HP: Embrace the Darkness

The flowers and plants moved to both sides. William walked out of the corner of the garden and came behind Snape. He looked past him at the dilapidated swing, his eyes showing a bit of nostalgia.

"Aces was still young at that time and liked to chase Anna and me and ask questions. But we didn't have time, so we always left him alone in the manor. Later, he felt that the manor was too big and too empty, so we sent him here. , he likes it very much and often stays there all day long.”

"He likes books, so there are copies of all the books in the manor here. He likes silence, so a magic circle is set up around it. No one can get close to it. Anna and I both felt that we were doing pretty well as parents, until that day I I arrived late, and I saw him sitting on the swing alone, not reading a book, just staring at the sky in a daze, and he was so quiet that it was unbelievable."

As William narrated, a miniature version of Artes seemed to appear in front of Snape's eyes.

Staying alone in the garden, reading a book alone, sitting alone on the swing and looking into the distance, the little back looks particularly lonely in the sunset.

My heart felt like it was pricked gently by a needle. It didn't hurt, but it felt like it was stuck in my throat and I couldn't ignore it.

Snape clenched his hands, nails digging into his palms.

Suddenly, William changed the topic.

"Mr. Snape, you should be able to guess the purpose of why I asked you to meet here today?"

"No." Snape blurted out. Realizing that his answer was too hasty and too simple, he added dryly, "I would like to hear the details."

William had dealt with too many politicians in his life, many of them sophisticated foxes, so it was easy to tell from Snape's words that his son was not wishful thinking, which made him feel better and crossed out the original words himself. Draft, choose to get straight to the point.

"I originally planned to take Asseth away."

Take...Aces away?

The half of Snape's face hidden in the shade suddenly looked like pale plaster, stiff and lifeless.

But in William's eyes, Snape was just stunned for a moment before nodding as a matter of course.

"He really should leave."

William was surprised, "You won't stop me?"

Snape stared at the swing and said in a calm tone, "He shouldn't waste his time in England."

William frowned slightly and his smile faded, "So you chose to give up on him?"

"No!" Snape retorted quickly, almost interrupting William's words, with a bone-chilling coldness in his voice, "I never said I gave up on him."

William was stunned and asked in disbelief: "In other words, you plan to stay alone and wait until the matter is over to find Asseth?"

"Yes." Snape hesitated for a second, then explained a few more words, "I have things that must be done and I can't leave, but he doesn't. He can leave completely. When the matter is over, if I live, I will go find him. .”

What if you die?

William resisted and did not ask.

He was almost pissed off by the similar stubbornness of these two people!

One is already dead and refuses to leave.

One must stay alive or dead.

In the end, not only could he not take any of them with him, he also had to take them with him.

William raised his fingers and rubbed the cuff buttons. His sharp eyebrows, which were completely different from Asseth's, were cold and heavy. After a while, they calmed down.

Forget it.

His son, if he doesn't worry about it, who will?

William sighed in compromise, "Don't worry, I told you, that was just the initial decision. I had already looked for him before I came to see you."

Hearing this, Snape glanced sideways slightly. His cold white face escaped from the shade of the tree and was completely exposed to the sun. Every bit of his mood swings were clearly visible.

William saw through Snape's nervousness hidden under the calm surface and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Don't be nervous. The boy clearly refused. Well...it doesn't count as a refusal. What he means is that you can take him away, but he can't survive without you."

"What a promise." William cursed with a low smile, and unconsciously defended Artes, "I guess this is the gentlest threat he can make. If it had been anyone else, the outcome would have been death."

Snape didn't hear what William said clearly. All he could think about was that he couldn't stand it.

Can't you hold on...?

The fingers hanging on the sides of the black robe were curled up, and he couldn't describe the feeling. Snape only felt that the palms of his palms, which had been a little painful just now, were numb and itchy.

He thought that he should have known that Aces would never give up on him.

The curled-up hand was released at some point, and the clear black eyes reflected the flowers swaying in the wind, adding a bit of color for no reason, dyeing the pale cheeks red.

When William raised his eyes, he saw Snape, who seemed to be two people just now, and suddenly, he seemed to understand the relationship between the two people.

It's all fate.

Him and Anna.

Aces and Snape.

In order to get together, they are destined to go through all kinds of difficulties.

In this case, why can't he do his part for his children?

William's shoulders relaxed and drooped, and he looked at Snape with the tenderness of looking at his family.

"So I'm not here to be a villain this time. I just hope you don't let Ass down. Next time, you can choose him. No one will stop you. If so, Anna and I will teach him how to behave."

He didn't say much, but instead took out a piece of yellowed parchment and handed it to Snape.

"This house, Artes has never been here since he went to Hogwarts, is considered a meeting gift from Anna and I to you. There is no need to refuse. The house itself does not have much value. What is valuable is the memories in it. Don't you want to Have you walked the same path that Asses walked in his childhood?”

Because of William's last words, Snape raised his rejecting hand and took it instead.

"Thank you, Mr. Cavendish."

William subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to hug Snape like he hugged Artes, but Snape didn't seem to have a cold personality that liked hugging, so he forcefully withdrew his hand.

"You're welcome, just call me William. Do you mind if I call you Severus?"

"I don't mind." Snape replied, signing his name on the parchment, and solemnly taking back the alchemy ring.

"Okay, Severus." William nodded gracefully, the cane in his hand like a light feather, pressed against his chest, noble and gentlemanly, "I hope that next time we meet, we can truly become a family."

Considering Snape's identity, William did not choose to leave through the main entrance. Instead, he took out another door key, held it in his hand, and activated it.

Snape was suddenly the only one left in the garden.

Snape took out his wand and cast the Disillusionment Charm on his body. Finally, he took a serious look at the lonely swing in the garden and turned to leave.

The journey back was not a peaceful one.

Due to the recent increase in the number of Death Eater attacks on Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic has specially ordered the Department of Magical Guards to patrol the road.

In order to ensure that no fish slipped through the net, the Ministry of Magic also purchased an alchemical instrument specifically designed to detect the Disembodiment Curse from the Mueller Auction House at a high price.

The detection range of these alchemical instruments is very large. Each wizard from the Guard Department has one hand and can detect them side by side, almost covering a street. The Death Eaters cannot escape at all, and neither can Snape.

Seeing the red warning light on the alchemy instrument, Snape clenched his wand and prepared for battle.