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

Lin Mo tidied up the table and rolled up his sleeves to cover the scars.

Upon hearing Lin Mo's voice, the child obediently placed the book face down on the table, stood up, and walked towards the dining table. He wanted to say something, but then remembered Lin Mo's words and swallowed his "thank you" back down.

"Please sit down, little friend." Lin Mo dramatically extended one hand in a "please" gesture, while placing the cutlery, plate, and fork near Little Siever.

After setting out the tableware for the little boy opposite him, Lin Mo picked up his own. Watching the little boy, who was shorter than average due to malnutrition, struggle to "jump" onto the stool, Lin Mo almost couldn't help but laugh.

Please, who can resist laughing when they think of that serious, unsmiling, venomous black bat as a child who, despite his stern face, would do something as unflattering as jumping onto a stool?

The little boy, who had struggled to jump onto the stool, looked helpless. He forcefully pulled out the clothes that had been pressed under his bottom due to inertia, but his lips twitched when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Lin Mo's smirk.

Is this really the mature, reliable, gentle, and calm person Lin Mo gave off the impression of upon first meeting? It's only been less than a day, how could he have changed so much? Little Snape glanced at Lin Mo out of the corner of his eye, whose lips were twitching uncontrollably as he smiled, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Ah cough... cough." Lin Mo, whose perception was beyond that of ordinary people, seemed to be slow to react and barely realized his blunder, while also trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Isn't this chair a bit too high?" Lin Mo was trying his best to salvage his image as a cool and aloof male god. "Should I adjust the height?"

"No need to trouble yourself..." Snape obediently shook his head, swallowing a "thank you" as he did so.

Looking at the adorable child in front of him, Lin Mo almost couldn't control his "husky paws".

Lin Mo nodded, said nothing more, and pulled out the chair opposite the child to sit down. However, Snape had not yet come into contact with his own magic, so he was unaware that a stream of magic was flowing from Lin Mo's fingertips.

Everything Snape used, such as his study and bed, became a little shorter. It's even unclear whether the magic itself was sentient, but a small amount of magic entered Lin Mo's bedroom and also lowered Lin Mo's bed.

The two exchanged a glance, and Lin Mo was the first to pick up his knife and fork and begin eating. Snape, seeing this, also started eating.

Based on Lin Mo's guess about Snape's thoughts, he knew that if he didn't move, the child in front of him would definitely be very reserved, so Lin Mo made the first move.

Due to some peculiar habits, Lin Mo finished eating quickly. It was a rare moment of relaxation for him, and for the first time in years, he lazily propped his head up with his hand. He looked somewhat dazedly at Snape, who was earnestly and wholeheartedly eating his meal.

The little boy ate very attentively because he hadn't had a proper meal since his parents' relationship broke down, let alone such a delicious one.

Under the soft, rather than bright, lighting, everything seemed exceptionally warm and inviting. However, at that moment, a mood killer appeared.

"Xiao Mo~ You've forgotten your old love now that you have a new one~ Hehe~" Changfeng's strange voice appeared in Lin Mo's mind.

"First of all, you are not my old love, and secondly, Severus is not my new love..." Lin Mo closed his eyes in exasperation. He really didn't understand who taught Chang Feng to use such words. What was all this about?

"I don't care!" Changfeng drawled, "Then you're prioritizing romance over friendship."

"I don't."

"You have it."

"I don't."

"You have it, you have it!"

...Lin Mo really didn't know what was wrong with Chang Feng. He assured him that he had absolutely no improper thoughts about Severus, and he had absolutely no idea what made Chang Feng think that he valued women over friends.

"Okay, I have... no, I don't. I shouldn't have, right?... Never mind, just tell me why I have." Lin Mo felt that the warm atmosphere of the candlelight dinner while watching the child had vanished instantly.

"Emm...you won't cook for me, you'll cook for him."

"Didn't I say I'd make it for you in a bit?" Lin Mo said, speechless.

"Then...then why do you find him so gentle, Xiao Mo? Where's your usual seriousness?"

"Uh... what does this have to do with anything?" Lin Mo really didn't understand this guy's thought process.

"Okay, bye-bye, going to sleep, see you later." Changfeng remained silent.

Lin Mo was completely bewildered, but he couldn't see the smug and arrogant smile on Chang Feng's face as he left.

Looking at all this, Changfeng felt a pang of emotion. He hadn't truly experienced everything Lin Mo went through, so he couldn't deeply understand Lin Mo's feelings for Snape.

But he was happy to see Lin Mo happy. Their mission was to let the heroes have their own happy lives. Only when facing Snape would Lin Mo let down his guard and face life with an attitude that was truly appropriate for his age, and love life.

It seems... it was still useful.

Changfeng felt the little energy left in his body. He did not regret using the energy to lower the guard and concerns of the two people, otherwise it would have been too tiring.

A——L——W——A——Y——S

As night fell, young Severus sat on his bed, gazing at the stars visible through the undrawn curtains. He felt the same disbelief as Harry had on his first day at school.

He couldn't believe it was real; he feared it might just be a dream. All of this kept him awake at night for a long time.

Dressed in black, she seemed to blend into the darkness, as quiet and indifferent as an adult. The tranquil moonlight shone only through the window onto the bedside. The child reached out to reach it, but withdrew his hand halfway.

