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

(Ugh, so annoying! I checked the original books and found the timeline is wrong. Christmas is before Snape started Quidditch. Please don't worry about the timeline, I just made a lot of mistakes in the original books. (ಥ_ಥ))

As winter deepens and Christmas approaches, most of the students at Hogwarts are in a state of high spirits, discussing the Christmas holidays and gifts every day.

Draco had originally wanted to spend time with Harry, but the Malfoy family wasn't a suitable place for Harry to go, and Lucius and his wife wouldn't allow the little dragon to stay away from home. Harry didn't seem to mind; compared to his aunt's house, Hogwarts was the best choice, and it felt more like home than anywhere else he had ever been.

Ron stayed at Hogwarts because his parents were away, while Hermione went home. As for Lin Mo, his older brother was out fighting with Tang Chen, who had become his good friend, expanding their territory, so Lin Mo didn't go home either.

Of course, Snape didn't go home either.

Most students had gone home, but Harry and his friends were still searching for news of Nicolas Flamel. They hadn't yet asked Lin Mo about the Philosopher's Stone. Hermione was saying goodbye to her two useless men, while Draco looked at Harry with a tender... cough cough.

So, three single guys were left... Three boys spending Christmas at Hogwarts. (They look like single trolls |ω・）) Lin Mo was worried about what gifts to give to others, after all, the memory etched into his bones always took a lot of time to figure out what gifts to give for the holidays.

At this time, with Lin Mo's support, the Twins' Joke Shop had opened and was very popular. Since the three shareholders of the Joke Shop were all in school, Lin Mo provided his own subordinates free of charge to help with the operation, sending letters to Hogwarts every month to report on their work.

Finally, Lin Mo decided to give Harry a jar of candy. This wasn't ordinary candy; it was Li Bai… well, not bad. He had it specially sent from the joke shop, containing three of each of a type of prank candy he thought Harry might like, filling the jar to the brim; there was also a small bottle of brain-boosting potion. Yes, giving Harry this potion was definitely not out of disdain, absolutely not.

He gave Hermione a book of spells and a beauty potion; after all, it's always good to give girls gifts that enhance their appearance. (Actually, maybe not |ω・）)

Ron was given a very fine wizard's chess set and a bottle of fireproof potion, which provided him with a layer of protection for his upcoming heroic deeds.

I gave Draco, that arrogant little guy, a bottle of quick-smoothing hair serum and a snake-shaped badge with gold trim around it.

He sent Fred and George a few bottles of spittle drink, hair growth potion, and hiccup potion to boost their inventory and to provide technological support for their independent research and development.

He also gave Dumbledore a large red hat with silver trim, and a bunch of various desserts. He gave Professor McGonagall some Quidditch posters and related magazines. As for Professor Flitwick, he gave Lin Mo his notes on creating spells and some small magical items.

The most, most, most important Snape... Don't ask, the answer is Lin Mo is still folding origami cranes.

After everything was prepared, Lin Mo had Bai Ze busy all night sending out all the gifts. By the way, this little guy Bai Ze almost got Avada Kedavra when he delivered a letter to someone's old flame last time, but one of the gifts Changfeng gave Bai Ze was immunity to all attacks.

Bai Ze: I want to focus on being Xiao Mo's messenger, and I want to quietly amaze everyone!

Therefore, Bai Ze, being an extremely high-quality gyrfalcon, served as an owl delivering food all night. However, upon returning, it didn't ask for food; instead, it kept asking Lin Mo for a hug. Lin Mo had an inexplicable affinity for animals.

As for his older brother... Lin Boyan said: How can I let my younger brother put in the effort to give me a gift?

—On Christmas Day—

The entire Hogwarts felt unusually empty with most of the students and teachers gone, and everyone was engrossed in unwrapping their presents. Lin Mo received a custom-made wool sweater from the Weasley family, some proud yet awkward decorations from the Malfoy family, some trinkets Harry had bought himself, and some Muggle items from Hermione.

The professors also sent gifts in return. Dumbledore sent a bottle of lemon tea paste that was unusually not very sweet (perhaps that's why Dumbledore sent it). Professor McGonagall sent an emotional thank-you letter and some advice on Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick sent a book on spell analysis, containing his own thoughts, experiments, and annotations.

Snape sent over a small box of various potions, all of them quite precious. In the center was a bottle of Felix Felicis, with "SS" engraved on the bottom. Lin Mo could also make Felix Felicis, but it was too time-consuming.

