12

Lily was angry with Snape, more than everyone thought. When Eli saw them on the train back to Hogwarts, they were sitting uncomfortably in the box, Snape trying to find a topic, and Lily's reply was short and slightly stiff, completely devoid of the usual rapport and laughter. Eli found that the two of them were relieved almost simultaneously when they saw him appear, welcoming him in such unison for the first time.

Listening to Penny, Lily went out to see Snape on Christmas Day, but now from the results, it is clear that this did not do much to ease the relationship between the two. The friendship between the two of them was a little more formal, and this somewhat awkward atmosphere lasted until February, and there was still no obvious improvement.

Although they still do their homework together in the library, they are noticeably less frequent – Eli has the most say in this, the library is his most frequent place in school, and it is somewhat annoying that he spends less and less alone reading alone.

"Look no further, Severus." Eli turned the page of the book and said without raising her head, "Lily and Mary left about an hour and a half ago, and they spent more than two hours writing their homework for the Transfiguration class, and I don't think I will come back today." "

Snape withdrew his gaze, glared at him with a pierced embarrassment and irritation, sat down at his round table with a cold face, and took out his homework.

"No one asked you to talk, Eli." He said in a bad tone.

"Okay." Eli flipped through the pages deafly and said casually, "Please sit, Severus." "

Snape choked on him and glared at him in annoyance.

"Well, Eli, who is very popular. Smith certainly doesn't care about this. He sang in a sleek tone, "Anyway, whether you have to face Gryffindor or Slytherin, he can handle everything, two friends in front of him, he can also maintain the friendly relationship between the two sides at the same time, and he is comfortable and happy to win people's hearts..."

Eli snapped his fingers and finally raised her head and glanced at him.

"Three." He said.

What the? Snape was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant for a moment. Eli sighed and shook his head.

"And Penny." He said, "I remember you know, I mentioned it when we first met. I've known her before I know you. "

This Muggle again. Snape frowned in annoyance, his lips pursing in disgust. But in the end, he did not openly say any slander, perhaps the cold war with Lily finally made him learn to be cautious in his words and actions.

His expression was slightly tense, with a sense of sternness, as if waiting for a new round of criticism from Eli. But to his surprise, Eli only said such a sentence, and did not continue the topic, as if it really just gave him a proper reminder.

This was quite unexpected by Snape, who stared at him in surprise.

　　"Nothing else?" He asked tentatively, with a hint of hostility, "If you want to quarrel with me like Lily, then whatever you want, you can start now, it doesn't matter." "

　　Although they were friends on a decent relationship now—perhaps one of Snape's only two friends outside of Slytherin, or perhaps not needing to get rid of Slytherin—Snape had always had an indelible sense of wariness towards Eli, as if he was a potential rival and comparator in some sense, which Snape didn't want to admit or think about.

　　He stared at Eli, waiting for his answer, unable to say whether he would prefer to hear reproach or understanding from this man.

　　"What? Of course not. Eli looked at him again, equally surprised, "Why am I doing this?" Your attitude to friendship is, of course, your business, and I may have an opinion about it, but I won't interfere self-righteously—that's between you, and I have no right to interfere—why would you ask that, I thought you hated Jaime for behaving like that. "

　　Since meeting Eli during a night tour, Jaime's impression of him has changed dramatically. This kind of person who is spoiled by the pampering of the family is always very understandable, and likes and dislikes are written on the face. So as soon as he felt that Eli was a nice person, he immediately expressed strong, superfluous, and completely unnecessary sympathy for Eli for being forced to hang out with Snape.

　　As far as Eli knew, Snape's sneering at James's overly exuberant self-proclaimed heroism was utterly disgusted; As for Eli himself, he could appreciate James' sense of justice, although it was a little too exuberant and not too indiscriminate... To be honest, he thought James was like a portrait of Sir Cardogan in the castle, and certain moments were a little annoying.

　　Of course, James was much more popular than Sir Cardogan's portrait, and most people liked him. Despite all his mischief and adventurous spirit, those that fit in him and he is always the focus of the crowd. Eli was very fair in his eyes, and not inherently hostile to him just because he was Snape's friend, and it was naïve to gang up for no reason.

　　Snape clearly didn't see any merit in James, which pleased him with Eli's brief answer. His face looked better, and he did not give any explanation for his slightly sharp remarks just now, silently ending the discussion of the topic as a concession, and occupying half of the round table with Eli alone, quietly doing his own thing.

