In the slightly cold potions preparation room, the cauldron was bubbling with an eeriely colored steam. The "gurgling" sound of boiling liquid echoes in the quiet air.

Snape was squeezing the sleepy beans with the side of his silver dagger with precision, subtlety, and a step.

On one side of the potions room, Maca lay on her side on a hospital bed she had never used before, one hand resting lightly on a small hourglass.

It was an hourglass that was only timed for 5 seconds, and every 5 seconds, he would flip the hourglass over and make a crunch like breaking chopsticks.

“…… Click...... Click......"

“…… Click. ”

"A quarter of a second slower."

Snape didn't look back, but his voice rang out in the quiet space, low and cold, full of a kind of boredom.

"Hmm."

Maca replied softly, and there seemed to be a hint of uneasy trembling at the end.

"Click."

The silence continues.

It was about ten more clicks that Maca burst out laughing.

"Professor Snape, do you know about 'harassing flies'?"

"What?" Snape said casually.

"The harassing fly," said Maca, flipping the hourglass over again, "'It's a creature that can't be seen by the eye, and floats into people's ears and messes up people's brain......s.'"

"I haven't heard of it." Snape replied rather simply.

"Haven't you read 'Singing the Opposite'? That magazine was interesting......"

Snape cleaned the silver knife and put it back in the toolbox, then walked over to the still boiling crucible.

"I haven't heard of it."

He said as he walked, not even saying a word about the content of his answer.

"Don't be like this, the professor's words are always so dry, it's easy to get sleepy......"

There was silence again.

After a few more clicks, Snape gently dripped the juice from the Sleepy Beans into the crucible, sending out a few faint wisps of white smoke.

“…… Once. ”

"Huh?"

Hearing Snape's sudden words, Maca's hand that was about to flip the hourglass paused.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived on the outskirts of a shabby town. There were old and low houses everywhere, dilapidated and few people ......"

"The boy's parents were terrible...... Mother was slightly better, but still terrible. They would quarrel every now and then, never looking at the time and place......"

"Well, it's worse for my father to think so, because he provoked it every time...... Sometimes I beat my mother, it's really bad......"

"So that boy has been ignored all the time...... That family, there is no half temperature. ”

"But one day, in an abandoned park on the outskirts of the city, he met a certain girl......"

Snape's icy voice swirled through the air, as if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him. But Maca knew that the protagonist of this story was Snape himself.

"The boy, the first time he saw the girl, he fell in love with the girl. Because he could feel that the girl was just as smart, calm, and full of curiosity as he was......"

So, the boy and the girl met, and naturally they came together and made friends. They used to play together in the shabby suburbs of the city, lying by the river listening to the sound of the water and looking at the clear sky. ”

"Well, that tattered suburb ......," Snape seemed to recall, and there was a hint of warmth in his cold tone, "that suburb is really broken, there is nothing, and the facilities in the park are still broken, and not a single one of them can be used." ”

"But the riverside is very reassuring, there is grass everywhere, and you can see the town in the distance...... The girl used to say, 'That big chimney in town never smoked, so what was it for?' ’”

He spoke lightly, and even his voice softened. However, this rare softness soon faded into smoke.

"If ......"

His voice cooled suddenly, and it was particularly abrupt.

"What if there is a man who meets the children of a woman he once liked and still likes...... What do you think that man should do? ”

Because this question came too suddenly, in a little stunned, Maca's originally groggy brain suddenly sobered up a lot.

To say that the "man" in Snape's mouth is undoubtedly referring to himself.

But how is this question answered?

Maca thought of Harry first, and then of Harry's mother, Lily, the little girl in the story.

And finally, he thought of Luna, who was still at Hogwarts Castle.

What if that happened to him...... No, he found himself unable to imagine it...... Or rather, he didn't want to think about it at all.

What kind of life has Snape lived all these years!

Not only do you have to face the loss of love, but you also have to face the death of the person you cherish, and even have to protect the son of the woman you like and another man.

