29

The Ivans family in Corkworth had a very polite guest this summer. When he visited, he brought the right gifts for everyone in the family. Not only was he courteous, but he was also good-looking, well-spoken, and well-mannered, and he was easily welcomed by all the family members.

Mr. Ivans was the only one who had a word to say about the welcome, whispering in private to his wife, "Isn't it a little early, though it would be a real shame to miss out..."

"What are you talking about? Eli is just a friend Penny invited to the house, and Lily's classmate! The three of them are good friends, don't think too much -- not yet." Mrs. Ivans rolled her eyes at her husband, said with displeasure. But although she had taught her husband that, when she went upstairs with a plate of cut fruit, she put her ear to the door and listened in the corner for a moment before knocking.

In the bedroom, the Evans sisters and Eli sit around a round table, working on a brand-new book.

"Luckily I got the Hogwarts owls before I came and sent me my shopping list for the new school year, so I made a quick trip to Diagon Alley and brought my textbooks," Eli says with interest, flipping through my new textbook, "I've always wanted to take this class, Muggle studies. I think it'll be fun."

"Do Wizards Study Muggles?" Penny asked, intrigued. She looked at the list carefully, then frowned and pouted.

"Look what it says," she said, a little disgusted, "Muggles' vehicles, Muggles' communications, Muggles' daily lives without magic... sounds like some kind of primer for a three-year-old, and wizards are a little out of their depth."

"It does seem that way," Eli admits with a smile, "Witches haven't had enough contact with Muggles in a thousand years. The first few hundred years were fine, but after the industrial revolution they were somewhat out of touch... ... but it doesn't really matter to wizards, because magic can do a lot of things. It's really quite convenient."

"That's true," Penny agreed, nodding from the bottom of his heart. He flipped the pages curiously. No ordinary person could resist the magic book that lay before him.

"Do you all still need to study Muggles?" Penny asked a little doubtfully, looking at them. "I thought you all knew Muggles already. You All grew up in Muggle Society."

"Of course I do," said Eli affirmatively, "I only started to think about it after I entered the wizarding world. I've become used to the idea of how things work behind the scenes-it might be interesting to look at Muggles from a magical point of view if you stand a little further away to get a full view of the landscape."

"That's what I thought, too, Penny," Lily said, smiling, as she leaned boneless and put her arms around her sister's neck. "Maybe I should start with you? Ha Ha Ha."

"Hey!" Penny slapped her in protest, and Eli smiled as she listened to the sisters play and turned the page again.

Mrs. Ivans knocked at the door and brought them fruit and cake. Lily stuffed a cut apple into her mouth and asked them cheerfully, "While Eli's here, can I invite Seaver over so we can talk and do our homework?"

"I can do either," Eli said casually, "If Severus wants to."

Of course he will! Lily briskly made the decision for Snape, hesitating a little as she turned to Penny, and looking at her sister with questioning eyes.

"Um... Penny?"

Penny glanced at Eli, averted his gaze, and shrugged at his sister.

"If you'd like to move the party to your room," she said with a straight face.

"Penny! You're the best!" Lily exclaimed, opening her arms and embracing her with joy. She rose like a bird and went downstairs excitedly to find Severus Snape. Eli watched her back disappear, her eyes returning to the page, and Penny suddenly spoke to him.

"I thought you'd be more enthusiastic, Eli," Penny asked curiously, finally having a chance to look at him seriously. She was interested in everything about him. "I heard from Lily that you were good friends at school."

Eli looked up at her, scratched her cheek, mused.

"Ah, yes, we are good friends," he said in the affirmative, "But I'm not sure Severus would welcome her. I don't know what you think of him... ... but from a friend's point of view, I think Severus had a very high self-esteem, and he sometimes displayed a very high self-esteem in front of Lily Lily came to see his family and asked me not to tell. I didn't know if it was right to call him this time, so I didn't send him an owl."

Penny nodded and looked at him thoughtfully.

"I see, Eli," she said, holding her chin as she spoke to him. "Your problem is that you're too polite."

Eli raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked puzzled. "What?"

"If you think of someone as a friend, sometimes you don't have to be so considerate and maintain social graces like strangers. You can make yourself more comfortable, and your friends won't mind," she said seriously, to suggest in a presentable manner, "If you're fighting about something, maybe you don't have to respect each other's opinions, put the issue on hold, and if necessary, punch your friend in the face-if you really want to, don't hold back."

She said this with a symbolic fist swing, as if to demonstrate for Eli herself. Eli looked up and down at her with astonishment at the way she spread her claws.

"Where did you get the idea, Penny?" He asked, laughing. "So do you think I'd fit in? I haven't noticed."

