Hogwarts Love Story

Case solved!

The mystery of why Snape gave Zhang San points had been solved!

When Zhang San learned that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Dumbledore had brought in to fill Quirrell's position was Severus Snape, he finally understood why he had been grinning like Shen Teng.

If Potions was Snape's career, then Defense Against the Dark Arts was the subject he was truly passionate about. After Lily Potter was killed by Voldemort, Snape had never hated his own weakness so deeply. From then on, he developed an intense interest in the Dark Arts.

Only by becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor could he freely enter the Restricted Section and study materials on the Dark Arts. Learning the Dark Arts was the quickest way to improve one's combat ability, and Snape firmly believed that Voldemort would return sooner or later—just as he had. In Harry Potter's very first year at Hogwarts, Voldemort had already dared to come back here.

If Third Zhang had not risked his life to expose Quirrell's identity, Harry Potter would have spent an entire year with Voldemort. Snape truly could not imagine how dangerous the child's situation would have been.

Improving his strength was urgent, and learning the Dark Arts could not wait.

So, after finally getting his wish and becoming the substitute Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Snape was practically blooming with joy. That student Zhang from the East was practically his lucky angel—first exposing Voldemort, then driving away the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, paving his way all the way to becoming the only candidate for the substitute position.

As the general said: a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had to understand the Dark Arts. Even Gilderoy Lockhart, who had been exposed as a fraud, had been an acclaimed author of many bestselling adventure novels before his false facade was torn away.

Those adventure novels contained a great deal of experience in dealing with Dark creatures. They could be read for entertainment, and readers could also learn quite a bit of useful knowledge from them.

If what he wrote had been riddled with errors, those adventure journals could never have become bestsellers in the wizarding world. Most readers in the wizarding world were wizards who had received seven years of compulsory magical education—the elite members of the Order of the Phoenix included Molly Weasley, who had defeated Bellatrix with wandless magic and was also a Lockhart fan.

"That was another terrible class!" Harry said despairingly.

Two of the first-year core subjects were taught by Snape. Harry Potter felt like life was no longer worth living.

"Did Professor Snape give you a hard time?" Zhang San asked.

"What else could it be? I have no idea how I offended him, but he keeps coming after me like a rabid dog," Harry Potter complained nonstop.

Zhang San did not beat around the bush and directly spoiled it for Harry Potter. "Could it be that Professor Snape was your dad's romantic rival?"

Harry Potter: "Huh?"

Ron Weasley: "No way, right?"

"Why not? Young wizards from all over Britain came here to study, so people around the same age were basically classmates. Snape is about the same age as Harry's parents, so it's entirely possible they knew each other at school... and may even have had a grudge," Zhang San spoiled wildly.

Ron asked in confusion, "Then why doesn't my dad know about it?"

"Your family has a lot of kids! Mr. Weasley is at least ten years older than Mr. Potter," Zhang San said.

Ron nodded. "So Snape had a grudge against Harry's father, and because Harry looks like his father, Snape has been taking revenge on Harry like crazy?"

Harry also began to understand. There was no love without reason, and no hate without reason. Snape must have targeted him so much because of the grudges and entanglements of the previous generation.

"How could he be like that?" Ron complained.

Zhang San continued firing away. "Also... Harry's eyes are green, just like his mother's. Whenever Professor Snape gets stared at by those green eyes, his head must be buzzing."

Harry Potter looked at Zhang San in confusion. "How do you know so much? You're clearly from China, and you only came to Hogwarts this year."

"I'm a ghost. Ghosts have special ways of communicating with other ghosts. I can ask them about everything that has happened at Hogwarts over the years," Zhang San answered.

"I'm going to find a ghost and ask properly what happened back then," Harry said.

Zhang San stopped him. "There's no use asking. I use a special method to read ghosts' information. Living people can't use that kind of communication."

"Ah..." Harry was disappointed.

Zhang San patted Harry Potter on the shoulder. "Snape's feelings toward you are very complicated. He hates that your father took your mother away from him, yet he still loves her deeply in his heart... What he feels toward you may not be hatred, but frustration that you fail to live up to expectations. He wants to raise you into the finest wizard, so his demands of you have become harsh to the extreme."

Harry froze. "Is that so?"

Zhang San thought, Of course not! Buddy, I'm messing with you!

Everyone thought Severus Snape and Lily Potter had been childhood sweethearts, but in truth, they had been best girlfriends.

The person Professor Snape truly loved was not Lily Potter, but James Potter. Although that would have been shocking anywhere in the world, don't forget—this was Gay Britain... with its own local customs.

Zhang San had not believed it at first either, but after reviewing the ghosts' real memories, he finally understood just how complicated the grudges and emotional entanglements were.

You could think of Hogwarts' ghosts as mobile cameras, but only Zhang San, who cultivated the Ghost Path, had the root password needed to access their information.

When he saw the real surveillance footage from back then, his soul nearly shattered. What the hell was all this mess? How could relationships be this complicated?

It felt like watching a Jinjiang-style version of Let's Go Watch the Meteor Shower plus Country Love plus The Prince Who Turns into a Frog...

You could understand it this way: Snape was Chu Yuxun, and James was Murong Yunhai. Their constant clashes and mutual disdain had really been flirting.

That was why Zhang San understood how Snape, in a fit of rage back then, could blurt out "Mudblood" at Lily. If he had truly loved Lily Potter with unforgettable devotion, then even if Snape had been furious enough to explode, he would never have cursed her so viciously.

Everyone had seen how the story ended—the second female lead, Lily Potter, rose to the top and took the male lead's surname. Zhang San felt that perhaps what Snape wanted most was for Harry Potter to call him "Mom," and for someone to one day call him "Severus Potter."

Harry had inherited James's appearance and personality, which filled Snape with contradictions and struggles whenever he faced Harry. Snape had always protected Harry in secret, and this conflicted behavior was precisely because of his burning, profound feelings for James.

The dead deserved respect, so Zhang San decided to tell Harry Potter only the parts that could be told, lest the boy's fragile worldview shatter into pieces.

Harry's head was buzzing, while Ron was so full from all the gossip that he could barely take any more. When the three entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they saw Professor Snape staring fixedly at Harry Potter.

"Professor... good morning," Harry Potter greeted him stiffly. He no longer knew what attitude he should take toward Snape.

After Harry understood that everything Snape did to target him had supposedly been for his own good, he no longer knew how to face him either.

In short, it was all very complicated.

Hate him? He could not bring himself to.

Respect it? It still hurt.

Aaaaaah...

Zhang San, you really deserved to die!

Why did you tell me all this?

Zhang San: Huh? I thought you'd thank me!

(The ghost was shocked.)