Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 89 The Giant Serpent (4K)

Just as the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the gap in the curtains, Snape was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Severus, get up!" Eileen's voice came through the wooden door. "Jorgins said the flying carpet will be here in five minutes."

Outside the tavern, the Weasleys were all ready to go. Bertha Jorkins was waving a parchment, excitedly introducing the itinerary to everyone:
"Our first stop is the ancient city of Butrint, a ruin from over ten centuries ago. It's said that some ancient wizards' magic circles are still in operation—just imagine, magic from a thousand years ago!"

Snape frowned as he looked up at the sky; a colorful spot was gradually expanding.

"Flying carpet?" His voice was full of doubt. "Isn't that thing already banned in China?"

“Oh, don’t be so rigid, Severus!” Bertha patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically. “It’s perfectly legal here. Albanian Axminster plush carpets are the best in all of Europe.”

She lowered her voice and added mysteriously, "I heard that Mr. Crouch still has one hidden away. Ah, of course, he wouldn't use it, although I've always thought the ban on flying carpets is very unreasonable..."

Snape's brow furrowed even more as the flying carpet landed in the open space in front of the tavern.

This so-called "top-grade flying carpet" appears to be hand-woven from some kind of coarse plant fiber, and the edges are already somewhat worn.

The golden runes embroidered on the flying carpet shimmered faintly in the sunlight, looking much like Errol, the Weasleys's overworked and worn-out old owl.

"Is this really safe?" Lily asked in a low voice, her eyes scanning the suspicious loose threads along the edge of the flying carpet with unease.

“Of course, no problem!” Bertha was the first to jump on, the flying carpet sinking slightly and then bouncing up again. “Look, it’s as stable as the stairs at Hogwarts.”

Bill and Charlie scrambled onto the flying carpet, vying for the front, excitedly arguing about something while pointing at the distant mountains. Mr. Weasley carefully helped his wife up, who was holding Percy, who was still yawning, in her arms.

Snape was the last to step onto the flying carpet, and he could clearly feel the fabric beneath his feet sinking slightly.

As the flying carpet wobbled and rose into the air, a sickening scraping sound came from the edge.

“Don’t worry,” said the red-nosed guide wizard sitting at the front of the flying carpet, speaking in heavily accented English, his goatee twitching as he spoke. “One of them broke last week, and the Ministry of Magic immediately reinforced the levitation charm on all the flying carpets.”

"That explanation is certainly reassuring," Snape said irritably, clutching a tassel at the edge of the flying carpet.

“I still think it’s a terrible idea.” Mrs. Weasley gripped the protrusion on the flying carpet with one hand and held Percy tightly in her arms with the other. “Oh—Charlie! Bill! Put your legs back! Arthur, keep an eye on them!”

“Don’t worry, Molly!” Bertha, sitting next to the tour guide, turned around excitedly and called out, her curly hair flying in the wind and her round face beaming with a smile. “Andrea just told me that this flying carpet has been in use for over a century and has never had an accident!”

"More than a century?" Mrs. Weasley's voice was almost squeezed out between her teeth. "It's older than our whole family combined."

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the scenery below became clearer. The lush forest stretched across the land like a giant green carpet, dotted with silvery lakes and winding rivers, with some unidentified water birds circling above.

Andrea uttered a spell that sounded like something was stuck in her throat, and the flying carpet suddenly accelerated, the wind whistling past her ears.

"Look over there!" Charlie pointed excitedly into the distance, almost tumbling off the edge of the flying carpet before Mr. Weasley pulled him back. "Is that where we're going?"

Snape looked away from the edge of the swaying flying carpet and saw a vast expanse of greyish-brown swamp stretching into the distance, dotted with scattered trees and reeds on the water's surface.

In the distance, the outline of an ancient city ruin, half-submerged in water, gradually emerges, with the partially collapsed ancient stone walls and semi-circular archway faintly visible.

“That’s the ancient city of Butrint,” Andrea explained. “It was first built before the Illyrian period, and was later occupied by the Greeks, Romans, and Venetians in turn. Traces of magic left by ancient Albanian sorcerers are still preserved there.” He lowered his voice mysteriously, “Legend has it that during the Middle Ages, a group of dark sorcerers conducted forbidden experiments here…”

The flying carpet began to descend, and the damp, swampy smell wafted over us.

