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Chapter 194: Lily's Forgiveness
Chapter 194: Lily's Forgiveness
"You are actually a very capable Wizard."
Bella's voice echoed through the hall, her words not sparing Sherlock any praise, and she even tried to extend an olive branch to him.
"If you are willing to go to the Dark Lord and beg for forgiveness, and become his most loyal follower, perhaps the Master will no longer hold your past actions against you."
Sherlock sat on the ground, pulling a golden, rust-covered pendant box from his pocket as he nodded.
"This might indeed be a good choice. Joining the Death Eaters to save my life, just by pledging my loyalty to the Dark Lord. And I'm not an Auror, so I don't have any allegiance to the Ministry of Magic. Betraying them wouldn't cause me any mental strain."
His words were sincere, making Bella truly believe he was considering it. But Sherlock's tone suddenly shifted.
"But I killed three of you, one of whom I remember was your husband's younger brother. If I join the Dark Lord, won't you and your husband secretly try to kill me?"
Everyone's attention was on Sherlock and Bella's conversation, and almost no one noticed that the black slate, which was already near Sherlock and pointed at by numerous wands, was getting even closer to him.
"With the Dark Lord's command, who would dare touch you!"
Bella said this while gesturing to the Death Eaters behind her, slowly closing in on Sherlock, increasing the pressure on him.
The black slate was now in Sherlock's hand.
He held the slate in one hand and the pendant box in the other, his smile growing broader.
"But that's just your word. The Dark Lord isn't here. How do I know I'll be safe? Unless you bring the Dark Lord here yourself."
Bella's face darkened.
"Who does the Master think he is! He wouldn't come for something like this!"
Sherlock's smile grew more playful as he stared at Bella's left arm.
"Is that so? Then why did you summon him in the first place? And aren't most of the Death Eaters' main forces here now? With such a large gathering and your urgent summoning, why hasn't he come?"
Bella's dark eyes met Sherlock's, and he didn't flinch, holding the slate and the pendant box with a grin.
"Could it be that something happened to him tonight, and even with your urgent summons, he can't come?"
"Shut up!" Bella shrieked.
At that moment, a chilling and ominous black mist began to seep into the bright hall from all directions!
The mist seemed endless, continuously gathering from every side!
Upon seeing the black mist, Bella and the Death Eaters' faces lit up with surprise.
"Master!"
As the mist appeared, Sherlock sensed something was wrong.
He had played it too big. Voldemort in his prime had really come!
Without hesitation, he brought the pendant box, which had brought him and Snape to this time, and the black slate together!
A golden light instantly enveloped both objects!
As the golden light flared, the black mist gathered around Bella, coalescing into the form of a man in black robes, with a handsome but cold demeanor.
The moment the man appeared, all the Death Eaters, including Bella, dropped to one knee.
"Master!"
Tom Riddle, still with his nose and a face that hadn't yet deteriorated, and with his intelligence not yet at its lowest point, didn't even glance at his followers.
From the moment he appeared, his cold eyes remained fixed on Sherlock, who was now encased in a golden light. He extended his pale, slender right hand.
Black smoke spread through the hall, swirling around the golden light as if trying to interfere with the transformation.
However, when the mist approached within a meter of Sherlock, it could not advance any further!
Suddenly, the sound of a clock's hands ticking began to resonate.
It started faintly but grew louder and more urgent, like the final cry of a person being pursued.
Then, with a sound like something breaking, all the noise abruptly ceased!
The golden light rapidly contracted, and where Sherlock had stood, only a floating black slate remained, the space otherwise empty.
The hall fell silent, but this silence lasted less than a second.
The slate shattered into countless pieces before everyone's eyes!
The Death Eaters, still kneeling, trembled at the sound of the slate breaking.
Riddle's face was pale, an unhealthy pallor, as if he had just undergone a severe drain, leaving him in a poor state.