　　This time he was quiet, but Eli began to speak. His gaze fell on the book that Snape had placed on the table, read the title out, and raised one eyebrow.

　　"One Hundred Practical Dark Magic Spells and Their Applications." Eli asked in a skeptical tone, "Someone told me that you can spell more spells than many of the older students, and it seems that he didn't lie... Can you borrow this book from the library? I look at its title, and it doesn't seem to be critical of black magic. "

　　"It's my book at home." Snape answered truthfully, and when it came to books, his interest was much higher, "My mother's collection of books looks very old, doesn't it?" The book library does not have it, I looked for it. Everyone says that the Hogwarts library has the largest collection of books in the wizarding world, but it does not have this one. I suspect that my mother may have come from some ancient pure-blood family, but now the bloodline has declined, even to the point where it is unbearable, and I want to say that it is simply because..."

　　He stopped his words in time, and his pale face flushed faintly due to his excitement. Eli looked at his faintly yearning face, stunned by his sluggishness.

　　"Of course not at Hogwarts, this looks like a book touting the Dark Arts, isn't it? And our headmaster, Dumbledore, is the greatest White Wizard in the world, and his greatest achievement is to defeat the dark wizard Grindelwald with his own hands. "

　　At his reminder, Snape simply shrugged.

　　"Calm down, Eli, it's just a way of applying magic, you're not such a pedantic person." He said disapprovingly, touching the cover of the book and showing a faint smile, "If you really read it, you will find that many of the spells here are very practical, more practical than those in the textbook... My other friends also enjoyed this book, and they all learned useful things from it,"

　　"Those friends certainly don't include Lily." Eli said, "You know, Severus, you look like you're holding a gun right now, and tell me that although the gun is full of ammunition, you can control the timing of the trigger pull, never go off the rails, never kill innocents, just use it to do what it has to do, and tell me how practical the gun is." "

　　Hearing Lily's name, Snape paused inconspicuously and was silent for a moment, clearly understanding that Lily would not accept such an attitude from him—no matter how grandiose his excuses might be.

　　"Isn't that right?" In the end, Snape only said, "The yearning for power is human, even for Muggles." Guns are regulated, and just as black magic is not open to all students, only the most capable are eligible to master them. "

　　"The ones who let the guns go off are always the ones who are most skilled at playing with guns, and I think black magic is too." Eli disapprovingly, "They're all dangerous, you know what I mean." Owning a gun requires documents and exams to make sure a person is capable enough to own this dangerous item, and I think black magic is too. The premise of learning is to determine that you have the corresponding will and age. "

　　"Come on," Snape hooked the corners of his lips coldly, without a smile in his eyes, "if I have the chance, I would really like to invite you to Spider's Tail Alley as a guest, to see those drunken drunkards who have been drunk all day, gamblers who steal family money and spend the morning to lose a lot, gamblers who watch the fat sheep passing by like wolves on the side of the road, and short-lived ghosts who were shot in the forehead in the melee, and the reason for being shot may be simply because of passing by."

Eli looked at him, her eyes were calm and did not speak.

　　"I couldn't imagine such a bad place in the world, did I?" Snape said softly, a mocking arc at the corner of his lips, "It's not safe for power to be in the hands of others, and only you can trust it the most—I'm glad you're starting to realize that too." "

　　"Neither guns nor black magic are omnipotent." Eli quickly replied, "It's good to use tools, it's not necessary to be tied to tools." "

　　"Oh? What do you think it can't do?" Snape laughed incredulously.

　　This question is really not easy to answer, Eli thought about it.

　　"Let everything that deviates back on track, move forward without detours, have no regrets in every choice, and change the heart of those who do not love themselves." He said, "The wording may be a little crepe, I probably saw similar sentences in my mother's novels... In short, there are many things in the world that cannot be done by magic alone, and black magic is the same. "

　　It's far-fetched, Snape said unhappily. But he could not find a particularly powerful way to argue for a while, and could only unwillingly make a temporary truce with Eli, and in the end no one convinced anyone.

　　When it was time for lunch, both of them had just finished their task and walked out together. Walk down the hallway through the library and meet the snow-covered James Quartet at the entrance to the auditorium.

　　They seemed to have gone to the Quidditch pitch to watch the team's daily practice, and James was talking to the other three roommates in a bright spirit, even if he was wet from top to bottom after the snow, it was still very noticeable. After seeing Eli and Snape, James stopped talking and sighed with interest.

