Latest website: To be honest, Penny had disliked the Snape boy from the very beginning.
Not just because of his weird outfits, his mumbo jumbo, his unpleasant pranks, or the possibility of him snatching her sister away...
More importantly, he, like Lily, later James Potter, and everyone else in the magical world, had a sense of superiority.
This superiority wasn't always expressed directly through "arrogance" or "contempt," but sometimes through condescending "sympathy" or seemingly harmless "jokes."
Just like when she and Vernon met James for the first time, wizards always liked to show off their unique talents intentionally or unintentionally, and those without magical talent were like ridiculed disabled people, with no power to resist or express anger... Perhaps that's why Vernon Dursley resented magic so much.
As her sister and she each formed their own families, Penny once thought she would completely say goodbye to that strange magical world and live their own lives without interference.
However, shortly after Dudley's first birthday, her infant nephew appeared at their doorstep.
Along with him came the news of Lily and her husband's death, and a "magical murder" explanation in language that sounded like it came from a madman.
After some soul-searching, Penny chose to take in her nephew and resolved to erase everything strange about him as much as possible, and to stay as far away from the magical world as possible.
However, all her efforts seemed so laughable in the face of mad owl letters and a giant's visit—Hogwarts didn't even bother to send a proper professor to explain.
Just like James Potter's "harmless" pranks, those without magical talent couldn't refuse the wizards' demands, and even basic respect had to be begged for.
The arrogant magical world, the annoying wizards, the uncomfortable magic...
In fact, for a long time, Penny had steadfastly told herself this.
She hated everything about magic.
It wasn't that magic rejected her, but that she rejected magic.
Until...
She received an invitation from Hogwarts.
The addressee was her name, not Penny Dursley, but... Penny Evans.
"Dear Ms. Evans, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry cordially invites you—"
When she saw these words, Penny suddenly realized that she had never truly given up on that dream about magic.
And as Severus Snape appeared at the gates of Hogwarts, Penny was surprised to find that the conflicts and contradictions of childhood seemed to have faded away with time.
The two were like old friends reunited after a long absence, cautiously reminiscing about the past—Severus was no longer the pushy, arrogant boy he once was, and she was no longer the willful and sensitive thirteen-year-old girl. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Lily seemed to connect the two like an invisible bond, making them feel as if they had returned to the playground of decades ago.
Just like the name on the "invitation," as she stepped into this magical castle, she temporarily turned back into Penny Evans.
And although Snape didn't say it, she could hear some of the same complex emotions in his words.
In this world, perhaps they were the only two people left who truly remembered and missed Lily.
Meanwhile, as Penny unintentionally spoke about the past, many Gryffindor students and parents curiously gathered around.
Even Professor McGonagall and Filch, not far away, lowered their voices and subtly eavesdropped on the commotion.
Among the many professors at Hogwarts, Severus Snape was definitely the most mysterious and aloof.
Even his fellow professors didn't know much about his past, let alone anyone else—as the Potions professor specially recruited by Dumbledore, the youngest Potions professor and the youngest Head of House in the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this Slytherin Head of House was like an iceberg concealing countless secrets, filling people with curiosity and fear.
And now, this iceberg seemed to have cracked a small opening, allowing people to glimpse some of the unspeakable secrets.
"So, Aunt Penny, what kind of person is Professor Snape really? How did you two meet?"
"...Well, what kind of person is Severus? A clumsy, arrogant, annoying guy, I suppose."
Penny Dursley glanced at Harry, paused for a few seconds, and said with a smile.
"As for how we met..."
She looked up at the gold and red curtains next to her, as if seeing the gold and red that Lily had used to decorate their bedroom after returning from vacation, and a look of remembrance appeared in her eyes.
Come to think of it, Snape must have planned his pickup for a long time.
But because he offended her, she easily ruined his first attempt.
Now, looking back on those small, trivial things, there was no longer the anger of being offended, only wistful nostalgia.
Penny Evans glanced at the people around her who were listening intently, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, as she spoke softly in a storytelling tone.
"I remember Lily had just turned ten, and we were swinging at the playground next to our house, when a strangely dressed boy suddenly jumped out—"
…………
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room.
Snape frowned, his thin, pale face looking intimidatingly gloomy.
Compared to the annoying, clumsy students in class, he had finally discovered something even more annoying:
The noisy parents of some of those students—the Slytherin parents were undoubtedly the most difficult to deal with of all four houses.
The most important thing was that, as the Head of Slytherin House, he had to follow up on the parent-teacher conference all day long, and couldn't hide in his potions office.
"Mr. Greengrass, I'll reiterate one last time, I don't know where Dumbledore has gone—"
Snape took a light breath, suppressed the irritability in his heart, and said coldly.
For some reason, ever since a few minutes ago, he had felt an unusually bad sense of anxiety, as if someone was blowing up his office door again.
"As for some of the content of the parent-teacher conference, such as speculation about the future of the magical world... I suggest you write directly to the Ministry of Magic for these questions."
Without waiting for the pure-blood family "bigwigs" gathered around him to speak, Snape waved his hand, his voice full of impatience.
"I am merely a Potions professor and Head of House; I cannot influence the future direction of magical society."
"However, you clearly know more than we do..."
