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Chapter Text

He wasn’t scared of the werewolf mere feet away from him, so close that he could see his reflection in its amber eyes and feel its hot breath as it crept closer. Instead, the Slytherin was scared that it wouldn’t finish the job, given the poor boy’s luck he would’ve ended up with its “sickness”, cursed for the rest of his already miserable life.

Severus wasn’t afraid of death, in fact, in some twisted sense he felt a wave of relief at the idea of dying that night in the shrieking shack. It was convenient, if he died that night he would beat the marauders once and for all, to win the war after losing so many battles. Black would be sent to Azkaban for sending him down here to his death possibly Potter too if he was in on it, and Lupin-

Severus paused for a moment, Lupin… For all his cowardice, his spinelessness as he sat back and watched his friends torment the Slytherin he didn’t deserve that fate.

Suddenly he was back in reality, aware that the werewolf was lunging at him when abruptly he felt himself be yanked back, the werewolf snapping its teeth right where his head would’ve been. He felt a searing hot pain on his back like when his Pa would get angry and lash at him with his belt. There was wetness- he was bleeding and by the feel of it, he was bleeding a lot. Before he could process what was happening everything faded to black.

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James started racing to the Whomping Willow as soon as Padfoot confided in him and Wormtail about what he did to the Slytherin. He couldn’t believe his best mate could be so daft, it was that stupid black madness again he knew it.

He loved Sirius like a brother but sometimes that madness scared him, it was as if all reasoning and foresight left his mind and all he could think about was hurting those he deemed worthy. Snivellus was at the top of that list, a Slytherin, a lover of the dark arts, and a blood purist. It helped that he was an easy target, his clothes were tattered, his hair greasy. He was odd, and besides Lily, no one defended him from the Mauraders. Unlike the rest of the Slytherins, Snivellus didn’t have parents who would cause an uproar at the mistreatment their children faced. It was odd, but James never thought about it too deeply.

He could see the Whomping Willow and he picked up speed, Moony had to have transformed by now. James wiggled through the tunnel, unable to transform until he made it into the Shrieking Shack. He noted that Moony was silent and a wave of terror washed over him. He had most likely already killed Snape and was feasting on him or whatever Werewolves do to their prey.

Once he made it into the shack he shifted and made his way to where typically Remus transformed. The sight he saw surprised him, Snivellus was standing there, very much alive, Moony was only a couple inches away but he was calmly looking upon the greasy Slytherin.

Calm, Moony was never calm. If he was by himself he tore at his skin if he were with the Marauders he’d roughhouse throughout the entire night without rest. Well, Moony was calm until his eyes landed on Prongs. He started to snarl, the look in his eyes becoming wild. James quickly grabbed Snivellus and pushed him towards the opening. This seemed to anger the werewolf more. Moony snapped and James fought him back with vigour, he just needed to push him away long enough for James to be able to turn back and help Snivellus up the tunnel. This proved to be more difficult than he imagined, Moony was rougher with Prongs than he usually was, as if he was trying to kill the stag.

James finally found an opening to escape when Prongs’s antler pierced through a junction in Moony’s neck. The werewolf yelped and fell to the ground. James turned back and rushed to the Slytherin who was slumped on the floor. “Fuck” James said under his breath as he saw the amount of blood he was losing. He had no time however, he could already hear Moony rustling. He grabbed the Slytherin and started climbing back up the tunnel. Once he made it out he held the Slytherin close to his chest and he made his way to the infirmary. The git was lighter than he imagined, as James held him he could feel his bones but he could also feel the copious amounts of blood. He prayed under his breath that they would make it in time. If Snivellus died Padfoot would be sent to Azkaban and Moony beheaded. He couldn’t let that happen.

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Five years of full moons made Pomfrey prepared, she had potions lined up and a bed ready for the Gryffindor. What she wasn’t prepared for was James Potter bursting through her door hours before sunrise with his mortal enemy in his arms covered in blood.

“What did you do!” Pomfrey exclaimed. She was very aware of their relationship as she often dealt with the aftermath. Besides Mr. Lupin, Mr. Snape was her most frequent patient due to the shenanigans of Potter and Black. Besides the occasional sprain or fracture, the Slytherin usually didn’t sustain lasting damage from these “pranks”. This, however, was on a completely different level. She didn’t think they were capable of pushing it this far.

“I didn’t do anything.” James rasped out. From his voice alone the medwitch could tell he had ran here. He placed the Slytherin gently on the bed and slumped into the chair next to him. He looked exhausted.

Pomfrey ran to the cabinet for some blood replenisher which she gave to the comatose boy. She started working diligently on the boy as James watched, she was too focused on the emergency at hand to have the mind to kick him out.

“You’re lucky you brought him here as soon as you did, one minute later and he would’ve-”

“It was Sirius.” James blurted. His shoulders instantly sagged as if it was a relief to finally get that out.

Pomfrey looked up from her patient and into the Gryffindor's eyes, “What?”

“It was Sirius,” He repeated, “He- he told Snape about Mo-Remus’s condition. He told him how to get into the Shrieking Shack. It was him.”

A chill ran up Pomfrey’s spine, “Is this-” she said pointing at the fresh wounds on the Slytherin.

“No- they aren’t from Remus, they were from me. I- I wasn’t careful when getting him out of the Shack.”

Pomfrey let out a sigh of relief and sobered. “Get Dumbledore.”

James nodded and made his way out of the infirmary before stopping at the doorway, “What’s going to happen to him?” he asked.

“I don’t know… we’ll find out when the Headmaster gets here.” Pomfrey didn’t know which “him” he was referring to but that response fit each one.

When James left Pomfrey made her way to a filing cabinet, in all her years of working at Hogwarts she’s only had to do this a handful of times. She carded through the documents until she reached Mr. Snape’s. The document contained his emergency contacts, this was protocol for school medwitches. If a student is harmed close enough to death then the medwitch must inform their legal guardians.

Pomfrey’s eyes widened slightly at the name of the boy’s mother, she hadn’t heard of her since she graduated from Hogwarts. She looked at the boy, the rumours were true then… She shook her head and quickly wrote up a letter to send to the Slyhterin's parents.

Dumbledore and Mr. Potter came in right after Pomfrey sent the owl on its way. “Mr. Potter told me what happened. How is the boy?”

Pomfrey was surprised at the Headmaster’s level-headedness of the situation. One would think that he would be outraged given the circumstances. One student sends another to his death and exposes the secret of a werewolf attending the school. If word got out about what had happened Dumbledore would be removed from his position. He seemed way too calm indeed.

“He is stable right now-”

“Good,” Dumbledore interrupted, “When will he wake up?”

Pomfrey blinked, “I-I don’t know sir he lost a lot of blood. I sent word to his family-”

His calm facade broke slightly at that, “What warranted you to do that?”

“Sir he nearly died!” She exclaimed.

“You said he’s fine. I don’t see a need to cause such a ruckus.” He brushed off. 

Pomfrey bit her tongue, holding back the vitriol she wished to spew at the old man. She knew if she spoke her mind at the moment she’d be replaced. “And what of Mr. Black?” she managed to get out.

Dumbledore raised his brows, “What of him?”

“Are you going to tell the authorities? Expel him?” She questioned.

He started to stroke his beard, “Mr. Black will have detention for the rest of the year and be barred from playing quidditch.”

She nodded as if she was satisfied with the answer though internally she was disappointed. The headmaster advocated to the professors about the damage of house bias yet he didn’t practise what he preached.

“Tell me when he wakes won’t you Pomfrey?” And he turned to leave without waiting for a response, leaving James and Pomfrey alone.

James stood there awkwardly as if he just witnessed his friend's parents fighting. “Well, I should…”

She turned to the window and saw the sun peaking out onto the horizon. “Mr. Potter, I need to keep an eye on Mr. Snape. Do you mind retrieving Mr. Lupin for me?” She knew it wasn’t exactly ethical but someone needed to keep an eye on the Slytherin and she did not trust the boy in front of her.

He nodded and left. Moments later she heard a tapping on the window, strange. Most parents came in person with their response, nevertheless, she opened the window and frowned when she saw that they sent back her letter unopened. She looked back at the boy, pale and thin, so small for his age. She wouldn’t let the Headmaster bully her into giving up on this poor boy. With a new resolve, she sent a message to the only people she could think of, the boy’s grandparents. It was a long shot, his mother being disowned meant that the grandparents weren’t likely to respond, however she had to try.

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Remus felt as if he were run over by the Knight Bus. He groaned as he peeled his eyes open. Why are hospital rooms always so bright? The knowledge of last night flooded his brain and he shot up, ignoring the screaming pain of his joints.

"Woah Moony!” James exclaimed as he pressed a hand on his shoulder forcing him to lay back down.

Remus shoved his hand away, “Where is he?” he rasped out.

James looked at him confused, “Who?”

“Snape! Where is he?” Remus asked.

James' eyes filled with sympathy, and Remus could feel his stomach drop. “You didn’t hurt him, I did when trying to get him out of the shack.”

“Why did you come?” Remus asked, trying to keep his anger at bay. Remus didn’t know how but Moony was calm around Snape, things would’ve been fine if Prongs hadn’t shown up. Snape would’ve been uninjured and Remus would’ve woken up unharmed for once in his bloody life.

His eyes scanned the room trying to find the Slytherin, “Where is he?” He asked.

James squirmed in his seat. “Uh about that… His grandparents came and they were PISSED Moony. Like I was sure they were going to cast an unforgivable on the Headmaster pissed! They- they decided to pull him out of Hogwarts…”

Remus was too tired to be angry instead choosing to slump back into the uncomfortable infirmary bed. Curse his luck, curse his friends, and curse his curse.

Chapter Text

Augustin was quite shocked, to say the least when an owl arrived late at night and became even more so when he saw it brandishing the Hogwarts crest. He hadn’t seen that crest in a little over sixteen years with the graduation of his daughter Eileen. A name that he has tried years to forget but just could not bring himself to do. Worry creased his brows as he retrieved the letter from the owl and handed it a treat as it obediently sat upon his window sill, chirping at him as if to push him to read it.

He caved in and opened the letter, confusion turned to shock and then concern. Eileen had a son? They were grandfathers? And why wasn’t she answering the Medwitch's letter regarding the poor boy? Before he could spiral further his husband had walked through the door, pausing when he took in the state that Augustin was in. Etienne, whether he knew it or not, always had a sixth sense for when his partner was in distress and managed to be right where he needed him.

He walked over to Augustin and placed a hand on his cheek, smoothing the crease between his brow with his thumb. “What is wrong my love?” he asked.

Augustin held back a scoff. No matter how old they had gotten, how many wrinkles etched their way into permanency onto their skin, Etienne had always treated him the same as he had 51 years ago. It was most likely a French thing, bloody romantics.

He handed him the paper instead of answering verbally, he didn’t know what to say. He bounced between anger and confusion the most. Etienne’s eyes scanned the letter, his face becoming more and more like stone with each word before he ultimately placed the letter back down.

Augustin watched as his husband carded his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh. “So, when are we going?” he said, putting his hands on his hips.

“Going where?” Augustin asked.

“For Merlin’s sake to Scotland!” He huffed.

Augustin raised his eyebrows at his husband’s willingness to accept the boy, “You don’t want to talk about this first?” he questioned.

“We can talk about it later, the boy needs someone.” He stepped closer to his husband and held his shoulders, looking at him dead in the eyes with a serious look that was uncommon on the French man. “Maybe we’ll be able to see her again, maybe we won’t. But this boy is our chance at what we lost with Eileen.” The name seemed hard for him to get out, as if it was foreign, the name of a stranger he just met instead of his daughter.

He was right, he knew that he was right. This was their only chance, Eileen and this boy were the only other living members of the Prince family. Due to current circumstances, this boy would be their heir. It would be foolish not to take him under his wing and train him in the duties of being an heir to a prestigious house. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to see the boy for themselves and determine whether or not he was a good fit. 

“Put on your coat.” He said as he turned to do the same.

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The boy was not what he expected him to be, appearance-wise that is. He was still very much asleep and according to the Medwitch, would continue to be for a while. He looked the part of Eileen’s son, pale as the moon with hair as dark as night but he certainly didn’t fit the image of a member of a prestigious family. The boy was small and thin, Augustin had thought him a third year instead of a fifth. He was also dirty, the kind of dirty that would take multiple washings to get rid of, his hair was greasy and scars littered his body. The last part is what concerned Augustin the most. It prompted him to ask the Medwitch for the boy’s medical records which she nodded curtly and went to retrieve.

Severus, his name was Severus, a name for a grown man and not the frail thing in front of him. Augustin couldn’t imagine giving birth to a child, looking upon its innocent face, and giving it such a harsh name. Well, he supposed it was the same kind of parents who ignore when their child was seriously injured, which judging by the look of him Severus was injured a lot.

Pomfrey came back with a folder bulging from the amount of paper stuffed inside. Augustin quirked a brow, “Are all the students' records this full?” he asked. Maybe Hogwarts wasn’t as safe as he thought.

The Medwitch shook her head, “I’m afraid not… just-” She shoved the folder into his hands Etienne stood over his shoulder to get a look at them as well, he was quiet which was never a good sign.

The reports were endless, he had to have been getting seriously injured every other day. He noticed two recurring names as the cause of these injuries, at the sight of one of the surnames he let out a shudder. He could tell from the intake of breath behind him that his husband saw it as well. Before he could inquire about these two boys an older gentleman walked into the room with a strange twinkle in his eye.

This strange man was the headmaster. The two Princes went through the floo network that was connected with the infirmary, unintentionally avoiding him though they could no longer. When shaking his hand Augustin could feel a push against his mind, the old coot was trying to use legilimency. Thankfully Etienne had taught him enough to push back the older man’s advances. It took a lot of force, he was strong.

“I apologise for not being here sooner. I was preoccupied,” Dumbledore said.

Augustin raised his eyebrows, “Giving out proper punishment to the perpetrator I assume?”

Dumbledore nodded his head sagely, stroking his beard. “Yes, yes, the boy will be serving detention for the rest of the school year.”

“He is still attending Hogwarts? You haven’t expelled him?” Etienne spoke up, his fist slightly clenched at his side.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, “Mr. Black didn’t mean to harm the boy, it was merely just a prank gone wrong.”

A rustling sound interrupted their conversation, three pairs of eyes turning to the thin boy. Etienne grabbed his arm and pulled him close, whispering into his ear. “You talk to the boy, I’ll deal with the Headmaster. Something isn’t right with this bloody school.”

He nodded and made his way to the boy as his husband forced the Headmaster outside for a “talk”. It was better this way, his husband was the stronger Legilimens.

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Light penetrated his eyes before he even had a chance to open them, he was in the infirmary. That means that last night was-

He pulled himself up which instantly registered as a bad idea when the cuts on his back screamed at him. “Be careful now.” An unfamiliar voice said.

Severus froze and instantly looked to the source, the unfamiliar voice came from a man he didn’t know but felt familiar in a way. He studied the man, he looked like how he would’ve looked if he were born pure-blooded. An older version of Severus without the broken nose and crooked teeth.

“Who are you?” his voice croaked.

The older man sat down on the seat next to the bed, “I’m your grandfather- well one of them, your other grandfather is outside having a lovely conversation with your headmaster.”

“Why are you here?” He asked, not sure what to think of the man in front of him.

The man, his grandfather, leaned forward slightly and explained what had happened. It was a lot for Severus to take in. He wasn’t surprised that his mother hadn’t answered the owl, he was more surprised Tobias hadn’t shot it down if he were being honest. What shocked him most was the fact that Pomfrey tried as hard as she did, he didn’t think she cared that much. “We’re just here to help any way we can.” he ended.

“Bullshit,” Severus spat out before he could stop himself, causing the man in front of him to raise his brows. “You disowned my mother because of my existence. Because she loved a muggle.”

Shock turned into confusion on the man’s face. “I don’t know where that idea came from but it is not the truth. We were not even aware of your existence until the letter. We’ve been trying to reach out to your mother for over a decade but have heard nothing in return.”

Severus’s hands clutched at the thin infirmary blanket. If he was telling the truth then that would mean his mother willingly stayed with that man, let Severus be beaten and starved. Willingly let her child become sick from lack of warm clothing. What would push her to do such a thing? Pride? No, Severus did not want to believe this man, if what he said was the truth then he would have to accept that all this pain he went through was unnecessary. Though deep down he knew this man was telling the truth, he looked at him with an earnestness he had not seen in a long time.

He sighed, “Okay then... Why help me? I thought purebloods were above helping my kind.”

That brought out a slight chuckle from the old man, “I’m afraid I don’t subscribe to the idea of blood supremacy. Besides I hate to admit it but I think you would be helping me out as well.” He said.

Severus’s eyes widened.

“You see, you and your mother are the only ones left with Prince blood besides myself. While I could push a couple more decades, when I pass, our bloodline will die with me. I would like to make you my heir if you’d let me of course.” He said.

Severus sputtered, “Me?!” It was very improper but Severus was too shocked to correct himself.

His grandfather smiled, “I hope you can forgive me but from one Slytherin to another I think that it would be foolish to not accept my offer.”

He swallowed, “What would I have to do?”

“Not much, we will teach you our family history, pureblood customs, and manners.” He gave Severus a look at the last part which made him blush in embarrassment in turn. “We won’t force you into a marriage but we ask that you have at least one child. For this, we promise to protect and provide you with everything you need.”

His brain skipped over the part about marriage and children instead focusing on protection. Severus had never been protected before. “Protection how?” He asked.

“Well for starters we’re removing you from this school,” He lifted a hand to silence Severus who was about to cut in. “We live in France, so it would be more convenient for you to go to Beauxbatons. Besides, this-” He lifted Severus’s medical records from his lap, “is not okay.”

Severus played with his fingers, a nervous tic of his, “I-it’s not as bad as it looks…”

The older man scowled, “And what of the perpetrators? What happened to those who did these things to you.”

“They got house points taken away and detentions.” He mumbled.

"That wasn’t punishment enough as they continued to harass you.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, “I deserved it.”

The man’s brows furrowed, “What could you possibly have done to warrant this?”

“I’m friends with a girl one of them fancies, I’m a member of their rival house, I enjoy reading about the dark arts-”

“Severus, you still haven’t listed a reason why you could deserve this.”

Severus lowered his head, his hair covering his face, “they think I’m going to be a death eater…”

“Are you?” Concern filled the man’s voice.

He looked back up quickly, “No! How could I? I’m friends with a muggle-born and I am a half-blood!”

His grandfather grabbed his hands, “How about this, you go to Beauxbatons for the rest of the school year. If you don’t like it, we will transfer you back to Hogwarts for your sixth year.”

Severus’s hands shook in the elders, “O-okay.”

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Augustin convinced Pomfrey to let him take the boy since he was a potioneer and able to provide the proper treatment he needed. They had spent the majority of the day showing the young boy around the manor which quickly tired him out. The couple guided him to his room and left him so they could piece together the information each of them gathered that day.

“That old coot is insane!” Etienne exclaimed while pacing their bedroom, surely creating a hole in the fine carpet.

Augustin made a noncommittal hum as he poured over legal papers in their bed. Calling the man insane was an understatement. Apparently, during their “conversation” outside of the infirmary (which was just his husband yelling at the Headmaster in French) he had seen some things in the man’s mind that raised concern.

“He was going to use him as a pawn! The poor boy is only fifteen and this man already had his whole life planned out for who knows how long!” He stopped pacing for a moment. “We need to get him fired.” He said for the hundredth time.

“Not yet, we need to deal with the Black heir first. If we bring that case to the general public then they will be more susceptible to the fact that the Headmaster is not as good of a person as they believe him to be.” Augustin reminded him.

A good person he was not, Dumbledore was a manipulative goat. From what little information he gathered the Headmaster likes to take in vulnerable students to help him with his battle against the Dark Lord. Severus would’ve been one of these unfortunate souls if they hadn’t taken him under their wing when they did.

“I do not care what that boy says he is not going back to that school!” Etienne exclaimed.

“Don’t be rash now, he gets to make his own decisions. Our job is to build him into someone unable to fall victim to such manipulations.” He said.

The first thing he’d have to work on is the poor boy's confidence… This is going to be a long couple of years. A long couple of years indeed.

