HP: At the beginning, I influenced Snape's childhood.

The sun rises over the sea as night fades, and spring arrives on the river as the old year begins.

A——L——W——A——Y——S

On January 9th, Lin Mo changed into a white shirt and a crisp white jacket. The cuffs and buttons of the white jacket were outlined with black lines, making it exceptionally simple and elegant. Two gold chains crisscrossed on the left chest, with a sky-blue ornament wrapped around the middle of the thin chains, adding a touch of vibrant energy to the entire outfit.

Lucius had noticed his friend's increasingly absent-minded behavior since then, and wanted to help, but dared not and could not convey his idea of ​​arranging a meeting between the two to Lin Boyan. Now that Lin Boyan was taking the initiative to want to see Snape, Lucius naturally gave his full support.

Therefore, the two agreed to meet today at the Loya Hotel in Muggle territory, which is Lin Mo's property and a leading business in the recently emerging catering industry.

From afar, Lin Mo spotted Snape dressed in black at the restaurant entrance. Although he wasn't wearing a black robe, his intimidating presence was no less.

As if telepathically connected, the people in the distance instantly locked their gazes on the person twenty meters away through the crowd. Lin Mo met his gaze and waved to Snape with a smile.

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Snape felt a strange sensation. Pain, bitterness, and a touch of sweetness mingled together, making it difficult for him to discern his true feelings.

He subconsciously curled the corners of his mouth slightly upward, but when he realized it, he was stunned. Lin Mo ignored Snape's various little actions and walked over from a distance.

"Hello, Mr. Snape." Lin Mo approached him, his face beaming with a warm smile that pierced through the ice of January and brought warmth to the world.

Perhaps the reflected light was too bright, for Snape squinted, momentarily disoriented. It seemed as if a white light enveloped Lin Mo, making him appear so innocent and pure. The figure from his memory overlapped with the person before him, causing Snape to freeze in shock for a moment.

But the blue-gray eyes of the person in front of him brought him back to his senses. Looking at the almost identical appearance, Snape gave a slight, self-deprecating smile.

Mo has left and will not be coming back.

For some reason, even though they had only met twice, Snape always felt that Lin Mo was very reassuring, and he felt a little regretful.

If Lin Mo had magic, Snape would have insisted on sending him to Slytherin to be properly taught and nurtured. He was especially furious at the thought of those troublesome, brain-dead mad lions at Hogwarts.

Lin Mo sized up Snape, whose height of over 1.8 meters meant Lin Mo had to crane his neck to see him. Although Snape was dressed in black, there was a dark blue falcon emblem on his left breast. Lin Mo knew that it was one of the clothes he had once given to Snape.

The two were dressed in contrasting colors, one in black and one in white, both with decorations on their left chests, making them look like they were wearing matching outfits... oops, I mean, couple outfits. (๑＞؂＜๑)

Seeing the other person's clothes, Lin Mo's good mood improved even more, and his smile became even brighter. He said, "Sir, please come in."

Snape nodded. "Okay." His deep voice was like the aroma of a rich cup of tea, making one want to close their eyes and savor it.

The two walked side by side... Lin Mo wasn't tall enough, so they went in side by side and found a quiet spot by the window to sit down.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled patterns on their faces. Perhaps it was due to Lin Mo's upbringing, or perhaps it was simply their youth, but Snape's face wasn't as sallow as described in the books. While somewhat pale, his cheeks still had a healthy rosy glow.

The waiter handed two menus to Lin Mo and Snape, and the two ordered their own food. However, Lin Mo also specially ordered a bottle of the most expensive red wine in the restaurant.

Excused that he needed to use the restroom, Lin Mo went to the hotel manager's office, identified himself, and then simply paid for the meal for free. Hilarious! Did they expect him to charge the boss when the big boss showed up? Unless the manager was stupid and didn't want to be fired the next day for stepping into the office first, he should have done it.

Back in his seat, he saw Snape go to the front desk to pay early, only to be told that he had already paid and return with a strange look on his face.

"Have you paid the bill?" Snape asked.

"Yes, I occasionally offer suggestions on my brother's work, and he shares his commission with me. I have some money of my own." Lin Mo nodded, then continued, "Mr. Malfoy told me it's your 28th birthday today, so as the birthday person, you certainly can't pay today."

In fact, Lin Mo was just using Lucius as an excuse; Lucius certainly wouldn't casually share his good brother's information with just anyone. Snape had no idea what extra contact the two had had over the past year, and simply assumed he had been betrayed by Lucius, thinking he would go back and "have a good talk" with that big mouth.

Lucius: Severus, listen to me, it wasn't me, I didn't, I wouldn't dare (ಥ_ಥ). Why do you two get together, while I always suffer this undeserved misfortune?

After hearing Lin Mo's explanation, Snape said nothing more. After all, it was a child's good intention, and Professor Snape, who was usually ruthless, couldn't refuse for some reason.

"But... isn't your brother only eleven years old? Which company would hire a child laborer?" Snape was puzzled. He knew from the information Lucius had gathered about Lin Mo that both brothers were orphans, and Lin Boyan was three years older than Lin Mo. Logically, no company would hire such a young child.

Lin Mo glanced at Snape and explained, "The company boss has some connections with my father. My brother may be young, but he's very capable, so they had him do some bidding work."

On the surface, Lin Boyan works for a medium-sized company, but its market performance has always been excellent because it's a smaller subsidiary of Lin Mo. This is done to keep Lin Boyan's identity less conspicuous and to explain the source of their income.

Snape nodded, then suddenly added, "I...didn't mean to investigate you."

Although Snape's environment involved the most basic task of investigating strangers, he was still somewhat at a loss when it came to using these methods to understand an eight-year-old child.

"It's alright. You always need to get to know someone you don't know well, just like I got to know you through Mr. Malfoy," Lin Mo said with a smile.

As the two talked, the dishes were gradually served, and a glass of red wine was placed between them. Lin Mo uncorked the wine, took the glass next to Snape, and poured it in.

Lin Mo put the glass of red wine back in its place and poured some for himself. Snape was momentarily stunned by his actions, only snapping out of his daze when Lin Mo raised his glass towards him.

"You're a child, children shouldn't drink alcohol, give me the glass." Snape's large hand didn't reach for his own glass to clink with Lin Mo's, but instead tried to take the glass from Lin Mo's hand.

"Okay." Lin Mo shrugged and ordered another glass of juice. "Happy birthday, Mr. Snape."

A crisp clinking sound rang out as Lin Mo deliberately held his glass lower than Snape's. Unbeknownst to anyone, at that very moment, in a room of Snape Manor, a bewitching blue light suddenly emanated from Lin Mo's glass, illuminating the entire room.