Lily seemed to have regained much of her energy. She leaned out, her red hair flying like flames in the wind.

"Hold on tight!" Andrea shouted a warning. The flying carpet suddenly swooped down at a dangerous angle, and Molly screamed, followed by Percy's cry.

Just as the flying carpet was about to touch the water, it suddenly stopped, splashing water everywhere.

"Welcome to Butrint!" Amid the chaos, a local guide in a dark green robe approached, followed by several other tourists. "I am Gene, and today I will be leading you on a tour of this historic city."

Snape jumped off the flying carpet and stepped onto a stone slab floating on the water, and was surprised to find that although it seemed to be floating, it was actually quite stable.

“Please follow my footsteps carefully,” Gene waved politely to them. “We can only walk on the stone paths that are fixed by magic. There are Grindylows in the swamp. Although they have been driven away, there are always some that slip through the net—last week a German tourist was dragged into the water, but fortunately he was rescued in time.”

They followed Gene toward the entrance to the ruins. A row of magically levitated stone slabs lay along the edge of the swamp, each slab about three feet square, floating steadily a few inches above the water.

“These buildings are decorated with magic invented by ancient Albanian sorcerers,” Gene explained, pointing to a relief almost entirely covered in moss. He lightly touched it with his wand, and the moss immediately receded, revealing the rough carving beneath. “This magic can perfectly integrate the building with the water element, allowing the city to automatically adapt when floods come…”

Snape walked in the middle of the group, carefully observing the ancient city that was half-submerged in water.

The ruins of Butrint are more spectacular than they appear from a distance.

Huge stone pillars lean into the water, some already broken; the reliefs on the arches, though eroded by time, still reveal the magical runes carved by ancient wizards; underwater stone steps lead to an unknown depth, where schools of silver fish occasionally swim.

“This used to be a prosperous city,” Gene explained as they walked, his voice echoing slightly across the empty swamp. “It was said to be the site of the ancient Albanian magic academy, but during a dangerous dark magic experiment, the entire city sank into the swamp, and all the teachers and students perished in that disaster…”

They continued on, passing through a half-collapsed archway. The buildings in the water presented a strange sight—some had only their roofs above the water, while others were half-submerged, their windows staring blankly at the visitors like empty eyes.

The Weasley children ran around excitedly, while Molly kept scolding them: "Don't go near the water! Stay away from those rocks!"

Snape noticed some strange scratches on the walls that didn't seem to be caused by natural erosion.

“These traces…” He reached out and touched the stone wall, feeling a trace of residual magical fluctuations.

“It could be left by an ancient magical instrument,” Gene explained, “or it could be the claw marks of some magical creature. This swamp is home to many unique magical animals, some of which have never even been registered with the Ministry of Magic.”

As Gene was explaining, Snape noticed a rustling sound coming from the distant forest, as if some large creature was moving through the bushes.

He turned his head alertly, but only saw the dense bushes swaying slightly.

"What's wrong?" Lily noticed his unusual behavior and asked in a low voice.

Snape was about to answer when a clear "plop" came from the water. Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and they saw ripples spreading out from the water about twenty yards away from them.

“It could be an otter or a tortoise, they often…” Gene said haltingly, raising his wand, but there was a clear hint of something amiss in his voice, “Back off! Everyone, back off slowly!”

His words came to an abrupt halt—the water suddenly churned violently, and a huge green figure appeared and disappeared underwater.

"Merlin's beard!" Mrs. Weasley gasped, pulling Percy even closer.

A huge green viper raised its head from the water, splashing up a spray. Its body was at least twelve feet long, and water droplets slid down its scales, shimmering in the sunlight.

It opened its mouth wide and precisely caught a low-flying waterbird, its green vertical pupils coldly watching the uninvited guests in the swamp, before falling heavily back into the water.

"Don't move, everyone slowly back away..." Gene whispered, "It's just hunting, it won't attack us unless provoked..."

The giant snake seemed to have no interest in the group of humans and began to swim slowly in the water, enjoying its prey.

However, a wizard in purple robes suddenly raised his wand, his eyes gleaming with greed.

