"Father" and Son

Severus Snape was half-blood; his wizarding blood came from his mother, Erin Prince, who was also a Slytherin.

When the mother and son were alone together, she would tell her son about her school days, describe the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts to young Snape, and tell him about the Black Lake outside the Slytherin common room window.

There is no doubt that Snape and his mother had a very good relationship, practically inseparable. Unfortunately, this was not the main theme of Snape's family life.

Snape's father was a Muggle who didn't like magic and didn't understand why he had married a witch in such a muddle.

This was his unresolved issue, and it became a trigger. The sudden layoffs overwhelmed him, and alcohol reignited his past grievances. Therefore, in Snape's eyes, "Father" was always a drunken, foul-mouthed, violent, and stupid lowly Muggle.

He could fill in a lot of words for "XX's Muggle": stupid, dirty, stinky, annoying...

Because that's how Snape's father addressed them. Snape had no fragmented memories of when his family was harmonious, so even if his mother repeated "Your father wasn't like this before" a hundred times, he wouldn't find it real.

Growing up in this family, Snape had a question from a young age: he couldn't understand why his mother was so submissive.

Snape was proud of his magic, because he had once used it to rebel against his father—giving him a good thrashing.

Although that immediately brought him even greater trouble, Snape could never forget the dirty Muggle's expression at the time, and the memory alone made him addicted to magic.

And when he entered Hogwarts, he understood even less. Why didn't his mother, who had received a full wizarding education, rebel? Why didn't she wave her wand and make that beast obey?

In fact, Erin Prince had given him an answer. His mother had told him with a wry smile that, for some reason, her spells no longer worked; her magic had faded, vanished!

This had caused Snape a period of panic, fearing that one day he too would become a Muggle at the mercy of others. Now that the truth was out, he should have breathed a sigh of relief, but in reality, Snape's intelligent mind went blank, and he simply couldn't believe Professor Flitwick's words.

Your knowledge will not betray you, and your skills will not abandon you.

But what if a wizard willingly abandons his knowledge and skills, or even chooses to forgo magic simply because he has fallen in love with a Muggle...?

The thought made Snape want to vomit. He almost did it himself. The shrewd young wizard could no longer control the surging emotions in his heart, nodded haphazardly, and fled without even being able to say a polite goodbye to the professor.

"..."

Professor Flitwick didn't seem to care. He was indeed very knowledgeable, and if it weren't for the other student present, he might have even wanted to say a few words of comfort to Snape.

"If possible, please keep it a secret, Mr. Soman," the short professor said softly.

Edmund, who had been observing the entire exchange, blinked.

"Huh? Did you say anything to him that I should remember?"

Upon hearing this, Professor Flitwick laughed happily like a child.

To be honest, Edmund admitted that he was growing to like Hogwarts more and more. Regardless of the quality of the students, almost all the professors were good people... It was practically a genie's paradise.

Professor Flitwick thought to himself: "So alike, so very alike! Especially when they're playing dumb... oh no, especially when they're considerately avoiding the topic, Soman and Dumbledore's reactions are exactly the same!"

However, this is most likely just because their eyes are too similar, nothing more?

"Well, very good, very good! Mr. Soman, what questions do you have now?"

Edmund took out the book "Fly, Fly, Fly! An Exploration of the Flying Spell" and handed it to Professor Flitwick.

"Do you still remember the author of this book? I'm very interested in his current research and would like to try writing him a few letters and asking him some questions."

Professor Flitwick paused slightly upon seeing the book, then gave a nostalgic look.

"Oh... Scrooge. I have a strong impression of him. The name Balfio is quite famous in the British magical world: there was once a Balfio who pronounced 'f' as 's' and found himself lying on the floor with a bison standing on his chest."

Professor Flitwick stopped, and Edmund quickly chuckled twice in agreement. Professor Flitwick then continued, satisfied:

"That made me feel an immediate connection with Scrooge. He really is a descendant of Barufio... sigh."

"What's wrong, Professor? Could it be that Mr. Barufeo, like his ancestors, also encountered an unfortunate tragedy?"

Professor Flitwick sighed again and shook his head.

"No, not at all." He seemed hesitant to speak. "Actually, well..."

"He's been imprisoned in Azkaban," Professor Flitwick said rapidly. "Scrooge Barufeo went astray, doing things that a righteous wizard should never do, resulting in some tragedies that I can't explain in detail..."

……

Edmund's lips twitched speechlessly, utterly at a loss for words. Although he was extremely curious about how this guy, so obsessed with summoning charms, had gotten himself into Azkaban, Professor Flitwick was clearly even more disappointed than Edmund, obviously harboring a deep affection for Scrooge.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Soman, alas, he may have gone mad. Even if you were to make contact with him, he probably wouldn't be able to..."

"I understand, Professor."

Edmund decided to abandon his plan to contact Scrooge Barufeo for the time being—even if he needed the help of this spell genius after he figured everything out, he shouldn't let the professor know that he hadn't given up yet.

Professor Flitwick also composed himself and mustered his strength to offer Edmund a few words of encouragement.

"It's good to be curious! It's even better to be ambitious!" After confirming that he was interested in the Summoning Charm, Edmund told him a few names. "The Summoning Charm is too difficult for a first-year wizard! But if you're interested, you can ask these students. They've all mastered it quite well and are very enthusiastic."

Edmund knew he should take his leave. He sincerely thanked Professor Flitwick for his help, and upon exiting, he found Travers and Pollyanna standing on either side of the corridor, waiting for him.

This small group centered around Edmund is gradually taking shape, which is good news. Although neither of them can help Edmund right now, he has a feeling that in Slytherin, he needs to have a few "lackeys" to prove his status.

After lunch, Edmund stopped wandering around the school and climbed into bed, closing his eyes peacefully. In an instant, Edmund's spirit began to sink, and with his own consciousness, he took control of another body.

Inside the German Ministry of Magic, Deputy Minister Oscar Sohmann had just finished lunch and was now frowning, staring intently at the rambling newspaper in his hands, as if it were the most important event in the world. Just as he came across the article "New Deep-Sea Discovery: Wizard Hessman Discovers New Magical Creatures in the Mariana Trench," his secretary, who was working at the next desk, suddenly stiffened and mechanically turned to look at him.

Old Mr. Soman's heart skipped a beat. He tried to appear calm, but in reality, he wished he could glue himself to his chair. He watched as a stiff smile appeared on his secretary's pale face.

"Father, it's me."

The secretary's face, mouth, teeth, and tongue remained completely still. Yet, his son's voice escaped from his throat.

"I need to know what crime a British wizard named Scrooge Barufeo committed and whether there is any possibility of his early release from prison."

"Out of courtesy, I'm informing you first. If you don't give me an answer within three days, I'll randomly find a puppet and have it cause some trouble in England so I can personally question Barufeo."

The genie, possessing his son's body, spoke shamelessly, and then deepened that unsettling smile.

"Furthermore, Father, Lucius Malfoy from England asked me to give you his regards."

Edmund sounded delighted.

"He thinks you're a great person, hahaha. How interesting, I actually need to rely on your fame to make such a useful, yet so hypocritical, friend—"

A violent spell flew towards him, and Edmund quickly severed his connection with the battery. He sat up from the bedside, shaking his head in dismay.

"If only Dumbledore's lungs were this fragile!"