Transmigration: Into the Life of Severus Snape-Chapter 79 - 75: The People Who Stay

The Ilvermorny sixth-year common room had never felt this quiet—not stifled, not solemn, just a profound sense of steadiness hung in the air. It was the kind of silence that thrived not from absence, but from the comforting weight of presence. Each steady breath and heartbeat seemed to echo softly around the room.

Severus Shafiq sat curled in a well-worn corner armchair by the hearth, his legs crossed in a relaxed manner, his head tilted at just the right angle to appear casual. The flickering firelight danced across the buckle of his wand holster, casting shifting shadows on the plush rug beneath him. But in that moment, his eyes—usually so sharp and alert, forever scanning, calculating, observing—remained still and unfocused. He was finally at rest, if only for a little while.

The others around him filled the cozy space with a reassuring air of quiet companionship, each absorbed in their own small world yet connected through the shared warmth of friendship.

Evie, ever the clever one, had brought along her usual stash of smuggled sweets—a delicious assortment of lemon dust pops that sparkled with enchantment and a thermos of spelled cocoa that magically refilled itself whenever a joke was whispered nearby.

"I still say this one tastes like remorse," Alessandro muttered, as he cautiously licked a vibrant green swirl that hissed softly against his tongue. "You know, like every mistake I made back in fourth year," he added, a wry smile crossing his lips as nostalgia danced in his eyes.

Kiera, seated nearby, rolled her eyes at him playfully, but there was a softness in her expression as she carefully passed Severus a wrapped chocolate. "You don't have to speak, you know," she said gently, the warmth of her hand resting on his sleeve a small gesture of encouragement. "Just sit with us. That's enough."

Aurora, relaxed as ever, leaned back against the edge of the plush sofa, weaving thin cords of rune-thread expertly between her fingers with a practiced grace. "He never speaks unless there's something at stake," she observed, casting a knowing glance toward Severus, her tone playful yet insightful.

"That's the idea," Ben remarked with an air of sarcasm. "He's already managed to carve out a black-market empire. Let him enjoy a night off."

Jonas, observing the scene unfold with his trademark half-smile, interjected calmly, "This trial won't define you. Your work has already done that."

Severus glanced down at the chocolate resting in his palm, the rich aroma wafting up to tease his senses. With a slight hesitation, he unwrapped the treat, the crinkling of the foil breaking the comfortable silence, and took a deliberate bite.

Tonight wasn't about strategy. There were no defenses to construct, no clever counterplays to devise. Instead, it was a time to unwind—a simple gathering filled with laughter, an impromptu game of enchanted cards that twisted and turned in mischievous shapes, and a fond reminiscing about the time one of them got detention in their first year for attempting to hex a troll doll.

And there, in the middle of it all, Severus—Severus smiled.

The night was clear, with the stars gleaming sharply against the backdrop of Ilvermorny's ancient stone towers. Severus meandered along the outer path beside the glasshouse gardens, yearning for silence—or perhaps the comforting embrace of solitude, though he wasn't entirely certain.

As he approached, he spotted her already there. Selena stood leaning against the ornate iron banister, her silhouette illuminated by the soft glow of moonlight, hands delicately folded before her. It seemed as though she had been waiting for him, lost in thought or perhaps contemplating whether to depart.

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer to join her.

"I thought you were avoiding everyone," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, breaking the stillness of the night.

"I was," he replied, his tone measured. "Until you became part of 'everyone.'"

She regarded him with an expression that melded amusement with an inscrutable depth, her eyes scanning his face as if searching for some hidden truth.

"You're not afraid, are you?" she inquired after a thoughtful pause, curiosity lacing her words.

Severus didn't respond right away; instead, he turned his gaze toward the frost-kissed lawn, the shimmering blades glinting like scattered diamonds under the moon's watchful eye.

"Not of the verdict," he said at last, his voice low and contemplative. "Of who's still watching us."

She nodded slowly, absorbing the weight of his words.

"I can't imagine how it feels," she admitted, her eyes reflecting a mixture of awe and concern. "To build something that powerful and then have everyone clawing for a piece of it."

"You don't have to," he replied, his tone surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to the tension that hung between them.

Silence enveloped them once more, thick and heavy, until she shifted slightly closer, as if seeking warmth.

"I just want you to know," she said, tentatively reaching out to touch his hand, "you're not alone in this."

He remained still, the moment stretching between them.

Her fingers felt cold against his—too cold, like the chill of a winter's evening.

And for an instant, just a blink of an eye, when he had brought up the earlier discussion about the lab breach, she had hesitated. A flicker of uncertainty crossed her face before she abruptly redirected the conversation, posing a question about Vienna's marble vaults. Her voice was calm, almost too calm, masking the turmoil beneath.

Too calm. The air was thick with unspoken words and tentative emotions. But Severus remained silent, a heavy weight pressing down on his heart. Trust, he reminded himself, is not a given; it is a choice to be made, one that requires courage and a leap into the unknown. Tonight, however, he found himself at a crossroads, hesitant and uncertain, unsure if he could take that leap just yet.

At sunrise, Professors Langford and Harland stood in the dimly lit observatory study, their silhouettes sharp against the warm glow filtering through the large windows. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as Severus entered, his boots barely making a sound on the polished wooden floor.