The other children also received gifts, but most surprisingly, Draco prepared a gift for Ron just like he would for any other friend. This prompted Ron, who had been hesitant about giving a gift, to immediately do so.

--cellar--

Snape manipulated his magic, sorting the gifts piled up on the floor. All the gifts were eventually divided into three piles. The largest pile consisted entirely of gifts from various families or individuals who wanted to curry favor with him or plot against him; these were relegated to a warehouse to gather dust every year.

The second, larger batch of gifts came from colleagues or close family members, including friends from the Malfoy family.

The last pile contained only one item, Lin Mo's gift. Ever since Lin Mo first gave Snape a gift, the Potions Master, who always divided gifts into two, had unhesitatingly made Lin Mo's gift a separate pair.

After looking at the second set of gifts that followed the same pattern, Snape placed the gift Lin Mo had given him in the center of the table and carefully opened the gift box.

What comes into view is a greeting card, a paper crane, and some precious medicinal herbs.

Snape: I have this strange feeling of being kept.

The moment Snape saw the origami cranes, he froze, his eyes vacant. It took him a long time to calm himself down, and he tried to tell himself not to let the past become the present.

This wasn't the first time Lin Mo had sent a thousand paper cranes; it was a gift he sent every year. But no matter how many times he sent them, Snape would still panic for a moment and activate Occlumency.

After calming down, Snape started getting angry again. He thought to himself: "That damned little troll! It was one thing to give him origami cranes before, but now, as a Slytherin, he doesn't even know that Slytherins can't just give away origami cranes? How is he supposed to know what that means? He dares to give them away like that! I'll give him a good scolding when I see him!"

Having finally managed to tear his gaze away from the origami cranes, Snape opened the greeting card. Lin Mo's handwriting had long lost its youthful innocence; in fact, Snape had never seen even a trace of a child's handwriting in Lin Mo's.

His brushstrokes weren't deliberately displayed, yet each character carried a weighty weight, rounded on the inside and square on the outside, combining strength and gentleness, as if imbued with a consistent character honed over many years. This was the best handwriting Snape had ever seen among all the Hogwarts students.

But in the end, he was still disappointed. As in previous years, Snape hurriedly glanced at the words on the greeting card, picked it up, and strode to his desk. He opened the bottom shelf of the cabinet on his left, inside which was a small box enchanted with countless layers of protective spells.

He opened the box, which was mostly filled with yellowed papers, along with an origami crane and some previous gifts. Snape's fingers trembled slightly as he took out a piece of paper and compared it word by word with the greeting card in his hand. Faced with the completely different handwriting, Snape seemed unwilling to believe it, comparing the words from the first to the last.

In the instant after holding his breath and staring intently, he slumped into his chair, as if all his strength had been drained. He was wrong; he should have known that the two people's handwriting was different, but he still refused to admit it. He should have known that the two were not the same person, but facing that all-too-familiar face, memories still flooded back like a burst dam.

Repeated disappointments are like watching something you cherish burn away bit by bit, or like gradually losing your faith.

But this wouldn't be Snape, nor could it be him. He was willing, and believed, to be invincible, and that seemed to have never changed.

With a blank stare, pale fingers placed the greeting card, along with the origami crane, into another black box with silver trim. The original wooden box was put back in its place, and in the new box, the color of the paper seemed less ancient.

Inside, besides the paper and gifts, there were several origami cranes lying quietly, like ancient mythical beasts in a deep slumber, but more like memories, sealed away in these two boxes along with the origami cranes.

Snape kept Lin Mo's things as keepsakes, but why would he keep Lin Mo's things? Snape didn't know, but whenever they appeared in his sight, Snape believed that in this treacherous magical world, there were still people and things worth looking forward to.

More like, each time Snape mistakenly believed the two were the same person, a dagger sharply reminded him of reason, shattering his last illusions.

Snape wasn't an impulsive person, at least that's what anyone who knew him even slightly thought. But whenever he was faced with anything related to Lin Mo, his heart would always become impulsive, as if it were a predestined fate. And everything about Lin Mo, of course, included that child who was almost identical to him.

Snape squeezed his eyes shut, suppressing his inappropriate emotions, and tidied everything up, putting it back in its place. He pulled his black robes together, as if disappearing into darkness once more, shutting out the only path for sunlight.

