As a master of the Mind Sealing Spell, a man who can work undercover under Voldemort, Snape has always controlled his emotions well, never revealing anything.
But he never thought that when he expressed the secret he had buried in his heart for many years in the language of flowers to the son of the girl he once admired, he would be seen through on the spot by the other party?
Snape showed no expression on his face, but inside, he was surging with emotion.
How could this eleven-year-old boy understand Victoria's language of flowers?
With a question in mind, Snape met Harry's pair of green eyes.
Those eyes...
"Severus~"
By the clear lake, a red-haired girl held a book, standing daintily with a pair of green eyes that could either be happy or sad, curving into beautiful crescents.
The weather was fine today, the sunlight enveloping the girl, making her appear more lively and charming.
Upon hearing the girl's voice, Snape nervously stuffed the Dark Magic book in his hand into his clothes.
Unexpectedly, in his panic, the book fell to the ground.
"Severus, you're studying Dark Magic again!" Lily picked up the book, biting her lip as she looked at Snape, her bright eyes full of sorrow. "Dark Magic can affect a wizard's soul, as Professor Dumbledore once warned us. Do you also want to be like..."
"Alright, Lily." Snape lowered his head, "I hope you can understand me, I just want to..."
"Want to make a good impression on that person? You should know what his stance is, right?" Lily's tone was sarcastic, but then she spoke with sadness: "Severus, you once promised me... you really disappoint me!"
"Lily, I..." Snape opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but couldn't say a word.
Lily angrily threw the book "Whispers in the Petals" at Snape and ran off without looking back.
Countless times, Snape woke from midnight dreams with a start.
Only that book "Whispers in the Petals" could bring a slight comfort to his heart.
That's right, Lily was this boy's mother...
Just as he was lost in memories of Lily, he suddenly noticed Harry's face.
A face exactly like that arrogant, self-important one!
The heart that had begun to thaw froze again in an instant.
Potter!
"Gryffindor... loses two points." Snape said expressionlessly, his tone still dragging: "For your cleverness."
With that, Snape swept his robe and returned to the podium with a flourish.
"Harry!" Hermione asked softly, "Why did you say that? My god, I thought it was Professor Snape who wouldn't be able to answer the question."
Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't answer Hermione's question.
He, too, was a bit confused; what was wrong with this professor?
You're in pain, but Gryffindor is innocent; why would you deduct points?
However, he quickly realized that Snape had actually shown him leniency.
Magic Potion Class and Herbology were different; Professor Snape didn't have them first learn theoretical knowledge but rather planned to have them learn by doing while performing the relevant operations.
Snape grouped the students into pairs, guiding them in mixing and preparing a simple potion called the cure for boils.
While the students were busy, Snape dragged his long black cloak through the classroom, watching them weigh dry nettles, crush snake fangs; almost all the students were criticized, except Harry.
It wasn't that Snape didn't want to find fault with Harry, but because he stood in front of Harry for more than ten minutes without finding any mistakes, each step was perfect.
It's just a boil cure, thought Harry, I can even whip up a Blessing Potion on the spot if you want.
When Harry easily bottled the finished boil cure, Snape finally, with a complex expression, gave a comment.
"Not bad, for a first-year level, it's considered passable."
Ron looked ghost-stricken, lowering his head fiercely, afraid to lift it, lest Snape catch his expression.
If the professor saw it, losing ten points would be the least of it.
Harry looked up, uncertain if he was seeing things, but Professor Snape's expression seemed momentarily soft.
Just when he wanted to say something, a puff of acidic green smoke suddenly rose beside him, accompanied by a loud hissing sound.
It was Neville; somehow, he had turned Seamus's cauldron into a twisted mess, and the potion inside spilled onto the stone floor, burning holes in the classmates' shoes.
Within seconds, the entire class stood on their stools as the cauldron tipped, and Neville, drenched in the potion, was covered in red, swollen boils on his arms and legs, crying out in pain.
"Idiot!" Snape roared, waving his magic wand to clean up the spilled potion, "I suppose you didn't take the cauldron off the fire before adding the porcupine quills, did you, Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville sobbed, the unfinished boil cure spilled on him feeling dreadful, resulting in boils growing in all the touched areas.
"Weasley! Why didn't you tell him not to add the porcupine quills?" Snape reprimanded Ron, "Do you think his mistake makes you look outstanding? Because of you, Gryffindor loses three points!"
Actually, Ron and Neville weren't partners; he was paired with Harry, but Neville was beside them.
This time it was considered an unwarranted disaster, yet Ron seemed not surprised at all, accepting Snape's fuss-making calmly.
Patience brings peace, a wisdom Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George had all concluded in Magic Potion Class and passed down to Ron before school started.
Harry sometimes even wondered if every Professor of Potions harbored an unmeasurable hostility toward Gryffindor, especially those with the surname Weasley?
Back then, Professor Sharp often targeted Gareth—then again, Gareth's little hands weren't clean, always pocketing ingredients.
So, the prepared boil cure Harry concocted was mercilessly requisitioned by Snape, and then applied to Neville's affected areas, making the boils vanish at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Harry cupped his face in his hands, half of it hidden, sighed helplessly.
He felt that Snape was so awkward, his curiosity prompted him to decide to ask Hagrid later what exactly was going on.
After all, Hagrid had been the groundskeeper at Hogwarts for so many years and was good friends with his parents; surely he knew what happened between them.