The sickly, iron-fisted beauty in Harry Potter

"Just like your leg, I can hardly imagine what could have bitten you at school and prevented you from fully recovering."

Dolly's words caused Snape to freeze completely.

He had just promised Dolly that Hogwarts was safe when Dolly ruthlessly exposed his weaknesses.

This made Snape feel embarrassed and annoyed. If it were anyone else, even Malfoy, they would have been subjected to a severe scolding by him.

But after glancing into Dolly's eyes, Snape held back and said, "Hogwarts also has many dangerous magical forbidden areas, which are beyond your comprehension."

"If it were anyone else, they would be dead by now."

"And what about Quirrell?"

Dolly continued to rub salt in the wound, and now Snape finally understood.

Dolly was deliberately provoking him, hoping to continue the conversation in this way.

Having figured this out, Snape calmed down and said, "Miss Dursley, what do you intend to say?"

"Dumbledore has said it many times: you are a mature little witch, unlike ordinary children."

"I trust his judgment, but I never intended to treat you as anyone other than Harry's sister. Do you want to break that status quo?"

At this point, Snape made eye contact with Dolly for the first time since she came into the room.

This time, his eyes no longer held any nostalgia for Lily; instead, they were filled with scrutiny of Dolly.

As one of the first wizards to meet and interact with Dolly, Snape naturally understood the unusual and extraordinary aspects of her.

But he didn't delve deeper into the matter, because if he were to investigate the magic thoroughly, a crueler truth hidden behind it might be revealed.

For example, why is Harry alive but Lily dead?

No matter how Snape thought about the truth of this matter, the final result was that he was heartbroken and wished he could end his life.

With such an example in mind, Snape naturally kept his distance from Dolly's secrets.

Snape was past the age of being full of curiosity; all he cared about now was revenge, and nothing else mattered to him.

But if Dolly persists in arguing with him about this, then Snape is unlikely to back down.

After all, he only felt guilty towards Lily, not towards Harry, and certainly not towards Dolly, Lily's cousin.

Dolly naturally noticed Snape's change in attitude and realized that the tacit understanding between the two was in jeopardy.

This tacit understanding is the essence of the relationship between Dolly and Snape, beyond that of student and professor.

Dolly gained some advantages and preferential treatment because of Lily's appearance, and Snape tacitly approved of it—Snape didn't need to explain to others who he favored, and he did it without any guilt.

In fact, Malfoy received far more preferential treatment from Snape than Dolly did.

After all, Snape was the head of Slytherin, and Malfoy reported to Snape every day. In contrast, Dolly hardly ever interacted with Snape outside of class.

However, the tacit understanding between the two is limited to this point, and there is basically no possibility of further changes.

If he said anything more, Snape would have to confront the true nature of this tacit understanding: Dolly had the same face as Lily.

Before he could complete his revenge, Snape couldn't reveal his feelings for Lily, so he was wary once Dolly tried to ask for more.

Dolly will not receive preferential treatment; she may even face an attack from Snape.

Snape is now on the verge of being on guard.

However, Dolly did not back down. Instead, she smiled and said, "At Christmas, a mysterious person gave Harry a gift: an invisibility cloak."

“With the help of this invisibility cloak, Harry and I have investigated a lot of things and have almost pieced together the whole story.”

"The headmaster is keeping the magic stone safe, and someone is trying to steal it."

Dolly's words shocked Snape for the first time; he really didn't know these things.

Just as Dolly said, even Dumbledore couldn't control the entire Hogwarts, so Snape was even less likely to.

As for telling Snape about Harry having an invisibility cloak, it was actually a result of Dolly's careful consideration.

It is certain that although Snape loathed Harry, he would never kill him.

Harry's invisibility cloak is an heirloom, and James must have used it at school, perhaps even to play a trick on Snape.

After James's death, this treasure was collected and preserved by Dumbledore. It's not surprising that Snape knew about it, and Dolly didn't need to worry that Snape would steal the Invisibility Cloak.

Most importantly, mentioning the invisibility cloak means that Dolly has taken the initiative in terms of intelligence; she can use the invisibility cloak as an excuse to explain anything she says.

Of course, this will cause Harry a lot of trouble.

If Harry ever dares to provoke Snape while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, Snape will probably teach Harry a lesson he won't forget.

“Harry thinks that person is you, that you were bitten by Fluffy, Hagrid’s pet.”

"I think that person is Quirrell. I have no proof, but that's just how I feel."

"Professor Snape, what do you think?"

Snape's face turned slightly pale, and his breathing became much more rapid.