He strode over to the gifts Lin Mo had brought and carefully examined the medicinal herbs. Well, this potions master had actually chosen to look at the herbs last. Each herb was expensive, and quite unusual; some were even difficult for the Malfoy family to find.

Snape didn't refuse the gifts; he genuinely needed them. However, after much deliberation, he decided to take a Gringotts key with him.

——Temporary Command Post on the Front Line——

"Tang Chen, according to local custom, I should give Xiao Mo a Christmas present, but what should I give him?" Lin Boyan said with a headache. The two brothers always gave each other whatever they had, without caring about the date.

"How would I know?" Tang Chen leaned closer to the sand table and took a look. "But I remember there might be a battle at Hogwarts after Christmas. Aren't you worried about Xiao Mo?"

Lin Boyan ignored Tang Chen's observations and notes on the sand table, shook his head and said, "Xiao Mo said not to worry me... Let's not talk about this anymore. Do you know Xiao Mo's birthday?" Although he knew in his heart that his younger brother couldn't possibly know his birthday, he still asked with a hint of hope.

Upon hearing this, Tang Chen looked up at Lin Boyan: "Aren't you Xiao Mo's brother? You know he's an orphan, how could he possibly know his birthday?" His words subtly conveyed an attitude of defending Lin Mo.

Seeing Lin Boyan's gloomy gaze, Tang Chen sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a wry smile, "Besides, who in our line of work is in the mood to celebrate a birthday?"

He paused, as if remembering something, and continued, "I just remembered, if there has to be a different date, I think it should be January 9th."

"January 9th..." Lin Boyan muttered to himself, then chuckled dryly, "Well, although I hate to admit it, Xiao Mo and Snape... they're the same kind of people."

Tang Chen finally understood. He hadn't considered Snape before, but after Lin Boyan's explanation, he finally understood. For Lin Mo, the only light in his childhood and youth was Snape, who so closely resembled his own experiences. And so he too became a spy… at least in a secluded corner, peace and prosperity would prove their achievements, and the flames of war would etch their names into the annals of war.

The sound of gunpowder clashing came again from afar. The two men focused their attention and began to prepare to close the net.

—Hogwarts—

In the snow, a group of children were having a snowball fight. Lin Mo didn't participate, but quietly captured every moment when Harry and Ron lost control of their expressions.

In the noisy environment, a snowball flew almost silently, approaching Lin Mo in an instant. However, just as the Weasley twins thought they had succeeded in dragging the somewhat too-clean Lin Mo into the water...

Lin Mo nimbly dodged the snowball, while the Weasley twins sighed in exasperation. However, they were soon hit by two precisely targeted snowballs.

"Oh my~ our little god of wealth~" The two approached Lin Mo with howling voices, and with playful smiles, they put their arms around Lin Mo's shoulders on either side, just like a bunch of friends with their arms around each other (｢･ω･)｢hey.

Lin Mo, the culprit, carefully brushed the snow off the two of them, which drew gasps from them. Well, perhaps Lin Mo just didn't want the snow to fall on him.

As the three chatted, they suddenly sensed that something was off. The Weasley twins were still belatedly talking, but the surroundings had already fallen silent.

"It seems Mr. Lin is getting along well with those two Gryffindor trolls." Snape's deep voice sounded like the whisper of a devil to the surrounding students.

"Sir, do you need something from me?" Lin Mo stepped forward, shielding the Weasley twins, who were fearless but whose legs were already trembling, behind him.

Snape looked into Lin Mo's eyes, which were as calm and serene as the sky, and said, "Come with me." He then turned and left. Lin Mo caught up with Snape, and before leaving, he said to the children in the snow, "Keep playing, everyone."

Subsequently, the area descended into chaos.

Harry, Ron, and the twins huddled together, whispering, "I felt like Snape glared at me."

"Me too." +10086

The conclusion was that, apart from Harry and Ron being genuinely targeted, all the students within a few meters of Lin Mo were glared at, especially the Weasley twins who were chatting with Lin Mo.

Author's ramblings: Next Friday is the monthly exam again. To be honest, this week's Black Thursday was no different from an exam. Apart from one self-study period, we had exams in seven out of nine periods. That was because one of the periods was physical education, and the math exam was already finished in the morning, and we were going over homework in the afternoon.

(ಥ_ಥ) I'm in a crazy state right now. I suddenly realized that there are less than 100 days left until the high school entrance exam, and the high schools are all holding their 100-day countdown rallies.