It was rumored that the most valuable place in all of Hogwarts, at least to Severus Snape, was his Potions storeroom.
Nobody was permitted entry there, and Snape had cast numerous spells over the small room to prevent any students from sneaking in.
Once, someone had managed to break in at night and steal some potions. At the time, William had been preoccupied with Cedric and the others, helping relocate Fluffy.
Upon his return from Azkaban, Professor Snape had reinforced the room's security charms, though it had once again been targeted by an intruder today.
William knew this because, on his first day trapped in the time loop, he had glimpsed the memory in Dumbledore's Pensieve, where Snape had mentioned fighting with "someone" resembling himself.
It seemed Snape had caught someone trying to enter his storeroom, leading to a confrontation.
The wooden door was shut, with scorch marks from flames visible on its surface. William approached cautiously, but no defensive magic activated.
The intruder must have broken through the defenses, but Snape hadn't had time to reset the enchantments before being taken away by the Ministry.
William glanced around. The corridor was empty. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The room was dim, filled with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with hundreds of glass jars containing preserved, slimy samples of plants and magical creatures, all suspended in potions of various colors. In the corner stood a cabinet brimming with rare ingredients.
"Incendio."
William flicked his wand, lighting the kerosine lamp on the table.
The room held mostly standard potion ingredients and magical creature specimens—a veritable treasure trove for brewing potions, but lacking the rare treasures he'd hoped to find.
He was mildly disappointed.
His attention was quickly drawn to a set of keys lying on the desk.
"Office keys?" William mused, picking them up.
Under the keys lay a crumpled note scrawled in untidy handwriting: "For safekeeping with Professor Dumbledore."
If these were particularly important keys, it made sense that Snape wouldn't take them to Azkaban.
William searched the room and soon discovered an old chest in the corner.
The chest bore a large lock, and upon closer inspection, he found that one of the keys fit its keyhole perfectly.
Unlocking someone else's chest wasn't exactly honorable, but being stuck in a time loop, he reasoned, meant nobody would ever find out.
His curiosity quickly won out over his conscience.
Besides, if the chest were cursed, it hardly mattered—he'd simply reset tomorrow, injuries and all. But the pain… whatever.
William approached the chest, which bore seven locks, and inserted the first key, opening it to find a pile of robes.
After closing the chest, he used the second key to unlock the second lock, revealing an assortment of Potions textbooks, some parchment, and a few quills.
He continued with the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys, opening the chest each time to find it contained something different with each lock.
Finally, he inserted the seventh key, opened the chest, and his eyes widened in surprise.
At the very bottom was a hidden compartment that revealed a small, room-like space, about three meters deep, with a ladder descending into it.
William climbed down the ladder.
The room was spacious, with a layout nearly identical to the one above. To the right stretched a long corridor, cloaked in shadow too deep to see where it led.
On the desk was a kerosene lamp, which he lit, filling the room with a warm glow.
To his left was a desk made of pearwood, and in front of it was a chair. On the desk lay a photograph, along with a bouquet of lilies.
William picked up the photograph. Unlike wizarding photographs, this one didn't move—it was taken with a Muggle camera.
This meant that whoever had taken it was a Muggle, and for some reason, Snape had never applied any magical development potion, leaving it in its original form.
The photograph was old, weathered with time, giving it a sense of nostalgia to it.
It depicted a boy and a girl, both around ten years old, in an almost deserted amusement park. In the background, a large chimney stood prominently against the sky.
The girl was swinging on a swing set, with a skinny boy behind her, giving her a push.
The boy's black hair was long, and his clothes mismatched to a comical degree as if intentionally chosen to look out of place: too-short jeans, an oversized, worn adult coat, and a peculiar shirt that looked almost like a maternity blouse.
One corner of the photograph had been torn off, leaving an empty space where another figure might have been.
The boy wore a joyful smile.
Perhaps it was the first—and only—time he had ever smiled so happily.
William recognized the boy as Professor Snape, and the girl was Lily Evans. He remembered seeing them together on the train in Dumbledore's Pensieve.
He guessed that the photo might have been taken by Lily's parents, as Snape's attire in the picture suggested his family couldn't afford a camera.
On the desk was also an envelope, dated April 20, today's date.
There was no stamp, nor any address, only a line that read, "Day 3,915 of missing Lily. For the girl I loved most."
Beneath the envelope was a partially concealed piece of parchment, with only the last few lines visible:
"Lily, Dumbledore told me, 'We're all the same. We all feel pain, and our lives are filled with chaos. That's just the nature of life.'
But I… I've grown weary. All I know of this world is its malice, and I have nothing else.
This isn't the life I wanted, and I don't know how much longer I can hold on…"
It seemed Snape had been writing a letter here before he left, only to be interrupted by the sounds of someone attempting to break in, forcing him to leave abruptly.
William opened the desk drawer and froze.
Inside were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of envelopes, every single one addressed to Lily.
But none had ever been sent.
Because Lily had been dead for eleven years.
Snape must have loved Harry's mother deeply. These letters were undeniable proof of that.
In that moment, the overwhelming sense of professor Snape's feelings made it impossible for William to read on.
With a quiet sigh, he turned and left the hidden room, making his way toward the darkened corridor on the right.
join my patreon for 70+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL