Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 70 The Return of the Invisibility Cloak

Chapter Seventy: The Return of the Invisibility Cloak

Perhaps it was because Harry didn't resemble James much except for his appearance, or perhaps it was simply because he had Lily's eyes. Snape did not reveal a small fragment of his memories to him as originally planned.

As if seeking forgiveness, he shared all the secrets and regrets buried deep in his heart with Harry without any alteration.

Mo Ran was stunned. In his mind, everyone, including himself, was like the characters in Akira Kurosawa's film "Rashomon," always viewing the world subjectively.

He couldn't understand why Snape could so readily reveal his dark past.

Even if people don't lie or hide anything when recounting their memories, they'll subconsciously lean towards their own past, right? Or is it because of magic? But wait, Professor Slughorn in the movie altered his own memories, didn't he?

While Mo Ran was still marveling at Snape's "outrageous behavior," Harry on the other side had already spoken up to himself:

"So, the reason Voldemort killed my parents was because of that prophecy."

After the brief, pointed question, there was a long silence.

Snape had envisioned many scenarios, but of all the possibilities he had anticipated, he had not expected a thirteen-year-old boy to remain so calm.

Harry's emotions were very complicated at this moment.

Having almost no knowledge of his own parents, he had no idea that the two had such a past before they became husband and wife.

Everything seemed to change starting with that word "Mudblood." Professor Snape chose the path of a Death Eater, willing to serve Voldemort, while Harry's father, James Potter, must have gradually shed the flaws that Lily disliked. Otherwise, given Lily's personality, she would never have fallen for such a mischievous, arrogant, and conceited man.

From Mo Ran's perspective as an observer, a young James Porter even bore a resemblance to Dudley Dursley. Aside from James being more talented than Dudley and not at all overweight, the two gave off a very similar vibe in terms of personality.

Just consider this: James leading the Marauders to bully Snape seems even worse than Dudley verbally insulting Harry with his gang at the beginning of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movies.

Should we remind Harry that no one is perfect?

Mo Ran hesitated.

He had no right to force Harry to view this past from an outsider's perspective. Even if James's bullying of Snape seemed excessive to him, from a broader perspective, Snape had indeed served under Voldemort. Furthermore, if he hadn't revealed Trelawney's prophecy, it's uncertain whether the Potters would have perished.

“Professor, I think... I can't, and I'm not qualified to, forgive you on behalf of my parents.”

Harry's sudden words made both Moran and Snape's hearts skip a beat. However, just when they thought the 13-year-old was about to side with his family and become a judge, he changed the subject and said:

“I do believe that my father’s actions of forming a gang and bullying you were wrong… Before I came to Hogwarts, I actually lived in the cupboard in the stairwell of my uncle’s house. Back then, I was always hungry and cold, and apart from Dudley’s old clothes, I never received any decent gifts. But everything changed after I came to Hogwarts. With magic, even if it was just to make them fear me, my life on Privet Drive became much better, so I can understand why you made those extreme choices…”

Snape stared at Harry in disbelief; however, his good mood was short-lived. Just a second later, he heard the "but" that negated all the premises.

"But your act of joining the Death Eaters and pledging allegiance to Voldemort was absolutely wrong..."

Harry paused, as if giving himself, and also Snape, some time to process the situation.

Even if you correct your mistakes later, the tragedies you caused can never be undone.

The glimmer of hope that had just appeared in Snape's eyes slowly faded away. He felt as if he had returned to the summer of his fifth year, to the beech tree that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Fine, hate me then, it'll make us both safer...

Snape thought to himself, seemingly forgetting that Harry had only just turned 13. The reason Harry kept expressing different opinions was because he himself was struggling with how to approach the matter.

Sensing Harry's subtle wavering, Mo Ran finally stopped hesitating and softly reminded him:

"Trust your first instinct, Harry. If you don't have hatred in your heart, there's no need to force yourself to bear hatred because of your identity."

As the person who knew Harry best, Mo Ran didn't choose to say anything—that the past was the past, or that he should look forward—that sounded very saintly. At this crucial moment, which could be called a turning point in his life, he chose to believe in Harry.

And Harry did not disappoint him.

"call……"

Harry's expression was like that of someone releasing a teacup that was overflowing with boiling water. He let out a long sigh and continued:

"Similarly, I cannot apologize to you on behalf of my father... It's regrettable that you and my parents had such an unpleasant past; but no matter what, the reason I survived is because of my parents' love. Now that they are both gone, all I want is for them to come back to life. Then, it won't matter who hates whom or who despises whom... You should understand what I mean, right?"

……

"What are your plans next? Don't tell me you want to use Floo Powder in Mexico, which is so close to the United States. You can't be that stupid."