I'm not suggesting a violent transformation! Penny clutched his forehead in bewilderment. Unable to explain himself, he pushed him aside and continued with his book. She was graduating from an all-girls High School next year, her schoolwork was noticeably heavier, and she was genuinely anxious about going to school, and she wouldn't have taken the day off if Eli hadn't promised to come.

But as long as Eli sat there, she had no regrets about the time she had wasted, and would have wasted even more -- the rustle of a quill beside her, Eli making notes on a book. The atmosphere was so peaceful and harmonious that it seemed extravagant. Penny looked up at him every now and then, filled with joy and satisfaction.

With his mind completely occupied, Penny did not realize until just before sunset that Lily had been gone too long. She closed her book uneasily and asked Eli worriedly, "Did Lily not come back?"

"Right." Eli looked up from his new book on the history of magic and frowned. "Isn't the Severus family around here? Let's go out and look... do you have an address, Penny?"

Yeah, Lily said it before. She remembers. Penny made a hurried reply, and they said goodbye to Ivans's parents and headed for Spider's End Lane.

From the small town to go to the spider tail lane, the more feel here remote and gloomy. Along the dry riverbed and the abandoned chimney, when they reached the address gate, they both found the door open. Eli and Penny exchanged glances, each with a sense of foreboding.

People who had been in the hospital were no longer able to see things in a light-hearted manner. Eli knocked on the door twice symbolically, didn't get a response, and immediately broke in to find Lily and Severus Snape inside.

There were no lights on in the house, and everything was dark and hazy, making everything seem cold and dull. Severus Snape huddled in a corner with his legs crossed, his head buried deep in his knees, making his clothes look bigger than they fit, his whole being thinner.

Lily was on his knees, hugging him tightly, patting him on the back, his eyes closed, his cheek pressed against his dirty hair.

"It's okay, Seaver. It's going to be okay." She murmured, her voice as soft as a lullaby. "You're too tired. Have a good rest. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself..."

"And whose fault is that?" Severus Snape asked in a low voice. His voice was dry and hoarse, with a quiet desperation that made it almost impossible to recognize his voice, and Eli stood stunned at the door and did not move forward.

"Oh, god -- or Merlin -- is responsible for death," Lily replied gently, sliding down his back, "Seever, your mother has been ill for a long time, and at this time... ... To go away and not have to go through any more pain, maybe it would make her feel better, and as for your father, he went out to borrow money to buy your mother some medicine, and he died because he got caught up in a gang war, didn't he ? He may not be a good husband, a good father, but he is not A ... A very bad man who died with a box of pills in his arms. He must have... ... must have wanted this family to continue together."

"He's a hopeless fool," Severus Snape said, his voice rising uncontrollably, "That kind of medicine won't help my mother's illness at all! If he doesn't drink and cares about my mother more, he'll fight less with my mother when he's drunk, and confirm my mother's symptoms before he goes out to buy the medicine... !"

He raised his head sharply, his face twisted with rage, showing the utmost hatred and sharpness.

"My mother and I could have had a better life! It's all because of this stupid Muggle!"

"He tried hard at the end, Seaver," Lily said sadly, holding him even tighter, "I know you're angry right now -- and I know you have every reason to hate him so much -- but Seever, don't let anger and hate get in your head. Your mother wouldn't want this for you, and maybe your father wouldn't either... ... they're gone, but you have to go on with your life, don't you ? You're a teenager, and you have a long, good life ahead of you. Don't live in anger and resentment. Look forward, look up, and the future will be bright."

Severus Snape gradually calmed down in her low soothing voice. There was a long silence, and he raised his arm hesitantly, and touched Lily's back carefully and slowly, as if to make sure she was real.

Under the palm of the touch is clear and true, such warmth, as if within reach. Severus Snape put his head on her shoulder and silently folded his arms around her.

"You're All I have, Lily," he murmured softly.

"You'll have lots of people," Lily said gently. "Go on, Seever, you'll have a new life, a bright future, lots of fun, lots of friends."

"But they're not you," Severus Snape said quietly.

Eli and Penny exchanged glances and silently exited the house. They stood in front of Severus Snape's house, both silent for a moment.

"Don't you think Severus Snape is a little too attached to Lily, Eli?" Penny asked suddenly, looking through the door at the two men inside.

Eli looked back at her. "Really? ... you don't think that's appropriate?"

"No," Penny said, shaking his head in surprise. "I hope he gets the chance, too."

"... What?" Eli found herself struggling to understand.

"People change. There's an opportunity in life, even for the worst of us," Penny said, turning to look at her.

"A little kindness can change everything." She gazed at him deeply and smiled. "I've already seized my chance, so I wish him good luck too."