Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

Chapter 5 Harry's Destiny

After Severus arrived, Penny, who had remained silent the entire time, couldn't help but scream.

"I knew it! I knew it! I will never allow people like you to have any contact with Harry! He's a normal person! He's been raised in our family to be an absolutely normal person!"

Vernon, who had now become Severus's brother, was somewhat embarrassed.

He certainly stood firmly in support of his wife Penny, but how could he turn on her so quickly after being on such good terms with her just a moment ago?

Besides, he thought Snape was a really nice guy, quite different from the freaks he had in mind.

Ghost Snape watched this scene with a cold laugh. He had witnessed the entire process of how this hypocritical conman went to great lengths to curry favor with this family of Muggles, but in the end, it was destined to be a futile effort.

He even suspected that Dumbledore had deliberately set up such an impossible obstacle.

The Dursleys were so unreasonable that it was a pipe dream to get them to willingly let Harry go.

Harry looked at Severus with a bewildered expression. He couldn't understand why a professor he had never met before, who was also the head of a school, would come to the Dursleys' house specifically for him.

And Aunt Penny, why did she say those things? And why did she react so strongly?

What does it mean to be an abnormal person?

Of all those present, whether human or ghost, only Severus remained unfazed, except for Dudley, who was piling Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into his mouth.

Just as Penny's reaction was entirely within his expectations, he never thought that his previous performance alone would be enough to truly win over the family.

"In your eyes, am I a normal person now? Mrs. Dursley?"

Severus relaxed his body, leaning back against the chair. He picked up the cup of black tea that Vernon had poured for him, took a sip, and looked at Penny calmly to ask a question.

Penny just stared at him intently, her eyes unblinking.

"You know better than anyone whether you're normal or not! You can fool my husband, you can fool my children, but you can't fool me! I've known you since I was a child! I know you!"

"But I think that to judge whether a person is normal or not, we should focus on judging their behavior, thoughts, and words. Don't you agree?"

Severus remained calm and did not get into an argument with Penny.

"These things can be educated, changed, and influenced by society. However, there are some aspects that either exist or they don't exist; they don't change because of human will, and they are objectively real."

"In your definition of normal, Harry Potter embodies this objective phenomenon that is independent of human will. I know you don't want me to use that title in front of the children, but his family background will naturally determine what kind of person he will be in the future."

Penny, however, showed no sign of being persuaded. She was breathing heavily with anger, and her eyes, which made no attempt to hide their resistance, stared directly into Severus's gaze.

"So what are you doing here with Harry? To hasten his transformation into someone like his parents! To turn him into a complete freak!"

“With Albus Dumbledore’s approval, I’ve come here to take Harry for a period of pre-college education,” Severus said, pulling on Dumbledore’s coattails.

“I absolutely refuse!” Petunia shouted, showing Dumbledore no respect whatsoever.

Albus Dumbledore is widely regarded as the greatest white wizard in the history of magic, and people from both the underworld and the legitimate world give him a certain amount of respect upon hearing his name.

But today Severus proved that it was just a rumor!

Any random housewife from a Muggle family would dare to spit in his face.

Severus muttered to himself, but of course he wouldn't say it out loud; he still looked at Penny calmly.

“You are her older sister, you should know that before your sister even entered Hogwarts, she had already shown those unusual characteristics at home.”

This made Penny's face look even worse.

That was a memory she desperately wanted to recall.

Unlike the Dursleys of today, the Evans of the past were very proud and happy when they discovered their youngest daughter's extraordinary qualities.

This made the ordinary Penny feel neglected, which aroused her jealousy and shaped her current attitude towards wizards and magic.

"Your sister was once the pride of your parents' family, but what if Harry later shows the same traits as her mother? Here, in this house, in front of the guests you've invited, in front of your relatives and friends."

These direct and crucial words made Penny's face turn pale.

Of course she remembered what qualities Lily possessed before she entered Hogwarts.

If Harry were in a similar situation, whether at school or at home, regardless of whether there were outsiders present.

“We will control him! We won’t let him become like that! As long as he doesn’t associate with people like you, he will never become like that! Never.”

"That will only make things worse, Penny!"

Severus loudly interrupted Petunia's reverie, no longer using the title "Mrs. Dursley," but addressing her by her first name.

"Magic doesn't disappear because of your will and control. It will only accumulate and mutate within Harry's body, eventually like a water balloon that has been compressed to its limit, 'bang,' hurting himself and everyone around him."

"Furthermore, even if Harry hadn't turned out that way, if he weren't guided and taught how to properly interact with normal people while possessing magical powers, what do you think might have happened in the future?"

He pointed seriously to his eyes.

“I can see some of the future, and many things you don’t want to see will happen. At the zoo, he will break the glass in the reptile house and cause panic; in this room, his aunt who mocks and insults him will turn into a balloon and fly to the ceiling; at the seaside cottage, because you refused to let him go to that school, your precious son will grow a pig’s tail.”

“You’re threatening us!” Penny screamed.

"I am stating the facts."

Severus remained calm, but his gaze had now turned to Vernon.

After Penny took over, Vernon sat silently to the side, fiddling with his thumb.

When he noticed his brother Snape looking at him, he did not look away.

“Dude, I know what you’re worried about, but some things can’t be solved by running away. Since it’s destined to happen, we might as well prepare early. I’ll teach Harry how to interact with you normally, so he won’t cause you any trouble or annoyance. What do you think?”

Vernon glanced at his wife after hearing this sincere statement. He stood up from his chair, walked over to Penny, put his arm around her nearly swaying body, and tentatively asked her a question.

"How about we listen to Snape, my brother?"

