The Prince's Tale

【2】Mitigation agent

[...Only wizards who hold a pharmacist's license or a therapist's license are qualified to make potions and sell them for a fee in countries or regions that recognize their licenses. ——"British Wizarding Pharmacist Practice Guidelines (No.20 Revised Edition)"]

Tiffany disappeared for three days in a row.It was not until noon on August [-] that she reappeared at the door of the pharmacy, followed by three young men holding large cardboard boxes.

At this point, I'm enjoying my freshly made herbal tea and freshly baked cheese biscuits.I saw that Tiffany was approaching menacingly, I accidentally choked on the small round cake, and coughed violently.

Hearing my cough, Tiffany seemed to remember that there was another person in the pharmacy.I saw her take out her wand and point it at me, my heart was raised suddenly, and my brain was spinning rapidly, thinking about what I did wrong again.

Perhaps she noticed that I gave Snape a little too much moonstone powder and belladonna?Maybe she found out I forgot to water her pot of precious flowers?Maybe she noticed that I hadn't cleaned the basement storage room for a few days?

My eyes gradually blurred, and finally there was only one thought that kept circling in my mind——

She was probably trying to get rid of me.

Tomorrow, the headline of the "Daily Prophet" must be "Young female clerk murdered in pharmacy, is it related to the mysterious person?"; followed by a statement from an official of the Ministry of Magic, claiming that the incident is still under investigation; Sharp criticism; and then the full exposure of the families of the victims...

I have even imagined a mighty group of people standing in front of my tombstone, sad or happy.I don't know if someone will remember to put my favorite lily in front of my tombstone.

It turns out that both wizards and Muggles have a mind that spins wildly when they're dying.

"Ankexiao." Faintly, I heard Tiffany's calm and indifferent voice.My trachea was immediately unobstructed, and fresh air finally flowed into each of my alveoli smoothly.

Tiffany turned around proudly, and continued to direct the few people to move the cardboard boxes in and stack them neatly in the corner.Looking at her domineering look, I wondered for a moment whether I should be glad that I was still safe and sound.

When only Tiffany and I were left in the drugstore, I asked with tears in my eyes, "What are these cardboard boxes for?"

"Put the contents of the cardboard box on the shelf," Tiffany ordered directly. "Everything on this must be memorized." She threw a booklet tied with a purple ribbon on the table, almost flying my teacup.

I have used this teacup for more than ten years. It was broken three times and "recovered" three times.The spell was not as effective as it had been the previous time it was cast.I don't know if the spell will work the next time I shatter it.

"Understood." I quickly protected my precious teacup, and made a grimace at the back of her walking into the workshop.

The well-known Madame Butterfly brand skin care products entered our small pharmacy in this way.I pretended to draw a poster and put it on the door. I didn't expect that more and more people came to the pharmacy day by day.

When you think of pharmacies, you may think of cough syrup, or lionfish spine meal, a common ingredient in potions, but it’s not.In fact, we can also take on part of the duties of clinics and cosmetic shops.Therefore, it is not unreasonable for skin care products to appear in the most conspicuous position of drugstores.

It's just that in this way, the customer's center of gravity has become a chattering girl, which really gives me a headache.Fortunately, Hogwarts will reopen on September [-]st, and a considerable number of girls will be taken back to school.It's just another two weeks of patience, and after two weeks, I can be quiet and quiet again.

I have never looked forward to September [-]st so much as I am now, it is really a turn of events.

Diagon Alley on August 21 finally ushered in a sunny morning.I always like this kind of clear sky and good weather, and I can't help humming a little song even when I clean the storage room that can't see the sun.

At 58:[-], I sat lazily behind the counter, the chair was tied with my favorite country-style upholstery, and there was a cup of steaming herbal tea and an open pharmacopoeia in front of me.I glanced melancholy at the pharmacopoeia and found that I had just reviewed the chapter "The medicinal value of ores" yesterday.

The Muggle church clock began to strike the hour, and I waved my wand to change the words on the door sign to "Open".I have already used this transformation spell very proficiently. The reason is that I am stingy with the short distance from the counter to the door and then to the counter.

But I didn't expect that someone would show up at the door of the pharmacy today.

"Welcome, what do you need?" The same smile, the same "Welcome", and the same greasy black hair that belonged only to Severus Snape.

He walked towards the counter indifferently, and I felt the air around me suddenly drop several degrees.