Chapter Text

Being stuck in the infirmary gave Remus a lot of time to think about things. “Things” being a certain dark-eyed Slytherin, well he wasn’t a Slytherin anymore but that’s beside the point. The events of the full moon brought a lot of things forward in the lycanthrope’s mind. Such as his friends and their mistreatment of Snape. He had turned a blind eye to it at first, they were just silly pranks; but those “silly pranks” became more and more violent, leaving the poor Slytherin in the infirmary more often than not.

Sirius and James would brush it off as house rivalry which Remus believed at first when the two marauders would target other Slytherins just as frequently. Soon they became dead set on Snape, pouring all their attention onto him and how they could make his life miserable. When Remus would bring it up the two would brush off his concern.

They would say he was evil, a future Death Eater in the making which Remus found odd as the Slytherin’s only friend was a muggle-born. If that were the reason they targeted Snape Remus could list off plenty of Slytherins that fit those traits better than him. He didn’t believe that Snape was evil, when looking back on it he remembered seeing the boy help others with their potions work, sure he was sarcastic and harsh while doing so but he helped nonetheless. In fact, he had helped Remus a couple of times as the lycanthrope was absolutely rubbish at the subject. Funny how he forgot these things because of how preoccupied he was with his friends.

By the time Remus had come to this realization it was too late. The other marauders had already discovered the reason for Remus’s monthly disappearances. At this point he was too scared to defy them, seeing what they did to people who didn’t think like them quickly demotivated the werewolf from questioning them further.

So the lycanthrope would stand to the side as his friends tormented the poor boy. When they’d walk away Remus often stayed behind and picked up the items of Snape’s that they threw on the ground, or offered a hand to the Slytherin when he ended up on the ground. The look that the Slytherin gave him would make him sick to his stomach. It was one of anger, contempt, and a hint of betrayal. Betrayal because while Remus never raised his wand to the Slytherin, he wouldn’t stop his friends from doing so. Remus was filled with a new resolve, to stand up for what he believed was right, to finally live up to his house’s traits.

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Remus was shocked, to say the least when he walked into the Great Hall and saw that Sirius’s spot was empty. Though he was still pissed at him and didn’t care enough to comment on it. It was probably for the best that the pureblood wasn’t there, Remus would’ve caused a scene yelling at his ex-friend. He sat down, loading his plate with the few things he could stomach. While Pomfrey had given him the go-ahead to leave the infirmary and attend his classes the lycanthrope was still fairly weak.

There was an awkward silence between the three marauders as none of them acknowledged the elephant in the room. “S-so.. How are you feeling Moony?” Pettigrew asked, attempting to squash the tension.

Remus looked up from his plate to the shorter marauder, “The usual, like I’ve been hit by a bludger.” he stated.

“Speaking of bludgers- We’re royally fucked this Quidditch season!” James exclaimed.

Remus internally rolled his eyes at the messy-haired teen’s inability to not bring up Quidditch in every conversation. Peter however did not hold back a groan.

“We get it Prongs!” Peter said, “Let it go already!”

James continued, ignoring the shorter boy, “I mean come on, couldn’t Padfoot wait until this season was over to play that stupid prank? Now he’s expelled and our stand in is pants at playing!”

Remus paused, “Sirius got expelled?” he asked, eyes wide. He had thought at this point the marauders were immune to expulsion. If it were anyone else conducting pranks at the amount that they did, they’d be gone before the end of first year.

“I mean he can’t even-” James stopped mid-tirade and looked over at the lycanthrope confused, “I thought I told you?”

“I would’ve remembered you telling me something like that!” No, James did not tell him. James had come into the infirmary and given Remus notes on the lectures he missed and left shortly after. They were written in neater handwriting than they usually were and he even took the time to add additional information. Those notes were the only reason Remus found it in himself to forgive James (though Moony was a different story).

“Yeah, the day after Sniv-Snape’s grandparents took him Padfoot just disappeared from school. At first, I thought they killed him but apparently, they just got him expelled. Damn, purebloods.” James whispered that last part but Remus picked up on it.

Snape’s grandparents got Sirius expelled… and quickly too. The fact that Remus was still sitting here attending Hogwarts only meant one thing. Snape did not tell them about Remus’s condition. A strange warm feeling washed over him, and before he could think about it any further James cut into his thoughts.

“Anyways,” James said. “Do you want to join the team?”

It was quiet for a moment, Remus looked up to see James looking back at him. “Me?!” He asked indignantly.

“Yes, you! Peter would pass out at the sight of a bludger coming his way!” James retorted.

“Hey!” Peter squeaked, not having a comeback as he knew the messy-haired teen was telling the truth.

“James, I am quite possibly the worst person to ask.”

“How so? You’ve got really good hearing and your condition,” James whispered the last word, “makes you like really strong. Plus! You’ll attract a lot of birds.” He gave a wink and slapped Remus’s arm.

Remus grimaced at the last point James made. He had never found the idea of women fawning over him appealing. His dad had said it was because he wasn’t old enough but still at the age of sixteen Remus was uninterested in the opposite sex. His mum said it was because he was a romantic and needed to know a girl first before he could fancy her. That was another reason Remus liked to hang around James and Sirius, they were both so loud, energetic, and much more handsome than Remus himself that he never had to worry about a girl fancying him.

Who in their right mind would choose him? A half-blood littered with scars whose wardrobe only consisted of faded jumpers. Who was constantly “sick” and out of classes, who partook in lame hobbies, and enjoyed studying. Who would choose that over two rich charismatic purebloods Quidditch players?

“I can’t James,” Remus said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Merlin he hated the post-transformation migraines. “Even if I wanted to I can’t- I’m out of commission one week out of every month.”

“I looked it up Moony, none of Gryffindor’s matches land during the full moon. Please, I’ll even pay you, I’m desperate mate!” James pleaded.

Remus pursed his lips, an uncomfortable feeling washing over him. The lycanthrope had a difficult time saying no to people, especially when they were begging. “I-I’ll think about it.” He managed to get out.

Though it was not an outright refusal it was a start.

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James was bored. It was a couple of days after the Shrieking Shack incident, with Snape out of the picture it meant that the messy-haired teen could finally ask Evans out without the greasy git getting in the way. He had waited until after the redhead’s friends left the library to make his move on the girl. When he asked she had turned her nose up at him and left quickly after, catching up with her friends. James' hands twitched, it twitched with the need to grab his wand and hex a certain Slytherin. A certain Slytherin that was no longer here. Damn Padfoot.

He missed his best mate. His other two mates couldn’t replace the dark-haired teen. Wormtail was too much of a yes man and coward and Moony was a stick in the mud. No, he and Pads were the masterminds behind all of the marauders' greatest pranks. He still couldn’t believe he was gone, sure he went a little too far this time but come on this was Snivellus we’re talking about. Pads was doing the wizarding world a favor, the git was a future death eater after all. If he had died that night in the shack James would bet all his galleons that no one would have mourned him. His grandparents weren’t even aware of his existence until the incident, something James learned while eavesdropping under his invisibility cloak. He didn’t know what Lily saw in him. How could something so bright and beautiful be friends with someone so dark and ugly?

Lily, right, he’s still right pissed about that. Why would she refuse him? Sniv’s gone now, there’s really no reason for her to keep the act up any longer. James knew it had nothing to do with him, he was a charismatic, quite handsome, and very rich bloke. She must be confused about the disappearance of her greasy friend. Nobody knew why he was gone except for the marauders and Hogwarts staff. That must be it! James would give her a couple more days to regain her senses before he asks.

James had made his way out of the library when he noticed a lone Slytherin. They were short and James hadn’t recognized him which most likely meant the boy was a first or second year. He had medium-length black hair that reminded James of a certain git. His hand itched and this time he listened to his instincts, he reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, aiming it at the boy. A hex was on the tip of his tongue until suddenly James’s wand flew out of his hand.

The Gryffindor turned around, “What the fu-” he paused when he recognized the prat who disarmed him. “Moony?!”

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Remus stood there wand still midair attempting to keep his face impassive. He ignored his indignant friend in favour of turning his attention to the young Slytherin boy who looked between the two older students in alarm. The boy had to have been a first-year- Merlin, did they look that young when they first came to Hogwarts? What the hell was wrong with James? Remus was making his way to the library when he caught sight of whatever this was. The boy had his back faced towards James, minding his own when suddenly his friend had pulled out his wand and aimed it at the poor lad. What could have provoked his friend into doing this?

Then it hit him, mid-length black hair. From the back, the boy would look like a younger Snape, a younger Snape who used shampoo. Though from the front he looked nothing like the dark-haired Slytherin, the most notable being his eyes. They were a light brown not nearly as dark as Snape’s. Snape’s eyes were the kind of dark that you couldn’t see his pupils. Though Remus believed that if he stared at them long enough he could find them, like Snape would ever let him do that.

“Five points from Gryffindor.”

James gaped at him like a fish, “Y-you can’t do that?!”

“I can and I already have,” Remus turned his focus back on the boy, “go run along now.” He tried to give him a friendly smile. The boy nodded his head dumbly and scurried off.

He turned back to his friend, “James I am a prefect, I have duties that I need to uphold. I cannot let you run around hurting innocent students.”

James huffed a humourless laugh, “Innocent? He’s a Slytherin!”

“And? He had said and done nothing to warrant whatever you were about to do to him. For Merlin’s sake, he’s five years younger than you! Pick on someone who knows enough spells to fight back next time!”

James broke eye contact, looking at his shoes, “You’re right- I- I don’t know what came over me. I better…” He went to pick up his wand and walked off leaving the lycanthrope to silently fume.

“Huh a lion protecting a snake from another lion, never thought I’d see the day.” Remus spun towards the voice, it was Black’s younger brother.

He got off the wall he was leaning on, from his relaxed position he was most likely a witness to the whole debacle. “You know it’s good to see you grow a spine for once and go against your owner,” he said, a smirk on his face.

Remus grimaced, “He is not my owner.”

Regulus, yes that was his name, lifted his fingers and proceeded to start listing off, “He tells you what to do, you never disobey him, you follow around him and my brother everywhere they go-”

“That’s not happening anymore.” He stated firmly. Was that really how people viewed him? An obedient dog following his masters, happy at any ounce of attention they would give him. Merlin, he was pathetic.

The posh pureblood’s eyes lost their mirth, “A little late now, isn’t it? With Snape gone and everything.”

“You’re right I’m sor-”

“It’s not me you have to apologise to, you know.” Regulus interrupted.

Remus’s eyes widened, “Y-you know where he is?”

The Slytherin scoffed, “You do know that you can send an owl without an address right?” from the look on the Gryffindor's face, he had not. “Merlin, are you Gryffindors always such dunderheads?”

Regulus started making his way down the hall before Remus could come up with a witty rebuttal. The pureblood stopped for a second, seemingly remembering something before turning around to face Remus, “One last parting word of advice, make sure to use “Prince” instead of “Snape” will you?” He didn’t wait for a response before he started off again.

“Thank you!” Remus yelled and made his way to the Owlery until he remembered that in order to send a letter he had to write one first.

Chapter Text

Severus was exhausted. It had been four days since the Shrieking Shack incident and this was the first time he had gotten a proper moment to relax. He was currently in the bath, a stasis charm was set on the water to keep it warm. He sank further down into the tub until it just reached his chin. He had never had a warm bath before coming to Prince Manor. Merlin, he hadn’t even had a bath before. Back in Cokeworth their bathroom’s drain stopper had broken off due to over-rusting. Even if it hadn’t been broken it was not like his parents would’ve let him take one anyway, baths used a lot of water. No, showering was a quick routine in the Snape household. You were given five minutes and once those five minutes were up someone would be banging at the door for you to turn it off. 

Severus had learned that money and warmth go hand in hand. A warm bath, warm bed, warm clothes, and a warm meal are all things he only experienced once away from his impoverished home. He wanted to be bitter about it but he supposed that it would be fruitless, he wasn’t going back to that life. Those days were behind him though there was the lingering feeling that this was all a dream, that his grandparents would reject him and send him back to that hellhole. Severus had to be on his best behaviour so as to not make them regret their decision. 

They had already signed the adoption papers, something his grandparents insisted once he had to reluctantly explain how most of his scars were from his drunkard father. They had been right pissed, perhaps over the fact that their daughter had let a muggle put his hands on their grandson or maybe it was because Severus allowed a muggle to push him around. It had been a quick ordeal, usually, they had to get the birth parents to sign an agreement but due to the severity of the abuse and neglect they were able to override it. Severus was embarrassed about the whole thing, his grandparents had seen how weak and pathetic he was. An heir who spent his childhood in a house that was falling apart, an heir who was beaten by their muggle father, an heir who was bullied and harassed daily by his peers in school, who wore shabby clothes that never fit, and hair that was never properly washed. 

He dunked his head under the water, holding it there for a moment to silence the thoughts screaming in his mind. His grandparents had not cared, it had been a couple of days after they found out and they still hadn’t kicked him out. The day after they had taken him to a healer who specialises in cosmetic changes which Severus believed was the wizarding equivalent of a plastic surgeon. She had fixed both his crooked teeth and nose. It was a strange feeling, everything shifting to where it properly should be. 

Oddly enough it wasn’t painful having bone and cartilage rebreak itself and mend back, the pain was no more than that of a bruise. The most annoying part about it was the itching sensation which was still prevalent now. Though he supposed it was worth it, still it startled him to look in the mirror and see a different person looking back at him. He looked…softer before his features had been harsh like his name. Jagged edges became soft lines, his nose looked almost regal, it was still hooked but more of a smooth slope than the winding path it originally was. Fixing his teeth inadvertently changed his face shape as well, making his jawline more delicate. His hair had also started to slowly change once he had started using the proper hair products for it, it was no longer greasy though it remained stubbornly straight. He had looked almost nice in a way, he had wondered if his Hogwarts experience would not have been so bad if he had always looked like this. 

He resurfaced, coughing slightly as he hadn’t expected to be under for so long. He looked over at the clock, supper should be happening soon. He got out of the tub and dried himself off quickly with a fluffy towel. His grandfathers have emphasised the importance of being punctual, it was improper for one to show up even a minute late. He dried his hair to the best of his ability, being fifteen he was unable to use a drying charm and his pureblood grandfathers didn't own muggle devices like hair dryers. He put on the new clothes his grandparents bought him to replace the old ratty ones he previously owned and made his way to the dining room. 

The table was set and his grandparents were already seated, they stopped their conversation and looked up at the boy. “Am I late?” Severus asked nervously at the doorway. He still felt awkward around the two of them, an outsider intruding on their home. 

His grandfather Etienne gave him a grin, he was the more friendly of the two. “No, no, of course not young one. We are merely early,” he said, gesturing for Severus to sit. 

His other grandfather, Augustin, grimaced slightly at the state of his grandson’s hair. He took out his wand and silently cast a drying charm on the black locs. Severus gave him an embarrassed smile. “We have important things to discuss with you.” He said. 

Severus blinked, Augustin was always straight to the point. He liked that about him, he never spoke to Severus like a petulant child. “What is it?” He asked. 

“Fill your plate up first, if I see you getting any skinnier I will put you back on those nutrient potions.” Augustin threatened. 

Severus paled and started putting food on his plate, those potions tasted like muck. He loaded up on chateau potatoes and lamb roast. Once Severus filled his plate to his grandfather's satisfaction he began again, “Tomorrow you’ll be heading to Place Cachée for your Beauxbatons  materials.” 

The boy blinked, “They already accepted me?” He took a bite of lamb, the taste of rosemary and garlic coating his tongue. Merlin, the French house elves were somehow better cooks than their English counterparts. 

“Why wouldn’t they? You’re from a prestigious family and your marks are very good.” He blushed slightly at the praise, Severus was always the top student of his year much to everyone's chagrin. The other houses were bitter that a snake beat them and the Slytherins were bitter that someone with “dirty” blood was representing their house. 

“But I don’t know French..” Severus added lamely. 

Etienne cut into the conversation, “Beauxbatons is not as stingy as Hogwarts on accepting transfer students. They have French classes, outside of those classes they have charms that allow you to understand your professor.” His grandfather always jumped at the opportunity to brag about his old school. 

Severus felt relief however that he would not be aimlessly walking around the school without a clue of what was going on. “That’s good I suppose.” 

“We talked with the Headmistress as well and came to an agreement that you’ll be coming home every weekend to work on your heir duties,” Augustin added. 

“They allowed that?” Severus asked, astonished. Hogwarts would never let a student step off of school grounds unless it were for a holiday or a death in the family. 

“Of course! Many heirs do this as well as homesick first years. What school would hold their students hostage for months on end?” Etienne asked. 

“Hogwarts,” both he and his other grandfather said in unison. 

Etienne huffed, “I don’t know how you two went to that school for as long as you did. I was there for a week and could barely make it!”

Severus paused from his eating, “You went to Hogwarts?” 

Etienne’s eyes brightened as he turned to look at his grandson, “Yes! I went there to compete against the Hogwarts Quidditch team. They used to do that, you know? Let different schools compete against each other in quidditch, the Hogwarts quidditch team were very sore losers. But that was how I met your grandfather, the only good thing to come out of going to that school.” He sent a loving look to his husband who returned the look with a glare. 

The schools used to compete against each other? Severus never got into quidditch, it was confusing and he hated having to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of screaming teenagers who got way into the game. The only times he went was when Regulus had begged Severus to come to watch him play, he only accepted when Slytherin was going against Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff however. But even Severus could see the merit of going against schools instead of houses. He wondered why they decided to put an end to it. 

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Severus did his usual morning routine before heading downstairs to the dining room for breakfast. Breakfast was a casual affair in the Prince Manor, in place of elaborate dishes was coffee and carbs. Augustin was already in the dining room, it seemed to Severus that he’d never get anywhere earlier than his grandfather. He gave him a slight nod of the head which Severus returned before sitting in his usual spot. He grabbed some porridge and topped it with fresh fruit. They ate in silence for a while, Severus usually enjoyed silence and never felt the need to fill it; however, a question had been itching in his mind ever since last night’s conversation. 

“You used to play quidditch?” He asked.

Augustin raised an eyebrow, so that’s who he had gotten that from? “What gave you that idea?” 

Severus swallowed his porridge, “Well Grandfather Etienne said that’s how he met you…” 

Augustin put down his paper, “I wouldn’t fly on a bloody broom even if it were to save my life. I merely watched the match because some Gryffindor promised to stop pestering me if I attended. A shame he didn’t keep his word.” He mumbled the last part into his coffee mug though Severus barely caught it. 

Before they could continue their conversation an owl swooped in and dropped a letter right into Severus’s porridge before nicking a croissant and flying off. The two Princes were silent for a moment, staring at the parcel before Severus fished it out of his breakfast. Perhaps it was another letter from Regulus, the Slytherin had sent him on the day after his adoption, news cycled fast through the pureblood households. He congratulated Severus and gave him updates on the happenings of Hogwarts. Sirius had been expelled and the Potters had to hire tutors to teach their adoptive son as with his lengthy record no school wanted to enrol him. 

Severus felt a twisted satisfaction about Black’s fate, he knew that if he had told his grandparents the truth of the Shrieking Shack Sirius would be in Azkaban but so would one innocent person and the ex-Slytherin couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

He examined the parcel and gave a frown, this was not from the younger Black. It lacked the posh calligraphy and pompous Black family crest wax seal that the younger Slytherin adorned all his letters with. The envelope was slightly crinkled and the ink smudged as though the writer had been in a rush to send it out. He was about to open it when his other grandfather walked into the room. 

“You ready Severus?” Etienne called out while fixing his cuffs. 

“Y-yes,” he looked at the letter, “let me just-”

“Put it in your robes, you can read it later.” Augustin cut in. 

He reluctantly shoved the letter in his pocket. Now Severus is going to spend his entire day preoccupied with who could have possibly sent him it. 

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Place Cachée was a cleaner, more posh version of Diagon Alley, like the British wizarding street, Cachée was hidden in plain sight from muggles. Instead of a wall, the French decided to one-up the English by accessing their shopping street through a giant statue in the middle of Montmartre. Severus had recognized the statue as Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi; he could tell the statue was once bronze but had oxidised itself to a teal. 

Etienne had pulled out a list from his pocket and gave it a once over, “We should head to Magillard first, you seem to own most of the books on this list.” 

Severus just nodded, he was too unfamiliar with the place to object and it seemed his other grandfather had no qualms either. The trio made their way to the bookshop. Magillard was very different from Flourish and Blotts, Severus never truly realised how messy the latter store was until stepping into the former. Blotts had no organisation when it came to their books, often one would come across a random stack of books in the middle of a walkway. Severus remembers a particularly embarrassing time in his second year when he accidentally tripped on said stack. While Severus was lost in his thoughts his grandfathers left to talk to the store owner. 