Seeing the scattered stone fragments on the ground, his hand clenched into a tight fist. The Pendant Box embedded with the Basilisk on his chest swung with the violent rise and fall of his breathing, and his angry roar echoed through the hall.
"Worthless! You are all worthless!"
"How have you been doing at school lately?"
Snape, disguised as Slughorn, suppressed the tremor in his voice and asked as calmly as he could.
Lily leaned back in her chair, her hands interlocked and her arms stretched out, her head tilted to one side as if contemplating how to answer Snape's question.
"It's been pretty good, I guess. Although I don't have anyone I can really confide in, I get along well with everyone."
"A close friend?" Snape asked, feigning nonchalance. "Isn't Severus your best friend? Doesn't he count?"
At the mention of Snape's name by "Slughorn", Lily's expression darkened.
"Please don't mention him, Professor. I've completely severed ties with him. We are no longer friends, and we won't have anything to do with each other in the future."
Hearing this, the corners of Snape's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He tried to smile, but his body wouldn't cooperate, and no matter how hard he tried, his face remained filled with sorrow.
"Why is that? Just because of that one insult? I heard he's realized his mistake and has been apologizing to you."
Lily's attention wasn't on Snape's face, so she didn't see the strange expression on "Slughorn's" face. She pouted and muttered.
"I know he didn't mean it at the time. Potter and his friends were really over the top, and it pushed him over the edge. That's why he said those things."
"The real problem is that he hangs around with Rosier and Wilkes all the time. You know what kind of people they are. Their lifelong goal is to follow that person, and he never hid his admiration for him when we talked."
"Those dark Spells, like the Levitation Spell, Silencing Charm, and Binding Spell, were all invented by him."
"He's becoming more and more different from who he used to be. I'm afraid he'll become one of that person's servants, a brute who burns, kills, and plunders without a conscience."
"I tried to persuade him and stop him, but he never truly let go. He seems to be born for those dark things, getting along well with those people, and mastering dark magic so effortlessly."
"It was only when he called me that name that I made up my mind. We were never on the same path. He tried to pull me to his side, and I tried to pull him to mine, but neither of us succeeded."
"Rather than continue like this, it's better to cut all ties. Even if we become enemies in the future, I won't feel conflicted about it."
Lily, like a young girl who had found someone to confide in, poured out her heart.
But she didn't notice that Professor "Slughorn's" expression was becoming increasingly pained.
"Would you forgive him, then?"
"Hmm~"
Lily tilted her head, as if thinking of something beautiful, and smiled.
"If one day he truly repents, stops associating with those people, and stops researching all that crazy magic, and focuses on his potions, well, it would be best if he became a professor at Hogwarts! All the professors in the castle are good people. If he could become a professor, it would mean he's really changed. Then I would look at him differently, and we might even become friends again."
Her words struck Snape's heart like a heavy hammer.
He stared blankly at the girl who smiled at the thought of a beautiful scene, a complex mix of emotions bursting in his skull!
Snape didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Lily's expectations of him, he had met them all. He had reached the standards she set for forgiving him, fulfilling all her requirements!
But the person who had hoped for his forgiveness was gone.
Lily's death had awakened him, but who was he seeking forgiveness from after that awakening?
Tears silently streamed down Snape's face. He opened his mouth, wanting to cry out, but no sound came from his throat.
Looking at the girl sitting alive and well next to him, a wildly insane idea suddenly formed in his mind.
He would tell her everything, everything that had happened later. He would tell her that he had truly changed as she had hoped!
If she didn't believe him, he would extract his memories and show her!
He would forget about his promise to Sherlock and forget about history!
He would tell her everything! Let her know everything that happened afterward!
Just as Snape was about to act on this impulse and open his mouth, he suddenly vanished from the classroom!
Five seconds later, Lily realized she was alone. She looked around, confused, and called out.
"Professor Slughorn?"
But the empty classroom offered no response, only the magic notebook in her pocket proving that someone had indeed spoken to her just moments ago.
(End of Chapter)
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