　　"Look who this is, Slytherin slug." James showed an expression that had just noticed someone on the other side, squeezing his eyebrows and revealing a sympathetic look, "What a nice day off, but you still don't look like you have time to wash your hair—don't you stay away from him, Eli?" What if his head oil accidentally falls on your clothes, how long will you have to wash it when you go back? "

　　"Don't be, Jaime." Lupin whispered uneasily, tugging at his sleeve and trying to drag him into the auditorium, which was always a lot more subdued under the noses of the professors.

　　Siris. Blake watched with interest, not moving, but obviously not repulsive. Next to them Peter. Pediru's face turned red with excitement, he had just joined this small group in the academy, he couldn't believe that he had become friends with James and Sirius, and he was shouting with excitement at everything, and he was laughing loudly and harshly at Jaime's words.

　　Snape's expression twisted silently, and the clear disgust on his face could not be concealed at all. He looked at James in front of him and suddenly spoke softly.

　　"See, Eli? Strength is dignity. "

　　He drew his wand—so fast that Eli stood beside him without having time to stop him, as if he was born with excellent spell-wielding abilities and dueling skills.

　　But his wand still didn't spell Jaime. Because in the nick of time, Lily's voice suddenly sounded not far away.

　　"What are you doing—Seaver! Stop!"

　　Snape's hand holding his wand tightened reflexively, but he didn't utter any spells. James didn't care so much—he didn't need to pay attention to Lily's face, and his wand pointed in Snape's direction, and a jet of water shot towards Snape out of thin air.

　　The light missed its target—with a wave of Eli's wand, they all enveloped Snape, and the light hit the edge of the barrier and catapulted out, splashing on the ground and wetting the corners of Eli and Snape's robes.

　　"Thank you, Jaime, I have to go back to doing my laundry now." Eli said calmly, "Although I understand that you are kind, I would really appreciate it if you could help less in the future." "

　　Lily was taken aback and quickly ran towards them, her eyes full of anger.

　　"Do you think that's fun, Potter?" She snapped, "Bully classmates for no reason!" You should apologize to Seaver!"

　　Jaime shrugged off her serious accusations, shook the snowy beads in his messy hair, and raised one eyebrow dashingly.

　　"I'm so sorry." He said with a grin, his tone was relaxed, and he spread his hands innocently towards Lili, "I have a disease that I can't see other people's dirty appearance in front of my eyes, if I did something to the snot just now, it must be because my bursting sense of justice can't be completely suppressed, and I can't help it." "

　　Lily took a deep breath, looked at him in disgust, didn't want to say a word to him, turned angrily and forcefully walked over to Snape, grabbed his hand, and dragged him towards the Great Hall.

　　"Leave Potter alone, Seaver!" She said angrily, "That's a stupid, arrogant, nobody-looking, hopeless bastard—"

　　"It's much more serious than saying my words." Snape muttered softly, his gaze falling on Lily's hand holding his wrist. It seemed like a long time had passed since the last time they had been so intimate, and he watched greedily.

　　"What? Oh. Lily looked at him suspiciously for two seconds, and suddenly reacted that they were still in the cold war. She immediately wanted to release Snape's wrist, and the moment she let go, Snape jerked his hand up, keeping her fingertips.

　　Now it's him dragging her. Snape gasped sharply, his sallow face mixed with embarrassment and entanglement, staring at her tightly.

　　"I'm very ... I'm sorry. He said a little nervously, "I know I shouldn't say that about your sister, I'll later... Not in the future..."

　　He gritted his teeth and finally said the words in full: "I will no longer look at everyone with prejudice... I try, I promise."

Lily stared at him inspectively for a moment, finally smiling amid Snape's nervous gaze.

　　"You should apologize to Petunia, not me, Seaver." She said with a smile, Snape's face relaxed for a moment, "I hope that if you meet during the summer vacation, you can get along more happily... Well, go eat, Seaver, and go back to washing your robe—well, I mean, the part wet with Potter. "

　　"Are you going to the library tomorrow?" Snape asked quickly.

　　Lili thought for a moment: "Tomorrow I want to practice the newly learned spells in the Transfiguration class... Maybe it's better to find an empty classroom?"

　　"I think so too." Snape immediately said, "So—see you tomorrow?"

　　See you tomorrow. Lily nodded in agreement, parting with Snape with Eli and watching as Snape walked towards the long Slytherin table—even his back was brisk after a long absence.

