Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 12 Burrow
The morning air was crisp and cool. Eileen Apparated with Snape to a breezy hillside.

As far as the eye can see, there are lush green meadows and trees, as well as the beautiful scenery of the village of Autri San Cachipol.

From a high vantage point, the village resembles clusters of toy houses, scattered among the beams of sunlight cascading down from the clouds.

"So, what do you think of this place? Isn't it nice?" Eileen asked.

“That’s fantastic!” Snape said. “How did you come up with the idea of ​​building a house here?”

“I couldn’t find a suitable one in the village. Later, I heard that Old Lovegood had a piece of land that hadn’t been sold for a long time, so I went to him and bought it.”

Eileen turned and pointed to the two-story wooden house behind them, saying, "He was so happy when he heard I wanted to buy this land. Look, he even helped me build this house, and he only charged me fifty Galleons more."

"Lofgood?" Snape asked, somewhat surprised. "Why would he sell this land?"

“He said it was too close to people and he didn’t like it. Although I disagree with that,” Eileen said hesitantly, “it is indeed too ordinary compared to the strange cylindrical house he and his son live in.”

"Never mind, I like it here!"

Snape grinned and said, "Why should I care so much since Luna hasn't been born yet?"

For the rest of the summer vacation, Snape and Erin were busy decorating the house and tidying up the overgrown garden.

Although he had clearly told Eileen that the spell could not accurately identify who had cast the spell, and that the Ministry of Magic relied on wizard parents to supervise their children's behavior at home, and had fought against it several times, Eileen still insisted that he follow the rules.

So he had to use his hands to turn over every patch of soil and plant every seedling.

"Oh, I've had enough!" Snape said, using a shovel for support as he stood in the spacious garden. "Mother, you should come and see!"

"What?" Eileen poked her head out from behind the window.

A group of little garden goblins with bald, round heads like potatoes were shrugging their little shoulders as they slipped into the garden through the newly planted hedges.

The hedges hadn't had time to grow fully, so it was no effort for them.

“It’s not just one or two, there are more and more!” Snape said, pointing to the goblins struggling to bury their tiny bodies in the ground. “They’re going to ruin all the cabbage seedlings we’ve worked so hard to transplant!”

He bent down and grabbed a cabbage seedling, and with a violent struggle, he pulled out an ugly goblin.

"Let me go! Let me go!" the goblin screamed, kicking and thrashing with its calloused little feet.

Amidst the goblin's screams, Snape grabbed its ankle, lifted it upside down, then held it above his head, leaned back, and with all his might, swung it around—

The goblin traced a graceful parabola in the air before tumbling down the hillside.

“Severus,” Eileen said, somewhat surprised, “that shot of yours must have been fifty feet.”

“What fifty feet?” Snape pointed in the direction the goblin had rolled down, somewhat exasperated. “Look over there!”

Following the direction of his finger, Eileen saw a few goblins still sparsely making their way up the hillside.

Following their path, a crooked little house comes into view through a tall hedge and orchard.

Snape threw the shovel he was holding onto the ground: "We have to go over there."

"Knock, knock, knock." Eileen, holding a box of freshly baked egg and milk cookies, knocked on the front door of the humble dwelling.

"Bill—go open the door!" "Mom, I'm busy, I'm occupied!"

Not long after, a plump woman wearing a printed apron rushed over and opened the door for them.

"Hello!" Mrs. Weasley's anger quickly turned into a friendly smile. "Oh, Erin, is this your child?"

Eileen smiled and nodded. "Yes. This is Mrs. Weasley, Severus."

“Hello, Mrs. Weasley,” Snape said.

“Thank you, Erin.” Taking the cookie box Erin handed her, Mrs. Weasley happily invited them inside. “So you’ve moved in already?”

“We’ve been here for a while now, and we’ve been busy tidying up the house.” Eileen sat down on a chair in the living room of the Burrow, looking a little embarrassed. “We should have come to visit sooner…”

Seeing that Irene hadn't gotten to the point for a long time, Snape couldn't help but say to Mrs. Weasley:

"Mrs. Weasley, it's like this, while we were tending the garden, we noticed a number of goblins migrating up the hill from here (he pointed to the Burrow with his thumb)."

"Because our hedges hadn't grown long enough, they all sneaked into the garden and started digging holes, so I thought—"

"Ah—" Mrs. Weasley suddenly called out, "Bill, Charlie, come here!"

Two red-haired boys ran over, each carrying several goblins.

One of the slightly taller boys had long red hair, and Snape guessed that he must be Bill, while the other sturdy boy was Charlie.

“Mom, we’re doing what you told us to do—get rid of the goblins!” Bill said, sounding a little impatient.

"Never mind those goblins, we'll deal with them in a few months," Mrs. Weasley said to Bill and Charlie. "Just get some rest today. Alright, you two let the goblins go and go wash your hands."

They ran off again, thump thump thump.

“I’m so sorry,” Erin and Snape kept apologizing to Mrs. Weasley, “we’ve caused you trouble and interfered with their work.”

“It’s alright,” Mrs. Weasley said softly. “To be honest, I’m almost used to them. Arthur is too lenient with them; they always come back soon after we chase them away.”

As they were chatting casually, a baby suddenly cried from one of the rooms inside.

“Oh, Percy, he’s awake.” Mrs. Weasley smiled apologetically at them, then turned and left the living room.

After a while, she came out carrying a baby in her arms, humming a soft tune.

Little Percy kept making babbling sounds in her arms, her little hands unconsciously reaching into the air as if trying to grab something.

Snape leaned closer to look at him and saw Percy tilting his head slightly, seemingly curiously examining the stranger in front of him.

“You’re so cute!” Snape couldn’t help but touch Percy’s chubby nose with his finger. He turned to Mrs. Weasley and asked, “May I hold him?”

“Sure,” Mrs. Weasley demonstrated how to hold a baby. “You should support his neck and head with one hand, and support…”

Snape carefully cradled Percy in his arms and said cheerfully in a voice only he could hear:
"Oh, lovely little Wetherby."

(End of this chapter)