Snape's Birthday Event (1)

The Hogwarts dining hall was noticeably emptier on Sunday. Still bleary-eyed, I stuffed bread into my mouth as I listened to Lily, Mary, and the others chat. Just as I was nearly finished, a prompt appeared before my eyes.

[Today is January 9. Snape's birthday event has begun! What birthday present will you give Snape?]

[1. A gift]

[2. Birthday wishes]

[3. A letter]

[4. A hug]

I casually chose a gift, only to realize something was off once the options disappeared.

Wasn't Sirius's birthday a "romance event" last time? I'd assumed everyone involved would have a "romance event," but Snape, whom I'd barely interacted with, only got an ordinary birthday. Even the options had gotten perfunctory...

I really didn't understand how this system decided what kind of event to trigger.

I shook my head. Snape and I got along terribly, and the only link between us was Lily. Without her, I probably couldn't spend more than ten seconds with Snape without an argument. Lily still hadn't told Snape about that group of three Slytherins making trouble for her, and I didn't think that would do.

Snape needed to know what he was doing and how his actions affected the people around him.

Lily had previously asked why I wasn't afraid those guys would tell on me. The main reason was that I'd bought a camera when I was sending Petunia a letter and had kept carrying it with me ever since. I'd only meant to take some everyday photos, but I hadn't expected to end up with this evidence too.

After returning to the common room, I stuffed all the photos into a box and got ready to go to Slytherin to find Snape.

"Hey, Merlin! The weather's great today. Want to go watch Quidditch?"

James, with Quidditch on the brain, appeared almost as soon as I stepped outside. Sometimes I really suspected he was an NPC you could suddenly encounter on the road in Pokémon. Otherwise, why did he keep popping up out of nowhere?

"Sorry, James, I have something to do today, but I wouldn't go even if I didn't." I declined tactfully. "Why don't you go find Black? Isn't he your best mate?"

"I'd like to, but he disappeared sometime after this morning. Who knows where he's run off to?" James scratched his hair. "He must have gone on an adventure without inviting me. He's found someone else!"

"Oh, I see. You only came to me because you couldn't find Black. Now I'm definitely not going!"

After exchanging a few jokes with James, I said goodbye to him, only to run into Sirius at the stairs.

With his hands in his pockets, Sirius looked like the perpetually unsmiling second male lead in a comic. He walked past me like that, then backed up again.

"Well, this is rare. Are you planning to give that thing to someone?"

I didn't know how he'd come to that conclusion, but I didn't need to explain myself to him.

"James is looking for you. He was just complaining to me that you'd disappeared." With that, I hurried down the stairs.

The Slytherin Common Room was some distance from Gryffindor, and I didn't know whether Snape was in his dormitory today. But if he wasn't, I could leave it on a table. Someone would give it to him eventually.

When I reached the entrance courtyard, I saw Remus walking toward the building with some books.

"Lupin!" I greeted him.

His head had been lowered, but he immediately looked my way when he heard my voice. Once he noticed me, he visibly brightened.

"Good morning." He jogged over to me. "I've finished all the books you gave me. They were really interesting." Sunlight fell on him, making him look much more cheerful. "The way people view wolves really is completely different in every country and region."

"That's only the tip of the iceberg. If you like them, I can find more." That said, I had been selective when looking for books. After all, there were plenty of negative portrayals of wolves in Chinese legends too, like Mr. Dongguo and the Wolf and wolves and jackals conspiring together. It was probably better to keep those away from Remus for now.

After we chatted for a bit, I was about to say goodbye when Remus saw me heading down and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Slytherin Common Room." I patted the box. "Isn't it Snape's birthday today? I have some things I want to show him."

If I'd openly told another Gryffindor student I was taking a present to a Slytherin, they probably would have jumped up in protest. But perhaps my expression was far from friendly. Remus thought for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "Is it a present?"

I didn't think there was any need to hide it from Remus, so I told him straight.

"Not really, just some photos." I took two out to show him. "That little group of theirs studying Dark Magic has gone too far. They even dared to ambush someone at school. Lily won't say anything, but I don't care. Their leader definitely needs to see this."

Remus's expression turned serious as soon as he saw the photos, and his voice grew much lower.

"Were you hurt?"

"Me? I'm fine." Remembering how those guys had taken a detour around me when they saw me the next day put me in high spirits. "First-year magic isn't much use, so I dealt with them with my fists." Seeing that Remus still looked worried, I patted his shoulder. "Just think of Black. I can hold my own in a fight."

Remus still didn't look reassured, though. After putting the photos back in the box, he asked, "Do you want me to come with you?" As if he thought the request was too abrupt, he explained, "It's Slytherin, after all. You know Gryffindor and Slytherin have never gotten along very well."

"I'm just dropping something off. I'll leave as soon as I put it down. Nothing will happen." I waved him off. Mainly, the two of us going together would look more like we were picking a fight, so I might as well go alone.

After saying goodbye to Remus, I thought I'd finally be able to make it to Slytherin without interruption. But just after he left, I ran into Lily!

What the hell? How was I running into practically everyone along the way today?

If Lily saw me carrying a box and heading downstairs, she'd definitely ask where I was going. At that thought, I immediately pulled someone nearby in front of me to block her view, then quietly watched Lily out of the corner of my eye until she entered the building.

"She's already gone inside."

Just as I was still anxiously watching Lily's retreating figure, the person I'd pulled over spoke. I'd had no choice in the rush just now, so I quickly let go and apologized to the passerby over and over.

"I'm sorry, I really had nowhere to hide. I'm so sorry. Did I keep you from anything?"

I'd been too flustered to notice before, but the person I'd pulled over was wearing a black cloak, completely concealed beneath the hood. I couldn't see his face at all.

How strange. Why would anyone dress like that?

"It's all right. I'm happy to help you." The man in black sounded amused as he pulled his hood a little lower. "Besides, I don't have anything to do."

I had a feeling something was strange, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. In the end, I could only put it aside for now and continue on to the Slytherin Common Room.

[Author's note]

★Notice★

If affection is far below the required level, the "romance event" will be canceled, leaving only an ordinary "birthday event." But even if it doesn't meet the requirement at first, it's fine. You can still enter the route by gradually growing closer later;

However, during a birthday event where affection is below the required level, everyone with higher affection than that person will seek you out on their own. You can choose to spend the day with someone else at any time.

★Side route reminder★

*Congratulations on earning the Martin main romance route achievement-[Reunion]

*Congratulations on unlocking the Martin main romance route-[∞·1]