Hogwarts: Starting as a Serpent Demon

They're both twelve years old, yet the difference between them is greater than the difference between a wizard and a Muggle.

“Maybe I’m just precocious.” Witt vaguely glossed over the topic and instead invited, “Have you eaten? Why don’t we go try the Ministry of Magic’s specialty kitchen and see what the food is like?”

As a guest, it's perfectly normal to stop by for a meal.

This is such a trivial matter that there's no need to even mention it to Crouch.

“Forget it,” Harry said listlessly. “All I want now is to go back to Hogwarts and get a good night’s sleep.”

"I will definitely not come to this kind of interview again next time."

Harry felt that those reporters were even more terrifying than Voldemort.

“That’s not up to you.” Witt patted Harry on the shoulder and led him back to Hogwarts via the Floo Network.

"Get some rest. If you fail the final assessment in a few days, I guarantee you'll be much more tired than you are now."

Harry didn't answer Witt, but judging from his eyes, he was very confident about the exam.

*

In the evening, while taking a walk after dinner, Witt witnessed an incredibly peculiar scene.

Neville, carrying something unidentified, thanked Snape.

Snape looked disgusted and had a very irritable expression, as if to say, "Don't bother me if you don't want to."

The whole scene feels disjointed.

"What happened?"

After Snape left, Witt ran over to ask Neville about it and glanced at the gift he had given him.

Two bottles of Porter brand shampoo.

Goodness, Snape didn't kill you, he's really good-natured.

When Neville saw Witt, he asked, somewhat bewildered, "Am I really that annoying?"

“I don’t think this is your problem.” Witt said, still staring at the gift Neville was holding. Even if Dumbledore were to deliver it, Snape wouldn’t give him a good look.

"Why did you think of giving Snape a gift, or..." Witt didn't know what to say.

“This is a gift my grandma picked out. She said that Professor Snape’s hair is so oily, this shampoo would be the best for him,” Neville answered honestly.

"Why would your grandmother think of sending Snape a gift?" Given Snape's usual attitude towards Neville, Witt seriously suspected that the old lady sent the gift on purpose.

“It’s the Philosopher’s Stone fragment you gave me last time,” Neville said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head. “All the other Potions Masters want to keep a portion of the Philosopher’s Stone fragment as payment and won’t accept Galleons as payment.”

“My grandmother searched everywhere, and only Professor Snape was willing to take on this job without the Philosopher's Stone.”

That's an elixir of immortality, a life-extending magic potion with extremely few side effects—who wouldn't be envious?

Even if not used to refine elixirs of immortality, it is an extremely precious material for potion research.

Potions masters are generally not short of money, so naturally they want some special rewards.

But this Philosopher's Stone fragment was meant to save the Longbottoms' lives, and Neville's grandmother naturally couldn't agree to such a request, insisting that not a single piece be lost.

The inevitable result was that the talks broke down.

Nawi has indeed had a tough time lately.

However, Wit still didn't quite understand. It was normal for Snape, with his arrogant nature, to help, but why would Neville's grandmother think of giving Snape such a gift?

This isn't just a direct, blatant taunt; she's genuinely unafraid that Snape might smear the potion.

"How did your grandma come up with the idea of ​​giving this thing to Professor Snape? Didn't you tell him that Professor Snape hated Potter the most?"

“I forgot,” Neville said softly. “Grandma said Professor Snape would go bald if he kept going like this, so I…”

"So you dared to try and give these two bottles of shampoo to Snape?"

Witt truly admired Neville; he was far braver than Harry.

"If I told you that Snape doesn't wash his hair because the Potters sell shampoo, would you still think we should give Snape these two bottles of shampoo?"

"what!"

Neville opened his mouth wide, looking bewildered.

He never expected things to turn out this way.

“Never mind, Snape should know you didn’t mean it,” Witt comforted him. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just cursed you; he would have used the Crucifixion Curse directly.”

"You'd better avoid seeing him for a while. Snape is extremely vengeful. Even if it's unintentional, he'll write it down in his little notebook. Don't bother apologizing to him. Not only will it not work, but he'll also think you're deliberately humiliating him and making things worse."

"Tell me about your parents, the Longbottoms. How are they doing now?"

Chapter 156 The Surprise Attack of the School Season

“He was conscious for a while, but then he fell unconscious again.” Neville said as calmly as possible, “The doctor said it was because of the long-term psychological trauma, and the confused memories need some time to sort out. After a while, he may return to normal.”

