Okay, Fine, Maybe Not All Rich People Are 100% Bad
Sunday, September 3rd, 2023
Severus swallowed hard upon returning to his and Lucius Malfoy’s dorm room after dinner. All his stuff—which was admittedly just a few pairs of old, unfashionably, ripped jeans and stained tee-shirts he found in second hand shops and garage sales—was gone. But, not in the sense that Lucius had decided he wasn’t worthy of sharing a room with him, that he had thrown out all the elder’s stuff as a form of spite or to draw a clear line between the two of them.
It was replaced.
Instead of the green and silver bedset the school provided Slytherins, the bed was made up with a light purple sheet, dark blue comforter, and two pillows with black cases that had white dots posing as stars on them and a half-moon on each side which met in the middle to make a full moon. The trunk at the bottom of his bed meant for personal items was now full of board games, stuffed animals, puzzles, and more instead of being embarrassingly bare. The closet was now full of clothes, new clothes, shoes, and bathing suits—everything. His bookcase, though still containing the old copy of Pride & Prejudice he took from his mother, was now full, including all of Jane Austen’s books. There was a brand new, silver, Windows 11 sitting on the desk which now also had plenty of office supplies in the drawers and on the shelves. His ripped black bag was replaced with a new light blue one, completed with a feather light charm and extension charm, full of new versions of all the school supplies he would need, and more.
But, it didn’t just end in the bedroom, but extended to their connected bathroom.
No longer was his cabinet and drawers occupied by a single bottle of body wash he used for both his hair and body, a two year old toothbrush, a very small amount of mint toothpaste, and school provided towels and washrags.
Instead he was met with body wash that wouldn’t leave patches of dirt or cause welts, shampoo made specifically for thick, greasy, hair, and conditioner which Severus had never owned before, multiple new toothbrushes, boxes of bubblegum toothpaste, and new personal towels and rags. But, that wasn’t all. He was also provided with lotion, makeup, different scented perfumes, makeup wipes and baby wipes, a detangling brush and comb, hair ties, and about any other hygiene related thing he could think of, clearly bought with his particular body in mind.
When Severus returned to the bedroom part of the dorm Lucius was back, sitting on his own bed, anxiously twisting his hands.
“W-what do you think?” The blonde practically whispered when he noticed Severus.
“You bought me new stuff.”
“Y-yeah.”
“You got rid of my stuff.”
“No!” Lucius quite literally jumped off his bed, rushing to Severus’s bedside table and pulling the first of two drawers open. “I left the bottom for you to put whatever you want in, but I put your old stuff in here. I would never throw your stuff out.”
Severus relaxed considerably at this fact. His old stuff wasn’t much and he definitely wouldn’t be using it anymore, but he didn’t like the idea of it just being gone, especially without his knowledge or consent.
Lucius sat back on his bed, the one closer to the front door, and Severus followed to his own bed, silently marveling at the softness of the comforter. He’d never had his own before, only a sheet before Hogwarts and the school issued one.
“Did I do something wrong?” The blonde thirteen year old looked like he might be sick any second. “I know it was wrong of me to have you look at the magazines and lie to you about the reason, but it just isn’t fair for you to have basically nothing, and the little you do have to not be compatible with your wants and needs. Maybe I should have asked if it was okay with you before buying it, but I have way more money than I need, and I didn’t want you to be too embarrassed to say yes. Sorry. I understand if you hate me now.”
Instead of responding. Severus grabbed the blue cased Samsung Galaxy S23 from where it was sitting under the lamp on his bedside table. It was 7:49 P.M. and the phone was on 99%. He would need to figure out how to make a password.
“I’m really sorry.”
“For buying me specific clothes, books, bedsheets, games and more that I said I wished that I had as well as hygiene products meant for people with bodies like mine?”
“....Yes….”
“Why?”
“I should have asked first; looking at the things you circled in those magazines was an invasion of privacy. We literally met two days ago, I had no right to force you to have a bunch of new things I wasn’t even supposed to know you wanted.”
Severus shrugged. “Just this phone was like 630 pounds($800.31USD/160.062 galleons), not to mention everything else. That’s more than all my other belongings combined. I have no reason to complain.”
