Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 114 Deep in the Forbidden Forest
"When they reached the eighth hole, the Japanese man walked into the woods..."

Snape described it vividly, and Vernon laughed so hard he almost fell over, slamming his large hands on the table, making the wine glasses clink.

"My God!" He wiped away tears of laughter, his voice broken by the sound of his laughter. "You wizards... haha... that's really funny. I'm going to tell this joke to everyone in the office from now on."

“Alright,” Snape said slowly, “perhaps you can tell your business partners when you become a senior executive.” He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Yes, I think you definitely can.”

Vernon immediately puffed out his chest proudly, as if he could already see himself sitting in the manager's office.

Then, as Vernon went on and on about his drilling rig sales, Snape picked up his fork and carefully poked at the lifeless little fish on his plate. Its eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, as if questioning why fate had brought it to this state.

He picked up a small piece of dough and put it in his mouth, but unexpectedly raised an eyebrow.

"The taste... is unexpectedly edible," Snape commented cautiously. "It's a bit like a fish pie."

"Oh, right? I've never really gotten used to it." Vernon waved his hand, his attention completely absorbed in his business plans, and continued to describe with great enthusiasm how he would beat the competition next quarter.

“Your car is beautiful, Mr. Dursley.” Snape’s gaze drifted to the window, then he abruptly changed the subject, pointing to the gleaming black sedan outside. “The new Ford?”

Vernon stopped abruptly, but his expression immediately lit up.

"You know cars?" he asked in surprise, leaning forward unconsciously. "That's right! I just bought it last month, it cost me half a year's bonus!" He talked on and on about the engine parameters and torque data, spittle flying onto the tablecloth.

Snape nodded at the opportune moment, showing just the right amount of interest, while silently calculating the time in his mind.

He noticed that Penny's expression was gradually softening; her tense shoulders relaxed, and she looked at her fiancé with a gentle smile.

After a few rounds of drinks, Vernon's face was as red as the strawberry jam on the table. He suddenly stretched out his thick arm and slapped Snape hard on the shoulder.

“Severus,” he slurred, “I thought you’d be more…strange. But you’re actually a normal person!”

Upon hearing Vernon's words, Penny immediately pinched his arm.

“Vernon!” she whispered.

But Snape simply smiled. “It’s alright, Petunia,” he said, deliberately using her nickname. “Mr. Dursley is just stating the opinion of most people.”

Penny's lips pressed into a thin line, her grey-brown eyes flickering with complex emotions. She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "I just... never imagined that after all these years, you would be like this today."

“People always change for all sorts of reasons,” Snape said with a laugh. “I’m probably not as annoying as you remember me, am I?”

Penny was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Vernon looked left and right, his eyes widening: "Wait, you two knew each other before?"

“Yes,” Snape said calmly, “we’ve known each other since we were teenagers, when we lived not far from each other.”

“That’s quite a coincidence.” Vernon raised his glass and took another big gulp. “Although this is the first time I’ve met people like you. You, well, wizards, don’t seem so scary.”

“I think I should offer a brief reminder, Petunia, Mr. Dursley.” Snape’s expression suddenly turned serious. He put down his glass and looked at Petunia solemnly, saying, “Petina, I think you know that not every wizard is as… easy to get along with as I am.”

“You’d better not try to contact them normally, and of course, I’m sure you won’t do such a thing. If anything happens, you can write to me,” he added. “Penny, you should know how to write to the school.”

Penny's expression immediately changed.

Snape knew what she was thinking—the letter to Dumbledore, the rejected request for admission, the unfulfilled desire.

He raised his glass, his dark eyes looking directly at Penny: "Let bygones be bygones."

Penny's fingers trembled slightly as she gripped the napkin tightly.

But in the end, she raised her glass, gently clinked it against his, and took a small sip.

Vernon glanced at them, puzzled.

"When are you planning to get married?" Snape asked suddenly. "I remember you're already engaged."

“This Christmas,” Vernon proudly announced, “we have already booked the church.”

