HP Dual Masters and I had a blast in Hogwarts.

Chapter 316: Agreeing to be someone's teaching assistant after graduation

The morning light, like torn gold leaf, leaked in through the high windows of the potions classroom, but it couldn't dispel the burnt smell that lingered in the air.

When Fred and George's cauldron exploded for the third time, Severus's black robes loomed over them like a dark cloud, and the inky flames that shot from the tip of his wand almost scorched the twins' eyebrows.

“Gryffindor—deduct another ten points!” His voice seemed to come from the depths of a frozen cellar. “Perhaps you’d be better suited to performing a fireworks show in Hogsmeade?”

George stared at the potion residue that was gradually turning grayish-green, and secretly used his wand to carve protest graffiti on the table.

Fred magically produced a mint, and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he was blasted to the corner by Severus's spell.

“It seems Mr. Weasley’s palate needs more training than his brain,” Severus sneered, the silver snakeskin on his cuffs twisting with the movement. “After class, you will use your own concocted failures to clean the toilets in the entire underground classroom.”

When the bell finally rang, the twins' parchment was covered with dense notes of deductions, looking like a spider web soaked through by a downpour.

Fred slumped in his chair and lamented, "I swear, Professor Snape deducts points faster than a shorthand spell!"

George suddenly nudged me and gestured toward the podium—Severus was tidying up the crucibles, his movements slower than usual, his fingers, wet with the medicine, trembling slightly.

Suddenly, Mingyue leaped down from the windowsill and gently placed her claws on the back of my hand.

Following its gaze, I saw Severus's right hand, hidden in his robe, with several fresh burns gleaming with an eerie purple light.

He seemed to sense my gaze, and whirled around, his dark eyes churning with emotions like a boiling potion, which instantly transformed into a cold mask: "Ayers, stay and tidy up the experimental equipment. As for certain people—" He glanced at the twins, "don't forget your cleaning duties, Mr. Weasleys."

Fred and George left dejectedly, dragging their brooms along. As they passed the doorway, George suddenly turned back and winked at me.

The last student's footsteps disappeared behind the spiral staircase, and the classroom fell into a deathly silence.

I practically rushed forward and grabbed his burned arm.

Caught off guard, Severus dropped the glass bottle in his hand with a clatter onto the stone table, the dark green liquid inside shaking violently.

"Let go!" His voice was filled with anger, and the muscles beneath his black robe tensed instantly.

But when I raised my wand, and the pale golden light of the healing spell shone on his purplish wound, the struggling force suddenly froze.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" I stared at the gruesome burns, noticing the scaly patterns at the edges of the wounds, characteristic of the corrosive effects of the potion. "These are clearly burns from a mixture of poisonous tentacles and wolfsbane. If we delay any longer..."

"Enough with the chit-chat." He turned his face away, his black hair falling down to cover half of his pale face. "It's just a minor injury, I can heal myself..." Before he could finish speaking, the healing spell at the tip of his wand suddenly emitted an even brighter light, and the horrific wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He let out a muffled groan, like a snake being choked.

"You promised me you'd take better care of yourself, and this is how you take care of yourself. I'm really impressed." I sighed helplessly, treated his wound, and then withdrew my hand.

"Shut up." Severus's dark eyes were like a poisoned abyss, staring intently at me, his wand unconsciously rubbing against his palm, making a soft rustling sound.

The candlelight flickered in his eyes, deepening the shadows in his eye sockets, but it couldn't hide the suspicious blush rising on the tips of his ears.

I glanced at the suspicious blush on the tip of his ear, secretly amused, but feigned seriousness on the surface: "Severus, you're always so stubborn." He snorted coldly, turned his face away, and deftly twirled his wand between his fingers, but never retracted it.

After a moment of silence, I broke the silence: "Tell me what's wrong? Why did you ask me to stay?" He paused, a hint of unease flashing in his dark eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he was hesitating about how to speak.

“Ayers, what are your plans after graduation?” he suddenly asked, his voice cold but carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension. “Hogwarts Potions needs a teaching assistant, and I… I think you might be suitable.” His gaze was fixed on me, as if waiting for an important answer, or perhaps afraid of hearing a rejection.

I was slightly taken aback, then a smile appeared on my lips: "Severus, do you want me to stay?" I deliberately leaned closer, "As long as you say you want me to stay, I will definitely stay."

