HP: For a better world

Winster woke up in the warm sunlight. The weather in England was very good today. The sunlight shone into the ward of the medical wing through the open glass windows, making the surroundings peaceful and calm.

When he first opened his eyes, he saw a brilliant white light. A group of white dots waving transparent wings floated aimlessly in the air. Then Winster blinked, and the light dots that looked like an illusion disappeared from his sight.

When I opened my eyes again, all I could see was the floor and walls of Hogwarts, with dense white lines woven across them.

Winster felt a sense of relief as if his body had been freed from the dust, and everything in his sight became bright - especially the sunlight.

Otherwise, how could he see the originally gray-black magic power in his body fade into a warm milky white?

Winster lay down for a while and found that the whole castle was in silence. His brain, which had been lying down for nearly a month, began to move lazily in the afterglow of the holiday.

He lifted the sheets and was about to get out of bed.

As soon as this thought came to his mind, the drawer next to him suddenly popped open, and a pair of cotton slippers flew out and were put on his feet consciously, and a folded and washed wizard robe flew over and was draped over his shoulders intimately.

Winster was stunned. Confused, he pressed down his robe that suddenly moved on its own, looked down at his slippers that had automatically come to work, and then thoughtfully glanced at the mess of bottles and jars in the medical wing, and some bloodstained quilts - there were still some mottled red spots on his body left by bleeding.

As his eyes swept over, the bottles were instantly filled with water and then disappeared in an instant. An invisible whirlwind swept through the bottles piled together randomly, removed the stains inside and lifted them up like dominoes.

Following Winster's gaze and intention, a clean bottle that could just be held in one hand jumped out from among his companions and jumped into Winster's hand.

"Wow..." Winster marveled at his suddenly agile magic power, and looked up at the long curtain separating the inside and outside of the medical wing.

Madam Pomfrey happened to walk in through the tightly covered curtains. The moment she saw Winster, a smile of relief appeared in her eyes before the anger that was a professional reflex.

"Mr. White, just because you are well doesn't mean you can leave your bed right now—"

Winster's magic power failed before Winster did, and the bottle broke free from his hand and jumped back into its companions.

"...Uh, okay, I did. Madam Pomfrey." Winster shrank his neck and quickly jumped back onto the bed, kicked off his shoes and pulled open his outer robe, and flexibly shrank himself into the bed. He picked up the sheets that he had just casually thrown away and gave Madam Pomfrey, who was staring at him with her hands on her hips, an apologetic and complacent smile.

"The sun is shining brightly today, Madam Pomfrey."

Winster blinked and raised the corners of his mouth modestly, "Maybe I can have the honor to receive a little smile from you."

If you don't look at him, he's lying on the bed mischievously, pulling the quilt, and looks like he won't lie down obediently unless you laugh.

Pomfrey would really laugh, but now she could only keep a straight face and suppress the sudden relief on her lips.

"Lie down obediently - if you don't want Professor Snape to scold you angrily just after waking up from a rare rest..." Pomfrey deliberately prolonged the last ending tone and said meaningfully.

Winster's eyes suddenly widened, and his expression quickly changed to one of guilt. He glanced at the tightly closed door with a low voice, and asked Pomfrey in a weak voice: "... maybe, maybe, probably, if you don't tell anyone, Madam..."

He had escaped from the main group in front of the Forbidden Forest, led the werewolves away alone, and drank the untested potion regardless of the danger... If Snape didn't settle the score later, Winston thought it was unlikely. Now he was caught running around out of bed as soon as he woke up -

"Oh, that depends on whether some of the old patients can obey you——"

Winster undoubtedly pressed the sheet against himself, determined to live and die with the sheet until Snape arrived today -

...

"You're looking for me, Pomfrey." Snape pushed open the door and strode in.

"Yes," Pomfrey said briskly, bringing a cup of hot milk to the bed where Winston lay obediently. He had noticed Snape's entry long before, but still turned his head away and looked at the milk eagerly.

Snape's eyes followed her to Winster.