"Congratulations!" Snape said sincerely. "I wish you all the best."

Vernon and Penny exchanged a glance. Penny nodded almost imperceptibly, and Vernon immediately said warmly, "Thank you. If you're free, you're welcome to attend our wedding."

“Really?” Snape said. “Then I’ll definitely come.” He was already thinking about what gift to give that wouldn’t seem too magical.

Just as they were engrossed in their conversation, Snape caught a glimpse of a familiar, unsightly face outside the restaurant window—Dobby, the house-elf.

Those big, tennis ball-sized eyes were blinking anxiously, and their long ears were twitching nervously.

The little elf was frantically gesturing with his hands, first twisting his hands like a snake, then suddenly clamping them together, as if imitating something.

"Dobby?" Snape's heart sank, and he silently moved his lips.

Dobby became even more agitated. He pointed north, then clasped his hands together, and pointed to himself, his expression so urgent he was almost about to cry.

Snape's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Considering Dobby's peculiar thought process, he was genuinely worried that the little elf might burst in at any moment and do something so strange that it would turn their pleasant dinner into a farce.

He quickly and quietly pulled out his wand from under the table, conjured a small piece of parchment, and wrote on it: "Dobby, do nothing. Wait for me outside for a moment, I'll be right out."

With a flick of his wand, the parchment floated from the floor toward the window. Dobby glanced at it, nodded to Snape, and walked away through the window.

Snape secretly breathed a sigh of relief—he had been genuinely afraid that the unfinished Stargazing Pie would suddenly float up and then, with a snap of Dobby's fingers, crash onto Petunia or Vernon's head.

"What's wrong?" Petunia noticed Snape's suddenly tense expression and asked, puzzled.

“It’s nothing,” Snape forced a smile, “I was just so happy to see you all today.”

Vernon laughed heartily: "It's a pleasure to meet you too!"

“Sorry,” Snape glanced at his watch, feigning surprise, “it’s getting late, I should go back to school.” When it came time to pay, Vernon insisted on paying, and Snape didn’t refuse—he really needed to leave as soon as possible.

At the restaurant entrance, Vernon asked warmly, "Where is your school? Would you like me to give you a ride?"

“Thank you, but no need.” Snape shook his head. “You all go ahead. I will return in a wizarding way.”

After helping Penny put Vernon into the back seat of the car, Penny straightened up, nodded to Snape, and got into the driver's seat.

After watching Dursley's black sedan drive away, Snape immediately turned to the shadows and called out, "Dobby, come out."

Dobby's eyes lit up in the darkness: "Mr. Snape, Dobby must find you immediately—Miss Snake, she—"

“What’s wrong with Nagini?” Snape asked.

“Miss Snake doesn’t recognize Dobby!” The little elf’s big eyes were filled with fear. “The way she looked at Dobby today was very strange, like…like a wild beast staring at its prey…When Dobby brought her food, she suddenly pounced on him to bite him. Dobby dodged and immediately went to find Mr. Snape.”

Nagini's blood curse has deepened? This was exactly what Snape feared most. He grabbed the house-elf's hand: "Take me to her, now!"

With a loud crack, they appeared deep within the Forbidden Forest. Darkness enveloped them like a heavy curtain, with only the light from Snape's wand illuminating a small area.

Snape raised his wand and looked around, searching for Nagini.

But Nagini had vanished without a trace. Only clear serpentine tracks remained on the ground, winding their way deeper into the darker reaches of the Forbidden Forest.

"Miss Snake went that way!" Dobby pointed deep into the Forbidden Forest. "Dobby heard some noise over there."

Snape hurried along the tracks, Dobby close behind. His robes were torn in several places in the bushes, but he didn't seem to care.

The curse on Nagini is deepening… he thought worriedly. According to his understanding, the curse on Nagini was that it would gradually cause her to lose everything from her human form, ultimately turning her into a beast.

He had thought that if Nagini ate human food and he spent more time with her and talked to her more, perhaps her condition wouldn't worsen. But Nagini's condition continued to deteriorate.

