The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 86 Snape's Journey

Chapter 87 Snape's Journey

The Patronus Charm that Snape was casting at this moment displayed unprecedented power and weakness.

Its power lies in the fact that it looks so real, with deer descending from the sky amidst silver smoke, running joyfully around him.

An unprecedented level of agility.

However, this unusual realism made Snape feel a sense of unreality.

He gazed sadly at the guardian spirit before him, truly feeling its inner emptiness.

Perhaps to put it more directly, this is his inner self.

From the perspective of his surroundings, he had never felt so close to Lily, yet reason told him that it was all an illusion, and the name on those books was a constant reminder that she was dead!

She's dead! She's dead!!!

Heart-piercing!

Heartbreaking!

From his own perspective, he is indeed currently experiencing an unprecedented internal upheaval.

This wavering stemmed from Lockhart's words: "Severus, have you ever considered that if you continue down the path of magic, it's not impossible for you to personally eliminate him?"

There were even earlier comments—"If I hadn't died, would Voldemort really have been killed by Harry?", "Can we really expect Harry Potter to kill Voldemort through fate?", "Severus, do you really believe in fate?"

do not know!

He doesn't know!

Please, please don't ask him that kind of question!

He betrayed the idol he had fervently worshipped in his youth and came to the side of the world's most powerful wizard, hoping that Dumbledore could kill his idol, only to discover with sorrow that Dumbledore's heart was already dead, dead just like his own.

So he began to pin his hopes on Professor Trelawney's prophecy, hoping that Harry Potter would really kill Voldemort as foretold. However, he eventually discovered that the truth behind the previous prophecy was that Lily had actually paid with her own life to kill him, and that Harry Potter, on whom he had placed his hopes, seemed even more foolish than James Potter.

This isn't prejudice; Harry really isn't as good as James, at least that's what he sees right now.

Why did he relentlessly humiliate Harry Potter? He always thought he simply hated the kid, hated the kid who looked exactly like James Potter.

But he eventually discovered that this wasn't the case; he hated Harry because of his own cowardice!

He dared not confront Voldemort, so he pinned his hopes on the boy Harry Potter, but the boy's performance was so poor that it drove him to despair.

Harry showed absolutely no talent for potions like Lily did, nor did he inherit any of Lily's abilities.

Instead, he's becoming more and more like that idiot Potter. What's the use of Quidditch talent?

And now, Lockhart, this guy who seems to understand people's hearts and is very outspoken, says to him—What about you? Didn't you ever think that you could rely on yourself?

When you were young, you were no less capable than Dumbledore or Voldemort in their youth; you really have that potential.

So he wavered.

It was merely a wavering.

Because he was afraid!

He feared that once he boarded the train to the future, the beautiful figure on the platform would no longer wait for him; he feared that if he went too far and met too many people, she would become blurred in his memory.

This is a desperate dilemma.

To protect this unique and precious moment in his life, he dared not move forward.

But if he doesn't dare to move forward, he may never gain the power to avenge Lily, betraying this beautiful thing.

Is there any meaning to living like this?

He looked at the guardian deer representing Lily with such sorrow, as helpless as a child, "What should I do?"

Say goodbye bravely and embark on a journey to acquire the magical power to avenge her?

But he knew that the power to fight against dark magic was beautiful. Was he going to seek beauty outside of Lily?

He can't do it!

How could he do such a thing!

This is betrayal!

He looked at his guardian angel with such despair, not understanding why she couldn't become stronger and become his power to fight the Dark Lord, when she was the only beautiful thing in his life.

Could it be...?

Is this beauty really so fragile, so powerless?

He wanted to back down.

He backed down too many times in his life, failing to be brave when he should have been, and he hated himself for it.

But he still couldn't help wanting to back down.

But fate can be so cruel sometimes.

The adventure has begun, the train has arrived at the station, and he stands on the edge of the train entrance, hesitating whether to jump down and return to the platform. He knows that this journey will truly be different, and this journey may be a farewell.

He didn't want to be separated.

Lockhart provided a hint, didn't he?

Resisting the call of adventure, he will leave this world; it's simple, he can feel that he can easily leave this false place.

But that won't work!

The children are still here, Harry is still here!

Is he really going to expect Lockhart, this increasingly neurotic guy, to protect these children?

He wasn't forced to come by Dumbledore; he was genuinely worried about the children, which is why, after working hard for half a year, he finally had a vacation to relax and joined the group without any hesitation.

Then he realized with despair that he might be getting caught up in the context of Lockhart's bullshit fairy tale.

Isn't the scene before us just like the one where "I don't trust Harry or the prophecy, so I have to muster up the courage to fight the Dark Lord myself"?

He closed his eyes in despair.

He seemed to hear the train whistle on the platform, the train was starting to depart with a whistle, and he was being carried along little by little.

He was unwilling to get on the train, but he stood on the edge of the train entrance, choosing not to jump down and return to the platform.

He still lacked that courage, and was simply helplessly dragged forward by fate.

Damn Gilderoy Lockhart!

Damn fairytale adventure!

Snape sighed and opened his eyes again. Everything around him began to feel more and more real, and the fans who had chased him out of the bookstore were shouting wildly at him.

Everyone seemed to be going crazy over the powerful guardian spell he had cast.

This was the scene he had longed for as a child. From the not-so-bad Spider's End Alley to the not-so-bad Hogwarts, his life underwent a tremendous change because of his exposure to magic. He discovered that he was so exceptionally talented, in the fields of spells, potions, and dark magic.

So he finally cautiously acquired the pride that all geniuses should be proud.

However, this pride was ultimately shattered when someone hung him upside down in mid-air, in front of all his classmates and Lily, and pulled down his pants.

He knows.

As Lockhart once said, the journey of fairy tale adventures will always lead us to find our own magical path.

Reclaiming that pride is the path he will take to reshape his path and acquire even greater magical power.

Even if everything before my eyes is fake, the book "Severus's Potions Class" is real, the wisdom in the book is real, and even in the future, thanks to Lockhart's methods of running bestsellers, such book signings may also be real.

And that's the magic of fairy tale adventures.

It looks fake, yet it feels so real.

Snape looked almost pleadingly at his Patronus fawn, which was gently nuzzling him with its head, and said, "Please don't leave me, okay?"

The little deer didn't say anything, but just looked up at him.

"Stay by my side and witness all of this."

He took a deep breath, finally looked seriously at these 'fans,' at the pride in his heart, and led the deer toward the bookstore.

He can't always flash that 'perfectly charming smile' to his fans like Lockhart does, but he's genuinely sincere.

Because the little deer will always be by her side, Lily is watching!