　　"Thanks for being there, Eli." As the two of them sat down at the Gryffindor table, Lily turned to Eli, smiled at him, and said sincerely, "You're always so calm and unashamed and reliable." "

　　"It's okay." Eli replied casually, looking at Snape in the distance, meaning something.

　　"Sometimes the appearance of a person is much more powerful than a powerful spell, isn't it?"

　　Lily nodded in agreement and warmly invited him, "Let's go practice spells together tomorrow, Eli!" You're always special. "

　　"No, I'm going to read in the library." Eli firmly rejected him, defending his right to be alone and pure.

　　All right. Lily shrugged regretfully and said a little urgently, "Don't stay in the library all the time, Eli, you should spend more time with your friends, most of whom don't want to go to the library to report when they are fine." "

　　"I think I have some friends with the same interests." Eli said nonchalantly that he had formed friendships with several Ravenclaws who were always in the library, and he was always left alone when he wanted to find someone to discuss.

　　But... He looked at Lily and suddenly asked, "You haven't reconciled with Severus just waiting for him to apologize from the bottom of your heart?"

　　Lily paused, her expression slightly restrained, looked at Eli, and hesitated slightly.

　　But in the end, she planned to share it with Eli. She moved slightly closer to Eli and whispered, "At Christmas, I went to meet Seaver and saw his home, well... And his parents. "

　　She had a cold fight, and it still made her feel unpleasant to think about it: "With all due respect, his father is really a ... It's a... Villain. "

　　The tone of the word was a little intense, but Lily didn't want to say more about her friend's father. She took a deep breath and explained to Eli, "I can now understand why Seaver is so prejudiced against Muggles, if you have been with a father like that, no one can be without a trace of mustard... I understand his pain, but I don't think it's right to let him go on like this, just as there are good guys and bad guys among wizards, and Muggles too, he shouldn't be so generalized, that's not good. "

　　She breathed a soft sigh of relief, showed a heartfelt smile, smiled and stretched out her fingers, comparing them to her lips.

　　"Anyway, now that Seaver has changed, I think that's fine. Help me keep Seaver a secret, okay, Eli? I only came back after a fight with him to see the situation in his house, and I didn't want him to know that I saw it, and I don't think he would be happy. "

　　Of course. Eli nodded in agreement, looked at Lily's relaxed side face, hesitated, or said, "Do you think Severus' apology is because he really feels wrong, or is he just trying to get you back?"

　　Lili was stunned for a moment, and hesitated and said, "Whatever the reason, I think it's a good start?"

　　Eli was startled by her answer, and then couldn't help but wonder: "It makes sense." "

　　It's great that you agree too. Lily said sincerely, as if she had received some important support, and she had a lot more confidence. When she looked at him with a smile, she realized that he was still wearing his wizard hat properly. When she went to the library to do her homework, she wanted to say that although it did snow outside today, it was normal to go out and wear a hat, but he had not been out indoors, and he had to wear a hat completely, which seemed a little too formal.

　　"You can be less upright once in a while, Eli." Lily suggested lively, not without ostentation, "I also wore a wizard hat when I went out just now, my most beautiful one, which Penny gave me this Christmas." Lilac, very beautiful, I always felt that black was too monotonous... Didn't Penny give you one, Eli? I thought she would give you the same." "

　　She looked regretful: "I think Petunia has a great eye, and I especially like that hat - maybe next time you can suggest to her that next Christmas give you a nice wizard hat, the Muggle world has a much richer style design." The gift you gave this year is particularly to her liking, and she will definitely be willing..."

　　"You don't need this." Eli said lightly, with a smile and a meaningful statement, "I love the Christmas present she gave me this year, it's special." "

　　And whether it's the singing on the tape, the stationery in the urgent mail, or the hand-embroidered words on the hat, they are all exclusive to him.

　　Lily, who had reunited with her friends, was happily eating lunch, and James not far away was laughing and saying something with her friends, and when she accidentally met Eli's line, she made a funny strange face at him, obviously spoiled nature, but it seemed that she would never be angry with the friend she had delineated. The hat is now on his head, and this year is the first snow he's been back and the first time he's worn it. It felt a little strange to have his name embroidered on his hat, like something swearing sovereignty on top of his head, and he felt strange about the inexplicable thoughts he had generated.

Perhaps there is something even stranger... He didn't seem to hate the feeling much.