"Circe, you mean..." Calchas seemed to realize something. "The person Snape loves is merely the witch he imagined her to be?"
"More or less." Circe's tone was brimming with confidence. "Calchas, it seems your eyes are occasionally useful after all."
"Lily Evans was the first ray of sunlight he saw while trapped in the cold house of the Snape family. He kept trying to chase that ray of sunlight, yet never noticed that the door had long since closed."
"Of course! Perhaps it wasn't that he failed to notice..." She shrugged. "Maybe he simply didn't dare admit it. I've seen far too many men like that."
"Wonderful, truly wonderful!" Herpo raised a hand and applauded. "Then it seems Lily Evans's relationship with Snape was rather distant?"
"That question..." Circe looked at Voldemort. "I think only Snape's master can give the correct answer."
"I don't know." Voldemort shook his head lightly. "I don't concern myself with such matters."
"However, judging from the information Peter provided..." He narrowed his eyes as he recalled it. "I suppose they could be considered distant."
"After all, she had a child with another man, then struggled to survive like a rat under the Fidelius Charm."
"That only makes it feel even more pathetic." Herpo sneered. "It sounds like the tragic manuscript of some terrible poet—utterly unoriginal, and only nauseating."
"You may certainly continue mocking him." Circe raised an eyebrow. "Such feelings may seem foolish to you, but they can also draw forth powerful magic."
"Oh, I nearly forgot!" Calchas laughed. "Didn't you say yourself... that Odysseus was able to break free of your magic because of his loyalty to Penelope?"
"How irritating!" Circe's brows rose, and her lips pressed into a straight line.
Her gaze fell on Calchas, carrying a hint of menace. "Calchas, it seems