Nios stood before the tightly shut Potion Class door, his fingertips lightly tapping the ancient, heavy wooden door.
"Pip!"
With a faint pop in the air, Pip's wrinkled figure instantly appeared behind him.
Dinner had just ended, and the kitchen was bustling, but upon feeling Nios's summons, Pip rushed over immediately.
A slight curve appeared on Nios's lips: "I'm very satisfied with tonight's dinner; keep this standard from now on."
Pip humbly lowered his head, his voice full of gratitude: "It is Pip's honor to serve you."
Nios raised a hand and pointed at the Potion Class door: "Help me open it; my 'pet' is inside."
Pip pointed a finger, and the lock clicked open.
A strange pink glow emanated from the crack in the door.
Nios slowly stepped in, with Pip following closely behind.
In the corner of the classroom, Azazel lay sprawled out on a desk, snoring loudly.
A cauldron in front of him bubbled with an unknown substance, and several empty, vaguely labeled glass jars were scattered nearby.
Clearly, Professor Snape's personal collection had been plundered.
Who knew if Professor Snape would regret locking this guy in the classroom when he saw these empty jars next Monday.
Nios raised an eyebrow and pulled out his fake wand from his robes.
A white flash, and the tip of the wand instantly swelled into a heavy metal sphere.
Bang!
Under Pip's horrified gaze, the metal sphere, now a hammer, slammed through Azazel's head with a dull whoosh, embedding itself deep into the desk below!
Dark red liquid gushed out like a broken dam.
The sudden, intense pain made the sleeping Azazel jump like a fish, then fall heavily to the floor, his body convulsing violently.
Seconds later, the terrifying wound on his head healed completely at a visible rate.
Watching this horrifying scene, Pip nearly fainted, his eyes rolling back.
"Nios! You bastard!" Azazel clutched his newly healed head, stamping his foot and cursing, "Can't you use a gentler way to wake someone up?!"
Nios disdainfully shook off the residual tissue fragments from the hammer, and his wand returned to normal: "This isn't gentle enough? Instant restart, no pain."
Azazel was so angry his tail stood on end: "Heh! I'm uncultured! I've never heard of any normal person needing to experience 'pain' or 'restart' to wake up!"
Nios couldn't be bothered to argue with him, putting away his wand, casually pulling over a stool and sitting down, resting his chin on one hand, looking at Azazel with interest: "How was it? Did that Potion Class Professor, who's been hostile to us since we stepped into the school, Can't help it come to 'study' you?"
Azazel wiped the blood from his face, pouting: "No, he didn't invade my mind, nor did he even come within five steps of me."
Nios chuckled softly: "Oh? Looks like he has some bottom line. Though he's wary of us like we're thieves, at least he's not like a certain old geezer who rummaged through people's brains the first time he met them."
Azazel used a small fork to extract a twisted, lizard-like creature from the cauldron and gestured towards Nios.
Seeing the other party shake his head, he turned to Pip.
Pip frantically waved his hands and backed away.
Azazel had no choice but to stuff it into his own mouth, chewing and mumbling indistinctly: "But… I found something even more interesting today."
"That Snape, he has 'affection' for Harry… Though it's very faint, I definitely couldn't be mistaken!"
Nios sat up abruptly, and even Pip's eyes widened in surprise.
"Holy crap~" The cartoon eyes on Nios's eye mask glowed, "As expected of Britain! Even Professors are into this? Little boys?"
"Hold on! What kind of garbage is in your head?!" Azazel quickly interrupted him.
"It's 'affection'! Not 'love'! It's like an elder's fondness for a junior! And it's intermittent!"
"I suspect it's transference; he probably likes one of Harry's parents."
To his surprise, Nios laughed even harder, slapping his thigh: "Holy crap! Even more explosive! Cuckold plot?! As expected of Britain!"
Azazel rolled his eyes dramatically: "Can you just be normal?!"
Nios ignored his complaints, stroking his chin, looking gossipy: "Is this gossip confirmed? Who do you think it is?"
Azazel retorted impatiently: "I'm the demon of Lust and Chastity, not the editor-in-chief of a gossip tabloid! You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? If you want to ask, ask a local!"
As he spoke, his and Nios's gazes simultaneously fell on Pip, who was trying to minimize his presence nearby.
Pip instantly froze like a statue!
As a House-elf who had served at Hogwarts for over a hundred years, Pip knew many secrets of Professors and young Wizards.
Regarding Professor Snape's dusty past, he not only knew about it but could even be considered one of the bystanders at the time.
When he heard the two discussing Snape, he immediately started playing dead.
Young Wizards gossiping about Professors was one thing, but if a House-elf participated… that was absolutely suicidal!
