In the evaluations of Severus Snape and Hagrid, Amosta Breen during his school days was seen as a low-key and solitary person, a description he himself does not deny as being accurate.

However, this was not because Amosta was inherently a wizard who kept people at arm's length.

It should be noted that Breen was an "outsider." Before arriving at Hogwarts, he had always believed he had simply crossed over to a parallel world on Earth.

For the past eleven years, he had spent considerable time adapting to a country with customs and cultural practices completely different from his previous life, and he had expended significant effort to reacquaint himself with the cultural knowledge he had mastered during his student years, actively preparing for the future.

However, the acceptance letter from Hogwarts disrupted all his plans, rendering his previous efforts nearly futile.

Why did he feel so out of place during the first few years after entering Hogwarts?

This question is quite easy to explain.

Firstly, the existence of magic directly overturned the worldview and values that Amosta had accumulated over nearly thirty years across two lifetimes. During those years, he was in a state of confusion; on one hand, he had to acknowledge that magic was real and diligently learn about it, while on the other hand, he constantly sought to explain the rationality of magic's existence through a "scientific lens," which nearly drove him to a split personality.

Secondly, the fragmented memories of plotlines that lingered in his mind caused him distress.

Amosta knew he was in an incredibly real magical world, not just a story for young readers. Here, there were dangerous and malevolent magical creatures, insidious curses that one could not guard against, cruel and bloody dark wizards, unscrupulous schemers, and despicable hypocrites.

Although Amosta remembered some names, he could no longer recall the plotlines that stemmed from the characters, making it impossible for him to directly judge whether they were "good people."

Especially after entering the magical realm and realizing his own weakness, harboring a vigilant heart towards anyone became his way of ensuring his safety.

In Hagrid's words, the indifference and isolation displayed by the Slytherin students were trivial to him.

After all, within his small body resided a mature soul.

Severus Snape was the only wizard he acknowledged during his time at the school, and the reason for this was also related to Amosta's difficult background.

At that time, Amosta was impoverished, and the small amount of financial aid from the school only allowed him to afford second-hand books and teaching supplies, failing to support his advanced pace of study.

In order to rescue his dire financial situation, Amosta had to find ways to make some money on his own; starting from his second year, he privately began brewing potions for sale.

In the beginning, he could only use cheap ingredients from the students' storage lockers to brew simple potions, earning meager profits that gradually accumulated.

By the second semester of his third year, he received a large order worth eighty Galleons—to brew a long-lasting invisibility potion.

To ensure everything went perfectly, he used the Disillusionment Charm multiple times to sneak into the Restricted Section at midnight to gather information and indirectly asked Snape for tips on brewing this potion.

Amosta could not afford to be careless; the buyer of the potion did not provide the ingredients, and the most expensive component in the invisibility potion, a single feather from a Demiguise, was worth six Galleons. Brewing this potion required a full five feathers, which would deplete Amosta's savings.

Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned, and indeed, an unexpected incident occurred.

Due to his lack of experience, Amosta miscalculated the dosage of the Abyssinian Shrivelfig juice, resulting in a failed potion.

Because of this, Amosta was downcast for several days.

However, just a week later, before potions class, when Amosta went to retrieve the ingredients he needed for class, he unexpectedly found a bundle of ten Demiguise feathers in his usual storage locker. This was a rare material that typically would not appear in a young wizard's locker!

Moreover, in the subsequent class on the Confounding Potion, Professor Snape unexpectedly brought up the topic of the invisibility potion in an offhand manner!

This made Amosta realize that perhaps his private brewing and selling of potions had been noticed by the perpetually cold-faced Headmaster.

Similar situations occurred several times later, but both parties maintained a high level of tacit understanding, with neither side daring to break the silence.

Because of this, Amosta gradually began to trust Severus Snape. Prior to this, he had always held a wary attitude towards Snape because he had heard from other students in his house that Snape had once been a follower of the great Dark Lord. When the Dark Lord fell, he escaped the judgment of Azkaban only because of the protection of Headmaster Dumbledore.

However, his close relationship with the Headmaster did not change Amosta's philosophy of keeping a low profile. He continued to remain silent at school, trying to avoid conflicts with others or standing out too much to avoid inciting jealousy. This situation persisted until his fifth year, when it was disrupted by an unexpected event.

That happened at the end of November 1986.

That winter was particularly cold, and his grandmother, Feleena, aged eighty-four, ultimately did not survive until the Christmas holiday.

For Amosta, who had been carefully cared for by this beloved grandmother, who devoted her life to charitable causes, her passing was a significant blow.

However, because that year was O.W.L.S year, the academic workload was quite heavy, leaving little time for Amosta to grieve. Therefore, after hastily attending his grandmother's funeral, he had to rush back to school to continue his studies.

Now, let's return to the night of early December 1986.

The dark night enveloped the earth like a huge curtain, and the biting cold wind swept across the now-freezing Black Lake, the crashing ice shards making sounds like corpses chewing on bones.

After confirming that his roommates were sound asleep, Amosta sat up expressionlessly. He quietly put on his clothes and took out a frame containing black-and-white photos from a hidden compartment by his bed.

The common room was silent; the sickly green light, rough stone walls, and many empty, ornately carved armchairs made this narrow, low room look even more like a tomb.

The students of Slytherin were not eager like Gryffindors to explore the castle at midnight, so as Amosta navigated the maze-like hallways, he did not encounter a single student.

However, even if he had met one, there would be nothing to worry about.

Amosta was confident in his mastery of the Disillusionment Charm; he could completely conceal his figure while moving, even Filch's malnourished cat wouldn't notice anything unusual as it passed by.

"Hey, little guy, I think you must be lost!"

As he passed through the entrance hall, a voice from above the marble staircase caught Amosta's attention. He stepped closer and looked up to find that it was Bill Weasley, the Gryffindor Prefect, talking to a Hufflepuff young wizard.

"Quickly get back to sleep, little guy, or I'll have to take you to see Professor Sprout."

"Okay, okay, Prefect Weasley, I'm going back to the dormitory now!"

Hearing that he wouldn't be deducted points or sent to the professor for detention, the young wizard caught by Bill hurriedly bowed in apology before scurrying away.

After dealing with this unruly young wizard, Bill ran his fingers through his long hair, humming a tune as he climbed the marble staircase to continue his duties as Prefect.

Amosta stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Bill's figure disappear from view. The eldest son of the Weasley family, trusted by Dumbledore, Bill Weasley was well-regarded by both teachers and students in this school, not just for his exceptional grades, but for his truly extraordinary charisma.

However, among the older students of Slytherin, Bill Weasley had a very poor reputation.

They believed that Bill Weasley, who spent all his time mingling with a group of Muggle-born wizards, had betrayed the honor of the ancient wizarding family. Privately, they had plotted to teach him a lesson.

Yet each time, they were soundly beaten by Bill Weasley and his strong Chaser brother, regardless of how many of them there were.

As a result, Bill Weasley had almost become the enemy of all Slytherin students above fifth year, especially since there were rumors that Headmaster Dumbledore intended to appoint Bill as the male student council president in his seventh year, making such targeting even more pronounced.

Amosta silently smiled and turned to head toward the entrance hall and the Forbidden Forest.

All this trouble had nothing to do with him; after all, no one would be foolish enough to expect a transparent figure with no presence from Slytherin to compete with the dazzling prodigies of Gryffindor House.