While waiting for Tobias Snape to come home, Wenxiu Lord shared his name and a background story he had fabricated on the spot with Eileen Snape—who had now changed her clothes—and Severus Snape, who had remained sitting quietly in his chair.
A few months ago, his parents had suddenly fallen ill and passed away. While he and a servant were in Knockturn Alley buying supplies, he had accidentally gotten separated and was kidnapped by dark wizard traffickers. Having finally managed to escape recently, he had collapsed right on their doorstep due to the bitter cold.
Although this account had many inconsistencies, Eileen Snape, taking into consideration Wenxiu Lord's attire and the subtle hints in his speech, simply assumed he was a young scion from some noble family who had suffered a misfortune and was now forced to flee his home.
Hearing that the boy was the exact same age as her own son, and recalling the injuries she had seen on him when she first found him at the door, Eileen Snape couldn't help feeling an extra surge of sympathy. She picked up the nearby teapot, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to him.
Wenxiu Lord muttered a word of thanks, took the cup, and sipped the hot water in small sips, saying no more.
The room suddenly fell into a quiet silence.
Hearing of Wenxiu Lord's rugged hardships during this period, Severus Snape's mind flashed back to the way he had first looked when he saw him lying at their doorstep a few days ago.The boy curled up at his front door, his body covered in wounds of various sizes that had yet to heal. Fortunately, it was winter, so the injuries had not festered, though some still bled, staining his already tattered clothes a deeper shade of crimson.
The ragged garment could hardly cover him; it hung precariously on his skeletal frame, as if it might fall off at any moment.
The boy’s hair was matted with dirt, as if it hadn't been washed in ages, making it impossible to tell its original color.
He looked as though he might shatter at the slightest touch.
Recalling that he had just shoved the boy, a twinge of guilt welled up inside him. He wanted to apologize, but his awkward, inarticulate nature choked the words in his throat.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do, his hands hanging at his sides, unconsciously rubbing against each other.
To the side, Wenxiu Lord, who had been drinking water, had been observing Severus Snape on the sly.
The young Severus Snape was incredibly thin, with so little flesh on his face that his hooked nose appeared disproportionately large. His complexion was sallow and bloodless—clearly the result of malnourishment and a lack of proper meals.
His hair, however, was just as he had seen in the films: shoulder-length, hanging down the sides of his cheeks. It wasn't greasy, just dry and tangled, clearly having received no care from its owner.Between his brows, there was no deep, furrowed crease. Although he still looked gloomy, cold, and thoroughly unapproachable, he entirely lacked the formidable aura described in the books of the future; right now, no matter how one looked at him, he was just a sullen child.
Severus Snape, struggling with what to say, clearly did not notice that Wenxiu Lord was studying him with a covert yet unblinking gaze.
Just as he finally made up his mind to ask some questions about the Wizarding World to break the ice and take the opportunity to apologize, he raised his head and locked eyes directly with Wenxiu Lord, who was observing him in secret.
Severus Snape noticed that Wenxiu Lord's eyes were very sharp and focused when looking at him—quite unlike the numbness he had seen on the second floor just moments ago. It instantly made his heart tense up, and the words he had originally intended to say swallowed themselves back down his throat.
*Did he see all the expressions and gestures I was just making?*
Wenxiu Lord watched as Severus Snape, whose face had been consistently cold and expressionless, let his small face fall the moment their eyes met, knitted his brows, let out a cold huff, and headed straight upstairs.
*Is he mad that he caught me staring at him? Why is he always frowning even at such a young age? No wonder he gets such deep wrinkles later on.* Feeling somewhat bewildered, Wenxiu Lord guiltily averted his gaze and poured himself another glass of water.
Left in the living room were only Eileen Snape and Wenxiu Lord. Wenxiu Lord didn't particularly care for this woman who spent her days mentally tormenting herself, and he genuinely had nothing to talk about with her. Before long, Eileen Snape also found an excuse to leave and tend to the housework.
With only Wenxiu Lord left in the living room, he lingered for a long time out of sheer boredom. Seeing that Tobias Snape still hadn't returned, he said goodbye to Eileen Snape, asked for the location of Severus Snape's room, and headed upstairs to find him.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
A moment later, the person inside opened the door.
Wenxiu Lord looked at Severus Snape's young, expressionless poker face and offered a gentle, proper smile. "Hello, you are Severus Snape, aren't you? Mrs. Snape told me your name."
"What do you want?" Seeing that it was Wenxiu Lord the moment the door opened, the corners of Severus Snape's mouth involuntarily ticked upward by a fraction of a millimeter, though the tone of his reply remained somewhat stiff and dry.
