[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Hogwarts.
...
...
Some time had passed since they had entered that painting, and then the space distorted in front of the snow-filled frame. In the next moment, Snape and Rosaria emerged.
The redhead merely took a step to steady herself with the change of scenery and turned her scarlet eyes to the human in front of her, looking at him with a certain daze.
"What was that..." she couldn't help but murmur.
"Forget it. I'd like you not to tell anyone about what you saw." Snape spoke, turning back to look at the painting as he checked his status, which had increased after the image of the snowy field from the painting. He had certainly raised his level considerably, and even more, the number of shadows he could command, with levels higher than ordinary soldiers and even matching Igris. Additionally, there was one even stronger.
'The shadows grow stronger as they fight... Maybe leaving Igris in charge of my shop is a mistake... I'll retrieve him this weekend.' Snape murmured internally as he pondered this.
He had faced great difficulty defeating the final boss of that dungeon. This boss was even stronger than Snape himself in terms of physical strength. Thanks to his magic and cooperation with some shadows, they fought and won in the end. Snape turned it into one of his shadows, and the Ice Elf was now there, joined with the other shadows at Snape's feet, ready to be commanded.
Rosaria had witnessed it all. For the woman, at the very least, it was disconcerting. Now she understood why she felt the aura of death in Snape like in no other. Snape had become something akin to a kind of necromancer, but unlike any other Dark Lord in this world's history.
'This man...' she thought. Her father had already taught her many things with his thousand years of life over an entire century about this world, and that made her learn a lot about dark magic. Necromancy was among those teachings, but what Snape displayed was far beyond anything she had ever heard of or seen.
She had observed him as they fought those ice men alongside the ice bears. Each time one fell, it rose as a shadow soldier, further increasing the strength of Snape's group. Even though they were surrounded and at an initial numerical disadvantage, as the fight continued, more and more shadows began to emerge. Those that fell returned after some time.
It didn't take long for the tide to turn. Quickly, the battle shifted in their favor as the enemies dwindled more and more and fell into a disadvantage while the growing number of shadows increased.
"Alright..." Those words escaped Rosaria's lips in response to Snape's request not to tell anyone, still staring at him. She knew Snape was special, but this was beyond her imagination.
"One hour in this world is equivalent to a day in the portal we entered. So, two days passed there. Here, only two hours have gone by. But we missed lunch, and even the classes must have started their first period by now. I don't know if you have a class." He said.
Rosaria widened her eyes. She had an appointment with the third-years in an hour.
"Damn..." she murmured. She obviously didn't want to lose her job, but she also didn't blame Snape. After all, she enjoyed the experience of fighting against creatures unlike anything she had ever seen in this world.
Moreover, Snape had protected and cared for her. In the cold, she had faced some hardships herself, precisely to help him. Snape knew this and helped her because he knew it was the system's fault and not hers that they ended up in that dungeon. He had given her a coat to endure the cold, and they fought together.
She ended up discovering more about him... For the first time, she could stay beside someone without feeling all that discomfort with others and the foul smell. It was refreshing to spend days with someone without feeling any problems.
But, as soon as she uttered those cursing words, suddenly, there was a distortion in the air, and Professor McGonagall appeared, looking at the two of them in horror.
"You... What are you doing here alone? You should be in class!" she spoke, displaying a stern look toward both of them, even though Rosaria was older than her.
Rosaria grabbed her scarf and placed it over her nose.
"Sorry about this, Professor McGonagall. I'm heading there right now," she murmured.
"I hope this does not happen again. Miss Valenstein, you know this is not appropriate for a Hogwarts teacher, and your class is waiting," she said in a serious tone.
"Yes, I'm going now. Goodbye, Snape," she said to the professor before offering a sweet smile to Snape, which did little to improve Professor McGonagall's impression of the two as Rosaria disappeared.
The professor then looked at Snape with a bewildered and judgmental expression.
"Mr. Snape, I am very pleased that you have returned to my class and participated in it. But still... What kind of behavior is this with a teacher!?" she said, obviously assuming something inappropriate.
There was a strange tension, both due to the professor's prior interest in him before he even arrived and now, upon seeing them together after disappearing for two hours. The house-elves had informed her as soon as they returned to the castle, so she was assuming quite improper things about a student and a teacher.
