Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 218 Fountain of Good Fortune

unicorn.

Whether in the magical world or in Muggle society, it belongs to the same category of well-known magical creatures as dragons and phoenixes.

For most wizards, unicorns are extremely rare. In Europe, there are only a few magical animal nature reserves where unicorns can survive.

The Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts is one of them.

But no matter which reserve a unicorn is in, they all look almost exactly the same.

It has pure white fur, a spiral horn on its forehead, possesses extremely powerful magic, and only associates with flawless virgins.

The golden unicorn that led them to the Fountain of Good Fortune had the same physique as a normal unicorn, but its fur was pale gold, and the spiral horn on its forehead was also like gold, radiating a unique glow even in the dim light.

"Teacher! Teacher! What's wrong?"

"Behind Severus," Harry called out.

However, Severus did not respond. He simply met the unicorn's gaze and, seeing no fear in its eyes, gently extended his hand.

His hand touched the unicorn, but miraculously passed right through it!

The golden unicorn that had been so lifelike, presenting itself to everyone and guiding the wizards into this secret realm that concealed the Fountain of Good Fortune, and that it could even eat, turned out to be nothing at all!

But in an instant, the emotions that had been steadily eroding Severus's spirits, urging him to stab the unicorn to death, suddenly stopped abruptly, like a starving person seeing a large bowl of hot chocolate in front of him, eagerly preparing to eat it, only to suddenly smell a foul odor of feces.

"How could this unicorn be fake!" Even Snape the Ghost exclaimed in disbelief.

However, Severus was not surprised at all; he simply sneered inwardly.

"What's so surprising about that? It can't possibly be real. Anyone with a brain could figure that out. It's just that Voldemort is brainless now."

Ghost Snape's face darkened; he could tell that Severus was including him in the insult.

Why must it not exist?

"Isn't it obvious? How long has the legend of a golden unicorn appearing and leading people to the Fountain of Good Fortune been circulating in this region of Albania? Hundreds and thousands of years."

“No unicorn could live that long, not even a variant, let alone a legend. The possibility that such a unicorn actually exists is even lower.”

Severus actually had one major piece of evidence he didn't mention.

That is, he already knew long ago that Voldemort had failed to drink the unicorn's blood.

Throughout the original storyline, up until Quirrell found Voldemort, he was extremely weak and nearing the end of his life; otherwise, he wouldn't have risked killing a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest to drink its blood.

There must be something wrong that led to Voldemort's failure in the Albanian forest.

As expected, this unicorn is indeed a spirit creature similar to Peeves from Hogwarts. Although it has the ability to interact with physical objects, such as eating grass, it is essentially still a spirit.

It is virtually impossible to kill a spirit, let alone extract its blood.

Severus could clearly feel the peculiar thoughts that had been constantly affecting his emotions fading away, and the pet Harry had picked up on his shoulder was no longer as lively as before.

On the surface, Severus appeared to have just come to his senses, followed by an expression of regret and disappointment, before finally turning back to Harry and the others.

"What happened to you just now?" Lupin asked, puzzled. Anyone could see that Severus was not in a good state.

Knowing that the person he had been searching for was right beside him, Severus certainly couldn't tell Harry and the others the truth at this moment.

But he didn't put on an act; instead, he smiled and waved as usual.

"It's nothing, it's just that this unicorn reminded me of some things from the past. Let's ignore it for now and take a good look at this legendary spring."

Harry and the others had no doubts about Severus's answer, but Black, who remained silent, kept staring at Severus's face.

The person who knows you best is often your enemy.

Blake was no exception.

The reason he had never trusted Severus to reform was because he knew perfectly well that a leopard can't change its spots!

Based on his understanding of Severus Snape, even if he truly repented, he couldn't possibly repent to this extent.

Now, he sensed that Severus was hiding something in his words.

But Blake did not comment on this.

He was reckless, but not stupid.

It is quite clear that, in terms of influence within the team, he is obviously no match for Severus.

All he can do now is what Lupin told him.

observe.

Make the most comprehensive observation of Severus, whom everyone says has been completely changed.

No one can pretend forever; sooner or later, he'll catch Severus red-handed!
Just as Black was making up his mind, Severus had already brought an excited Harry and Draco to the spring.

“Why don’t we just jump in and take a bath! Legend has it that you can get good luck just by bathing in the spring!” Draco said, already taking off his coat, eager to try it out.

At this point, Severus simply tapped him on the head.

"The legend also says that this spring will only bring good luck to the first person to bathe in it. There are four of us and a dog here now, so who should go first to take a bath?"

This question left Draco speechless, and he looked left and right.

If it's based on merit...

Upon reaching the ridge, it was Black who discovered the cave leading to the summit, and once there, it was Harry who found the hidden underwater suspension bridge to cross the river. Finally, the map used to navigate the maze was found by him first discovering a mermaid skull in the valley lake, and Lupin followed this clue to find it.

And then there's Severus; if he hadn't defeated the basilisk in the ruins and discovered the silver whistle, they would never have gotten here.

So who should receive this one and only stroke of good luck?