No, Magillard was not like this at all. He was in awe, the bookshelves went up to the ceiling which was a painted map of the wizarding world, it moved like any other wizard painting did. His eyes traced the moving waves of the ocean until he tore them away to take in the rest of the store. The store was very spacious and the walkways were clear. He perused the potions books he had “accidentally” stumbled across. He was shocked to find a couple of rare copies in English, so he grabbed one of them, flipping through it and absorbing all that he could. 

“We already own that one, I’ll have to lend it to you when we get back home.” Severus nearly dropped the book in fright, he whirled around to face his grandfathers. 

Etienne was holding three textbooks in his hands, “We found everything, your history of magic textbook was very out of date.” He shrunk the books and handed them to Severus who brought them close to try and decipher the tiny titles. His grandparents had bought him textbooks for French, alchemy, and the aforementioned history of magic. 

They headed to Maison Capenoir for Severus’s school uniform. He scrunched his nose at all the bright fabrics that adorned the walls and paled once he realised that, unlike their name, they had not owned any black fabric. Severus reluctantly stepped onto the tailor’s step riser. The seamstress dutifully took the boy's measurements as he tried to stand as still as he could. He had never had his measurements taken, his Hogwarts uniform had been a hand-me-down from his mother spelled to fit his growing form. To be honest he rather have old ratty garbs than experience this, Severus did not like a stranger being this close to him. Though he held it together for his grandparents, he didn’t want to waste their money by mucking up the measurements. 

He sighed in relief when the seamstress announced she was finished. It would take her roughly an hour and a half to finish making the garment so the trio decided it’d be best to stroll around the French wizarding street until the uniform was ready. Place Cachée had all the staple shops of its English counterpart; a wand shop, quidditch shop, and even an apothecary which Severus’s grandfather promised to show him the next time he visited. They decided to sit down at Café Abringer to grab a quick bite before picking up the ex-Slytherin’s uniform. 

As they sat, Severus fished his letter out of his pocket, “May I read this now?” he asked. 

His grandfather gave him a nod and Severus broke the seal. What if it was Lily? Had she written to ask about his whereabouts? That was the only possible person he could think about. He freed the letter from its confines and began to read. Oh- It was Lupin… 

Nov. 23, 1975  

  Dear Severus Prince, 

I took points away from Gryffindor for the first time today. From James who tried to attack a Slytherin no less. It felt good to stand up against him, to use my position of power properly. You may be wondering why I am telling you this or why I am writing at all. The fact is I wanted to tell you I’m sorry, the rest of this letter is me properly grovelling. Something I was going to do already but by the time I had woken up you were already gone. So now you have to suffer my ramblings in the form of writing (if you don’t toss this letter in the rubbish before reading it that is). 

I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the incident in the Shrieking Shack. I’m sorry for misusing my role as a prefect, and for not defending you against James and Sirius. Before then I’m sorry for not trying harder to stop them. The truth of the matter is that I was a coward, James, Sirius, and Peter all found out about my “condition” in our second year. I was scared that if I had gone against them they’d tell the school or turn their pranks on me. I was scared what would happen once everyone knew of my secret. 

It was selfish, I put my well-being over yours. The sad part is that I hadn’t even realised how bad it had gotten until you almost died, till they made me try to kill you. I had craved friendship so badly that I had turned a blind eye to their behaviour. Scared that I was going to be made a social outcast I let them turn you into one. You didn’t deserve to be bullied, to be hexed, to be humiliated in front of your peers. Hogwarts was supposed to be a magical experience, but instead, we made it a nightmare for you. 

I wish I could go back and change everything somehow but I can’t. The least I can do is change the present. I am not friends with Sirius anymore, I hadn’t even talked to him since after the sixth. I decided now to finally do the things I should’ve done since first year. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me but I understand if you are unable to. I wish nothing but the best wherever you are. 

   Regards, 

         - Remus Lupin 

Severus frowned at the letter, reading it once more and then reading it again. He didn’t know what to think of it all, conflicting emotions battled for dominance in his mind. He ignored the look of concern both his grandparents were giving him. He took the letter and folded it neatly with shaky hands before putting it back into his pocket. He needed some time to process his thoughts, he didn’t want to do something rash like tear the letter to shreds or send Lupin word vomit of a letter. 

“I take it that wasn’t from your same friend as before?” Etienne said, trying to lighten the mood. 

Severus cleared his throat slightly, “No… it was not.” 

Severus didn’t offer an explanation and his grandfather didn’t ask, picking up that it was a touchy subject. They finished their lunch and while his grandparents chatted about nothing of interest Severus remained lost in his thoughts. Thoughts that were occupied by a certain lycanthrope. 

Making their way back to Maison Capenoir he realised he had a new thing to worry about, his uniform. It couldn’t be that bad…right? Walking into the shop Severus’s eyes landed on the light blue monstrosity and he grew pale. He had almost thought it was a joke, that the seamstress and his grandparents would laugh at his horrified expression and reveal the real uniform she had been hiding behind one of the many curtains that adorned the shop. Severus realised this uniform was not a hoax when the seamstress looked at him expectantly for longer than a punchline would warrant. 

“Erm…thanks?” He said awkwardly, not sure what he was supposed to reply with at that moment. 

“Would you like to try it on?” The seamstress asked. 

His grandparents had said “yes” at the same time Severus had said “no”. The boy turned around to glare at them but he was outnumbered. He let out a sigh and hesitantly grabbed the garment, holding it as if it were going to bite him, and made his way to the changing rooms. The thing was made of bloody silk?! Oh, this school has money and a lot of it to expect all of their students to wear such expensive fabric. It had felt nice however and fit him like a glove though he knew he had to have looked ridiculous in the get-up. He forgone the hat, refusing to wear it no matter how hard his grandfathers glared at him. 

He stepped out of the dressing room with knots in his stomach, he knew that the three adults were going to laugh once they saw him. But to his surprise, they hadn’t. It was dead silent when he walked out. Severus, who was looking at the ground, built the courage to look up at them. They looked surprised, a good or a bad surprise he wasn’t so sure. 

The seamstress broke the silence first, “My blue is certainly your colour! It complements your complexion quite well!” she squealed. 

Severus, confused, looked into the mirror. While he supposed that the colour looked decent on him the actual uniform itself was still horrid. It was too posh and flashy, had all the students really been forced to wear this? It somehow made his waist look thinner than it already was. Though the light blue brought out the natural pink of his lips and cheeks he didn’t like how bright the colour was. That was one thing Severus had liked about Hogwarts, their uniforms were dark, simple, and covered up one's body. He felt as if he could slink into the shadows without notice, something he definitely couldn’t do with this. 

“You look great!” His Grandfather Etienne said. 

Severus frowned, “It seems a little too posh.” 

“Well, Beauxbatons is a very posh school.” His grandfather argued. 

Severus turned a bit to look at the back of his uniform, his frown deepening, “Why is the robe so short?” He fiddled with the ribbon (Merlin save him) that fastened the robe. It had ended just past his shoulder blades. 

His grandfather snorted, “It’s not a robe it’s a cape and it’s short to show off your- Ow!” Etienne was cut off by his husband elbowing him in the ribs. 

“We’ll pay while you go change back into your previous outfit. Unless of course, you’d like to keep it on,” Augustin said. 

Severus did not need to be told twice, he booked it to the changing room. He nearly ripped off the uniform, too eager to be rid of the thing no matter how temporary. When he returned he made his way to the checkout where his grandfathers were already waiting. He handed the witch his uniform which she took and gingerly started to fold it. 

“You really did look lovely in that uniform, like you could be on the cover of Sorcière-Hebdo !” Severus was not familiar with that magazine but from the stifled laughter of his grandparents, it most likely wasn’t positive. 

Severus thanked her as she handed the bag to him. As the trio made their way out the door the seamstress made one final comment, “I am serious! You’re going to have to fight off suitors with a broomstick!” 

He had blushed brightly at that, now he knew what that meant. He quickened his pace, embarrassed at the witch's teasing. He had already felt insecure about his uniform; there was no need to make it worse with such sarcastic remarks.  

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Today was his official first day at Beauxbatons. Though he had first come here Sunday afternoon through the floo that connected to the headmistress’s office. The headmistress of Beaxbaton who had insisted on being referred to as “Madame Beaulieu” was quite different from the eccentric Hogwarts Headmaster. For one she was rather young, perhaps in her forties at the latest, and unlike Dumbledore was rather fashionable. She had an air of elegance and an undercurrent of judgement as though she was watching for the littlest mistake. It made Severus nervous to be around for too long so he thanked Merlin that all she had done was give him a necklace enchanted to translate French into his mother tongue. She gave him a warning that it only translated for him and not for others and then dumped him on a seventh year to give him a tour. 

The seventh year, Apolline Delacour she introduced herself as, was very eager to brag about the grandness of her school. Though Severus couldn’t blame her, Beauxbatons was very grand to the point of being nauseating. It seemed that the school had so much money that it had no idea what to do with itself. 

When Severus mentioned this Delacour chuckled, “Well you’re not wrong, Mr. Flamel is quite generous with his donations.” 

Severus’s eyes widened, “Nicholas Flamel? Like the alchemist?!” 

“Yes, you see that fountain over there?” She pointed to an obnoxiously posh fountain crafted from gold. The base had alchemic symbols etched into it and sprouting from the top were two lovers in an embrace, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, gross. “It’s built in his and his wife’s honour. Don’t jump in, by the way, you will be in detention until summer.” 

Severus scrunched his nose, “Why would I do that?” he asked. 

Delacour sighed, “You’d be surprised, it happens at least once a school year. Someone spreads the rumour that its waters contain beautifying properties and they try to jump in to find out for themselves.” 

Besides the eyesore of a fountain the outside of Beauxbatons was stunning. Unlike Hogwarts which had been surrounded by thick forest and a lake, Beauxbatons was high up in the Pyrenees mountains which stayed a luscious green, at least that’s what he heard, the green grass was currently covered in a light dusting of snow and the small streams that fall down the mountains were frozen. What caught Severus’s eye however were the clouds, they were so close that he felt as if he could touch them. According to Delacour students had to take a carriage drawn by abraxan winged horses at the start and end of every school year to reach Beauxbatons. They walked around the garden that was littered with light-coloured, dainty flowers. None of which, Severus noted, were useful in potions.

Delacour had led him to the dorms; they had a separate wing for transfer students which led Severus to having his own room. It was small, with enough room for his bed and desk, and the bathrooms like Hogwarts were still communal which was something he didn’t miss. Though it was nice to not have to share his living quarters with anyone else. He had unshrunk his suitcase and placed it under his bed. He felt as though he could do this, maybe the French wizarding school wouldn’t be so bad. 

Though now it was Monday and his previous thoughts of yesterday had changed. He skipped breakfast, he knew that if he ate he’d sick up his meal by second period. Severus instead, decided to try and find his first class. He was sure he had looked like a nervous first year, with his schedule held crumpled in his hands, eyes nervously glued to it as he attempted to make his way to his History of Magic class. The worst part about the whole ordeal is that he was unable to stop anyone and ask them for directions since they couldn’t bloody understand him. The only people he knew that spoke English were Delacour and Madame Beaulieu, the former he hadn’t seen and the latter he’d rather wear his unsightly school hat than talk to. He eventually made it there, a line of students were already waiting all looking at the new bloke with curiosity. Severus made sure to avoid eye contact with them, staring at his shoes until the professor came. 

The class had been surprisingly entertaining. The professor had been passionate about the subject which was foreign to Severus who was used to Binns. His second period was Alchemy which had gone as well as Severus hoped. Alchemy was a complex subject, one that Hogwarts didn’t teach. Though he guessed from Flamel being a big investor in the school, Beuxbatons decided to put more emphasis on the niche subject. Professor Talbot explained the concepts very clearly though being a month behind did not do Severus any favours. He would just have to study more which wasn’t a problem as he was free from distractions or disturbance here. He didn’t have to worry about attacks from the Marauders and Reg or Lily forcing him outside to socialise. 

After he took his transfiguration class he made his way outside, Severus was used to the biting cold of Scotland so southern France’s version of winter felt merely like a cool spring. He sat in a dry spot and started to study Alchemy until he heard the bell for fourth period, skipping lunch as he had breakfast. 

His next class was potions, to say that Severus was ecstatic was an understatement. He was excited to experience his favourite subject without Slughorn’s heavy bias. He made his way to the class, it was on the first floor of the school, other levels were not built upon it to keep the room well-ventilated in case of explosions. The professor made his way to the door, unlocking it to let the hoard of children in. “Deepest apologies for the wait,” He said before his eyes locked on Severus, “Mr. Prince, would you mind waiting for a moment?” 

Severus stiffened, he nodded robotically and tried unsuccessfully to not fidget with his fingers. The door closed after the last student filed in, “You know the Princes are notorious for their potions knowledge? Should I expect you to be just as enthusiastic as your ancestors?” He asked, raising a brow. 

Severus's cheeks reddened in response, making the potions professor chuckle, “I am merely pulling your leg. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Professor Prolux. If you have any questions feel free to ask, my door is always open.” 

“O-okay,” Severus replied lamely. 

Professor Prolux opened the door and let Severus in before walking into the class himself, “Mr. Prince you may sit next to Mr. Sokolov today.” 

Severus looked around the classroom, all the two-person tables were filled except for one, and oh Merlin- The bloke was huge! His hand had to have been bigger than his whole face. He looked even more ridiculous in the uniform than Severus, his broad shoulders pulling the dainty powder blue cape taunt. He gulped before walking over to the mountain of a man. He took a seat next to him, his head hadn’t even made it to the man’s shoulder. Sokolov had to have been at least half-giant but Severus was too scared to ask in fear that the man would kill him with his bare hands. 

“Alright class, as you can see there is a piece of paper on each of your desks with a list of ingredients. Your job is to determine which potion the ingredients are for and make said potion.” Students mumbled amongst each other, consulting with their partners about the mystery potion. 

Severus looked at their paper shocked to find two sheets instead of one like everyone else. One was in English (thank Merlin!) and the other was in a different language that looked nothing like French. The best Severus could guess was Russian which meant only one thing, Sokolov was a transfer student. Which meant another thing, they had no way of understanding each other. 

He looked to the Russian teen who was looking back at him expectantly, “Erm… please tell me you know some English.” He said. 

Sokolov had blinked, silent for a moment before saying, “Know little.” 

Severus sighed in relief, “Great! I already know what potion this is, do you mind grabbing the ingredients for us?” He asked, making sure to speak slower and more clearly than he usually did. 

He nodded, “Ingredients I get.” he walked over to the ingredients cabinet, students parting for him, most likely scared to accidentally anger the bloke. 

Severus started to prep their table, grabbing all of the equipment they needed and setting the cauldron on the burner. Sokolov came back with the potion ingredients, doing what usually took two trips in one. 

“Thank you,” Severus said as he placed them down on the table looking expectantly for his next instruction. 

Severus started to separate the ingredients. He put the lovage, peppermint, and stewed mandrake to the side next to the mortar and pestle, “Sokolov, would you mind crushing these for me?” He asked. 

The transfer student nodded and got to work. Severus grabbed the dried alihotsy, removing and throwing away the stems, and started to finely chop the leaves then moved to the scurvy grass, doing the same. He could feel eyes watching the pair but Severus chose to ignore it, when he was making potions nothing else mattered. 

When they finished their preparation Severus began to slowly add each ingredient. Making sure each part was fully incorporated until adding the next. Sokolov dutifully handed him each ingredient he had asked for. The bigger teen had been a surprisingly good potions partner, he pulled his weight and unlike Lily, didn’t argue with every decision Severus made.  The potion would take three hours to be ready, thankfully today was double potions. They took turns stirring the potion, but due to their language barrier, they remained silent while doing so. 

Severus used that time to think about what to tell Lupin. He had ultimately decided to forgive the lycanthrope. He admits that he was a little bitter it took him that long to get the sense knocked into him. Perhaps it was his old schoolboy crush on the Gryffindor but he wished that he had realised sooner, maybe they would’ve ended up being friends. They had a lot in common after all.. Severus shook his head, focusing on the draught and not thinking of how green a certain prefect’s eyes were.

When class was almost over the professor went to each desk and assessed the pair’s potions. When he got to the transfer students a pleased smile stretched onto his face, “My! This is certainly one of, if not the best executions of the draught I have seen, congrats you too!” He fished out two tickets from his pocket and handed them to the two boys, Severus looked at it confused for a second before shoving it into his pocket. 

“Was all Prince, I only help little,” Sokolov said. 

Severus was about to rebut that Sokolov had helped a lot but the bell went off. The professor turned around to excuse the fifth years and Sokolov vacated the room in record time. Severus was left scrambling for his things and leaving, never getting the chance to thank the tall boy. 

His next subject had been defence against the dark arts which ended up being the most bewildering class he had taken thus far. The professor had been a vampire, something that seemed to shock none of the students. They were very comfortable around the professor, not flinching when she’d come near to look at their work. The professor had a haughty look, she was pale and tall, her hair and eyes both a dark black colour. She seemed to float when she walked around the room helping students out with their work. Today’s class was on pixies, each table had a cornish pixie on the desk under a glass covering and the students were required to draw, label, and write all the information they knew about the creatures.  Unlike Hogwarts, where the pixies had been trapped in cages vigorously trying to escape these pixies were rather calm. 

After class was dismissed Severus made his way to the Dining Chamber for dinner, finally feeling hungry enough to eat. Beauxbatons didn’t have houses, instead, tables were separated by year. He sat at the very end of the fifth-year table, avoiding the rest of his classmates. When the headmistress walked in everyone stood which Severus quickly followed suit. The students only sat back down once the headmistress did. 

When the food appeared Severus was puzzled, instead of big plates of food in the middle of the tables for all the students to help themselves, only one plate sat in front of each student. The plate held a scallop with pesto sauce. This was dinner? Maybe Severus shouldn’t have skipped the other meals… He looked around however and saw that once the students finished their plates another one would appear with something new. 

He tentatively ate the first dish and a second one appeared, a couple pieces of greens with a light vinaigrette. After that came what Severus assumed was the main dish, chicken, carrots, mushrooms, and celery covered in a creamy sauce. Though looking rather simple each dish had complex flavours that Hogwarts dishes usually lacked. The Dessert had been a lemon sorbet and after dessert, a small espresso popped onto the table. Severus blinked before ultimately deciding to drink it, he needed the energy for his evening French class. It was odd to drink one so late in the evening but he supposed it was no more odd than drinking tea before bed. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus was lying in bed, exhausted, he had just finished his French class. The language was frustrating for the boy to learn, he hated the fact that he had to speak as though he had a frog perpetually stuck in his throat. How can people find this language attractive? Severus hadn’t recognized anyone else in the class besides Sokolov. He assumed that meant that they were the only fifth-year transfers. 

He let out a sigh and rolled out of bed. He made his way to his desk, he had to write this bloody letter, he had waited long enough. He chewed on his pen looking at the blank parchment. What should he write? 

Chapter Text

Every day since sending his letter to the ex-Slytherin Remus had sat in the dining hall anticipating a reply. Like a dog waiting for his owner Remus perked up anytime he saw the owls fly in, only for his shoulders to slump when nothing returned. 

“Expecting a letter?” Wormtail asked after the second day of Remus sulking. He brushed off the marauder’s teasing, he hadn’t told his friends about writing to the dark-haired boy. The lycanthrope was scared of embarrassing himself by not getting a reply and even more scared by the incessant teasing he’d get from the two Gryffindors. 

Remus distracted himself by diving headfirst into prefect duties. He helped a lost first-year Gryffindor to her next class, found a Hufflepuff’s missing toad, and transfigured a Ravenclaw’s charm textbook back together. The Lycanthrope made a major miscalculation however, he did not account for the fact that students would now come only to him for help. 

“What’s the answer to the riddle this week?” A Ravenclaw asked. 

“I don’t know, ask your Ravenclaw prefect.” Remus huffed as he mended a tear in the robe of a young Slytherin. 

“My elbow feels funny, what should I do?” Asked a first-year Hufflepuff. 

“Go to the infirmary and ask Pomfrey.” He said as he patted the shoulders of the Slytherin, “There, good as new. Now go to the main hall, you don’t want to miss breakfast.” The Slytherin nodded and ran along. 

