Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 123 Prohibition of Copper Refining
"Severus."

A faint call seemed to come from afar.

He woke with a start and looked up. The wall clock showed that it was five o'clock in the afternoon.

The setting sun outside the window cast its golden rays through the gaps in the tall blinds of the House of Requirement, illuminating the interior.

Snape instinctively raised his hand to block out the light.

“It’s getting late,” Pandora’s voice rang out again. “You overslept; we didn’t wake you.”

He used his hands to support himself as he got up from the armchair.

With a soft "thud," Tom's black diary fell to the ground.

"What's that?" Lily's voice suddenly came closer.

Snape squinted and saw Pandora and Lily standing against the light in front of the long table. He quickly bent down, picked up the diary, and hid it in his robes.

"Nothing much, just an old notebook." He shook his head, trying to shake off the lingering sleepiness. "How's the wolfsbane potion coming along?"

“Not bad.” Lily tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and pointed to the cauldron emitting smoke on the long table. “It should be enough for three werewolves. However, we feel that there are still areas for improvement in the preparation process, and we can continue to refine it in the future.”

Snape walked to the long table and bent down to examine the steaming potions.

“That’s right,” he straightened up and yawned. “Both the formula and the process can be iterated upon continuously.”

"Put the potion in first." Snape drew his wand, tapped the cauldron, and the silvery liquid leaped into the large, short-necked bottle as if alive. "I'll find you an assistant, a house-elf."

“Let me try,” he cleared his throat, “Dobby, Dobby—”

Nothing happened, and Lily and Pandora exchanged a puzzled look.

“Ah, wait a minute,” Snape shook his head, as if suddenly remembering something, “I’ll go out and try again.”

Outside the house of Requirement, he called the elf's name again. A soft popping sound came from the air, and a house-elf wearing flowery socks and a red vest appeared before him.

"Mr. Snape!" Dobby shrieked, his big ears twitching excitedly. "You've finally called Dobby!"

“It seems you’ve adapted to life in freedom, Dobby.” Snape looked Dobby up and down at his new clothes—no longer a worn-out pillowcase, but a neat new outfit.

“Thank you, sir!” Dobby twirled around, showing off his new clothes. “Dobby bought them at Hogsmeade. Dobby loves new clothes.” He stopped abruptly, his large eyes flashing with determination. “Of course, Dobby loves working too! Is there anything I can do for you, sir?”

“Your clothes are beautiful, Dobby,” Snape complimented sincerely.

He turned and knocked on the wall, and the door to the Room of Requirement appeared again.

After pushing open the door, he led the little elf into the room.

“Look, Dobby the house-elf, the perfect little helper.” He said to the two girls, then looked down at the elves, “Dobby, this is Pandora and Lily.”

Dobby bowed deeply: "It is an honor for Dobby to serve the beautiful ladies!"

Lily stared at Dobby for a few seconds, then frowned. "Isn't that Professor Malfoy's house-elf? I remember seeing him in Potions class."

“No, not anymore.” Snape waved his hand. “Don’t worry about the details. You should focus on Dobby’s clothes.” He pointed to the elf’s colorful socks. “Look, he even has socks to wear now.”

"Is he a free spirit?" Pandora asked in surprise.

“Yes!” Dobby puffed out his chest proudly. “Dobby has no master, but Dobby is willing to work for Mr. Snape.”

“Severus,” Lily’s eyes widened, “no wonder you’re not taking Professor Malfoy’s classes anymore. I thought it was just because you beat him, I never expected…” She hesitated, “Will you pay Dobby?”

“I’m not some slave owner.” Snape rolled his eyes. He turned to Dobby, “Alright, Dobby, from now on you’ll be in charge of making potions for these two beautiful ladies. Just follow their instructions.”

“Yes, sir!” Dobby answered loudly, turning his head to look longingly at the utensils and materials on the table.

“Okay,” Pandora pulled Dobby over and, together with Lily, told him what they needed to do, “This is a timer…”

Watching their busy figures, a strange warmth spread through Snape's chest. In the golden stripes cast by the setting sun, Lily focused on instructing Dobby on weighing the materials, while Pandora meticulously recorded every detail of the adjustments.

After graduation, after the war ends—the thought had barely crossed his mind when he quickly stopped, reaching up to scratch his back as if trying to pluck down invisible flags and throw them into the void. He couldn't just say things like that carelessly.

