Chương 64: Chapter 63 - I Don't Want to Be Your Friend Anymore.

[Chapter Size: 4300 Words.]

Third Person POV

Hogwarts.

...

...

Severus was certainly pleasantly surprised to discover that group of students trying to create their own faction within Slytherin, which had largely become a house shrouded in darkness, influenced by the future Death Eaters.

That influence came both from within, through the great families and their own children, and from external factors.

There was a rather strange principle within Slytherin. Many were already fascinated by the power, prestige, and influence Voldemort was exerting over wizarding society, with the idea of placing pure-bloods in their rightful position within society, while Muggle-borns would, at the very least, become an inferior class.

Something that pleased many Slytherins...

But honestly, Severus had already come to the conclusion that society was already structured that way. Pure-bloods held the best positions, led politics, owned the shops, kept the overwhelming majority of the wizarding world's Galleons in their vaults, and had access to funding opportunities that no one else could even dream of, while Muggle-borns and half-bloods rarely managed to climb the social ladder, living in poverty and taking low-paying jobs within the magical world, when they had no other choice but to seek opportunities in the Muggle world. After all, they spent seven years practically isolated from it.

That was why he thought the idea behind Voldemort's supposed regime was foolish. In the end, he simply wanted to destroy the Light side and rule however he pleased, giving people free rein to commit massacres merely to satisfy the petty desires of those who wished to become even more radical and, above all, because of Voldemort's own personal ambition for power over society.

Honestly, it made little sense that so many people supported him. Perhaps they did so out of fear, with no choice but to submit or face their own destruction.

Well, Severus would still have the opportunity to better understand the foolishness Voldemort wanted to impose on everyone. He also wished to meet him personally. In his previous life, he had already encountered many men obsessed with power, willing to trample over others and even set the world ablaze to achieve their goals.

Most fools never considered the responsibility that came with ruling. In the end, you remained alone, carrying the responsibility for everyone beneath you. Otherwise, everything could collapse. You could be betrayed, every pillar you had built would begin to crack, and an entire empire could come crashing down. Or you could simply keep massacring anyone who stood in your way to maintain power and order. In that case, you would not be a king—you would merely be a tyrant. And, by all indications, that was exactly what Voldemort wanted to be.

In any case, Severus watched the boys from different years working together, trying to find a way to avoid submitting to the Death Eaters within Slytherin. Their group was so insignificant that even the pure-bloods paid them little attention. They simply thought they were a bunch of fools with too few connections to ever make any real progress in the wizarding world.

But compared to being with that other group that talked about nothing but blood purity and treated everyone else like lackeys, it was far better to remain there, studying alongside people who were simply trying to escape all of that and build their own path.

Even Severus himself had known about this group before, a gathering of half-blood students forming independent study groups. But he had considered them nothing more than a group he would not look at twice while he was among the pure-bloods, who offered far more opportunities than anyone here.

In any case, the former Severus did not seem suited for them either, given his previous personality. Even Slughorn knew about them, but they were not the brilliant students he was always looking for, so they were never enough to catch his attention. So he left them alone. He did not care, but neither did he stop them from doing whatever they wanted. He only gave them a few pats on the back, small words of encouragement, and a room in the dungeons to work on their projects, never giving them the attention they truly deserved, as though he already knew they would never succeed, no matter what they attempted. After all, they had no connections and were practically the outcasts of the house.

There were many things that, honestly, irritated the current Severus. Even so, he would not waste his energy on them. Of course, his contempt for Slughorn remained, although he maintained a cooperative relationship with the professor.

The group was somewhat cautious around him at first while Adrian and Ethan continued introducing him. Everyone already knew him and was also aware of his current situation. After a week, practically every Slytherin was cautious when dealing with Severus, and they were surprised when Adrian informed them that he would be coming that day to work on the potion with them.

Severus introduced himself, spoke a little about himself and about the group. Then they began working. He examined everything they had already done. Some certainly did not like that, but there was nothing they could do about it. Most did not seem to mind his presence.

