Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 43 Gifts and Public Opinion Guidance

What are these small orange-red radishes?

In the Lovegood family's yard, Harry, who was not particularly curious at first, was finally aroused by the strange behavior of the girl in front of him.

He watched as Luna picked two small radishes from the bushes, as if she wanted to make them into some kind of decoration.

“This is Airship Li,” Luna said confidently, uttering a strange-sounding name that didn’t sound like a plant’s name at all.

"Airship Lee?" Harry's eyes widened slightly as he examined the radishes more closely, thinking they were some kind of magical plant.

“Yes! Its function is to enhance people’s ability to accept unusual things!” Luna emphasized.

This made Harry even more cautious.

He learned from Severus that some plants and animals in the magical world were not to be trifled with; there was a kind of grass that could scream when pulled out, causing people to die on the spot!
Luna was very pleased with Harry's serious attitude, and she handed him a flying boat bag.

"This is for you."

Harry was flattered to receive a gift from someone his own age for the first time.

He was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses.

Back in Diagon Alley, Severus had taught him that the key to getting along with friends was sharing.

Now that Luna has given him a gift, he should reciprocate.

Harry rummaged through his clothes, but after a long time he only found a few silver shirks left over from when Severus asked him to treat the Weasley brothers to ice cream, and the blood-flavored lollipop that Bloodny had given him, but which he had never dared to try.

Offering money as a gift was definitely inappropriate, so Harry could only pull out the lollipop.

"This is for you too." Harry's voice was a little soft, and he was embarrassed that his gift was too small to carry. "A lollipop that tastes like vampires. I heard it tastes like blood."

To Harry's surprise, Luna's eyes lit up noticeably after hearing his description.

"Candy that vampires like?" She took the candy from Harry's hand, then held it up, her eyes full of inquiry and wonder. "It must have fire sprite hair in it!"

Harry couldn't follow Luna's train of thought, and he looked bewildered.

"why?"

"Because the fire sprite's hair is as red as blood, which fascinates many vampires," Luna said matter-of-factly.

Harry, who had no idea what fire sprites were or why being as red as blood would fascinate vampires, could only nod earnestly, pretending to agree.

Regardless, Luna clearly liked the gift, which made Harry feel relaxed and happy.

The reception room on the second floor was extremely quiet at this moment.

Lovegood was stunned after hearing Severus's account and seeing Patty in Henney's arms.

He glanced at Severus in front of him, then at Bloodny and Volpe, who were also staring at him expectantly.

"This, this is absolutely unbelievable."

He muttered to himself, then stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the living room.

Severus thought he didn't believe him and was about to try to prove the truth of the matter by swearing an oath when he was stopped by Severus.

“Xenor didn’t suspect we were lying.” “Why would I suspect you?” Lovegood turned around and said after hearing Severus’s words, “This whole thing is suspicious! The so-called potion poisoning case didn’t actually involve poisoning the Muggles; it was the Living Hell Potion! And you, Severus, you were arrogant and disdainful of everyone back in your school days, so why would you want to harm a Muggle for no reason?”

He grabbed a copy of "The Quibbler" from the pile of messy newspapers on his desk, which happened to contain an article discussing Severus's escape.

"See? I raised this question in the very first newspaper yesterday! I wanted to remind the Ministry of Magic that there must be something going on, but those politicians, as if their heads were stuffed with troll snot, scoffed at it and even published an article in the Daily Prophet mocking me!"

"Only if it's as you say, will it be the truth!"

Lovegood looked at Bloodny.

“Severus was right. If he hadn’t run away with this girl and had instead handed you both over to the Aurors, the Ministry of Magic would never have shown you any leniency! They wouldn’t have even given you a chance for a public trial; they would have thrown you both into Azkaban and settled the matter as quickly as possible!”

"Now that you've come to me, what do you want me to do? Help me report this on the media?"

His reaction and words surprised both Henney and Volpe, who found it hard to believe that such a strange or wise person existed in the world.

Severus, however, was not surprised.

Lovegood was always like that; when he was in school, not many people could play with him, except for his wife Pandora and Snape, who wanted to study spells with a specific purpose.

"Besides wanting your help with the reporting, there's actually something else."

Severus gestured to Volpe, who then handed over his manuscript.

"Eld wrote a book. The first half tells how he lived among vampires, helping the wizarding public understand that vampires are not as evil and twisted as many people imagine. In the second half, he wrote the story of Bloodny and Patty, and of course, he also made some literary embellishments."

Lovegood took the manuscript and already guessed what Severus wanted him to do.

"You want me to help publish this book?"

"Publishing it might not be feasible in time, and Elder hasn't finished writing it yet. It would be even better if 'The Quibbler' could publish a supplementary magazine specifically for it. After it generates some buzz in the wizarding world, you can publish an article claiming that the truth of this case is hidden in the unpublished part of this story."

Before Severus could finish speaking, Lovegood's face lit up with unexpected joy!

"Then this story will sell like hotcakes! Everyone will know what happened! And they can't wait to find out how it ends! People will know the names of Vampire Bloody and Muggle Patty!"

Severus patted Volpe on the shoulder.

"And there's also a rising star author who could surpass Lockhart—Elder Wolpe!"

"Yes! Absolutely right! Severus, you're a genius at controlling public opinion! Why didn't you show how knowledgeable you are before? Being a professor at Hogwarts is a waste of your talent! You should be in charge of the Daily Prophet and kick out all those fools!"

Lovegood stared excitedly at Severus.

When would you like me to publish this magazine?

"It's best to contact the printing press now to prepare. Your home printing press definitely won't be able to handle it. And publish it as quickly as possible," Severus advised.

Lovegood said, gesturing wildly.

"Tomorrow! Give me a day. I can find the people this afternoon, and tomorrow I can print enough magazines to publish as a supplementary magazine to 'Singing the Dissent'!"

　Writing books is so much fun.

　　I don't mean anything by it; it's just something I felt compelled to write after finishing this chapter. Writing a book is a really fun and interesting thing.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)