The sickly, iron-fisted beauty in Harry Potter

Snape was reading fragments of Harry's memories, so he didn't know Dolly's own thoughts.

Therefore, there was still one thing he didn't understand: why Dolly had changed her hair color at the last minute.

If Dolly's hair had been blonde instead of red, Snape wouldn't have lost his composure like that.

This gave Snape a very bad feeling.

That must be Dolly. Could she know something about his past?

Theoretically, no one should have told Dolly, but... it's not impossible that Lily told her sister about Snape, and then Dolly's mother relayed it to Dolly.

If that were to happen, the problem would be very serious.

It wasn't that Snape was worried about his embarrassing moments being known by the new generation of students; anyway, no one dared to speak ill of him now.

As the head of Slytherin House, Snape had the power to punish anyone except Dumbledore.

Snape's biggest worry was that if his feelings for Lily were revealed, it would mean that his future undercover plans might be compromised.

Although it was uncertain whether Voldemort would ever return, Snape dared not be careless in the face of the nameless, noseless man.

He stared intently at Dolly, wanting to see her reaction.

If Dolly really knows something, Snape will have to do something.

Dolly's heart skipped a beat; she knew there was no way around this question.

At this point, if Dolly were to claim she knew nothing, even without Legilimency, Snape would be worried that she would reveal a flaw.

So she simply said something that was 90% true: "Professor Snape, as I just said, I want to be as good as my mother and aunt."

"My mother was a wonderful Muggle. She was a good wife and an outstanding mother who raised me and Harry and kept the four of us living in great order."

“My mother told me that my aunt, who is also Harry’s mother, was the best witch. She was loved by many people at Hogwarts, and her beautiful red hair would be unforgettable for many people.”

"So, red is probably my lucky color. I hope that if my aunt is watching from heaven, she can use her magic to bless me."

Dolly wasn't lying, because her mother had indeed told her these things.

However, the specific situation was that after Petunia and Vernon returned to the Muggle world from Diagon Alley and became unfamiliar with the wizarding world, Dolly took the initiative to talk to Petunia about Harry's mother, Lily.

Because she was no longer so afraid of the magical world, and Petunia had also resolved her inner conflict, she told Dolly a lot about Lily, but she still remained tight-lipped about the cause of Lily's death.

Of course, Petunia knew almost nothing about the magical world because at that time, she and her sister were not on good terms, and Lily couldn't share her experiences with Petunia.

However, Penny's praise of Lily did exist, but it was all done without knowing the facts, and was just a way of fooling a child out of a good impression of Lily.

All that's missing is for them to fabricate a beautiful love story between James and Lily on the spot.

Now, Dolly was simply repeating what he said, only omitting everything about James.

Dolly was mostly telling the truth, and Snape couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Dolly's descriptions are all based on common human experience, and even the longing in her eyes doesn't seem unreal.

This caused a ripple to stir in Snape's heart, which had just been closed off due to the vast difference in appearance between Dolly and Lily.

She wasn't Lily... but she was Lily's family.

Moreover, compared to the hot-headed Harry on the other side, Dolly is indeed more like Harry.

Dolly's next words almost broke Snape's defenses again, as his heart had softened somewhat.

This was Dolly's decisive move, to prevent Snape from continuing to harp on the matter.

"By the way, Professor, did you know my aunt when you were studying at Hogwarts? Her last name was Evans."

Upon hearing this, Harry stared wide-eyed at Snape, seemingly trying to glean information about his mother from him.

Snape was suddenly stared at by two pairs of Lily's eyes, and his heart almost stopped.

Fortunately, compared to the grand scene just now, which was filled with scenes, memories, spells, and dialogue, Snape can handle the current situation.

He replied indifferently, "I don't know you, I'm not familiar with you, and I don't understand you."

A satisfying three-in-one click.

After saying that, as if to stop Dolly from speaking further, Snape said, "We don't have much time left. If you don't want more people to see your shameful deeds."

"Then shut up now, compose yourselves, and prepare for the upcoming Sorting Ceremony."

After saying this, Snape scanned everyone, and only after seeing that everyone had really shut up did he slowly turn his head to look at Dolly.

After a brief silence, he said carefully, "Miss Dursley, I think highly of you coming to Slytherin if you really want to become a good witch."

"After all, Slytherin is the strongest house, having won the House Cup for several consecutive years, and I am the head of this house."

"Although the Sorting Ceremony examines each person's talents, perhaps sincere prayer can also have an effect."

After saying that, Snape gave Malfoy a thorough cleaning, leaving him looking almost the same as before, except for his messy hair.

