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

Under the starry night, Hogwarts Castle fell silent once more. Curfew had already been imposed, but Lin Mo was still at the Ravenclaw Observatory and had not returned.

The torches in the distance cast flickering light, tinged with the colors of dusk. In the darkness, Lin Mo's expression was obscured; the weather had turned cool, and a chill crept into people's robes with the wind.

Looking up at the distant moon, Lin Mo cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and turned to leave. There were professors on night patrol after curfew; it was supposed to be Snape's turn today, but Lin Mo didn't want to see Snape limping around on patrol tonight.

He was waiting, waiting for Snape not to be the night watchman tonight, waiting for Snape to take good care of his leg. If Filch was the night watchman tonight, Lin Mo was confident he wouldn't be discovered, but the most crucial issue was avoiding Mrs. Lorris.

However, this is not difficult. Animals will always stay away from dangerous auras. As long as Lin Mo reveals even a little bit of his own bloodthirsty aura, Mrs. Loris will not choose to provoke him.

All of this is based on the assumption that Filch will be on night patrol tonight, but what if it's Snape again? Lin Mo can evade Snape if he wants to.

Lin Mo found the House of Requirement. Seeing that Filch, who hadn't noticed him at all, wasn't around, he felt a little relieved and went inside.

After thinking it over, he found only a chair in the empty room. He sat down, resting his arm against the back of the chair to avoid touching his wound, gently rubbed his temples, and closed his eyes to rest.

--chaos--

One person dressed in white sat in the center, while two others in black robes sat to his left and right. On the screen in front of them, the final scene was a blazing inferno. A bullet casing landed on the dusty ground, blood and gunpowder mixed together, charring half of the intricately carved, lifelike falcon on the casing.

As far as the eye could see, there was only smoke, and in the distance, gunpowder exploded. The loess buried the last traces.

The light screen vanished, and the white-robed man seated at the head of the table slowly tapped the openwork of the table with his knuckles. A deep, ethereal sound emanated from the seemingly appearing hall amidst the chaos, like the war drums of an ancient abyss accompanied by the melodious strains of flowing water from a mountain stream atop three thousand waterfalls.

"Senior brother..." a man in black robes spoke from below, his cold and deep voice carrying a hint of anxiety.

"Don't worry, Xiao Yan," the man in white stopped knocking, his expression resolute and indifferent like a god who had transcended time, "I've already done my part. If you're still worried, go with Tos to take a look."

Upon hearing this, the two people below stood up, bowed slightly to the man, and turned to leave.

"Lin Mo... I'm still willing to help with something like this..." The voice dissipated in the thick fog.

A——L——W——A——Y——S

Since Halloween, Lin Mo's reputation has spread throughout Hogwarts. He was the top student in two classes, slaying trolls, and enjoying unparalleled fame. With the support of the Golden Boy and the Malfoy family heir, most of the students at Hogwarts had talked about him, except for those preparing for exams.

The Quidditch match is also starting today, and Harry, as the youngest Seeker, is attracting a lot of attention. Draco didn't say anything, and was even a little worried that Harry would be nervous. In the days leading up to the match, he secretly comforted Harry a few times.

Although Lin Mo's Quidditch skills were no less than Harry's, he didn't have the time or inclination for it at the moment, and he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this tedious activity. However, Lin Mo still offered great encouragement to his good brother Harry, who was feeling nervous. |ω・）

On the day of the match, Harry was persuaded by everyone to eat something and went to the Quidditch pitch early to prepare. Draco, on the other hand, wanted to find a good spot to watch the game closely, and he certainly could, but it would be a bit complicated if he, the little snake, were accompanied by two little lions. (Before, it was definitely to watch the game, but now… who knows who it's for. As for why he brought Ron and Hermione along, perhaps he wanted to get their "parents'" approval beforehand.)

Seeing that Draco seemed distracted while eating, Lin Mo reached out and ruffled his hair. By the time Draco came to his senses, Lin Mo had already ended his "evil act" of bullying the child.

"I want to..." Under Lin Mo's gaze, Draco swallowed his catchphrase. Through countless trials, he was certain that this trick was useless.

Draco slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon. Snape, sitting on the professor's bench, happened to witness this lapse in aristocratic etiquette, and his already furrowed brow deepened.

Seeing this, Lin Mo quickly patted Draco and adjusted his posture. Seeing that Draco wasn't in the mood to heed his reminder and still looked slightly dejected, Lin Mo had no choice but to say, "Alright, anyone who didn't know better would think I was bullying you. I've made arrangements for Ravenclaw. There are plenty of good spots in the freshman area, but I'm not really interested. You can take Ron and Hermione there."

Little Dragon's eyes lit up immediately. He hastily shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice and slipped off to the Gryffindor dining area. Watching that small figure disappear, Lin Mo momentarily doubted Lucius's bloodline. Snape... was even angrier.

It has to be said that the dual presidency of the first year is really useful. Although the Ravenclaw Hawks like intelligent people, they also care a lot about their first-year presiding officer, especially because of Lin Mo's looks... he is indeed a heartthrob.

Finally, everyone gathered on the field, which was almost full. Lin Mo entered late and soon saw Harry moving around on the field, Draco looking smitten on the sidelines, and Ron and Hermione holding up a homemade red banner. (Draco: Hmph, I wouldn't do something so tasteless.)

