Vernon's new car slowly drove into the parking garage at No. 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. The familiar house, familiar garden, familiar everything.
Petunia is not used to living in other places. Although the villa Dudley gave them is large and has a lot of servants who don't have to do anything every day, Petunia is not used to living in this place where she has lived for more than ten or twenty years. The most comfortable stay.
Penny is a very nostalgic person.
They moved back here after Lily wrote to Dudley when she was about five months old.
Today, little Lily will be one year old in a few weeks.
Dudley and the others also came here to celebrate little Lily's birthday.
Of course, the Grangers are also here as expected.
Well, it's a family gathering after all.
After parking the car in the garage, Vernon greeted Mr. and Mrs. Granger warmly, and then secretly opened two bottles of beer while holding hands with Mr. Granger.
"Seriously, brother Wendell, I think you should move to Privet Drive. The environment here is much better than the streets of London. At least no one dares to defecate anywhere."
Yes, it is open defecation. As we all know, European toilets charge a fee, and many people are unwilling to pay this fee, so...
This is not just the case in England, but in the whole of Europe, and compared to Germany, England is slightly better.
Mr. Granger took a long sip and did not reply directly to Vernon. Instead, he asked: "I heard that the house next door to your house is for sale?"
As soon as Mr. Granger mentioned this, Vernon seemed to have started talking, and said slightly depressed: "Yes, you don't know. The Little John family next door suddenly moved away two days ago. I heard that they found for a better job”
"It's weird, this is the seventh house in this neighborhood this month."
"I hope the new neighbors will be easy to get along with."
Vernon suddenly thought of something when he said this, and turned to look at Mr. Granger: "Brother Wendell, are you planning to..."
"Yes, that's what we're thinking about."
"Maybe we will be neighbors in the future."
Mr. Granger said with a smile, confirming Vernon's suspicion.
Is there anything happier than being neighbors with old friends?
Vernon laughed, drank the beer in his hand, and let out a long burp of satisfaction.
"Comfortable!"
Hermione looked at the Grangers with surprise: "Mom, Dad, are we going to move here in the future?"
Mrs. Granger teased: "Yes, Hermione. Don't you like it? Didn't you often complain that it was too far from Dudley's house?"
Hermione blushed upon hearing this.
On the other side, Petunia put little Lily to sleep, walked out of the room, and greeted Snape, who looked out of place with the surrounding environment.
"Long time no see, Severus."
"Long time no see, Penny."
Snape greeted stiffly, his expression a little unnatural. Even though he had a knack for trolling people, he was actually not very good at dealing with people.
Even meeting a former childhood neighbor is the same.
After saying hello, the two fell into silence.
"You've changed a lot." Finally, it was Penny who took the initiative to break the silence.
This is often the case. Childhood playmates who have not been in contact for many years are completely different when they meet again.
Maybe you haven't changed and he has changed. Maybe you have changed and he hasn't changed. Maybe you both have changed.
The situation of getting along with each other as before is almost non-existent.
Snape has indeed changed a lot. He has grown bigger and older, and his hair has become oily. Well, it has become much, much oilier.
"You too." Snape took a long time to squeeze out a few words.
Then the two fell into silence again.
No one else bothered them, and even Vernon chose to chat with the Grangers, leaving the two of them enough time to be alone.
"I still remember the past."
It was still Penny who took the initiative to talk about the past.
When they were young, in order to prevent Snape from getting too close to Lily, Petunia would follow him like a thief. Lily would always find a way to avoid her sister in order to avoid her. Although they did not live a wealthy life during their childhood, , but very happy.
Although Snape said nothing, his expression was obviously lost in memories.
"It would be great if I could get into Hogwarts back then."
Penny sighed.
"."
Although Snape said nothing, he still agreed with Petunia's words.
If Petunia was here and Lily had her sister by her side, maybe she wouldn't have said those words back then. Even if she had, there might be a chance to redeem herself.
"Wow wow."
The loud cry of a baby interrupted their memories.
"Ah, it's Lily"
Petunia quickly said apologetically to Snape: "Sorry, Severus, please wait for me here."
After saying that, Penny hurried into the room.
Snape froze in place, what did he hear?
Lily?
At this time, he only had one thought in his mind, to go to the room and have a look.
Snape rushed into the room with a swagger.
Then he froze in place as if struck by lightning.
Penny was holding a little baby in her arms, patting her back and coaxing her to stop crying.
"Severus, she looks a lot like Lily when she was little, right?"
Petunia coaxed little Lily and smiled when she saw Snape coming in.
The moment Snape saw the baby, his eyes seemed to be attracted by a magnet, and he could no longer move an inch.
Like, not only like, but exactly like Lily.
The baby's eyes, expression, and facial features are exactly what Lily looked like when she was a child.
Lily's face has long been deeply engraved in Snape's heart. No matter whether it is a few years, ten years or decades, he will never forget it, let alone admit his mistake.
This. This. How is this possible? !
Lily died, he saw it with his own eyes, and she died in his arms.
Snape's body instinctively rushed to Petunia.
Unconsciously, I wanted to reach out and hug Little Lily. As soon as my hand reached out and touched Little Lily, it suddenly retracted as if it had touched a red-hot iron.
'How can I match'
'I killed him'
'I am a murderer and I deserve to die'
However, a magical scene happened. Little Lily, who was originally crying, stopped crying after seeing Snape. Instead, she opened her big green eyes and looked at him curiously, and finally turned to Snape. He stretched out his arms for a hug and giggled.
It was as if Snape was her relative.
If it were a fantasy world, Snape would have shouted, "This child is destined for me".
The laughter seemed to have a magical charm, hitting Snape's heart directly.
'I want to give her the best in the world! '
'I want to compensate her for everything I've lost! '
"I want to be her godfather!"
Snape's expression was more serious than ever, his tone was more sincere than ever, and his movements were more forceful than ever.
(End of chapter)
