HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

They walked through the back garden and came to a quiet forest behind Somerset Manor.

West, holding Snape's hand, took out an exquisitely crafted bone whistle from his pocket and blew it.

A crisp whistle blew, producing a beautiful and lively melody that startled the flock of birds in the woods.

After a while, a soft, melodious neighing sound rang out, more ethereal and pleasant than the neighing of a horse, carrying a wonderful magical fluctuation that made people unable to control their joy.

With a crisp hoofbeat, several pure white creatures emerged from the bushes in front of them.

The adult unicorn is pure white, and its mane gleams like mother-of-pearl in the moonlight.

Snape stared motionlessly at the beautiful creatures. He had once been fortunate enough to see a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, but the unicorn was very wary and immediately fled upon smelling human scent.

However, before him stood six adult unicorns, their bodies pure white and radiant; behind them followed two unicorn cubs, no more than two years old, their fur pure gold and dazzling.

The unicorn herd quietly surrounded them. Several adult unicorns looked particularly delighted, gently rubbing their wet noses against West's shoulder and cheek, hissing softly. Two cubs hid to the side, curiously observing the two creatures they had never seen before.

"My bad, I didn't come to see you sooner." West smiled and patted the heads of the unicorns.

Snape was somewhat surprised. "You can understand them?"

West chuckled. "How could that be? I'm not a unicorn, Severus. It's just that they were there when I grew up, so I can guess a little bit."

The unicorns looked at Snape, their blue eyes beneath long white eyelashes filled with curiosity.

"This is my future lover, Severus," West declared without hesitation, leaving Snape frozen in place.

"...Arrogant Somerset!" Snape gritted his teeth, feeling like his head was steaming.

This was so shameful. The unicorns were looking at him with knowing expressions, their innocent eyes blinking, which only intensified his guilt.

Merlin, heaven knows how a unicorn's furry face could have such a human-like expression!

"Severus, are you shy?" West even leaned over to ask, taking the opportunity to reach out and grab Snape's fingers. "But some of them are older than us."

Snape broke free and pinched West's waist, causing West to hiss involuntarily. Suddenly, the unicorns sternly squeezed between them, separating the two.

The lead unicorn bellowed twice at West, who said helplessly, "We weren't fighting, really."

He put his arm around Snape. "We're very close."

Snape was about to kick out when he met West's pleading eyes and held back. "...We didn't fight," he said awkwardly to the unicorns.

The unicorns let out two satisfied cries.

"We've come here to ask you for a few tears, One," West said.

"One?" Snape asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

West pointed to the foremost unicorn, "One." Then he pointed to the others, "Two, Three, Four, Five, Six."

Then, he gazed at the two newborn unicorns and, without hesitation, named them, "Seven, Eight."

Snape: "..." Wouldn't the unicorn really kill this guy with its horn?

Well, they obviously won't.

The unicorn at the front stepped forward, blinked, and its silver tears fell without spilling a single drop into the collection bottle in West's hand.

Soon, they collected all six bottles of unicorn tears.

West stroked each unicorn's fluffy head, then hung a small silver chain on their horns. "It's not safe lately, don't go outside."

Snape could tell that the magical energy emanating from the chain was almost identical to that of the lapel pin West had given him.

West put gold chains on the little unicorns, and one of them boldly snuggled into his arms.

West stroked the little unicorn's fluffy golden fur, unable to put it down, "Good baby..." his voice suddenly filled with a tenderness beyond his years.

The two stayed in the forest until midnight before leaving.

On the way, Snape couldn't help but ask, "You like cubs?"

"Isn't it cute?" West nodded and reached for Snape's hand, but Snape abruptly pulled his hand back.

"Severus?" West asked, turning his head to the side.

"...Then you shouldn't be with me," Snape said coldly, "if you like cubs."

Wester calmed down. Just as Snape was starting to feel nervous, he suddenly spoke, "Severus, you mean, we're already together?" The young man's eyes lit up.

Snape's lips twitched. He shouldn't have expected this troll to have a normal brain. "Is it possible that...the point isn't there? To avoid you misunderstanding, I take back what I said."

He strode forward, and West quickly followed. "Severus, I know what you mean, but actually, I don't crave the continuation of my bloodline, because I'm cursed by the Dark Arts, do you understand?"

West was somewhat incoherent, but he knew he had to make himself clear, "I only love you. I love you whether you're a man or a woman. I'm even afraid you'll be unhappy..."

Snape's face was indistinct in the darkness. "Why would I be unhappy?"

"If you're with me, you won't have any children, Severus," West said regretfully, but then clapped his hands. "But don't worry, I'm already researching it. We can use family magic to create a child with both of our bloodlines. But I'm still researching how to remove the Dark Curse, so you'll have to wait for me..."

"Stop." Snape's expression was complicated. What was going on? Without his knowledge, West had already planned out the matter of having children?

"All I know is that I have to be with you, Severus, and I'm willing to pay any price." West clasped Snape's hands in his own and placed a tender kiss on them.

"Don't even think about running away from me, honestly, I'll go crazy." West looked at Snape.

The pale moonlight shone on his face, illuminating the mad flames burning in his eerie green eyes.

"Severus, the chains are with you. Shall I put a collar on you?"

A blatant threat, Snape thought. Did he not love West, so West would become the third Dark Lord? Utterly absurd. Yet, he felt no aversion.

Snape simply looked at West calmly—in reality, his heart was pounding uncontrollably; he couldn't deceive his own heart.

The thrill of controlling a wild beast was addictive, and in his nearly thirty years of bleak life, it was an incredibly vivid splash of color.

Snape turned around, letting the young man behind him chuckle triumphantly.

In any case, West would take all of this as tacit acceptance, just as he had tacitly accepted the countless days he went into the cellar.

(▔ An untimely little skit ▔)ㄏ

Harry didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m., but at 8 a.m. Ron, who had teleported from the Floo Network to Potter's old house, yanked him out of bed.

Ron: Hey buddy, I missed you. Let's play some video games.

Harry: (Painfully) You just want the game console, don't you?

Ron: Bro, how dare you question my feelings for you? And hey bro, where's your game console?

Harry: ...