Severus looked around his surroundings in a daze.
This was an office filled with British medieval-style decor, with its overall aesthetic leaning toward the dark and minimalist. Even the woolen carpet on the floor was a plain gray.
On the bookshelves lining the walls were densely packed volumes of all kinds, most of them in English, with a few in language Severus was certain he had never encountered before.
However, whether it was English or those unknown languages, he could read them all effortlessly, as if they were his mother tongue.
[Magical Draughts and Potions], [Advanced Potion-Making], [Potent Potions], [The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection], [The Theory of Magical Defense], [Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses]...
The assortment of books on magic, the surroundings steeped in Victorian-era British decor, and the flood of unfamiliar memories surging through his mind… all of it told Severus one thing:
He had transmigrated!
Just ten minutes ago, he had been a newly appointed teacher on his way to report for duty at a new school. But while crossing a bridge, he got caught up in a chain-reaction accident, as someone on an electric bike crashed into a pedestrian, causing a series of people to fall into the river, while he himself had slipped and tumbled into the water!
When he opened his eyes again, he had become this British man named 'Severus Snape'.
'Wait!'
'Snape?'
The surname flashed through his mind once more, and Severus's body stiffened!
He quickly combed through the memories pouring out from this body's mind.
Complex, profound, yet instinctive magical knowledge ingrained into muscle memory. A bleak and unfortunate childhood. The girl with beautiful emerald-green eyes who had once illuminated his life...
The Marauders, who had humiliated him by hanging him upside down with the spell he invented. The word 'Mudblood', which had haunted him with regret for the rest of his life. His fervent devotion to the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named...
Betrayal. Pleading. News of her death. Defection. Becoming the Potions Master at Hogwarts, the Head of Slytherin House...
At this moment, though he had never read the original books, Severus, who had watched all the eight movies, finally realized who he had transmigrated into!
The ultimate loser in the Harry Potter series. The greasy-haired man. The bat-like dungeon bat. The textbook example of a childhood sweetheart losing to fate. The one who styled himself the 'Half-Blood Prince' during his edgy teenage years… Severus Snape!
Severus stood frozen for a full ten seconds before rushing to the full-length mirror at the far end of the office.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror, pale-faced, with dark, hollow eyes and shoulder-length hair as sleek and greasy as strips of seaweed, he finally confirmed it once more.
'Yes, it really is that Snape!'
'But if I've become Snape… then where is the real Snape?'
The question rose unbidden in Severus's mind.
Then, as if hallucinating, his vision shifted, and he saw a translucent, shrunken version of himself inside his own body, looking just as stunned and bewildered as he is!
"Who are you?!"
Ghost Snape also noticed Severus' gaze at this time. He quickly suppressed his inner uneasiness and shock, and looked back with those cold, empty, dead-fish eyes. (T/N: I'll use Snape for the Original Snape, and Severus for the Protagonist.)
Severus didn't answer his question. Instead, he slumped into the chair behind the desk.
Once he saw that soul, all the answers are actually right in front of him.
He had transmigrated, becoming the living Severus Snape, while the original Snape had died for some unknown reason and turned into a ghost.
And he is still in the body that originally belonged to him!
"No matter who you are, or what kind of magic you used to steal my body, I must warn you, this is Hogwarts. You won't be able to fully replace me. Albus Dumbledore is always present in this castle. He'll see through your flaws and drag you out in an instant! He might already be on his way here!"
Ghost Snape's expression was as cold as frozen frost.
The moment he realized what had happened, he had tried to escape from this body, which is now occupied by an intruder.
However, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free. His own body had become a prison, locking him inside.
No one could see him, no one could communicate with him, except for the living Severus now in control.
So, after realizing his predicament, his first suspicion fell on the thief who had seized his body!
Throughout the history of magic, this is an unheard-of method!
Knowing he was at the mercy of this usurper, Ghost Snape could only invoke Dumbledore's name, hoping to intimidate the shameless thief.
"Come on, it would be best if he could finish me off now, maybe I can go back..."
But Severus paid no attention to Ghost Snape's threats. Right now, he felt utterly hopeless, slouched in the chair with no desire to live. He is convinced that even with this transmigration, his life was already over.
