Afternoon

In the afternoon, warm sunlight slanted across the corridors of Hogwarts Castle.

Pandora walked briskly, leading Snape toward her laboratory.

Along the way, patches of light filtered through the stained-glass windows, shifting colors as they fell across the stone floor.

She needed to make some preparations in the laboratory before going to inspect that unusual protective magic.

"Pandora, what sort of experiments do you do?"

"Lately, I've been researching a special subject: combining spells with plants. Casting certain special spells on some plants can sometimes produce astonishing effects.

"For example, if you cast Stupe-Tergeo on Mistletoe, its flower crown releases an enchanting fragrance. The scent draws people close without them realizing it, and after smelling it for a while, they fall unconscious and have a warm, beautiful dream.

"That was how I missed several days of classes last time. Luckily, no one came looking for me, and when I returned, it was as though nothing had happened."

"..."

After hearing that, Snape did not know what to say for a moment.

A strange feeling rose within him. He found these things rather adorable about her, yet he also felt sorry for her.

"What is Stupe-Tergeo?" he asked softly.

"It's a spell I invented. I combined Stupefy and Tergeo, and it became Stupe-Tergeo."

They talked as they walked, and before they knew it, they had climbed to the Seventh Floor of the castle.

Snape looked up and saw the Troll in Tutu Tapestry before him.

He could not help raising an eyebrow. Had Hogwarts's ancient secret places become this bustling?

"Wait here a moment," Pandora said to Snape after glancing around.

She trotted back and forth along the corridor in little steps, muttering continuously, "I need to do experiments, I need to do experiments..."

Before long, Snape saw that smooth door appear in the blank wall again.

He stepped forward first and pulled it open, turning sideways to let Pandora enter with him.

It was a circular room, much smaller than the place where he had hidden things last time.

Several large round tables stood inside, covered with glass vessels of all shapes and sizes and scattered papers. Along the wall near the windows grew more than a dozen colorful plants.

"Isn't it amazing?" she said. "There's actually a laboratory like this in the castle, and I'm the only one who uses it."

"Yes, it's amazing," Snape echoed, unwilling to dampen her enthusiasm.

His gaze swept around the room, and he suddenly realized that the papers on the table were several newspapers.

"Why do you have Daily Prophet newspapers here?"

"I use them to wrap Fire Dragon dung," Pandora answered carelessly as she organized the vessels on the table.

"Perfectly reasonable," Snape said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "By the way, how did you find this place?"

"They wouldn't let me do these things in the dormitory. They said it was too dangerous," Pandora said. "So I wanted to find an empty classroom in the castle to do my experiments. But the professors did not really agree to let me use those classrooms either, so I had to keep changing locations. Once, Peeves even smashed the experimental materials I'd spent ages gathering.

"Of course, everything was fine after I came here. No one ever disturbed me again."

She picked up a gleaming crystal ball and said to Snape, "Look, this is a Revealing Resonance Crystal. If you tap it with a Wand, you can see invisible things around you, like Wrackspurts and such.

"But be careful. Using it for too long makes your brain turn slower and slower, as if it's about to solidify..."

Pandora excitedly introduced her laboratory to Snape. So many things here went beyond his imagination; he truly had no idea how she had made them.

"All right, I need to prepare for the special explosion."

With some effort, she lifted a plain little bag from the floor, then pulled out several sets of bottles and jars and a brass scale. Amid swirling smoke, she began her preparations.

"Pandora, did you make this little bag yourself?"

Snape had noticed that the bag's capacity was clearly beyond all reason. It reminded him of the spatial artifact Hermione had prepared for the trio's life on the run.

"What?" Pandora looked up, though her hands did not stop moving. "Oh, you mean this. Yes, I made it with the Undetectable Extension Charm. Without it, moving my laboratory would be far too painful."

"Um, well, I wonder if I could trouble you to make something similar for me?"

Snape picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet from the table and asked her with a shameless grin.

He suddenly felt as if the room had become a little too warm.

"Sure," Pandora replied almost without hesitation. "But this spell is very difficult. It took me many tries to make this little bag, so I don't know when I'll be able to make another one for you."

"That's fine, no rush," Snape said cheerfully. "Just do it whenever you have time."

Then he leaned against the corner of the wall, unfolded the newspaper, and stopped disturbing Pandora's work.

It was an April edition, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy in it.

News from the Ministry of Magic and gossip columns occupied nearly every page. The entire paper contained nothing about magical theory, which showed that the writers did not have even a trace of theory in their heads.

After reading it, Snape concluded that the Daily Prophet could not be considered a first-rate newspaper. Using it to wrap Fire Dragon dung was, in fact, making the best use of it.

Then, in a small corner of the last page, he noticed the words "Muggle Prime Minister"—

<Minister of Magic Meets New Muggle Prime Minister Successfully>:

"Recently, Minister of Magic Harold Mincham completed a friendly and in-depth meeting with the new Muggle Prime Minister, James Hacker... The two sides held extensive exchanges on a number of issues of mutual concern... During the meeting, both sides especially emphasized the importance of harmonious coexistence between Wizards and Muggles... We believe that the current difficulties are only temporary, and that through the joint efforts of both sides, a new world filled with harmony and prosperity..."

"Wait, James Hacker..."

Snape picked up the newspaper he had been about to put down and stared hard at the common English name that was the same as Potter's, as well as the accompanying photograph below it.

"James... Jim... Jim Hacker..."

"Fuck!" He could not help tightening his grip, and with a ripping sound, he tore the page in half.

Half of the new Muggle Prime Minister's face was still on it, smiling stiffly.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Pandora asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Snape folded the page and tucked it into his pocket. "What a strange world this is..."

"Yes, I think so too," Pandora said without looking up as she continued mixing her colorful reagents.

Many years later, Snape still clearly remembered that afternoon in the autumn of 1976. In the Room of Requirement, Pandora had been tinkering with her experimental equipment while he read the Daily Prophet beside her. There had been no worries, not even the faintest shadow in his heart.

In the years that followed, he rushed endlessly from place to place, rarely stopping. He never had another afternoon like that.