Hogsmeade

After washing up carefully, Snape returned to the dormitory.

Avery and Mulciber had their arms and legs sticking out from beneath their blankets, mouths slightly open as their snores rose and fell.

"Two idiots."

He muttered under his breath, pulling out his Wand and giving his four-poster bed a wave.

"Silencing Charm."

Thinking that the spell had originally been invented simply so he could sleep through snoring, he could not help finding it rather absurd.

After tossing his changed clothes into the empty laundry basket, Snape lay down on his pillow.

"Ugh, I still have to go to The Hog's Head Inn tomorrow for a Walpurgis gathering." After searching through his memories, he could not help letting out a heavy sigh. "Isn't that basically the Death Eaters' reserve force..."

He stared at the faintly visible green-and-silver striped curtains in the darkness, accompanied by an indistinguishable buzzing in his ears.

After alternately calling out "system" and "old grandpa" in Chinese and English several times without receiving any response, Snape finally drifted off to sleep.

Snape woke up early the next morning.

After a brief moment of thought, he pulled his trunk out from beneath the bed.

There were not many clothes inside. An old set of Gobstones lay scattered among several old books his mother had passed down to him.

One of them was Libatius Borage's Advanced Potion-Making, grimy and dog-eared from frequent reading.

Snape dug out a pair of shabby jeans that did not quite fit and put them on beneath his robes.

He had never worn such ugly Muggle clothes at Hogwarts before.

But to be cautious, if the Marauders attacked him, they would at least provide an extra layer of protection.

The rustling woke the others.

Avery opened his mouth in surprise, looked at Snape, then shook his head in disbelief and rubbed his eyes.

"Get dressed. Let's go have breakfast."

Snape could tell what Avery was curious about, but he had no intention of discussing it with anyone.

All along the way, people pointed at him and whispered among themselves, occasionally letting out muffled laughter.

It nearly made him throw a few Avada Kedavra spells at them, just to give them nosebleeds.

Shielded by his sleeves, Snape discreetly pointed his Wand around him a few times and muttered:

"Tongue-Tying Curse!"

The whispers immediately caught in their throats.

Several students clutched at their throats, unable to speak. Their tongues had stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

At last, the world was quiet.

After sitting down, Snape piled several pork chops, steaks, and lamb chops onto his plate.

As he ate the meat, he thought:

The House-elves are really good cooks. I need to eat more meat, then figure out a way to exercise and get stronger.

But the most urgent thing right now is getting off Tom's doomed ship. Whether it's a double agent or a spy for both sides, neither seems to have ever met a good end.

Besides, I don't want to spend seven years being someone's nanny, only to have the Potter kid shout my private business in front of the entire school after I'm dead.

Reserve Death Eaters probably aren't trapped in for good like the official ones, are they... That's a problem.

Voldemort should only have five Horcruxes at this point: the Diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, and the diadem. Nagini and Harry had not yet had the chance to enjoy that honor.

Slowly chewing his food, Snape unconsciously looked toward the staff table at the far end of the Great Hall—

Behind half-moon spectacles, a pair of startlingly blue eyes met his gaze for a brief second.

He jolted in fright, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Snape quickly lowered his head, stared at his plate, picked up his knife, and pretended to cut his steak.

Damn, I nearly forgot about that.

Luckily, I should know Occlumency. I'm just not sure whether what happened last night will have any effect. Looks like I'll need to find a chance to test it...

Outside the castle, the crimson sun shone over the grounds.

A light breeze swept over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, making patches of dark green light shimmer.

Argus Filch stood inside the gates with a long list in his hands.

He warily checked every face, making sure no one who was not supposed to leave slipped through the gates.

The group went out through the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars, then turned left onto the road leading to Hogsmeade.

They followed the main road, and when they passed Zonko's Joke Shop, Mulciber decided to buy some Fainting Fancies and prank supplies.

Though he had no interest in it, Snape decided it was better not to act alone.

So he passed the time standing in the shade by the entrance, watching flocks of owls of all sizes and colors fly in and out of the post office with chirping hoots.

"Look who it is."

Mulciber came swaggering out of the shop with a large paper bag in his arms, Avery at his side.

Lily Evans and her roommate Mary MacDonald were chatting happily as they strolled over from one end of the lane.

"Perfect time to try out the new stuff."

Mulciber reached into the paper bag and pulled out a Fainting Fancy.

Just as he raised it to throw it, Snape instinctively drew his Wand—

"Protego!"

An invisible wall instantly formed, and the impact sent Avery and Mulciber crashing onto their backs.

Fainting Fancies, Stink Pellets, and Hiccuping Dittany scattered across the ground, rolling everywhere.

Snape blankly lowered his hand, as though the movement had not belonged to him.

But now that things had come to this, what else could he do?

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

The two scrambled to their feet, covered in dust, and glared at Snape through the transparent barrier.

"Severus, have you gone mad?"

"Don't touch them, all right?"

"What? You're doing this for those two Mud—"

"Don't say that word!"

Snape shouted.

His lowered arm rose again, his eyes fixed tightly on the two of them.

Avery and Mulciber drew their Wands as well.

Although it was two against one, neither of them appeared willing to make the first move.

"Listen, Severus. Don't forget who you are."

"I don't need you to remind me, Mulciber."

The sun had nearly reached its zenith. The stifling air seemed to have solidified, clinging stickily to every inch of skin.

A breeze brushed past Snape from behind, and a familiar figure stepped through the heat haze to his side.

Mary walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

He had never expected anyone to stand beside him, much less Mary.

What a good girl, Snape thought. After being tormented by Dark Magic by people like us so many times, she was still willing to pass messages to Lily for me, and now she was willing to stand beside me.

At that moment, Lily stepped forward as well and stood beside Mary.

Snape instinctively avoided her figure and refused to look at her.

"Mulciber, are you sure you want to fight me?"

Snape did not want to completely fall out with Mulciber and the others right now, so he made a show of putting away his Wand.

Mulciber shot him a resentful look, then pulled Avery along as they gathered up the scattered items and hurried away.

"Thank you, Mary," Snape said, somewhat uncertainly.

Mary nodded at him and turned away.

Even after Mary and Lily had gone far away, Snape remained standing where he was.

The Hog's Head Inn—go or not go? That was the question.

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