“You’re really okay with it?”
“With like a million pounds being spent on me? Yeah.”
“I just….I wanted you to have stuff you liked and wanted, but also….Well, someone with greasy hair and old ripped clothes with no access to, like, any hygiene products aren’t exactly going to have an easy time here….Does that make it worse? I just don’t want you to get bullied just because you don’t have the money for such basic things.”
Another shrug. “A million pounds is a million pounds. I wouldn’t care if you were love bombing me with that much money.”
“Love bombing?”
“A type of emotional abuse, common in cult recruitment, where someone uses grand gestures to manipulate another person, often including things like gifts and affection.”
“Oh. I’m not doing that! Really.”
“I mean: you wouldn’t tell me if you were, but I believe you. I didn’t think you were in the first place.”
“Good.” Lucius sighed. “I just want to make life more enjoyable for you.”
“Yeah, whatever. Just keep giving me your nepo baby money, and I don’t care.” He found the settings button.
“Nepo baby?”
“Nepotism baby. The kid of a rich and famous person who ends up successful merely because of their parents and not of their own worth. Though, your nepo baby money has nothing to do with any success you may or may not have, just from your parents being rich and famous.”
“Oh, then I’m not a nepotism baby. I’m not successful at all. I’m failing like all my classes.” Lucius joked.
Severus allowed a small smile to grace his face, fueled by him finding the password setting button, though it wasn’t big enough for anyone who didn’t know him well to notice. And no one knew him well. “The first day of classes isn’t even until tomorrow.”
“And yet, here we are….Are you worried about taking third year classes even though you haven’t had any formal magical education?”
“I think I’ll be fine. I mean: they didn’t just put me in the classes, I tested into them. So, clearly, I’m smart and talented enough.”
“I’m glad I didn’t have to test into third year classes; I don’t think I would have made it.”
“Isn’t that just what end of year exams are?”
“No. They’re not allowed to fail first and second years, only third years and up, so exams are just a formality. I guess to get us used to taking them.”
“Do you think you’ll fail this school year then?”
“I don’t know. I’m good at charms, defense, and potions, herbology and transfiguration are a struggle, but doable, and History of Magic is easy no matter who you are. I’m not worried about Care of Magical Creatures or Art I either as they can’t fail you in an elective class until fourth year, since third is the first year we have them. But, math, English, Non-magical History, and science makes me nervous. My father refused to let me learn anything about those subjects before Hogwarts or during summer break, says they should go back to only having the twelve classes and one sport they had when he went here; no non-magical classes or sports.”
“I’ll help you.” Severus quietly promised, wondering if he would come to regret it, but not willing to go back on his word.
“Really?!”
“I know about shitty fathers inhibiting your education….Anyway, you’ve spent so much money and thought on me already, it’s the least I can do, really.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel indebted to me!”
“I’m sure.” He was already regretting it, a sour feeling in his stomach, crawling up to dry out his mouth, telling him he was wasting time. He had no reason to help this random rich boy, but the idea of not made his heart race. He would feel worse if he didn’t.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Lucius gushed. “You have no idea how much this means!”
“Whatever.”
“I can pay you. How much do you want?! Is twenty galleons($100 USD/78.72 pounds) a session enough?”
“Calm down. I’m just tutoring you, not fucking you. If I needed a sugar daddy I would have one already.”
Lucius blushed, the red appearing so much darker against his pale skin, even as his cheeks were usually a light pink color. “Everyone pays their tutor.”
“I don’t explicitly need money.”
“Explicitly?”
“I don’t need a set amount of money for you to give me every time we study or anything.”
“But?”
“Potions seems really interesting, I want to develop my skills there, but the ingredients are really expensive. I’ll tutor you regardless, but if you must pay me, I’d prefer it to be in potions ingredients rather than hard cash.”
“Can do!”
“Do you have to act like an untrained puppy meeting its new owner for the first time?”
Lucius's skin reddened again, but he tried to play it cool. “Does that mean I belong to you?”
“I can’t be your sugar daddy. I don’t have any money.”
“I’m straight.” He squeaked.
