Chapter 3

*On the way to the Great hall*

Today is the day my journey to becoming something more begins, and I want to start this off by fixing my face, like the crooked nose and weird teeth.

"There's got to be a spell that fixes stuff like this, with how vain purebloods are."

"Ha! Found it. Nose-fixing spell. Huh, what's this warning say? 'Warning: You may experience slight pain due to the shift in the bone of the nose.' Well, shit."

No pain, no gain, I guess. Let's get it over with. "So, what is the incantation? Hmm, here it says, 'Figere nasum.' Okay, then, let's do this."

"Figere nasum"...*cracks...*

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Fucking lying book, slight pain my fucking ass. That hurt like someone kicked me in the balls and then stamped on it. God, it hurts..."

Huh, now then. Good to know who that was screaming like a bitch wasn't me. That's for sure. *Cough... cough.* Anyway, we're gonna pretend that never happened.

On to the next spell. "Hmm, something for cleaning my teeth and fixing them, like Hermione did. Let's see where it is. 'Mundus dentes'—the dentist's ultimate enemy, the teeth-cleaning charm."

"Mundus dentes."

After the incantation, I felt a cooling sensation going through my mouth. It felt weird but nice. I went to take a look in the mirror, and what I saw was marvelous. I saw a straight nose, a jaw that could cut bloody diamonds, piercing violet gems of eyes, and long hair as dark as midnight and as smooth as a calm stream. And finally, my still crooked but almost sparkling white teeth.

And to complete the set, I performed the teeth-fixing charm. "Redintegro dentes." And snap, they fixed themselves, giving me a perfect smile with perfect teeth. Internally, I began clacking like a villain and was pleased with what I saw—a true aristocrat look. Now, truly awesome. "Subarashi subarashi, hahahhahahahahahahahaha!" I laughed, truly happy to have an awesome look to go with my personality.

After finishing my monologue and villain laugh session.

My first lesson today was DADA, which was at 9 am. Right now, a quick Tempus charm told me it was 7:34 am.


Passing through the hallways with a bookbag slung around me, a DADA book in my hands, and my robes flaring behind me, I walked through them, not paying attention to all the faces and looks I was receiving in the common room as well as the hallways.

And after about a 10-minute walk, I finally reached the doors of the Great Hall. And, as if I were some kind of shonen protagonist, the doors opened slowly, as if revealing me, turning the attention of the people in the Great Hall towards the doors.

What they saw was an unfamiliar yet truly handsome face looking into his book, paying no attention to his surroundings, just walking through as if he did this every day.

If you looked closely enough, you could see an amused smirk on the face of the boy. Like Headmaster Dumbledore did, with a twinkle in his eye and a truly grandfatherly smile, obviously recognizing the boy as Severus Snape.

As Desmond—now Severus—strolled into the Great Hall, he kept his eyes fixed on his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, pretending to be deeply engrossed. In reality, he was doing his best to keep his new, perfect nose pointed slightly up, just enough to show off his freshly-fixed face without being too obvious about it. After all, what was the point of a makeover if no one noticed?

The hall buzzed with chatter as students filled the long tables, eating breakfast and gossiping about the latest Quidditch match or who hexed who in the corridors yesterday. But as Desmond walked in, the noise dimmed for a moment, and a few heads turned, their conversations halting mid-sentence.

"Is that… Snape?" someone whispered.

"Nah, can't be. Snape looks like he crawled out of a cauldron most mornings."

"Well, whoever it is, I'd let him hex me any day."

Desmond's lips curled into a little smirk, but he didn't let his eyes leave the book. He could practically feel the stares boring into him, but he played it cool, strolling towards the Slytherin table as if he had no idea he was causing a minor spectacle.

As he passed the Gryffindor table, he caught sight of the Marauders—James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter—chatting and laughing. James was midway through juggling a few grapes with his wand when he noticed the commotion. He looked up, caught a glimpse of Desmond, and promptly missed the catch, a grape smacking him right in the face.

