Smart, but not that smart

Blake could clearly see a flash of resentment in Snape's eyes.

"Hair from someone else's wife?" he asked.

"She could have been no one else..." Snape's lip trembled, his heart aching like a knife twisting in his chest. He had long since accepted that Lily hadn't chosen him. But... why James Potter? That was the wound that would never heal.

Blake hesitated, then took the small packet from Snape's hand. Inside was a handful of hair. He didn't know how Snape had gotten it from Lily, but the amount was more than sufficient for his purposes.

Seeing Blake pocket the package, Snape's lips pursed in reluctance. "Can you just take half? In case you fail..."

Blake sighed. "The chance of failure is small."

"Tsk... Why are you so reluctant?" Blake scoffed. "I'll just give you a living, breathing Lily later."

Snape shook his head. "No... it wouldn't be the same. Like you said, that wouldn't really be her. This hair... it's the last thing I have of her."

Blake had no choice but to return half of the hair. Snape carefully tucked it into his pocket, his fingers trembling slightly. Even Blake, who usually remained detached, couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.

A childhood love lost to a hated rival—who was he supposed to talk to about such pain?

Snape collected himself quickly. "How long will it take for you to succeed?"

Blake replied, "I need to complete an experiment first. Once that's done, I can begin. It might take about three months."

Snape nodded. He had nothing left to lose, so he chose to believe Blake.

Then, he stretched out his hand.

Blake blinked. "What?"

"Didn't you say you would fund my store?"

Blake's expression darkened. Was this man really asking for money right now? He recovered quickly.

Well, a promise was a promise.

Under the cover of his robes, he retrieved a heavy bag of gold galleons from his system warehouse and handed it over. "Five thousand gold galleons. The shop must be in Diagon Alley."

It was more than enough. Harry had donated a thousand galleons to the Weasley twins, who had used it to open their shop. Five thousand was a fortune.

Snape weighed the bag, then opened it to check.

Blake rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'd scam you?"

"Not possible," Snape replied coolly. He tied the bag securely and tucked it away. "But if you were broke, you might try to get your hands on my wealth."

Blake scowled. "Do I look like I care about your money? Isn't casually pulling out five thousand galleons cool enough for you?"

Snape ignored him. "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and send me to Diagon Alley."

Blake clicked his tongue but complied, opening a dimensional door. Snape stepped through without hesitation.

Blake let out a breath and exited the cabin.

Old Lepp approached with his pipe. "How'd it go?"

"Fine."

"Where's Agatha?"

"Cleaning up the mess in Knockturn Alley."

"Knockturn Alley? What happened?"

"I... might have accidentally demolished half of it."

Old Lepp froze. "Huh?"

He took a long drag from his pipe and sighed. "So, did you get what you went for?"

Blake nodded and pulled a large, ornate cabinet from his suitcase.

Bode, who had been nearby, immediately ran over. "A Vanishing Cabinet?! Blake, you actually brought one back!"

He looked at it with excitement. "These are rare... too complex and expensive to mass-produce. The Floo Network is far more popular."

"There are usually two of them," Bode continued. "Do you know where the other one is? We need both for it to work."

"I do. When Snape opens his store, we'll put the second one there."

"How long will that take?" Bode asked, disappointed. He had never seen a Vanishing Cabinet in action before.

"If you're impatient, we could put the other one in Knockturn Alley," Blake suggested.

Bode paled. "Knockturn Alley?! No thanks! That place is crawling with criminals."

Blake smirked. "But it'll be under Agatha's control soon. Why be scared?"

"What if some of them don't recognize me?" Bode countered. "I'd rather just use Diagon Alley."

Blake chuckled. "Fair enough. But as a wizard, you should know how to protect yourself."

Bode's expression darkened. He knew what was coming.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Can't it be someone else?"

"No. Agatha is the best choice."

Bode groaned. Suddenly, being a teapot at St. Mungo's didn't seem so bad...

Blake left them to their discussions and returned to Hogwarts. He retrieved the second Vanishing Cabinet from the Room of Requirement and handed it to Agatha in Knockturn Alley. "Once Snape's store is ready, hide it in the shop and use some magic to conceal it."

With that settled, Blake returned to the Room of Requirement. His mind drifted to his experiment.

He entered his private lab, passing rows of dangerous plants, and approached the biological petri dish.

Inside, the mass of flesh and blood looked unchanged.

Blake frowned. "Did the experiment fail?"

The petri dish was made by the system—he trusted it. If nothing had changed, then the issue lay with the contents.

Activating the Eyes of Truth, he observed closely.

His eyes widened.

It had a heartbeat.

Slow, but steady—one beat per second.

More than that, it had consciousness.

As he continued watching, the heartbeat quickened.

Fear?

Blake's lips curled in interest. He turned and left the lab.

Outside, he activated his Eyes of Truth again, making the lab walls appear transparent.

The moment the creature thought it was alone, it moved.

The lump of flesh pulsated, and something like blood vessels spread through its form, filling with liquid.

Blake raised an eyebrow. That was fast.

But what fascinated him most wasn't the physical changes.

It was its intelligence.

It was already conscious—before it had even fully formed.

And more than that... it had been awake the whole time.

It had been pretending to be dormant.

A smirk tugged at Blake's lips. "Interesting..."

With a flicker of magic, he teleported back inside the lab, appearing right in front of the petri dish.

The creature, mid-movement, froze.

Then, in a desperate attempt to deceive him, it quickly shrank back into its original form, pretending to be lifeless once more.

Blake chuckled. "Smart, but not that smart."

This was the equivalent of an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

He placed a hand on the petri dish and channeled his Druidic magic into it.

It was time to tame this unknown creature.

And once its name appeared on his system panel, only then would he truly feel at ease.

=============

Want to read more?

Join my Patreon

patreon.com/Max1mus

Also Please vote for this work with your Powerstones

And don't forget to leave a review