Snape watched the bubbling cauldron beside him, then looked at the potions neatly arranged in the crate before him, appearing somewhat restless.
Three days had already passed, yet Victor Wick had seemed to vanish into thin air, never showing his face!
In the past, Snape would have preferred if he never came at all.
Every time he saw Victor Wick, Snape was reminded of his past regrets, a pain that cut to his very soul!
But now...
Snape frowned at the recipes in his hand. These formulas were remarkably complete; with his level of skill, he had successfully brewed all the materials Victor had brought into potions, without a single failure!
Even if he had wanted to optimize them, he found no way to begin...
If that were the only issue, it would be fine, but... there were several points Snape simply could not fathom.
For instance, why did every potion require a specific amount of alcohol? And why did this Speed Potion require the addition of Scurvy-grass at the very end?
As for the final potion, Snape had brewed it, yet he still could not understand what its purpose was...
Because this potion required very few magical ingredients; most of the components were actually herbs from the Muggle world!
This was somewhat beyond the scope of Snape's knowledge.
He could not exactly risk taking a sip of a potion with unknown effects!
His obsession with Potions made Snape restless.
In fact, he had secretly rehearsed several times, planning how he would ask when Victor came to collect the medicine.
But... Victor Wick had broken the appointment! It was as if he had completely forgotten about the potions!
'Does he expect me to deliver them to him personally?'
Snape's naturally gloomy expression grew even darker.
After hesitating for a long while, Snape stood up abruptly, extinguished the fire under the cauldron, and then picked up the crate full of potions, heading toward the door.
But at the doorway, Snape stopped, turned back to the cabinet, and grabbed a few more bottles of Invigoration Draught...
...
Carrying the crate of potions, Snape had just reached Victor Wick's office door when he saw a large yellow dog scratching at it...
Man and dog stared at each other, the scene appearing slightly awkward.
However, the situation was quickly resolved as Professor McGonagall came striding down the hallway.
"Severus, are you looking for Victor as well?" Professor McGonagall stood aside nervously after seeing the large yellow dog.
"I'm here to deliver his medicine! He missed our appointment. I suspect he might have turned himself into a toilet while researching some bizarre magic!" Snape said, his voice full of resentment.
Click! The door suddenly opened.
Victor Wick's head poked out.
"My apologies!" Victor said.
Snape was about to say something when he saw Victor crouch down and begin vigorously petting the dog's head.
'Was that apology directed at the dog?'
At that moment, Snape's fury was enough to burn Hogwarts to the ground!
"Oh! Lucky! You've put on quite a bit of weight! It seems Hagrid certainly didn't mistreat you these past few days!" Victor looked at Lucky's sleek, shiny coat in shock.
"Days? You've been holed up in your kennel for ten days!" Snape could not help himself.
"Ah... Severus, Professor McGonagall, my apologies. I've just emerged from my research and my head is a bit foggy. I didn't even notice you for a moment," Victor said with a look of chagrin.
Snape narrowed his eyes, looking gloomily at Victor Wick.
The current Victor Wick seemed like a completely different person compared to the one who had asked him to brew potions in his office before.
This gave Snape a strong sense of dissonance...
Which Victor Wick was the real one? Or... were neither of them?
At this point, Victor opened the door to invite the two professors into the office.
Professor McGonagall was not angry; she waited for Lucky to walk in before entering the office herself.
"I'm here to bring you your class schedule since you haven't been around these past few days... Also, don't be late for the start-of-term feast tonight. The students are all curious to see what this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is like," Professor McGonagall said with a smile.
"I didn't realize so many days had passed... The term is already starting." Victor took the schedule and scratched his head.
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall blinked and looked Victor over once more.
"Professor McGonagall, what is it?" Victor asked curiously while looking at his schedule.
"How is it that you look... like you've aged several years?" Professor McGonagall asked hesitantly.
Hearing this, Snape could not help but eye Victor suspiciously as well. He had been too busy being grumpy earlier, and Victor had been standing in the shadows when he opened the door, so he had not seen clearly.
Looking again now, Snape was shocked to find that Victor Wick looked like a young man in his mid-twenties, no longer appearing eighteen as he had before...
This was, of course, a deliberate move by Victor himself. When he left Aziraphale's bookstore, they had suggested he change his appearance slightly; otherwise, as time passed, trouble would come knocking one after another.
Victor accepted their suggestion and even added a small patch for it... While it might not fool the Dark Lord, it would be enough to deceive everyone else.
"Ha! It's actually like this—I forgot to take my medicine, so..." Victor reached into the crate Snape was holding and pulled out several bottles of the potion whose purpose Snape had not understood!
Victor handed the potions to Professor McGonagall and smiled. "This is a potion I developed that can make a person look eight to ten years younger! That is why I've always looked so young after all these years. Here, I'll give these to you. Give them a try; if they work well, feel free to come to me for more."
"So that's how it is!" Professor McGonagall happily accepted the bottles. "No wonder you still looked so young after all these years!"
Seeing this, Victor knew his patch had worked.
However, Snape frowned at the potions, his heart full of suspicion.
He had just brewed these potions; the recipe... when he received it, the ink had not even been dry.
This should be a recipe Victor had only recently come up with!
Otherwise, if he had been taking the medicine himself all along, why would he have written it down along with the other recipes for Snape to brew this time?
In other words... he was covering for something! But what?
Snape stared at Victor's much more mature face, a possibility faintly forming in his mind...
'Perhaps... this was the fundamental reason the Dark Lord had been so indulgent with Victor back then!'
"I've decided to stop using the medicine recently. After all, my previous appearance was too young; it lacked the authority of a professor," Victor said regretfully. "By the way, there are a few more bottles here. Since I no longer need them, please help me give them to the other female professors."
"I'll thank you on their behalf, Victor," Professor McGonagall said, happily taking the potions. "I think you could easily turn this potion into a business. After all, I've already seen the results!"
No woman could refuse a potion that could make her younger. Moreover, Victor had said that the reason he looked so young before was precisely the effect of this potion! This was enough to prove its authenticity! Therefore, Professor McGonagall truly hoped to be able to buy this potion at any time.
After seeing off the happy Professor McGonagall, the office door closed once again.
Victor's expression gradually turned cold as he looked at Snape. "You figured it out?"
Snape's face was grim as he looked at him silently. After a long while, he finally asked, "You trust me that much?"
"We are already brothers-in-arms, Severus."
"But comrades can also betray!" Snape frowned.
"You already know many of my secrets, just as you know many of Dumbledore's... In that case, what does it matter if you know a little more?" Victor said calmly. "So... Severus, will you betray us?"
Snape fell silent. In truth, from the day the Dark Lord brutally murdered Lily, it was impossible for him to ever follow the Dark Lord again...
As for now, he had only one goal left in this life...
"I have no reason to betray," Snape said in a low voice.
Victor took the crate of potions from his arms and said softly, "Thank you, Severus..."
Snape watched Victor's back as he set down the crate, and could not help but ask, "Victor, what kind of person are you, really?"
"You're asking... what the real me is like?" Victor turned to look at Snape. "I'm sorry... I've already forgotten... and I must forget that as well."