Because there were no similar examples before, the healers at St. Mungo's tended to be conservative in their speech.

Neville, however, truly believed the therapist's words, and so he had been living in constant anxiety these past few days.

Even during training, he seemed absent-minded.

“They’ll be alright.” Witt comforted Neville, then whispered, “Cheer up, and give them a surprise when the time comes. Let them see that their child has become a real wizard.”

"Ah."

Neville nodded solemnly.

However, he turned his gaze to the shampoo in his hand with some regret.

This was a high-end product that his grandmother bought at great expense. Now that Snape doesn't want it, he can't bear to use such expensive shampoo.

If you take it back, you'll have to explain the reason to your grandmother.

His grandmother will definitely come to apologize, and according to Witt, that would be tantamount to humiliating Snape a second time.

Neither side is a good fit for me.

Neville has absolutely no idea how to deal with these two hot potatoes.

"What are you thinking about?" Witt asked curiously when he saw Neville staring at the shampoo in his hand without moving.

“I don’t know what to do with this,” Neville said, scratching his head. “I don’t want to keep it for myself, but I can’t give it away. If I return it to my grandma, she might come to apologize.”

"understood."

Before Neville could even finish speaking, Witt instantly understood what he meant.

“Give it to me.” Victor snatched the shampoo from Neville’s hand without any hesitation: “You still owe me a lot of money, so these two bottles of shampoo will be considered as payment.”

"To be honest, I've never used such a high-end product before. I'll go back and try it out."

Without giving Neville a chance to refuse, Witt turned and left, giving him a final reminder before he left.

"Remember to practice more these few days. If you fail the exam in a few days, I won't give you any face."

With the Christmas holidays coming to an end, Witt wanted to conduct a preliminary test on the students who had participated in the training before Hogwarts started its new term.

Test their learning progress so that we can plan for the next learning opportunities.

So far, most students have maintained a positive attitude towards learning. After all, Voldemort has been resurrected, and their purpose in learning magic is no longer to graduate and find a good job, but simply to survive.

Different goals lead to different motivations.

As long as they don't make a mistake, Witt thinks most students should be able to pass the test and get a passing score.

But Witt wanted more than just being qualified; he really wanted to see which wizards were truly exceptional.

For those who are excellent or above, every point makes a world of difference.

It's good to see who is suitable for focused training and who can be left to their own devices.

Just as Witt was frowning and pondering how to set the exam content, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Tell that idiot Neville to stay away from me next time."

“Professor Snape?” Witt turned his head and whispered, “That might be a bit difficult.”

“You’ve done him such a big favor, so even if you scold him, Neville probably won’t care.”

“It’s not for him,” Snape said impatiently. “Keep him away from me. I feel uncomfortable just looking at him.”

?

Witt asked curiously, "Professor Snape, I don't quite understand what you're saying. Neville shouldn't have done anything to offend you, right?"

“He has offended me since he was born.”

Snape made no attempt to hide his likes and dislikes; he was incredibly outspoken.

“You’re not referring to that prophecy,” Witt asked tentatively. “Because Voldemort didn’t choose Neville, you dislike him.”

Snape didn't say anything, but his expression said it all.

“That’s where you’re wrong. This has nothing to do with Neville. What you’ve done is a bit too much.”

“So, keep him away from me,” Snape said coldly. “I feel nauseous just looking at him.”

Does it matter whether it's right or wrong? No, it doesn't.

The important thing is that every time Snape sees Neville, he can't help but think how much better it would have been if Voldemort had chosen Neville instead, and then he'll think of Lily's death.

This was his truest thought, and Snape never hid it.

“…Then why are you still making medicine for Neville’s parents?” Witt said helplessly.

If you dislike Neville so much, why bother brewing medicine for him and provoking him? Isn't that a contradiction?

After a moment of silence, Snape said in a low voice, "Thoughts are neither right nor wrong, but actions are."

He couldn't control his thoughts because Snape's true nature was just that—that kind of person. Snape's true nature had never changed, nor could it ever change.

He simply learned restraint, something he learned from Dumbledore.

But restraint aside, dislike remains dislike; Snape could never imitate Dumbledore's pretentious manner.

Just like how he was always protecting Harry, his inner disgust for Harry, especially his face, still made Snape unable to resist making sarcastic remarks every time he saw Harry.

Incidentally, by taking advantage of the teacher's authority, one can enjoy Harry's irritable yet helpless state to make oneself feel good.