บท 88: Chapter 88: A Man Out of Place in Diagon Alley (Edited)
After Tom said goodbye to the Grossmans, he saw someone unexpected in Diagon Alley: Severus Snape.
Snape was a man who could hardly be imagined in Diagon Alley. Because of his temperament, people always thought he would be in a place like Knockturn Alley, not a sunny place like Diagon Alley.
But when he showed up, only then did people think, "Oh yeah, he's the head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts and Potions master."
But it's true, Snape rarely goes to Diagon Alley, and the reason is simple: most of the potions materials sold there are so common that Snape would have to go to Knockturn Alley to find the ones he needs, and he's not always able to find them. There are many rare potion ingredients that are not so easy to come by, such as African snake tree bark, which is the main ingredient in a potion.
There was only one reason for his presence here today: to get money.
Snape could solve most of his problems through the black market and his acquaintances, selling potions and buying raw materials, but to get his money he had to go to Diagon Alley, because Gringotts was the only wizarding bank in the UK, and there was no other, and Gringotts currently had no Internet presence.
Still, Snape's breath caught at the sight of Tom's familiar face: he didn't want to deal with those little wizards outside of school, but to his misfortune, Tom had approached him.
"Hello, professor" Tom greeted.
"Hello" Snape greeted.
"Professor, what brings you to Diagon Alley today?" Tom asked.
"None of your business." Professor Snape was growing impatient, "Everyone has their job, Yodel, if I were you I'd subscribe to a few research journals and keep up with the latest magical developments."
Tom's interest was piqued, "Research journals?".
At Tom's approach and his questions, Snape bristled, but still replied, "There are research magazines in the magical world, wizards publish their findings in them from time to time, recently Magic, Reviews, Advanced are talking about Damocles' Matalobos Potion. Yodel, even if you know anything about cutting edge research in magic, you'll know about this breaking news."
Tom: "..."
Professor, I'm only a young wizard in my first year! Isn't it too much to ask that I read these cutting-edge articles?
But from Snape's words, Tom could see that the wizarding world was not static, they had their own academic journals, just like Muggles, where the best wizards in the world published their work. But most likely, Tom thought, those journals were not monthly, but perhaps semi-annual or annual.
As for the werewolf potion, it was a magical potion that kept werewolves sane during the full moon, but could not cure them. The werewolf community is discriminated against because, as harmless as they are, they become unhinged werewolves at full moon.
Once bitten by a werewolf, they transform, without exception.
No wonder the magical community discriminates against werewolves, no one wants to be the next victim of the curse. Consequently, werewolves had difficulty finding work and live in poverty; Lupin, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, was in dire straits, not to mention other werewolves. Dumbledore, as tolerant as he was, had to wait until Snape could brew a Matalobos potion before hiring Lupin as a teacher.
Poverty and desperation for the future made it easy for werewolves to stray. These misguided werewolves further tarnish the reputation of the werewolf community, thus creating a cycle of discrimination, crime, more werewolves discriminated against....
Werewolves are to the magical world what blacks are to the Ansar, except that the magical world is not as politically correct, and the Ministry of Magic only employs a few werewolves tokenistically, as a sign of fairness.
The Matalobos Potion has the potential to alleviate the current awkward situation of werewolves.
Of course, the rift between the two groups will take time to heal. At least a year after the brewing of the Matalobos Potion, Lupin was still the subject of complaints when his identity was revealed and he left.
"Professor, if possible, do you need any help? I'm always free on Sundays..."
Snape gave Tom a dismissive look, "Matalobos Potions are extremely difficult to make, and I'm the only one at Hogwarts who can do them. But it has some steps that are mechanically repetitive, but you have to do them by hand, so you can try. But if you don't meet the requirements, you will disappear before my eyes."
This was an unspoken agreement.
So Tom followed Snape back to The Spinner, Snape's home.
The surroundings of The Spinner were rough. There was a small river nearby, but unlike the fishable river by Hermione's house, this river was floating with patches of garbage and a stench emanated from the piles of trash on the banks.
A huge smokestack loomed over the abandoned mill, and in its shadow a skeleton fox scavenged for scraps of food among the garbage.
There was a sudden pop in the air and Snape, waxen-furred, dragged Tom to the edge of the riverbank, sending the fox hurtling into the undergrowth.
Snape led Tom around an old fence, down a deserted path between rows of crumbling brick houses, and gradually they made their way into the maze of desolate buildings, until they reached Snape's house.
Snape opened the door and let Tom into the house. Tom walked through a tiny living room, lined with bookshelves facing all the walls, and in addition to the bookshelves there was a battered old couch, old armchairs, and a shaky table. The only source of light was candlelight from the ceiling.
It was hard to imagine that this was the home of Snape, the Potions Master. Snape was paid almost the highest salary at Hogwarts, earning a lot of extra money, and yet he lived in such a modest place.
To be honest, the living conditions, compared to James' at Godric's Hollow....
Without further ado, it's all tears! Anyone willing to fall in love with a house in The Spinner must be crazy.
Snape didn't seem to care what Tom thought, he flipped something over and a shelf opened, revealing a workshop.
"It's not much, but it's enough to do some prep work." Snape stepped inside and lit the candles inside.
The interior was much more spacious than the living room, and a bit more organized: a large table in the center of the room, with some potion-making equipment on it, and bottles and flasks on shelves all around.
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