"Just how many people have you looked at?" Snape instinctively pulled his wizard's robes tighter around himself.
"I'd seen a few before," Moaning Myrtle said, eyeing him with interest. "But recently, only yours."
"Ugh, you tiresome female ghost," Snape grumbled, picking up a golden cauldron from the table and setting it on the floor. "Am I supposed to feel honored?"
"I haven't seen yours yet, Severus," Pandora chimed in, walking over to join the fun.
"Well, would you like to see it now?" Snape rolled his eyes impatiently, waving his wand and casting *Aguamenti*.
A clear stream of water quickly filled the cauldron. He then lightly tapped the cauldron with his wand, and a pale blue magical fire sprang up from the bottom.
"No need for that, I can't imagine it would be very interesting," Pandora said, sticking out her tongue before turning to the experimental bench. She casually fiddled with her wand, occasionally poking at the magical ingredients nearby.
Neither of them spoke again. Moaning Myrtle floated gracefully onto the ceiling chandelier, watching everything with great interest.
"First, the main ingredients," Snape took a deep breath and pulled two small, chilling eggs from his bag. "Two Ashwinder eggs from Professor Kettleburn's private collection, shelled and chopped into one-inch pieces..."
After preparing the ingredients, Snape finally began the formal potion brewing.
He first poured a bottle of gnome's wax into the boiling cauldron. Immediately, thick, dark green smoke billowed up from within.
After exactly nine minutes and thirty-two seconds of boiling, Snape precisely dropped in the Ashwinder egg pieces. He then stirred the mixture three times clockwise, followed by seven times counter-clockwise.
After seven minutes of boiling, Snape successively added appropriate amounts of sliced fluxweed, crushed garlic, angelica, hellebore petals, honey, fine dried ginger powder, and powdered asphodel root.
The liquid in the cauldron slowly transformed into a gentle, pale pink suspension. After the potion maintained this state for a few minutes, Snape added the final ingredient—two bay leaves.
Now, the potion emitted a subtly shimmering pale purple vapor, accompanied by a delicate, pleasant aroma.
"It smells wonderful," Moaning Myrtle had floated above the cauldron without anyone noticing. She suddenly poked her head over, her transparent hair almost touching the liquid. "It's been years since I've smelled anything."
"Ah!" Startled, Snape nearly knocked over the cauldron.
"Don't sneak up on me like that again!" he fumed, glaring at Moaning Myrtle.
"But I don't make any noise when I float," Moaning Myrtle pouted, looking innocent.
"Then when you approach, please make *some* sort of sound," Snape said, still shaken. "Don't scare me every time."
The potion still needed to simmer gently overnight.
---
The next morning, Snape and Pandora once again arrived before the Room of Requirement.
They stood before the plain white wall, repeating their agreed-upon password several times before Moaning Myrtle finally appeared, leisurely opening the door.
As soon as the door opened, she eagerly darted towards the cauldron, a satisfied, silly grin on her face.
By now, the potion had lost its pink hue from the previous day, transforming into a pale, brownish liquid with a mother-of-pearl sheen, accompanied by spiraling wisps of steam.
"I know what this is," Pandora leaned in and took a deep breath, a similarly languid smile spreading across her face.
"Why does this smell like you, Severus?" Moaning Myrtle suddenly turned her head, her eyes wide with confusion.
"Oh, does it?" Snape snapped out of his daze. He'd been smelling many pleasant scents from within. "You're making me a little uneasy."
"Why?" Moaning Myrtle asked, puzzled. "What is this?"
"Amortentia," Pandora answered. "The most powerful Love Potion. What are you making this for, Severus? Isn't it forbidden at Hogwarts?"
"It's not for me to use," Snape said, pulling out a crystal vial and slowly pouring the potion into it. "I just have a daring idea that might require it. Besides, since when have you cared about school rules?"
"That's true, as long as we don't get expelled," Pandora said with a laugh.
After bidding farewell to the person and the ghost, Snape, with the Amortentia in hand, left the castle and walked down the lawn towards the Quidditch pitch.
The weather was clear and cold, right in the middle of Quidditch season.
The cheers from the Quidditch pitch were now clearly audible; today's match was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
Of course, Snape wasn't going to the Quidditch pitch to watch the game, nor was he going to learn how Quirinus Quirrell was hexing Potter.
Even though James, as a Chaser, would deliberately steal a Snitch, let it zoom away, and then catch it again just to show off, Snape didn't need to take such a risk.
But Snape squinted, staring at the pitch for a long time, and still couldn't find James. He seemed to be absent from today's game, and his friends weren't in the stands either.
Even after the cheering crowd dispersed, he still hadn't found Sirius Black.
Snape left the Quidditch pitch and wandered aimlessly around the school grounds. Only by the lake, in the shadow of a towering beech tree, did he find Sirius sitting alone.
He walked towards the beech tree that had accompanied generations of Hogwarts students.
Sirius heard Snape's footsteps and looked up. His long black hair was a bit messy, falling ungracefully across his forehead.
"It's you," Sirius immediately stood up warily, wand in hand, his eyes filled with disgust and suspicion. "What else do you want?"
"Don't be so hostile, now," Snape said, holding up both hands to show he meant no harm. "This time, I'm here to help you."
"Help me?" Sirius's anger flared. "What do you mean by that? James is already miserable because of you! If you're trying to threaten me with the illegal Animagus business, I'll fight you to the bitter end!"
"Oh dear, don't get so worked up," Snape said apologetically. "I admit I went a bit too far this time, and I'm truly sorry for the unpleasant experience I caused James. I'm here to see you precisely to make amends."
With that, Snape slowly pulled out the crystal vial from his robes, the pale, brownish liquid inside gently swaying. "I think this might just make both James and you feel a little less miserable."
"What is that?" Sirius asked coldly, staring at the crystal vial.
read more inpatreon
ilham20