He actually had many questions and wanted to ask Dolly how she knew every piece of information, but if they really went into the details, they would talk until midnight without ever finishing.

Moreover, after asking around, we still have to listen to Dolly's side of the story. We can't just bring Harry here to confront Dolly—it wouldn't do any good anyway, that foolish Potter would definitely listen to his sister.

Ultimately, Snape chose to believe Dolly for the time being and investigate the details later.

He said, "You and your arrogant brother really surprise me. It seems that Hogwarts has become your backyard."

"But you and your foolish brother have clearly not learned from the last incident. Whoever wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone, it is not something you can handle."

"Do you want to be killed again, Miss Dursley?"

Dolly covered her mouth, feigning surprise, and said, "Professor, didn't you just say you could protect me?"

Snape felt as if he had swallowed a bitter pill, never expecting that Dolly would so easily turn the tables on him.

However, he didn't care about saving face and continued, "I can protect you and Harry when you're doing normal things, but I can't do anything about rats hiding under the Invisibility Cloak and rushing under the dark wizard's wand to their deaths."

Dolly's expression visibly turned sad, and she glanced away.

Snape was taken aback for a moment before realizing what he meant and quickly said, "The rat... I meant your brother."

Dolly chuckled, her cheerful smile echoing in the small office.

Snape looked at Dolly calmly, but then hastily looked away.

Despite being so similar to Lily, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to scold Dolly like he would Harry.

“Miss Dursley, this is not something you should get involved in. Just stay quietly in your Muggle hut and enjoy your school life.”

"Leave the matter to me, Dumbledore, the other professors, and even your brother."

"These things have nothing to do with you."

“You are an outsider. The troll attack on you last time was really an accident. Now you can return to being an outsider.”

Snape spoke calmly from the bottom of his heart, words he had long wanted to say to Dolly, but had never had the chance.

Dolly also sensed a hint of goodwill in Snape's words, even if that goodwill was directed at Lily and not at Dolly herself.

Dolly suddenly pulled a small vial of potion from her sleeve and said, "Professor, why don't you take a look at this first?"

This is the antidote that Dolly brewed, but unlike ordinary antidotes, it is now called the Essence Antidote.

119 Allied with Snape

Dolly had always been curious about the nature of enhancement.

However, for Dolly, studying the essence of this matter was clearly too difficult.

Even Hermione can only offer some ideas now; she's still a long way from actually researching these things.

Is there any way or anyone who can do this right now?

After much thought, Dolly could only come up with Snape as the answer.

In terms of strength, Dumbledore was clearly the most suitable person, but Dolly obviously couldn't reach an agreement with him, and Dolly never felt safe in his presence.

This is not only because of the series of secrets about Dolly's resurrection and rebirth, but also because Dolly cannot predict Dumbledore's next move after learning about Dolly's secrets.

Will he be used as a useful pawn by Dumbledore, or will he be seen as an obstacle to his plans?

Of course, Dumbledore could also be a kind old man who does nothing and continues to treat Dolly as an ordinary little girl.

But it was precisely this uncertainty that made Dolly hesitant to get to know him better.

Snape was different.

No matter what Dolly looks like or what her plans are, as long as she can't bother Snape, Snape will absolutely act like it's none of his business.

Or Dolly and Snape could agree that as long as the goal is revenge against Voldemort, everything else is negotiable.

Furthermore, Dolly's appearance is exactly like Lily's, making it easy for her to... cough, to communicate with Snape without any obstacles. Therefore, cooperating with Snape becomes the most natural choice.

Moreover, the two had already worked together tacitly on the Quirrell matter before.

Although the two of them failed that time.

Snape looked puzzled, but he still took the potion from Dolly's hand, shook it gently, and examined its quality.

At first, he remained relatively calm, after all, he noticed from a distance that it was actually an antidote, and thought that Dolly was simply expressing concern.

But when the potion rippled irregularly as Snape shook it, a faint magical light flowed within, as if making the entire potion a unified whole.

He blurted out, "Impossible!"

As a potions master, Snape knew better than anyone what the potion in his hand truly meant.

He quickly opened the bottle of potion, sniffed the fragrance inside, and for the first time, a look of intoxication appeared on his usually calm face.

It was as if what lay before him was not a potion, but the most delicious delicacy in the world, waiting for him to savor.

He instinctively picked up the potion, looking like he wanted to drink it, just like a child craving a beverage, but the next second he realized something was wrong.

He quickly plugged the potion bottle, looked at Dolly with disbelief, and asked, "Where did this come from?"

"Could it be the work of a master?"

Snape racked his brains. He knew almost all the potions masters in England, and even his former teacher Slughorn was not at that level.