Remus sighed and started to make his way there too. While it was hard having so many people depending on him he’d bear the burden. He was glad that students from different houses felt comfortable enough to approach him. 

The main hall was already filled by the time Remus had got there, thankfully his friends always kept him a seat. He made his way over, plopping down in his designated area. Things were still a little awkward with James after the “incident” in the halls. They had a long talk after he sent his letter out and while things were “good” between them they were not great. 

James gave him a weary smile which Remus returned. He filled his plate with eggs and sausage, whenever Remus was particularly exhausted he craved only protein. He is sure Moony is to blame for that.

“How’s the whole Evans thing going James? Got her to agree to go out with you yet?” Wormtail asked. 

Remus internally rolled his eyes, he was tired of hearing James lament about the redhead for five years. You think after that long of her saying no that he’d get the hint and leave the poor girl alone. 

“She’s still playing hard to get but I’m cracking her down. I think I can get her to be my girlfriend by sixth year!” He exclaimed. 

“Sixth? That’s a little ways away Prongs…” Remus interjected. 

James brushed it off, “I already waited this long, what’s one more year?” 

Remus frowned, he knew that if James and Evans were to start dating he’d be very disappointed. Evans was nice to look at, sure, but at the end of the day, she was just a girl, not the deity that James had conjured up in his mind. No, James did not like Evans, what his friend had liked was the chase. He was spoiled, given everything he had ever wanted; When he was denied something he made it his mission to obtain it. He found a thrill in it, he could see it in James' eyes when he asked Evans out or when he’d corner a certain Slytherin and beat him down. 

He supposed that’s why James had always targeted Snape, while it was partially because he was in the way of James getting to Evans it was also because he had constantly denied the Potter heir. 

The owls came swooping in, Remus braced himself for disappointment but was surprised when a letter had landed right in front of him. His eyes had widened and he snatched it quickly before anyone else could take it. The envelope was a pale blue, his name had been scrawled in a beautiful cursive, he used his finger to trace the letters. Realising he probably looked barmy to his friends he turned the parcel over and opened it, hands shaking slightly from anticipation and fear. 

November 28, 1975

Dear Lupin, 

I must admit I was shocked at first to see it was you who had sent me a letter. I am glad that you have decided to open your eyes to your “friends” antics. I accept your apologies for everything except the Shrieking Shack, that was not your fault. 

I understand where you are coming from, believe it or not. I also had to go against my moral code for the sake of surviving in my house. I suppose that’s why I find it in myself to forgive you. 

Apologies for the late response, 

• Severus Prince 

  (P.s. I know your secret and am not afraid of you, so don’t go on living your life in constant fear of what people might think, we all have our secrets.) 

Warmth pooled at the bottom of the lycanthrope’s belly, the ex-Slytherin had accepted his apology, had accepted him. The last part had made his inner-wolf pleased though Remus chose to ignore why for the moment. He didn’t notice the smile that brandished his face until his friends pointed it out. 

"Good news?” James asked in a mocking tone though Remus took it seriously.

“The best,” He shoved the letter into his robes and ran to the library. He might be able to write something up before it was time for first period. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And that’s how it happened, the two started to exchange letters with one another. They talked about little things like school and their families. Severus (who allowed Remus to refer to him by his first name) had been adopted by his grandparents, now the heir to the Prince line, and transferred to Beauxbatons. His life was busy and lavish, with heir duties and attending such a prestigious school. Sometimes when Remus was feeling particularly insecure he’d wonder why the teen was even acknowledging his presence.  

James and Peter of course asked questions which Remus brushed off. Often by changing the subject to something that would make the duo forget about the parcels. 

Winter break was only a couple of days away, of course, this year the full moon landed during holiday. Though he supposed it could be worse, thankfully it landed the Thursday before Christmas. 

The Potter heir barged into the shared dorm, “Come on Moony, Wormtail, looks like we’re going to Hogsmeade together.” James said. 

Remus set his book down on his lap, raising a brow, “Did Evans reject you again?” He asked unamused. 

James sighed, flopping himself onto Remus’s bed, “Ughhhh I don’t know what I’m doing wrong Moony!” 

“Have you ever thought that maybe you just aren’t her type?” He asked gently, he knew that Evans was a touchy subject for the heir. 

“That’s impossible! I’m everyone’s type!” He said indignantly. 

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend’s cockiness. He got out of bed and started dressing for the harsh weather outside. He was going to go to Hogsmeade anyway, Professor McGonagall had asked him to help with the students. 

 James had taken so long attempting to fix his hair that they almost missed the time to leave. They followed the large crowd of students to the wizarding village. 

“Where should we go first?” Peter asked, face already red from the cold. 

“Honeydukes?” James suggested. 

Remus sighed, they always went to the sweet shop every time they visited. While the lycanthrope was partial to chocolate he didn’t like the giant crowds of children on sugar highs that filled the store. He supposed that he could get a couple of gifts there however and agreed. 

Something he immediately regretted when stepping foot into the shop. Students were shoulder to shoulder, pushing and shoving one another to get to the treats they had wanted. It took over an hour for the trio to leave the shop, by the time they did their faces were red with a thin sheen of sweat. 

“H-how about we take a break at the T-three Broomstick?” James wheezed out, almost throwing up and he was in better shape than the other two, what with being in Quidditch. It sounded like a lovely idea to Remus who was shivering due to the fact that his sweat was now becoming bitingly cold. 

The trio practically crawled to the pub, each ordering a Butterbeer. When Madam Rosmerta came back the marauders had stared upon the hot foaming tankards like the beverage was water in the desert. Remus held onto the tankard to warm his hands back up and took a drink, feeling the beverage start to slowly warm his body as it made its way down. 

The marauders sat in silence as they greedily drank their Butterbeers. Peter sighed heavily as he slammed his tankard down, wiping the foam moustache off his face he asked, “So where are we going now?” 

“The only other place I need to go to is Zonko’s, what about you Moony?” James asked. 

Remus was surprised that the Potter heir had asked him, it took him a moment to reply. “I need to go to Tomes and Scrolls…” He said. 

James grimaced, “Sounds boring.” 

The lycanthrope frowned, “Well you don’t have to go.” 

“Woah Moony calm down, I was just pulling your leg.” He said. 

Remus let it go, with the full moon being so near he assumed that he might’ve accidentally come off as more aggressive than he intended. They had gotten up from their seats and made their way to Zonkos. It had been a repeat of Honeydukes though a smidge less hectic as more students preferred treats to tricks. 

Oddly enough, James still followed Remus to Tomes and Scrolls despite his whinging. He perused the shelves looking for anything he could get Severus. It was probably strange, what with only talking for a couple weeks but Remus had really wanted to get the Beauxbatons student something. He wanted to find a gift that would send the message of “Thank you for accepting my apology, sorry again for what I did, Happy Christmas”, though he might’ve been a little ambitious with that. 

He grabbed a potions book but then decided to put it back, the Lycanthrope was absolute pants at potions and had no clue what to look for. He almost gave up and walked out of the store when his eyes landed on something, two-way journals. Odd, he had heard of a two-way mirror, James and Sirius had one to talk to each other when separated; but he hadn’t heard of its journal counterpart. He grabbed it, looking at it closely, little designs were embroidered into it. 

“Those just entered the market, a good choice for a gift.” The owner said, sneaking up behind Remus and scaring the pants off of him. 

Remus brought the journals close to his chest, attempting to slow his heart. “How much?” He asked. 

“Nine galleons.” 

Remus baulked at the price, nine galleons?! He was about to disheartenedly put the journals back when James suddenly appeared. 

“He’ll take them!” the heir started to fish out the galleons from his pocket.

“James it’s okay- you don’t have to-” 

“This is for you and your little friend, right? I don’t mind at all really, it’ll save me the headache of seeing you pout until the owls arrive.” James said, giving the lycanthrope a sly smirk to show that he was joking.  

Remus gave a shy smile back, embarrassed by how excited he was to hear from the Beauxbatons student. “Thank you, James. I owe you.” He felt like he was going to regret saying that. 

They both turned to make their way out of the shop, “Really it’s no big dea-” James froze as he came face to face with a certain red-headed Gryffindor. 

By the look on Evans face, she had witnessed the whole scene. “Erm… Hello Lily…” The Potter heir said, clearly nervous. 

A smirk came onto her face, “So it seems you do have a heart, Potter. Maybe I was wrong about you…” She then brushed past them, James following her form until she disappeared. 

Merlin's sake now he looks like a charity case. He knew that James didn’t see it that way but the interaction had made him feel sick to his stomach. Remus, the half-blood with shabby clothes, who was constantly “sick” couldn’t afford journals, thank Merlin his kind, rich, pureblood friend James was able to. 

James looked at the lycanthrope’s face and frowned, “Moony are you doing that self-loathing thing again? Look, I told you why I got the journals, besides I’m sure the Hogwarts owls will thank me.” 

Remus laughed at that, “Okay… But I do owe you. Is there any homework you’ve been dreading?” he asked as they made their way out the door. 

“Well now that you mention it…Mind doing my charms essay?” 

Chapter Text

Severus did not fit into Beauxbatons. The students there were all as pompous and embellished as the school, even with the fixes in his appearance he was an ugly dark smudge in a sea of lavish hues. He tried so hard the first week to blend in but he was unsuccessful. The other students stared at him a lot, it had gotten to the point that the ex-Hogwarts student had taken refuge in his room when he wasn’t attending classes. When he skipped meals, the elves would place the food in his dorm. Once Severus had found out they would always do that he stopped going to the Dining Chamber entirely. There was no point in going down there anyway, letters were delivered to students' dorms in fear of owls spreading their germs on the food and mucking up their fine French architecture.

He found that when he wasn’t studying or doing his assignments he dedicated himself to writing. He was only able to send letters to Regulus biweekly, the heir having eyes that watch his every move and report back to his parents. Lily had never written to him which Severus could understand, she was dedicated to studying for the OWLs. Severus, being a Beauxbatons student, didn't take them until next year. 

He took it upon himself to write to her, she hadn’t responded until days later and it had only been a couple of short sentences. It made his stomach twist up in knots, he decided to not bother the redhead anymore. She could write to him when she felt like it. 

Then there was Lupin… The lycanthrope had shocked him, he had expected to hear nothing back after accepting the apology but oddly enough the Gryffindor seemed to want to keep a correspondence. He was susceptible to it for one reason and one reason alone, Severus was terribly lonely. 

Severus was used to being alone, he liked being alone. At Hogwarts, he shut himself off from everyone to be able to stay in isolated bliss, but if he had ever felt the need for companionship he could go to either Reg or Lily. He couldn’t do that here, being unable to speak the language nobody had wanted to interact with him. When paired up for projects people would talk at him, not to him. They had treated him like some bumbling ugly imbecile and he supposed that they were right. 

It was through writing to the lycanthrope that he had found someone to talk to. It was cathartic, writing out what he had been thinking, and feeling, of course in a more filtered way as he had not trusted Gryffindor; but freeing no less. He had learned that they had quite a lot in common when it came to their life before Hogwarts. They had both grown up poor, half-blooded, and dreadfully lonely. 

Severus was not a dolt. He was always careful with what he revealed, only opening up once Lupin had shared information about himself. Though he had forgiven the lycanthrope he had not forgotten about the things he had done or better put let be done to the ex-Slytherin. Severus promised himself that if Lupin were to revert back to his old ways he would cut all contact with him immediately. Though now it has been a couple of weeks and the Lycanthrope had yet to make Severus regret his decision. 

Today was the last day until winter break for Beauxbatons students. There was a big meal with glittering ice sculptures and wood nymphs singing in a choir. It sounded dreadful really, and Severus was glad that he wouldn’t have been able to attend. It was Sunday and the half-blood had to come to Prince Manor for his heir training. 

Training to be an heir was boring, if he wasn’t spending hours memorising the family trees of important bloodlines and their crests, he was learning how to be a good host. His head had hurt trying to remember which blends of tea were appropriate for what occasion and how to properly set a table. Not only did he have to know where certain utensils had to go and when to use them but he also had to be well-versed in seating arrangements to not offend someone by placing them too far from the head of the table. He had to know how to entertain his guests, how to greet them properly, and how low to bow based on status. 

“Merlin, purebloods are sensitive!” Severus groaned, slumping into his chair. He had felt as though all he was learning was how to handle purebloods’ thin skin. 

His grandfather chuckled, “Yes, I’m afraid that pride and hypersensitivity go hand in hand.” 

The boy was quiet for a moment, “Would I have to start treating you and Grandfather Etienne like this?” Severus dreaded the idea of having to stick to such particular rules. 

“Merlin no! This is merely for acquaintances and guests, you do not have to follow these practices with close friends or family in the comfort of your own home,” Augustin said. 

Severus felt relieved, “How much more do I have to learn?” he asked. 

His grandfather frowned, “We still have to get through attire, banquets, dancing, courting-” 

The boy straightened up, panic shooting through his body, “Courting? I thought you said that I get to choose?” 

“Relax young one, you are correct. What I mean to say is how to handle others around you based on their marital status.” 

“What do you mean?” Severus’s brows furrowed. 

His grandfather let out a small sigh, “There are some things that are deemed inappropriate based on whether or not the person is married or being actively courted. On the other end some actions can be misconstrued as being acts of courting if done on someone who is single.” he explained calmly. 

“Oh.” The boy said, purebloods are very complicated. In the muggle world, one grew a thick skin, it was normal to be sarcastic, biting, to throw a couple of curse words into conversations. In the wizarding society, however, if Severus were to serve lavender tea during a time that warranted mint they would think he was trying to poison them and lock him up in Azkaban. 

“Word of advice, if someone drops something at a banquet do not pick it up.” Severus nodded vigorously to his grandfather’s caution, taking it as gospel. 

At that moment an owl swooped in and dropped a parcel in front of Severus. Feeling a sense of deja vu he picked up the package and examined it, there was a small note that read “for Christmas” attached to the wrapped gift. He could tell from the handwriting that it was Lupin, it looked as though he was always in a rush to get whatever he wanted to say out. 

Basing it off the shape it had to be some kind of book. His grandfather raised a brow at him and Severus flushed, “Erm sorry.” He said, putting the parcel to the side so they can continue their lesson. 

His Grandfather cleared his throat, “It’s quite alright, I was planning on wrapping up today’s lesson. There is just one more thing I wanted to discuss with you…” he seemed a little apprehensive which terrified the teen. 

“What is it?” Severus asked. 

“Well… I was wondering if you think you would be ready to officially be labelled my heir once you turn seventeen.” 

Severus’s eyes widened, “You do know my birthday is in early January right?” 

“Yes, I am very much aware of that.” He scoffed. 

He thought for a moment, “You believe in me that much?” he asked. 

His Grandfather got up from his seat, making his way to Severus before putting his hands on his grandson’s shoulders. “Severus I do not give compliments often but you are a brilliant boy. By the second week of getting to know you I knew you’d be a great fit. What I’m asking is how you would feel about it. I do not mind waiting a couple more months or even years.” 

Severus swallowed, “If I say yes, how much will change?” 

“Not much, we are already treating you as if you are our heir right now. This would just inform the rest of the Wizarding World. I am still head of house until you become married or I pass, you will just have to attend a couple of meals and banquets with me.” He said.

The whole Wizarding World knowing? Severus didn’t know what to think, some people already knew like Lupin and somehow Regulus, but everyone? In a sick way, Severus had liked the idea of his housemates finding out and regretting how they had treated him, or Slughorn lamenting on how he had never given Severus any praise, believing him to be a nobody. He rolled his eyes at the thought of his Head of House’s little club.  

“May I think about it?” He asked. 

His grandfather gave him a small smile, squeezing his shoulders, “Of course, you think about it for as long as you like.”  

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus was currently in his grandfather’s potions lab making Lupin’s Christmas gift. He hadn’t expected the lycanthrope to get him something and it was rude to not return the favour. The Gryffindor had told Severus in his letter that he’d be transforming the week before Christmas. The ex-Slytherin supposed that a good early gift would be potions to lessen the pain of post-transforming. 

Severus tried his best to think back on the things Lupin would complain about, sore muscles and joints, headaches, and fatigue. He drew up a couple of potions to make that would help combat these symptoms and got to work. He had spent multiple hours in there, not noticing until one of his grandfathers came knocking on the door to check if he was alright. 

Once he was finished Severus poured everything into vials, labelling them and writing instructions for the lycanthrope to follow. He hoped that Lupin would like the gift and not take offence. He didn’t know if Pomfrey gave him potions to take during holiday, or perhaps his parents might’ve. 

Before he could spiral and change his decision Severus made his way to the owl post, giving the package away to one of the Prince manor owls and letting it fly off. 

“Your friend must be very sick.” Severus yelped as he turned to face his grandparents, oh Merlin both of them were there. 

“Erm yeah…they are…” Severus said, there was no point in outright denying it. Why else would he have made a bunch of medical-grade potions as a gift?

His grandparents gave each other a look, they were telling each other something with their eyes, he just knew it. His Grandfather Etienne stepped towards him, “You know you can tell us anything right?” He said, concern lacing his voice. 

No, no he could not. He could not tell them about Lupin, about what he is. Severus, however, had just nodded his head though he could feel that something was stuck in his throat. Perhaps it was a confession, a confession that he had lied to their faces about what had happened that night they first met him. 

He had wanted nothing more than to tell them the truth, they had done so much for him they deserved to not be lied to. Instead, he had just walked off, leaving his Grandparents to stare after his retreating figure with concern.

Chapter Text

Remus sat on his bed doing James’s homework. He had still felt guilty that James had spent all that money on him so he offered to do his winter assignments as well. He didn’t mind it if he were being honest, it helped entertain the half-blood. He couldn’t visit James like he usually did because Sirius was there, and the new neighbourhood that the Lupins had recently moved into was filled with older neighbours who complained at any noise one made. Remus grimaced, they wouldn’t last long here. 

Though if the lycanthrope was being honest they didn’t last long anywhere . Sooner or later nosey neighbours would pick up on the strange behaviour of the Lupin’s son and they were forced to pack up and leave again. It was because of this that the Gryffindor didn’t have his first friends until Hogwarts. 

There was a knock, he lifted himself from his hunched-over position, “Yes?” He called. 

His mother opened the door, “Would you join us for lunch?” though she said it in a questioning tone, Remus knew it was more of a demand. 

The lycanthrope started to clean up the papers that littered his bed, “Yes, I’ll be there in just a second.” he said. 

His mother gave him a frail smile and left the doorway. Frail, that was the best way to describe Remus’s mother. She was very thin, her once beautiful face dawning a sickly look ever since her son had been bit. 

He made his way to the table, his father already sitting there reading over the daily prophet. Lyall and Hope had taken off of their jobs for the week of the transformation, they had to prepare an area for Remus to transform and also help their son back to health. He had felt guilty, he always felt guilty. He wondered what life would’ve been like for his parents if he were never bitten. Lyall and Hope had been happy and deeply in love, now all they had seemed was worried and scared. Remus had made them this way. 

He sat down, “Anything interesting Pa?” Remus asked. 

Lyall looked up from his paper, smiling at his son, “I’m afraid not.” 

He knew that his father was lying, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was rising slowly in power, recruiting more death eaters by the minute. Lyall must know even more than Remus what with working in the ministry. 

The Lupins ate together, they had asked Remus how school was going and how his friends were. He had not told them about the situation, how Sirius had nearly killed another student by using his sickness. No, he couldn’t tell them for fear of his mother having a heart attack right there at the dining table. He could tell his father, and probably will tell him eventually when they’re alone and he can promise not to tell his mother.

“Before I forget, there’s a package for you,” Hope said, getting out of her seat to retrieve it. 

Remus blinked, a package? For him? Who would get him anything? His mother placed it on the table, he pulled it over to himself examining the box. He couldn’t tell what it was from shape alone though it was fairly heavy. He saw a note and flipped it over, in familiar handwriting it had instructed him to open the package before the eighteenth. 

He felt his cheeks start to hurt, oh he was smiling, now his parents were both giving him an odd look. “Aren’t you going to open it?” His mother asked. 

Remus blinked at them, both Lyall and Hope had curious expressions on their faces. It seemed as though they too wanted to see what was in the mystery package. 

“I-erm okay,” Remus said as he slowly started to tear away at the paper. He was nervous, Severus had gotten him something? 

Peeling back the paper revealed a box with no hints as to what was inside. With slightly shaky hands he opened the box up, and Remus’s eyes widened. Is this what he thought it was? He picked up the letter to confirm his suspension. It was. 