"We had a problem... Something neither of us expected, Professor McGonagall," Snape spoke, but calmly. He did not want to get into more trouble than he already had, as he now needed to be cautious with paintings that could suck him and others around him in. Just getting close seemed to be enough to activate them.
"Alright. Go to your class and tell them I am allowing you to enter," she said, and he merely nodded. Even so, she deducted 20 points from Slytherin.
The students were in the middle of Herbology class, and when Snape touched the door, a finger from the professor beckoned for his attention.
"Snape, you finally showed up! Where have you been?" she could not help but ask, while the students also turned to look at him, curious.
"I had some issues, professor, but they've been resolved. Professor McGonagall said I could join with your permission," he said, while the Herbology professor, who had nothing but praise for Snape, nodded and let him participate, pleased to see he had finally returned.
"Where were you?" Clarisse's voice came from beside him as soon as he sat at the table.
"A long story," he simply murmured.
"They were saying you were walking through the corridors with the History of Magic teacher... I thought you two weren't that familiar," she muttered, sounding jealous.
"I'll explain another time," Snape said, as he turned his attention back to the class.
The entire afternoon was dedicated to Herbology, as it was the only day of the week with that subject. So, it consisted of two consecutive classes.
On Friday, everything was normal for him. He spent the day making potions and left his shadow mages producing them as well in the Room of Requirement while investigating paintings throughout the castle. He found two that were portals, but he decided to leave that for Sunday, as Saturday would be a day to take care of some things outside the castle.
Then, on Saturday, he simply summoned his Black Phoenix before the two disappeared from the school, unnoticed.
Snape's next destination was the Black Manor. He appeared like a shadow amidst a distortion in front of the gate, while the house-elf, Kreacher, appeared shortly after, sensing the presence of a visitor.
"Master... Sna..." The house-elf swallowed hard at first, but became even more frightened upon sensing that Snape had grown even more powerful.
"Master Snape..." he murmured, lowering his head.
"I've come to visit Bellatrix. Is she here?" he spoke, after having stored the phoenix within his shadow.
"Yes, she is. I will inform her," Kreacher said immediately, already opening the gate and disappearing afterward.
Snape entered the manor, wearing a black cloak that bore no Slytherin colors. He was not at school, after all.
It didn't take long for someone to appear at the entrance of the mansion. It was Bellatrix, looking at him with a mix of anger and curiosity.
"Three weeks... And you didn't show up!" She simply threw the words at him.
"I had some problems, as I only returned to the school this week. But, if you don't mind, we can begin your training. After all, I gave my word," he spoke, while she huffed before crossing her arms.
"I won't say I'm happy about it, but fine. Come, let's return to the training grounds," she said. The truth was, she had waited for him every day, but Snape never appeared. Now, finally, he was there.
Upon entering the manor, he came across Orion Black, the father of Regulus and Sirius, who looked somewhat surprised, as only Bellatrix had been informed. Kreacher was afraid of disturbing Snape by spreading this information to the rest of the family and being seen as a gossip in the eyes of the Monarch of Shadows.
"Master Snape... What a surprise to see you," he said, clearly surprised to see the sixth-year student outside Hogwarts. However, as his children had suggested before, they knew Snape could leave the school every weekend. He was the only one who could do such a thing.
Snape merely nodded before Astraea appeared as well, looking surprised.
"Snape... It really is a surprise to see you," she murmured.
Snape greeted her with a nod and a few formal words before following Bellatrix to the training area. He hoped she had bought the equipment he had requested the last time he was there.
"Is something wrong, Mother? Father?" Orion murmured, seeing his mother visibly a little shaken as she watched Snape's back.
"He... has become more dangerous..." she murmured, swallowing hard, as she watched the young man walking away. She couldn't truly sense it, but after seeing those abyssal eyes when she tried to peer into Snape's mind, that feeling began to arise—still faint but certainly much stronger than what she used to feel from Snape himself—something even more threatening coming from what he was the first time he appeared before her. And, for a moment, she swore she had seen his shadow open blue eyes... Many of them... Watching her as if she were a threat.
But it was certainly not a pleasant feeling. She began to realize that Snape was becoming increasingly powerful, and the vision of England's destruction flashed once again in her mind.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 170 - Shadow creatures?
Chapter 175 - The Black family's marriage proposal
Chapter 185 - Rivalry.
Chapter 194 - Expecto Patronum.
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