[HP] Illusion

At the end of January, a big event happened at Hogwarts.

It should be said that this incident has never happened since the establishment of the school, and it even alerted officials from the Ministry of Magic to investigate——

The owl at Hogwarts was sick, and it was a big one.

During breakfast this day, usually dozens of owls would fly here in groups at this time, but this day, only one owl that could be counted with a palm sent a letter, and these few owls were barely After delivering the letter to the owner, it fell down sickly.If only one or two owls did not come, well, it should be said that even if there is no letter from Hogwarts today, there will always be an owl to send the Daily Prophet to its master. Yes, not to mention that there are not a few people who subscribe to the Daily Prophet at Hogwarts.

Lily is one of them, and now she is stroking her weak owl in distress, "What's wrong with you, why don't you look weak at all?"

"Is it sick?" Mary on the side asked worriedly. "My Margaret didn't come today at all, and I don't know what happened."

"Can I have a look?" James suddenly stretched out his hand towards Lily, "It's really not possible, let's take it to Kettleburn, how about it?"

Although Lily didn't quite believe that he could see what was going on, she still placed her pet carefully in his hands, and warned, "Be careful."

Lupine looked around, there were two owls flying over from their college, and now both of them looked completely overdrawn, "James, look, the owl of Iverson in the second grade is also the same as Evans's." Owls, and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs..." Slytherins didn't have any owls at all today.

Before Lily and the others sent the owl to the professor of the protection of magical animals, several professors had already stepped down from the professor's seat, and they all strode towards the Gryffindor table.

"Evans, can I have a look at your owl?" Professor McGonagall said very seriously, but she is not an expert, she just glanced at it, and handed it to Kettleburn who was standing aside. .

"It should be poisoned." Kettleburn looked at it for a while, but said with uncertainty, "I think I'll take it back to determine the cause."

"Wait," Dumbledore came late, and he also leaned forward to take a look at this time, and then he made a decision: "Let's go to the owl coop to have a look."

From this point of view, it is certain that something happened.

All the owls in Hogwarts are kept in the owl shed no matter they are shared or private. For the convenience of students and other personnel, theoretically, this place is free to come and go at any time, in case of any emergency. .

Because the matter is very strange, and the owl is the main tool for communication between the school personnel and the outside world, if the communication of the owl is interrupted, so that Hogwarts cannot communicate with the outside world in time, then there will definitely be big troubles.What's more, even the professors of the Protection of Magical Animals class can't determine the cause of the owl. If it is an infectious disease among owls, or bird flu that can infect humans, the consequences may be out of control.

This incident happened in the morning, around ten o'clock, the Ministry of Magic sent several officials and brought several animal experts and veterinarians to intervene.

The children in Hogwarts are all half-aged children. Even the professors who are over half a century old have never heard of such an incident of owl collective illness. The latest news, but all the news, regardless of whether there is any reason or not, began to pour in one after another, and even caused panic for a while.

It's normal for a little owner who keeps an owl as a pet to be anxious. Even Lily's owl, who delivered the letter with the other three in the morning, has been taken away by the professors, let alone the other owls that haven't seen their pets yet. students.

Because too many students asked to see their pets, McGonagall, who was in charge of campus order, had to issue a ban, prohibiting students from going to the owl shed before the investigation was completed to prevent the progress of the investigation from being slowed down.

This morning, it was rare for Hogwarts to suspend classes for half a day-in fact, apart from such things, almost no one was in the mood to go to class again.At this time, all the professors have gathered in the owl shed.

The school has set up a restricted area on the floor of the owl shed, and students are prohibited from entering and leaving, but they can go to other places as they please.Ordinary owl owners don't necessarily care about their little pets, but when all the owls have problems, it's a different matter. It's as terrible as all the existing drinking water sources are polluted and can no longer be drunk. .So at this time, most students choose to stay in the common room of their own colleges and wait for the news. At this time, the order of each college must be maintained by the respective prefects of the colleges. The attitude did not cause panic, and everyone was relatively calm.

Of course, there are people who go out, some people are purely indifferent and go out to play because they don't have to go to class, and there are people like Lily who have an accident with their pets and want to go out to relax because they are worried.

In James' words: you don't wait where you are, and you don't know the result immediately if you stay in the common room.

He even winked at Lily, and Lily, who had spent a lot of time with him these days, began to understand his behavior.

They were the first to go out. Lily and Mary walked in front together, followed by the four people in the back. James walked in the front, and Sirius and Lupine walked in the end. Peter could only trot to barely follow. on james' feet

In the end, he was dragged behind by Sirius.

They left the castle and crossed a large piece of green grass that had grown tender green. The weather was still a bit cold at the end of January, but there was also a hint of spring. Finally, they came to the mountains beside the Black Lake, which was blown by the wind. The cool water vapor, as if it can dispel the depressed mood, makes people feel refreshed.

