Snape strode quickly through Hogwarts with Miss Rhea, looking like a pair of swooping bats, and soon arrived at the door of the Slytherin Head of House's office. The Gorgon on the door let out a rapid hissing sound at the sight of Rhea. Rhea glared at her and told her to shut up. The Gorgon clamped her mouth shut and opened the door while trembling with fear, though fortunately Snape's attention was elsewhere and he did not notice.
Snape handed Miss Rhea a copy of *Magical Drafts and Potions*, demanding that she memorize the entire book and then come to find him to prove her talent. As Snape set about grading essays, he kept a watchful eye on Rhea. He saw her take up *Magical Drafts and Potions* and *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi*, turning the pages one by one at an extremely fast pace. Several times, Snape wanted to open his mouth and spew venom, but for some reason he held his tongue.
Rhea finished browsing through the two books at a slow pace—though she had tried to slow down as much as possible, it still looked remarkably fast to Snape.
"Teacher, I have memorized them."
With a sharp *snap*, Snape's quill broke in half. There was no telling whether his poor essay had suffered as a result.
"Well then, Miss Rhea, if you are not merely toying with your poor old professor, please use the ingredients over there to brew a batch of Boil-Cure Potion. You had better not waste my materials," Snape said through gritted teeth. He thought that if this damned little Troll was playing games with him, he would take her and her Mandrake-stuffed head straight to Old Bee to settle accounts.
Rhea followed the steps in the book to prepare the Boil-Cure Potion, but thanks to her Noah abilities, she slightly modified one step of the process midway through. Snape was utterly shocked when, a short while later, a crystal-clear Boil-Cure Potion emerged from the cauldron.
"Heh. Well then, Miss Rhea, starting from now, you shall help your poor teacher prepare potion ingredients," Snape said calmly, though inwardly he felt deeply pleased to have acquired an apprentice with such extraordinary talent.
"Very well, Teacher."
And so, when the students arriving for detention stepped into the Dungeon, what they saw was an unfamiliar little child helping the Professor process potion ingredients while the Professor graded essays. Out of "respect and affection" for the Professor, no one dared to ask questions, which promptly gave rise to numerous rumors regarding the Professor's secret child or the like.
When the time reached eight o'clock in the evening, in a rare departure from his usual habits, Snape dismissed the students serving detention early. He took Rhea with him back to his home at Spinner's End, thinking that raising a child was truly troublesome. He assigned Rhea to stay temporarily in the bedroom he had used during his childhood, tossed a few books at her with instructions to ask him if there was anything she didn't understand, and then turned and walked off to his own bedroom.
Rhea called out to the closed door, "Good night, Teacher." She lay on the bed, tossing and turning in sheer delight, feeling immensely fortunate. She had never dared to imagine that one day she would become his student and live in his home. After a while, Rhea teleported back to the estate.
"Bidodo, I won't be back for a while. Take good care of yourself and the estate. If you are needed, I will summon you," Rhea said, giving Bidodo a hug.
"Very well, Miss Rhea." Bidodo was overjoyed; Miss Rhea trusted Bidodo so completely.
Rhea teleported back to her bedroom, and looking at the room where Snape had cast Scourgify for her, she felt a sweetness melt straight into her heart. She wanted to stand by his side and brew and research potions together with him. After quickly finishing the book in her hands, Rhea hugged the blanket—which she fancied carried Snape's scent—and drifted off to sleep.
Perhaps because she liked Snape so deeply, she found her way into Snape's dream. She could swear to The Millennium Earl that she had never witnessed such a desolate landscape. Endless darkness surrounded Snape, and the vast earth was entirely barren. A slightly younger version of Snape sat upon the ground, radiating profound solitude as he gazed quietly into the distance. She walked over gently, sat down beside Snape, and kept him company in quiet silence, slowly blending into that lonely world.