Herman paused, taken aback by Harry's words. "His office?"
The first thought that popped into his head after he said that was that if it were so easy to get into someone like Snape's office, George and Fred would have emptied it out long ago.
He pressed further, "How did you get it?" Harry glanced at him, then began to speak, her tone still flat, as if she were recounting something completely risk-free.
There weren't many people in the castle corridors in the early morning. Candles burned quietly on the wall lamps, casting a warm, pale yellow glow on the walls.
After saying goodbye to Herman and Draco, Harry headed towards the Slytherin Common Room. She stopped at the fork in the corridor, thought about Herman's wound, and finally turned and went in another direction.
She walked up the stairs, through two corridors adorned with huge tapestries, and along the long corridor all the way to the library entrance.
Madam Pince was organizing a stack of newly arrived books behind the counter when she heard footsteps. She looked up briefly and saw Harry enter. Her gaze lingered on Harry for a moment before she lowered her head to continue organizing the books.
Harry didn't head towards the main reading area. Instead, she walked past two rows of bookshelves and turned into a narrower aisle, at the end of which was a locked iron gate.
She stood in front of the gate, looked down at the lock for a while, but didn't touch it.
She turned to the side and reached through the gap in the fence gate to reach a book on the nearest bookshelf. The spine of the book had a faded label with blurred words.
She had read this book before. Black had taught Harry a lot, including which books in the Restricted Section she could now touch, such as these that were within easy reach.
Most of them are wizards' notes, without any magic attached to them. They are listed as forbidden books mostly because they contain insights into Dark Magic.
Harry remembered there was a Potions recipe in this book.
The book cover was dark red, without any title. Harry flipped through a few pages; the paper was yellowed and brittle, the print was small and densely packed. She quickly found the descriptions of residual magic damage that she remembered, followed by a solution. However, several places used words like "it is said" and "speculation," which seemed unreliable. The recipes weren't as precise as those in a regular textbook; they mostly only mentioned the ingredients without specifying the quantities.
She closed the book, took out a folded handkerchief from her pocket and wrapped it around the cover, glanced at both ends of the corridor to make sure no one was there, then left the iron gate, tucked the book inside her school uniform, and walked out of the library along the same route.
Madam Pince was still arranging books behind the counter, not looking up at her.
But Harry walked past the counter a little faster than usual. As she passed the doorway, she sidestepped a half-open window, her clothes brushing against the edge of the window frame almost silently.
She left the library and walked down the corridor to the underground. She stopped at the second corner to make sure no one was around before turning back to the page with the folded corner to check the contents again. She thought about the formula for a moment, but in the end, she had to give up. Even with outstanding talent, a first-year student couldn't perfect such a formula.
After thinking for a moment, Harry closed the book and continued walking. This time, she went straight to Snape's office door, knocked twice, but there was no response.
She knocked twice more, but still nothing. She tried turning the doorknob, and the door opened.
Snape was sitting behind his desk, an open book in front of him, and a dark teacup in his hand, as if he had just poured water into it and hadn't had a chance to take a sip yet.
When he looked up, his gaze first fell on her face, then swept over the cover of the book in her hand, paused for a moment, and then returned to her eyes, as if performing a scanning procedure he had repeated many times. "Miss Harry,"
He spoke, his tone not harsh, not like the displeasure of being interrupted from reading in the morning, but more like a struggle, as if he had just discovered Harry outside the door and was unsure whether to open it.
Students usually don't bother me at this time.
Harry didn't back down, nor did she show any nervousness.
She walked in, turned the book to the page with the folded corner, placed it on the table, and let it rest on the center line of the table, not far from his hand. "Professor, I would like to ask what kind of Potions is needed to treat the wounds caused by residual magic from Fantastic Beasts? I found a recipe in a book, but it seems to be just a random note without precise proportions."
She spoke softly and in a flat tone, as if asking a normal classroom question.
She didn't say whose wound it was, nor why she cared about it. She simply placed the open page of the book in front of him and waited.
Snape glanced down at the pages, his gaze lingering for about two seconds on the description of residual magical damage, before casually flipping through a few more pages and glancing at the rest, his brow twitching slightly.
He didn't rush to answer. He flipped the book back to the cover and looked at it again. There was no title label, only a spine with worn-out edges.
He closed the book, looked up at her, and asked, "Where did you get this book from?"
Harry didn't evade the question, "The library." Snape paused at the end of his sentence: "Which part of the library?"
Harry paused for a moment before speaking, her tone as flat as before. "It's not far inside the fence."
Snape paused for two seconds, then spoke, his voice slightly lower than before. "You really dare to take it."
Snape was at a loss for words when it came to Harry's behavior. As the professor, he felt he should deduct a perfect score, but looking at the familiar red hair and the face so similar to his memories, he ultimately said nothing.
He reopened the book to that page, read the contents again, then looked up at her and asked, "You're asking who this is for?"
Harry didn't hesitate. "Friends."
Snape's gaze lingered on her face for a moment. "Which friend?"
Harry thought for a moment, "A wizard friend of mine, he's injured."
Snape looked at her, his gaze seemingly trying to see into Harry's heart, but he quickly looked away, glancing down at the pages again before looking up and saying, "The profound contents of Potions are not for you to study now. If you are injured, you should go to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, not try to read forbidden books yourself. There's a reason it's kept in the Restricted Section; this time it's just a notebook, next time it might be a mind-stealing curse."
After saying that, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced at the ingredients of the recipe on the page, as if trying to figure something out. He felt the recipe was a bit strange, but it could indeed heal magical wounds.
Harry didn't leave; she stood still. "So, can this formula actually cure it?"
Snape put down his teacup and glanced at her. "Theoretically, it can be cured, but there are many ingredients mixed in, and I'm not sure what they're for. It doesn't seem to be just for treating wounds."
He paused after saying that, as if he had thought of something, and then added, "Is your wizard friend a wanted criminal? Why doesn't he go to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?"