No surprise.
After returning to the lounge to hide the box in his suitcase and casting a concealment spell on it, Ian completely missed the entire dinner time at Hogwarts.
The cold wind blew outside the castle.
Ian wasn't the kind of little wizard who would choose to go hungry. The kitchen directly below the Great Hall could solve his problem, but he chose to detour to the castle's basement first.
"Knock knock!"
Ian found his destination and knocked on the door.
No response.
"It's me, Professor Snape, I'm Ian, the top student you personally selected during today's Magic Potion class." Ian raised his voice and shouted towards the office inside.
"Click~"
A moment later.
The office door was opened.
The disheveled Snape stood expressionlessly at the door.
Behind him was a room as messy as his personal image, shaped like three huge semi-spheres joined together, and the shelves along the walls were filled with various glass jars.
"Prince, bedtime is fast approaching, and if you don't want to be seized and thrown into detention by me, the only place you should be right now is the Ravenclaw common room." The old bat emphasized the word "Ravenclaw" heavily, with a mix of sarcasm and a subtle hint of unresolved resentment.
"Can detention teach me something new? The kind not learned from textbooks." Ian looked up at Snape's green eyes filled with anticipation.
"..."
Snape's eyes twitched slightly, "If you don't correct your attitude toward magic potions, you'll never learn the true skills from me."
His voice was as cold as ever.
"Then I'll apologize right now and correct my attitude immediately." Ian sensed the surprise in Snape's words and immediately stood outside the door, bending over ninety degrees vertically and holding the position for several minutes.
This was a shock from the spirit of craftsmanship.
Snape awkwardly opened his mouth but couldn't find the words to rebuke. He repeatedly examined Ian, with a complex emotion flashing in his slightly shaking eyes.
"If that's your purpose here." Snape turned and walked into the room, opened the drawer of his desk, and took out a very old black book.
"Take it and leave my office immediately." He threw the old book to Ian who had followed him inside and spoke in an extremely stiff tone.
"This book was intended for another purpose, but now you've taken it with shameless means, so, at the end of the term, you'll receive a set of exam questions different from those of the other little wizards."
"If you don't satisfy me... hmph." Snape left room for tension, but didn't achieve the effect he wanted from Ian.
"Who's the Half-Blood Prince?" Ian caught the "Advanced Potion Making" that Snape tossed, noticing a small line of text in a prominent spot on the back cover.
Is this the one Harry Potter got?
Ian's feigned surprised inquiry visibly reddened Snape's face.
"That's the Half-Blood Prince, you idiot!"
Snape rushed over angrily, grabbed the black book from Ian's hand, and roughly smeared the text on the back cover with a feather pen from the desk.
"I thought you'd be much smarter than your lousy father!" After repeatedly checking until no trace of writing was seen, Snape forcefully handed the "Advanced Potion Making" back to Ian.
"Is it my father's?"
Ian asked knowingly.
He had long been speculating about the relationship between him and Snape, and now, the answer seemed to be revealed in a way he hadn't expected.
So that's it.
Indeed... like that.
Ian's speculation finally received undeniable verification. All along, some things were just castles in the air without evidence.
"Tsk tsk, your father's brute of a head could only work by the book like you. This is one of my collectibles from a distinguished magic potion master from your family." Snape evidently underestimated Ian's grasp of information, secretly sneaking in some personal stash without blushing in front of Ian.
"So, haven't you just ruined a master's signature, Professor?" Ian's sudden comment left the sarcastic-looking Snape speechless for a moment.
"I am better than him, so naturally, I have the right."
A very weak reason.
Ian pretended to believe.
"If you spent more time in the library instead of discussing dangerous material creation with certain little wizards, you'd understand from what kind of family you were born."
Snape wanted to change the topic, reverted to his leisurely mocking tone, and had a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"I borrowed the 'Hogwarts Historical Records,' but haven't had time to read it yet." Ian confirmed from Snape's words that Snape wasn't his father.
"Are there any living people in our family?"
He suddenly asked in a low voice, causing Snape's expression to momentarily pause.
"If there were, do you think you'd still be in an orphanage?" Snape's expression turned slightly unnatural, averting his gaze from Ian's pale green eyes.
"Who did it?"
Ian had no impression of his parents in this life, but this didn't mean he could ignore it; a massacre required a responsible party.
"Just do what you have to do, study the courses you need to learn." Snape didn't answer Ian's question but tried to usher him out of his office.
"Wait!"
Ian blocked Snape from closing the door.
"I've answered many of your questions already, isn't that enough, Mr. Nosey." Snape looked down at Ian from the door with an attitude colder than ever.
"Actually, I came to return your money." Ian pulled out a large bag of gold coins from his pants pocket, handing it to Snape in his stunned gaze.
"You sold the Blessing Potion?" Such a large sum, this was the only situation Snape could think of; he believed selling the Blessing Potion was something Ian would do.
Snape glared at Ian.
Despite Ian shaking his head to deny, Snape's angry eyes still full of disbelief.
"I'm not that dumb." To avoid being resented by Snape, Ian had no choice but to reveal the pockets inside his pants and the small pouches inside his robe.
Inside were still quite a number of shimmering gold coins.
"I found Hogwarts' secret treasure, achieving personal wealth growth." Ian lowered his voice, seeing Snape's face full of disbelief inside the door.
Can hidden gold be found in Hogwarts?
Why didn't he know?
"I will ask around properly, and if I find out you committed disgraceful theft or used magic to threaten other little wizards to hand over their gold coins, I will personally send you to Azkaban prison, you should have gone there long ago." No one knows what kind of image Ian held in Snape's mind.
"Don't you understand the romantic legacy of the medieval treasure hunting craze, finding treasure coins can't be called stealing!" Ian had an urge to jump and knock Snape on the head.
"Better be so."
Snape tried to hand the money bag back to Ian, but Ian dodged slightly backward. Snape sneered contemptuously, tossing the money bag back to Ian with a disdainful look.
"Do you think I care about these trifles?"
The confidence of a Master of Magic Potions was indeed extraordinary, viewing money as filth. Unknown to him, Ian had already summarized practical experience dealing with such a personality.
"You think trifles could buy my favor? Dream on." Ian rolled the money bag into the office under Snape's pelvis, causing Snape's temple veins to constrict immediately.
"Get out!"
The infuriated Snape slammed the door shut.
A few seconds later.
The door opened slightly, and Snape threw out the "Advanced Potion Making" that had fallen on the floor because of his earlier rough handling of Ian.
"Bang!"
The door was shut even harder.
"Magic Potion family, huh…"
Ian sighed softly, restrained his expression, and calmly picked up the precious book from the ground, just standing there staring at the spot Snape had completely smudged out.
"Was the massacre after my birth Voldemort's doing or…?" He recalled Snape's unnatural behavior earlier.
"My only remaining uncle."
The deserted corridor.
Couldn't respond to the little wizard's murmurs.
[ps: No abuse in the follow-up, feel free to read.]