『The Potions Professor Whose Retirement Was Reset to Zero』
Severus Snape was a renowned genius of Potions. Few knew that he had also achieved great mastery in the Dark Arts, but for the sake of the withered lily in his heart, he abandoned that pursuit and embarked on a lifetime of atonement. He endured a long, grueling stretch of time, existing every day like a walking corpse while having to look after that little troll, Harry Potter. What a complete waste of those eyes; the boy was an arrogant bastard, just like his father. In the end, he intentionally left himself no way out. Just before victory arrived on the eve of dawn, he took one last look at the green eyes that had haunted his entire life, and closed his eyes in peace… Before the weary professor could even breathe a sigh of relief at finally earning his retirement, he felt as if at least ten thousand trolls were caterwauling in his ears. Irritated, he opened his eyes, only to find himself at the Hogwarts Welcoming Feast. Potter, the troll he had painstakingly watched grow into manhood, had shrunk back into a scrawny beanstalk, waiting anxiously to be sorted—as though all those harrowing years had merely been a fleeting dream. Exhausted to his very soul, the old professor shut his eyes heavily. Merlin, if all of that was a dream, then what am I? If I am allowed to start over, why... couldn't I have gone back just a little earlier...