His ears turned even redder, and he gripped his wand tightly, but did not refute.

The candlelight flickered, casting his shadow on the wall, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

“It’s just…” he said in a low voice, “I just think you have some talent, so don’t waste it.”

I smiled and shook my head, a warm feeling welling up inside me: "Okay, I promise. But..." I reached out and gently took his hand, "Please be careful next time, okay?"

He stiffened, and after a moment, he gave a soft "hmm," his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. In the candlelight, a trace of color finally returned to his pale face, and that blush gradually spread to his cheeks.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she lingered with Severus for a while before reluctantly turning away.

When I arrived at the hall, Fred and George saw me immediately and waved for me to sit down.

The candles floating on the dome of the auditorium suddenly swayed, as if startled by the twins' enthusiasm.

I had just sat down on the bench when George pushed the pumpkin juice in front of me, and Fred had already hooked his arm around my shoulder, his nose almost touching my face: "Tell me, what's that old bat Snape up to that keeps you all to yourself?"

"Don't talk about your potions professor like that. He's the dean of my academy." I took the cup and sipped the still-steaming pumpkin juice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Severus walking past at the end of the long table of professors' seats in the distance. His black robes were fluttering, and even the black hair at the back of his head seemed to exude vigilance.

"Severus...Professor Snape invited me to be a Potions teaching assistant after I graduate." Before he could finish speaking, the surrounding area erupted in a commotion.

"What?!" Fred's loud voice startled the owl on the windowsill. George sprayed the jam-covered bread he was eating directly onto the tablecloth. The purple jam spread across the snow-white linen, looking just like Snape's gloomy face.

"Merlin's beard! You're actually going to be a lackey for that guy who always deducts points from our score?" George wiped his mouth, the tip of his wand unconsciously poking at the tablecloth, and ink immediately splattered out to form a snarling bat.

I laughed and pushed Fred's head away from mine: "You two will definitely go to your joke shop after graduation. I was originally planning to travel around after graduation, but since the dean invited me, I agreed."

"It's outrageous! We were planning to invite you, Ayers, to come and manage the store with us after you graduate, but that black bat beat us to it," George said helplessly.

Fred suddenly jumped onto the bench, spread his arms, and loudly announced, "The Weasleys Magic Tricks Workshop will be the greatest invention workshop in all of Britain! We'll fill up the lake at Hogwarts with Galleons!"

Upon hearing Fred's announcement, George jumped onto the bench, waved his wand, and suddenly a string of rubber snakes floated into the air above the Great Hall, startling the Ravenclaw girl sitting next to him who screamed and ran away with her head in her hands.

As Professor McGonagall's roar came from the teachers' table, I saw Snape's gaze sweep over me through the swarm of rubber snakes flying everywhere. A hint of helplessness flashed in his dark eyes, but he quickly looked away when his eyes met mine.

“Just you wait, Ayers.” Fred suddenly leaned down, his warm breath brushing against my ear. “When our Trick Room opens, our first prank target will be Professor Snape!” In the blink of an eye, I clearly saw a light in his eyes that was hotter than the flame of a wand.

“Have you two considered that I’m still eating?” I looked up at Fred and George, who were standing on stools.

Upon hearing this, George exaggeratedly clutched his chest: "My dear Ayers, is the flame of your love for us less important than the cold fried egg on your plate?" Before he finished speaking, he lightly tapped his wand, and the sausage on my plate suddenly began to wriggle, swimming towards Fred like a shiny little snake.

Fred swiftly grabbed the "sausage snake," took a big bite, and mumbled, "See? Even the food supports our grand plan!"

He suddenly raised the remaining half of the sausage into the air, green sparks bursting from the tip of his wand, and the sausage instantly expanded into a three-meter-long ribbon, which cascaded down across the entire Gryffindor table.

A deafening roar of laughter erupted in the Great Hall. Ron at the next table had a ribbon wrapped around his neck. As Hermione frantically tried to free him, her wand accidentally knocked over a jar of jam, and the sticky blueberry jam spread across the floor in the shape of a giant smiley face.