"I want to exchange this bottle of potion for moonstone powder." He took out a crystal bottle with a long crack at the bottom from his pocket and put it on the counter, his indifferent expression matched that of Tiffany's.And what I have always hated the most is Tiffany's cold face that has remained unchanged for thousands of years.

I glanced at the silver-white mist in the crystal bottle, and told him bluntly: "Our pharmacy doesn't do this kind of business." As if being insulted, I don't know whether to pick up the crystal bottle and leave directly, or argue with me.

After a few seconds, I regretted saying that sentence arbitrarily.He was still a child after all.Wouldn't it be nice of me to fool him like last time?I was about to open my mouth when I suddenly heard a cold female voice behind me.

"Show me." Tiffany ordered, and I handed over the crystal bottle respectfully like a conditioned reflex, but I wanted to cast a curse on her in my heart.

Severus saw my lowered eyebrows and showed me the familiar mocking expression again.This made me feel a little angry.

Tiffany took the crystal bottle, carefully observed the color of the potion, unscrewed the cork and smelled it a few times. "Nearly perfect." She finally said such a sentence, which surprised me very much.

Surprise was followed by indignation.I think I have been working here for more than a year, conscientious, never late or early, and being handled by her like a house elf, and I have never received such a high evaluation.And Severus got Tiffany's attention just because of a bottle of potion that came out of nowhere.I feel wronged, and this emotion has rarely appeared in the past year.

"Come with me," she said curtly, carrying the bottle of potion into the hallway.I know that corridor leads to Tiffany's studio.Tiffany was always tinkering with her potions there, and never let people in.I didn't know it when I first came, and I wanted to go in to clean up, but she scolded me badly.

Severus glanced at me as he passed me.What is in his eyes?Ridiculous, proud?I turned my back to clear the counter, and I could imagine the expression on his face even with my eyes closed.

Forget it, probably talented people have such an attitude of indifference to others.I had to comfort myself like this.

In this case, I'm almost happy to see two chattering girls pushing open the door.The wind chime on the door jingled cheerfully.The enthusiasm and sunshine around them seem to be able to infect me too, just like today's rare good weather.

"Welcome, what do you need?" I said with a smile.

"Let's see Madame Butterfly," said the chubby blonde girl.

I don't need her to tell me.These beautiful young girls are absolutely not interested in things other than Madame Butterfly brand skin care products, such as potions with various steams and potion raw materials with various smells.

I continued to maintain the smile on my face, but I thought sadly that I might not be a young girl anymore.

To my surprise, the red-haired girl who walked in with the blond girl left her companion and walked over to me.

"Excuse me, lionfish spine powder, belladonna essence, nettle, peppermint, two-eared grass..." She reported a long list of herbal medicines, and handed me a sheet written in green ink. "Standard dose - two servings." She thought for a moment and added.

I took the note, looked at her conspicuous long red hair and green eyes, and finally remembered who she was.

Lily Evans of Gryffindor, who is good at potions, is the favorite of Professor Slughorn.I bet the bloated Potions professor will ask her for an autographed picture when she graduates.

"Okay, please wait a moment." I said cheerfully, turned around and searched in the cabinet.

These raw materials have been depleted surprisingly fast recently.I did the math and found that there was no discrepancy, which I assumed was due to the fact that the students were all coming to replenish their supply boxes.That didn't happen last year, I guess because there weren't all those sparkly Madame Butterfly skincare products last year.

In the end, I handed Lily a heavy paper bag, and the blonde girl next to her didn't buy anything, and was still staring at the expensive cosmetics reluctantly.

I suddenly realized that I admired Tiffany's marketing methods.It turned out that the expensive cosmetics placed there were just a pretense to attract customers, and it turned out that my performance still depended on those meager-profit herbs and potions to accumulate.

But if everyone is as diligent and studious as Lily Evans, and even buys double portions of raw materials, then my monthly bonus can be expected.

The blond girl next to her seemed to have noticed that she had bought double the ingredients. "Why did you buy so much? You bought double copies?" She wondered.

"I bought that one for Sif." Lily said with a smile, and my heart moved slightly.

"How many times have I told you to stay away from that Snape," the blonde girl suddenly became angry, startling me, "Have you not seen what kind of person he is? Lily, are you Prefect of Gryffindor, one of the most popular girls in the school, and Snape? He's just an annoying Slytherin. I really don't understand what you're thinking..." She went on and on.

