The Rebirth of Harry Potter

Harry was unwilling to give up. He started again from the fifth floor, carefully searching every single old and abandoned room.

This time, he was even more thorough, practically turning the place upside down.

At this point, Harry knew every single rat's nest and ant colony in the area.

One particular room was filled with broken suits of armor. To be honest, Harry really didn't want to go in there.

In the hallways of the school, there were suits of armor placed at intervals, which Harry could tolerate—at least there were people around.

But in this abandoned, dark, and eerie room, there were tons of broken suits of armor, their surfaces covered in dust and scratches.

The place was so silent that Harry could hear a pin drop.

The moment he stepped inside, every hair on his body stood on end.

Underneath those helmets, it felt like there were invisible eyes staring at him.

Bloody hell, this is creepy! Did the author have some personal grudge against me? Why did they make me come in here?!

*(Luo Bei, awkwardly: "Ah… so you figured it out…")

"Haha… haha…"

Harry forced out a laugh to hype himself up.

At times like these, the best way to distract oneself was to sing.

Doesn't matter what—just sing something!

As Merlin once told his comrades when facing a mighty monster:

"No matter how deep the darkness ahead, just keep walking forward!"

…

So, Harry began singing loudly:

"Fly the plane, fly the plane, fly a big plane—"

And sure enough—it worked!

Harry felt his nerves calm down, and with newfound courage, he looked back at the suits of armor.

…Actually, no, on second thought, he was better off not looking.

After wandering around the room for a while, Harry still didn't find the Mirror of Erised.

Sighing in frustration, he had no choice but to head downstairs and continue searching the next level.

The fourth and third floors went by quickly, as most of the rooms were empty classrooms.

But as he descended to the second floor, Harry turned a corner—

And ran straight into a dark figure.

The impact sent Harry stumbling back several steps, while the other person remained completely still.

"Well, well… The famous Mr. Potter."

A cold voice cut through the air.

Hearing it felt like a freezing snake slithering across his arm.

There was only one person with a voice like that—

Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House.

The moment Harry heard Snape's voice, his face stiffened.

Just my bloody luck… Of all people, I had to bump into this damn viper!

Harry immediately forced a smile.

"Oh! Professor Snape! I just ran into Peeves—he actually spat at me! Me! The famous Harry Potter! Can you believe that?! Unforgivable, right?"

(Peeves, sobbing: Lies! Slander! I'd never dare mess with you!)

"But even if I could tolerate that, his next words were truly unbearable."

"So I told him—I'm a student of the greatest professor in Hogwarts… Professor Snape!"

"And that he should apologize to me immediately!"

Snape's face twitched.

Harry, feigning anger, said, "And guess what? He actually burst out laughing and said that someone like Snape could be taken down ten-to-one!"

Snape's face twitched again.

"So, of course, I had to chase after him and teach him a lesson he'd never forget! I had to show him why the flowers are so red!"

"But I never expected Peeves to be as fast as a broomstick—I swear, he could outrun Liu Xiang! Oh, right, Professor, you probably don't know who Liu Xiang is—he's a super-fast, beautiful magical girl!"

*(Liu Xiang, blushing: "Please stop… this is painful to hear…")

"I couldn't even catch up to him! He ran to the library—I chased him to the library! He ran to the second floor—I chased him to the second floor! He ran to the third floor—I chased him to the third floor! He—"

As Harry spoke, he became more and more animated, his expressions wildly exaggerated, completely immersed in his own dramatic performance.

Spit flew as he rambled on, thoroughly enjoying his own storytelling.

"Enough!!" Snape roared, veins bulging with rage.

His face had darkened beyond recognition.

Peeves, spitting at people? Harry Potter, could you be any more ridiculous?!

Calling himself the great and famous Harry Potter with a straight face—Harry, I truly underestimated just how shameless you are!

Liu Xiang? A beautiful magical girl?! What kind of nonsense is that?!

First floor, second floor, third floor… Is this some kind of tongue twister?

Back in my day, I could recite tongue twisters so fast that I ruled Hogwarts! You weren't even born yet!

These thoughts… these savage, ruthless comebacks…

They shone brightly in Snape's mind, each one a star in the sky of sarcasm.

But sadly…

They would never be spoken.

They would rot away in the deepest, darkest corners of Snape's heart, forever unknown to the world…

(Luo Bei: (⊙o⊙) …)

Why? Because this is who I am… The Prince Who Lives in Darkness.

Snape suddenly felt a wave of melancholy.

Why must I always hide behind this cold, aloof persona?

If I didn't, I could unleash my full wrath on Harry Potter, drown him in sarcasm, and release all of my pent-up anger instead of tolerating his endless provocation.

Harry noticed Snape's expression shift and immediately straightened up, looking completely serious—as if the previous five minutes had never happened.

Snape, witnessing this instant transformation, felt a deep sense of sorrow.

"Now. Immediately. Get to class."

Snape's eyebrows furrowed, his black eyes unblinking, his voice hissing in that strange, eerie tone of his.

If it had been any other student, they would have collapsed on the spot.

But Harry remained completely unfazed.

"Yes, Professor. But what are you doing here? Is there anything I can help with?"

Snape was holding several large glass jars, filled with strange herbs of unknown purpose.

It seemed that he had come to the second-floor storage room to retrieve ingredients.

Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Mr. Potter, surely you haven't forgotten…"

"This afternoon is Potions class."

Harry: (⊙o⊙) …

Damn it…

I forgot Thursday afternoon's first class was Potions…

And here I was, messing with a viper!

I basically walked straight into my own doom!

Ha… haha…

"Well then, Professor, I'll be heading to class now!"

In the blink of an eye, Harry vanished.

Snape lowered his head, his oily black hair falling over his eyes.

I don't even want to look at you…

Because…

Meanwhile, in Potions class…

Draco Malfoy felt like something was off.

He scratched his head, unable to figure it out.

Professor Snape was just as strict as always.

Gryffindor was still being targeted, as usual.

Neville was making the same dumb mistakes, as expected.

Harry was still as annoying as ever.

So… what was it?