The Fifth House: Galegold

What happened on the Flying Field spread among the students and teachers in less than half an hour. Many said that Soisen shouldn't have intervened in the matter between the two Houses, while others praised him for his perspicacity and understanding of the situation.

The professors were delighted to see that not all first-year children were impulsive and that there was someone responsible, but not as rigid as Miss Granger.

The culprit of the news was currently in the library consulting books related to potions, as in an hour they had their first lesson with Snape and if he was going to follow the original plot, he would ask more advanced potion questions to those who were drawing attention, which originally would have been only Harry, but Soisen suspected it could extend to him due to the commotion of establishing a new House.

There was not just one new "celebrity" this year.

Oh, that reminded him that he had to go through the common room to see the Occamy hatched from the egg and pick up a letter addressed to the potions professor before the lesson, a letter that he carried the day it appeared in his mothers' house in the middle of a Floo powder flare.

Which was strange, since until then his mothers were unaware that the fireplace in their home was connected to the Floo Network. Perhaps the previous owner was a wizard and forgot about it, or he didn't know either.

They had to close it later for security reasons.

... Later, in the dungeons...

Everyone looked around the Potions classroom to feel chills at the sinister potion ingredients on the shelves around them, some of which were still moving.

Snape burst into the classroom and after his speech about bottling glory and avoiding death, he asked Harry three questions, which he had no idea why he was asking those things when they were having their first class at that moment.

What the hell was a bezoar?

After finishing ridiculing Potter and ignoring Hermione, Snape turned to look at Soisen, although unlike with Harry, his gaze showed a slight interest rather than resentment and anger.

"Tell me, Mr. Galegold. What is the most common use of water from the river Lethe?"

"It is used for preparing the Forgetfulness Potion, Professor," Soisen was glad to be on guard.

"What could we use powdered fairy wings for?"

"For potions like the Invigorating Potion or the Beautification Potion."

"What potion could you brew if one of the components had to be bat spleen?"

"The Enlargement Solution."

Snape nodded, without giving any praise, and turned to Harry.

"You see, Potter? There's a reason you're asked to buy a book: it's called reading," Snape turned and looked at the rest of the class, "Why aren't you taking notes of everything?" he asked them with an annoyed look, "Five points for Galegold," he muttered amidst the sound of quills against parchment.

Soisen doubted whether Snape's attitude towards him and the points given was because he was genuinely pleased with the answers he gave and helping to humiliate Potter, or because he saved Lily's son's life on the Flying Field.

But if he wants advice on the Vision Potion, he prefers this attitude to that of a cold-eyed scorpion.

After finishing the class, almost everyone ran out of the classroom hoping not to spend a single second more than necessary in the sinister place. Everyone, except Soisen, who approached Snape.

"Excuse me, professor, this is for you," he took an ancient-looking letter from his student robe and handed it to him.

Snape gave it a cursory glance, and his pupils contracted. Snatching the letter with such a quick movement that Soisen couldn't react, he brought it closer to his face and examined it better in the candlelight.

For Severus Snape, from Lily Evans.

He would be able to recognize Lily's handwriting anywhere and anytime, what he didn't understand was why this child had such an old letter and it seemed so ancient.

"Where did you get these from?" Snape paid full attention at that moment.

"It was with me when my mothers adopted me," Soisen replied honestly, "As for who left it, I can only guess it was that Lily."

"When were you adopted?"

"It should be October 31, 1981."

Snape fell silent, that was the same date as Lily's death and when Voldemort fell due to his own curse.

The darkest day of his life, when he couldn't protect her and Dumbledore didn't fulfill his promise.

"If you have no further questions, professor, I'll be going. Oh, and if you deem it appropriate, I would also like to know the contents of the letter later. After all, I've had it for eleven years and it's normal to be curious about it."

Soisen left, and Snape stared at the letter with misty eyes, letting himself be carried away by memories for a few minutes.

"Lily..."

And to think that everything went wrong that day, because of a moment of anger caused by damned James Potter.

Snape took a deep breath and carefully opened the letter envelope, intending to keep it for himself later as a memento. He took out the letter and unfolded it, revealing a blank parchment.

He focused his attention on a rune at the top and completed it according to the methods that only Lily and he knew, a little secret before their rift to exchange secret letters as a game.

"Hello, Severus. I know you must have many questions..."