“This is no ordinary snake!” he whispered excitedly. “Its venom, scales, and even its eyes are top-grade potion ingredients…”

"Stop!" Gene shouted, but it was too late.

A beam of red light shot from the purple-robed wizard's wand, striking the giant snake in the water, and the splashing water rained down on everyone.

The giant snake swayed and wobbled in the water before bursting out of the water again, its mouth wide open, emitting a hiss that sounded almost like metal scraping, and its emerald green eyes instantly turned blood red.

“You idiot!” Snape roared, wand already in his hand.

The purple-robed wizard quickly paid the price for his actions. The giant snake's tail lashed out like a whip, striking him precisely in the chest.

"Ah—!" He only had time to let out a short scream before he was dragged into the water.

The water churned violently, and a few seconds later, a glaring bright red color rose to the surface.

The giant snake was not satisfied. It swam angrily in the water.

"Run!" Mr. Weasley shouted, drawing his wand and protecting his family as they retreated. "Everyone, get to shore! Quickly!"

The crowd moved hastily toward the shore, the stone slabs swaying slightly with their hurried footsteps.

Just as Snape was about to step onto the last stone slab, he suddenly felt a tightening around his waist. He looked down and saw that the giant snake's tail had wrapped around his waist, and the slippery scales sent a chill through his robes.

"Loosen the power!" Snape said quickly, pointing his wand at the snake tail wrapped around him, but to no avail.

The giant snake suddenly swung, and Snape felt his feet leave the ground, leaving him suspended in mid-air.

“Severus!” Eileen and Lily’s terrified cries rang in his ears.

Through his blurry vision, he saw that they had drawn their wands, but dared not cast a spell rashly, for fear of angering the giant snake.

Snape felt a sharp pain in his ribs, difficulty breathing, and instinctively opened his mouth to shout, "No!"

The giant serpent paused, its vertical pupils meeting Snape's gaze, seemingly deep in thought. It slightly loosened its coils, allowing Snape to breathe again.

A strange connection seemed to be forming between them, and Snape felt his panic gradually disappear.

He felt a strange sense of familiarity, and could even vaguely perceive the emotions in those vertical pupils—pain, anger, and a strange joy.

An unnatural silence enveloped the swamp. The chirping of birds and insects in the forest had ceased, and even the wind seemed to have stopped.

Everyone stared at Snape in shock. What had just come out of his mouth was not English, but a hissing sound with an eerie rhythm.

The Weasleys instinctively shielded their child, their faces a mixture of fear and confusion; Bertha Jorkins took a few steps back, her mouth agape in shock, her gaze shifting back and forth between Snape and the giant snake; Gene's face was deathly pale, his lips moving silently as if in prayer.

Eileen and Lily stood frozen for two seconds before suddenly realizing what was happening and quickly raised their wands, casting spells at the giant snake.

However, the giant serpent suddenly turned around, swung its tail violently, and before anyone could react, slid back into the water at an astonishing speed, taking Snape with it as it plunged headfirst into the swamp.

"Severus!" Eileen screamed in despair, her wand shooting out several beams of light, but they all missed.

Without hesitation, she jumped into the murky water. Lily followed her in, their figures quickly swallowed by the dark swamp.

The two swam desperately toward the giant snake, but it was too fast. They only saw a green shadow disappear quickly into the dark water, leaving behind a string of bubbles.

A few minutes later, Eileen still didn't want to give up, but some disgusting Grindylos with horns on their heads and pale green bodies were already surrounding them.

The creatures' eyes glowed an eerie yellow in the dim water, and their webbed fingers reached for their ankles.

Seeing this, Lily struggled to drag Erin to the surface, and the Weasleys and Gene quickly pulled them both up.

They sat on the stone slab, soaking wet, the water on Eileen's face indistinguishable between lake water and tears. Her lips trembled, but no sound came out; she simply stared intently at the water.

“He speaks Parsley…” Bertha murmured, her voice trembling with shock, “How is this possible…”

The water gradually returned to calm, and the last ripple disappeared.

　Thank you to readers CYN-风水生, Mihael, 开心的鲁卡, 风霜雨雪露, 20190101114655273, and 20190501091112160 for their monthly tickets.

　　------

　　In addition, the four thousand words were posted together. Do you prefer the two chapters to be posted together, or separately?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)