Suddenly, the neighing of horses and the whistling of arrows came from afar. Snape immediately rushed toward the source of the sound.

"Damn it!" He rushed into an open space, and the sight before him made him hold his breath—

Nagini's massive body was wrapped around a fallen centaur, her gaping maw ready to bite, while three other centaurs aimed their arrows at her.

A broken arrow pierced her back, dark blood dripping down her scales. The entangled centaur was pale and struggling helplessly.

"Stop!" Snape shouted, firing an explosive spell into the air.

With a loud bang, the centaurs reared up in fright, and their arrows flew toward the suddenly appearing wizard.

Dobby bravely stood in front of Snape, yelling, "Don't hurt Mr. Snape!" Several centaurs were knocked to the ground by Dobby's attack.

Snape used his Iron Man Charm to block the centaurs' rain of arrows, rushed to the center of the clearing, and hissed in Parseltongue, "Let him go, Nagini, come here."

The giant snake froze. She slowly turned her head, her green vertical pupils flashing with a strange, ferocious light.

She hissed threateningly at Snape, her fangs gleaming coldly.

Seeing that their attack was ineffective, the centaurs put down their bows and arrows and helped their fallen companions to their feet.

“Nagini, it’s me,” Snape continued in Parsley. “Do you remember when we were in the Albanian forest? Come here.”

The giant snake's tail swayed slightly, and the force of its coiling seemed to loosen a bit.

Snape seized the opportunity and slowly walked forward.

“Mr. Snape, danger!” Dobby cried out anxiously.

But Snape didn't stop. He walked up to Nagini and gently stroked the scales on her body.

“Let me see your injury,” he said in a Parsleyan accent.

Nagini finally released the unconscious centaur and slowly swam to Snape's side. Snape immediately examined her wounds and took out a white sage and a pain-relieving potion from the inner pocket of his robes.

“Good girl,” he said softly, but then realized that the title seemed a little inappropriate, since Nagini was older than his grandmother. “Hmm… this will hurt a little.”

Snape shook his head, carefully sprinkled the pain-relieving potion near her arrow wound, and then precisely cut open the flesh around the arrow with a cutting charm. Nagini writhed in pain, but did not attack him.

After quickly pulling out the broken arrow, Nagini let out a sharp screech. Snape immediately poured on some white sage and began chanting a healing spell. Silver light flowed from the tip of his wand, and the wound healed at a visible speed. Nagini's breathing gradually calmed down.

Only then did Snape turn to the wary centaurs surrounding him.

The lead centaur stepped forward, his chestnut mane gleaming in the moonlight.

“Wizard,” he said, “this snake has invaded our territory and stunned Bane.”

Snape took a deep breath, turned to the centaur, and said in an apologetic tone:
“I apologize for what happened tonight. My companion Nagini is ill, corrupted by a vicious curse, and is gradually losing her mind.”

“Her actions were not intended to invade your territory or harm your people, but rather an instinct she could not control. I apologize for the shock and harm Bain suffered.”

Then, Snape nodded slightly and treated the fallen Bane in a friendly manner, watching as the other centaurs helped the still somewhat weak Bane back to his place.

The centaur, the leader, scrutinized Snape, his eyes as deep as the night sky. "Wizard, we hear your apology. But your 'comrade,'" his voice carried a strange sense of destiny, "is not merely ill. The trajectory of the stars clearly reveals that it is the embodiment of darkness, a cursed being. Its very existence is a defilement of balance. It must be purified."

"Purify?" Snape frowned, his voice turning cold.

“Yes!” A younger centaur beside him excitedly reared up his forelegs, his bow and arrow once again pointing at Nagini. “Margaret is right. From the first moment we saw it, the starlight dimmed. It is a harbinger of calamity, a claw of darkness. For the peace of the forest, for the purity guided by the stars, it must be destroyed!”

“That’s right,” another centaur with high cheekbones echoed in a low voice. “It’s the centaur’s duty to maintain the order of nature and cleanse the filth. An apology won’t change its nature.”

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(End of this chapter)