Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 42 Apology for the Past
"Xie Nuo, it's been a long time."

Severus greeted the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler with a smile. The Quibbler was known for his unconventional and non-mainstream approach.

However, startled awake by Severus's greeting, Lovegood's face clearly showed panic. He instinctively wanted to close the door, but before he could react, Severus had already reached out and grabbed the door ring.

"No! Snape! Let go! Spare my family, and I'll pretend I never saw you today! I'll never see you! And I'll never report you to the Ministry of Magic!"

Lovegood began to plead.

"Have pity on me! I didn't write many bad things about you in the newspaper; on the contrary, I spoke well of you! You saw that, didn't you!"

Seeing his reaction, whether it was Wolpe, Bloodny, or Harry, they all stared wide-eyed at Severus.

They clearly remembered that Severus had said before that the people living here were his friends.

Is this how they get along as friends?

Severus, however, didn't care about their strange looks, and simply patted Lovegood on the shoulder with his other hand.

"Don't be afraid, my friend. I'm not the same as before. Didn't your newspaper article say that since I entered Hogwarts, I've been dutifully being a good Potions professor under Dumbledore's supervision? If you think I've reformed, then you shouldn't be so afraid of me now."

Lovegood looked bitter. He glanced at Severus and the people behind him, then turned to look at his daughter, who was curiously trying to peek out.

He realized that whether he wanted to or not, he was powerless to stop Severus and his uninvited guests today.

So he let go of the door he was about to close and sighed.

"Alright, come in, come in."

Although he compromised, he still always protected his daughter.

Even though the girl, whose eyes seemed dazed and whose behavior was eager, kept looking around and craning her neck, Lovegood, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, never let her leave her protection.

The interior is just like the exterior; it's a standard cylindrical room, like a pepper shaker. To fit the walls, all the furniture is curved, including the stove, sink, and cabinets.
The first floor was clearly a kitchen. Lovegood led the way, and they went up a cast-iron spiral staircase in the center of the room to the second floor, a room that served as both a living room and a workspace.

"Please sit down, make yourself at home."

Lovegood swallowed hard, then nervously called out, before finding a rag under a messy table. He then covered the rag with the cloth from a wooden printing press with many magically rotating gears that made a constant squeaking and creaking sound.

Before he covered the printing press, Severus and his companions saw new copies of "The Quibbler" being continuously spit out of it.

The scene fell silent for a moment. Lovegood kept pretending to be very busy, tidying up all sorts of odds and ends that he might not be able to finish even if he spent a whole day tidying them up. This made the already cramped Bloody and Volp feel uneasy.

Severus, seeing the little girl finally having a chance to look at him, broke the silence by speaking.

"Is this your and Pandora's daughter? Time flies. When I first met you two, you had only been dating for a short time, and now your child is so grown up."

"What's your name?"

Upon hearing Severus ask for his daughter's name, Lovegood reacted as if struck by lightning, grabbing his daughter's arm as if Severus could snatch her away with a single word.

"Luna." The little girl wasn't afraid at all. She tilted her head up and whispered her name.

“Luna?” Severus nudged Harry, who was sitting behind him, forward. “Could you take Dudley to the yard and show him the plants? He’s a little shy and wants to know but is too embarrassed to ask.”

Harry was completely bewildered. He himself had no idea that he had such a strong thirst for knowledge, and that he was also shy about it.

But Lovegood clearly guessed Severus's intention, and he released his grip on his daughter's arm.

“Take him out for a walk, Luna. You don’t have many friends, do you? Go talk to him.”

The two children eventually left together, leaving only the adults in the house.

"Let me introduce you. These two are Bloodny and Elder Volpe."

Severus then began the formal introductions between the two parties.

"As for Xie Nuo, you two should be familiar with him. He is the editor-in-chief of 'Singing the Dissent,' a maverick journalist."

At this point, Volpe finally lost his composure. He glanced at the two of them and asked.

"You two are friends?"

Severus looked at Lovegood, but some of the newspaper editors who were on his side avoided his gaze.

“Back when we were at Hogwarts, we had discussions and research on spells, with his wife,” Severus asked softly. “Where’s Pandora? I haven’t seen her.”

"She went to Diagon Alley to buy some daily necessities."

“You should advise her. Sometimes the spell experiments she does are too dangerous and daring, and it’s easy for something to go wrong.”

"That's just her personality; I can't persuade her."

As the conversation deepened, Lovegood suddenly seemed to realize something, and his gaze toward Severus became increasingly strange and incredulous.

"I came here today specifically to tell you some things, and also to apologize."

When Severus uttered those words, Lovegood's astonishment deepened. Was this really the Severus Snape he remembered?
Both Henney and Volpe also glanced at Severus.

“Ever since I grew closer to those people at school, our relationship has become distant. But that’s not the point. The point is that after graduating from school, you published an article in the wizarding world criticizing the Death Eaters, which angered those people. That person asked me to teach you a lesson. I warned and intimidated you and Pandora, even blew up your residence, and cast a spell to hang you in mid-air for a whole day.”

"This is by no means a benevolent act, nor is it a suitable way to get along. I apologize for this, thank you."

Lovegood was somewhat taken aback by this statement. He had known Severus since they were young and knew very well what kind of person Severus was. He never imagined that he would actually take responsibility for the mistakes he had made!
But reality is now facing Lovegood.

He looked at his friend, with whom he had once shared similar ideals, in a daze. After a long moment of stunned silence, he finally patted Severus's arm.

“You’ve changed more than I imagined. It seems that these past few years as a professor at Hogwarts have truly broadened your horizons! I’m very pleased and happy about it, Severus!”

The two finally broke down some barriers in their relationship, but it was clear that Lovegood still had some doubts.

"But since that's what you think, what about what's happened recently?"

“That’s exactly what I was about to tell you.” Severus said seriously, looking at Bloodny and Eld Wolpe. “Now let’s formally introduce these two again, the real culprits behind this potion poisoning case—the vampire Bloodny and the wizard writer Eld Wolpe.”

(End of this chapter)