The three could feel that in the office next door, Snape was eavesdropping on their conversation.
Pip stood ramrod straight, his eyes fixed on his toes, not daring to move his gaze an inch.
Nios and Azazel exchanged a knowing, mischievous grin.
Azazel swiftly pulled Pip, unceremoniously pressing him down onto an overturned cauldron to sit.
He then casually fished out a cloudy eyeball from the bubbling cauldron and enthusiastically placed it into Pip's stiff hand.
"Hey, buddy, don't be nervous! My name is Azazel, want an eyeball? My cooking is excellent! Medium rare, crunchy!"
Pip held it like a burning hot coal: "No… no need, esteemed Mr. Azazel, my name is Pip… I… I've already eaten…"
Azazel familiarly draped an arm over Pip's slender shoulder, ignoring his resistance: "Oh, why be so polite! We're all servants, how old are you, old bro?"
Pip lowered his head, his voice trembling: "Pip… is 103 years old…"
Azazel clapped his thigh exaggeratedly: "Whoa! A centenarian! I'm less than a year old! Then I should call you Big Brother! Big Brother Pip!"
He leaned closer, his voice carrying an irresistible, tempting whisper, "Old brother, just tell us about Professor Snape, won't you? If you don't, my heart feels like it's being clawed at~"
As he spoke, a barely perceptible wisp of pink mist, carrying a sweet, cloying fragrance, quietly drifted towards Pip's nose.
Pip inhaled it without defense, his eyes becoming hazy, and even his tense body slowly relaxed.
"Pi… Pip doesn't know much…" His voice became flat.
The corners of Nios's and Azazel's mouths stretched wider, and in the office next door, the veins on Snape's forehead throbbed like earthworms.
"Professor Snape… when he started school… had a very good female friend…" Pip began to mumble like in a dream.
Azazel exhaled another, denser wisp of mist: "And then? Were they really close?"
"The two… were inseparable…"
"What happened next?~" Nios also leaned in, as if listening to a fascinating story.
"Professor Snape was sorted into Slytherin… that girl… was sorted into Gryffindor…"
"And then? And then?" The two spoke in unison, their eyes gleaming with green gossip light.
"The Gryffindor Marauders… hated Professor Snape… They always clashed… That girl… initially tried to stop them… but…" Pip's voice trailed off.
"But what?" Nios and Azazel practically pressed their ears to Pip's mouth.
From next door came the sound of knuckles cracking loudly.
"One day… Professor Snape… called that girl… 'Mudblood'…" Pip's voice carried a hint of an imperceptible sigh, "From then on… the two… never spoke again…"
Although they had heard the core information, the two were clearly not satisfied.
Nios pressed on: "Pip! Who did that girl end up with?"
Pip vaguely replied: "The leader of the Marauders… James Potter…"
The moment the words fell, the sound of an armchair being violently pushed back came from next door.
But immediately after, that angry aura seemed to be drained, replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence.
"Pip," Azazel continued, coaxing Pip to speak, "Have you seen Harry Potter?"
Pip nodded: "I've seen… Mr. Potter…"
"Who does he resemble? His father? Or his mother?" Nios's cartoon eyes stared intently at him.
"His looks… resemble his father…" Pip murmured, "But those eyes… green eyes… are exactly like his mother's… Lily Evans…"
Next door office.
Silence.
Snape slumped back into the armchair, as if all his strength had been drained.
Before his eyes, Harry's emerald green eyes from Potion Class today, filled with bewilderment and a hint of stubbornness, reappeared… perfectly overlapping with the smiling eyes of that red-haired girl in the sunlight from his memory, those eyes he had gazed at countless times, which ultimately became filled with sorrow and disbelief because of him.
He suddenly covered his face tightly with both hands, suppressed, broken sobs escaping through his fingers.
His shoulders trembled uncontrollably, as if resisting a storm that swept through his soul.
Nios pursed his lips at Azazel.
Azazel understood, and gently exhaled a wisp of white glowing mist towards Pip.
Pip trembled all over, his hazy eyes instantly clearing, as if waking from a brief dream, completely forgetting the previous conversation.
"Since we found this guy, let's go." Nios stood up, his tone relaxed, "If we don't leave now, Filch will come with his lamp to catch us."
Pip followed the two blankly towards the door.
Just as he was about to close the door, Nios suddenly leaned back in, and facing the tightly shut wooden door leading to the office, said in a clear and pleasant tone:
"Good night, Professor Snape. I wish you… pleasant dreams."
"Nios Chaos!!!"
A roar full of fury came from within the door, like the bellow of an injured beast, shaking the dust from the door frame.