The Restrained Edge

In the evaluations of Severus Snape and Hagrid, Amorsta Blaine was always a low-key and solitary person during his school years. Even he himself did not deny that this was an accurate assessment. However, this wasn't because Amorsta was inherently a wizard who kept others at a distance.

You see, Blaine was an 'outsider.' Before coming to Hogwarts, he always thought he had merely crossed over to a parallel world's Earth.

For the first eleven years of his life, he spent a significant amount of time adapting to a country with lifestyles and customs completely different from his previous life. He also expended considerable effort to relearn the cultural knowledge he had mastered during his student years, actively preparing for the future.

However, that admission letter from Hogwarts disrupted all his plans, rendering his prior efforts nearly futile.

Why did he seem so out of place in his first few years at Hogwarts? The answer is quite simple.

First, the existence of magic completely overturned Amorsta's worldview and values, which he had accumulated over nearly thirty years across two lifetimes. For those years, he was in a state of chaos, having to acknowledge the reality of magic and strive to learn magical knowledge on one hand, while on the other, constantly trying to explain the rationality of magic's existence in a 'scientific way,' which almost drove him into a split personality.

Secondly, the remaining vague memories of plotlines in his mind also caused him pain.

Amorsta knew he was in an incredibly real magical world, not in a young adult fiction book. Here, there were dangerous and fierce magical creatures, insidious and unstoppable evil curses, ruthless and bloody dark wizards, unscrupulous conspirators, and despicable hypocrites.

Although Amorsta remembered some names, he could no longer recall the storylines derived from these characters, making it impossible to judge directly whether they were 'good people.'

Especially upon entering the magical world and realizing his own weakness and helplessness, being wary of everyone was his way of ensuring his safety.

In Hagrid's words, the indifference and isolation from Slytherin students were the least of his concerns.

After all, his young body housed a mature soul.

Severus Snape was the only wizard he acknowledged during his time at school, and the reason was inseparable from Amorsta's impoverished background.

At that time, Amorsta was destitute. The little financial aid from the school was only enough to buy second-hand books and teaching supplies, barely supporting his advanced study progress.

To remedy his dire financial situation, Amorsta had to find ways to make money. Starting from his second year, he began brewing and selling potions privately.

Initially, he could only brew simple potions using cheap ingredients from the student storage room, earning a meagre profit, which he accumulated bit by bit.

Until the second semester of his third year, he received a substantial order worth eighty Galleons—to brew a batch of long-lasting Invisibility Potion.

To ensure everything went smoothly, he used a Disillusionment Charm to sneak into the Restricted Section multiple times at night to look up information. He also indirectly inquired Snape about the key techniques of brewing this potion.

Amorsta couldn't afford to be careless. The person ordering the potion did not provide the ingredients, and the most expensive ingredient in the Invisibility Potion, the tail feathers of the Demiguise, cost six Galleons each, and brewing this potion required five tail feathers, which would almost exhaust Amorsta's savings.

Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned, and the unexpected happened. Due to inexperience, Amorsta miscalculated the amount of Abyssinian shrivelfig juice, causing the potion to fail.

Because of this, Amorsta was depressed for several days.

But a week later, before Potions class, Amorsta found a bundle of ten Demiguise tail feathers in his usual storage locker—these precious materials would never appear in a student's locker!

Moreover, in the following class on Confusing Concoctions, Professor Snape, acting nonchalant, somehow started talking about Invisibility Potions out of the blue! This made Amorsta realize that his private potion brewing and selling had likely been noticed by the perpetually stern-faced head of house.

Similar situations happened several times afterward, but both sides maintained a high level of tacit understanding, and neither exposed the other.

Because of this, Amorsta gradually began to trust Severus Snape. Previously, he had always been wary of Snape because he had overheard from fellow students that Snape had once been a follower of the great Dark Lord and only escaped the judgment of the Wizengamot thanks to the protection of Headmaster Dumbledore when the Dark Lord fell.

Despite his close relationship with the head of the house, Amorsta's philosophy of keeping a low profile didn't change. He continued to stay silent, avoid conflicts, and not stand out too much to avoid jealousy. This situation persisted until his fifth year when an unexpected event broke the pattern.

This happened at the end of November 1986.

That winter was particularly cold, and Amorsta's eighty-four-year-old grandmother, Felena, didn't make it to the New Year and Christmas.

Felena, who had cared for him as he grew up and dedicated her life to charity, was the person Amorsta respected the most. Her passing dealt a heavy blow to him.

But that year was his O.W.L.s year, and the school workload was intense, leaving little time for him to grieve. So, after hurriedly attending her funeral, Amorsta had to rush back to school to continue his studies.

Let's go back to a deep night in early December 1986:

The pitch-black night sky covered the earth like a giant curtain, with fierce cold winds sweeping over the freezing Black Lake. The clinking sounds of colliding ice shards echoed like eerie corpses chewing on bones.

After confirming that his roommates were all asleep, Amorsta sat up with a blank expression. He quietly dressed and took out a frame with a black-and-white photo from a hidden compartment beside his bed.

The common room was silent. The dim green lights, rough stone walls, and many empty carved chairs made the narrow, low-ceilinged room look more like a tomb.

Slytherin students, unlike Gryffindors, weren't keen on nighttime adventures in the castle. So, as Amorsta navigated the maze-like passages, he didn't encounter a single student.

But even if he did, there was nothing to worry about.

Amorsta was confident in his Disillusionment Charm skills. He could move completely hidden, even passing unnoticed by Filch's malnourished cat.

"Hey, little guy, I think you're lost!"

As he passed the entrance hall, a voice from above the marble staircase caught Amorsta's attention. He took a few steps closer and looked up, seeing Gryffindor prefect Bill Weasley talking to a young Hufflepuff.

"Get back to bed, little guy, or I'll take you to see Professor Sprout."

"Yes, yes, Prefect Weasley, I'll go back to the dorm now!"

Grateful that he wasn't getting points docked or sent to a professor, the young Hufflepuff bowed apologetically and scurried away.

After dealing with the rule-breaking student, Bill Weasley ran a hand through his long hair, hummed a tune, and walked up the marble stairs to continue his prefect duties.

Amorsta stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Bill's figure disappear from sight. Bill Weasley, the eldest son of the trusted Weasley family and a standout student, was highly regarded by teachers and students alike not just for his exceptional grades, but for his unique charisma.

However, among the senior Slytherin students, Bill Weasley had a terrible reputation.

They thought he betrayed the honor of the old wizarding families by mixing with Muggle-borns. They often planned to teach him a lesson.

But every time, Bill beat them soundly, no matter how many Slytherins showed up.

As a result, Bill Weasley had almost become the enemy of all Slytherins in their fifth year and above, especially with rumors that Dumbledore intended to make him Head Boy in his seventh year, making the hostility even more obvious.

Amorsta smiled silently and turned toward the Forbidden Forest.

All this trouble had nothing to do with him. After all, no one would be foolish enough to expect a barely noticeable Slytherin to defeat the shining star of Gryffindor.