Then Severus began offering a few suggestions, mentioning ingredients that could alter the potion and improve its effects to those who were more willing to listen to him. After all, not everyone would appreciate someone arriving and immediately speaking as though he already knew everything. They quickly began running tests, working over their cauldrons.

His previous life had given him a great deal of experience in identifying people who were more open-minded. With just a glance, he knew how to approach them and use the right words.

It was only after two hours inside the Potions room that they finally finished.

"I think we're getting very close to what we wanted," said a boy with glasses as he examined the final potion.

It was still incomplete, but it was already beginning to produce some effects after being consumed. The boy tipped the cup onto the table.

"I'll test it today and give you my feedback afterward." Since there was no other way to test it, they themselves would be the guinea pigs.

Well, if Severus were being honest, that was probably the future awaiting most of those young people. Many of them would end up serving as test subjects for major potion manufacturers and researchers. After all, new formulas, innovations, and modifications had to be tested, and the people chosen were usually those at the very bottom of society, running the risk of even dying during the trials.

And that was not as uncommon as it seemed. Despite the small wizarding population in Great Britain, numbering around three thousand witches and wizards, deaths caused by potion-related accidents still occurred.

"Before we finish, let me show you a spell I created over the holidays. Ingredia Revelio!" Severus said.

He picked up the goblet and touched the small amount of liquid still inside it with his wand. The next instant, a mist began to rise above the drink as words formed from the smoke appeared in the air.

"What is that?" asked a studious-looking girl with a face full of freckles. She had introduced herself as Jasmine. She was fascinated as she watched the smoke take shape into a list of every ingredient they had used.

Severus smiled faintly. "It's Ingredia Revelio. A spell I created. It reveals the exact ingredients contained in the substance you're analyzing. It's quite useful for anyone who wants to study potions."

"Wait... there's a spell like that?" one of the students asked, completely astonished as he stared at Severus.

Severus shook his head, still smiling. "No. As I said, I invented this spell during the holidays. Since I'm only just joining this club, I thought I might be able to contribute with something like this. No one else in the wizarding world has anything like it. So it would be best if we kept this just between us until I register the spell under my name."

Severus's words made the twelve students in the group exchange much more welcoming glances.

He would not mind being part of a group like that. If he could help them avoid becoming involved with the darker side of Slytherin, he was willing to do so in his spare time.

"Very good, very good!" Adrian clapped his hands as everyone began putting away their materials. It was already time for dinner in the Great Hall.

Even so, some students seemed cautious and did not head there immediately, while others returned to the Slytherin common room. Severus noticed that and knew exactly what was happening.

"They're afraid," Ethan murmured to Severus.

"Afraid of what?" Adrian asked, oblivious to the atmosphere.

"They're afraid that staying by my side will drag them into Slytherin's current conflicts as well," Severus replied.

"Look... you can't really blame them," Adrian answered honestly. "The mess with Rabastan and the others still isn't over, and it all happened very recently. No one wants to get involved, so don't blame them."

"It's normal for people to avoid me," Severus replied before shrugging. "But you two don't need to get involved either."

"Even a first-year girl hangs around with you. I think we can manage to form a group too," Ethan said with a smile as Adrian gave him a thumbs-up.

Severus merely shrugged. "That's fine. Anyway... would it be alright if I brought Heloísa to the club as well? I'm sure she'll enjoy it. She's been asking me to explain a few things about Potions, and I still owe her that."

The two of them nodded immediately.

To Severus, the girl might only be a first-year, but she could certainly contribute. With that, they entered the Great Hall, not going unnoticed, especially by the Slytherin students.

Severus walked over to Heloísa, who was sitting alone, and took the seat beside her. Adrian and Ethan sat down nearby as well.

"Where have you been?" Heloísa asked curiously.

"I was checking out a club. You can come with me next time," he replied.

She stared at him for a few seconds. "What kind of club? We don't have any open clubs yet." She was certain she had already memorized the entire school program.

