Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 19 Grass Snake Gray Line
Snape knew perfectly well why James was there; he had simply found out from somewhere that he was going to attend the party and that Lily would be there too.

“This child…” Slughorn shook his head helplessly. “It’s alright, it’s getting late. We should go back, children, or we’ll be in trouble too.”

The small gold clock on his desk had already passed ten o'clock.

The students filed out. Slughorn got up from his chair and accompanied Fabian downstairs.

Back in the dormitory, it was just the two of them again. They didn't know what Mursab had been doing; he had been coming back very late lately.

Abbott couldn't wait to give Snape a thumbs up.

"What did I just see? A Slytherin mocking Gryffindor for blood discrimination! Tsk tsk, you're making it sound so real, it's terrifying."

"Don't you dare slander me. I am now the most supportive person in the entire wizarding world for Muggle-born wizards."

Snape said irritably, while patting his pillow into a more comfortable shape.

“Potter actually wants to come to the party this time. It’s not like Old Snotty hasn’t invited him before.” Abbott changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. “But this party is really not very interesting. I’m not going with you next time.”

"Whatever you like." Snape lifted his leg, got into bed, lay comfortably on the pillow, and watched the faint light shimmering on the glass window with the ripples of water.

"Abbo, that poor girl who was murdered more than thirty years ago, who do you think she could be?"

“How would I know?” Abbott said, yawning.

"Then who do you think would know what happened back then?"

"So many years have passed, who else besides a few old professors would know? Perhaps you could ask the principal yourself."

“Wait a minute,” Abbott sat up abruptly, suddenly perking up, “Even though the people have changed, the ghosts have always been at Hogwarts.”

But he immediately lay back down: "Forget about your little soup, how could you possibly win a medal today with a story from over thirty years ago?"

"That's hard to say, and don't you find exploring these ancient secrets interesting?"

Snippla went up to the curtains of the four-poster bed.

"I have a class on protecting magical creatures tomorrow morning. Goodnight."

Early the next morning, Sylvanus Kettleburn, the teacher of the Magical Creatures Protection class, led a few scattered students to a crooked shed on the side of the field.

"Children, come with me."

He sat in a peculiar wooden chair that functioned like a Muggle wheelchair, except that the chair had four short legs that could move forward in an alternating manner.

In his third year, Kettleburn complained to his classmates that he would have retired long ago if Dumbledore hadn't made the chair for him himself.

Beside the crudely constructed shed, the gamekeeper Hagrid was already waiting for them, with a low mound at his feet.

As Snape got closer, he noticed a shallow pit next to Hagrid.

A shovel, two sizes larger than a trash can lid, lay tossed next to a wooden barrel; clearly, the mound was formed from the dirt Hagrid had dug out.

“Thank you, Hagrid. And could you please help me pour this bucket of Floo Powder into the pit?” Kettleburn said, pointing to the shallow pit with his only remaining finger.

Hagrid easily lifted the barrel following his instructions.

With a whoosh, emerald green demonic fire erupted, rising almost to Hagrid's height.

After the flames had burned quietly for a few minutes, Kettleburn asked, "Does anyone know what the magical creature we're going to see today is?"

Lily raised her hand.

“You tell me, Miss Evans,” Kettleburn said with a smile. “The Ash Serpent,” Lily said, “is created out of thin air when a mass of magical fire burns unchecked for too long.”

“Very correct, five points for Gryffindor,” Kettleburn added. “The Ash Serpent is a snake with red eyes that emerges from unattended ashes and swims into the shadows of houses to lay its eggs.”

“I need to remind you of something extra,” he said seriously, “that you must never cast an expansion spell on the Fire Serpent. The consequences of doing so would be absolutely unacceptable to you.”

“What would happen if we did that?” Snape asked.

"Under the spell, the Fire Ash Serpent will swell to be thicker than your thigh. Then, suddenly, it and its enormous fire egg will explode with a bang, igniting everything around it."

Kettleburn made an exaggerated gesture with one hand.

By this time, the flames of Floo Powder had gone out.

Several thin, grayish-white fire serpents emerged from the ashes and slithered toward the shed, leaving behind winding trails of ash.

"The lifespan of a fire ash snake is only one hour. During this hour, it will find a dark, secluded place to lay its eggs, and then its body will be torn apart and turn to dust."

Kettleburn moved his chair slowly toward the shed, and the students followed him into the hut.

He pointed to where the gray stains had disappeared and said, "Abbot, help me move that haystack."

Behind the haystack, three bright red snake eggs lay quietly in the fine ashes.

"If you don't detect and deal with these fire eggs in time, they can ignite a house in a very short period of time."

Kettleburn took his wand from his robes.

Glacius.

A stream of cold gas shot from the tip of his wand, and the intense red light on the two snake eggs quickly transformed into blue-white ice crystals.

"Let's go, get out of here quickly." Kettleburn used magic to collect the frozen snake eggs and urged the students to leave the hut.

Shortly after they reached the open space, a deafening roar erupted and the wooden house burst into flames in front of them.

“The water is clear as a spring.” Kettleburn poured water on the shed until the last spark was extinguished.

"See? If you find any trace of Fire Ash Snakes in your home, be sure to locate them immediately and freeze their eggs with an Ice Freeze spell. Otherwise, I advise you to leave as soon as possible."

Then, he used the levitation spell to show his classmates two frozen snake eggs.

"Of course, once these snake eggs are frozen, they become extremely valuable. They can be used to make sleeping potions, or they can be swallowed whole to treat fevers."

After the class ended, Snape stayed behind to help Hagrid clean up the classroom.

"Hagrid," he tried to talk to Hagrid after filling in the shallow pit, "those Ash Snakes are cute, aren't they?"

But Hagrid looked at Snape with a mixture of shock and pity, as if he thought Snape was crazy and pathetic.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Snape thought, a little annoyed.

He had no choice but to pretend nothing had happened: "My mother said you were the gamekeeper when she was in school. When did you come to Hogwarts?"

“Oh, I came here in 1940,” Hagrid said gruffly. “I’ve met your mother.”

"So early? I have something I'd like to ask you."

Seeing that Hagrid did not object, Snape continued, "I saw a medal in the Hogwarts Prize Room for a Special Contribution to the School. Do you know how Tom Riddle earned it?"

(End of this chapter)