This question made Harry and Draco exchange a glance. Neither of them was shameless enough to stand up and say that they should enjoy this good fortune all by themselves.

Seeing the expectation and unease in their eyes, Severus walked to the spring and took a dropper out of his pocket.

"Don't rush. The silver whistle that guided us to this Fountain of Good Fortune was found by me in the ruins of a dark wizard. Both Nico and I speculate that the Fountain of Good Fortune hidden here is probably not as simple as the legend says, which can just bring people good luck."

"You know, no dark wizard would be so kind."

As he spoke, he had already drawn a few drops of water from the fountain with a dropper, and then took out a glass container and dripped the water into it.

As a professional pharmacist, Severus certainly knew how to determine the efficacy of a liquid.

He carried various testing reagents with him. While Lupin arranged for Harry Draco and the others to set up their pots and start resting and cooking dinner, Severus stared at the last remaining liquid in the vessel and drew his conclusion.

"These springs do indeed bring good luck."

Upon hearing these words, the two boys who had been helping Lupin cook onion soup immediately perked up again.

"In other words, the water in Lucky Spring is real!"

However, Severus shook his head at this.

"You haven't heard me finish. The premise that these springs can indeed bring good luck is that the person who comes here must already possess luck far exceeding that of ordinary people."

His words left Harry and the others looking puzzled.

Severus simply explained to them patiently.

"Our arrival here was full of surprises and coincidences, wasn't it? Think about it, the reason I found that underground ruin and the silver whistle that opened the gate to the Fountain of Good Fortune in the first place was because the dragon riot attracted my attention, and then I set my sights on that location."

"After entering this place, Black was lucky enough to find the cave leading to the top of the mountain, Dudley was lucky enough to find the suspension bridge hidden in the river, and finally, Draco and Remus were lucky enough to pass through the maze because they had accidentally found the dragon skin map in Troll Valley a long time ago."

He spread his hands.

“Many wizards entered that door with us, and I’m sure that quite a few others followed us in after we came in. But so much time has passed, has anyone else come here besides us?”

"The person who placed this Fountain of Good Fortune here did so to select those who are inherently lucky to find it!"

Lupin had already discerned the implied meaning in Severus's words.

"A person who is already lucky is selected and brought to a place that is said to bring good fortune. He will bathe in the spring water there, and then..."

Severus pointed to the fountain and revealed the answer to them.

"It's very simple. The spring water here isn't anything magical. It's just ordinary mountain spring water with some special agents added. Those agents have similar effects to Felix Felicis, which can enhance a person's senses for a period of time, making the user feel that they will become more lucky."

"In addition, the legend of the Fountain of Good Fortune itself can boost people's confidence. Wizards who have bathed in the fountain are more confident than others in doing anything, which greatly increases their success rate. Even if they fail occasionally, they will find various reasons to make up for it."

“But that still proves that this spring really does bring good luck, right!” Draco said eagerly. “Isn’t it enough to just confirm that?”

"Do you remember the legend of the Fountain of Good Fortune that has been passed down here? It is said that the good fortune of the wizards who bathed in the spring could only last for three years?" Severus asked seriously.

Clearly, both Harry and Draco had long forgotten about it.

"So, how do you think those people figured out that the wizards who were lucky enough to bathe in the spring would lose their good fortune three years later?"

This question completely stumped the two boys. It was Blake, who hadn't spoken until now, who spoke disdainfully.

"Whether a normal person has good luck or not is impossible for outsiders to tell. Only when those who have always been lucky suddenly start to have a series of bad lucks can others see that they no longer have the luck they used to have."

"Your godfather isn't actually lacking in intelligence; it's just that he chooses to discard it at crucial moments."

Severus was not stingy with his praise for Blake, if that could be called a praise.

"When I was in the forest, I specifically asked Andrews about the wizards who had been fortunate enough to bathe in the Fountain of Good Fortune. After three years of good fortune, they all developed some health problems and then gradually disappeared from public view."

“At the time, I didn’t realize anything was wrong, but in these springs, besides those substances that resembled Felix Felicis, I found other things.”

Severus gently tapped his wand on the spring water in the vessel, and a wisp of dark green gas rose into the air, seemingly forming a pattern resembling a goat.

This sight startled both Harry and Draco, and they both instinctively took a step back.

"What's this!"

"curse."

Severus explained to them earnestly.

"This spring has been cursed by someone, a curse that can steal other people's luck and impose it on oneself. It is a very ancient spell. I have not seen anything similar in any modern spellbooks. I guess it is very likely that it was created by Herbo."

At this point, Harry's face had turned pale, and even a fool would understand completely.

"So, the so-called legend of the Fountain of Good Fortune was deliberately spread by that black wizard in order to select people who truly possess good fortune to come here, bathe in the spring water to be tainted by the curse, and finally transfer their good fortune to themselves!"

"That's roughly what you said."

Severus casually poured the liquid from the vessel back into the fountain, then spread his arms to invite the two boys.

"Is anyone still willing to try this spring water that's said to bring good luck?"

Upon hearing this, Draco and Harry both involuntarily took a step back, their previous enthusiasm gone.

(End of this chapter)