HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

"Darling, Mommy and Daddy will definitely save you..."

West felt the woman kissing his cheek.

Her obsidian eyes were brimming with tears, which were slowly streaming down her cheeks.

West tried to wipe away the woman's tears, but the excruciating pain inside his body prevented him from raising his hand.

Dema wiped away her tears, placed a badge in his hand, and then turned and left the manor with Orlando.

West spent several days in bed, cared for by his house-elves.

He was able to get out of bed only after the pain in his body gradually subsided.

In this vast and magnificent manor, it seemed that only he and a few house-elves remained; his parents had left the manor and their whereabouts were still unknown.

When bored, little West could only chat with the portraits of his ancestors.

They were very patient in comforting him, but their eyes were always filled with pity for him, which made little West very uncomfortable.

He lived alone on the manor for two years, waiting for the news of his parents' death when he was seven years old.

"Master Orlando and Master Dema have passed away...!" the house-elf Amy told him, her voice trembling.

Seven-year-old West didn't understand what death was, but his parents never came home again until he was twelve.

All that was left for him was an empty, deserted manor and a cold, lifeless badge.

At that moment, he understood that death is a long separation.

His ancestors were astonished that he had managed to struggle to live to the age of twelve.

"This is the first child in our family to live to the age of twelve while carrying a dark curse..."

"If he can reach adulthood safely... his future is limitless..."

West heard the portrait of his ancestors whispering in the night.

If he could, he wouldn't care about a bright future; he just wants his parents to come back and to grow up safely.

He was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep. The magic within his body was recklessly destroying his body, but a gentle magic would gradually heal his wounds.

West went to his parents' studio at night and, with a heavy heart, looked through his parents' notes.

This has been his only hobby in recent years.

Her father, Orlando, was a master alchemist, and her mother, Dema, was a potions master. They were both highly accomplished in their respective fields.

West absorbed knowledge with an insatiable thirst and, based on his mother's potion notes, invented the Water of Life and Death—

Low doses of the "Water of Life and Death" can put him into a hallucinatory state, allowing him to briefly escape physical pain and the loneliness of reality.

A high dose of the Water of Life and Death is enough to kill a person in a state of nihilistic fantasy.

He invented many things using his parents' notes and the knowledge of dark magic that came with the Dark Curse.

Only then could he feel the benefits of the Black Curse, but these benefits were far outweighed by the pain it brought.

West abandoned the painkiller his mother had invented and instead relied on the water of life and death to survive.

Occasionally, he would have Amy take the potions he was researching to the outside world to exchange for some rare dark magic items and notes, so some of the formulas always ended up circulating.

West is not allowed to go out, as his violent magic will harm others.

Even in the manor, he would make a mess of the surrounding buildings, and even the house-elves were hurt by him several times.

Perhaps because of his extremely high physical tolerance, he inexplicably lived to the age of sixteen.

The Dark Curse did not weaken as he grew older; perhaps because he was about to reach adulthood, the Dark Curse actually grew stronger along with him.

West then realized that they were a pathetic symbiotic relationship, sharing both prosperity and adversity.

Gradually, he discovered that he would lose consciousness for a period of time, and when his magic surged, he would even unconsciously target everyone around him.

On the worst occasion, he nearly killed Amy.

He heard Amy scream. When he opened his eyes, Amy was lying in a pool of blood, barely alive.

After suffering for more than ten years, West finally chose to commit suicide on that day.

He bandaged Amy's wounds and went to his parents' secret room.

The slanting moonlight from outside the window illuminated a bloodless face.

He carefully stroked the badge in his hand.

Above was a black snake, its dark eyes calmly fixed on its prey, revealing sharp fangs.

This is the coat of arms of the Somerset family.

Without hesitation, West swallowed a high dose of the Water of Life and Death, leaned back at his workbench, and his vision slowly blurred.

"My dear, live on..."

I'm sorry, Mother, he's going to break the contract.

As his consciousness faded, he seemed to return to his mother's warm embrace once more.

The woman gently pulled him into her arms, her hot tears falling onto his face.

"Save my child...save him..."

With those words, West was plunged into endless darkness.

On January 9, 1960, West Somerset, the sole heir to the Somerset family fortune, committed suicide.

Thus, this ancient, pure-blooded noble family came to its final end.

West never imagined he would be able to open his eyes again one day.

However, by this point he was no longer considered human.

He became a ghost invisible to everyone, and could only stay by the side of a little boy.

Why is this happening?

West stared at the black-haired boy in front of him, puzzled.

The boy had sallow skin and greasy hair, looking malnourished. He was wearing baggy clothes and squatting in a corner, watching enviously as two neatly dressed girls played not far away.

To be honest, even during the days when the Black Curse was at its most intense, when he was in so much pain that he completely lost consciousness and reason, he had never been as disheveled as the boy in front of him.

West had been following the boy for several days.

He had an alcoholic, incompetent father and a weak, husband-centric mother.

That's unbelievable. The woman was clearly a witch, yet she remained unmoved when the child was beaten and never even considered using magic to retaliate.

West was not cold-blooded; he even tried to stop the child from being hit.

Unfortunately, he was just a ghost. No one could see him, no one could touch him, and he couldn't touch anyone.

He followed behind the little boy, watching him grow up little by little, and become friends with the red-haired little girl. When they were eleven years old, they both received Hogwarts acceptance letters.

The boy was finally able to leave home and go to Hogwarts.

Looking at the boy's blushing, happy face, West couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and even felt a little longing, after all, he had never been to school.

Severus Snape. That's his name, right?

As expected, Severus was assigned to Slytherin.

West was secretly pleased, because several of his ancestors had also been students of Slytherin, and they often reminisced about their wonderful time at Hogwarts and praised the glory of Slytherin.

Unfortunately, Severus's campus life was not as wonderful as he had imagined.