“That is the least of our problems….Also your haircut says otherwise.”
“W-what?”
“A thirteen year old white boy with messy, chin-length, blonde hair parted to the side? Yeah, come back to me when you have a sexuality crisis and realize you’re bisexual in two years.”
“I am not bisexual.” He didn’t sound so sure. “Remus Lupin is and he doesn’t have hair like mine—his is short and brown.”
“Yeah, but he’s clearly not closeted if you know. Anyway, his name is Remus. I’m not saying all Remus’s are bisexual, but none are straight.”
“What about the original Remus? Y’know Remus and Romulus.”
“He was a Roman; responsible for the existence of Rome.”
“So?”
“All Ancient Romans were gay.”
“I thought that was Ancient Greece.”
“Greece was gayer, but Rome was still pretty gay.”
“Oh….Is it really fair to decide that someone is queer based on their name or hair? Seems pretty stereotypical…though I’ve never met anyone with those stereotypical views before.”
“Most definitely a horrible thing to do, but I’m also not wrong, so….” Severus shrugged; he did that a lot.
“I’m straight.”
“Sure, Lucius.”
“What does my name have to do with anything?”
“It literally means light. Have you ever heard anything gayer than that? A name that means light.”
“What’s gay about light?”
“Everything. No light, no rainbows, for one.”
“....Okay, fair. But, I’m pretty sure I’m straight.”
“Just give it two years.”
“If you say so.” He finally conceded.
“Which Roman leader were you named after? Nero or Lucius Cornelius Sulla?”
“Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Why would I be named after Nero?”
“His real name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.”
“I—why, no, how, do you even know that.”
“Books.”
“But, how did you remember it? I’ve already forgotten past Lucius.”
“I also remember his full emperor name.”
“It’s longer than Nero?”
“Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.”
“I think I might hate you.”
“Why?” He had to force extra apathy into his voice to avoid laughing.
“How do you remember stuff like that? I can’t even remember my own name half the time.”
“What’s your full name?”
“Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.”
“Why is your middle name an old mystic word in the system of the Gnostic Basilides?”
“It’s my fathers name.”
“Why is your father’s name an old mystic word in the system of the Gnostic Basilides?”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“Which part?”
“The system of blah, blah, blah.”
“The system of the Gnostic Basilides?”
“Yeah.”
“Gnosticism is a collection of religious ideas and systems from the 1st century AD. Basilides was one of the early Christian Gnostic teachers in Alexandria, Egypt. So, basically, your father’s name is a mystic word in a version of a 1st century AD religion led by one particular teacher in one of the many cities named Alexandria.”
“That’s…complicated.”
“Very. My name is much more straightforward.”
“Well, what does it mean, then? And who were you named after?”
“Severus means severe or stern, and I was named after Septimius Severus, a Roman emperor who gained control of Rome with no opposition and spent most of his time suppressing people who were trying to get the land he stole from them back.”
“What was his full name?”
“It was—” Severus paused when he remembered it. “Oh, fuck you.”
“Why fuck me?”
“His full name, or regnal name, was Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus; he was born Lucius Septimius Severus.”
Lucius didn’t even attempt to hide his raucous laughter. “I never realized how popular the name Lucius was!”
“A bunch of emperors and other famous people were named Severus too. Severus Alexander, Quintus Varius Severus, and the 2010 Warhammer 40,000 movie character: Captain Severus are just a few examples.”
“What about your middle name?” The blonde eventually managed to ask when he stopped falling over himself in laughter.
“Tobias.” Severus scoffed. “After my father. It means God is good. He was named after some guy from the bible.”
“Very boring.”
“Very.” Severus agreed. “Malfoy is French. Are you?”
“Technically, but it was forever ago.”
“I don’t know if either side of my family were ever anywhere but England.”
“How come you didn’t start Hogwarts until this year?” Lucius changed the subject.
“My father didn’t like magic and therefore forbade me, but he died a couple months ago.”
“What day?”
“Uh…July 3rd.”
“There’s no way.” Lucius began laughing again, this time sounding more hysterical, continuing to mutter to himself how this was impossible.
“What is it?” Severus eventually snapped, feeling like he was being mocked.
