Facing the sunset, Thomas and Severus walked quickly on their way home, while Boris flew happily above them; Thomas had just fed him a whole piece of pastry, which was even better than the best bread he had ever eaten!
Severus, however, was unwilling to eat first, hoping to take it home and share it with Eileen. Thomas, of course, would not refuse this heartwarming request.
Severus kept glancing at the seeds in Thomas's hand, asking curiously, "Thomas, can we really grow these seeds?"
"Of course, we are Wizards," Thomas boasted cheerfully and wildly. "Wizards can do anything."
Severus's eyes sparkled as he stared at his brother, full of admiration and longing: "I've seen Mom plant herbs before, I can help!"
"Of course, Severus needs to help me, but herbs? Doesn't our lawn only have weeds?" Thomas asked, puzzled.
"You were very sick back then, and Mom planted herbs in the wasteland behind the house. She brewed a Potion from them for you to drink, but Dad found out and destroyed them," Severus said, his mood dropping.
Thomas put his arm around his younger brother's small shoulders: "Then this time we'll find a secret base that only the two of us know about, so Dad can never destroy it again."
"Really?" Severus immediately asked, wanting to go to this place right away. "Where is the secret base?"
"...Boris will find it!" Thomas affirmed.
Mr. Raven, flying happily, did not yet know that from this moment on, he would gradually become Thomas's personal GPS.
When the two brothers returned home, they found the living room packed. Besides Tobias Snape, who looked fierce, and Eileen Snape, who was sobbing softly, there were also two uninvited guests.
A priest dressed in church attire and another man with messy brown hair, who looked very shrewd, were sitting on the Snape family's living room sofa, talking to Tobias.
When Severus trotted in through the door, saying, "Mom, we're home!" everyone's eyes focused on them.
"Run!" Eileen shouted, trying to rush towards them, but Tobias slapped her to the ground.
"Mom!" Severus threw the things in his hand to the ground and ran to Eileen, fearfully yet firmly shielding his mother.
"Little monster, you're dead!" He kicked at Severus, who closed his eyes in terror.
"Stop!" an old, firm voice rang out.
At this moment, Tobias seemed to be controlled by something; his raised leg stiffened in mid-air, turning several circles in a strange posture, and finally, his foot landed on the ground.
Thomas felt a very strong surge of magic spreading in the air.
And the source was not the old man who spoke, but Severus, who was already in Eileen's arms.
The boy's face had instantly turned pale and he looked very weak.
"Get out," a cold and childish voice suddenly sounded from behind Tobias. Thomas had, at some point, stood behind him, close enough to feel each other's breath.
Thomas's eyes were terrifyingly dark, like the deepest ink in the night sky. He stared at Tobias as if gazing at a soulless husk destined for death. That look made Tobias shiver involuntarily, and an unprecedented sense of fear arose within him.
Tobias took two steps back, walked to the Father, and said with fear and anger, "Father Andrew, did you see it! I wasn't lying to you, they are both monsters!"
He pointed at Thomas: "Especially him! He's not my son, a demon must have possessed his body!" The current Thomas was completely different from the dull and foolish Thomas before.
Father Andrew, the old priest, looking at the strange things happening before him, had already guessed the identity of the two children - Wizards.
He hadn't expected that their inconspicuous small town would actually have two young wizards.
After the long slaughter of Wizards by the medieval church and knights, with the emergence of magic schools, the power of wizards gradually grew, and the struggle between the church and wizards disappeared.
Hundreds of years ago, both sides jointly signed an agreement, defining their boundaries and rules: non-interference and peaceful coexistence.
This agreement was like an invisible barrier, protecting the peace and order between the two worlds.
However, the agreement also clearly stipulated a principle that Wizards must adhere to - secrecy.
They must not casually reveal their true identities and powers to ordinary people outside of family and friends, to avoid panic and chaos.
Looking at the two obviously malnourished children and the woman, who looked extremely old from years of heavy labor, Andrew's eyes showed a hint of pity. He sighed and said gently to Tobias, "They are indeed different, but they are not monsters."
Tobias's breathing became heavy when he heard Andrew's words, his face flushed with anger: "I didn't invite you here to hear this! Quickly drive the demon out of my house!"
"Whether it's a demon or not, we'll know if we try," the young man who had been silent spoke up, his voice laced with ill-intentioned interest.
A cold sneer played on his lips, and with a wave of his arm, he splashed a bottle of unknown liquid at the weak Severus, his eyes flashing with malicious light, as if conducting an interesting experiment, and the subjects of the experiment were the two children.
Thomas stood in front of Severus, blocking the splashing liquid with his arm.
It was water? Besides wetting his sleeve, it caused no harm.
Thomas looked puzzled, while the other three had varied expressions.
This young man was named Danny, a drinking buddy of Tobias. The reason he became friends with Tobias was because he heard that Tobias had two "monster sons" at home.
This scoundrel, who had committed all sorts of evil deeds, was nevertheless a devout believer in the church; he firmly believed in the existence of God.
The liquid Danny splashed on Thomas and Severus was holy water he had obtained from the church.
It was also he who suggested to Tobias to invite the church priest to perform an "exorcism" ritual on his children.
Can holy water harm Wizards?
Of course it can!
However, the holy water readily available at the small town church was actually just an imitation, lacking the purity and power of true holy water.
Facing the ill-intentioned Danny and the enraged Tobias, the darkness in Thomas's heart began to spread limitlessly. He really wanted to use his ability to solve them once and for all, but there was also a priest here, and in a world with wizards, who knew what mysterious powers the church might possess?