I admire the blonde girl who can analyze a person's shortcomings so thoroughly, and I also admire Lily Evans who can remain indifferent under such earnest persuasion from her friends.

"He's my friend, Mary. My friend," she insisted firmly. "I guess I can tell right from wrong." She said stubbornly, placing the counted coins on the glass tray on the counter middle.

A series of crisp sounds.A total of sixteen Sickles and 22 Nats.

I smiled until they walked out of the drugstore in that horrible, suffocating silence.The moment they stepped out of the store, my face collapsed.

Sometimes smiling is not an expression of emotion, but just a professional need.But once the meaning of something becomes richer, people will miss the original purity.

It was finally quiet again, I yawned lazily, slumped on the upholstered chair behind the counter, dragged the pharmacopoeia over, and prepared to read yesterday's chapter again when no one was around.

I hope Merlin can help me pass the second pharmacist exam in one go for the sake of studying so hard.

As I picked up my warm teacup, I heard a very faint sound on the floor behind me.I turned to look and saw Severus standing in the dimly lit corridor, his face pale and his black robes almost blending in with his surroundings.

I don't know how long he's been standing there, and how much I've heard of the conversation just now.He stood there motionless, like a plant growing in the dark.

I think he and Lily Evans were probably friends.Who would be unhappy if a friend of a friend said that about himself?

He just stood there without saying a word; I looked at him quietly and didn't say a word.

His gaze was empty and powerless, and seemed to fall far away.Maybe it's the long, unrestrained past; or maybe it's the future of the two—the future in which the two are destined to part ways.

I don't think I can really understand the sadness in his heart.In fact, when all the truth is revealed to the world more than 20 years later, and no matter how deep the secrets of people's hearts were hidden back then, I can't fully understand the sadness and depression, resentment and unwillingness.

Because I was never Severus Snape, never experienced his encounters, and could not understand his ups and downs, his struggles, his beliefs and his deep love.

And in 19, when everything had just begun, I, at the age of [-], just wisely chose to say nothing and then turned back as if nothing had happened, preserving the last decency and tranquility for him.

I don't think he wants to be disturbed at such a moment.I don't expect him to understand my kindness, but I also don't want to be a nuisance to others.

Today's herbal tea tastes good, and it seems the dose of lightening mint is just right.I tasted the herbal tea that I had improved the recipe for a month, feeling a little proud in my heart.

"Give me that note." A cold voice came from behind my ears, like a ghost suddenly appearing in a cemetery.

I shuddered and jumped up from my chair in fright.The cup in my hand fell to the ground, and the herbal tea that I was proud of just now spilled all over the floor.Great, Tiffany has another reason for me to clean the carpet later.

I stared dumbfounded at Severus Snape who silently appeared behind me, and my teacup that I had used for more than ten years had just been smashed to pieces for the fourth time.

"Sorry," Severus said flatly, and I didn't hear the slightest bit of apology in it, "could you just—"

"Get out." I said blankly.It's been a long time since I've spoken to anyone in this tone.

"I just want that—"

"Get out!" I yelled angrily.

He looked at me with resentment and unwillingness, but my sudden anger seemed to have a certain deterrent effect.He quickly looked back, took the package in his hand and finally chose to leave.

At the last moment the store door closed, I grabbed my wand and waved it.The sticky note with Lily Evans' green handwriting seemed to come alive, and flew out through the crack of the door, stopping in front of Severus Snape.

I don't want to see any expression of gratitude on his face. I don't think there will ever be any expression on his face that makes me look good.I knelt beside the shards and picked them up bit by bit without using my wand - I wonder if the Muggle way would be more sincere.

I can't express how I feel when I see the broken porcelain on the table.Maybe from the moment I made a choice a year ago, the past 18 years have really become the past, and I can never go back.Now that it has become a thing of the past, why am I still clinging to the things of the past?

I hesitated for a long time, and finally put away my wand.I found an old silk handkerchief and wrapped the pieces carefully.After I tied the last knot, I saw the monogram embroidered with silver thread on the corner of the handkerchief—

JP

Looking at those two letters, I smiled slightly.These days, who doesn't have a ridiculous or scarred past?

Looking at the still bright sunshine outside the window, I hummed the tune of the morning again, but I lost the good mood at that time.