HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

Snape finally appeared the day before the Christmas holidays ended.

He appeared suddenly at the corner of the corridor like a ghost, blocking West and Harry's way, startling Harry.

"Merlin's lace nightcap!" Harry, like a startled lion cub, took a big step back, his back slamming into the humanoid armor in the corridor with a loud clang.

"Potter, come with me," Snape said with a stern face.

Harry shrank back, his eyes full of questions, wondering what he had done to offend Snape.

West smiled faintly, a sly glint in his eyes. "Professor, who are you calling...?"

Snape looked at their similar emerald eyes, his gaze finally settling on their silver-green ties.

He forced himself to change his mind, "...West, come to the cellar."

West couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, Professor."

He turned to Harry and said, "You go to the Great Hall first, I'll come find you in a bit."

Harry glanced hesitantly at Snape, only to be met with a fierce glare from Snape. He quickly looked away as if burned. "Okay, then hurry up."

Snape walked briskly, and West followed closely behind. This time, West didn't struggle as much as when they first met. It was clear that Snape was taking care of West and deliberately slowed down.

As soon as West entered the cellar, the door slammed shut. He turned around and was met with Snape's gloomy face.

His long, slender fingers lifted the anti-reactive agent formula. "Explanation?"

West remained completely calm.

He had long been prepared to tell Snape, and this antidote formula was a small prelude.

It seems that the mother and Snape were once friends. Although they parted ways, the mother seemed to regret the relationship and highly regarded Snape's abilities.

If you want Snape to teach him the Patronus Charm, perhaps showing Professor Snape those two memories would be a good starting point.

"Professor, I can trust you, right?" West finished thinking and asked instead of answering.

Snape forced a sneer, "What do you have that I could possibly want?"

"Professor, do you think this formula is authentic? I've never seen an antiretroviral agent in any book," West asked. He wanted to take this opportunity to verify his hypothesis—whether he was the only one who knew this formula.

Snape squinted, put down the formula, and sat down. "It's true. I successfully concocted the antidote a few days ago."

He paused for a moment. "I saw this potion a few years ago in Diagon Alley."

He spent a long time figuring out the formula using the expensive medicine he had purchased, but he still failed.

Snape tried to find the owner of the potion, but the seller in Knockturn Alley told him that its owner had not been seen for a long time.

After preparing the medicine using West's prescription, he knocked on Dumbledore's door early this morning, waking the old headmaster from his sleep.

After administering the potion, Snape wove false memories into his mind, and then had Dumbledore perform Legilimency on him.

Dumbledore paused for a long while before saying helplessly, "...Severus, could you please stop thinking of me as an old bee?"

Snape was overjoyed.

He didn't even activate the Occupy Barrier. With this drug, he only needed to fabricate a memory in his mind to fool the Soul Stealing Curse.

This is so important to them.

Snape gripped the vial in his hand, recalling the trusting and reverent look in the boy's eyes when he looked at him. Without changing his expression, he concealed the source of the formula and decided to question the boy privately.

The previous incident had already made Dumbledore very wary of West, even regarding him as the third Dark Lord, and instructed Snape to keep a close watch on West.

At least he's not the Dark Lord. Snape thought gloomily, the Dark Lord wouldn't allow such a potion to fall into the hands of his subordinates.

Now it seems there are even more mysteries surrounding West.

As the recollection ended, he looked at West with a stern gaze.

West was secretly observing Snape's face and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes and a sallow complexion, clearly indicating that he was not getting enough sleep.

The professor was indeed researching counteractors in the cellar, which is why he hadn't left the house for several days.

"Mr. Potter," Snape said, seeing him staring blankly, "where did you get this formula?"

West looked at Snape and said calmly, "Professor, I don't know."

"...What do you mean?"

"They're like they grew out of my dream."

West didn't know how to put it, so he simply said, "There are a few things, Professor, that you might want to take a look at."

Snape looked at him, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't use Legilimency.

Dumbledore happened to have something to do today and suddenly left Hogwarts, so he simply took West to the Headmaster's office, found the Pensieve, and said, "Pull out the memory you want to show and put it in."

Under Snape's guidance, West picked up his wand, pointed it at his temple, and pulled out a strand of silvery-white memory thread, placing it into the Pensieve.

The Pensieve emitted a burst of white light, which suddenly engulfed him and Snape.

Snape steadied himself and landed in the darkness. He looked up and saw West and a giant snake. His face hardened, and he took out his wand to attack the snake.

"Professor, this is just a memory." West pressed Snape's hand and shook his head at him.

Snape then realized what was happening and glared at West with displeasure.

Then the giant snake pinned down the boy, and the two faced off in silence until they were interrupted by the cry of a deer.

Snape's face stiffened as he stared at the approaching doe, his hand holding the wand trembling. "Lily...?"

West glanced at Snape with concern and took his trembling hand.

Then, the doe stopped the giant snake, which transformed into a little boy who looked exactly like West.

Memories unfolded like flowing water, and when it was all over, West and Snape were ejected from the Pensieve.

Snape was still in a daze and almost stumbled to the ground, but West caught him.

Lily was happy that he could help her son because she didn't know who had leaked the prophecy to the Dark Lord.

He brought disaster to Lily, yet Lily is still grateful to him for taking care of her child.

Snape was in excruciating pain, clutching his chest so tightly he could barely breathe.

He felt his face getting wet, raised his hand to wipe it, and realized that tears were already streaming down his face.

"Professor?" West called out anxiously from the side.

Snape realized West was still beside him. He shook off West's hand and strode out of the headmaster's office.

West stood there, watching his departing figure, the dark light in his eyes shifting unpredictably.

Why would you react so strongly to seeing a deceased friend? Why do you look so regretful and pained?

Severus Snape, what secret do you carry?