He then turned and walked up the stairs, pushed open the door, and entered the hall.

The group was left looking at each other in bewilderment. Ron, his face filled with surprise, asked, "We passed?"

"I thought we were all going to be tossed around by that guy with some kind of spell!"

Neville sat down on the ground, panting heavily, his back soaked with sweat.

Harry was somewhat disappointed, then turned to Dolly, as if to ask her something.

Dolly replied, "If you have any questions, write to your aunt yourself. Of course, you have to find out for yourself."

Harry was speechless for a moment, realizing that Dolly's words made a lot of sense.

For an entire month of August, he didn't ask Penny and Vernon about his parents.

This cannot be explained simply by forgetting or distrust; it also shows that while Harry longs to know about his parents' past, he is also vaguely afraid of it all.

Just like how parents are always the most perfect superheroes until their children grow up.

Hermione, seeing that Dolly and Harry had finished talking, excitedly took Dolly's hand, her focus being on more practical matters.

"Dolly, the Headmaster of Slytherin personally invited you! How about we go to Slytherin together?"

"In our own world, if our parents were invited by key figures from top universities, they would be ecstatic!"

47 The Third Branching Ceremony Begins

Dolly seemed not to have heard Hermione's words, still pondering what Snape had just said.

Snape went to Slytherin?

Was this a trap, or was Snape truly greedy for money, or perhaps he wanted to make up for his guilt towards Lily through her?

It has to be said that Snape's invitation was somewhat tempting.

Although Dolly isn't cut out for magic right now, what if she takes off with the help of a cheat code in the future?

Moreover, Dolly has some ideas that may require Snape's help.

In Slytherin, Dolly felt that Snape would most likely not hesitate to help her.

Dolly came to Hogwarts primarily to experience life there, as she intends to live in the Muggle world in the future.

Being taken care of by Snape for a few years seems like a pretty good option, doesn't it?

The idea of ​​giving up began to stir in Dolly's mind, but Hermione's words brought her back to reality.

"But how exactly did he take a liking to you? In our area, it would take the joint recommendation of many important figures to make that possible."

Yes, how could Snape possibly be interested in her!

All that's worth looking at is this face that looks remarkably like Lily's.

Hermione was probably the one least aware of the seriousness of the situation during this conflict.

However, this also gave her a perspective most suitable for ordinary people, allowing Dolly to more calmly understand the development of the matter.

Dolly can slack off, but only if she creates a safe enough environment for herself and then slacks off within her comfort zone.

Otherwise, if you just sit idly on the rooftop during a windy day, your life might just pass by in the blink of an eye.

Hogwarts, once the safest place in the world, is now a hotbed of accidents in the coming years.

Although these disasters are not difficult to avoid, who can guarantee that Dolly won't trigger a butterfly effect?

Moreover, Snape himself was a major danger factor.

If Dolly really does whatever she wants by using Lily's face, then she's essentially sticking her head under a sluice gate and handing the switch to Snape.

The feeling of having one's life and death controlled by others is suffocating just to think about it.

Therefore, Dolly definitely cannot go to Slytherin.

People should always have a spirit of self-reliance. Letting go is to better appreciate life, not to get rid of oneself as soon as possible.

As for asking Snape for help, that can be planned in the long run; after all, she still has seven years of school life ahead of her.

As for where to go after not going to Slytherin, that's actually not that important.

I'd be willing to go to Hufflepuff if I could just be with Hermione.

So Dolly said, "I think so too, and given how emotionally unstable he was just now, would you really dare to learn from him?"

"He even hit Malfoy. Ron said Malfoy's father is a Hogwarts board member, didn't he?"

"Where in our area have you ever seen a school professor dare to hit the son of a member of the school's board of directors?"

Hermione was speechless for a moment, then she remembered how Snape had punished Malfoy, and the thought still made her legs go weak.

"So where are we going? The ceremony is about to begin, and I don't want to be separated from you."

Hermione took Dolly's arm, and at that moment, her tone, compared to her usual pride and even arrogance, carried a tender and affectionate quality.

Clearly, Hermione's expectations of the magical world shifted from a beautiful anticipation of a fantastical life to a sense of awe and reverence for the wizards of that world.

This is actually a good thing, perhaps it will help Hermione adapt to the atmosphere here sooner.

Upon hearing Hermione's words, Dolly immediately connected them to Snape's earlier remarks and said, "Let's just keep praying then, maybe what he said will really work?"

"I'll pray I don't go to Slytherin, and you pray you'll end up in the same house as me, okay?"

Snape had subtly hinted that the Sorting Hat would listen to the advice of young wizards, and now Dolly was pointing that out to Hermione.