"Thank you, ma'am." Winster thanked him and took a sip of milk while half lying on the bed. He licked the corner of his mouth and raised his head to Snape with a small, wandering smile: "Good afternoon - today's milk is really delicious... isn't it?"

"I think I can agree to this temporarily." Snape looked over, his eyebrows slightly raised, not missing Winston's rare and obvious guilty expression.

He breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the Slytherin robes piled at the corner of the bed, and sneered almost subconsciously, but after seeing Winston's deliberately weak expression, he postponed his sarcasm.

Madam Pomfrey picked out a few empty bottles that had been washed by Winston and put them on the other side.

"Speaking of which, now that Mr. White has woken up, have you considered where to send him?" Pomfrey asked Snape worriedly, "Although I don't mind keeping Mr. White to recuperate. But after all, the school is on vacation, and I'm afraid it's not suitable for him to stay in school for a long time."

Winster took a sip of the milk and tasted the familiar nourishing potion in it. He frowned, drank the milk, and immediately pushed the glass away.

Snape glanced at him and saw him finish the potion in the milk before answering Pomfrey, "He has his own place."

"Orphanage?"

Madam Pomfrey frowned and glanced at Winster who had just finished drinking milk. "I'm worried that those Muggles won't be able to take good care of him. You know, Severus, after all, they may be too busy."

"—I don't want to go back to the orphanage," interrupted Winster.

But he had no way of changing the will of any adult present who had decided where he would go.

Snape ignored him and continued to speak to Pomfrey in a low voice, "But I'm afraid that even if he wants to go back to the orphanage, his orphanage will no longer be able to take him in."

"What happened?" Pomfrey asked in surprise.

Winster was also stunned and looked at Snape in confusion.

"White's Muggle orphanage - it suffered some reputational crises the year he came to school, and is now in danger of disappearing. When I visited, most of the orphans in their school had been transferred to other Muggle places, and now their building is probably no longer able to serve its original purpose."

"Where does he live, then?" Pomfrey asked.

"I guess there's no shortage of Diagon Alley--" Winster said happily, blinking.

Snape coughed.

Pomfrey's face fell. "I'm afraid an underage wizard cannot live alone in society."

"Well, teacher, you can send me over there and come to see me occasionally..." Winster said weakly, "It was also possible before..."

"No," Pomfrey said flatly, "I can't leave an underage wizard who has just recovered from a serious illness living alone."

Winster shut up in frustration.

"...In fact, there is something I think I should tell you." Snape suddenly said, "...your Muggle headmaster chose to temporarily place your guardianship in my hands out of a special trust."

Winster looked at him hesitantly, and then?

"That means I currently have full guardianship of you, whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle society..."

Winster waited with bated breath.

"According to common sense, I should..." Snape's expression was tangled, and he opened his mouth, but finally uttered the words reluctantly, "I should provide you with a place to stay and proper care."

Winster suddenly raised his head. He couldn't believe his ears. He looked out the window at a loss.

Did the sun and the moon switch shifts today?

"In addition... due to the groundbreaking nature of the Immobilization Potion, I am preparing to inform the Pharmacists Association of this breakthrough. As expected, they expressed their willingness to hold an inquiry into the authenticity of this potion. As a potion professor, I believe that your Immobilization Potion still has room for improvement -"

Winster swallowed and felt a fire burning from the bottom of his heart to his lips and tongue.

"A questioning session?" His mouth was dry. "One just for me?"

"Not exactly." Snape said, "They happened to have a party at that time. If we submit it now, they will surely hold the next inquiry meeting after the party. I guarantee that, and with your successful example - before that, all you have to do is optimize your formula. Since it is a prevention, it requires lower costs and time."

Snape's eyes slid down to the ecstatic Winston and cleared his throat. "Of course maybe... Mr. White would prefer to contact other people. After all, his potion has been successful... Then I think Professor McGonagall would be happy to take you in for a while..."

"When?" Winster interrupted him impatiently.

Snape hesitated, "If you like, right after this, I have already asked Professor McGonagall in advance..."