Severus did not press his advantage further.

He has said everything he needed to say. Anything more he says will only have a negative effect. Whether this matter will succeed in the end depends on Penny's decision.

Penny's breathing became very rapid, but she didn't speak immediately.

The entire room fell silent.

Apart from the ticking of the wall clock, the only other sound was Dudley chewing on his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

About ten seconds, maybe twenty or thirty seconds later.

Penny's slightly hoarse voice rang out again.

"How can you prove that I can trust you and hand over my sister's son to you?"

Severus answered the question in a low voice.

"He is Lily Evans' son."

The moment he uttered those words, Severus could clearly feel a deathly gaze, as if it could devour him whole, staring intently at him from within his body!

Upon hearing this, Penny slumped into her chair, bursting into tears. She then stood up again, wiping away her tears, and turned to leave.

"Whatever, whatever."

Although she didn't agree verbally, the meaning was self-evident.

Vernon finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to his face. However, when he faced Harry, the smile immediately turned stern and red.

"Did you hear me! Hurry up and pack your things!"

However, before he could finish speaking, Severus held out his hand, signaling him not to speak in such a commanding tone.

Severus turned to look at Harry, who remained bewildered and clueless about what the adults were talking about.

“Mr. Harry Potter,” Severus looked intently into his eyes, “I have convinced your guardian, and now it is time to hear your own opinion.”

"Do you agree to come with me for preparatory studies, to prepare for your future studies at Hogwarts and to accept your unusual identity?"

Harry was a little nervous about being treated so seriously by adults for the first time.

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling, but he still clearly asked the question he most wanted to know.

"Mr. Snape, you...you know my mother?"

Severus once again ignored Snape's gaze, the ghost of the body, and answered with a smile.

"We used to be best friends."

Harry didn't hesitate at all; he practically jumped up from the sofa.

"It is my pleasure to accept, sir!"

Chapter 6 Same Purpose

"Stop glaring at me with those dead fish eyes. We all know that looks can't kill, especially not the eyes of a ghost."

While Harry went to the cupboard under the stairs to gather his things, Severus did not remain in the room.

He arrived at the Dursleys' yard, observing the sky, which had turned completely gloomy and looked like a downpour was about to begin, while amusing himself with the ghost Snape inside him.

Snape did indeed want to kill Severus with his eyes.

He made no attempt to hide his anger, letting out a roar that only one person could hear.

"You despicable liar! How dare you say the name Lily Evans! And how dare you tell Poot that you are her friend!"

Severus simply responded nonchalantly to his angry outbursts and questions.

Are you angry that I lied to you? Or are you angry that these words were spoken in your capacity? Or are you furious that you are not qualified to say that name again?

This question silenced Ghost Snape.

But he still looked like he was about to explode with anger. Forget about magic, if he had any physical body and could touch Severus, he would immediately cause a huge disturbance inside him and beat up his internal organs!

However, now that he had completely become a ghost, all he could do was writhe in impotent rage.

“Do you remember how I answered you when you asked me what I really wanted to do?” Severus suddenly asked.

Ghost Snape stared at him coldly, without saying a word.

Severus ignored his indifference and continued talking to himself.

"Sincere people are the most worthy of others' appreciation, trust, and reliance."

"In your eyes, all the preparations I made for the motor company before coming here were a deception. But even if Vernon Dursley really understood that before today I didn't know what the Groning Company was, or that a drilling rig wasn't an electric drill, he wouldn't mind at all; on the contrary, he would be even closer to me."

"Do you know why?"

Severus never expected Snape the Ghost to give him any answer, so he asked and answered himself.

"Because this is also a kind of sincerity. I even prepared in advance to get along with him, and specifically learned about things I didn't know and explored areas I had never been involved in before, just so that we could get along well on our first meeting. Is that considered deception?"

"Seeking common ground while reserving differences is the first step to communication, rather than starting by arguing because of differing perceptions."

“Muggles don’t understand wizards, and wizards disdain to understand Muggles. But Muggles’ lack of understanding of wizards is not of their own volition; rather, it is because wizards deliberately want to hide themselves. Wizards’ disdain to understand Muggles stems from an innate sense of superiority.”

"This kind of superiority is too foolish, especially when wizards need to communicate with Muggles, they often can't let go of their pride."

At this point, Severus shrugged.

“But I can. I don’t think there’s any difference between Muggles and wizards who possess both rational thought and emotional impulses and who don’t even have reproductive barriers.”

"Once we've established a basis for communication, which of my subsequent statements were lies? Which ones weren't based on considerations from Penny and Vernon's perspectives?"

Isn't this sincerity?

"You only see that I used your past relationship with Lily, which I never experienced, to gain Petunia and Harry's ultimate trust. But have you ever thought that I am you now, and you are me?"

Ghost Snape remained silent, but his silence regarding this question was different from his silence regarding the previous ones.

Severus leaned against the Dursleys’s house wall with his arms crossed.

Standing here, I can see through the window to my right that Harry is happily tidying up his meager collection of clothes by himself.

None of the Dursleys were helping him. Even though he was the central figure in today's events, he seemed like an outsider the entire time, except for the last part when Severus asked for his opinion.

“I can be sincere with the Dursleys, and I can be just as sincere with you, old man.”

He uttered a name that made Ghost Snape inexplicably feel a throbbing in his temples.

"I've thought about it carefully. Actually, you should have died the moment I completely took your place. But why are you now a ghost trapped in my body? How are ghosts created?"

"You don't want to die; you still have attachments to this world."

"Harry Potter, that's the obsession."

After a long silence, Snape the Ghost finally couldn't help but speak.