“This past July 3rd is when he died? July 3rd, 2023?”
“Yeah, so?”
He couldn’t calm down. “That’s the same day my father left.”
“W-what?”
“My father left me and my mom and my sisters on July 3rd, 2023.”
“You—you can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
Severus didn’t know what to do or say as Lucius continued to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, so remained still and silent until the blonde got himself under control.
“Sorry, sorry.” Lucius gasped, trying to catch his breath. “I just…I just wasn’t expecting something like that.”
“Me either….So, you have sisters?”
“Three. Chloe is ten, Marie is seven, and Josie is four. What about you? Any siblings.”
“No.”
“So is it just you and your mom now?”
“Mostly just me. But, yeah, I guess I legally live with her. No one else.”
“Do you have any pets at least?”
“No.”
“Really? I have an owl and cat and peacocks.”
“How pretentious.”
“They’re leucistic, the peacocks I mean. Except one is albino. All are white, though, so I guess it doesn’t really matter why.”
“Right, because having peacocks isn’t an absurd flaunting of your wealth by itself, you had to get the rarest kinds.”
“I didn’t buy them.”
“You totally would.”
“....You’re not wrong. One of them, Phoebe, was actually a gift to me from my mom.”
“A gift for what?”
“My father abandoning my family and saying it was my fault that he did because I’m a fuck up of a man and can never follow his footsteps.”
“Damn. All I got from my mom after my father died was accusations that I murdered him because I’m a slut who wanted him removed so I could fuck all his mistresses.”
“Did she really say that?”
“Yeah. A couple days after he died, I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and she responded with that instead of a meal.”
“What did you make her?”
“Scrambled eggs cooked in olive oil containing coconut.”
“Why that specifically?”
“She’s allergic to eggs and coconut. Not like deathly allergic, but she had hives for a few days.”
“Why did she eat it?!”
“I held her at knife-point and reminded her how she hadn’t been allowed to perform magic for fourteen years, since she met my father, and I’m a burging teenager who has no magical education and little magical control. I could have done much worse, but if she died I might have to go to an orphanage or something, and I don’t wanna deal with that.”
“Isn’t forcing an allergic reaction in someone unnecessarily cruel? I mean calling you a slut and accusing you of murdering your father to sleep with his mistresses is bad, but an allergic reaction.”
“Isn’t marrying an abusive, alcoholic, unfaithful man who won’t let you engage in your culture just so you can rebel against your parents unnecessarily cruel to the baby who comes from it? Who is physically, mentally, and emotionally abused and neglected? Who is allowed to be bullied and worse by strangers and family friends? Anyway, she’s denied the existence of my allergies and forced allergic reactions more times than I can even think of. She deserved it.”
“Maybe she did….Well, I won’t judge you regardless….But, can we maybe talk about something else?”
Severus checked the time again, finding it to somehow only be 8:11. “Like what?”
“I don’t know….It’s super early, I know, but I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept more than a few hours in days.”
The older boy wouldn’t admit to a weakness like exhaustion anytime soon, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling it. He hadn’t slept at all since the twentieth; two weeks, his personal best. “We can sleep.”
“Are you sure? We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
He didn’t have a choice, he could already feel his body shutting down. The longest he’d ever stayed awake before was ten-and-a-half days. “It’s fine. Won’t hurt to get some extra sleep before our first day of class.”
“Okay. Do you mind if we turn the lamps on? I’m sorta scared of the dark.”
Lucius looked embarrassed, but Severus was relieved. He could not be in the dark, part of the reason he hadn’t slept the past couple nights electing to stay in the common room instead, but couldn’t admit to fearing anything. That provided someone a way to defeat him. “Of course it’s fine.”
“Thank you so much.” The blonde could almost cry from relief. “....Do you think it would be horrible if we forwent typical pre-bed activities tonight. Such as pajamas and teeth brushing.”
Severus pulled his comforter around his body, only bothering to remove his shoes. “You talk so fancy sometimes.”
“So do you.” Lucius protested, removing more of his clothes than the ravenette had.
“Shhh. Sleep.”
“Alright. Good night, Sev.”
“Night.”