Severus had made potions to help with his transformation. He could feel a burning in his eyes. “Well? What is it?” His mother asked. 

Remus had realised that the lid of the box was still covering the contents from his parents. He closed it back up before they could see, clearing his throat. “Erm, James had gotten me potions for my transformation.” 

Hope’s eyes became watery, “Oh, what a sweet boy he is.” 

When his parents had found out that his old friends had learned of Remus’s secret they were not pleased. His mother became sick with worry, taking a month to fully recover. He couldn’t tell her that someone else had found out, he just couldn’t. Back then she had been healthier, now her health had deteriorated so badly that he feared she wouldn’t recover. Though he had wanted to, the gift was the nicest thing anyone had gotten the lycanthrope and he had wanted to give Severus his proper credit. 

He excused himself so he could examine the potions properly in the privacy of his room. His surprise continued to grow as he saw how much Severus had made him. With the potions came a list of instructions on when and how to take them. There were some potions he was made to take before the transformation such as a muscle-relaxing potion, and a numbing potion. Then there were potions to take after the transformation. He saw the normal things Pomfrey had given him like the wound-cleaning potion and blood-replenishing potion, but he also saw things he hadn’t recognized before like a balm to put on your wounds that will close them up. 

Merlin the ex-Slytherin was brilliant. Sure everyone knew that Severus was smart, he had constantly been top of his year for every year he had attended Hogwarts, but Remus could not name another student in Hogwarts who could do all of this. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lyall led his son into the forest; they had temporarily built a shed deep in the trees to keep the werewolf at bay. He had always hated full moons, hearing his boy cry in agony, the sound of his bones breaking and remending, the sound of his son mutilating himself in his wolf form. But what he hated most was the fact that all of this was his own fault. In the act of finding justice for two murdered children, he had doomed his own child. 

If he had ever found Greyback he would give him a fate worse than death. Though he didn’t know how to go about it. At first, he had wanted to take everything the werewolf had cared about; but then he realised the werewolf cared about no one, he had nothing. That was what made him so dangerous, he was a man with no morals and nothing to lose. 

He pulled his son into an embrace, “I’m sorry.” he whispered just like he always had before he transformed. 

“It’s okay,” His son said back, giving him a wobbly smile before making his way into the shed. He had always done that, tried to reassure his father that he was fine with going through this every month. However, the older man could see in his son's eyes that he was terrified. Lyall had locked up the door as soon as he entered, using as many charms as he knew to protect not only the neighbourhood but his son. 

He sat down by the shed, closing his eyes tight, ready to hear the screams; but there was nothing. Lyall had opened his eyes again, curious, has he not transformed yet? He put his ear to the cold metal wall of the shed. Then he heard it, the familiar snapping of bones, but no screaming. 

The sound of growling filled the quiet space, followed by the usual sound of the wolf destroying the room. Lyall always tried to fill the space where his son transformed with as many things as possible. It was to distract the wolf, even for a little bit. The wolf would tear at the inanimate objects before becoming bored and opting to destroy its own flesh.

Oh how he hated that noise, it was a mixture of growling and whimpering. The need to destroy something, anything, and the pain of destroying one’s self. Though the wolf never stopped, almost as if the urgency to harm outweighed its self-preservation. It was as though the wolf was punishing itself in a way for merely existing. 

He wouldn’t leave his son, though he couldn’t be in the room with him; He would wait out here and run to his side once he transformed back. He had sat there, on the ground, the wet snow seeping into his skin, the cold metal biting into his back. He sat there and listened just like he always had. This was his punishment, his reminder. 

The sounds subsided hours later and Lyall got up, his legs were numb from the cold but he had forced them to move. He undid all the charms and opened the door. His son was lying on the floor unconscious and bloody, the mutilation he had done to himself in wolf form mirroring onto his human flesh. 

He made his way to the boy, eleven years. It had been eleven years since he was turned and still Lyall wasn’t used to the sight of the aftermath, he didn’t think he ever would be. He took the sixteen-year-old boy into his arms and held him as he made his way back to the house; holding him close like the day he was born. 

He gingerly placed his boy onto his bed, minding his wounds. Remus had told him about the box and given him the page of instructions that went with the potions. Lyall had known that it wasn’t James who had given the potions to him, he had sent a letter to Fleamont thanking him. Lord Potter had no idea what Lyall was talking about, his son had lied though he hadn’t blamed him. 

Whoever did give this to him however was very talented, they were of a higher quality than the ones at Saint Mungo's. He placed the purple liquid onto his wounds and waited until the smoke vanished to move onto the unfamiliar paste. It was cool to the touch and as he rubbed it into the gashes the skin started to mend itself. His eyes widened in fascination, he looked at the unlabeled container, what was this stuff? He’d have to ask Fleamont about it, the potioneer was familiar with all the new-to-market inventions. 

After he patched up the boy he left him to rest, making his way to his office. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Remus woke up with relatively little pain, he blinked, was transforming a dream? No, he remembered his father leading him to the shed. He remembered the faint memories he had as Moony, but he didn’t feel like he normally had. What in Merlin’s name had Severus given him? 

All he had known was that the next couple of days were relatively painless. He’d have a couple of migraines here or there but the Beauxbatons students had anticipated that and made extra vials of headache relief potions. 

Christmas had come rather quickly this year, Remus had received a lifetime supply of chocolate from his friends. It was the same thing they had gotten him every year though Remus didn’t mind, he did like the sweet treat. His parents had gotten him some cosy jumpers and socks, unlike most kids Remus’s age he loved getting knitwear for Christmas. He would wear it until it became ratty then his parents would get him more next holiday. 

They stayed in, drinking cocoa and playing board games. Though his mum was a muggle she had loved playing wizard chess, she was merciless, never letting her child win. They had played a couple of rounds until she became too tired. As the years went on Hope had less and less energy, Remus frowned as she made her way into her room. 

“Don’t worry about her,” His father said, “she’ll be fine. She’s resilient.” 

“Yeah…” Remus said noncommittally, not believing a word his father said. 

They were silent for a moment before his father spoke up again, “Your friend should patent their work.” 

Remus blinked at him, “What?” he asked. 

“The friend who gave you those potions? They should patent it before someone else does.” He said. 

Remus froze, his dad avoided saying James’s name. He knew it wasn’t him who had given Remus the potions, “Look Dad I’m-”

“I know, it’s okay. You don’t need to tell me anything.” He said before getting up and stretching his back out, “I don’t know about you but I’m going off to bed. Goodnight son.” 

“N-night dad,” Remus said, not sure what had just happened. 

He supposed that it was time for him to retire to his room as well. Once he sat down on his bed he looked over at the journal on the side table. Curious if Severus had written in it yet he grabbed it, the leather was warm. 

The journals were charmed to warm up whenever someone had written in them. Remus opened the book to see its contents. 

Thank you for the gift

 

Of course! I hope it wasn’t presumptuous of me, 

I had just thought this would be easier than making the owls hate us. 

 

By the way, thank you for the gift! Truly, it was the most thoughtful  thing anyone has gotten me…

No need to get sappy now, 

You had gotten me something so it would only 

be polite to return the favour. 

Were the potions sufficient?  

Remus held back a smile, the ex-Slytherin was always so formal with his writing. He had yet to meet another person as polite yet biting as him. 

Yes! What in Merlin’s name did you 

put in those potions? I was chopping wood on the 

same day I woke up from transforming!

I’m glad that they worked well for you 

I had done nothing more than make slight adjustments

I hope you don’t mind that I put some of my own inventions in there… 

 

   You created some?! 

I knew I didn’t recognize a few of them, 

 I just thought it was because I was pants at the subject

 

It’s really no big deal 

Once you learn the effects of certain potions 

Ingredients you can pretty much make anything. 

Still, thank you. 

I owe you now.

 

You don’t owe me anything, 

I just gave you a gift in response to the gift you 

gave me. 

 

Come on, I’ll do anything.

 

Should you be owing debts to Slytherins?

 

I trust you.

 

A mistake really.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The journals had led Severus and Remus to talk more frequently and less formally than they originally had. The Beauxbatons student had distracted him to the point that he had forgotten about James’s homework. Luckily he had done most of it before Christmas so there wasn’t much to scramble together. Still, he had regretted it. He was tired while waiting on the platform for the train to arrive. 

As a prefect, he had to patrol the corridors of the train for part of the ride there. Being a Gryffindor he and Lily had to patrol first, they switched every hour. Lily made her way next to him, “Have a good break Lupin?” She asked, way too peppy for so early in the morning. 

He blinked at her for a moment, “Erm yeah, what about you?” he asked, purely for formality's sake. 

She huffed, brushing her hair off her shoulder, “Boring, after Severus left Cokeworth has been rather dull. I can’t wait to live in a wizarding town like all of you.” She said, her eyes bright. 

Remus frowned, “I live in a muggle neighbourhood…” He said. 

She looked owlishly at him as if she could not comprehend that anyone else lived outside the magical world. “Why? Aren’t you a half-blood?” She asked.

“Yeah but-” 

“Ohh is your muggle parent like Severus’s?” She asked, lowering her voice into a conspiratory whisper. 

Remus’s brows furrowed, Severus hadn’t talked about his parents and the lycanthrope never pushed him to. “I don’t know what you’r-” 

“Evans!” James came running towards them, Remus was thankful for once that the Gryffindor was unable to leave the redhead alone. He walked off, leaving the two Gryffindors to flirt. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Remus was thirty minutes into patrolling when he suddenly felt hands grab at his robes and pull him into an empty cabin. It took him a moment to recognize the perpetrator.

“Regulus?” He asked, staring dumbfoundedly at the younger boy. 

Said boy was glaring daggers into him, “If I find out you hurt him I’ll throw every dark curse I know at you.” he said coldly. 

“Hurt who?!” He asked, his voice wavering slightly as the Slytherin continued to glare. 

“You know exactly who I am talking about, don’t play dumb.” He bit out.

Remus straightened up, knocking away the hand that was clutched to his robe. “I would never . Besides, why are you giving me this talk now and not when you told me to write to him?” he asked. 

Regulus avoided his eyes, “To be honest I thought he was going to ignore you… But he didn’t.” 

Something in that expression broke Remus slightly. His face smoothed out, gaining a more sympathetic look, “Why did you pull me in here? I know it’s not just to threaten bodily harm.” 

The Slytherin drew into himself slightly, less confident than before. “Just…Make sure he’s okay for me, yeah?” 

“Of course…” He didn’t know why the pureblood couldn’t just ask the ex-Slytherin himself but Remus chose not to comment on that. He was sure the boy had his reasons. 

The younger Black made his way to the door after croaking out a small thanks as if it physically pained him to say it. 

“Hey, Regulus?” Remus said before his hand touched the handle, he didn’t respond but he stopped moving. “If you ever have any questions you need to ask him or anything you need to tell him I don’t mind relaying the message.” He had wanted to say more, to tell him that if he needed anyone to talk to he was here; but he supposed that it would be too forward for the Slytherin. 

He merely nodded before making his way out of the cabin, leaving Remus with nothing but a bad feeling. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had made it to Hogwarts without a hitch. Perhaps it was because James’s other half was no longer around so there was no one else to properly enable the pure blood. Whatever it was Remus was thankful, besides getting threatened the lycanthrope had a pretty good time on the train. 

Lily had decided to sit with the trio on the train and brought one of her friends with her. Peter and Remus talked amongst themselves while James loudly bragged about his break to the two girls. Lily’s friend had sent the lycanthrope a couple of shy glances that he had decidedly ignored.

When Peter started to doze off he decided to write to Severus. Well, the “writing” in question was actually just them drawing crude caricatures of the Hogwarts staff. Remus had a particularly hard time stifling his laughter when the Beauxbatons student had drawn Slughorn centar-like but instead of a horse, he drew his namesake. However, there was one glaring error that Remus couldn’t help but point out. 

You know slugs are the ones without shells, right?

 

Oh sod off 

I didn’t say anything when you drew cat McGonagall with only three fingers 

 

That’s because it was a stylistic choice 

The two had argued back and forth on the matter until the train came to a halt. Remus reluctantly put his journal back into his bag. His last prefect duty for the day was to make sure all the students safely made it out of the train. 

He stood by the exit, helping the smaller students get off of the train and onto the platform. One overactive Gryffindor nearly knocked both himself and Remus onto the ground. 

When he helped the last of the students out of the train he felt a slight tug at his robes. He turned to see a familiar first-year looking back at him, his expression nervous. He looked at his mid-length black hair and recognised him immediately. This was the Slytherin that James had tried to attack. 

He smiled at him, trying to make him more comfortable. “What can I help you with?” It had seemed to do the opposite effect, making the boy even more nervous than before.

“I-erm Thank you.” He managed to push out 

“For what?” He asked, he hadn’t done anything for the boy since that incident.

He looked to the ground, “For helping me that day, no one has ever- erm.” he stopped himself from saying what he was about to say, “Just thank you, I’m sorry you had to take points from your friend because of me.” 

Remus ruffled the boy’s hair, “There is no need to apologise. My friend was being a prick and deserved to get his points taken away.” He said. 

The boy reached into his pocket, fishing something out. “I got you something.” He murmured. 

Remus blinked, “Me, why?” he asked. 

He handed the shrunken present to the prefect, “I thought you’d like it.” he said shyly. 

“May I open it?” He asked and the boy nodded vigorously. 

He unshrunk the package, he could feel that it was a book and a heavy one at that. He tore the paper gently away and baulked at the cover. 

The Slytherin must’ve taken it as a sign of displeasure as he quickly began to apologise, “I-I’m sorry you can sell it if you don’t like it-” 

“Where did you get this? H-how did you know?” He asked as his eyes traced the cover for the hundredth time, making sure it was real. It was a book on magical creatures, a very very rare book on them, only a few were printed. 

The boy’s smile returned, “I always see you reading books like this in the library so I just thoug-”

A foreign voice yelled across the platform, “Rabastan!” 

The Slytherin, who Remus now assumed was Rabastan in question, quickly ran off to join the much older Slytherins. The lycanthrope watched as the figures disappeared before looking back at the book. 

Were all Slytherins good gift-givers? 

Chapter Text

“I just wished he would talk to us!” Etienne huffed, pacing on the hardwood floor in front of the floo. It was already the end of winter break and they just sent their grandson back to Beauxbatons. 

Augustin frowned, “If we push him it’ll only make things worse.” Severus never told them why he sent those potions, he never told them what he made, and he hadn’t told them why he looked almost upset to return to school. The boy was hiding something, it was clear as day to the two older men. 

Lord Prince could find it out quickly, enter his mind, go through his belongings, intercept his mail but he had done none of that. He needed the boy to come to him , he needed his grandson to feel comfortable enough to open up. If he were to go against his back like that he’d lose the boy’s trust forever. 

Augustin got up from his spot on the couch, watching his husband pace back and forth was making him dizzy. He made his way over to a tapestry, the Prince family tree. He trailed his finger down the grey names, all that were not with them anymore. He passed by the faded names of his children before temporarily landing on Eileen’s, still as saturated as the day she was born. Hardening his heart Augustin resumed, following the lone branch that led to Severus’s name. 

“He’s not used to having anyone, this is all new to him… Give him time.” He said. 

Etienne huffed, “We don’t have time.” 

“You won’t have time if you keep stressing yourself out, you’re two more complaints away from a heart attack. Sit down, I’ll make you some tea.” He said, making his way to the kitchen. He did not look back to see if his husband had listened or not. 

The truth was Augustin needed a moment, a moment to clear his mind and think about what to do. Etienne was right, they didn’t have all the time in the world contrary to what he had told Severus. He did not want to pressure the boy, the wounds were all still so fresh for him and Augustin believed that the old ones never quite healed properly. 

He could see it, in the way he avoided eye contact, in the way he’d fiddle with his hands, in the way that he’d flinch at subtle movements. Every time he looked at the boy he couldn’t help but be disappointed and disgusted at his own daughter. How? How can someone do that to a child? How could he raise someone who would eventually do that? What had he done wrong?

If Augustin wasn’t raised to be the head of the house, if he hadn’t been trained in suppressing his emotions, he probably would’ve begged for forgiveness from the boy. Apologised for creating the thing that hurt him. He couldn’t however, if he were to try he would break and Lord’s don’t do such things. 

He cleared his throat, attempting to loosen the tight sensation, and returned to the sitting room. He placed a cup of tea next to his husband who gave him a small smile in return, he looked tired. They both did but he supposed that’s what came with age.  

His eyes had still held their boyish charm. When he looked into them he swore he was transported back to when they were in school. When they had first met. Merlin it was so long ago, but they weren’t two foolish teenagers anymore.  

He could get through this, they could get through this. They had gone through worse, the faded names…

“He doesn’t need to trust us, he just needs to agree to officially be our heir.” He said once he sat down. “As soon as he does that we can go to the ministry about Dumbledore. If the ministry doesn’t listen then the public outcry will make them.” He took a sip of his tea. 

It was sad to admit but there would be a lot more outrage if what the headmaster had done was towards an heir instead of a no-name half-blood. In the wizarding world, names meant everything. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first day back had dragged for Severus, he didn’t want to come back. What he had wanted was to stay at Prince Manor, practice in his Grandfather’s potions lab, and write. Students still stared, no one had talked to him, and everything was too bloody bright. Though he had to admit that it was at least a little better now that he had the journal. 

He made sure not to write in it while the professors were giving lectures but he’d do it in between classes while waiting in the halls. It helped distract him from the looks his classmates would give him. It was embarrassing to admit but he sometimes forgot that an actual person was writing back to him, that Lupin was writing back to him. 

Severus made his way out of his Defence Against the Dark Arts class, his eyes adjusting to the light hallway after being in such a dark room. That’s when he noticed a familiar hulking figure, Severus blinked as the giant stalked up to him. 

“Sokolov?” He asked, confused as to why his lab partner was waiting outside his class for him. Sokolov was the only person who talked to him, yes it was in broken English but nonetheless, he had made an attempt. His lab partner never interacted with Severus outside potions class but Severus never attempted to either. 

The Russian did not answer, instead grabbing the ex-Hogwarts student by his collar and taking him who knows where. Was he going to kill him? Severus had tried to recall if he said anything insulting to the giant recently.

He ignored Severus’s protests and continued to drag him along, the boy calmed down once he started to recognize the path he was taking him, the dining chambers. “You know you could’ve asked me to follow you right?” He grimaced, it would’ve saved a lot of attention being drawn to them. 

“Would find way to escape.” He said, squinting his eyes at him, “Slippy like snake.” Severus grumbled at that, no matter where he went he was unable to escape the comparisons. He was right however, Severus would in fact find a way to bail out of meeting him for dinner.  

Sokolov plopped him down on the bench before sitting next to him. They didn’t say anything, the boy just glared at him. Severus cleared his throat. “So…why did you bring me here?” He asked, sneaking a look around for any escape routes. 

Before Sokolov answered, someone sat across from them, he recognized her as the woman who showed him around the school. “Delacour,” Severus said, giving her a slight nod. 

She gave him a grin, and Severus' stomach dropped, it was the type of grin Lily would give him when she would think of a particularly nasty scheme. “Prince,” She said, “I asked your little friend to bring you.” 

He wanted to tell her that Sokolov and the word little don’t belong in the same sentence, he also wanted to tell her that they were not friends. Severus hadn’t even known the man’s first name. They were just on friendly terms, being potions partners and all. He hadn’t mentioned any of that, instead, he had given her a very dignified, “why?”

“I needed someone who could manhandle you over here in case you decided to escape,” she replied sweetly. 

He rubbed his temple, “No, why do you want me here ?” Severus corrected.  

She straightened, “Oh, that makes more sense…I’m concerned about you…” she said. It had seemed real, her concern, she hadn’t looked like she was doing this for solely prefect duties. 

Severus’s brows furrowed, “why?” The ex-Hogwarts student didn’t understand it, the two had only interacted for the two hours it took to tour the school. 

“You haven’t been showing up to meals, you ignore social gatherings, and you never attempt to socialise with your peers... Are you being bullied?” She asked the last part quietly. 

Severus was shocked, to say the least, that the girl had noticed his behaviour, no one at Hogwarts had ever shown concern for him and he was getting publicly harassed. “No one’s bullying me…” he said. 

Her brows furrowed, “then what is it?” 