“I’m going to deliver the wolfsbane potion to the volunteers,” Snape said. “Would you like to come along?”

Without looking up, Lily replied, "Let's try brewing another potion. I feel like we can do it better this time. Dobby, could you please give me the Motra Rat Tentacle?"

"It's my pleasure, Miss..."

Snape nodded, not wanting to disturb them, and left the Room of Requirement alone.

Once downstairs, Snape suddenly realized he didn't know where Remus Lupin was. He then remembered that he hadn't seen James or his friends in class or outside of class for the past few days.

However, the crowds coming and going in the lobby reminded him that it was dinnertime. He decided to have dinner in the auditorium first, and then inquire about Lupin's whereabouts.

The Great Hall was bustling with noise. He chose a quiet corner at the Slytherin table where there was less people and sat down.

Just as he was enjoying a steak and kidney pudding, he inadvertently saw four raiders walking into the hall.

Apart from Lupin, who looked particularly haggard in his old robes, the other three seemed to be in pretty good shape. James's hair was as messy as ever, but he had a satisfied smile on his face; Sirius had his arm around James's shoulder, occasionally whispering something in his ear, which made James laugh; even the usually timid Peter walked with his head held high.

After finishing his meal, Snape rose and walked toward the Gryffindor table. He tried to walk quietly, but he still attracted everyone's attention. When he sat down next to Lupin, the long table fell silent for a moment.

“Hello,” Snape said in a friendly manner, ignoring the hostile looks directed at him. “I haven’t seen you around lately.”

"Bang!" Sirius slammed his fist on the table. People around him turned to look, and whispers arose.

“You’re not welcome here,” James said, grabbing Sirius’s hand and examining his knuckles closely before turning a cold look at Snape. “Stay away from us.”

"Don't say such hurtful things. Besides, I didn't come here to see you, so why are you in such a hurry?"

James's actions made Snape feel uneasy, and he suddenly understood something. His eyes darted back and forth between Sirius and James. Had Sirius already used the potion? But he hadn't bothered James lately, which was strange…

He turned to Lupin, lowering his voice so that those around them wouldn't hear: "Remus, do you know about the wolfsbane potion?"

“I know, but so what?” A flicker of pain crossed Lupin’s eyes, and he said in a dry voice. Lupin certainly knew of the existence of the wolfsbane potion. The first time he saw its description in the Daily Prophet, the elation he felt almost suffocated him.

He thought his life was about to undergo a second complete transformation, just like the first time he was bitten by Fenrir Greyback and his world sank into gray; this time, his world might be able to regain more color.

However, after contacting Mr. Damocles and learning the price of the wolfsbane medicine, he fell into an even deeper silence.

James offered to pay the bill for him, and he only needed to repay it after work. But he couldn't accept that; even for the wealthy Potter family, seven days' worth of wolfsbane medicine a month was no small sum. James himself couldn't afford it, and he couldn't let James ask Mr. and Mrs. Potter for help. Besides, he knew he probably would never be able to repay the debt.

Later on, the "Practical Potions Master" that he and his friends had been eagerly anticipating did not bring them any more comfort—they hadn't even gathered all the materials.

Lupin thought that perhaps he should live as a werewolf, and let the rumors about the Screaming Shack continue.

“That makes things much easier,” Snape said, pulling a large vial of smoky potion from his pocket. The silvery liquid inside flowed slowly within. “Look at this! Look at the color—”

"No, Remus!" Sirius jumped to his feet as if on cue, leaned over the long table, and grabbed Snape by the collar. "Take your potion away!"

But Lupin's eyes remained fixed on the vial in Snape's hand. The silvery light seemed to possess a magical power, drawing all his attention.

“Watch out, Bigfoot,” Snape said, his voice remaining calm despite being grabbed by the collar. “If you break this potion, I’m afraid you won’t be able to afford to pay for it. The Black family won’t pay for it.”

“But the Potters will,” James stood up, looking firmly at Sirius, “let him go.” He turned to Snape, his voice immediately turning cold, “Get out of here.”

“Okay.” Snape was now certain where the love potion had been used. He jumped up from his chair as if his backside was on fire, eager to get out of there.

After freeing himself from Sirius's grasp, he took two steps back and looked at Lupin: "Remus, Professor Dumbledore asked me to give this to you. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to find him, how about it?"