And this kind of feeling, he can't let go of anything, and it has continued until now.

In a gesture of respect for this love that weighed so much on the pound, Maca forced herself to put herself in her shoes, then sighed softly.

“…… Anyway, that kid ...... are all part of the people they love...... Right? ”

Marka finally understood why Snape had always had that dry tone. Because his voice is almost the same now, and he is so dry, not angry at all.

And so it is, if Maca were in that situation, I'm afraid it would be like this! I am always entangled by my own ambivalence and cannot be liberated for a moment.

Just as Snape had never had a good face with Harry...... In addition to acting for Voldemort, probably the pain of love and hate is also one of the reasons.

"Part of her...... Is that really the case......" Snape said with his back to Maca, stunned, "and so it is! ”

The voice settled quietly, and in the sound of "click" again and again, both of them felt a little depressed. It's as if something is blocking your chest, and you can't help but want to breathe big.

"That kid...... It's called 'Harry Potter', right? ”

Suddenly, Maca felt that he had to say something. After all, Snape suddenly talked about it here, although he didn't say it explicitly, but it was indeed a disguised outpouring.

You know, with Snape's awkward personality, it is not easy to do this. And this man has been holding back in depression for too long, and he needs a chance to vent.

And Maca is willing to provide him with this opportunity.

But Marka didn't expect that Snape was surprisingly calm at the moment.

"You know?" There didn't seem to be much surprise in his tone, "Did Dumbledore tell you?" ”

When Maca heard this, she was about to push it on Dumbledore, because he had intended it that way.

However, at that moment, he was stunned for a moment.

"River...... Low-rise houses...... Big chimneys? ”

Words flashed through his mind one by one, and a certain picture in his memory was re-excavated by him, and it became clear little by little.

That's right, that's it...... But why? What is the truth?

There seems to be a key point missing that connects the front and back!

"No," Marka muttered, "I was told a photograph. ”

"What?"

Snape turned around abruptly, frowning slightly.

"What photo?"

"A Muggle photograph." Maca gradually came back to her senses, her face full of bewilderment, "Yes, a black and white photograph from a Muggle camera. ”

"What the hell is going on?" Snape asked hurriedly as he walked over to the bed.

Marca tilted her head to look at Snape, and quickly realized what Snape was anxious about.

"No, not what you think......" he said immediately, "that picture has nothing to do with Harry's mother. ”

He hadn't even thought about himself clearly, just now it was purely because of the potion in his body, his thinking was a little dull, so he couldn't help but speak out.

"Hmm...... Wait a minute, I just thought of it...... You let me sort out my thoughts first. ”

With that, Maca frowned and thought about it.

Snape stood by the bedside, looking impatient, but when he looked at Maca a few more times, he forced himself to calm down.

He knows very well how bad Maca's form is right now. In this case, he can't ask too much of Maca.

In fact, in Snape's mind, he had already recognized Maca as a "precocious" teenager who was both a student and a friend. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pour out his story just now.

So, the potions preparation room was quiet again.

After a long time, Maca finally let out a breath, but his brow furrowed even tighter.

"Professor, does your mother have long black hair?"

In Snape's anxious expression, Maca didn't immediately explain, but instead threw out an inexplicable question first.

“…… Yes. Snape wondered, "Why do you ask this?" ”

"Is it very white skin and a pair of black eyes?"

"That's right." Snape said impatiently, "So, why do you ask this?" What do you see of my mother? ”

"No, maybe your father......," Maka said hesitantly, "short dark curls, tall, skinny, straight face...... And a bit of a double chin? ”

"That's it?" Snape said hurriedly, "I don't know where you saw my parents' picture, but does it have anything to do with my question?" ”

"Background, the background of that photo is exactly what you described!" Maca said weakly, "Especially the big chimney...... Probably even those who have seen it carefully will not forget. ”

"So, I have one last question—"

He paused, raising his voice slightly.

"Professor, you have ...... Sister? ”