He looked at the table, embarrassed to admit what had been bothering him. At Hogwarts, he had been called slurs, had hexes thrown at him left and right, and was often reduced to the laughing stock. Even with all of that he still showed his face, and still ate in the dining hall. He also had Lily and Regulus, the former defending him publicly and the latter comforting him privately. Here he had no one, he suddenly felt his journal warm slightly in his robes. Well no one physically. “It’s just that…they stare… a lot,” he confessed, hating how pathetic he sounded. 

Had he really made himself a recluse just because some people were looking at him? His cheeks reddened as he heard the older girl start to laugh. It should be expected, Severus was acting like a small child throwing a tantrum just because people were looking at him.  

“Oh Prince- I’m sorry I’m not laughing at you I promise, It’s just-,” She composed herself slightly, a broad smile still on her face, “They’re not staring,” she said. 

Severus lifted an eyebrow, “They’re not?” he asked, was he really just so self-centred that he thought they were looking at him? Merlin, how embarrassing. 

She leaned in closer, “No, they’re checking you out.” she whispered. 

His eyes widened before he started to grimace, “That’s not funny,” he said. He was surprised, he didn’t take the French prefect to be the type to make fun of one’s appearance. 

She straightened out, “It’s not a joke, you’ve been the talk of the school. The students think you’re, how do the Englishmen say it… fit?” she said. 

He frowned, why would they think he was attractive? He had gotten bullied relentlessly for his looks for all five years he had attended Hogwarts. 

Delacour was watching the boy, “We need to work on your confidence.” She said.

“We?” Severus asked incredulously. 

“Yes we, I am making you my protegee.” She said, flipping her long silver blond hair off her shoulder.  

Severus scrunched his nose, “ Why ?” he asked. 

“Because you being here is taking the unwanted attention off of me. Right now it doesn’t seem so bad, they’re still too nervous to come up and talk to you. But when they gain the confidence they’ll start vying for your attention.” She smirked.  

Before Severus could question her, Mistress Beaulieu had walked into the dining hall, the students stood up, only sitting back down once she had done so. The plates started appearing one by one again, he missed eating in his room, the food would just appear all on one plate. Now he had to wait painstakingly through the courses. 

Instead of a salad, soup appeared, it was aigo bouido. He had it at his grandfathers’ before, it's a garlic soup if he remembers. He grabbed the spoon, scooping some up. He was about to bring it to his lips when Sokolov suddenly smacked it out of his hands. The spoon went flying, loudly clanking onto the floor. Thankfully the music was too loud for anyone to have noticed. 

“What the hell was that for?!” Severus glared at the man. 

He didn’t seem perturbed by the look, instead, he pointed to the bowl, “Has garlic.” he said. 

Severus lifted a brow, “Yes Sokolov, it has garlic, very astute observation.” Did the giant have some vendetta against the plant? 

Sokolov looked at Severus like he was the dumb one, “Vampires can’t eat.” He said as if that explained any of his actions. 

Severus blinked at the man, trying to process what he was saying. Until it hit him, “Do you think I’m a vampire?” he asked incredulously.  

Sokolov stared at him for a moment, “You are not?” he asked. 

“No! What the hell gave you that idea?” He scoffed. 

Sokolov started to list them off of his fingers, “Pale, dark hair, dark eyes, never go outside, skinny like stick.” the list was becoming progressively more insulting. 

“Okay, you can stop it now, I get it…” He grumbled, picking up a new spoon.  

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Besides the soup incident, dinner had actually been nice. They swapped stories about their schools, Sokolov had come from Durmstrang. The school was secretive, placing many memory charms on the students to not give away its whereabouts, all Sokolov could remember was that it was dark and very cold. He had transferred because the freezing temperature was getting to be too much for his grandmother's joints. It was an odd reason to pack everything and move to a different country but then again Sokolov was an odd individual. 

Both teens had been shocked when Severus told them about the ghosts that lived in Hogwarts. Every other school had charms set in place to prevent them. They had been equally stunned when they found out one of the ghosts had most of his head chopped off and would scare first years with it. 

Delacour was surprising to Severus, the long silvery blond hair, blue eyes, and the tall and thin frame had reminded him of his housemate Narcissa. Though her blunt nature, playful teasing, and bright smile had reminded him of Lily. She had seemed familiar to him, maybe that’s why he didn’t hex her when she talked all that nonsense about being “fit” and her “protege”. 

Severus had made his way with Sokolov to French class, it was annoying having an extra class at the end of the day but he supposed it was worth it. He hated not being able to reply back to people, insulting was one of his favourite hobbies.

    While walking down the hall he felt it, someone staring at him. He thought about what Delacour had said and decided to test her theory out. He turned around and looked the boy right in the eyes and- oh Merlin the boy’s face started to turn pink before he squeaked and scurried off. 

Severus stood there dumbfounded for a moment. Shite she was right… Maybe that was a fluke? Maybe he accidentally glared at him? He was too scared to try it again to see for sure. 

“Want me to beat him up?” Sokolov asked as if he were asking Severus if he’d like to borrow a quill.  

Severus sighed, his shoulders slumping, “No Sokolov, not today.” he mumbled, continuing his way to French class. Maybe he’d need the girl's help after all…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He unshrunk the warm journal and placed it on his desk. He wasn’t able to respond to the message Lupin had sent him during dinner, he didn’t want his two companions to ask any questions. That left a burning hole in his pocket for the rest of their meal and the entire hour of French class after. He opened the journal and raised a brow at the question. 

Should I trust any gifts that come from a Slytherin?

 

It depends on who gave it to you and why. 

Severus was not expecting a response anytime soon, he turned to grab his alchemy book from his bag. When he turned back there was already a reply in the journal 

You know that first year Slytherin James tried to hex?

 

Yes, though I didn’t know it was a first year…

 

Yeah… Well it was him, his name is Bastian I think? 

He gave me a very rare copy of this book on magical creatures,

should I test it for any hexes?

 

Well if they’re a first year then you’re talking about Rabastan 

 

That’s it! 

 

Severus thought for a moment, he didn’t know the boy well, what with the ex-Slytherin dropping out of Hogwarts the second month of the boy's arrival. He was a very nervous boy, much thinner and frailer than his brother. 

I’d say check it 

 

Really? He seemed nice…

 

It’s not him that I’m worried about, 

It’s his family. 

 

What do you mean? 

 

He’s a Lestrange, the younger brother of the bloke 

Bellatrix is marrying. 

 

How do you know this?

 

When you’re a half-blood in a house full of blood supremacists you need to know who will tolerate your existence and who will hex you in your sleep. 

 

Anyways, that’s beside the point. 

He most likely stole the book from his family’s study, there’s no telling what hexes are on that thing 

 

Stole?! 

Should I return it? 

 

No, they’re bloody Death Eaters!

They don’t deserve to get their property returned to them. 

 

Well.. since you put it that way…

    

Chapter Text

James stood anxiously at the door to his father’s study. His eyes traced over the engravings like they had many times before, depictions of deer running up the frame of the door. The Potter Manor was full of carvings of plenty of different animals, but for some strange reason, this had always been James’s favourite. 

Perhaps that was why his patronus was a stag, why he transformed into one as well. However, what had once been an object of wonder had soon turned into an odd foreboding feeling. Their house elf Babsey, who had helped raise James since he was a baby, had apparated into his room. She fiddled with her hands, the Potter heir was in trouble he was sure of it. She had only done that quirk when one of his parents had needed to give him a stern talking to. 

James hadn’t felt perturbed at first until the elf told him it was his father who needed to see him. He was used to his mother’s nagging, she would get after him for his grades or manners but his father? His father had never been cross at him before. He found James’s pranking and rambunctiousness charming, he encouraged it by giving James his invisibility cloak to help aid in his mischief. 

Did Snivellus’s grandparents decide to go after him as they had done for Pads? He shivered at that, whoever the two of them were, they were powerful. 

He built up the courage to knock on the door when suddenly it opened, he was met with the surprised look of his father, “Ah James, I was about to go look for you myself. Come in.” He said, opening the door wider to allow for the Potter heir to slip through. 

When James stayed put his father let out a single bark of laughter, “Merlin boy, I’m not mad at you, now get in here or I will be.” James gulped but quickly obeyed, scurrying into the darkness of his father’s study.

Despite being very familiar with the door, James hadn’t been inside the room much. His father used it for potions and James, hating the subject, was absolutely not interested in the contents of the study. The jars of miscellaneous potion ingredients used to be nightmare fuel for the young heir. He shuddered as he looked at the jar of eel eyes that followed him wherever he went.  

His father closed the door before walking over to his desk. “Jamie, I need you to be completely honest with me.” He said, leaning onto the wooden surface, “Did you steal some potions from my inventory?” he asked, looking his son directly in the eyes. 

James baulked, “What!? No!” he said, what in Merlin’s name happened for his father to even suspect him of doing such a thing? The Potter Lord only ever gave one rule for his son to follow, never mess with his potions and James was not planning on breaking it anytime soon. 

His father let out a long sigh before picking up the letter that was next to his hand, “If you didn’t then do you care to explain this?” He said, handing the parchment to James. 

The Gryffindor hesitantly grabbed the paper from his father, his eyes roamed the words, his brows becoming progressively more furrowed as he read. “I didn’t know anything about this,” James said. It was the truth, he hadn’t. He knew Moony was transforming but unlike every other time, he hadn’t planned on helping. It had nothing to do with him, he just didn’t want Pads to take it the wrong way. He knew the bloke would get pissed if he were to “choose” to hang out with Remus over him. 

“Would you drink Veritaserum to prove it?” The older man said, looking James dead in the eye. 

The Potter heir paled, “Merlin Dad! Isn’t that a bit extreme?” he said, taking a step back from his father. 

“Jamie, this is extremely important. You know not to touch my potions, what would my competitors think if they found out I could so easily lose my inventory?”

James grew angry at that, “Did you even check your inventory before asking me?” 

“You could’ve just as easily transfigured something to replace the missing stock.” He argued back. 

“Well, I didn’t ! I don’t know who in Merlin’s name gave Remus potions but it wasn’t me.” James ground out, “I’ll drink your bloody potion if you don’t believe me.” He was upset that his dad would even accuse him of such a thing. 

His father let out a heavy sigh, “I believe you son, go play with your friend…I have some letters to send.” he said, turning his back to James and grabbing his quill and ink. The Potter heir quickly left the room, not having to be told twice. 

James had relayed what happened moments ago to Padfoot. The disowned heir’s brows furrowed, just as James had. 

“You don’t think Moony…you know…” he said. 

James did not know what he was getting at, “What?” 

“That he’s talking with Sniv,” he said. His nose crinkled as he said the nickname, just like it had anytime he was forced to mention the ex-Slytherin. 

The Potter heir frowned, “Remus wouldn’t do that.” 

Sirius shrugged, “I don’t know Prongs, he’s… different. He still hasn’t even replied to any of my letters! I bet he’s doing this to get back at us!” He said. 

“That doesn’t sound like-” Then he remembered how Moony had been acting lately. How he had chosen to defend a Slytherin instead of him, his best mate. A Slytherin… had he done that to impress the git? Why would he want to do that? Because he had stupidly thought that the wolf liked the bastard? James had seen it for himself, he was going to kill Sniv if he hadn’t been there in time. 

He suddenly felt his mouth go dry, “The journal…” he said, a sense of dread washing over him. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

When winter break had sadly come to an end James had found himself watching the lycanthrope. The entire train ride back to Hogwarts he had ignored the rest of the occupants in the compartment, choosing instead to write in the two-way journal. 

James scowled, was it really Snivellus? What could the git possibly say to make Remus so bloody happy? 

He hadn’t started talking to this mysterious person until after the git left to go Merlin knows where. The timelines matched up but it just made absolutely no sense to the Potter heir. If it were Sniv then why was the Lycanthrope prioritising writing to him rather than giving attention to Evans' pretty friend? The poor bird had been sending the bloke longing looks the entire ride to Hogwarts. 

No, the person he was writing to was someone else. Perhaps a girl he met in his town, someone who actually warranted that much attention. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Lockhart, please come down from there!” Remus called up the tree. It was only one day after winter break and he already had to deal with more trouble. 

“No! What if the nifflers are down there!” He cried out, clutching himself closer to the trunk. 

The Gryffindor pinched the bridge of his nose, “What did you tell him?” he said looking over to the white-haired Ravenclaw. 

He shrugged. “I only said that if he made his teeth any whiter, nifflers would come steal them while he was sleeping.” 

“Lovegood we’ve talked about this, you’ve got to stop freaking out the first years.” He scolded him before turning back to the tree, “Lockhart, you’re okay! Nifflers are perfectly harmless-”

“Actually they’ve been known to bite off toes and chunks of people’s legs.” The older Ravenclaw supplied, making the younger Ravenclaw even more hysterical. 

Remus gave the white-haired teen a hard glare, “Was that necessary? Now we’re never getting him out of there!” He never understood the bloke's problem, he had done this so often that Remus had to specifically request that he stop talking to the first-years. They were the only ones to fall for it, once they became educated enough in the magical world and creatures they often stopped believing the odd Ravenclaw. 

Lovegood made a humming noise before walking over to where Remus was. He looked up at the terrified first year, “I would get down from there if I were you, nargles love to infest trees and will steal your shoes if you’re not careful!” he said. 

The lycanthrope was about to reprimand him when suddenly Lockhart flew out from the tree, landing right on his arse. “How am I supposed to bloody protect myself if there are creatures everywhere!” he cried out. 

The fifth-year Ravenclaw helped him up, “Cork necklaces help ward off nargles. I’ll give you one of mine, I have plenty.” the boy offered. 

“W-what about the nifflers?” Lockhart sniffed out. 

Remus stepped in, “Ravenclaw’s dorm is in the tower, nifflers prefer the ground. Your dorm is the least likely to be attacked by them.” 

When he hadn’t seemed convinced Lovegood put an arm on his shoulder, “I’ll put an anti-niffler ward on your bed.” There was no such thing, he had lied to comfort the first year. Though he caused this whole mess Remus was still thankful. Lovegood hated lying and straying from his beliefs, so him doing that had meant a lot. 

“Thank you,” Remus said to Lovegood after he sent the first-year off. 

The eccentric Ravenclaw looked at him for a moment before looking down at the book in his arms. He had forgotten that he was holding it. He had planned on reading it out in the sun before this whole fiasco happened. “Good book, the section on werewolves is particularly enlightening…” The lycanthrope froze, and before he could say anything the Ravenclaw left. 

He brushed it off, it was perhaps a coincidence. Lovegood said plenty of things without it particularly meaning anything. Right? 

The Gryffindor found himself racing to his dorm, the curiosity was eating at him, and he needed to know what was written in the book. Was it different from anything else in the dozens of books he had read from the Hogwarts library? 

He sat down on his bed, opening the heavy tome on his lap. The pages were almost orange, it also harboured an overpowering “old book” smell. He flipped the pages until he landed on werewolves. 

Remus frowned at the illustrations on the page. In all the other books he had read the drawings depicted werewolves during their painful transformation or hunting down villages. The drawings in the book had shown neither. It instead depicted werewolves play fighting and chasing one another. There was one drawing in particular that caught his attention, unlike the others where it was wolves interacting with other wolves this one had a wolf paired with a human. 

The lycanthrope’s eyes widened at that, the drawing depicted the wolf in almost a dog-like state around the woman. It was different from all the other things he had seen, everything he had been told. He looked at the heading for the illustration and grew even more shocked. In big bold letters were the words ‘werewolf mates', he found himself reading the passage. 

‘Werewolf mates are humans who can calm one specific wolf. They could only control them to a certain extent however, if someone were to hurt their “mate” while the lycanthrope was still in wolf form the wolf would grow feral again, attacking the assailant. 

A lycanthrope is typically aware of their mate only when they meet in wolf form; due to this inauspicious fact there aren’t many historical records of werewolf mates.’ 

He thought back to the shrieking shack incident, about how Moony had acted before James had shown up. Did that mean that Severus was his ‘mate’? Maybe werewolf mates are just like friends? Like how he is mates with James and Peter, maybe Moony had wanted to be friends with Severus too! That was why he could feel his inner wolf longing for him sometimes, it all made sense!

Then he turned to the second page, it was similar to the drawing from before but now it portrayed the werewolf shifting back into a woman. The other woman from before pulled her into an embrace, they separated for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes before sharing a kiss. 

Remus slammed the book down and threw it across the room, at the same time Peter was entering the dorm, the flying tome had nearly wiped his head clean off. “Merlin Moony, what the hell?!” Peter squeaked. 

“Erm- there was a bug... sorry.” He said the only lame excuse he could come up with. The lycanthrope got up and retrieved the book, he was overreacting. Those two might be mates in the romantic sense but he and Severus were not. No, they were just friends. He felt different about him than he did about James and Peter because they had so much in common! Yes, that was definitely it. 

Chapter Text

Severus looked at the grade on his paper, a lump forming in his throat. In bright red, practically screaming at him were the words “poor.” For the first time in Severus’s life, he had failed an exam. 

He was angry at himself, he hadn’t got any lower than an outstanding during his time at Hogwarts. After class, he had gone to Professor Talbot and practically begged him for any work to do to receive extra credit. 

He refused, “I don’t know how they do it over at Hogwarts but here we do not give special exceptions to heirs who are upset at their own lack of skill. I designed these tests to separate the exceptional from the average. Study harder next time.” 

His words had hit Severus like a bludger, average, he was average. His hands started to shake slightly, the half-blood had wanted to yell at him. Tell him that they didn’t have this rubbish class at Hogwarts and he was learning it for the first time. Alchemy was already a tricky subject and Severus was put in the same class as the rest of his peers who had already been learning it for three years. 

Severus bit his tongue however and left, looking at the floor the entire way to his dorm. What would his grandparents do when they found out? His stomach twisted at the idea of them sending him back to his mother and father. He deserved it. Merlin, he couldn’t even pass an exam! What would make them think he could be responsible enough to be heir? 

When he made it to his room he forced himself to sit at his desk. He wouldn’t allow himself to lie in bed and wallow in self-pity. He brought out his textbook along with his test and a spare sheet of parchment. Severus sat there for who knows how long. He corrected his paper himself, using the textbook to aid him in finding the answers. 

The half-blood ignored all his surroundings, he didn’t touch the food that appeared on his desk, he didn’t hear the knocking on the door, or feel the warming of his journal. This went on for days, he would only leave his room to attend classes before immediately heading back to his room to pour over books. 

On a few rare occasions, he had left to go to the library but only for a moment to retrieve a tome before heading back to his room. He would work until he ultimately passed out at his desk, at one point he woke up with the word “transmutation” on his cheek as fell asleep on his fresh notes. 

The words of his professor kept echoing in his head. The idea of proving him wrong had consumed him, causing him to forget about the pain in his stomach and the heaviness of his eyes. After all, if he was right, if what he said about Severus was true, that meant that everything he had worked for, everything he knew, was a lie. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Severus hadn’t shown up to the Prince Manor Augustin and Etienne grew worried. The boy usually entered through the floo at around ten in the morning, after breakfast. It was now twelve and there was still no sign of him. 

The two of them decided to fetch him themselves, “I swear, if it was merely because he forgot I will be very upset,” Augustin murmured as they headed to the school. 

Once they stepped out of the floo Madame Beaulieu’s secretary went to greet them. “Where is the boy?” Augustin asked, cutting straight to the point. 

The secretary had bowed her head slightly at that, “Yes, apologies Mr. Prince. I had thought that perhaps you had told him to stay on school grounds this week. I will have an elf fetch him for you right now. Please, have a seat.” She said, gesturing to the chairs that adorned the room. They were a light blue like everything else in the bloody school. At least they were comfortable. 

Etienne had sat down next to him, his leg bouncing. Annoyed, Augustin grabbed his knee to make him stop. “He’s fine,” He told his husband though he wasn’t too sure himself. Lord Prince hadn’t known the boy for long but he did know that Severus was very punctual. In the few months he had resided at Prince Manor he never once was late to any appointment. 

Before his husband could say anything Madame Beaulieu’s office door had opened, the woman looked over to the both of them, “Ah I thought I heard you, please come into my office,” 

The two gave each other a worried look before turning their attention back to the Headmistress. “Is this about Severus?” Etienne asked. 

The woman nodded gravely, “I’m afraid so. Please, let’s discuss this matter in private.” Augustin felt his mouth dry slightly, was he hurt? 

