HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

West returned to the Great Hall and ate breakfast absentmindedly.

He waited until the afternoon before returning to the cellar and knocking on the door.

The door slammed open, and Snape stood behind it, looking down at him with a complex expression.

"Professor, as you saw this morning, I need to learn the Patronus Charm," West said hastily. "Please."

Snape remained silent for a moment, then stepped aside to make room for West to enter.

The wooden door closed again.

Snape's pale and fragile appearance from the morning had completely vanished.

He looked at West, his gaze imposing. "I think you know that the Patronus Charm is a high-level spell."

West nodded calmly. "I'd like to give it a try."

"……come over."

With a flick of his wand, Snape caused the bookshelf against the wall to creak and slowly move aside, revealing a wooden door.

West followed Snape inside, and a cold, damp, musty smell hit them.

The black iron box in the middle of the room was particularly eye-catching, with wisps of black mist seeping from the gaps in the lid.

West stood in front of the box, curiously examining it.

Snape tapped the box twice with his wand. "There's a Boggart inside. Do you know what that is?"

West obediently replied, "A shape-shifting creature without a physical form, capable of transforming into the thing that evokes the deepest fear in a person's heart."

Snape nodded approvingly. "Given your limited knowledge of magic, I've preemptively solidified it into a Dementor form."

He waved his wand, and the box trembled violently. "I suppose you know how to deal with Dementors?"

"Yes, Professor, Dementors are the guardians of Azkaban, capable of sucking away a person's happiness and fond memories," West said sternly, "and can be driven away by a Patronus Charm."

He gripped his lightning-struck wooden wand, poised for action. "Come on, Professor."

"Remember the spell, recall your happiest memories." Snape said, then opened the box.

The box was suddenly flung open, and a putrid smell and a bone-chilling cold hit you.

A tall, black monster floated out.

It was draped in a black cloak, its entire body rotting, with no facial features. Thin skin covered with gray scabs covered its empty eye sockets, and its mouth was a large, shapeless hole that kept making gurgling sounds.

It ignored Snape and pounced straight at West.

West took a deep breath, focused his mind, raised his wand, and chanted, "Patriot."

However, the wand did not move. Seeing this, the Dementor brazenly approached, wanting to devour West's memories.

The coldness crept up from my heels like a bone-chilling wound.

West clenched his teeth so hard that he almost wore his tongue raw, and his mouth tasted of blood.

"Protect the Gods." A deep, cello-like voice rang out, and a beam of white light emanated from behind West, forcing the Dementors back into the box.

West turned and saw Snape's somber face and slightly parted lips. "Remember your happiest moments, Mr. Potter."

West's mind went blank.

The image he had just recalled was of meeting Lily and James, the Patronus, but it was perhaps not a happy one for him; rather, it was mixed with the pain of helplessness.

"...One more time, Professor." West's face was a little pale, but he still spoke stubbornly.

This time, he imagined a snowball fight with Harry, his wand emitting a faint white light, but not enough to repel the Dementors.

"Again."

West's memory returns to a day with Harry on Privet Drive. The Dursleys abandoned them to travel on their own, so he and Harry enjoyed a few good days together.

They played with the somewhat limp soccer ball that Dali had discarded in the park, laughing wildly all day.

The white light was a little stronger, but still not enough.

After trying five times, West's face grew paler and paler.

Snape closed the box one last time, his face grim. "That's enough for today."

Snape strode out of the room, West following closely behind. Snape took a bottle of energy drink from the medicine shelf and slammed it onto the table.

"Drink before you go," Snape said, returning to his lounge. "Come find me for your second practice session when you've thought things through."

Westermor stroked the rim of the potion bottle, tilted his head back, and gulped down the potion, the pungent minty flavor hitting him right in the head.

It took him a while to recover before the suffocating coldness slowly subsided.

"You're so useless."

A clear, cold voice echoed in my mind.

West was taken aback, then lowered his voice and asked, "You can speak?"

The boy's cold laugh echoed in his mind, "I've always been able to, I just couldn't be bothered to tell you."

"...You know we're actually the same person, right?" West sighed helplessly, tapping his throbbing temples with his knuckles. "What's with this intense hostility?"

"Stop trying to get on my good side," the boy said impatiently. "Hurry up and learn the Guardian Charm; time is running out."

"...I know." West stared at the tip of his wand, his gaze deep and dark. "By the way, can you use the Patronus Charm?"

The boy was silent for a moment, then answered dejectedly, "No."

"Why?" West murmured. "I'm uneasy, do you understand?"

"What I mean is, I always feel that the happiness I have now is like a mirage, something I'll lose sooner or later."

The boy said nothing more and simply disappeared.

West snapped out of his reverie, a heavy look on his face. He stepped out of the cellar and gently closed the door.

West walked into the Great Hall in a daze and found Harry and Ron playing wizard chess.

Harry was lying on the chessboard, his black hair edged with gold by the sunlight streaming in through the stained-glass windows.

Ron's knight pawn suddenly sprang into action, wielding its sword and felling Harry's queen.

Ron immediately cheered and danced with joy.

Harry, who looked incredibly bored, brightened up when he saw him. "West! Where have you been?"

West sat down next to him and Ron, replying wearily, "I need to see Professor Snape; I have something to discuss."

Harry leaned closer, his sharp gaze behind his glasses scrutinizing West's pale face. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he cried out, "Did he enslave you and make you handle potions again?"

Ron choked on his saliva upon hearing this. "My God! He won't even spare West?"

West couldn't help but laugh, and his depressed mood improved a lot.

He reached out and ruffled Harry's hair. "Don't overthink it. I need the professor's help with something."

"Okay," Harry said, but there was a clear hint of doubt in his eyes.

"...Harry, if you had the chance to meet your mom and dad, would you...?"

Harry, as if petrified, his face hardening slightly, involuntarily confessed, "West, although I went to look at that mirror for three nights..."

With a knowing look on West's face, his voice trailed off, "But the mirror has already been taken away by Headmaster Dumbledore, so we won't be able to see it."

West said with a hint of exasperation, "I'm serious, do you want to see them one more time?"

Harry looked dejected upon hearing this.

He didn't take West's words to heart, but still lowered his head and thought for a long time before slowly saying, "I want a hug."

"I just want a hug. I've forgotten what their hugs feel like."