Professor McGonagall's chair bounced wildly through the air. She grabbed her hat to steady herself, but her amber eyes couldn't hide her amusement: "Weasley brothers! If you dare use magic to disrupt the meal again—"

“Professor McGonagall! This is a new kind of table manners instruction!” Fred jumped off his stool, casually tying the ribbon into a bow tie. “Look, now everyone can dance while they eat!”

He suddenly pulled the ribbon, and several lower-grade students spun around in their seats as the ribbon was pulled, creating cheerful ripples in the pumpkin juice in their glasses.

As I watched the chaotic and lively scene, I suddenly caught sight of Severus standing in the shadows of the teachers' table, his black robe crumpled under his grip, his nose almost poking into the soup bowl in front of him.

When his gaze swept over me, I clearly saw the suspicious blush on the tips of his ears that had returned this morning.

Wow, I never expected to see such an interesting scene.

"Weasley! George!" Professor McGonagall's roar made the crystal chandelier rattle.

"Stop this ridiculous farce immediately!" With a fierce wave of her wand, the ribbons instantly turned into wriggling earthworms, pattering onto the long table.

Fred and George exchanged a glance, grinned, and raised their hands, letting the professor pull them by the ears and lead them to the exit.

"Tomorrow's detention: you'll be polishing the troll soap in every washroom!" Professor McGonagall's voice faded into the distance, and the Great Hall finally returned to silence.

I scooped up a spoonful of the still-sloshing pumpkin porridge, my gaze inadvertently sweeping over the teachers' table—Severus's soup bowl was empty, with only a few drops of dark red jam remaining, which on the snow-white tablecloth looked just like his newly blushed ear tips.

I no longer attended afternoon classes with Fred and George, so I just listened to the lectures as usual.

I still didn't see Fred and George when we had dinner that evening. They were probably still being held by Professor McGonagall. I looked at the trio of Harry, Harry, and George and saw them packing some bread. It seemed they were going to give it to Fred and George.

I then finished my dinner without worry and strolled toward Severus's cellar.

The candlelight flickered on the bronze candlesticks. When I pushed open the door to Severus's office, the scent of potions mixed with the musty smell of parchment wafted towards me.

Severus's quill pen hovered above the assignment, ink dripping onto the edge of a Slytherin student's scribbled paper, spreading into a dark cloud.

"So you're not planning to go back to your dorm tonight?" He didn't even look up, his quill pen scratching across the paper as he wrote a glaring red comment next to 'a student's assignment/paper'.

I snapped the brass lock shut with a click, the metallic clanging sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

"Didn't I already tell you this morning that I would come to see you?" My fingertips traced across his cold desk, past stacks of homework and a glass jar containing bat spleens, finally stopping on the back of his well-defined hand.

Severus paused, and the ink splattered onto the paper, leaving a small dot.

The flames burning in the fireplace cast a golden glow on his pale face.

I gazed at the fan-shaped shadow cast by his lowered eyelashes beneath his eyes, and suddenly recalled the blush on the tips of his ears in the auditorium earlier that day. My heart pounded, and I braced myself against the side of his chair, gently lifting his chin with my other hand.

Severus's dark eyes widened suddenly, and I leaned in to silence the rebuke he was about to utter.

His body heat, tinged with the bitterness of the potion, wafted towards me, and I could taste the lingering minty flavor on his lips—probably used to suppress the drowsiness from staying up all night grading assignments.

The quill pen fell onto the parchment with a "plop," and his stiff body finally relaxed after a moment. His calloused fingers gripped the back of my neck, deepening the kiss.

When we finally parted, the emotions churning in his eyes had not yet completely subsided, but he first reached out to wipe the ink stain from the corner of my mouth—I don't know if it was from the quill pen he was using to grade my homework.

“Breaking into the professor’s office late at night,” he said in a hoarse, seductive voice, “how did you start acting so recklessly like a Gryffindor?”

I laughed and bit his fingertip: "So, how does Professor Snape plan to punish me?" Suddenly, a bright spark flew from a match in the fireplace, illuminating the blush that was spreading behind his ears again.

He abruptly pulled his hand back, but froze half an inch away from me.

The emotions surging in his dark eyes were deliberately suppressed, and frost returned to his face: "I should deduct ten points from your score—for your rudeness, but you are from my academy..." Before he could finish speaking, his wand was already pressed against my heart, but there was not even the slightest fluctuation of magic power.