"It's not a club created by the school, but a private group formed by students."

"Next time, you'd better let me know and take me with you," she said, and Severus smiled.

"You have my word. So, how was your day?" Severus asked.

"It was peaceful... well, the same as always," she replied wearily.

The same as always. She still remained somewhat isolated in Slytherin. At the very least, the first-year students were no longer capable of mocking her as they had before, not after experiencing the freezing aura that always emerged whenever they tried to provoke her.

"Oh, I heard from the students what happened to those second-years this morning. Professor Slughorn was horrified by the story they told him, which conveniently left out everything about bullying the Hufflepuff Muggle-born, and Professor McGonagall gave them a huge scolding," Heloísa said, rolling her eyes with a laugh.

Severus smiled as well upon hearing that. Those students had not even been able to attend classes, having been forced to copy all of the girls' notes to make up for the lessons they had missed.

"I was in the library with Oliver and Nathan. They found me and asked if I wanted to study with them there," she said with a smile.

Severus looked at her, placed a hand on her head, and gently patted her hair. "Very good. So you've already made some friends."

Heloísa beamed brightly at that moment. Severus was pleased to see that she was adapting to Hogwarts in such a positive way.

"Yes, although the students from the other houses don't seem to like me very much..." she murmured in the end.

Severus sighed. Slytherin was still not a house viewed favorably by the others. Even so, his group was beginning to become a topic of conversation among the students. After all, they were bringing together people from every house, and the phoenixes were always seen alongside them. It was something everyone talked about during lunch.

And speaking of phoenixes, Solis chose that very moment to appear.

A burst of flames flashed into existence in the middle of the Great Hall, startling several students as Solis appeared. She had flown off for a while when Severus went to the club, and now she had returned, proudly landing on his shoulder.

Heloísa let out a small laugh as she watched the phoenix proudly fluffing its feathers, then immediately began gently stroking them with her little hands. Ethan and Adrian also studied the phoenix from up close.

If Articuno had also appeared at that moment, emerging from invisibility, it certainly would have caused an even greater spectacle. However, she remained silent while speaking to Severus mentally through the bond they shared.

He finished his meal, and when nine o'clock arrived, he left the Great Hall. Severus asked Heloísa to return to the Slytherin common room on her own because he needed to take care of a personal matter. She simply nodded and let him go.

Severus headed toward the Astronomy Tower.

And the moment he set foot on the top floor, his magic detected a strange disturbance. The very next instant, a Stunning Spell shot straight toward him.

His reflexes were so fast that he simply slapped the immobilizing spell aside with his bare hand, knocking it into the floor before it could strike his chest.

He looked into the empty space, directly toward where the attack had come from. "So it seems I was right. You possess some kind of item that grants you invisibility."

Several more spells immediately came flying toward him. Severus drew his wand, while Solis did not follow him up the stairs. Instead, she circled around the tower and soared upward, attacking from another angle the moment she saw Severus come under attack. The phoenix quickly spread her wings and unleashed a blazing torrent of fire.

Severus merely raised his shields before seeing the crimson trail streak toward his attacker. Whoever was hiding beneath that Invisibility Cloak—most likely Potter—panicked at that moment as the flames surged forward, illuminating the night with countless flashes of light.

The person tried to raise a shield, but it began to fall apart beneath the phoenix's flames, which were far from easy to block.

Severus then saw an Invisibility Cloak fall to one side. Someone cried out in pain, and just as he had expected, it was Potter.

The Invisibility Cloak, however, proved to be remarkably durable, as it had not been burned by the flames. It had not even been affected... As he watched Potter collapse to the ground, feeling his leg burning, Potter quickly cast a spell to extinguish the flames consuming his robes.

But Solis did not stop.

The phoenix charged at Potter again, sending him into complete panic. She swooped over his head, clearly trying to genuinely injure him.

"Get away from me, you stupid bird!" Potter shouted, his voice filled with both desperation and rage.