Having his personality as it was, he had never had any contact with peers other than the Evans sisters. Although he wanted to speak with the boy standing before him, he simply had no idea what tone to use in response.Wenxiu Lord looked into Severus Snape's dark, handsome, ink-black eyes and asked tentatively, "Mrs. Snape is busy, and I was the only one left in the living room—it was getting terribly boring. Since there are only the two of us here who are the same age, I thought I'd come over and chat with you. Would I be disturbing you?"
Severus Snape rubbed his fingertips unconsciously, pressed his lips together without speaking, and simply stepped aside to make room for the boy in front of him.
Wenxiu Lord thanked Severus Snape, a handsome, gentle smile curling the corners of his mouth, and stepped into the room.
Glancing around, he saw a huge bookcase against the west wall, densely packed with old books. In the corner of the room stood a battered cauldron that looked quite ancient.
He picked up a few books at random; they were all about potions.
Thinking to himself that it was just as he had expected, Wenxiu Lord turned to look at Severus Snape, who was still standing by the door. "You really like potions?"
Severus Snape closed the door and walked into the room. "Yes, these books belonged to my Mother. They're my only pastime."
Wenxiu Lord put down the book in his hand and changed the subject. "Does your face feel a bit better?"
Severus Snape shook his head to indicate he was fine, raising a hand to touch his cheek. Recalling the moment just now, the tips of his ears turned slightly red; he could not shake the feeling that the cool touch of the boy's fingers was still lingering there.
"That's good," Wenxiu Lord breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled several bottles of concentrated Dittany Essence from his system inventory and handed them to Severus Snape.
Since they were infinite, he might as well make the most of them.
"These potions are the same as the one I just put on you—they're concentrated Dittany Essence. Since you like potions, consider these a welcome gift for our first meeting. You mustn't refuse; after all, I might be staying at your house for the next few days."
Severus Snape, who had initially intended to refuse, looked up and saw the boy gazing at him with big, sincere eyes blinking back.
*If I refuse, he'll be sad.* Severus Snape did not want to see such lovely eyes clouded with sadness.
Moreover, right before him was the potion he had always dreamed of. In the end, he did not turn down the kind gesture, taking the potions as he said with some unnatural awkwardness, "Thank you, Wenxiu Lord."
Knowing that Severus Snape would never turn down potions, Wenxiu Lord broke into a radiant smile. "Perhaps we can become friends. You can call me Wenxiu, and in the future, we can go to Hogwarts together to study."
"Mhm," Severus Snape hummed softly, though it was impossible to tell which of Wenxiu Lord's remarks he was actually replying to.
Stowing the potions away safely in the bedside table drawer, Severus Snape asked with some internal nervousness, looking at Wenxiu Lord, "Lord, what is the Wizarding World like?"
This actually stumped Wenxiu Lord for a moment. He had only transmigrated a day ago, and he hadn't even finished reading the original books when he was in school; his understanding of the Wizarding World came entirely from the movies and Bilibili, and from decades into the future at that.
Now he could only rack his brain, trying to recall the scraps of descriptions about the Marauders' era from the books and movies, as well as the descriptions of the Wizarding World from videos he usually watched on Bilibili, and start fabricating an appropriate response.
"Little wizards receive their admission letters from Hogwarts, the British wizarding school, when they turn eleven—which is this year for us."
"For young wizards living in Muggle families, someone will take us to shop in Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley is the largest commercial street in the British wizarding world. There's a bank there, though we all call it Gringotts. Beyond that, everything we need for school can be bought in Diagon Alley, and there are plenty of clothing shops, restaurants, and snack bars on the street."
Sometimes you know something clearly in your head, but when you actually need to use it, you just can't remember.
Wenxiu Lord racked his brains for a long time before finally coming out with, "I'm not too clear on the rest either; I haven't been there in a long time." *Or rather, I've never been there at all,* Wenxiu Lord secretly complained to himself.
After that, Wenxiu Lord changed the subject. The two chatted about everything from Diagon Alley to the history of the Wizarding World, and from wizarding history to petty gossip, with Wenxiu Lord doing all the talking.
When their conversation finally turned to potions, Wenxiu Lord was finally able to rest for a moment and have a drink of water. Up until then, Severus Snape had been firing off all sorts of questions about potions. Relying on the knowledge he had gained from the scroll, Wenxiu Lord could effortlessly rattle off various answers—thankfully he had absorbed the scroll beforehand, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to answer a single question.
Once they started talking about potions, Severus Snape could not stop. As Wenxiu Lord answered more and more questions, the dark-haired boy's ink-black eyes grew increasingly bright and lively, filled with a deep yearning for magic.