They followed her into the room. It was smaller than most headmaster rooms, a desk with two chairs facing it and behind it a few bookshelves. On the walls were the portraits of fellow Headmasters who had once governed the school. Each one of them had looked to be from the cover of Witches Weekly. He supposed that it was a requirement to be conventionally attractive if you wanted to be a Headmaster here. When they sat again this time, Augustin could not find it in him to stop his husband’s incessant leg bouncing. 

“Is he in trouble?” Etienne had asked as soon as the Headmistress sat down. 

She let out a sigh, “No, no, he has been quite orderly I assure you,” she stopped for a moment, as if reluctant to say the next part, “Have the two of you ever taken him to a mind healer?” 

Augustin’s brows furrowed, “No, why?” he asked. It was an odd question, mind healers worked on wizards who were tortured into insanity, why in Merlin’s name would the boy need one of those?

The Headmistress cleared her throat before adjusting some pens and paper that were littered on her desk. “Well, some students have come to me with… concerns about him. They say that he is locking himself in his room, and becoming more withdrawn. I have heard from the elves that he has not been touching his food. We have a mind healer on school grounds at all times though I have compiled a list of some reputable mind healers who specialise in certain… fields.” She said, grabbing a slip of paper on her desk and handing it to Augustin. 

He grabbed it, frowning at what she had said. Did something happen? Was someone bullying him again? He glanced at the paper before handing it to his husband who seemed to read every word on the page. 

“We’ll talk with him,” He said. Knowing Severus he would refuse, the boy was incredibly stubborn at times. Augustin had worried about that, when he should push and when he should let the boy be in control. He worried about pushing him to the point of running away though he also worried about the boy suffering in silence. 

Madame Beaulieu gave a curt nod before dismissing them from her office. The timing was perfect as at the same time she escorted them out of her office Severus was coming in. Augustin had to force himself not to outwardly react to the appearance of the boy. He was paler than normal, the skin around his eyes was a dark shade of purple. Severus was already naturally thin but he had looked more gaunt than usual. 

The boy’s eyes seemed to widen slightly at the sight of them leaving the Headmistress’s office. “I’m sorry for being late, I hadn’t noticed the time..” He said, his eyes jumping between the two of them. 

At that moment, Augustin hadn’t cared about the boy’s tardiness. “It’s fine,” he forced himself to say, “let’s go.” He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder as he guided him to the floo. He could feel him trembling underneath his grip as if he was a young child about to get reprimanded. 

When they made it back to the manor Severus had stayed put in front of the fireplace, holding his bag close to his chest as if it were a shield. 

“Come to the kitchen,” Augustin said. “We’ll get one of the house elves to make you some lunch.” He didn’t want to talk about what Madame Beaulieu had mentioned in her office just yet. Lord Prince knew that he had to, that he should but he needed to feed the boy and get him some rest first. He didn’t want to get him upset in this state. 

Severus had apprehensively followed him, sitting down when he pulled him a chair out. A plate had revealed itself moments later, a simple sandwich that he knew the boy had liked. 

He looked at the plate, not moving a hand toward it. “I’m not hungry,” he said. 

Augustin grabbed the plate, pushing it closer to him. “Eat.” 

Severus looked up at him and Augustin had to force himself not to react to the boy’s eyes. They had looked like they had when he first saw him, lifeless though somehow more than before. Severus then grabbed half of the sandwich, his hand shaking as though it were heavy for him. He took a bite from the corner, it seemed to take a great effort for him to swallow as if it were fighting to come back up. 

He placed the bread back down. “You have to eat more than that,” Augustin pushed. 

Severus swallowed before answering, “I can’t.” 

“Then go to bed, get some sleep.” Augustin had to remind himself to be patient with him, if he couldn’t get him to eat he could at least get some rest. 

Severus shook his head at that as well, “Aren’t we going to do my training?” he asked. 

Augustin had let out an involuntary scoff, “You are not in any shape to go through your lessons right now. We can continue them once you get a proper meal and rest.” 

That had seemed to upset the boy, “I am fine, I don’t need to sleep.” he murmured. 

He had to refrain from telling him that his dark circles said otherwise. “Really? Who was the founder of House of Black?” he asked. It was an easy question, one he had learned from their first lesson. 

“Erm…Theseus?” He tried. 

“Wrong, it was Talus. What is the motto for our house?” he pushed. 

“Actionus-” 

“Wrong, it’s actiones secundum fidei,” Augustin interrupted. 

Severus’s lip curled slightly, his fist clenched, “You think I’m a dolt, don’t you?” he asked. 

“No, I don’t. You know this stuff, Severus, you’re just tired. It’s messing with your head, please get some rest.” He had completely misinterpreted the point that Augustin was trying to make. It was not that he was stupid, no, it was entirely the opposite. What Lord Prince was trying to show was that Severus was much too tired and if he had just gotten some rest he would have performed better.

“I’m not tired,” He argued, standing up from his seat as if to prove a point. It proved nothing as he had nearly toppled over from the sudden action. 

“Yes, you are, for Merlin’s sake you look like you’re about to fall asleep standing up!” Augustin had finally snapped. 

Severus avoided eye contact with him as if he were unable to argue against that point. “I can’t sleep…” he admitted. 

All of Augustin’s frustration had washed away at that, “Do you need me to give you some dreamless sleep?” he asked. 

“No, I need you to continue this lesson,” Severus said, as stubborn as ever. 

“I refuse to continue until you are well,” He said. 

“I’m fine! Please, let’s just continue,” he begged. 

A part of him had wanted to give in to his grandson's plea but he just couldn't do it. “We’re getting you dreamless sleep, come on.” He reached out to grab his arm, partially to guide him and partially because he believed the boy was seconds away from dropping.

The movement had caused Severus to flinch back, nearly toppling over as he knocked back the chair behind him. His face was somehow paler than before, his eyes were wild as they darted around Augustin, attempting to figure out his next move. Augustin’s own eyes widened once he realised why the boy had reacted in such a way. 

He thought he was going to hit him. The older man had suddenly felt sick, “Severus, I would never-” but he had already pushed past him, running out of the kitchen. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus was going to be ill, his head wouldn’t stop spinning and he could feel the walls closing in on him. It became hard for him to breathe, almost as if someone were squeezing his throat. He did what he had done every time this uncomfortable feeling washed over him. He sat on the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs and placing his forehead on his knees. 

It was his safe bubble, he hadn’t done this since he left home. When he used to live there the walls were so thin that he could hear his parents arguing. He could hear all the vitriolic things they said about each other, about him. Back then he couldn’t wait to turn of age and finally be able to use a silencing charm. He never did get to use it, however. 

Merlin, he was mortified. He had acted like a little kid whinging about his bedtime just a moment ago. He couldn’t believe he had yelled at his grandfather like that. If he weren’t going to disown him before he surely would now. It was just that…He was tired, but he couldn’t find it in himself to sleep. 

The moment he would close his eyes his mind would start to race. His skull would fill with so many voices, and memories that he felt as if it were going to burst. 

Severus tried to focus on breathing, forcing air out and then forcing it in. He had done that until a knock was heard at his door causing him to stop breathing again. He looked up as his grandfather Etienne came in. 

“Your grandfather told me what happened,” he said, walking over to Severus, “are you okay?” 

“Never better…” Severus mumbled sarcastically.  

Etienne let out a laugh at that, “Right, that was a dumb question….” He said before sitting down next to Severus on the ground, he leaned back on his bed frame. “So what happened?” 

Severus raised his eyebrow at that, “Didn’t you say that Grandfather Augustin just explained it to you?” he questioned. 

“No, not that. I mean what happened at school.” 

He stiffened, putting his head back in his original position. “Nothing happened…” He murmured. 

“Don’t do that, we’re here for you Severus. Let us help you.”

When Severus didn’t reply to that Etienne sighed, “If you don’t tell us then will you at least tell a mind healer?” 

Severus had untangled himself from his ball, “You think I’m crazy?” he asked. Mind healers were for wizards who couldn’t remember their relatives after one too many Crucios, not him. 

“We don’t think you’re crazy, you just need someone to talk to,” He argued. 

He looked away from his grandfather, “Headmistress Beaulieu didn’t tell you?” He was sure she did after seeing them leave her office, after seeing the looks they gave him. 

“Tell us what?” his grandfather asked. 

“T-that I failed my exam…” It had hurt to say it out loud as if admitting it had suddenly made it more real. 

His grandfather had watched him for a moment, a look of puzzlement on his face. “This is all because of some rubbish exam?” he asked. 

Severus had felt something snap within him at that, “It isn’t just some exam. I failed, I am a failure! You and Grandfather Augustin are going to send me back now aren’t you?!” 

Etienne’s eyes were filled with so much sympathy at that moment that it made him sick, “Severus, everyone fails exams. I myself failed multiple, they don’t define you. Your grandfather and I would never send you back to that place, especially over something as arbitrary as grades.” 

“But I’ve never failed one! You don’t understand, this was all I had! This was the one thing I could control and now- now it’s gone.” He took pride in his intelligence. At Hogwarts they could insult him all they wanted, hurt his pride, hurt his body, but they could never take away his intellect. Poverty had made him frail, made his hair greasy and his clothes tattered. His father had broken his nose and littered his body with scars along with Potter and Black. 

His whole life, all of his misfortunes were out of his control. The only autonomy Severus had was his grades. He found solace in that and now it was gone. 

Severus felt a burning in his eyes, a tightness in his throat. Before he could control it painful sobs wracked his body. He felt Etienne pull him into an embrace, he clung on to him. The months of pain that he had been holding back were now bubbling up to the surface, boiling over and becoming impossible for Severus to control. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Etienne had held Severus while he sobbed. He rubbed small circles on his back until he had fallen asleep. He continued to hold him for a while after, scared that the slightest movement would wake him up. 

The truth was Etienne was partially relieved when Severus started to cry, he knew how to handle crying. He was always the parent their children would go to when they were upset, the one they would cry on. He also knew that sleep always came after crying and Merlin knew that Severus had needed that. 

Etienne sat there until the aching of his muscles became too much. He carefully maneuvered Severus into his arms, ignoring how light he was as he placed him on the bed, pulling the duvet over him. He lightly brushed the tears away from his grandson’s face attempting not to wake him. 

The attempt was in vain as his eyes had fluttered open at the movement. “S-sorry,” he croaked out, his throat likely still sore from earlier. 

“What are you apologising for?” Etienne asked. 

Severus avoided his eyes, his cheeks becoming slightly red, “For crying.” He said, pulling up the duvet to cover his face, “for causing all these problems… I’m sorry for being weak, for cracking so easily.” 

Etienne frowned, “You’re not weak, you’ve just been too strong for too long,” He said, patting the duvet that was over Severus’s head. 

“You don’t mean that,” He muttered. 

“Oh I do, you’re the strongest boy I know.” 

That had caused Severus to release himself from his homemade cocoon, “I’m not a boy, I’m turning sixteen in a week,” He pouted. 

Oddly enough it was at that moment that Etienne had realised just how young Severus was. Perhaps it was the duvet dwarfing him, or the expression he made, or maybe it was the insistence on being referred to as older despite being such a young age.

Sometimes it was hard to see him as a boy, he had endured so much at such a young age. He carried himself with a sense of maturity that made him wise beyond his years, as if he could handle anything. The truth was that deep inside he was only a boy. A boy so wronged by the world that he only relied on himself. He was like this because he had to be, out of necessity. 

Etienne ruffled his grandson’s hair, “I’m old,” he said, “Everyone under the age of thirty are children to me.” 

Chapter Text

Remus had no idea what happened. Things were going well, they had written to one another constantly during winter break and a couple of days into coming back but all of a sudden Severus had stopped writing. Remus at first became paranoid that Severus, through some magical means, had found out about the mate thing. 

The lycanthrope had decided not to tell him about it, at least for right now. Severus was going through a lot at the moment and he did not want to add any unnecessary stress to his friend’s life. Instead, he had kept with their usual correspondence, one that had suddenly become very one-sided. 

He had stopped replying to Remus the same day that he had read the book. He supposed that’s why he came up with the ridiculous idea that Severus had somehow found out and subsequently started to ignore him. 

For the first day or two, he thought the heir might’ve been busy. He decided to make himself distracted by studying for his OWLs.

At the beginning of the year, he had told Professor McGonagall during their career path consultation that he’d like to work for the Ministry. He wanted to work in the same department as his father. 

McGonagall had given him a bittersweet smile that made his stomach turn. It was then that he realised that she hadn’t believed in him. Though he supposed that he couldn’t blame her, his illness would hinder him greatly. It didn’t matter that he was at the top of many classes such as charms and defence against the dark arts. What employer would want to hire an employee who was unable to work at full performance once a week every month?

“My, that is quite the ambitious goal Mr. Lupin. You do know that you’ll have to get an OWL in every subject, and that includes potions.” She said, raising a thin eyebrow at him. Remus felt himself sink deeper into his chair under her judgemental gaze. It was a well-known fact among his peers that Remus was absolutely pants at the subject. 

That led him to study for it more than any of his other subjects. However, he found it harder than usual to read from the potions textbook. Whenever he read he would think of Severus, of things to write to him, things to complain about with the tedious subject. Why were there so many bloody ways to prepare potion ingredients? Why do you have to prepare some ingredients with a silver knife? 

If he were being honest he had never realised just how much he wrote to Severus until he no longer was able to. He’d constantly see things and reach for his journal to tell Severus before catching himself. Remus still had his other friends but somehow he felt lonely. It was strange, how could he miss someone who wasn’t here?

He didn’t start feeling truly sad until New Year's when he sent Severus a message at eleven since he remembered that France was an hour early. He knew that it was pathetic, still writing to him when he hadn’t written back yet but he had wanted to let the ex-Slytherin know that someone was thinking about him. 

After he hadn’t gotten a reply to that, he truly started to “sulk”. It had only taken two days for his friends to start asking questions. It being the weekend meant that there were no classes today so the trio decided to hang out in their dorm room. They sat on their respective beds, Remus had a tome opened on his lap and studied while they talked. 

He was half-listening to the conversation, James was talking about Lily again which was unsurprising. He never understood what he had particularly seen in the girl to make him that obsessed. Sure, she was pretty, but James didn’t know her. The Potter heir never even had a normal conversation with the poor girl. 

Remus had tried to tell him that beauty wasn’t everything, that there were plenty of pretty girls at Hogwarts and what truly mattered was their personality. What if she was secretly crazy? Or an axe murder? Or both? He wouldn’t know because he never had a conversation with her. 

“Hey, Moony?” The question had interrupted Remus’s thoughts. 

He looked up from his book, making eye contact with his friends. A look of concern was on both of their faces. “What?” He asked, wondering what was making them act so bloody weird. 

“Did you and that girl break up?” asked James, who was lying on his stomach. He used his forearms to lift himself and look properly at the lycanthrope. 

Remus’s brows furrowed, “What girl?” What had given James the idea that he was dating someone? 

James cocked his head, “The one that you’re always writing to?” 

The lycanthrope’s eyes widened, he was referring to– “He’s not a girl. And we’re not d-dating!” he added quickly at the end. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the implication which made him appear more guilty to his friends. 

James rolled his eyes, “Come on Moony, no need to act so coy. We all know you’re writing to a bird. No “friend” would make you smile like that,” he teased. 

Remus frowned, was that what it looked like to them? Like he was some giggling preteen writing to his crush? He was sure that they were exaggerating just to tease him. He just enjoyed talking to Severus. He was always able to make Remus laugh at the dumbest things, their humour blended well together. 

He never had that with the marauders, all of their jokes had been crude and often cruel. They found pranks hilarious while Remus didn’t. He hated the constant pranking. His stomach would twist and guilt would eat at him while he watched them throw hexes at unsuspecting students. 

“They’re just a friend, James,” He doubled down. 

James raised his eyebrows, “Oh! I get it, you like her but you haven’t confessed yet!” He opened his mouth to say more when his eyes landed on the clock on their dorm wall, “Shite, I have to go to Quidditch practice!” He stumbled out of bed, frantically dug in his chest for his quidditch uniform, then gave the remaining two marauders a sloppy wave goodbye before dashing out of the door.

It was quiet for a moment before Peter spoke up, “Moony, are you okay?” he asked, a look of sincerity on his face that Remus was not used to seeing. 

Remus didn’t know how to respond. In the end, he decided it’d be best to be truthful. He had seemed to be genuinely asking, unlike James who had wanted to poke fun at him. “I…don’t know, I think I mucked everything up,” He said, closing his book and setting it to the side. 

Peter got up from his bed which was on the opposite side of the room and sat next to him. “What did you do?” he asked.

Remus swallowed the lump in his throat. “I don’t know, they just stopped writing to me all of a sudden. I think that maybe they regretted being my friend, or maybe realised that I’m not good enough to be theirs…” Remus had used “they” since it seemed like neither of them believed him when he said he was writing to a boy. 

Peter’s eyebrows furrowed, “Well did you do anything to make them regret it?” 

“Do you promise not to tell James?” he asked, Peter nodded.

He took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, “Well, in the past, before I became friends with them I…I let other people bully them. I had the power to stop it but I was too scared to lose my only friends. I was a coward. Though I apologised, I'm afraid that they’ve come to realise that it was a mistake to accept it…” He finished, Merlin, it sounded even worse when he said it out loud. How Severus had ever found it in himself to forgive him he didn’t know. 

Peter was quiet for a moment, looking at him with an indiscernible expression. Remus had to physically stop himself from shifting uncomfortably at his friend’s staring. He finally spoke much to Remus’s relief, “Have you done anything recently to warrant his realisation?” he asked.

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. He hadn’t, they hadn’t even argued in the months that they wrote save for one time over snack preferences though that was more playful bantering than anything. 

“I haven’t met him but something tells me this person doesn’t forgive easily. He wouldn’t have accepted your forgiveness if he was going to back out on it so quickly,” that had described Severus in a very accurate way, was his friend some sort of fortune teller? “He’s probably going through something. Give him some time and if he still hasn’t replied then maybe you’re right. For the time being there’s no need to jump to conclusions.” he shrugged. 

Remus stares wide-eyed at the rat animagus, “how are you so good at this?” he asked. 

He looked around the room before leaning closer to the lycanthrope, “I guess since you shared one of your secrets I’ll share one of mine. I am a sucker for romance books and movies. Growing up that was all Mum watched so I guess it made me more aware of others' feelings,” His round face had slightly reddened. “Don’t tell James,” he quickly added, pointing an accusatory finger at Remus who raised his hands in surrender.  

Remus hadn’t expected his short friend to be such a bloody romantic. It was kind of sweet in a way, he didn’t know how his knowledge of romance helped Remus out in this particular situation but he didn’t feel like asking. It helped and that’s all that matters. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Remus was making his way to the library to study for his OWLs. He had just finished eating dinner in the dining hall, James had managed to snag a seat next to Evans which meant that he and Peter were left sitting near the end of the table. A handful of younger students sat around them, excitedly telling Remus about all of the gifts they had received during holiday. 

He made sure to give all of them an equal amount of attention, trying not to let any of the children feel left out. When they left to go play in the courtyard before curfew Peter finally let out the cackling laugh he had been holding in. 

Remus glared at him, “What’s so funny?” 

“Oh, Merlin! You’re really fitting into your mother-hen role!” He wheezed out. That had made Remus glare at him harder. He hated how he was the “mum” of the group just because he cared about their safety.

The lycanthrope stood up, “Oh sod off!” he said before making his way out of the Great Hall, ignoring his friend’s obnoxious laugh. 

He had wanted to spend the rest of his day relaxing, this was the last day before he’d be thrown back into classes. Unfortunately, fate was not on his side today. 

From across the busy hall, Remus spotted Regulus who was walking toward him. He watched as the pure blood weaved through the students leaving dinner and made his way to Remus. He was about to greet Regulus when the heir suddenly kicked him in the shin. 

He winced before grabbing his now throbbing leg, who knew the pure blood could kick so bloody hard? “Regulus, what the f–” 

“I guess you have to have to send me to detention now,” he interrupted. 

Remus’s brows furrowed, what in Merlin’s name was he on about? Due to his unresponsiveness, Regulus gave him a look before slightly shifting his eyes to the right. Remus quickly looked to the right of Regulus’s shoulder and saw a group of Slytherins watching them. “Erm.. you have detention?” he said, hoping he sounded assertive enough. 

Regulus scowled, “Drats, Gryffindor’s, and their unfair punishments to Slytherins! I guess you have to take me to detention now…” He said, giving Remus another look that screamed 'follow my lead'. 