Unlike Snape's irritability, Mr. Greengrass was obviously much more composed.
"Of course, after today's parent-teacher conference, I will naturally pay a visit to Mr. Fudge, but now I have a few questions I hope you can help answer."
As a spokesman on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, he had the patience and time to slowly grind out an answer.
At the same time, this was what he had to do—the "prophecies" at today's parent-teacher conference were too dangerous. If they didn't get answers, many of them might have trouble sleeping tonight.
The magical world was declining, or rather, magical civilization was declining.
Even without attending the Hogwarts parent-teacher conference, many pure-blood wizarding families had already realized this terrible trend.
However, before this, no one had really pointed it out, and in the eyes of the ancient pure-blood camp, if the sky fell, the Ministry of Magic would hold it up first.
Unfortunately, this balance and guarantee completely collapsed with the explanations given by the Hogwarts professors at today's parent-teacher conference—the Ministry of Magic had made a choice, and they intended to launch unprecedented social competition in the magical world. This survival of the fittest would undoubtedly subvert the existing situation, and the descendants of pure-blood wizarding families might one day be "expelled" from magical society due to insufficient ability.
Although the professors didn't explicitly describe that last point, people like Mr. Greengrass quickly understood the implication.
Unlike the parents of other houses, the Slytherin parents knew too much about how magical society worked.
"Yes, I believe Hogwarts' 'new curriculum' can cultivate more excellent wizards."
Mr. Greengrass said softly, his eyes sweeping over his two daughters not far away, and after a half-second pause, he said quietly.
"Under high-intensity, high-density elite education, most of the wizards who graduate later will surpass those of previous years, thereby gaining an advantage in future job competition."
"However, this is like distributing bread. The strong newcomers get more and better bread, so what about the eliminated old folks? Some of them aren't even old. Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic's solutions seem to only consider the new generation, but not the people who are currently working—what I want to know is, the rest of the story..."
Compared to the bustling, crowded non-magical world, magical society could be described as sparsely populated.
And a sparse population meant serious job saturation and a seriously unbalanced market. Competition and *nei juan* (involution) had actually started a long time ago.
Even now, many wizards can only cultivate a piece of land themselves, like the humblest Muggles, and be self-sufficient—and still not have much meat to eat.
In the past half-century or so, half of the legendary "Sacred Twenty-Eight" pure-blood families had gradually withered, and most of the remaining ancient magical families were also struggling to survive.
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand your question—"
Snape frowned slightly and looked helplessly at the persistent governor.
"My job is only to teach students, not to change society. Perhaps these questions can only be answered by..."
"Oh, no, no, no, you can definitely answer them..."
Greengrass shook his finger, thought for a few seconds, and then continued thoughtfully.
"Hogwarts is undergoing teaching reforms, and the purpose of the teaching reforms is mainly to prepare students for entering society in the future—"
"If it was just optimization, there would be no need for such a large-scale, high-intensity teaching reform. This shows that the definition of 'useful talent' has changed."
"In other words, as a Hogwarts professor, you must know roughly what fields these 'new contents' will be used in the future—I'm not forcing you to tell me all the social changes hidden behind the scenes, but I hope you can give me some hints. The Hogwarts Board of Governors, pure-blood wizarding families, are clearly more trustworthy and cooperative than Muggles, right?"
Greengrass spread his hands, pointed to the parents around him, a smile appearing on his face, and said softly.
"For example, we can provide free sponsorship or help solve some small problems..."
"...Is that so?"
Professor Snape was silent for a few seconds, and his tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
"Well, I roughly understand what you mean. Actually, it's not a secret—anyway, it should be announced soon."
"There should be disruptive changes in the field of potions this year, from scattered sales of potions and materials to systematic, assembly-line, professional potion standards."
"The research on common potions in the previous phases is almost over, and the next step should be to build factories, promote market standardization, and produce and sell the products... And some Hogwarts students will naturally participate in this after graduation. After all, the foundation and logic of these potion industries are based on new potion concepts, and the original small workshop knowledge is clearly not enough."
After a slight pause, Professor Snape slowly glanced at the crowd around him and continued meaningfully.
"The domestication and commodification of potions will inevitably impact the interests of major magical hospitals."
"On the other hand, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts also seem to have many gaps in terms of exclusive potion formulas, labor, and materials. So..."
"...Industrialized potions? Well, that is indeed a good direction."
Greengrass nodded thoughtfully, and a smile finally appeared on his previously solemn expression.
"Thank you, Professor Snape—regarding these matters, we..." he pointed to the surroundings, "we will discuss it as soon as possible to see what we can help with."
The distribution of interests between pure-blood families is a rather troublesome and complex matter, and Greengrass naturally couldn't discuss it directly in front of everyone.
Even if Severus Snape didn't explain it, Greengrass could realize the huge profits behind it.
Undoubtedly, after the parent-teacher conference, they would have to stay up all night to discuss it properly.
As Greengrass thought, his eyes subconsciously looked at Lucius Malfoy standing at the edge of the crowd, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.
Even with a big cake, the amount that each family can get is different, and some latecomers are clearly not comparable to their old families.
However, Lucius Malfoy didn't notice Mr. Greengrass's gaze at this time.
In fact, with Severus's hint, his mind was instantly occupied by another matter...
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