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Chapter 374: Snape’s Visit
🕑 Added 2025-05-22 16:08:18 +0000 UTCGranger Residence.
As Ino slowly plucked the strings of the harp, the soft melody faded into silence—he spoke no more.
This time, he had decided to personally seek out the heterochromatic-eyed Seer imprisoned in the tower, hoping to uncover the final resting place of Voldemort's last Horcrux.
Unlike himself—a knockoff diviner who relied on dice to guess outcomes—the Seer possessed the true gift of Sight. With a crystal ball, she could glimpse visions of the present, people across the world, or even fragments of the future.
And between Trelawney's on-again-off-again prophecies and Gellert Grindelwald's calculating foresight, Ino found himself placing more trust in the latter. Of course, convincing Grindelwald to help would likely come at a cost.
Still, when stacked against Voldemort, the former dark lord—now languishing in apathy and isolation—seemed like the safer bet.
…
Mid-August in London.
Time seemed to slow its pace.
Every breeze carried the warmth of lingering summer, tinged with the subtle coolness of approaching autumn.
Exactly one week after the story's conclusion…
The Granger household received its first visitor—a guest both expected and inevitable.
Snape.
Ino wasn't the least bit surprised. The fact that Snape had restrained himself for a full week before showing up was, frankly, commendable.
"Professor," Ino began directly, not bothering with small talk, "some things can be duplicated, but others… others are truly one-of-a-kind."
They sat together in the guest room.
Hermione's resurrection, for instance, was not something that could be repeated. Never mind the golden apple; they couldn't even reenter the world where Professor Hans resided.
The pages of that tale had already been torn out—like estranged children dividing up the family estate. The house might look the same, but there was no reason to move back in.
On the other side of the room, Snape didn't seem surprised by the answer. He hadn't come expecting a miracle.
Still, upon hearing that resurrection was impossible, the light in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly.
"I figured as much," he said quietly.
Ino could only respond with silence. He still had the Iceflower, of course—but using it to revive someone who had been dead for over a decade, whose body had long since decayed into dust? That was, at best, a gamble with the unknown.
And the unknown was dangerous. Especially when it raised hopes only to crush them later.
Ino didn't want to dangle false promises in front of Snape. He could have. It would have been easy to manipulate him, even secure the allegiance of a master potioneer with just a few well-placed lies.
But some things simply shouldn't be done.
…
The room was quiet.
Ino and Snape sat facing each other, enveloped by a hush broken only by the muffled sound of a television from another room… and Hermione's occasional bursts of laughter.
"I understand," Snape finally said, rising slowly. "If you ever need anything from me, just write."
He turned to leave.
"Wait, Professor," Ino called out quickly. "About Harry… have you come up with any solution?"
Truthfully, he didn't have strong feelings about the supposed "main character" of this tale. But sometimes, other people's emotions couldn't be ignored.
Looking back, the whole story had essentially been about one thing: Harry locating and destroying Horcruxes.
Amusingly, the final Horcrux Harry destroyed… was himself.
Though thanks to fate—or some convenient plot intervention—Harry had managed to come back from the brink.
And that "happy ending" relied on one particular detail: Voldemort's resurrection required Harry's blood.
But that wasn't the case anymore.
In this timeline, Voldemort had been brought back using Barty Crouch Jr.'s blood instead.
A subtle change, perhaps—but one with massive implications.
…
Snape paused, slowly sitting back down.
"I'm working on a solution," he said. "Through potions."
"Potions?" Ino raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me there's a potion that affects the soul?"
It wasn't a matter of doubting Snape's abilities—far from it. But he'd never heard of a potion that could precisely target the soul. That wasn't exactly in your standard Potioneer's Handbook.
Snape, for his part, didn't hide anything.
He knew full well that Ino could've easily fabricated a resurrection story and manipulated him like a puppet. He might have even gone along with it, willingly, chasing a faint illusion of hope.
But Ino hadn't done that. He'd simply told the truth.
That honesty—however painful—left Snape feeling strangely torn: unfortunate that Lily truly couldn't return, yet strangely relieved that he hadn't been strung along.
"Yes. Potions," Snape confirmed. "The Wolfsbane Potion gave me the idea…"
That caught Ino's attention.
Wolfsbane—a centuries-old puzzle that no one had ever fully explained. What was lycanthropy, really? Where did it come from?
There were many theories, sure. But like discussions about nightmares, none had ever been definitive.
Even when the Wolfsbane Potion appeared on the scene, the fundamental mystery remained unsolved.
…
Snape's voice continued, calm and unwavering.
"Aconite, black hellebore, venom from an Acromantula… carefully extracted and brewed under specific conditions, they produce a slow-acting, irreversible poison. One that damages the soul."
His tone was utterly casual—like he was describing the recipe for pumpkin juice rather than concocting something that could obliterate part of a person's essence.
Ino, meanwhile, was… deeply impressed.
Now this was potioneering genius.
To take inspiration from Wolfsbane and reverse-engineer a potion that would gradually corrode a soul—that was not something your average witch or wizard could dream up.
If it worked as Snape described, it was probably the safest method. Voldemort's soul fragments were artificially made and inherently weaker than Harry's own soul. That meant a gradual deterioration might be enough to sever the unwanted connection without harming Harry too much.
Still, Ino couldn't help but wonder: how had Snape tested this?
How could anyone know for certain what kind of damage a potion did to a soul? It wasn't like you could just sniff it or shine a Revelaspell on it and call it a day.
But Ino didn't pry.
Everyone had their secrets. Just as Snape hadn't asked about the golden apple or resurrection details, Ino let this one slide.
Sometimes, just having an answer was enough.
And with Harry's problem seemingly addressed, Ino finally felt confident moving forward.
This time, the snake wouldn't get the chance to bite back.
Yes… fate truly had a sense of irony.
The self-proclaimed Pureblood Lord Voldemort… his future now being decided in a Muggle's living room.
…
Austria sat nestled in the heart of Central Europe. Thanks to the Atlantic winds, its climate leaned toward cool temperate forests.
By late August, the temperature had already dropped to a brisk 10°C—refreshing and pleasant.
As a landlocked country, Austria didn't have many natural wonders to boast about. For Muggles, its main draw was Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna—a relic from the Roman era, renowned around the world.
But for wizards—especially those of a certain age—Austria held another, far more haunting landmark:
Nurmengard Castle.
Twenty kilometers from Nurmengard lay the quiet village of Alpbach.
And today, it received two very unusual visitors.
…
Time doesn't just change people's minds. It reshapes their bodies too.
Dressed in a sleek silver-gray tracksuit and white trainers, Hermione looked every bit the graceful, athletic woman. Her long legs and upright posture gave her an air of confident vitality.
Beside her, Ino wore the same tracksuit—albeit in matte black.
"Hermione, why don't you explore the town a bit? I need to handle something first."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze drifting toward the western horizon. All he saw was a sparse forest of tall trees swaying in the breeze… but beyond them, something awaited.
Something important.
Something fated.
—
Fenrir Greyback
Fenrir Greyback is a notorious werewolf known for targeting children. He believed that creating more werewolves would allow them to rise up and rule over wizards. As revenge against Remus Lupin's father, he turned Remus into a werewolf as a child.
Lucius Malfoy once used him to threaten Borgin. During the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, even in his human form, he bit Bill Weasley.
