Snape was having his usual oppressive dream when, suddenly, a girl whose face was indistinct appeared in it. All he could see was that she had ten black Hexagrams on her forehead. She came and sat down beside him, simply staring off into space along with him.
When Snape woke up the next morning, Rhea was already in the kitchen using magic to make breakfast: a simple fried egg, a slice of toast, a grilled sausage, and a cup of unsweetened coffee. Snape did not know how she knew his preferences, but it tasted unexpectedly delicious.
"Master, I've already memorized the books, but there are some parts I still don't quite understand. It's probably because I haven't had any practical experience. If you don't mind, I was hoping I could observe you brewing potions up close," Rhea said nervously.
"Oh."
Snape merely uttered an "oh," but Rhea took it as his consent.
Afterward, Snape took Rhea through the fireplace to the Hogwarts Dungeon to begin a new day of work.
While Snape was brewing Potions, Rhea sidled up to the side to watch. She felt there was nothing more fascinating than watching her master brew potions. Whether it was slicing ingredients, measuring by hand, or even adding them to the cauldron and stirring, it was all so graceful—simply mesmerizing. Rhea felt herself sinking even deeper into a whirlpool named Snape.
Snape thought to himself, *I don't know if Rhea has completely let her guard down around me, or if this girl's head is full of nothing but water alongside all sorts of chaotic, Mandrake-like thoughts, but whenever our eyes meet, I can inadvertently read her mind. Sometimes, it even makes me doubt myself—is that person in her head really me?*
And so another day was drawing to a close. After returning from the fireplace to Spinner's End, Snape handed Rhea a few more books before retreating into his bedroom and not coming out.
After finishing her reading, wanting to enter Snape's dream, Rhea drifted off to sleep early. After Snape fell asleep, Rhea once again arrived in that desolate world. Snape was still sitting there just as before; Rhea quietly walked over as she always did, sat down beside him, and stared blankly into space together with him. But only Rhea knew that she was constantly watching Snape, looking at his fragile, near-shattered figure.
Snape was wondering who this could be. This was the second time someone had entered his dream. He did not seem to know a lady like this, but he did not dislike having her sit beside him and invade his dreamscape. He thought to himself that it was fine—as long as she did not disturb him, he would let her be.
Time flew by, and Christmas was just around the corner. Rhea had Bidodo select some moderately priced gifts from the vault, which she intended to give to the professors at Hogwarts. As for the gift for her master, she had teleported to Ancient Huaxia and traded for a comprehensive collection of Daoist alchemy texts with a contemporary Daoist master. After translating them, she prepared them as a gift for her master.
On the day before Christmas, enduring her master's cold glares, Rhea decorated Spinner's End and casually placed the gift for her master under the Christmas tree. Thanks to a year's worth of effort, Rhea could now occasionally brazenly take advantage of a successful potion-brewing excuse to hug the master she loved most—while ignoring that rigid male body, of course.
"Dearest Professor Snape, my most respected master, Rhea would like to ask a favor. You know that my parents passed away early and that I was actually raised by the house-elf Bidodo. Could you let Bidodo come spend Christmas with us? It would be even better if she could live with us—you know she would bring a lot of convenience," Rhea said, hugging Snape's arm with a pitiful expression.