Looking at the face he had longed for night after night appearing before him, Snape's heart felt no weariness, only a mixture of guilt and love.
He leaned weakly against the doorframe, the concept of time blurring in that moment, opening his mouth several times, but stopping himself from speaking.
His eyes struggled to look straight ahead, his head slightly bowed, long hair covering his eyes; only then did he dare to cautiously, through the gaps in his hair, cast a careful gaze towards that face.
Within his chest, there seemed to be an unresolved knot of emotions, leaving him speechless for a long time.
After an unknown period, he finally spoke with a trembling voice:
"I... I'm sorry, Lily, it's all my fault."
"That was just an accident, or perhaps fate," Lily smiled gently. "No matter how you look at it, none of these things can be blamed on you."
"If... if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened," Snape continued.
"Severus," Lily's soft voice paused at this point.
"Look up, Severus."
At her words, Snape cautiously raised his head.
"You need to let go," Lily's voice was soft yet solemn.
"I can't!" Snape lowered his head again. "I don't have the right..."
"Of course, you can," Lily said.
"No... don't say anymore..." Snape shook his head.
"Then..."
"Do you want to go see him?" Snape suddenly asked. He didn't know why he said that, but he felt that Lily would want to.
"Severus, you should rest," Lily said.
Then, Snape simply looked up without a word, stubbornly gazing at the woman before him.
"Alright," Lily gave a helpless smile and could only nod.
...
On Monday morning, the weather was gloomy, with a light rain falling continuously, and the raindrops hitting the greenhouse roof made a pitter-patter sound.
After Herbology Class, Harry walked back through the muddy path to the Castle, then bid farewell to Hermione and headed to the Potion Class in the dungeons.
As soon as he went downstairs, he saw MacChlery, who walked over, put an arm around him, and chuckled, "Professor seems to be in a good mood today, so be careful."
"Really?" Draco was a bit surprised. "Speaking of which, I didn't see Professor on Sunday. I wonder what he was up to."
"I don't know, perhaps there's a connection between the two," MacChlery smiled and then left.
"Maybe his Potion research had a new success," Draco whispered to Harry. "Wasn't that the case last time? He improved that wolf something Potion, and he was in a very good mood during that period."
Harry nodded, "I hope... so..."
However, he didn't think it would improve his situation much. Well... he didn't care that much either.
He might have been a bit unhappy before, but after seeing Snape block Peter Pettigrew's big explosion for them on the second floor of the Castle, and after Snape gave him his mother's notebook on Christmas and subtly reminded him about Animagus.
Any dissatisfaction with Professor Snape's confrontational attitude in class had vanished.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he saw Snape facing a wall, looking lost in thought, seemingly muttering something softly.
However, just as he wanted to observe more closely, Snape's gaze suddenly fell on him.
"This is Potter..." he muttered.
"Professor, is something wrong?!" Harry asked, somewhat confused.
"Shut up! Don't speak when I see you! Is your mouth disease cured?!"
"Sorry—" Harry quickly silenced himself.
"Stubborn, idiotic fellow," Snape mumbled.
Harry rubbed his forehead helplessly, feeling a bit bewildered, not knowing why he was scolded again...
Soon, Harry found that MacChlery's words were not false.
Professor Snape had deep bags under his eyes today, and his dark circles were as thick as if he had been punched.
But indeed, he seemed to be in a very good mood.
Harry even thought Draco's statement was correct; perhaps Snape really had some new breakthrough in his Potion research, which was why he was in such a good mood.
However... his own targeted situation hadn't improved much; in fact, he felt that Professor Snape was watching him even more closely.
The class ended quickly, and he had to hurry away.
In the Potion Class classroom, Snape was lost in thought, watching the children's retreating figures.
He didn't know why he was doing this. Honestly, letting Lily see Harry, see that face, made him feel very uncomfortable.
His emotions were incredibly intertwined.
But—it should be this way!
"That's very good," Lily said softly beside him.
"Severus, thank you for taking care of him." There was a sparkle in the woman's eyes.
"Ah..." Snape was a bit distracted. Lily's words made him feel much better.
"Thank you..."
Then, he rolled up his sleeve and looked at the black gem hidden within, somewhat lost in thought.
The next moment, a hand blocked his sight.
"Severus, take me to see Hogwarts."
Snape put down his hand and was silent for a moment.
"Alright."
On the second floor of the Castle, in Howl's office.
"For the next two weeks of finals, I will have Filch cooperate with your work as much as possible," Howl told the students of the student council.
"But similarly, I do not wish to see any more instances of internal theft.
You are all teenagers from fifth year upwards. If it were mischievous acts like Percy's two younger brothers, they could still be explained as pranks.
But for you to use the authority given to you by the student council to bring prohibited prank items into the school,
The nature and underlying logic are completely different from regular pranks!!"
"How could that be, Professor?" Percy's expression was a bit grim.
"No, no, no, Mr. Weasley," Howl said with a half-smile.
"This matter is a fact that I personally investigated after receiving a report from Mr. Filch. Someone was stealing from within.
But you don't need to be too nervous; it's just a small issue, and for now, there's no need for accountability.
Of course, I still hope you can think more about the relationship between power and responsibility!
Alright, you all go to lunch break! You've worked hard."
"Okay," Percy nodded, then quickly led the student council members away. He was very angry now. The Professor had given them this opportunity, and now someone was actually tarnishing this position. Even though the Professor said not to be too nervous, he really couldn't tolerate such behavior—
Of course, anger aside, he wouldn't forget his manners. As he passed through the corridor, he still actively greeted the Professor: "Professor Snape, good afternoon!"
However, Professor Snape didn't even look at him, instead walking past the group as if taking a stroll.
Similarly, Howl stood with his arms crossed, leaning comfortably against the doorframe.
He had just seen the children off when he saw Snape at the other end.
"Severus!" he called out.
Snape remained oblivious.
"Severus?"
Still didn't notice.
"Snape!"
"Greasy-haired bat?!"
Snape froze for a moment, pondered for a long time, then turned around, his face full of anger.
"Is it done?" Howl then asked.
Snape's face twitched, his expression ashen.
"No, do you think it's easy to get done?"
"Stop rushing me, can't you see I'm very tired?"
How can I see that you're full of energy!
Howl was silent, and after a moment, he warned: "Hmm, you'd better not make me really rush you, Severus."
Then, he turned and returned to his office.
In the office, Howl unusually stopped the gramophone, walked to the window, and opened it.
Fine raindrops fell on his hand, the sky was dark, and sunlight could not penetrate the thick clouds at all.
The world was silent, with only the rain.
Just as he was thinking, Fawkes flew in through the window. Howl raised his hand and stroked its feathers.
"Coo-coo—"
"Did he go out again?"
"Maybe more than one—he wants to continue researching if there are any more... I see."
Howl nodded repeatedly, gently tossing his hand towards the fireplace: "You've worked hard, go."
Then, Howl returned his gaze to the window.
Given Lord Voldemort's temperament, it was indeed possible that there was more than one or two Horcruxes.
If there were two, it would naturally continue, perhaps three, perhaps four...
As for how many there ultimately were, Howl quickly conceived a limited idea of his own soul in his mind.
If the main thought process was guaranteed not to be too disturbed, it would probably be possible to create three or four Horcruxes.
If he didn't care about the integrity of his own soul, and only pursued the number of Horcruxes—perhaps... ten?
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