Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 96 There's something dirty on your nose

After buying the wand and returning home, Snape stared at the bright red banner above the dining table, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples.

The banner read in ornate gold lettering, “Warmest congratulations to Severus and Lily on their election as student council presidents,” with tiny stars shimmering around the edges of each letter.

With a wave of her wand, Eileen caused the stars on the banner to explode, turning into countless tiny fireworks that showered down on Snape and Lily's heads.

“For Merlin’s sake,” Snape said, brushing the sequins that had fallen onto his shoulder, “this is outrageous!”

"This is wonderful news!" Eileen was directing a silver teapot to pour him a cup of hot tea. "Tomorrow, I plan to invite the neighbors over."

After Snape's repeated protests, Erin reluctantly agreed to remove the banner before the neighbors arrived. However, she still insisted that Snape wear the badge as a condition.

Throughout August, Snape was immersed in a conflicted mood.

He felt that summer vacation ended too quickly, and to some extent he was reluctant to return to Hogwarts, because this goodbye meant the start of the countdown to parting.

Although he may remain at the university in another capacity—such as a professor—the end of his student life is always a bittersweet experience.

On September 1st, the heavy rain that had lasted for almost a week continued to patter against the windows, and a dull atmosphere of the end of the holiday enveloped the house.

Snape sat down silently at the table. The sound of the rain outside and the sizzling of the frying pan in Eileen's hands created an eerie tranquility. He wished this moment could last a little longer.

"Why don't you just Apparate to the Hogwarts gates?" Eileen suddenly asked as brunch was ending. "That way we can stay home a little longer."

“It’s the last year.” Snape put down the pumpkin juice and paused. “There’s no need to save time now. We can Apparate to the vicinity of King’s Cross Station.”

“Who knows where we’ll be this time next year…” Lily said, her voice tinged with sadness. “If only we could go back to when we were eleven, if only I hadn’t boarded that train…”

At that time, the Evans and Penny took her to King's Cross Station.

For a moment, all three of them fell silent.

Lily's words brought Snape's thoughts back to that distant time: Lily's sparkling eyes when she first saw the Hogwarts Express, Petunia's sharp mockery on the platform...

Although he was a completely different person at that time, these memories remain vividly preserved in his mind.

The good thing is, he thought, these memories don't need to be shown to a scarred kid.

“Let’s go,” Eileen finally broke the silence, waving her wand and sending the plates flying in a line toward the pool. “It’s about time now.”

In the blink of an eye, they passed through the sturdy metal wall and arrived at Platform 9.

Looking up, a bright red steam locomotive was parked on the tracks, puffing out smoke.

The platform was more crowded than Snape could remember any year, packed with students and wizards of all ages seeing their children off. Students' cats meowed in their arms, owls flapped their wings in their cages, and several toads croaked.

Snape's gaze shifted to the other end of the platform—Sirius was leaning lazily against the side of the carriage, his long black hair swaying in the white steam; beside him was James, who was constantly fixing his disheveled hair, and James's parents.

To his own surprise, in this atmosphere, seeing these two arch-enemies, he felt a fleeting sense of warmth. Of course, Snape didn't believe that James would feel any pleasure seeing Lily standing beside him, unless he had some peculiar fetish.

After boarding the train, Snape habitually headed towards the last carriage.

Before he even reached the door, he heard Ai Bo's exaggerated voice coming from inside.

"You actually passed all twelve OWLs, Barty! You'll have to help me out with NEWT this year!"

Pushing open the sliding door, Snape saw Pandora sitting by the window. Sunlight streamed through the clouds and through the glass, casting a mead-like glow on her newly trimmed blonde hair.

Summer vacation is over, and Pandora's golden hair seems to be much smoother than before. The carrot earrings she used to wear on her earlobes have been replaced with a pair of pure silver moon-fox-shaped earrings that sparkle in the sunlight.

“Severus.” Pandora turned her head, a faint smile on her face, her light-colored eyes shining slightly when she saw him.

She gestured for Snape to sit down.

Snape noticed that Pandora was wearing the opal bracelet he had given her the previous year on her right wrist. He had spent a whole month searching through ancient texts in the library to find the ancient technique of combining opal with protective spells.

When it was given away, the bracelet was still a bit rough, but now the patterns carved on it have become exquisite and smooth, and there is no trace of roughness left.

Just as Snape was about to sit down next to her, the box door opened again.

“Severus,” Lily stood in the doorway, a shiny badge of the female student council president pinned to her chest, her red hair cascading over her shoulders, “I think you’ve forgotten you’re the male student council president.”

Snape's heart skipped a beat, and his knee slammed on the small table. As he scrambled to his feet, he heard Pandora chuckle softly.

“We should go to the student council president’s and prefects’ box,” Lily continued, her gaze lingering on Pandora for half a second. “The prefects will be there in a bit, waiting for the student council president’s instructions.”

“Oh, I’ve never been a prefect,” Snape said dryly, feeling his ears burning. “I mean, of course, we’re on our way.”

“Well, well then—” he said, glancing around the private room with a nervous, evasive look. Barty was watching the scene with great interest, while Abbott was desperately trying to suppress his laughter. “Okay, well then I—I don’t think I’ll stay there the whole way. See you later.”

“Wait a minute,” Pandora suddenly stood up and pulled a handkerchief embroidered with strange runes from her pocket. “Severus, you have something dirty on your nose.”

"What?" Snape asked, puzzled, and subconsciously touched his nose.

Before he could react, Pandora leaned in and gently wiped the tip of his nose.

“Oh…okay,” Snape said, feeling the temperature in the box rise by at least ten degrees. “Thank you, Pandora. See you later.”

After hurriedly escaping the private room, he could still hear Aibo burst into laughter inside.

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(End of this chapter)