"The Evans sisters are both quite lovely, though Petunia is a bit too shy. Right, Severus?" Wenxiu Lord asked as he hung up his clothes upon returning to the room and looked over at Severus.
Remembering Petunia's past attitude toward him, the future Prince of Potions spat out venom without a moment's hesitation: "Hah, shy? The first time she saw me and Lily together, she almost turned into a biting mad dog."
"Alright," Wenxiu Lord replied without arguing. After all, the friction between Petunia and Severus was hardly one-sided. If Petunia hadn't been a Muggle, Severus's arch-nemeses would definitely have included her alongside the Marauders.
"However—" With a sudden change in tone, Wenxiu Lord sat on the sofa and shot Severus a teasing look, giving the black-haired boy that same eerie, spine-chilling sensation of being watched that he had felt during the day.
The black cat pinned under that gaze instantly bristled, glaring suspiciously at Wenxiu Lord. "Take that look off your face! However, what?"
Wenxiu Lord's suppressed aunt-like smile was now on full display. He chuckled and leaned closer to Severus. "Do you like Lily very much? Do you want me to help you win her over?"
Severus's skin turned crimson from his neck to the tips of his ears in an instant—not out of shyness, but pure anger. "What on earth is going on inside your head?! We're just friends!"
Watching the black-haired boy's face grow redder and redder, the corners of Wenxiu Lord's mouth curled even higher.
*(Wenxiu Lord: Yeah right, I totally believe that—you're head over heels, aren't you?)*
Severus didn't even need to look at his expression; the tone alone made it clear the man didn't believe a single word.
"You really need to wash your brain out, Wenxiu." With that, Severus turned and strode toward the bathroom.
Hearing this, Wenxiu Lord thought that if this were the future Severus, he undoubtedly would have said, *'Is your head stuffed with bubotuber pus?!'*
Unable to help it, he let out a snort of laughter. But catching the murderous glare Severus shot back as if ready to silence him, Wenxiu Lord quickly clamped his mouth shut, pinching his thumb and index finger together to mime zipping a zipper.
"Well, if you do fancy someone, you have to tell me. As your good friend, I might just be able to help you come up with some great ideas to win them over."
Hearing those words, an image flashed directly into Severus's mind from their very first night, when Wenxiu Lord had lain right beside him. His heart suddenly hammered against his ribs, making him dare not look at Wenxiu Lord's face as he slammed the bathroom door shut with a loud bang.
***
After that, Wenxiu Lord stayed at the Snape residence for another month or so.
During this past month, Wenxiu Lord's life had been thoroughly pleasant—perhaps the most pleasant he had ever known.
Every day he slept until he woke naturally. Aside from regularly upgrading Severus's daily meals, he spent his time brewing potions and reading books with him, and on weekends the two of them would go out to hang out with the Evans sisters.
With Wenxiu Lord acting as a mediator between the three of them, Petunia Evans's hostility and fear toward the Wizarding World had nearly vanished by more than half. Although she still harbored a trace of regret that she lacked magic and could not become a witch, she had already accepted reality. She had even made an arrangement with them that once school started, she would mail them plenty of new Muggle snacks and toys.
Severus and Petunia Evans still looked at each other with profound displeasure, but for Wenxiu Lord's sake, when the two of them were together they no longer bickered endlessly from start to finish the moment they met. At most, they now traded a few snarky remarks, making things quite 'harmonious'.
Wenxiu Lord wasn't surprised by Petunia Evans's rapid change in attitude.
In his view, the main reason Petunia Evans had been so terrified and resentful of everything related to the Wizarding World in the original story was largely because she also longed to be a witch, yet that was an impossible, unrealized fantasy. Combined with the lack of communication between the sisters in the early days, Petunia had come to believe that all the friction between her and her younger sister was caused by the Wizarding World.
Wenxiu Lord cast his gaze toward Severus, who had put on a little weight and no longer looked quite so sickly. Before meeting him, Severus's appearance had indeed been rather gloomy, and his tongue was truly venomous.
Thinking of the remarks Severus had flung at Petunia Evans during their recent meetings, the corners of Wenxiu Lord's eyes couldn't help but twitch involuntarily.
Later on, Lily Evans ended up with James Potter. Although James Potter could be considered a decent person from the perspective of the Wizarding World, having grown up surrounded by wizarding pure-bloods, he harbored no explicit blood prejudice. Yet the inherent condescension toward Muggles ingrained in his bones would still unconsciously manifest in his words and actions—not to mention having a companion even wilder than himself, Black.
All of this made Petunia Evans's attitude toward the Wizarding World as dismal as could be, practically viewing it as a den of thugs and dangers.
In the end, her younger sister gave her life for the Wizarding World at a tender age, while the people of the Wizarding World didn't even offer her younger sister's child an explanation, simply leaving a note tossed on her doorstep.
Moreover, her younger sister's child grew more and more resembling that Potter fellow, with almost no difference save for the eyes; every time she looked at that face, it recalled the Wizarding World and the death of her sister.
