door open, letting Harley go in first: "However, you must have a pet. An owl, a toad, or a cat."

Harley wandered around the shop, and the animals shrank away when they saw her, as if fearing something. The female shopkeeper wanted to introduce them to her, but Snape just made a simple gesture, signaling for Harley to choose for herself.

"I don't know. Professor, they all seem a bit afraid of me."

"It doesn't matter. You choose them, they don't choose you. Just pick one you like."

Snape answered the girl's question calmly. He casually pulled a pile of Galleons from his briefcase and tossed them to the shopkeeper. Harley, however, refused; she pulled a handful of her own money from her pocket and gave Snape an embarrassed smile.

"If that's alright."

"Of course it is." Snape took back his Galleons.

Harley ran over to the owls. The owls in the cages were of various colors, but they all turned their backs to avoid looking at her. She ran over to the toad display next, but they didn't even croak, sitting so still they looked dead.

As for the cats, they had simply run off to hide in the corners.

Harley turned back and gave Snape an apologetic smile, believing she was the reason these animals were acting so strangely: "Sorry, Professor. It seems they really don't like me much. But it's fine, I've been like this since I was little."

Snape retrieved the Galleons from the shopkeeper's reluctant hands and tucked them into his pocket. He led Harley out the door and asked, "So, is there any animal you like?"

The girl tilted her head under the gloomy London sky to think, her red hair standing out vividly: "Ah, a snake, would that be okay?"

Snape pursed his lips and replied, "Usually, no."

The girl's eyes dimmed.

He continued, "But I am a professor, so, yes."