After Rhea returned to her bedroom, perhaps The Millennium Earl was the only one who knew why Noah had blushed from head to toe, and why those last few steps into the room had been taken with her left arm and left leg moving in sync. Her mind was entirely consumed by the fact that her teacher had hugged her, comforted her, and even given her a pair of dragon-skin gloves today. She felt she had taken another giant leap toward becoming Mrs. Snape. Her sense of happiness was simply off the charts!
After a long time, once she finally calmed down, Rhea began to ponder the old bee exploiting loopholes, though getting closer to her teacher meant he had actually done one good thing. Still, a trip to Nurmengard was inevitable; after all, she also wanted to proudly wave the banner of GGAD. No matter what, with The Millennium Earl as her witness, her teacher's life would be guarded by her.
Upon returning to his bedroom, Snape sealed that memory deep within the recesses of his mind. He could not allow anyone to see what he now knew or notice his special attitude toward Rhea. He knew he had been somewhat emotional today—he had actually taken the initiative to hug Rhea. It seemed he finally understood why Dumbledore had said those things to him earlier today; Rhea must have done something! Did that dam... infuriating child have any idea what she was actually doing?
He looked at the Dark Mark on his arm and gave a self-deprecating smile. Even with such knowledge, could the future really be changed? As long as the mark remained, he could never escape it. No, though he could not stop the Savior from saving the world, the Horcruxes should be destroyable. Tomorrow, he would take Rhea to see Dumbledore and see what the old man had to say.
Tonight, for the first time ever, Snape did not reminisce about Lily or the past. Instead, he spent the entire time pondering how to change the future.
Sensing that her teacher was still awake, Rhea quietly cast a minor charm to lull Snape into dreamland right in the middle of his deep thoughts.
When Rhea entered Snape's dream this time, it was still that same world that had not changed in the slightest for nearly a year. But as Rhea drew close to Snape, she discovered that instead of staring blankly into the distance, Snape was quietly looking right at her.
She sat down beside Snape just as she always did. Snape looked away from Rhea and resumed gazing into the distance.
"Who are you?" a deep voice sounded. Rhea felt as though everything from her ears down to her soul had melted.
"Why do you appear in my dreams every day?" Perhaps because of a year's worth of companionship in his dreams, Snape held an inexplicable sense of trust toward Rhea.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is when flowers of hope will finally grow in this world." Rhea's adult voice carried a powerful, commanding resonance.
"Hmph. A dead heart—how can it ever water any flowers?"
"No. The fact that you can speak to me means this world already has a voice. I am in no rush; I will stay by your side and watch over this world with you. I believe the future will hold light, skies, stars, wind, beautiful scenery, mountains, rivers, flowers, and grass. Nothing remains unchanging forever, sir, as long as you are willing to embrace new things."
"Hmph. If you didn't look like an adult, I'd almost suspect you were my student. She's said similar things before."
The Rhea that Snape saw was always in her adult form, though he could only make out her tall figure and the Hexagram on the woman's forehead. The woman's entire body was shrouded in a layer of white mist, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not see her clearly.
Rhea responded with a light chuckle and let the topic drop. She simply continued to sit and daydream alongside Snape. She figured that the fact he had started talking to her was an epic breakthrough, indicating that her teacher's heart was no longer tightly sealed.
"Offering you my belated blessing: Merry Christmas, Severus," Rhea whispered softly to Snape after a moment.
"Merry Christmas, mysterious lady," Snape replied flatly.
And so another night passed. The next morning, after partaking in the Chinese breakfast prepared by Rhea, Snape took her to see Dumbledore.