Snape was feeling unsettled, like something was about to happen.
It could be a good thing, or it could be bad. A slight irritation chafed at him, and he paced slowly within the confines of his office.
He also found himself reviewing recent events—like Quirrell.
The man's intentions were clearly impure. Dumbledore had consulted him on the matter, but even without the Headmaster's heads-up, Snape could tell something was dreadfully wrong with Quirrell.
Dumbledore would have to be an utter fool to hire a professor for Hogwarts who stammered, trembled, and who any sensible person could see was clearly lacking both brain and backbone.
Yet Quirrell was here. Surely Dumbledore wasn't an incurably idiotic simpleton?
Just as Snape was preparing to brew a calming potion before bed, a knock sounded at his door.
Thump-thump-thump.
Who would be coming to see him now?
Snape frowned slightly, walked to the door, and opened it just a crack, wide enough for one person.
"Harrie?" A note of surprise and something close to relief entered Snape's voice. But standing right behind Harrie was that meddlesome boy.
"Did you not understand something in class?"
Snape looked into Harrie's eyes, his tone softer than usual as he questioned her.
"It's about something very important, Professor Snape!"
A pleading look was in Harrie's eyes. This prompted Snape to open the door fully and step aside. "Come in, both of you. You may ask me whatever you like."
"See, Lynn? I told you Professor Snape would agree."
Harrie's voice was bright with happiness as she skipped into Snape's office. Lynn closed the door behind them. They settled into the armchairs that Snape waved into position.
"The thing is, Professor Snape," Harrie began, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "I've always wanted to know what my mum and dad were really like. Hagrid gave me a photo, but I still feel like I don't know anything about them."
"Weren't you good friends with my mother, Professor? I was hoping I could ask you to let me see some of them."
"Lynn has this little gadget that can project memories, like this—"
Harrie flicked the switch on her 'Fantasy Lamp,' and the wall in front of them immediately showed the first-person view of her catching the Golden Snitch during the Quidditch match.
"You just have to think about a memory, and it projects it right out. It doesn't even matter if you don't remember it clearly."
Snape stared at the peculiar device in Harrie's hand and fell silent for a moment.
While he'd never seen anything quite like this—a device that seemed to mimic the function of a Pensieve—it didn't overly surprise him. The Wizarding World held too many secrets, and there were countless magical artifacts and alchemical tools with strange powers. He didn't know where Lynn had gotten it, but he didn't care.
Seeing that Snape hadn't responded, Harrie waited a moment, then asked quietly, "Is it... not possible?"
That small voice snapped Snape out of his contemplation. He paused slightly, then nodded. "It is possible."
"Oh, wonderful! You're the best, Professor Snape!"
Looking at Harrie's jubilant face, it was nearly impossible for Snape, no matter how cold his heart, to say the word "No."
He silently reached out and took the small device, which was clearly very easy to use and required no complex instruction.
Snape looked a little tense, perhaps considering where in his memories would be the best place to begin the visualization.
A moment later, a crisp scene projected onto the blank wall. The first thing they saw were two red-haired girls. The taller one had lighter hair, and the younger one had deep red hair. It was a rare, sunny day, and as a gentle breeze swept by, the younger girl's dark red hair caught the sun, shining a brilliant, burnished gold.
"Just like Aunt Petunia said..." Harrie murmured aloud. "Mum's hair was a lovely golden red in the sun. It's beautiful."
In that instant, Snape's long-standing claim—that he knew Lily before they came to Hogwarts—was proven true.
But Harrie quickly frowned, looking at Snape with a hint of displeasure. She said, "Professor Snape, that wasn't right!"
After watching the memory of Snape's first meeting with her mother and aunt, Harrie seemed unhappy. "You shouldn't have teased Aunt Petunia, even if she couldn't do magic or become a witch. You shouldn't have talked to her that way, and you certainly shouldn't have made a branch fall down. And you really shouldn't have peeked at Aunt Petunia's letter. That was bad."
"I..." Snape was momentarily speechless, but in the end, he admitted his error. "Yes. I did make many mistakes in the past. Perhaps I am not as good as you thought I was. I did many wrong things when I was young."
Snape didn't want to lie to Harrie. Though he knew sharing these things might give her a bad impression of him, he went ahead and did it anyway.
"But everyone makes mistakes. I've done things that made my aunt very unhappy, too." Harrie lowered her head slightly, speaking to herself and perhaps trying to comfort Snape at the same time.
This familiar understanding and gentle empathy caused Snape to pause, his sense of guilt deepening slightly.
"My first meeting with your father was on the train."
Snape was silent for a moment, and the projected scene changed again.
The time had shifted to September 1st, the start of the school year. The Hogwarts Express steam train was packed with young wizards and witches.
Snape searched the train cars for a certain figure, finally stopping in front of a compartment with three people in it.
Lily was sitting by the window. She glanced at Snape as he entered, then quickly turned away. She had been crying because, on the platform, Petunia had discovered her letter was peeked at, and they had fought.
"I don't want to talk to you," Lily choked out.
"Why not?"
"Petunia hates—hates me, because we read the letter Dumbledore sent her."
"So what?" Snape's response was terrible.
Lily glared at him in disgust. "She's my sister!"
"She's just a—" Snape cut himself off, thankfully, as Lily was too busy wiping her tears to hear what he was about to say.
"But we're off!" Even though the first-person perspective didn't show Snape's face, his joy was obvious. "That's right! We're off to Hogwarts!"
This perked Lily up a bit. Her craving for magic overcame some of her darker feelings for the moment.
Lily nodded, wiping away her tears, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
"You'd better be in Slytherin," Snape said, his gaze fixed on Lily, hoping for her agreement.
But just then, another voice cut in, speaking with a touch of mockery: "Slytherin?"