"What do you want to say?" Lily walked under a beech tree that was beginning to sprout new buds, and stopped with Mary who had been with her all the time.

"I just want to analyze this matter." James moved closer. He looked at the other three people who were not far away, and he conjured up a picnic towel that was big enough for six people. "Let's sit down." gone."

"Hey, what a coincidence, are you on a date?" Sirius blurted out a cold joke when he was standing in front of the three of them, matching his handsome and sloppy face, made Mary giggle, and the atmosphere seemed to ease down.

Just as if.

Because Lily was still in a particularly depressed state, she lowered her head, folded her hands on her knees, and her fiery red hair shawl fell down, looking extraordinarily lovable.

James angrily bumped his friend sitting next to him with his elbow, "What are you talking about?"

The symposium did not begin until Lupine sat down with Peter.

"It's really strange." It was Peter who spoke first.

But as soon as he said this, Sirius quickly rolled his eyes, "Tell me something that others don't know."

Peter flinched, and Lupine persuaded him: "Don't be so serious, Sirius, aren't we going to talk casually?" His "casual" sounded ulterior motives. "Did you hear what Kettleburn said just now? He judged that it might be poisoned."

"Actually, from the perspective of rationality," Sirius' expression was a bit haughty. He was very handsome no matter what angle you looked at, and at the same time he was very attractive to others. At least when he opened his mouth, Mary and Peter's eyes fell on him involuntarily. "The possibility of being poisoned is higher than others, which seems a bit interesting." Sirius finally concluded his evaluation.

"Yeah," James and Sirius already had a tacit understanding, and he already realized what he wanted to say when he opened his mouth, "If it is an infectious disease, there should be a gradual process, and the speed like now is not at all. possible."

"What if it's an acute infectious disease?" Mary said anxiously.

"No matter how urgent it is, it is impossible to infect all the owls overnight. They are just like humans, some are strong and some are thin." James analyzed, "So the possibility of poisoning is the highest. Are you right, Lily?"

Lily had been listening to them and thought it sounded reasonable. "But why would anyone attack an owl?"

"The owls are sick, and Hogwarts' external communication has been interrupted," Sirius said, touching his chin. "Of course I mean, excluding the professor, but our communication with the outside world has been completely interrupted, maybe it is The men of the Death Eaters did it."

"Why don't you just say it's Slytherin?" James said angrily.

"That's right, maybe it was my lunatic sister who did it," Sirius said with a smile, but his voice sounded cold and disdainful, "How about I ask?"

"Did you find out that among the four houses today, only Slytherin has no owl to deliver the letter," because they have not received all the information, so any doubts have been dug out one by one. After all, they are really Feel free to guess within reason.

"Could it be just a coincidence?" Lupine suggested a possibility.

"Of course it's possible, but just from this point of view, Slytherin is indeed the most suspicious." James blinked his brown eyes, "You know, Slytherin always does things that we can't understand This time, it is a little more serious, maybe they are plotting some big conspiracy."

Peter gasped, his body trembling slightly because of James' words.

"It's better not to guess," Lily said reflexively, "We know too little, even if we continue to discuss here, we won't get any correct results."

Sirius twitched the corners of his mouth, and when he saw James' eyes only looking at Lily, his voice became more arrogant, "Who said we were just guessing, did Slytherin do too many bad things? I just saw them a few days ago While studying black magic, I think that even if the owls were not poisoned this time, it might be because they were cursed, my whole family is Slytherin, don’t I understand them?”

He paused, and then said: "Also, are you really sure it wasn't your good friend of Slytherin who did it? The little Death Eater's potions are so good that they can outshine all the students in Hogwarts, really? It is not difficult to make the poison. Think about it, do you think other people besides Slytherin would do it? That is the sentence, why are we? To be honest, if it is not for the mystery man Conspiracy, I really can't think of who did it."

"No." Lily immediately retorted loudly, "Of course he wouldn't do something like that. Besides, he's not a little Death Eater."

"You look..." Sirius rolled his eyes towards the red-faced Lily, the red-haired girl denied it too quickly, and looked even more suspicious, "... seems a little guilty, do you know something?"

Of course, James had to take care of Lily, and when he heard what Sirius said, he immediately interrupted: "It's none of Lily's business, like a nose...a person like Snape, even if he did something like that, do you think Lily would Help hide it?"

Sirius shrugged and shut his mouth completely.

Only Lily's face turned red and white, and in a place where no one else could see, her hands broke out in a little cold sweat. Snape did go to the owl shed that day abnormally, and finally ran away with a guilty conscience... ...Wait, what is she thinking!That was her best friend, and she shouldn't be so suspicious of him.

but……

Once the seeds of doubt in my heart germinated, they were like vines, quickly climbing to the heart, and growing crazily.

