"Hogwarts will send you an acceptance letter by owl on your eleventh birthday. I think it's the best birthday present ever," Snape said excitedly, caressing the magic book in his hand.
This letter was the best he had hoped to receive in ten years.
Lily nodded in agreement; this was definitely the most special gift.
She suddenly remembered what her father had quietly told her: Aunt Cindy seemed to have the same abilities as her.
That's why when her father found out that she had magic, he wasn't worried at all; on the contrary, he was very happy and proud of her.
"Linda, is Aunt Cindy a witch too? Did she study at Hogwarts before?" Lily asked directly.
"Ah, yes," Linda confirmed Lily's words.
"Wow! Then maybe you're a little witch too, and maybe we could go to Hogwarts together," Lily clapped her hands excitedly.
"I don't think all children born to witches can become wizards; some can become Squibs. I don't see anything special about her, so she might not have magic," Snape said with a cold face as he assessed Linda.
Even though his emotions were constantly and tightly suppressed, they still fluctuated visibly. The unwelcome emotion was practically overflowing from his eyes.
Hey~ What have I done to you that you despise me so much?
Your mouth is chattering like poison.
You're acting like this just because I got a little more of Lily's attention. How narrow-minded of you!
Linda didn't fully understand the meaning of all the words in his speech, but seeing his cold expression and eyes, and the few words she did understand, she knew they were not good.
She averted her gaze; on the surface, she was just sulking, but deep down, she was constantly complaining.
"No, Severus, we should have more faith in Linda. Wouldn't it be nice to have another friend to work with?" Lily was a little angel, looking at everything with an expectant, positive attitude.
She felt that she, Linda, and Severus could definitely go to Hogwarts together.
Perhaps they could continue their seven years of training in wizardry together like this.
The three of them talked about magic for an afternoon, but it was Snape and Lily who did most of the talking.
It was already dark when they returned to the Evans family.
Petunia had her hands on her hips, closed the door, and was looking at the two latecomers.
"Huh! Lily! Did you go looking for that freak boy again? This time you took Linda with you! This is completely stupid!" Petunia frowned, her voice growing harsher.
But when Lily heard Petunia say this, she was instantly unhappy. "It's not stupid, Petunia. I took Linda to meet a new friend. Severus is my friend too; I don't like it when you use words like that to describe him," she retorted. Lily was absolutely right.
She knew Petunia disliked Severus, but how could she use those words to describe her friend right in front of her?
Petunia was about to say more when Flora, hearing their noise, interrupted her just in time: "Girls, I think we should have dinner first, huh?"
Gentle Flora was always at a loss on how to handle her two daughters' arguments and would often resort to changing the subject to silence them.
With their mother's intervention, the sisters suppressed their unhappiness and retreated, obediently sitting at the dinner table.
This was the first time Linda had witnessed a conflict between the two sisters, all over a boy.
But Linda thought that the underlying meaning was more related to magic.
After dinner, Petunia and Lily returned to their rooms, ignoring each other.
Linda had stayed with Petunia for a few nights, but now she was staying in the room where Liam and Cindy had stayed before.
This was now her private room.
"Knock knock." Linda had just returned to her room and hadn't even sat down yet when she heard a knock on the door.
"Petunia, why are you here?"
Petunia's slender body entered the room eagerly through the opened door, like a fish entering water.
Her facial expression was serious, even tinged with fear.
"Linda, have you seen that kid?"
Linda knew who she was talking about and honestly shook her head: "Yes."
"Oh my God, I knew it! Lily is definitely going to look for him again! He's not a normal person!" Petunia began to speak in an exaggerated tone.
"Why do you say that?" Linda was curious.
She thought Snape was fine apart from his cold demeanor and that he hadn't done anything strange.
"I'm telling you, his whole family isn't normal..." Petunia's hands began to move involuntarily as she tried to warn Linda about Snape, recounting the rumors she had heard about his family in town.
The Snape family had moved to their town from a better middle-class neighborhood a few years ago. They currently lived in Spinner's End, the worst area of the city.
The environment there could only be described as rundown and impoverished.
The people living there made up the poorest and most corrupt segment of the town.
Snape's father, Tobias Snape, initially had a good livelihood, but later went bankrupt due to mismanagement. He became completely demoralized, drank all day, neglected his family, and behaved irresponsibly.
His mother stayed home every day, never going out, and very few people had seen her.
It was also said that his father was violent, frequently beating Snape and his mother, blaming them for the bankruptcy, and openly taking their money for alcohol.
Everyone in town looked down on him.
Some charitable women provided food and clothing to the mother and son.
However, Snape's mother, Eileen, refused to accept help from others, even driving away those who came to assist.
As a result, no one was interested in their family affairs anymore.
Snape himself was a gloomy and silent person, often sitting alone in dark corners watching passersby. He looked quite odd due to a lack of care.
The children in town also didn't like to play with him.
Except for Lily.
"Everyone says that God has abandoned their family and that anyone who approaches them will be unfortunate," Petunia whispered, covering her mouth and lowering her voice.