Chapter 41: Severus Snape
Soon, following Dumbledore, Lyra went deeper and deeper down the staircase.
Where are we going?
Lyra looked at the darkening surroundings and pressed her lips together... Could it be that Dumbledore is running some sort of wizard trafficking ring?
Just as Lyra was growing suspicious, the stairs came to an end. They were in the Hogwarts dungeons. It was cold and damp, forcing Lyra to wrap her robes tighter around herself, even though they were already quite tight.
Does anyone really... like this kind of place?
She looked at Dumbledore's back, wanting to ask again if Professor Snape was really human, but she didn't know how to phrase it, so she just opened and closed her mouth.
"We're here," Dumbledore, unaware of her thoughts, stopped and knocked gently on the door in front of them.
"Severus," he said slowly. "It's me."
"...Come in... Professor Dumbledore." It was a low, cold voice, like being suddenly thrown into the lake by Nurmengard in the middle of winter and then fished out again.
Lyra trembled instinctively, but Dumbledore had already pushed the door open and walked in.
"This is Miss Lyra Hamilton." Dumbledore stepped aside slightly, revealing Lyra hiding behind him.
Lyra carefully looked up at the owner of this gloomy office.
He was a man wrapped in black robes, perfectly matching the environment. His shoulder-length black hair looked greasy, and his eyes were deep and cold... with a hint of faint disgust.
"H... H... Hello!" Lyra stammered, her voice shaking. She clutched Dumbledore's robes to stop her legs from giving way.
"Hello..." Snape said slowly, standing up. Lyra could feel him scrutinizing her... from top to bottom.
"So she is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?" Snape asked slowly.
"Strictly speaking, there is also Mr. Lockhart," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Aren't you going to invite us to sit?"
"Of... course..." Lyra felt as if he were squeezing the words out of his mouth one by one, as if each letter were a killing curse.
If that were true... he would have killed her hundreds of times by now.
Lyra didn't know why this Professor Snape held such inexplicable hostility toward her, but that didn't stop her from being afraid and timid.
"We have two 'qualified' Defense Against the Dark Arts professors." Snape watched them sit down, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips. "How wonderful."
"Indeed, Severus," Dumbledore shrugged, as if deaf to the sarcasm. "Miss Hamilton is the most suitable candidate I could find."
"..." Snape was silent for a few seconds. His cold eyes sized up the bowed head of Lyra again. "Let us hope so."
"Now, shall we discuss business?" Dumbledore said, looking at Lyra. "As I mentioned before, our Miss Hamilton wishes to brew a few vials of Wolfsbane Potion."
"Mm..." Snape paused. "Then, Miss Hamilton... what ingredients does the Wolfsbane Potion require?"
Ah! Why are you suddenly talking to me!
Lyra jolted, gripping the edge of her chair. She stammered, trying to answer, "Wolfsbane... Aconite... and..."
"May I ask, Miss Hamilton, did you consume Mandrake before coming here?" Snape interrupted her with a frown.
"N... No..."
"Then why do you look as if you haven't woken up..." Snape drawled. "Mentally absent..."
"Miss Hamilton is just a bit shy," Dumbledore explained softly. "But she is absolutely capable of brewing the Wolfsbane Potion."
"And capable of serving as a professor?" Snape asked slowly.
"Correct," Dumbledore nodded.
"Heh..." Snape scoffed, then shook his head. "Since Professor Dumbledore trusts you... then follow me..."
With that, he stood up sharply and swept past Lyra, the cold wind from his robes making her shiver again.
"Don't misunderstand Severus," Dumbledore whispered. "He's actually a very helpful person."
"Is... is that so?" Lyra wanted to say that this "helpful" Professor Severus Snape had already terrified her into a frozen block of ice.
He was even scarier than Hagrid! He was almost as scary as Dumbledore! No... in some ways, he was even scarier than Dumbledore...
Lyra followed fearfully behind Dumbledore, clutching her sleeves tightly.
"A word of warning... Miss Hamilton." Standing in the supply room, Snape turned his head slightly. His cold eyes made Lyra stiffen.
"The ingredients I can provide are only enough for three vials of Wolfsbane Potion."
"In other words... if you wish to brew Wolfsbane Potion for that... particular..."
"Heh." He suddenly sneered. "...furry little friend of yours who likes to cause trouble."
Did... did something happen between him and Mr. Lupin? Lyra instinctively wanted to ask, but Snape flicked his robes and said, "You'd best use them sparingly."
"O... Okay..." The words in Lyra's mouth turned into a weak agreement.
"Also... you will need to purchase the Mandrake yourself," he paused. "Since you've eaten it, you must know where to buy it, correct?"
"Ngh!" Lyra nodded vigorously, pulling her magical storage book from her robes.
"P-Please... put them... in here..."
Hearing Lyra's quiet muttering and examining the book, Snape raised an eyebrow. His gaze toward Lyra changed slightly, shifting from looking at a flobberworm to looking at a human being.
"Miss Hamilton is an expert in Magic Formations," Dumbledore nodded lightly. "She has helped the Ministry recover quite a few Dark artifacts."
"Then she truly is suited to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Snape curled his lip, placing the prepared ingredients into the book Lyra held open.
"More suited than I am," he said through gritted teeth, as if wishing he could bite the words back.
Finally... Lyra understood where Professor Snape's hostility came from... Does he want to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
Definitely!
Dumbledore, I beg you! Let Professor Snape take the job! I just need to be someone who cleans Hogwarts... I'm definitely better at it than those house-elves!
Lyra, with her rich cleaning experience from Durmstrang, looked at Dumbledore with pleading eyes, but all she got was a blink.
"Thank you for your help, Severus," Dumbledore then smiled warmly at Snape.
"It was nothing." Snape snorted, leaning slightly closer to Lyra's face, causing the startled Miss Hamilton, who had just closed her book, to snap to attention.
"A reminder, Miss Hamilton."
"The recipe for the Wolfsbane Potion is Aconite, powdered Moonstone, the cap of a Shrivelfig... and Mandrake."
"Furthermore, if you can obtain Dragon's Blood to substitute for the Aconite... the effect will be better."
"What?" Lyra froze. She thought Snape was going to say something sarcastic, but he was actually giving her the recipe for the Wolfsbane Potion... and Dragon's Blood could work...
Seeing Lyra stunned, Snape frowned.
"Miss Hamilton, next time, open your ears and listen carefully... I will only say this once." Snape's voice grew lower and lower, frightening Lyra, who had just started to think Snape wasn't so bad, into trembling again.
Terrified, she stammered, "Do... do I need to open my pores?"
"Do wizards listen with their pores?"
"N... No..."
"Then do not say such foolish things." Snape squeezed the words out one by one, spittle flying onto Lyra's face.
"S... Sorry!"
Looking at Lyra, who was practically shrinking into the corner, Snape shook his head, about to say more. But suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the silver hair tips beneath her hood, and the pointed ears.
His mouth twitched slightly, and he glanced quizzically at Dumbledore.
"That will be all..." He nodded to Dumbledore. "I have my research to attend to."
"If you'll excuse me, Professor Dumbledore."
"And... Miss Hamilton."
It wasn't until Snape had been gone for over a minute that Lyra, wiping her face, felt she had come back to life... She swore she would never come to Professor Snape's office again!
Never again!