As a child, he couldn't perfectly hide his emotions. He wasn't a master of Occlumency yet. The darkness made him feel safe, and he could express his emotions without reservation.

But today, his mind was blank; he couldn't tell if he was more panicked or excited. It's impossible for a child to follow a stranger without feeling fear.

However, at the moment he was about to make the decision, it seemed as if something in the dark was guiding him. He didn't believe in fate, but this time, it was a heartfelt acceptance, so he made this choice.

A force was telling him: Follow this person and leave this place.

In another room, Lin Mo lay on the bed, murmuring to himself, "Changfeng, am I really doing the right thing?" The voice in his mind seemed distant, as if it were also asking him.

early morning.

Severus's personal chef was at work again. Lin Mo carefully folded up his sleeves little by little until he was almost at his elbows.

The white shirt accentuated Lin Mo's gentle yet aloof demeanor. When she rolled up her sleeves, her strong, well-defined fingers moved with practiced ease, as if she were creating a work of art.

Having finished his preparations, Lin Mo began washing the vegetables. Just as he took out the cutting board to chop them, a noise came from upstairs. The sound grew closer and closer.

Lin Mo heard the voice, and his years of alertness made him want to turn around, but he knew very well who it was and didn't want his professional instincts to frighten the child.

"Come in if you want." Lin Mo didn't turn around and continued chopping vegetables. The child in black behind him walked in slowly upon hearing this.

Sensing that the person behind him seemed to want to see what he was doing, Lin Mo's magic surged again, and a relatively tall chair appeared about half a meter away from him, with two steps next to it, after all, to take into account the height of the child.

The child approached hesitantly, sat down on the chair, listened to Lin Mo's rhythmic chopping sounds, and watched him skillfully complete each chopping motion. He couldn't help but prop his head up with one hand.

Perhaps because he didn't sleep well last night, or perhaps because he was engrossed in what he was watching, the child's eyes were a little glazed over.

However, his gaze soon began to scrutinize Lin Mo closely again. Hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, profile, clothes, arms, hands...

Lin Mo could not possibly be unaware of the child's gaze, but he did not stop him, after all, a child's curiosity should be satisfied.

However, after a long time, Lin Mo did not sense any movement in Severus's gaze. He couldn't help but feel puzzled. With his keen senses, Lin Mo quickly found the location of Snape's gaze without having to follow it.

The next second, Lin Mo froze, his hands stopped moving, Snape's gaze burning his skin like flames.

Oh no.

Such a thought appeared in Lin Mo's mind. This calm and composed person, who had done many things different from the previous ten years of his life after meeting Snape, showed a panicked expression at this moment.

He forgot something very important—his left arm was covered with countless crisscrossing knife wounds, or more accurately, dagger cuts.

Lin Mo immediately put the knife down. The heavy clanging of metal against the wooden board not only brought Lin Mo to his senses but also brought the child back to his senses.

The child seemed to realize something, stood up, stepped off the chair, and stood on the ground, head slightly bowed: "I'm...I'm sorry..."

Years of observing people's expressions made him very clear that the other person did not want him to see these injuries. He had violated someone's privacy, so naturally he had to apologize.

Lin Mo hurriedly rolled up his sleeves, and the originally smooth cuffs were wrinkled by his hasty movements.

How could Severus see those sinful, painful, helpless, and dark emotions? The memories of his past life could not be sealed away after all, but they were definitely not something he, at his age, should be exposed to. Lin Mo was completely at a loss.

After finishing his task, Lin Mo bent down, seemingly feeling that it was still a bit too high. He half-squatted on the ground, his gaze level with Snape's as he looked up.

"I'm sorry... I mean, I'm sorry, I scared you." Lin Mo's voice was a little low, and his eyebrows and eyes drooped slightly.

It's rare to see such a frustrated and regretful expression in the eyes of this god-like, dazzling being.

"No, it's nothing." The child was a little dazed, not quite understanding the person's behavior. "What you didn't want me to see was something I accidentally offended." He explained his apology.

"No, no, I was afraid of scaring you. These are things that children shouldn't see. I'm sorry..." Lin Mo said again.

Lin Mo remembered that Changfeng was also shocked when he saw these scars not long ago. He thought that if even Changfeng would be frightened, then children should not be allowed to see them.

What he didn't know was that Changfeng wasn't afraid, but rather confused and heartbroken. Changfeng couldn't understand why Xiao Mo, a young man in his early twenties, would act this way. In his mind, people of that age should be as warm and passionate as the sun.

Snape didn't know the origin of these scars, but for some reason, he felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in his heart, as if he were experiencing the same pain...

Lin Mo kept saying sorry. Chang Feng watched all of this in his mind. If the information records were correct, he remembered that Xiao Mo hadn't said "sorry" for many years.

Because in that environment, he didn't need to apologize to anyone, nor did he apologize to anyone. So instead, he used "sorry," which was a lighter word than "I'm sorry," and even so, Lin Mo said "sorry" very few times.

Severus seemed to freeze instantly. For some reason, the overlapping gentle shadows in front of him made him feel as if he were seeing a reflection of his future self.

So, he instinctively lunged at Lin Mo and hugged him with his short arms. This was the best way he could think of to express the inexplicable apology he felt for the other person, or perhaps... it was more like comforting him.