"The safest way would be to take a plane. I can use Apparition to send you and your luggage back to England first, and then return myself..."

"No need. I will prepare the compound decoction within the next three days so that I can better conceal my identity from Muggles."

"Isn't the compound decoction supposed to be prepared over a month?"

"The recipes and methods for preparing potions can be improved. With your current potion-making skills, you should already be able to touch on this area... Let's leave it at that for now. In the next few days, try to observe my method of concocting polysaccharide potions as much as possible. Starting next school year, I will formally pass on these insights to you."

"it is good."

Harry and Snape's conversation sounded like a regular tutoring session at Hogwarts. If Mo Ran hadn't witnessed the entire confrontation between the two in the live stream, he would never have guessed what the teacher and student had just been talking about.

……

Let's rewind to April 6, 1993. Unlike the British "smugglers" who were about to set foot on the North American continent, the Thunderbird thieves, who had successfully stolen the Thunderbird eggs, had already returned to England with two Mexican faces.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Snape was visibly dizzy after getting off the plane. Although he was of mixed race and had some knowledge of Muggle technology, for a wizard who used Floo Powder and Apparition all the time, being forced to squeeze into an "iron box" for more than ten hours was still too much of a torment.

"Don't rush back to Hogwarts."

Despite his discomfort, Snape instructed Harry:

“It’s April now, and not all teachers and students are taking a break from school like you. If we rashly return to the castle, we might be discovered by my past self or the heads of other houses. I suggest you write a letter to Dumbledore first and ask him to help you find a place to stay where you won’t be discovered.”

Harry glanced at Snape's scruffy Mexican face and forcefully suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, replying:

"There's no need to trouble the professor. I know a place where we can be guaranteed to remain undiscovered by anyone, near the end of Spider Alley in Kirkworth."

The Mexican version of Snape stared wide-eyed; clearly, he hadn't expected Potter to utter such a "strange" address.

……

Beneath the towering, massive chimney, the gate of an abandoned mill slowly opened. Just like his past self, Harry skillfully shot several "glowing" orbs of light into the air.

Looking at the simple yet uncluttered laboratory, Snape finally got a general idea of ​​what was going on. He asked:

"So, you founded Lily Health Insurance Company right here last summer?"

Harry shook his head and said:

"The company's headquarters are in London, so this place can only be considered my hidden base."

"..."

Snape paused, then casually reminded her:

“I don’t recommend that you hand over all the company’s affairs to the Malfoy family to handle. Cooperating with Lucius is a… dangerous thing.”

Harry, whose mind was far beyond that of his peers, could naturally understand the hidden meaning in the other person's words. In fact, the agreement he signed with Lucius Malfoy at Christmas a few months ago included the clause that the Malfoy family could only provide funding and could not interfere with the company's operations or other decisions without Harry's permission.

"I know."

Harry replied:

"I've entrusted Dobby with handling things at the company headquarters. He's a free house-elf, and I pay him a few Galleons a month... Wait, speaking of which, he hasn't left the Malfoy family yet at this point."

Snape's brow showed no sign of relaxing. He knew that Harry hadn't made any reprehensible mistakes, but he was just unhappy with the "little brat's" relaxed state.

After a few seconds of deep thought, Snape spoke again:

"Ahem... You seem to be a little too relaxed. If you haven't noticed yet, I don't mind reminding you—this base doesn't belong to you now. Any traces left by entering and using any items might be noticed by your former self."

Harry didn't explain anything after hearing this. He just smiled and tossed a test tube to the ground.

With a "crack," large and small shards of glass scattered in all directions. However, before they could even land, the next second, all the shards seemed to grow hands and feet, piecing themselves back together with their "brothers and sisters," and then hopped back into the test tube rack on the table.

"I cast some housekeeping magic inside this mill for cleaning and tidying."

Harry explained it this way:

"In general, their effects are similar to the Cleansing Charm and Restoration Charm. As long as the magic is still active, they will automatically restore the filth and damage. In addition, I have also cast a Peaceful Protection Charm and a Confusion Charm on the outer perimeter of this mill. Any wizard or Muggle who ventures here alone, except for myself, will encounter considerable trouble. I believe that I in the past would not have been able to see through it."

Unable to find any other flaws, Snape turned his head away and remained silent.

Given his personality, he would never accept being rendered speechless by a student's retort, which is why Harry immediately shifted the topic to improving the recipe after tasting the benefits.

……

After some retelling, Harry explained the gist of their meeting at the pub in the outskirts of Kirkworth. However, to verify whether Professor Snape would give the same improvement plan in both instances, he deliberately omitted the specific details of the potion recipe, as well as the pocket watch that had been given to him as a birthday present.