Winster had to interrupt him again, "I'm talking about the questioning meeting!" The tone at the end of every sentence Winster said seemed to be popping up little flowers.

"…In fact, I thought…a little wizard of your age would be more willing to participate in the Quidditch World Cup in a few weeks rather than going to the Apothecary Guild to discuss the feasibility of the Immobilization Potion with a group of adult wizards—" Snape said in a low voice, "After all, my residence is not really the best choice for living. If you choose me—" Snape said.

"You will first have to endure the dark and damp Spider's Tail Alley, which is filled with factory smoke and has a smelly sewer next to it. Every time you go back and forth, you have to pass through a long alley made of broken stone slabs and be stared at by the Muggles living nearby."

The expression on Winster's face said: Do I look like I care?

"Professor McGonagall lives in the suburbs of Caithness, far from human habitation and surrounded by pastoral scenery. If you choose her now, I think you will have a summer vacation in the green wheat fields. If you don't want to get close to Muggles, I think she would be willing to open her cottage in Hogsmeade to you."

"I think Professor McGonagall has more experience in taking care of wizards of your age, and she can pay attention to your little emotions that are not suitable to be expressed. And she is a good cook."

("Have you eaten it?" interrupted Winston. Snape glared at him to shut him up.)

"Given this knowledge, I have already asked Professor McGonagall in advance, and she expressed that she would be happy to spend this summer with you."

Snape insisted on explaining everything clearly, leaving the choice entirely to Winston, and said slowly: "Of course... the choice is yours, White."

"I choose to live with you." Winster said without hesitation.

Snape had already seen the answer from Winster's changing expression as he spoke. But he didn't know whether to be happy about it, because he had to say that he had made it clear without any intention of misleading. After all, Winster should hurry up and go to the Apothecary Association to pass the inquiry. You know, if one potion succeeds, then maybe in the next second when Winster rests, another potion that can replace the Immobilization Potion may appear, and they need to race against time to fight for it.

But Snape also considered that perhaps White also wanted to take a temporary respite after recovering from life and death. However, the fact that his expectation was realized so smoothly still made Snape feel like he was punching the air.

"Oh..." Snape said dryly, "That's great... I mean, I'll go right away -"

"--How do you think I would choose Quidditch between Quidditch and the Apothecary Guild?" Winston asked curiously, "This is incredible... Put such a tempting option in front of me and let me make a choice--Do you remember that I am a Slytherin?"

"I thought you'd be more interested in watching Quidditch with your friends."

"Another time, of course!" Winster said without hesitation, "But now the time overlaps, of course I will choose the one that is more advantageous to me."

Without Voldemort, Barty Jr. couldn't cause any trouble.

"The best choice, isn't it?" Winster asked back.

……

A few days later, until Madam Pomfrey confirmed that the red spots on Winster's body had completely disappeared, she finally agreed to Winster's application for discharge and allowed Snape to take Winster away - although Winster felt that he had fully recovered on the first day he woke up.

On the way, Snape warned Winston to stay away from Potter and the others.

"?" Winston said with a smile, "But you just thought I would want to watch Quidditch with my friends, and now you want me to stay away from them."

"That's because Potter is a troublemaker—"

"In your mind, teacher, am I not a troublemaker?" Winster said exaggeratedly, looking very touched.

Snape twitched his mouth, pressed Winster's head, took the Summer cage off the suitcase and stuffed it to Winster.

"Speak normally to me, and don't make me regret it before I even leave the castle."

"Oh." Winster hugged Summer's cage with a look of pity, "I understand."

Summer silently positioned herself on the other side of the cage, glancing at her spilled water bowl and giving the two humans a look of disdain.

Winster gave him an apologetic smile and emptied the contents of her other trough.

"Oh, by the way, teacher." Winster reorganized his emotions, suppressed those overly cheerful feelings in his heart, and asked casually, "Did you see a white wolf when you found me?"

Snape took him to a tavern in Hogsmeade and then Apparated to appear in a gray-black alleyway and said:

"No."