Chapter 12
Lucius seemed to be taking this rather seriously, because it was barely an hour later when Regulus came up to the dorm rooms. Severus glanced up at the other, but otherwise returned to his potion's book, scratching through it with his quill. His determination to better the potions they used in class was a source of frustration for his old friend Lily. She was always irate that he did not share his potion recipes with her. Now he knew why...because he was not truly her friend in the more innocent ways as he had thought previously. Though such a realization hurt his heart, it was better he knew this now than waiting another few years. Though, he had a feeling that their friendship would not have lasted another few years even if he had wanted it to. They were drifting apart long before, and it was on him for not noticing how far they had grown. Lily was much different from the girl he knew in the park. The one who got magic and was an outcast like him. Now, he was still an outcast whereas she was not.
Not that Severus cared about being an outcast. It was honestly all he had ever known, so it did not truthfully bother him all that much. Lily though, he knew that it would bother her. She hated being disliked or gossiped about. Perhaps that is yet another reason why their friendship had begun to take such a downward turn. After all, he was a Slytherin, and she was a Gryffindor. Friendships between houses were not necessarily rare, but it was quite unique for a Slytherin to be friends with a Gryffindor. Look at the Black brothers, for instance. Regulus, despite his attempts to convince Sirius that he was not evil, was looked at with hatred and condemnation. Severus actually felt quite bad for the newly named Heir to the Black family. It was clear that he still loved the insufferable git, despite everything that happened.
"I have to say, I did not expect Malfoy, of all people, to come to me and ask for help protecting you." Regulus began. Severus rolled his eyes. Not exactly a good way to begin conversation, but he supposed it would just have to do. He was not afforded the same respect other purebloods were. This was understandable, Severus was not a pureblood, and considering how elitist the entire wizarding world was, it did not surprise him. For as much as he adored the magic in this world, there was always going to be some flaws, and Severus was not well liked in either the muggle or wizarding world. He had not sought to be either. Superficial like was not something he cared for. Though it was clear he had gotten caught up in it nonetheless. He did not exactly have the best luck making friends, after all, and that was unlikely to change anytime soon.
"I did not expect Malfoy to be so obsessed either, and yet here we are." Severus muttered, leaving Regulus to raise a brow at the words. Severus honestly did not need Regulus to follow him about to ensure his safety. While he appreciated Malfoy's attempts, and Severus knew that it was solely due to the fact that he had finally agreed to allow his memories to be seen in a trial that Lucius was even going to this extent, it was truly unnecessary. The cowards never actually attacked him one on one. Likely because they knew he would destroy them easily. Not his fault the quadro were hopeless when it came to dueling magic. They all had their own flaws in dueling. James was too slow, Sirius too cocky, Lupin did not pay attention well enough, and Pettigrew...well he was just a bad magic user in the first place. Weak.
"What deal, exactly, do you have going on with Malfoy, Snape?" Regulus questioned, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at him from where he was standing. Severus grit his teeth, but refrained from the longing habit of rolling his eyes. He kept them, instead, trained on his potions book, wondering whether counter or clockwise stirs would be best for this potion. If he just increased the speed rather than using the motion that the book used, he may be able to get a more pure grey to the potion, which should help with its potency. Regulus lost his patience, though the Blacks were not known to be patience in the first place, and snatched his potions book from his hands, leaving Severus to lay back in the four poster and glare at him. "I asked a question," He said dully.
"I know you asked a question." Severus hissed. "I just elected to ignore it. If you are so curious why not ask Malfoy, since clearly you want to know so bad. Surely he would be more than willing to divulge what is going on to you. Otherwise, leave me alone."
"I can't leave you alone, Lucius told me quite clearly to ensure your safety."
"I can keep myself safe." Regulus frowned.
"I don't think you can, actually. My brother and his sycophants keep accosting you everywhere. I am assuming this little deal you have going on with Malfoy has something to do with that. After all, the Malfoy family has been in contention with the Potter family for a long time. I suppose this is a good opportunity to put their reputation in the ground. Especially with that open mindedness to muggleborns and halfbloods they like to pretend they have."
"If you already know, why did you bother asking?" Severus murmured, frustration etched in his face. He did not bother keeping a blank mask in the dorm rooms. It was useless, tiresome, and Severus needed that energy for whenever he left the damn common room.
"Because," Regulus stated, flipping idly through his potions book. "I was not entirely sure. These are actually quite clever...I am impressed."
"Thank you, may I have my book back now? I am not done looking through the potion for next week." Regulus glanced towards him before reluctantly handing it over.