'No matter how bad the start is for other transmigrators, at least they are all orphans with no ties. No matter how bad their hand was, they still had a chance to play it.'
'But what about transmigrating as Severus Snape?'
'Not only was my hand terrible… the order of play, the way I had to exit the game, had already been decided for me!'
As one of the perpetrators responsible for the deaths of this world's savior, Harry Potter's parents, there was simply no way for him to redeem himself.
If he really wanted to atone, the only path was the same as the original ending: dying for Harry's sake.
As for fully embracing the dark side, becoming Voldemort's loyal servant, helping him kill Harry Potter and conquer the wizarding world?
Don't be ridiculous!
Right now, he was at Hogwarts, under the watchful gaze of the greatest Headmaster in the Hogwarts's history, Albus Dumbledore.
Want to go to the dark side?
Perfect. Then all his past and present sins could be settled at once.
His greasy hair would be plucked bald. His bat-like robes torn to shreds. And his ashes, will be scattered to the wind!
Meanwhile, after hearing what Severus said and the way he behaved at that moment, Ghost Snape also sensed that things might not be as he initially thought.
'This thief didn't seem to have intentionally stolen my body… in fact, he appeared downright reluctant about the whole situation.'
This made Ghost Snape, who was already feeling panicky because of turning into a ghost, take a deep breath of nonexistent air and try his best to make his voice sound less instinctively sharp and sarcastic.
"Have you... obtained all of my memories?"
"Memories? You mean your eternal loser backstory? I don't even need to see those… everyone on Earth knows it."
Severus, who was in a bad mood, couldn't be bothered to mince words and said weakly with curled lips.
Ghost Snape clenched his fists. Though he no longer had a physical form, he could still feel his temple throbbing violently.
Suppressing his fury, he spoke in the most solemn, dead-serious tone he could muster.
"Whether you stole my body willingly or not… since you have those memories, you know what you must do now, and in the future!"
"Listen carefully, just follow the plan that Dumbledore and I agreed upon. That man will return sooner or later!"
"Until then, you must stay away from Harry Potter… No, even after he enters Hogwarts, you must target him and make his life miserable! But behind the scenes, you must protect him..."
Ghost Snape launched into a lengthy explanation. Meanwhile, Severus, who had been lounging in his chair, already contemplating how to coast through the rest of his life, slowly straightened, his expression turning grave.
"You're right!"
He suddenly stood up from his chair, startling Ghost Snape. He never expected that Severus would agree so readily.
'But since this thief was so willing to cooperate… that could only be a good thing.'
As a former magical genius and now an accomplished Potions Master, Ghost Snape had already accepted that he might never regain his body… that he would exist only as a ghost from now on.
Which meant this impostor would have to carry out the plan he had made with Dumbledore!
"This benefits you as well. After all, you are now carrying my title and status. Wherever you go, you'll command respect. This is something most wizards could only dream of attaining!"
Originally, these words were meant to be an inducement to Severus, but when he reached the last sentence, Ghost Snape couldn't stop his old habit and his voice dripped with that trademark sarcasm.
"I'm going to see Dumbledore now!"
Severus pulled out his wand, and the muscle memory from this new body guided him to wave the small wooden stick lightly, and then the black robes on the nearby coat rack flew over, draping themselves over his shoulders.
His words made Ghost Snape nod involuntarily.
"Yes, we should let Dumbledore know about this first. He might even have a way to reverse our current predicament. If not… he can at least guide you on how to proceed in my stead."
Severus, who was already fully dressed, buttoned his robes and gave Ghost Snape a look.
"Who said anything about telling Dumbledore the truth?"
Ghost Snape's face froze.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Of course, I want to ask him to approve the application. We should go to Harry Potter's aunt's house now. While he's still suffering under those Muggles and there are still two years before he is admitted to Hogwarts, I should quickly bring him out to nurture our teacher-student relationship and clear the gap as soon as possible."
Severus said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"..."
Ghost Snape felt his nonexistent lungs were about to explode. He gasped for air violently, and inside Severus' body, he almost squeezed out this cold question from between his tightly clenched teeth.
"Did you just listen to a word I just said?!"
"Huh? You were talking?"