Turning his head to look at the higher area, the professors' seats seemed much more spacious than other places, especially around Snape, which was practically a vacuum. Therefore, Lin Mo was particularly grateful to Professor Flitwick, who was sitting near Snape, for giving him the opportunity to sit around Snape naturally.

He wasn't particularly interested in working at heights; he only came to watch the Quidditch match because Harry was playing and undertaking the important task of saving the Black Robes of the Snape Church. Taking advantage of the discussion about spells, Lin Mo successfully sat down next to Flitwick, closer to Snape, and chatted about some spells used by older students.

Professor Flitwick seemed very happy, but he was a little worried that Lin Mo might feel oppressed by the low-pressure atmosphere while sitting near Snape, and his eyes showed a bit of concern.

Snape saw Lin Mo, glanced at him, then frowned and looked towards the court. From Halloween night until now, Snape had barely spoken to Lin Mo. Whether he was angry or afraid of something, it was unclear. But surely this Potions Master wouldn't be afraid of anything?

Soon, with the sound of the whistle, the match began. The situation on the field changed rapidly, and Harry's broom began to sway. Hermione carefully observed Snape's lip movements, wanting to speak but afraid of upsetting Draco, so she made an excuse and left.

Lin Mo keenly observed Hermione's actions. In reality, his attention was entirely focused on Harry and Hermione; he hadn't paid any attention to the match at all. Regarding Hermione's thoughtful but limited actions, Lin Mo could only prioritize securing Snape's robes. After all, no one could say for sure whether the Potions Master only had one robe.

Adhering to the principle of fighting for the robes of the Church, Lin Mo found Hermione and, incidentally, gave her blazing flames to Professor Lowe, whose headband was still aching and itchy.

Now, apart from the professors' bench, the entire stadium returned to its original state, and Harry lived up to expectations by catching the Golden Snitch.

Lin Mo led Hermione to Draco and Ron, and the four of them waited for Harry to come out. In the distance behind them, Snape's deep gaze watched Lin Mo leave. Lin Mo sensed it but did not turn around.

"I suspect... it's Professor Snape." Although Hermione always respected her teachers, she still voiced her thoughts; she couldn't bear to see Harry in danger.

Harry and Ron both understood Hermione's thoughts, as did Lin Mo, but Draco was unaware of what they were talking about.

"No, Harry, what are you hiding from me?" Draco was a little unhappy. Although he and Harry were not in the same house, he never thought there would be any estrangement between them.

"Draco, let me explain," Harry said quickly. After hearing Hermione's guess, Harry still looked at Draco with some concern and recounted their nighttime outing and a series of discoveries.

"So you suspect it's the Godfather...!" Draco exclaimed in disbelief and barely concealed anger. As Snape's godson, Draco knew Snape better than any other student at Hogwarts except for Lin Mo, so how could he let others suspect Snape?

"I know, it wasn't him." Lin Mo's tone was calm. He had almost forgotten the children's habit of going out at night. Dumbledore's chess game started as usual.

Harry's attitude at this moment was somewhat intriguing. He did have some suspicions about Snape, but under the influence of Lin Mo and Draco, he preferred to believe that these were all misunderstandings, even though Snape was clearly targeting him.

"I bet Voldemort won't be slow. He'll definitely make his move this semester. Don't forget to take me with you. By the way, feel free to ask me if you have any clues or anything you don't understand." Lin Mo patted Harry on the shoulder.

Compared to the life-or-death battles to come, this is really just a minor skirmish. Those who take responsibility will inevitably face some dangers, a point on which Lin Mo and Dumbledore are alike. Snape, however, doesn't want Harry to put himself in danger, which Lin Mo can only say is a case of being too concerned to think clearly.

Dumbledore was indeed further ahead than Snape in this respect, but this centenarian seemed to have forgotten Harry's age, or perhaps... he dared not gamble, dared not gamble that he could still hold the sky up when the storm came.

Lin Mo understood these harsh truths, but that didn't mean he could put these children in danger. "Severus... let me help you with what you can't do yourself," Lin Mo thought to himself, then whispered in Harry's ear before leaving, "Be careful of Quirrell."

Seeing Lin Mo leave, Draco also expressed his opinion, but he, like Lin Mo, firmly opposed Hermione's conjecture. However, whether it was to prove the innocence of someone important, for the safety of their friends, or for the truth, the five of them joined forces to prepare for the beginning of darkness.

In a secluded spot, the Potions Master in black robes looked at the precocious giants, a fleeting emptiness in his eyes. After all five had left, Snape also returned to the cellar.

He just didn't see... no, nobody saw it, a pair of blue eyes watching Snape leave. Severus, you think you're watching us, but... I am too.

——Small Theater——

Quirrell: This is so annoying! I'd rather not be a Death Eater, these giants are killing me every day!

Snape: Mimic me? Avada Kedavra...

Voldemort: Devouring a giant melon!

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Author's note: Part of this chapter actually explains the origin of Xiao Mo's time travel. The man in white didn't know Xiao Mo at first, which will be explained later.

Bye-bye, gotta catch up on homework! ~~(￣▽￣～)~