Sirius burst out laughing, and Remus raised an eyebrow, looking between James and the unfamiliar, handsome figure walking by. "What happened, James? Did someone hex you?"

James wiped the grape juice off his cheek, glaring over at Desmond, who was still playing it cool, his eyes skimming over a passage about hex-deflection. "Who the hell is that?" James muttered, sounding more confused than annoyed.

"Dunno," Sirius said, tilting his head to get a better look. "But he's definitely not Slytherin material. Too clean. Too… suave."

"Wait," Remus said, leaning in and squinting. "I think… that's Snape."

There was a brief silence as the Marauders processed this information. James's jaw practically hit the table. "Snivellus? You're telling me that's Snivellus?"

Peter snorted, almost choking on his toast. "Looks like someone used a Beautification Potion. Must've had a whole cauldron's worth."

Desmond resisted the urge to shoot them a smirk and instead just turned a page in his book, pretending he hadn't noticed them at all. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see James and Sirius narrowing their eyes, no doubt trying to figure out what was going on.

As he reached the Slytherin table, he finally allowed himself to glance up, catching a glimpse of a few familiar faces. Mulciber and Avery were sitting nearby, their expressions mirroring that of every other Slytherin at the table: a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Morning," Desmond said casually, sliding into a seat. He grabbed a piece of toast from a platter, as if it were just another ordinary day. "What, no one's seen a guy brush his hair before?"

Mulciber blinked, still staring. "Snape? Is that really you?"

"Who else would it be?" Desmond said, giving him a grin that bordered on mischievous. "Just felt like a change, you know. Decided I'd try this thing called 'basic hygiene' and see what all the fuss was about."

Avery snorted, finally cracking a smile. "Well, whatever you did, it's working. You look… different."

"I aim to please," Desmond said, spreading jam on his toast like he was spreading world domination plans. He glanced up and caught Dumbledore's eye from the head table. The headmaster was giving him one of those enigmatic, twinkly-eyed smiles, and Desmond couldn't help but grin back.

"Figured you'd approve, Headmaster," Desmond thought. "A little makeover never hurt anyone, right?"

As he continued eating, he listened to the chatter around him. There were whispers about "the new Snape" and "did he really fix his nose?" and "maybe I should ask him what spell he used." It was like he'd suddenly become some kind of celebrity, and honestly, Desmond wasn't complaining.

"Look at you, Mr. Popular," he thought to himself, biting into his toast. "Who knew all it took was a little bit of self-care and a lot of magic?"

As he finished up, he glanced around and noticed Lily Evans sitting at the Gryffindor table, a few seats away from James. She was looking at him too, her brow furrowed slightly, like she was trying to figure out if she was seeing things. Desmond caught her gaze for a split second, then quickly looked away, pretending to be engrossed in his book again.

"Alright, don't get distracted," he reminded himself. "Lily's a complicated chapter in the Severus Snape saga, and you're not getting dragged into that mess on day one."

After breakfast, Desmond stood up, adjusted his robes so they flared out dramatically (because why not?), and headed for his first class. Defense Against the Dark Arts was always one of Snape's favorites, and it was going to be his ticket to power—once he got a grip on everything. He needed to be sharp, confident, and, most importantly, a little mysterious. If he was going to carve out a new path for himself, he had to be smarter than everyone else.

As he walked down the hall, he could hear the whispers following him, and he couldn't help but feel a thrill. "Watch out, Hogwarts," he thought, a grin spreading across his face. "There's a new Severus Snape in town, and he's not here to play second fiddle to anyone."

He arrived at the classroom, pushed open the door, and stepped inside. The room was half-filled, but Desmond was the first Slytherin to show up, and the Gryffindors who were already seated gave him curious glances. He ignored them, walking straight to a desk at the front, plopping his book down with a little more flair than necessary.

"Let's see what kind of impression we can make today," he thought, leaning back in his chair. "I've got a lot of people to surprise, and I'm just getting started."

As the other students filtered in, and the class began to fill up, Desmond let out a soft, satisfied chuckle, feeling more confident than he'd ever felt before. This was going to be fun.