Chapter 155 "Hard Times"

"Welcome to the Knights Bus, an emergency passenger transport for a witch or wizard in need. Just wave out your wand and get on the bus, and we'll take you wherever you want. My name is Gibbs Shunpike, your conductor." On the Knights bus, a middle-aged conductor greeted Sherlock and Snape on the bus.

"What's your name?" Shunpike asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked at them.

The wound on Snape's face was already healed by this time, and he carried a variety of potions on his body. As long as he's still breathing, he wouldn't be dead.

"John Watson." Sherlock didn't forget to glance at Snape when he introduced himself and asked him to create a pseudonym.

Snape noticed Sherlock's gaze and said a name with a cold gloom on his face. "Tobias Prince."

"Alright, John and Tobias, where are you two going?" Shunpike didn't notice the movement between Sherlock and Snape; he just felt that their relationship was a little strange.

"Cokeworth." Sherlock said.

Shunpike recalled the place for a moment.

"The ticket is 16 sickles per person, and the total is 1 Galleon and sickles for two people. Of course, if you need two cups of hot cocoa, you can pay an extra six sickles, or if you want a hot water bottle and a toothbrush, it will cost an additional four sickles."

Snape remained cold and did not speak, while Sherlock asked for a cup of hot cocoa. His body was tired and needed to add some heat. When it was time to pay, Sherlock and Snape both stared, and neither of them took out their wallets.

The two looked at each other for a long time, and finally, Sherlock took out his purse, counted two Galleons and two sickles, and muttered, "Well, I owe you. Let's just say this is for the medical expenses."

When they entered the bus, they saw the driver in the driver's seat, an elderly wizard. There were no seats in the car, but behind the curtained windows, there were six beds with brass columns; Sherlock was exhausted and wanted to find a bed to lie down on.

However, after the bus starts, it turns out that Sherlock's desire to rest is unattainable. A huge bang sounded, and before Sherlock could reach the bed, his whole figure flew. Fortunately, there was a soft pillow behind him so that he did not suffer any physical damage.

They were driving in the wheat field at this time, but they were not taking on the road in the field; they passed directly through the field. The wheat growing in the field seemed to be fine, and as the bus came toward them, they just moved to the side, making way for the bus.

Shunpike brought over Sherlock's hot cocoa. The bus was still driving at a high speed. He sat beside the bed and did not dare drink it directly. The bus's movement was more like that of a rabbit. It jumped for a certain distance. Every time it jumped, the surrounding scenery changed.

Snape's mood seemed a little complicated. He was lying on the bed next to Sherlock and staring out the window in a daze. Sherlock dared to take a sip of hot cocoa when the bus stopped for a moment and chatted with the conductor.

"Where are we going next?"

Shunpike was reading a newspaper. "We're sending him to Wales, which is now the roughest area. I hope you didn't make any trouble there."

Sherlock saw the front page headline of the Daily Prophet he was holding in his hand.

'Four Aurors Dead. A Fierce battle in Denbighshire.'

"It's getting messier lately." The wizard on the other bed interjected.

Shunpike's face looked pale. "Even the Daily Prophet has begun to change its tone. When things like this happen in Wales, their editors will criticize those people. But look at what they're doing now. They have to word it more carefully because of things.

The wizard sighed, "It's not that the Ministry of Magic can't hold it anymore, and Dumbledore has been trapped in Hogwarts again. They feel that the wizarding world may be about to change."

"Dumbledore is still doing his things. The Order of the Phoenix wouldn't die in these times."

"When is this day going to end? I wanted my son to pick up my shift in the future, but now it seems that it is not safe to be a conductor." Shunpike said sadly, "Last time we took that person's men, I was so terrified he nearly brought his bus into the sea that day."

Listening to them chatting, Sherlock drank the hot cocoa silently, and it could be heard that the current situation in the wizarding world is unstable.

Trelawney has not made the prophecy. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are in full swing in the world. Even mainstream newspapers such as the Daily Prophet have to change their tone. 

He and Snape came back at an unfortunate time. Not only did they have to figure out how to get back, but they also had to be vigilant at all times to ensure their safety.

It was getting dark outside. Sherlock got used to the turbulence while lying on the bed. He slept with his eyes closed for about two or three hours before he was woken up.

"Both of your destinations are here."

Getting a hot towel to wipe his face, Sherlock and a pale Snape got out of the bus. This is a dark city. The most conspicuous thing is that you can see several large chimneys anywhere in the city. Even at night, smoke is constantly seen.

The city is located on the edge of a river, and there are many wrappers of fish and potato chips littered near it. In a typical industrial city, the living environment is extremely bad. If you live here, it is estimated that you will feel depressed every day.

Snape seemed to have motion sickness. His physical condition did not look good, but his mental was refreshed.

"Let's go find you at this time first."

"What do you want to do?" Snape asked

"Even if you want to see her, you can't use the way you look right now, right? An old man in his thirties, hugging and crying to a little girl who is not yet grown up, would scare people to death."

"Let's go to the present you, pull out a few hairs from him, restore your youth through Polyjuice, and go meet your dream lover so that it won't be awkward."

Snape pursed his lips and had no objection to Sherlock's plan. He led the way, and the two came to Snape's hometown, a dilapidated Muggle alley called Spinner's End. The alley was lined with dilapidated brick houses, and the windows on the houses looked lifeless in the night.

The river is right next to the Spinner's End. The stench from the river is not strong because the alley itself is already bad enough. Snape led Sherlock to the last two-story house at the end of the alley.

"You or I?" Sherlock asked.

Snape stood outside the door, looking reluctant to see the house, "You do it."

Sherlock looked at him and raised his eyebrows, "You don't want to see your parents again?"

"Shut it. Just do your thing. I'm living in the leftmost room on the second floor right now." Snape's voice was low.

Sherlock had long been taken aback by his attitude. He shrugged and aimed at the leftmost window on the second floor and stretched out one of his hands. Snape's room was within ten meters from Sherlock, and he could clearly see the young Snape inside.

At this time, Snape was only seventeen years old, and his hair was not long. Not only was he not old, but he was quite good-looking. But Sherlock wasn't in the mood to admire Snape's face.

He turned a book on Snape's desk into a pair of small scissors. He controlled the scissors, quietly cut a few strands of hair from young Snape's head, controlled the strands of hair through the gap in the window, and floated into his hands.

The whole process didn't take three minutes. Snape just watched Sherlock stretch out a hand, and hair flew out from the room on the second floor. But he wasn't in the mood to care what kind of weird magic Sherlock was using. He was so excited that his heart was about to jump out of his body.

Sherlock handed him the hair and watched as he put it into the potion.

"Are we going to find Lily now or wait until the next morning?"

Snape couldn't anymore, "Right now."

Sherlock looked at him and shook his head. The arrogant and ruthless Snape was no different from a normal person when facing the person he liked. Knowing him at Hogwarts for a year, Sherlock has been thinking in his heart whether his heart is made of stone, and now it seems that it is only because the person who deserves it is dead.

Lily's home is near Spinner's End Alley. After walking out of the alley, he came to a yard and there was a single-family two-story building. This was the Evans house. Snape looked at the house in front of him in a daze, but when he really came to Lily's house, he began to hesitate.