The winter nights inside Hogwarts Castle were still very warm. Every fireplace had been lit with magical flames, and warm air circulated through the corridors as well. This was a new heating project added by the construction crew, so students who got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom would not have to worry about freezing.
In the Gryffindor common room, Skyl sat at a small round table by the window, leaning over the desk as he compiled Transfiguration assignments. A thermos sat by his hand, and whenever he felt thirsty, he unscrewed the lid and took a few sips of hot tea. The students were chatting excitedly in the common room, playing wizard chess, playing Gobstones, and a group of them had gathered around the fire, using fire tongs to tease a salamander. It was a small magical creature born in flames and fed on fire, and its lively appearance made it quite endearing.
Wrapped in an ocean of laughter and cheerful voices, the transfer student worked while softly humming a song.
Before long, he had finished arranging the Transfiguration homework for all seven years. With a wave of his hand, he copied those pieces of parchment several hundred times.
The students around him were chatting about the same few topics as usual. Seamus stood on a table, showing off an Alchemical Bomb with a brand-new ratio of ingredients, and a group of people cheered as they prepared to show off their skills at the Dueling Club. Lee Jordan was gossiping with his friends about the professors' mysterious work. Many people had seen the new female teaching assistant leave the Great Hall together with the old bat, and guessed that the two of them had probably known each other for a long time.
Skyl was curious about Lily and Snape's private meeting, so he closed his eyes and sank into the dreamlike realm of astral wandering.
An invisible, colorless figure emerged beside Skyl. With both hands in his pockets, he walked leisurely through the crowd in the common room, passing through obstacles and human bodies like a ghost without causing the slightest interference. Not even dust settled on him. The astral-wandering Skyl walked out of the common room through the round doorway. The portrait of the Fat Lady guarding the entrance knew nothing of the shadow that had just passed through her, and she was still happily drinking punch.
"Hmm, let me find her. So she's here." Skyl looked around and easily found Lily's whereabouts. He teleported into Snape's office.
At this moment, Snape and Lily were already locked in confrontation.
A faint silver light flickered in the old bat's pitch-black, pondlike eyes. He was trying to read Lily's mind, trying to see straight through this inexplicable new teaching assistant.
Lily was an outstanding witch. During the days when the Order of the Phoenix had fought against the Dark Lord, she had also specially studied Occlumency, so she naturally had a mature set of methods for dealing with Death Eaters. Because she was guarding herself closely against Snape and had not relaxed her vigilance for even a moment, she noticed it immediately when the magic of Legilimency invaded her mind.
"It's very rude to go poking into other people's thoughts without permission." The young witch drew her wand and pointed it at Snape.
The old bat abruptly rose to his feet. His hands, which had originally been hidden inside his sleeves, stretched out. He had likewise been gripping his wand for a long time, ready to cast a spell at any moment.
"As a professor of Hogwarts, I must be careful of people with ulterior motives sneaking into the castle." Snape's face was dark. "I don't care how you bewitched Skyl, or how you went to every length to ingratiate yourself with that utterly foolish Potter. None of that can be hidden from me."
Lily took a deep breath and shouted furiously, "Who are you calling utterly foolish? Take that back!"
As if he had found a sore spot, Snape not only refused to apologize, but pushed even further.
"Harry Potter, of course. The Boy Who Lived. From the moment his first foot stepped into Hogwarts, I knew he was a hopelessly arrogant show-off. Mediocre, conceited, attention-seeking, insolent, rude…"
"Enough!" Lily pointed her wand at Snape's nose. "Whether Harry is a good child or not, I will draw my own conclusions. You, on the other hand, the famous Death Eater Severus Snape, how did you deceive Dumbledore, sneak into Hogwarts, and openly start teaching here? Do your students know what you really are?"
The old bat looked as though he had been punched hard. His body swayed slightly, and his face twisted as he said fiercely and painfully, "Because I turned away from evil. Dumbledore vouched for me. That is also something everyone knows."
The anger on Lily's face eased slightly, but she still refused to let it go and said sarcastically, "In my opinion, no matter how clean a crow washes itself, its feathers are still black. Perhaps you only pretended to surrender, and are ready to throw yourself back into the Dark Lord's arms at any time."
For a moment, Snape could not speak. He was indeed worried that Voldemort would return. In Lily's eyes, this was proof of his guilty conscience.
"I asked Harry about you. He actually thinks you're a decent professor. It seems you're the one who went to every length to ingratiate yourself with him."
When Snape heard this, even he laughed out of anger. Skyl, who was eavesdropping nearby, was grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears.
"No one hates him more than I do. Ms. Collins, do you know why? Because he has a face that makes people loathe him." Snape walked around the desk and stood before Lily, looking down at her flushed cheeks.
He dragged out his words and said softly, "Everyone thinks he is the savior, but I know he is nothing more than a disaster. His existence is a mistake. He himself is safe and sound, yet he brings pain to the people around him."
The furious Lily finally could no longer endure Snape's slander against her son.
She shouted, "[Levicorpus]!"
A streak of white light shot from her wand.
Snape's expression changed sharply. His reaction could not be called slow. Before Lily's spell could take effect, he shouted, "[Protego]!"
A spherical shield appeared around Snape, blocking Lily's spell. The witch waved her wand, and the cauldron on the desk jumped up, dumping steaming potion over his head. It was likewise blocked by the shield, but the strangely colored potion obstructed Snape's vision.
He shouted in Lily's direction, "[Expelliarmus]!"
A streak of red light shot out, and Lily nimbly dodged aside. But at that moment, a floorboard beneath her feet suddenly turned into a venomous snake. It hissed, poised to lunge at her.
The witch dodged backward. Immediately after, another streak of red light flew over and struck her. Lily's willow wand slipped from her hand and landed in Snape's.
The old bat sneered. At this moment, victory was in his grasp. He mocked her unhurriedly. "You actually thought you could make a move here. Now I can be certain you harbor malicious intentions. You attacked a professor. I can apply to Dumbledore to have you dismissed."
A dangerous light flickered in his eyes as he said with ill intent, "Or perhaps I should give you a little Veritaserum. That way, whatever your intentions are, you will explain them perfectly clearly."
Lily tucked her messy hair behind her ear and regained her calm, composed posture. She stared coldly at Snape, not frightened by his threats in the slightest.
Seeing this young witch show such backbone, Snape grew secretly irritated. Because she was the teaching assistant Skyl had brought back, he did not dare truly act too harshly.
The atmosphere froze for a moment. Snape rubbed Ivanna Collins's wand between his fingers, then his expression suddenly stalled. He lowered his head and stared at the wand.
Willow, ten and a quarter inches, very flexible, making a swishing sound when waved. For some reason, this wand felt very familiar to him.
"I swear that I have absolutely no intentions harmful to Hogwarts or its students." Lily held out her hand. "Can you return my wand?"
Snape said slowly, "Not unless you tell me why it has to be Potter."
"Because I am his… admirer. Although you find the idea of the savior laughable, he truly did defeat You-Know-Who. You think he is a disaster. On the contrary, I think he is very brave, and that he will surely bring joy to those who love him."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
Snape returned the wand to her and said coldly, "I'll be watching you."
"Suit yourself." Lily turned and left at once. She walked out of that cold, prisonlike little office, leaving behind a floor covered in smoking potion, an overturned cauldron, and an exhausted, dispirited Snape.
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