He tried to aim his wand at Solis, but the phoenix was far too fast. Before he could hit her, she unleashed another burst of flames, causing his robes to catch fire once more.

"That's enough, Solis. That's enough." Severus no longer wanted his phoenix to leave an even more obvious mark. As much as Potter deserved it, this was already sufficient.

Solis immediately stopped her attack, flew back, and landed on Severus's shoulder, looking down at Potter with an air of unmistakable superiority.

"Snivellus!" Potter shouted furiously, as though he still had the right to be outraged after trying to ambush him and attack from the shadows.

"Potter... it seems you're alone." Severus said as he scanned the area. There was only one Invisibility Cloak.

His gaze then shifted to the cloak. "So this is how you've been following me... It seems to be a high-quality cloak..." Severus said, while Potter stood completely cornered, yet filled with hatred for the Slytherin in front of him.

Potter had certainly seen the interaction between Severus and Lily during Care of Magical Creatures class. It was not difficult to imagine that he had obtained that information through her friends.

But Severus still wanted to confirm it. Suddenly, a sharp headache struck Potter. Severus used a still rather unrefined Legilimency. Even so, thanks to the abilities he had possessed in his previous life, he was already capable of invading another person's mind simply by directing his consciousness toward them, without even needing to maintain eye contact. After all, he possessed his warg abilities, and all he had to do was place his consciousness where he wanted it to be.

Within moments, he entered Potter's mind and found exactly what he was looking for. James really had used Sirius to obtain information from Mary about the secret meeting between Severus and Lily. He also saw all the frustration, jealousy, and obsession Potter now harbored after realizing that Severus had survived and had grown close to her once again.

Potter hated him. He was jealous of what Severus had become.

'As always, how petty of you...' Severus looked at the boy with nothing but contempt.

"Man... has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?" Severus finally said.

Potter could not even understand what was happening as his head suddenly throbbed with pain. Before he could do anything, Severus simply cast a spell.

The moment it struck the ground beneath Potter's feet, countless roots burst forth violently, wrapping around his entire body. Wood grew around him, binding his arms, legs, and torso. Even his mouth was covered.

All Potter could do was watch as darkness consumed his vision.

The next instant, Severus cast another spell. Another strand of wood continued growing until it formed a massive, completely sealed coffin, cutting off every sound.

Using Levitation, Severus lifted the coffin and placed it behind a few empty shelves in that area.

"Stay there, alright?" he said calmly, using nothing but elemental wood spells.

After that, he turned his attention back to the empty space before him. His eyes lifted toward the stars, observing a constellation he was still trying to grow accustomed to since arriving in this world.

After all, in his other life, it had been different. For obvious reasons, perhaps the planet where he had been born occupied another position within that galaxy... or perhaps even another galaxy entirely. He had no answer to that...

He waited in silence, and it did not take long.

At exactly ten past nine, the familiar red hair began ascending the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.

Lily found him sitting with his back to her, gazing up at the sky.

She hesitated the moment she saw him, but even so, she stepped into the room with cautious footsteps.

"They say a person can be influenced by the constellation under which they were born. Some people truly believe that." Severus broke the silence without taking his eyes off the stars. At that time of year, one of September's constellations dominated the sky. The constellation Cygnus could be seen that night.

"Severus... you would never believe in things like that," Lily replied.

A faint smile appeared on his face as he noticed that she was discreetly keeping her wand in view. "Then I still think it's complete nonsense," he replied. He truly did, even though he was no longer the same Severus as before.

"You're not the Severus I knew," she said, staring at his back.

"Well... people change, Evans." The moment he addressed her by her surname, Lily seemed to grow even more tense.

"Who are you? What happened to Severus?" she insisted, more willing than ever to believe he was not really him.

"I am Severus Snape. There's no reason for you to think so much about it. Besides, as far as I know, our friendship ended at the end of the last school year, just a few months ago. So... why all of this? Honestly, there's no reason for you to care so much." He spoke calmly, sensing that she was actually trembling while holding her wand in her hands.