No matter from which point of view, if this matter is man-made, then Slytherin is definitely the most suspected one. The other three colleges know that they have been committed to the study of black magic since they were in school. That's the way it is.People in Slytherin are always able to do things beyond their cognition...Even the young Snape once used sophistry to indirectly admit that almost everyone in Slytherin studied the dark arts.

And it was such a coincidence that little Snape appeared in the owl coop that never appeared that day?This is why Lily can't figure it out at all.What a coincidence that the owl had an accident not long after he left?

People around him were still talking about something, the topic had changed from the owl incident to criticism of Slytherin.Lily didn't speak. Anyway, everyone has been talking recently, and it will eventually become how evil Slytherin is, and they seem to be studying some kind of black magic.

always like this.But Lily hated black magic, largely because she had actually seen Slytherin bullying students in other houses with black magic.

Classes had resumed in the afternoon - Dumbledore announced at noon that they hadn't reached the final conclusion of the investigation, but he told everyone that the owls were indeed drugged, and they were drinking water specially for the owls. Their cause was found in the sinks and excrement that came out, and now they have found the antidote.Both Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic believe that this incident was deliberately done by someone, but the other party did not attack too hard, so no owl died this time, and they will soon be able to distribute owls. The antidote, I believe that soon, everyone's owl will be better.

In fact, in the final analysis, this time they discovered it in time. If it was later, or if the owls drank more water in the tank, it is hard to say whether any owls would die.

This afternoon, the elective courses for Gryffindor and Slytherin in the fourth grade are protection of magical animals. Since Kettleburn, as a representative of Hogwarts, is still studying the case with people from the Ministry of Magic, this Lessons were also cancelled.

Most of the fourth-year Gryffindors only had this class, and Lily was no exception, so they were equivalent to a whole day's vacation.

Lily had been absent-minded since the morning, she wanted to ask little Snape to clarify, but she also knew very well that once she did so, it meant that she would probably lose her friendship with little Snape.

For the first time, Lily realized so deeply that the position between the two colleges can affect a person so much.

She knew in her heart that she should trust little Snape, but she still couldn't control her doubts.

——Probably also related to the increasingly serious confrontation between the two colleges recently.

This is the way things are. You may not believe what others say at the beginning, but the three become tigers. Some impressions left from the beginning will completely explode after several people keep talking about this matter in your ears. It makes you have to believe that things really happened.

She thought, she really didn't trust Snape very much, even if she kept telling herself that she shouldn't do this, otherwise she wouldn't immediately think of Snape who suddenly went to the owl shed that day when she found clues.

It just made her wonder why, if Snape really did it, why would he do it.That's why she wanted to find out the truth so much, and it was also to return Snape's innocence.

How exactly?

Lily unconsciously walked to the outside of the castle, the corner where she and little Snape often meet.

Everyone was in class, and this corner where no one came and went was even more empty. Lily didn't know what she was waiting for. She didn't even tell Snape about meeting here. Could she still expect Snape to meet him here? Will Nep come?

Ever since he found Lily walking out of the castle in a daze, James, who was a little worried about the red-haired girl, followed her, and then found her stopped in a certain corner of the castle. He didn't know what he was waiting for, just quietly Sitting on the stone steps.

He looked at it for a while, and when he finally couldn't help but want to step forward, there were quite regular footsteps in the empty place.

Lily raised her head and looked at little Snape walking towards her from afar.

really come?Lily blinked her eyes, and after realizing that she was indeed not dazzled, she stood up abruptly.

"How do you know I'm here?" Lily asked eagerly.

Little Snape actually didn't know that Lily was here, and he didn't intend to come, it's just because Slytherin has been discussing this matter, and the direction of these people's discussions is a bit different from normal people - they don't want to find Instead of figuring out the reason, I think about the result of this matter, and if it is them, how to find more effective means to do such a thing.These discussions annoyed Snape so much that he came out to find a place to breathe.

Although he also studies black magic, he also uses it, but he prefers that it is used in the right place.

——It’s just that he didn’t expect that Lily would be here too.

Regarding Lily's question, he did not deny it, but he quickly realized that Lily should have something to ask him: "Are you waiting for me here?"

"Well, no." Lily's inconsistent statement is actually more suspicious.

Little Snape frowned slightly, "What do you want to ask?"

"I……"

"Something about the owl thing?"

Lily: "..."

"The Slytherins are talking about it too—"

"is it you--"

The two spoke almost at the same time. Little Snape finally realized what Lily had just said in the middle of speaking.

