cold! Very cold!
Maka was lying in the snow pretending to be dead. It was so cold that he felt so cold that all his joints began to stiffen.
Besides that, he had to be distracted. After he used Transfiguration to create a fake soul that looked like Snape, he had to do his best to stabilize his soul, otherwise he would be shaken out of his body by the power of the floor-to-ceiling round mirror.
To be honest, almost all the difficulties in this plan from beginning to end were concentrated here. Although he had made some tentative preparations for this at Hermione's house before, who knew if any complications would arise
Even though this scam has been going well so far - just now, he pretended to be Snape and mocked Harry severely, bringing Snape's annoying side to life, and in the end he was still in Hermione's arms. With the cooperation, he turned around and left with a sullen expression, looking unwilling.
But just because it went so smoothly, it made him become more cautious.
Fortunately, this time, the mysterious time rules did not cause any other accidents for him. When he finally made it to the moment when the ticking in his ears ended, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Immediately afterwards, he couldn't wait to get up and quickly withdrew from the influence of the floor-standing circular mirror. In order to ensure that the whole scene was flawless, he even looked back deliberately.
"Very good, we're gone." Maka looked at a location in the distance and whispered to herself.
Last time, he decided to use the time turner again immediately so as not to waste time. This time, of course, he still had the same idea.
Although it is always the same five hours back, there is always some delay. He still doesn't know how many times he will go back, so he must embark on the next journey as quickly as possible. This was repeated until he completely resolved the incident.
This is the third time he has used the time turner. To be honest, he has experienced it carefully every time, trying to grasp some clues about the time rule runes in the process of going back in time.
But unfortunately, let alone the rule runes, he was unable to discover even more features of the time rules.
But at least, he had a good direction on how to break the deadlock.
Not long after, when he came out of the state of time regression, he used the portkey to leave here immediately. Last time he organized his thoughts before going to Hermione's house, so now, he still had a chance to get there first.
…
About half an hour later, Spider End Alley.
This is a dilapidated town located on the outskirts of Cokeworth. It leans alone on a gurgling sewage river. The town is full of dilapidated old houses. To the north of the town, there is a whole area of abandoned factories. The sparse street lights flicker on and off, extending deep into the factories.
In this pre-dawn night, this eerie town looked like a ghost town straight out of a Muggle horror story.
At this moment, a thin figure suddenly appeared in a deserted alley. He was wearing a set of black robes, which fluttered silently as he walked quickly, making him inconspicuous in this dark alley.
This man seemed to have something important to do, and he walked with ease every step of the way. But even at this time, his gloomy eyes were still scanning everything in front of him in the alley, showing his disgust for this place.
What was it that made him hate this place so much? So that when you set foot on this land, you will show such an expression of extreme impatience
He walked very fast and took long steps. He just turned a corner and arrived in front of a house in a few steps. This old house is similar to other buildings around it. It looks as dilapidated as ever, but at least it is one of the few houses here that still has lights on.
"Squeak—" "Bang!"
Accompanied by a heartbreaking sound of opening the door, the man walked in without hesitation and closed the door behind him.
"Severus, you're back."
"Um."
Not long after he entered, two slight conversations came from inside the door. The man's voice was still cold, with a hint of irritation; while the woman's voice was still timid, but contained a rare hint of joy.
"Didn't I say that? You don't have to wait for me to come back today, why are you still sitting here?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but—"
"No buts!"
"Okay, okay... I'm going to bed right now... I've left something to eat for you on the table..."
"I see."
"… oh."
After that, the simple conversation between the two ended. Following a series of inaudible footsteps, it seemed that the woman was going upstairs.
But none of them noticed that there was an uninvited guest standing by the window outside the house, and they listened to the conversation inside every word.
Standing outside was none other than Maka, who had followed Snape. He knew that the woman who had a few words with Snape must be Tia.
Just before, he arrived at Granger's house ahead of his last self and secretly left a mark on Snape's body. But this time, he won't respond hastily like last time.
He took out his staff and cast an anti-Apparition spell on the old house before opening the door and striding in.
This town is a town where Muggles live, and the furnishings in the house are more Muggle-style. Compared to the dark, dirty brick walls outside, the living room that Maka saw was obviously much better.
The simple dining table covered with a plain tablecloth, the brick fireplace with sparks, and the bookshelves everywhere are easily reminiscent of Snape himself. He is a master of potions and an outstanding wizard. What makes him achieve all this is not only his own talent, but more importantly, his single-mindedness and persistence.
Even the living room is like him, without too many miscellaneous furniture. Just as he has been in love with Lily all his life, he is also obsessed with the endless magical knowledge.
Maka was bathed in the orange firelight emanating from the fireplace, and she looked at each other with Snape, who was slightly stunned. Both of them had different sighs in their hearts.
"...You still came after me." Snape put down the fork in his hand, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then threw it aside.
"To be honest, I actually didn't want to follow you," Maka looked at him and said, "because when I found myself in Spider End Alley, I knew you wouldn't welcome anyone."
"Who knows?" Snape shook his head lightly, "Maybe you are right, this place... I don't even want to come back..."
This is Snape's hometown, and even though he probably doesn't want to admit it, this is the only place he can call home.
In this small town, in this small house, he experienced the most disgusting period of his childhood.
His father, a Muggle, and his mother, a pure-blood wizard, often quarreled and neglected his life, so that he lived a sloppy life since he was a child.
It is said that when he was a child, he never wore any serious clothes. He always wore an old suit that didn't fit, a wrinkled shirt and dirty jeans. And his hair has been greasy since he was a child, and it looks like it hasn't been washed in a long time.
Snape's childhood was a childhood lacking parental care.
However, it was also in this small town that he met Lily Evans for the first time. It was the girl who he fell in love with at first sight and stayed with for the rest of his life, who lit up his gray life that was very similar to this dilapidated town.
For Snape, this dilapidated hometown undoubtedly contained all kinds of bitter, spicy, sour and sweet tastes, and it was something he would never forget.
Maka stared at Snape's calm face, savoring the complex emotions hidden behind it. After a while, he looked away and looked around the small living room.
"...Tia, are you okay?" He asked a seemingly unrelated question inexplicably.
Upon hearing this, Snape subconsciously glanced upstairs.
"Nothing bad," he replied flatly.
Both of them spoke very softly, obviously not wanting Tia upstairs to hear. Regarding the woman who was acting in a daze, Maka didn't know what Snape was thinking or planning.
From the fact that Snape left Tia in this home, it can be seen that he has probably accepted this sister who appeared out of thin air. However, in front of Lily, Tia, the unexpected sister, was not as important as imagined.
Otherwise, Snape wouldn't have held Hermione hostage.
Although Maka now knows that the Snape who devoted himself to the mysterious round mirror is actually himself. But judging from Snape's holding Hermione hostage, Snape would have done the same thing without him.
Even now, when Greenwald succeeds, Snape, who knows that the plan is successful, will probably still rush there in a hurry, and then resolutely enter the area that others are afraid to avoid.
"What happens next? Will she be okay?"
Facing the casual and perfunctory Snape, Maka insisted on asking.
Between living Tia and dead Lily, Snape would still choose the latter. But in this way, Tia, who has just gained a brother, will have to face the pain of losing a loved one again.
While admiring Snape's love, Maka couldn't help but sigh for his heartlessness.
"Humph..." Snape chuckled, and then said calmly, "This family is not worth her coming back. Being born in this family is a pain. After today, she will forget all this - she will not remember. The parents who once abandoned her will no longer remember me, the brother who abandoned her."