"No... you can't be him. You don't act like him. I want to know. Answer me. Who are you? What happened to him?" She kept speaking of the former Severus as though he were someone else.

Severus sighed. "Look... things have changed, Evans. If you want to know so badly, I'll give you the same explanation I've given everyone else, because it isn't a lie." He paused.

"Something happened to me. These eyes of mine... they now let me see the world more clearly. My powers were awakened at that moment. I'm no longer the Severus you knew. I don't blame you for questioning me as though I'd taken the old Severus's place. But I am Severus. Just... the one I am now."

After another pause, he continued without caring that she was pointing a wand at him. "I know everything that happened between us. I'm fully aware of everything I experienced before. It's just that... my mind was trapped in a kind of mindset that I no longer possess."

He finally turned around and looked directly at her for the first time. Severus's green eyes shone with an intensity they had never displayed before. They were far brighter than the green eyes of the girl standing before him.

There was hesitation in Lily's eyes, along with a trace of fear. "If you really are the Severus I knew... why are you being so cold to me?" she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow, making a slight grimace. He stared at Lily for several seconds before letting out an exasperated snort.

"You're probably wondering why I didn't come running after you like a stray little puppy, the way I would have at the end of our fifth year." There was a hint of contempt in his voice. "I won't be as foolish as my former self was that night."

"Severus would have done that..." Lily murmured, hesitating as she looked at the current Severus.

"Yes. But get that idea out of your head. Don't expect me to do that, Evans. I'm simply giving you exactly what you wanted. We're walking different paths now." Severus recalled the last words she had said to him in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"That's... not what I meant," she replied, now far more uncertain.

She was visibly shaken to hear those very same words thrown back at her. "I only asked you to stay away from Slytherin... away from Mulciber, Avery, and the others. And you're doing that. You've made friends... you're so different... I thought... I thought..." she murmured, seeming to lose all the resolve she had shown at the beginning of the conversation.

Severus simply waited a few moments before replying. "Look, Evans. You and I certainly shared many happy moments since we first met. And believe me, I'll carry those memories with me for the rest of my life..." He paused as the atmosphere grew heavier.

"But our friendship ended long before what happened by the Black Lake. I can see that now. I think it's perfectly normal and healthy for us to simply accept that separation. I believe this conversation was necessary, but I don't think it's going to change anything between us."

"I think it's better if we never become friends again." His tone was calm, as though the matter had already been completely settled in his heart.

Lily remained standing there for several moments, staring at Severus. He could clearly see the conflict in her eyes.

Then her eyes began to fill with tears. "What are you talking about?" she murmured. "If you hadn't called me that horrible name... if you hadn't gone deeper and deeper into the Dark Arts... if you had listened to me..."

She took a deep breath. "I thought you were lost. I thought that if I stayed by your side, I'd end up sinking with you."

Severus simply continued looking at her with the same calm expression while Lily lowered her gaze.

"You... you don't even seem to care anymore..." she said as she noticed Severus's silence.

"Look... I really did wrong you, and I'm sure I've already apologized for it. I won't apologize again, and I don't expect your forgiveness anymore. The problem is that none of it matters now, Evans. We're not going to be friends again."

"Why?" She immediately looked up at him, staring in disbelief. "What did I do to you, Severus? You... you've changed into exactly the kind of person I always wanted you to be. So why are you acting as if I'm some kind of plague to you now?"

Severus remained silent for a few moments, merely shaking his head. What else could he expect from a teenager?

"Evans... there are too many wounds between us." He began. "I can't look at you and talk to you without remembering everything bad that happened between us. Our arguments and, above all, all the memories that came afterward."

"There was a time when you were a good friend. But there was also a time when you became a terrible friend, Evans." After a pause, he finally spoke.

"I don't want to be your friend anymore." Severus said with complete sincerity.

The words struck Lily head-on. She broke down in tears. She could not understand how the one who claimed to be the same Severus could utter those words. The old Severus would never have said something like that. Not even at his worst. His voice would never have carried such coldness.

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