A handsome boy with black hair and black eyes sat quietly in the cramped, run-down room, his youthful face carrying a seriousness far beyond his age.
He sat upright at the worn wooden table, seemingly oblivious to the foul smell drifting in from the filthy drainage ditch outside the window.
The buzzing flies that occasionally wandered into the room failed to distract him in the slightest.
His entire focus remained on the sheet of parchment before him.
Every so often, he dipped his quill into ink and calmly added another line.
[Explore the wizarding world] √ [Recall future events] √ [Find work in Diagon Alley and make use of your Herbology talent] √ [Brew healing potions] (In Progress: 25 bottles of Blood-Replenishing Potion completed) [Reduce family conflict and prevent domestic violence] (In Progress) [Accumulate wealth] (Current savings: 2 Galleons, 13 Sickles) There was no doubt about it.
The boy was a genuine transmigrator.
Three months ago, when he opened his eyes, everything around him had completely changed.
He had acquired a new identity.
Severus Snape.
The realization had stunned him at first, but he quickly sensed that he had entered a world where magic truly existed.
After spending several days making cautious inquiries without drawing suspicion, he finally confirmed the truth.
His mother was Eileen Prince, a genuine witch.
More than a decade earlier, she had married the Muggle Tobias Snape.
Unfortunately, their marriage had never been a happy one.
Tobias possessed a violent temper that became even worse after drinking.
Combined with their poverty and the growing distance between a Muggle husband and a witch wife, their household had gradually turned into a battlefield.
When Severus had first arrived, arguments were an almost daily occurrence.
The tiny house always felt suffocating, as though a single spark could ignite another explosive quarrel.
If history continued as he remembered, Tobias would eventually become physically abusive toward Eileen after drinking, and Severus himself would grow up in a miserable home.
That bleak childhood would shape the man who later became one of the most complicated figures in wizarding history.
Fortunately…
Those future tragedies had already begun to change.
Using careful observation, subtle guidance, and countless small conversations, Severus had slowly influenced both of his parents over the past three months.
The relationship between Tobias and Eileen was still far from affectionate.
However, Tobias drank much less than before.
Occasionally, he would even exchange a few quiet words with his wife during meals instead of allowing silence and resentment to fill the room.
The atmosphere inside the house was no longer as volatile as it once had been.
That alone was already a tremendous improvement.
At Severus’s repeated requests, Eileen had also managed to find him a part-time job at Fennel’s Herb Shop in Diagon Alley.
The job paid little, but it gave him something far more valuable.
Knowledge.
Over the past three months, Severus had eagerly absorbed every piece of common knowledge about the British wizarding world while comparing it with the fragmented memories he retained from his previous life.
At the same time, he quietly saved every Knut he earned to prepare for the future.
Eventually, he reached a conclusion.
He had arrived during the era before the events of Harry Potter, and had become one of the story’s most important characters.
Severus Snape.
The generation before Harry Potter.
James Potter.
Sirius Black.
Remus Lupin.
Lily Evans.
Severus Snape.
Regulus Black.
They would all become central figures in the coming years.
According to what Severus could remember, the current year was 1969.
The calm before the storm.
Next year, Lord Voldemort would finally emerge from the shadows after years of quietly building his influence.
He would gather followers who would become known as the Death Eaters, plunging Britain into one of the darkest periods in modern wizarding history.
For more than a decade, fear would spread across magical Britain.
Countless witches, wizards, and Muggles would lose their lives.
Frank and Alice Longbottom would eventually be driven permanently insane by Bellatrix Lestrange’s torture.
Regulus Black would sacrifice his life after discovering Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
Only the combined resistance of the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic would prevent the country from completely collapsing, though neither side would enjoy true peace.
Everything would continue until Professor Sybill Trelawney delivered a prophecy concerning the child destined to oppose Voldemort.
Years later, Voldemort would attack the Potter family.
James and Lily Potter would die protecting their infant son.
Instead of killing Harry Potter, Voldemort’s Killing Curse would rebound, destroying his body while his soul survived only because of the Horcruxes he had created.
Then, more than a decade later, he would return to face Harry once again.
That was about as much as Severus could remember.
In his previous life, he had only watched a few of the Harry Potter films and picked up scattered details from short videos online.
His memories were incomplete.
Even so…
He felt no regret.
Whether he remembered the future perfectly or not, he believed he could survive this dangerous era through careful planning and the advantages granted by his unique system.
— Name: Severus Snape Age: 9 Skills: Potions Lv.2 Herbology Lv.3 Talents: [Dark Instinct] — Gold Dark Magic learning speed ×2, Dark Magic innovation speed ×2 [Master Inventor] — Red Potions learning speed ×3, Herbology learning speed ×3, Research and innovation speed ×3 — After months of experimentation, Severus had gained a basic understanding of the system accompanying him.
The first feature involved skills.
Whenever a skill reached milestones such as Lv.5, Lv.10, Lv.15, or Lv.20, he could choose one of two enhancement traits, permanently strengthening that skill.
Naturally, leveling became increasingly difficult.
Each new level demanded more effort than the last, and higher levels often required more work than all previous levels combined.
The second feature involved talents.
Talents were ranked according to rarity.
White.
Blue.
Purple.
Gold.
Red.
Unlike skills, talents possessed extraordinary passive effects that dramatically increased a person’s natural abilities.
The two talents Severus currently possessed were already exceptional.
Without them, it would have been impossible for a nine-year-old child to achieve his current level of proficiency in Potions and Herbology.
Eric Horn had never been Severus Snape.
But from the fragments of knowledge he remembered, he knew exactly how tragic the original Severus’s life had been.
Now that fate had given him this identity…
He intended to live differently.
He would not repeat the mistakes of the original Severus.
Nor would he entrust his future to a child who had not even been born yet.
Compared with the Dark Lord who would soon terrorize Britain, he was insignificant.
But just as in his previous life, no matter how difficult the road ahead became, there was not the slightest trace of panic in the depths of the black-haired boy’s eyes.
He calmly inspected the bottles, jars, dried herbs, and potion ingredients arranged across the battered wooden table.
After confirming that every ingredient, his cauldron, and the rest of his brewing equipment had been properly stored, Severus descended the creaking staircase.
Dust drifted down with every step, yet his expression never changed.
“Good morning, Severus.” “Good morning, Mum.” He greeted the gentle woman with a faint smile before turning toward the man sitting opposite him.
“You too, Dad.” “…Morning.” Tobias responded after a brief pause.
The simple exchange somehow eased the lingering tension within the room, allowing everyone to quietly continue eating their modest breakfast.
Some people committed domestic violence because cruelty was part of their nature.
Others simply lacked the ability to control their anger and despair.
Fortunately, Tobias belonged to the latter.
Otherwise, Severus would have been forced to solve the problem by far harsher means.
After breakfast, Tobias prepared to leave for the Muggle factory where he worked.
Eileen would head to Diagon Alley using the Floo Network to help at the sweet shop where she was employed.
As always, Severus helped wash the dishes before tidying the small kitchen.
When everything was finished, Eileen gently adjusted the oversized clothes hanging loosely from her son’s thin frame.
“Thank you, Severus.” “You’ve done so much for this family…
for your father and me.” Severus smiled softly.
“I’m grateful to you too, Mum.” He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead.
Watching her step into the fireplace, he saw her throw down a handful of Floo Powder before green flames erupted around her.
A moment later, she disappeared.
Severus waited until the emerald fire settled before stepping into the still-warm hearth himself.
As fresh green flames engulfed him, his calm, youthful voice echoed through the small house.
“Diagon Alley.”