Langford, standing with her arms crossed behind her back, offered a small, solemn nod. "Whatever happens," she began, her voice steady but laced with gravity, "your name belongs to history now." freēnovelkiss.com

"And it will not be erased by politics," Harland added, his expression resolute.

The three of them exchanged no pleasantries; there was only the shared weight of conviction hanging in the air.

"You'll have Ilvermorny's full support," Langford stated, her gaze unwavering. "And mine."

Severus inclined his head in acknowledgment, his demeanor calm yet alert.

Langford hesitated for just a moment, her brow furrowing slightly as she gathered her thoughts. "I reviewed the logs," she continued, her tone shifting to something more thoughtful. "From the night your lab was breached. There's one entry that still doesn't make sense. A brief magical disturbance—contained, but anomalous. I've isolated it, but I need more time to understand its implications."

"Keep it quiet for now, Professor" Severus replied, his voice flat, devoid of any inflection that might reveal the gravity of what was at stake. "Let me know if anything changes."

In the dim light of his dormitory, Severus sat on his bed, the weight of the pocket watch heavy in his hand. Each rhythmic tick resonated through the silence, echoing once every two seconds, a steady pulse that felt both reassuring and oppressive.

Clean. Uncorrupted. Each tick confirmed the absence of distortion or compulsion, free from any foreign spell lingering on those nearby. It was meant to bring him comfort. Instead, it tightened the noose of anxiety around his chest.

With a sharp breath, he turned to his notebook, the nib of his quill biting into the parchment with each desperate stroke. If it wasn't coercion... it was a choice. The distinction gnawed at him as he set the quill down, the movement rigid and precise.

He crossed the room with a purpose, reaching for a drawer that was a secret only he knew existed. With a soft click, it opened to reveal a rune-locked ledger—a hidden collection of his most perilous formulations. Gently, he pulled it free, the leather cover worn but familiar beneath his fingers.

There it was, the damning evidence he sought. A single, haunting entry stared back at him. VD/SN – Batch Seven – Sample B. The time was stamped incorrectly by a mere four minutes, but that discrepancy loomed larger than it seemed.

As his eyes scanned the details, anxiety crept in. Magical residue: disrupted. Cloaking ward traces. This was no simple oversight; it suggested something far beyond school-grade stealth.

"I didn't check this vial... that day," he whispered to the stillness of the room, the admission hanging in the air like a shadow.

The watch ticked softly, reverberating in the silence. Once. Twice.

A Dormitory Window, Just Before Midnight

Selena's POV

The room was enveloped in a profound stillness, the curtains drawn so tightly that not a single beam of starlight dared to touch the floorboards. The fire in the common room had long since faded to ashes, leaving only the chill of the evening air. Upstairs, the only notable sound was the steady ticking of an enchanted clock—a faint reminder of time that someone had carelessly neglected to silence.

Selena sat cross-legged on her bed, nestled in the shadows, her spine perfectly straight as if she were trying to channel the energy around her. A soft blanket, meticulously folded, lay over her knees, providing a small measure of comfort amid the darkness. Her wand rested beside her, untouched and unyielding, as if waiting in silence for instructions.

She hadn't lit a lamp; there was simply no need for artificial light in this moment.

The gentle glow emanated from her hand—a soft, ethereal luminescence that filled the small space around her. A mark was etched into her palm, faint yet unmistakable, curving delicately like the lingering memory of a spell cast long ago. The color was a vivid red, reminiscent of a recent wound, still raw and sensitive to the touch, pulsing softly with echoes of magical energy.

She rubbed the mark with her thumb, not in an attempt to soothe it, but to reconnect with the sensation, to feel it once more beneath her skin. The burn had been clean and purposeful, a quiet force meant for defense, stirring within her an empowered resolve.

Severus's wards never screamed when they struck; they only doled out punishment with a chilling efficiency. She hadn't expected them to recognize her presence. Or perhaps, deep down, she had always known they wouldn't. Maybe that was the entire point of it all.

Her fingers instinctively drifted lower, seeking the familiar texture of a folded cloth pouch tucked away within the lining of her sleeve. It wasn't there now, of course, but her hand moved to that spot anyway, driven by habit, by the ghosts of memories past. She let her hand fall back to her lap, feeling a mix of longing and loss.

Taking a deliberate breath—long and steady—she whispered into the stillness, her voice almost too soft to pierce the quiet air, too faint even for her own ears: "Some things must break... before they're worth anything." Her tone bore no trace of guilt or innocence, neither shading of hope nor weary resignation. It was simply a statement, devoid of embellishment, just quiet.

In the enveloping darkness, her expression revealed nothing, a mask that remained unbroken even from her own scrutiny. With a slow surrender, she lay back against the surface beneath her, drawing the blanket up over her shoulder like a protective cocoon. She closed her eyes, allowing herself the gift of oblivion, and slipped into a deep sleep, untouched by dreams.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Get early access to up to 15+ advanced Chapters by joining my Patre on!

Stay ahead of the story, enjoy exclusive perks, and support my writing while helping this content grow!

Please visit :-

Patre on .com (slash) Maggie329