Lily looked at little Snape's expression "swish -" black as the bottom of a pot, the boy's mouth was also tightly pursed, he even looked at Lily with some disbelief, when he found that the girl had a guilty conscience After a guilty expression, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he said coldly: "Did someone tell you something again, or let me put it bluntly—is it Potter and Black again, telling you about me Is the murderer behind this incident?"

"There's no such thing, it's me..." Lily said weakly.

"You still defend them." Little Snape said with a sneer. "do you know--"

"They didn't," Lily's eyes closed slowly, she took a deep breath, and forced herself to say calmly, "They didn't even know where you went that day, only I saw it."

"So you thought it up yourself?" Little Snape opened his mouth. "You doubt me? Just because I went to the owl coop?"

Lily did not deny it directly, but said: "I just want to confirm that if I really think you are the murderer, I will tell Professor McGonagall or any professor directly instead of asking you."

"So once you confirm that I am the murderer, you will tell Professor McGonagall?" Snape sneered sarcastically.

"I didn't mean that..." Lily's train of thought had been completely taken away by little Snape.

"Then what do you mean? Just because you doubt me, doesn't that mean you don't believe me at all?" These two sentences sounded repetitive, but Lily understood.Suspicion and trust were originally born together. Snape's suspicion refers to this matter alone, while trust refers to all the trust in these years.

"I..." In fact, what Snape said was right, she couldn't deny it at all.

"Sure enough, the trust you mentioned before was just casually, right?" Little Snape was very angry. He even felt that he was burning with anger, as if he had been severely betrayed by a friend.

"If it weren't for their help, would you still think it was me?" Little Snape was so smart. Although he was very angry, he knew that Lily was definitely not such a person. would think so.

"Can you not change the subject," Lily opened her moist green eyes, the washed green eyes became more and more beautiful - but they were not the pair that Snape was expecting. "Please answer my question positively." She gritted her teeth and said.

Little Snape's expression was a little distorted, "I've said so much, and you still doubt me. Doesn't my words mean that I deny my actions? Miss Evans, it turns out that your trust is so cheap."

"I'm not..." She still wanted to figure it out, "Then why did you go to the owl shed that day?"

Little Snape: "..."

"I don't want to doubt you, Severus," Lily said bitterly, her tears starting to fall, "please, tell me the truth."

Little Snape looked at Lily coldly, "You'd rather believe them than me, right?"

"I'm not……"

"Do you know how many bad things they have done? I told you last time, right? Don't get so close to them," said Snape angrily. Come to doubt me, you say, why should I do this?"

Lily raised a hand and interrupted: "I will judge their affairs myself, don't talk about him, Severus, just say yes or no."

"And then I have to tell you, is it true that I went to the owl coop that day?" Little Snape's face turned blue with anger. "If I don't tell you, you're going to inform me?"

"Nothing—"

"I'll send a letter to Harry." Little Snape said quickly, "I'll borrow your owl to send a letter to Harry, are you satisfied?"

"W-what?" This time it was Lily's turn to look at Snape dumbfounded, "You mean Harry?"

After finishing speaking, little Snape immediately stopped talking, and he pressed his lips tightly, seeming a little annoyed.

"Is Harry back?" Wait, "How did you know he was back?"

Little Snape suddenly started to rummage around himself, and then he threw a crumpled piece of parchment that was still slightly warm to Lily.

Lily opened the parchment with trembling hands, and saw the words on it——

"Everything is fine, don't read, see you on Easter holidays."

"Now, are you satisfied?" Little Snape quickly pulled the letter back, and strode away without looking back.

Lily looked at Snape's furious back, and stood there sluggishly, without moving for a long time.

Although the writing on the letter was a bit strange, Lily could tell that it was indeed Harry's handwriting.

The author has something to say: Let me go, I finally wrote the plot that I wanted to write in the single curse→_→An accident occurred in the owl shed, interrupting the communication inside and outside the school. Do you still remember the prophecy of the single curse? In the past, the magic stick professor said that Hogwarts was under a curse, and everyone thought from this curse that it might be a large-scale, school-wide curse. At that time, some people speculated that there might be a problem with the owl (in the end, everyone went to the professor and the opposite. The single curse of students...)→_→omg this stalk is finally written in this article!

Regarding the quarrel between Lily and Snape, most of it was due to the conflict between the two colleges. In my guess, from the point of view of the young Snape, it was the foursome or people from Gryffindor College who were sowing discord. But from Gryffindor's point of view, what they said was the facts they saw and their speculations within a reasonable range

But in the original book... it was more because Snape himself did something bad, and it was Snape who pushed Lily further and further away.

Anyway, there must be conflicts... It's just a different way to make conflicts~(≧▽≦)/~

Haha, the professor keeps your pen and ink close to his body, why don't you hurry up and thank the Lord Ron

There are 7200 words today→_→I haven’t fixed the typo yet, maybe I will fix it tomorrow...