"Don't trust him, Remus!" Sirius looked at Snape with a complicated expression.

“But he can trust Professor Dumbledore,” Snape said, pursing his lips in displeasure. He couldn’t help but think: How could Sirius act like this? Shouldn’t he be thanking him? Sirius couldn’t possibly concoct a love potion of this quality.

“Come on, Remus,” he said, putting away the large medicine bottle and heading towards the foyer. “We’re going to find the headmaster.”

“Don’t go,” Sirius whispered to Lupin, his voice pleading, “He’s not trustworthy.”

Lupin hesitated for a long time before finally bowing his head and saying something to Sirius. Sirius, with a helpless expression, nodded to Lupin, then glared fiercely at Snape.

“Don’t try anything funny, Snape,” he said, “or I won’t let you off the hook.”

Seeing Lupin get up and walk towards him, Snape gave a soft hum and ignored Sirius's threat.

The two walked silently toward the foyer, with James's soothing voice and Sirius's reluctant grumbling coming from behind them.

"Did you make this yourself?" Lupin suddenly asked as they walked down the corridor.

“Yes, Remus,” Snape nodded. “I’ve been thinking about you ever since I saw that report, and that’s why I came to find you as soon as I finished.”

Lupin looked at Snape, but neither agreed nor nodded, nor did he respond in any way.

But in his eyes, Snape saw the answer—a deep longing and a cautious reluctance to hold onto hope.

“Sigh,” he sighed, “you should learn to change your mindset and treat me as a good person.”

"Did you give Sirius Black the aphrodisiac?" Lupin asked directly.

“You—” Snape turned his head, “You know?”

“When you wake up,” Lupin said with a tired look on his face, “one of your roommates has fallen hopelessly in love with another and is furious with the other roommates when they try to stop him, even though he had a girl he liked before.”

"Then why did you come with me?" Snape asked curiously.

“Because you don’t understand what it feels like to be a werewolf.” Lupin’s voice was very soft.

“I don’t really understand,” Snape called to the Dripping Stone Beast, “but it must be very uncomfortable.”

“Think about it,” he continued as they ascended the spiral staircase, “do you think things have gotten any worse? Two best friends, closest companions, able to spend the rest of their lives together. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Lupin did not answer, but stepped forward and knocked on the brass door knocker on the oak door.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice from inside.

Snape took out the wolfsbane potion and followed Lupin into the headmaster's office.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore looked up from a pile of documents, his gaze falling on the medicine bottle Snape was holding. "You succeeded, Severus?"

“Yes, Professor.” Snape gave a bright smile. “It is my pleasure to give it to you.” He stepped forward and placed the vial on the table.

Dumbledore glanced into Lupin's eyes and at his tightly clenched hands.

The principal picked up the medicine bottle, observed the state of the magic liquid and smoke, and then uncorked the bottle and took a gentle sniff.

“Don’t worry, Remus,” he said gently. “There’s nothing wrong with this bottle of wolfsbane potion.”

Dumbledore waved his wand, and a tall wine glass appeared out of thin air. He poured in one-seventh of the potion and handed the slightly steaming glass to Lupin.

"bring it on."

Lupin took the glass, his fingers trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, drank the medicine in the glass in one gulp, and then let out a long shiver.

“From now on, you will bring the potion to me every month, Severus,” Dumbledore said. “Just come and collect it on time, Remus.”

It took Lupin a long time to regain his ability to speak: "Th...thank you, Professor, and Severus. How much...is this?"

“Free.” Snape answered readily, and seeing Lupin’s surprised expression, he added, “The materials were mainly sponsored by the professor, and the preparation was handled by me and my friends.”

"If you absolutely have to give something in return, then please promise me one thing: take your medicine on time, and especially don't forget the last dose on the night of the full moon."

“Oh, right, there’s one more thing.” He paused for a moment, “If you still want to get married and have children, with the help of the wolfsbane potion, I hope you can find someone your own age, not a girl who is a whole generation younger than you. I’ve heard that some werewolves have this preference.”

“Really?” Lupin frowned, puzzled. “Oh, well, anyway, thank you, Severus. I think it’s fine.”

　Thanks to Pig Can Fly, Oler_aD, Yuexuan and Famous Pen, and Book Friend 161107234026844 for the monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)