How could she not hate the Wizarding World after all that? And how could she possibly treat the child kindly when he was so closely tied to that world, looked almost identical to Potter, and indirectly caused her sister's death?
Yet Wenxiu Lord had long since made up his mind. His cheap life wasn't worth much anyway; since he was already here, he would absolutely not let the plot follow its old path. He was determined to do everything in his power to avert the tragedies of the older generation from the original story.
Though he had set his goal quite early on, for the present, Wenxiu Lord was still happily slacking off at the Snape house.
He sat curled up lazily on the sofa, staring blankly at the progress bar beneath the character panel, while nearby Severus was busy preemptively preparing potion ingredients they would need in a few days.
Although the loading effects for the character background and residence progress bars grew more obvious by the day, the loading process was agonizingly slow. He had expected it to finish loading around today, only for it to get stuck stubbornly at ninety-eight percent right at the finish line.
A few mornings ago, just as Wenxiu Lord was getting ready to head out, Eileen Snape had stopped him to ask whether the Lorde Family he had mentioned in passing during a previous chat was that legendary Lorde Family.
Seeing her reaction, Wenxiu Lord knew the character background progress was almost fully loaded. Ever since, whenever he was bored, he would stare fixedly at the progress bar, causing Severus to suspect at times that he had developed early-onset dementia.
During this period, Severus's skill in potion-making truly lived up to his future title of Potions Master; his rate of progress was as fast as riding a Firebolt 2001. Even Wenxiu Lord found it astonishing to witness—after all, he had a system cheat, but Severus was a genuine, bonafide genius.
Over the past month, he and Severus had also taken the Evans sisters on a trip to Diagon Alley.
Although Petunia Evans was a Muggle, with three young wizards accompanying her, getting into Diagon Alley was a breeze.
Severus had initially disagreed with bringing the two sisters to Diagon Alley, but unable to overrule Lily Evans, he could only tag along behind the three of them, guarding against Wenxiu Lord having too much fun and accidentally losing the sisters. It also gave him a chance to bring the potions he had brewed during this period to sell at the potion shop for some money.
The four of them wandered around Diagon Alley for a long time, though mostly it was the Evans sisters doing the browsing. Even though the two girls discovered they had very little money left after exchanging currency at Gringotts, they were still thrilled to buy a great many snacks.
Severus, hopelessly obsessed with potions, spent every last coin he earned from selling his brews on new potion ingredients, while Wenxiu Lord commissioned a few sets of wizard robes for himself at the clothing shop.
By the time Wenxiu Lord and Severus escorted the Evans sisters back home, the two girls had practically finished eating all their snacks, clearly demonstrating how much they enjoyed them.
As for Tobias Snape, aside from that initial encounter during their conversation, Wenxiu Lord hadn't caught sight of him at home once the entire time.
According to Eileen Snape, he had returned home late the second night, and upon seeing that Wenxiu Lord had indeed kept his word and paid gold coins for rent, he simply grabbed the Galleons and left again. Any other time he showed up, it was just to demand money before leaving.
Wenxiu Lord actually found this rather agreeable; at least he didn't have to look at the man's obnoxious face every day. Besides, Tobias Snape didn't have much longer to live anyway, so this spared him from incurring unnecessary blood karma.
Otherwise, he felt like he'd end up committing murder before the manor was even built.
One afternoon, Wenxiu Lord was eating a meal that could scarcely be classified as either breakfast or lunch, discussing with Severus—who was eating his lunch opposite him—what potions they should brew that afternoon.
Severus had already mastered brewing every single recipe in the first-year potions textbook, and the quality of his work reached remarkably high standards.
Wenxiu Lord intended for the two of them to start brewing formulas from the second-year textbook today.
It was worth noting that ever since Wenxiu Lord learned that Severus subsisted entirely on dry, stale bread meal after meal, he had taken over responsibility for the boy's breakfast and lunch.
Through the flawless execution of the Severus nurturing plan over this period, both of their lean, emaciated frames had filled out a bit with healthy flesh, making their complexions look significantly better.
Severus's originally pale, sallow complexion had now faded to a simple paleness. However, after over a month of observation, Wenxiu Lord concluded that this pale complexion must simply be his natural cool-toned white skin.
The reason he came to this conclusion was that Wenxiu Lord noticed Severus's pale lips now carried a healthy flush of red, yet his facial skin remained the same pale hue.
It had filled Wenxiu Lord with envy. Remembering that he no longer possessed his past life's coal-like complexion that tanned the moment the sun hit it, he finally felt a bit better inside.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
The front door was rapped. The two of them, presently eating lunch, paused in confusion, lowering their cutlery and looking toward the entrance. Exchanging a glance, Severus stood up and walked over to open the door.
With a soft creak, the door swung open to reveal an ordinary-looking middle-aged man standing outside, dressed in a proper, neat suit and standing as straight as a ramrod. Seeing Severus open the door, a standard, professional smile appeared on his face.
"Hello, sir. I am the steward of the Lorde Family. Thank you very much for your care during this time. I have come to take the Head of the Family home."