Remus, still entirely confused about what was going on, started leading Regulus to Dumbledore’s office. When the halls became less crowded with students Regulus spoke to him under his breath, “Could you have at least tried to be a better actor?” he hissed. 

“Me?! You were just as bad! Who says drats?” He whispered back. 

Regulus’s cheeks had turned slightly pink at that, “Severus usually does all the talking, I got nervous.” 

Remus had wanted to ask him what exactly that meant. What were they doing that warranted acting? He put that question to the back of his mind as Regulus started to lead him to a more isolated part of the castle. They made it to a hallway where an alcove was at the end of it. 

Regulus pulled out his wand and placed a silencing charm. “Sorry about earlier, I needed to talk to you,” He said, his cold demeanour changing to a more nervous one. 

Remus raised a brow, “You know you could’ve hit me a little softer right?” he asked. His shin was still smarting it would surely leave a nasty bruise. 

The pureblood rolled his eyes, “No need to get into the details. We have more urgent things to talk about.” he said. 

He felt his mouth go dry, “What’s the matter?” Was someone hurt? Did Regulus know something he didn't? 

“Did something happen to Sev? I sent him a letter days ago and he still hasn’t responded.” He said. 

“Thank Merlin!” Remus said and immediately clarified once he saw Regulus’s pissed expression, “I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just- he hasn’t responded to me in days. I thought it was because he was pissed at me.” 

Regulus frowned, “Do you think he’s hurt? What was the last thing the two of you talked about?” he interrogated. 

Remus tried to think back on it, “Erm, we were talking about exams. He had told me about a test he was about to take, how nervous he was about it…He never wrote me back after that,” Remus said, his mind attempting to piece together what could’ve happened.

“Fuck,” Regulus hissed out, it was odd hearing such a vulgar word come out of the young heir’s mouth. “He’s doing it again.” Regulus starts to pace around the small alcove. 

“Doing what again?” Remus asked.

Regulus ran his hands through his curly hair, letting out a long sigh. “He’s isolating himself, he does this around test time. If I didn’t force him out of his room and made him eat he would study himself to death,” He brought his hands back down, clutching them at his sides. “If he doesn’t respond in a few more days I’m going to France and shaking some sense into him,” he mumbled as he left the alcove. 

Remus had decided not to go to the library after that. He would've just sat there staring at the text, his mind racing too fast to absorb any of the information. It would be a fruitless endeavour. Instead, the lycanthrope opted to go back to his shared room. 

He laid in bed, curtains closed and journal on his lap. Remus had wanted to write again, tell Severus to take care of himself, to not worry too much about grades. But he didn’t want to be too overbearing, be too needy. James and Sirius had told him that he had a problem with that, with nagging too much and caring too deeply. 

He sighed, turning to put his journal away when suddenly the ice-cold cover began to warm in his hands.

Chapter Text

Severus woke up with a skull-splitting headache, his eyes stung and his throat was sore from crying. He forced himself up, wincing as he did so. In the corner of his eye, he could see a glass of water and some potions on his bedside table. His grandfather must’ve come in while he was sleeping. 

A wave of guilt washed over him. He couldn’t believe that he had yelled at him, he had done so much for Severus and he repaid him by having an emotional outburst and taking it out on him. Then another wave washed over him, one of embarrassment as he recalled sobbing ten years of held-back tears into his other grandfather’s robes. 

A particularly painful sting in Severus’s throat forced him to grab the glass of water. There was condensation on the outside of the glass though it still felt cool to the touch. His grandfather must’ve come by recently or perhaps he placed a stasis charm on it to keep it cool. He brought the cup to his lips and drank, swallowing the cold water and feeling it soothe his sore throat on the way down. 

He put the glass back once he was done drinking and looked at the other potions on his desk. The first flask had a familiar blue colour, he picked it up and gave it a sniff. The smell of lavender and peppermint confirmed his prediction, it was a Calming Drought. He quickly downed it before he could second guess. He was already feeling his anxiety coming back to him and wanted to suppress it as quickly as possible. 

The second glass released a silvery vapour that only a Draught of Peace could produce. He consumed it as well, it wasn’t as bad tasting as the other potion but it still wasn’t pleasant. Then again, hardly any potion was. 

He remembered making it at the beginning of his fifth year while he was still at Hogwarts. The potion was extremely tedious and easy to muck up. Usually, Slughorn made the students test out their potions but due to the fatal side effects, he forbade anyone from drinking theirs. 

He and Lily teamed up that class. Some days she’d sit with her other friend Mary but for this lesson in particular, they sat together. They were the only ones able to get their potion to emit the correct colour. Some student’s mixture produced green, or even dark grey smoke. He felt himself smile as he recalled how Lupin’s somehow turned into a cement-like slurry, too thick to stir. 

Lupin! Now that he was starting to fully wake up, he finally had a clear enough mind to realise that he had unintentionally ignored the Gryffindor. He slowly got out of bed, walking lightly so as to not wake up his grandfathers. Though Severus had no clue what time it was, the sky was pitch black through the windows. 

He opened his bag and moved to grab his journal. He let out a hiss as soon as his fingertips touched the cover, quickly pulling back his hand in surprise. The journal was burning hot. He was surprised that it hadn’t set fire to any of his spare parchment or tomes. He grabbed for it again, ignoring the burning of his fingers as he opened the journal. Luckily the piping hot temperature had subsided into a comfortable warmth rather quickly.  

Severus sat on the floor as he read all that Lupin had written. He felt his guilt deepen at every line he read, feeling more and more like a terrible person for not responding to him. Luckily the potions were extremely effective as he didn’t feel himself panicking like he normally did when he unintentionally ignored his friends. In fact, Severus was positive that if he weren’t under the influence of potions he’d be too nervous to respond and end up ignoring Lupin for another few days. 

He grabbed a quill and ink from his bag and got to writing out a response, not paying any mind to the fact that he was currently sitting on the cold hard floor of his room. He apologised to Lupin for not responding to his messages. Even with the effects of the potions he still felt a slight twist in his stomach as he wrote, hoping that Lupin wouldn’t be mad at him. 

It was odd how much he started to care about his opinion. Before, he used to find the Gryffindor rather cowardly, more upset at Lupin’s lack of agency than the rest of the Marauders' harassment. He could see it in the way that he didn’t participate, the way that he’d look on in a mixture of guilt and pity that he didn’t approve of their actions. He never did more than tell them to stop, only helping Severus after the fact by picking up his possessions that they’d scattered or fixing items that they broke. 

Back then he had wanted to ask him why he was friends with them, why he never tried to physically intervene. He at some points loathed the Gryffindor and at others pitied him. After the incident, he understood why he had done what he did and even related to some extent. Though now he still had trouble believing sometimes that he had ended up being somewhat friends with him. 

Severus had waited a bit for the ink to dry before starting to close the journal. He stopped abruptly when he saw words start to appear on his page, Lupin was writing back. 

Merlin Severus, that doesn’t matter! All that matters is that you’re okay,

We had thought that you died!

 

We?

 

Regulus and I. He told me he would come to France if you still hadn’t replied in a week. 

 

Severus had smiled, that had sounded just like something Reg would say. He had most likely sent a letter while Severus was in his mood. If he thought back on it hard enough he could recall a few parcels on his window sill…He was an awful friend. 

He’s bluffing.

 

Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

 

You didn’t answer my question from before,

Are you okay?

 

Yes, I’m fine. 

I was just preoccupied. 

 

Are you sure? 

You know you can talk to me about anything. 

 

Severus thought about it for a moment. It would be easier not to look at someone’s face while he spilled out his feelings. He always struggled with speaking, his throat would close up, and his mouth would be unable to form the words. It was as though he was cursed with momentary muteness. Writing was always easier. Unfortunately, it was also a lot more vulnerable. 

In a way, his inability to speak in those moments protected him from saying too much, from revealing more than he was comfortable with. 

It’s embarrassing 

 

I won’t judge but if you’re uncomfortable I won’t force you!  

I’m just letting you know that I’m here if you need to talk to anyone. 

 

He couldn’t help but scoff a little, Merlin he was too kind. If he were being honest he wasn’t used to this. Slytherins were just like their reptilian counterparts. They were cold-blooded, unable to produce any warmth of their own or give any away. Slytherins relied on the kindness of those around them. 

He would never confide to one of his housemates, they’d use that information and twist it to get something out of him. Though Lupin was no snake, Severus didn’t know how to approach this. Lupin was so sincere, so open it was equal parts refreshing and terrifying. 

He bit his lip, thinking about his options. Should he tell him? Should he not? While he was thinking a shiver ran up his spine, he looked down to see his arms and legs covered in goosebumps, shaking from the cold floor of his room. He picked himself up off the floor, quickly getting under the covers for warmth and nestled into the thick duvet. 

Lupin hadn’t done anything to warrant Severus’s distrust after their initial correspondence. If Lupin were to double-cross Severus and expose this embarrassing secret, he would be more foolish than Severus initially thought. 

While he had been rather tight-lipped about his feelings, only telling the Gryffindor things that wouldn’t hurt him if exposed, Lupin had opened up a lot more. It gave Severus ammunition, things to use against him, things to expose to others if the Gryffindor were to do the same. Though he didn’t like the thought of doing that. 

He had nothing to lose in this situation. His dignity? The other marauders had already taken that. His pride? He already took that himself by failing. 

Acquiescing, Severus opened up the journal again and began writing. The potions alleviated any heavy feeling he might have felt in the pit of his stomach at opening up. 

You know that test I mentioned the other day? 

 

That one from that super hard class you were telling me about? 

 

 Yeah, that one. 

 

Did you not do as good as you thought you would? 

 

I failed. 

 

WHAT! You got a troll?! 

 

No! I got a Poor…

 

Oh…Well, that’s the outstanding of the failing grades if you look on the bright side. 

 

I don’t want to look on the bright side. 

 

Why not?

 

Because it’s embarrassing! This is the first time I have ever failed a test in my life. 

 

Isn’t this the class where you’re three years behind on the course material? 

That sounds like a great grade given the situation.

He was wrong, a ‘great grade’ would’ve been a passing one. He had no excuse. Sure, he wasn’t expecting an outstanding but a poor? Before he could reply Lupin was already writing again. 

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You have a lot of things going on right now in your life, a lot of changes. I bet you 100 galleons that if you failed the majority of the class did too. 

 

How can you be so sure?

 

Because you’re bloody brilliant Severus! You’re the smartest person I know, and that includes our professors!

He had felt himself slightly blush at that. Did Lupin really think that highly of him? A light knock on his door startled Severus, he quickly shoved his journal under his duvet before nervously telling whoever was at the door to come in. It had ended up being his Grandfather Etienne, who gave him a warm smile as he opened the door slightly wider to accommodate the tray in his arms. 

It looked to be a bowl of soup, a glass of water, and a few more vials of potions. “I had thought I heard you! I have just come to give you some food and potions,” he says, hitting the door slightly with his hip to close it.

The Princes were unlike most pure-bloods Severus knew. For the most part, the two of them had performed tasks themselves that others of their status used their house elves for. Most pure-bloods would clutch their pearls at the thought of bringing items to someone of a lower blood status; but here his grandfather was, serving him dinner. 

He walked over to Severus’s bedside table and placed the tray down. The scent of the soup filled the air and Severus felt his stomach growl a little. He didn’t know when the last time he ate was but that bowl of liquid gold had smelled divine. 

“How are you feeling?” His grandfather asked, moving the items from the tray onto the table and the items previously on the table onto the tray. 

“Better,” Severus replied hoarsely. It was technically the truth, while he hadn’t felt anywhere near great he had felt much better compared to his morning counterpart. 

That had reminded Severus, “Sorry.” He forced himself to say, attempting to suppress the raw feeling in his throat. 

His grandfather gave him a small smile before sitting on the edge of his bed, “You’ve already apologised, and I already told you that you have nothing to apologise for.” 

Severus frowned, he hadn’t remembered apologising to his grandfather. “Still, sorry for mucking up your clothes…” he felt his cheeks slightly pink again at the memory of sobbing into the pure-blood’s expensive robes. They were most definitely worth more than all of Severus’s school books which were already bloody expensive as is. 

Etienne just laughed at that, “I have handled children much younger than you. Trust me, I’ve had far worse on my clothes.” 

Children… They had more than just his mother? They had told him that only his mother and himself were the last two surviving of the Prince lineage, excluding Lord Prince himself of course. So that meant… Severus chose not to ask and instead ignored the unfortunate implications. He felt it was not in his place to meddle in their business. 

His grandfather placed a warm hand on Severus’s cold one, bringing him back to reality. “I would like to apologise. Your grandfather and I have been talking about it and…we failed you. We pushed you too much, and changed too many things far too quickly.”

Severus instantly sat up, “No, you didn’t I did! You two gave me more than I could ever ask for and I mucked it all up by failing that test.” His grandparents, two people that he had just met months before, had done more for him than anyone else in his life ever had. He wanted to do something in return, he had wanted to show them that they didn’t make the wrong investment. 

“You didn’t mess anything up, everything is just like it was before the test and it will continue to be after,” he said, he then gave Severus a warm smile, “You’re now stuck with us.” 

Still not convinced Severus interjected, “Well, what if I murdered someone?” he tried. 

His grandfather raised a brow, “I trust your judgement, we’ll help hide the body- but that’s beside the point! The point is, we’ll help you no matter what. We’re on your side, please just talk to us, and if not us at least a healer.”

Severus shifted his eyes to his lap, he didn’t like the idea of talking to a mind healer, of being made to feel like something was wrong with him. He tried to come up with an excuse, “But what about heir duties? That’s our deal, right? You take me in and I’ll be the perfect heir? If I visit a mind healer, it’ll eat into the time I could spend on lessons.” 

Etienne studied Severus for a second, holding his hand a little tighter before letting out a deep sigh, “You want to know a secret Severus?” he asked. 

He hesitantly nodded. 

“It was never about being the heir to our dying line, it was about being a part of our family,” he said softly. 

Severus’s eyes widened, “But Grandfather Augustine said that–”

“He said that just to get you to say yes. I bet you a million galleons he would’ve found a way to still help you out somehow even if you had said no.” He said. 

Severus felt himself frown at the mention of his other grandfather. He deserved an apology as well and perhaps a bigger one. All he had wanted to do at that moment was help Severus and he repaid him by throwing a fit like a toddler. “Is he mad at me?” Severus asked, hesitancy in voice. 

His grandfather’s brows furrowed, “Why would he be mad at you?” Etennie asked.

Severus sunk into his pillows, slightly ashamed, “Because I yelled at him,” he mumbled. 

It was silent for a moment, Severus was too nervous to look over at his grandfather, afraid to see the expression he was making. “He’s not mad,” Etienne said resolutely. 

“Then why hasn’t he come up here, why is it just you?” he asked stubbornly. 

Etienne cleared his throat, “Well he wants to give you some space after…”

Severus had then realised what he was referring to, the moment that he flinched when his grandfather reached his hand out to him. “Oh…” He had run away out of embarrassment, he was ashamed of his body’s natural response to flinching at the sight of a hand coming toward him. Who could blame him? He thought he was being punished for yelling. 

“Well, he’s in the kitchen. I can ask him to come up here if you want to talk with him,” Etienne offered. 

Severus gave him a weak smile, “I can go down there instead…if that’s okay,” He felt bad making his grandfathers come to him. He had working legs, and there was also the fact that he was much younger but he wasn’t going to bring that up right now. 

His grandfather smiled back, “Of course! It’d probably be for the best anyway, it’ll be good for you to stretch your legs. I bet they’re sore after sleeping in the same spot for over twenty-four hours.” 

“What?!” He sat up again, eyes widening in surprise. He had slept for that long? He thought that perhaps he had a small nap and woke up later in the night, but no he had slept until Sunday night.  

Etienne chuckled at his grandson’s reaction, “Well, I suppose you’ll want to eat downstairs then?” 

Severus nodded. 

“Okay,” His grandfather said, while lifting himself back up he accidentally knocked Severus’s journal which had been lying on his lap right onto the floor. Unfortunately, it fell in a way that opened up its contents, leaving the conversation between him and Lupin on full display. 

Severus’s face started to burn as he leaned over and snatched the journal as quickly as he could. He didn’t know why he was embarrassed, they were just friends and their conversation was cordial but still, he couldn’t shake away the mortification. 

His grandfather however had just seemed unbothered, the only thing giving away that he had seen some of the writing was a slight raise of his brow. “Hmm, they have two-way journals now? Back in our day we just used mirrors.” The pure-blood’s nonchalant attitude about the situation somehow embarrassed Severus even further. 

He wanted to argue, to lie and claim that he was just writing notes, but he knew that denying would make him seem far more guilty. Instead, he ignored his grandfather’s teasing and put the journal in his drawer, hoping his grandfather was senile enough to soon forget about the journal and its contents. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus felt strangely nervous as he stood in front of the door to the kitchen, he wrung his hands as he tried to build enough courage to walk in. He took a deep breath, opening the door before he could back out of it. 

His grandfather’s back was facing towards him, though the sound of the door opening alerted the older man, making him turn to the noise. Severus saw the way that his eyes slightly widened, he most likely expected Grandfather Etienne to be at the door. “Severus,” he said while giving a slight nod of greeting which Severus quickly returned. 

Turning back to his previous task his grandfather continued, “Did you drink your potions?” he asked. 

Curious, Severus walked over to where Lord Prince was. Peering over he could see that the man was making tea. “Yes,” he said, watching as the older man grabbed the fresh mint and chamomile and poured it into the French press. 

“Any side effects?” He asked almost clinically while carefully pouring a kettle of boiling water into the press. The foliage rose to the top, slightly wilting at the heat, Severus was so wrapped up in watching it that he nearly forgot to answer his grandfather. 

“Erm, none so far… I- I just want to apologise,” He had nearly lost his nerve to continue when his grandfather looked over at him, “for yelling at you yesterday… You were right, everything you said was right.” he ended lamely. 

“No need to apologise, you were tired Severus. Sleep can do very strange things to one's mind. It was my fault for pushing you, I should’ve handled myself better.” Severus was shocked, to say the least, no adult had ever apologised to him before and now two have in the same day. 

His grandfather then turned to fully look at him, a serious expression on his face, “Severus, I know you don’t know me well but yesterday– whatever you thought I was going to do I would never do to you.” He said with sincerity. 

“I believe you,” he replied instantly, he didn’t know why but he did, “I just think that it was instinctual, I had done it out of habit, not because I thought you were going to do it.” he clarified. 

The lack of sleep had made him lose his common sense. Instead, he had reverted back to his younger self. All he had seen was an arm coming at him right as he had been disrespectful. At that moment he was five again, accidentally saying something to upset his father and feeling his wrath. 

It seemed that what he said hadn’t alleviated his grandfather’s worries, instead, he seemed slightly more perturbed. Clearing his throat Lord Prince continued, “Has your grandfather talked to you about–”

“Yes, I don’t want to do it,” Severus quickly cut in, knowing he was talking about the mind healer rubbish. 

Though it was very improper for Severus to interrupt, his grandfather didn’t seem to mind, “And why is that?” he asked calmly. 

“I’m not crazy,” he huffed. 

His grandfather raised a brow, “No one said you are.” 

“Well mind healers work with crazy people,” he argued.

Lord Prince let out a heavy sigh at Severus’s stubbornness, “Do at least one appointment, if you don’t like it we can stop and find something else,” he tried to reason. 

“What about school?” he asked. 

“What about it?” 

“Am I going?” 

“Do you want to go?”

“Stop answering my questions with another question.” He said, crossing his arms. 

They stared each other down, waiting for the other to give up and answer before an alarm startled the both of them. His grandfather turned back to his tea, placing a spoonful of honey in two of the three cups he procured. “If you truly don’t want to go tomorrow you may. Though you have to help your grandfather with the garden and you will have to return to school by Tuesday.” He said sternly, there was no room for arguing on Severus’s end. 

“Merlin, I hate that school,” Severus mumbled under his breath. He would be the first to admit that he didn’t like change. Severus would rather suffer in familiarity than prosper in the unprecedented. It was one of his biggest flaws. 

“I am aware. My offer still stands however Severus, once this year is over you may choose to stay or go back to Hogwarts.” That was right, his grandfather had told him that he just needed to attend for a year then he could make a decision. Severus had thought that he had been lying though apparently he hadn’t. 

Before he could think of it any further his grandfather changed the subject, “Your birthday is coming up, it is customary to have a big celebration. However, this year I think it would be best to keep it small. Would you like to go to Dr. Aziz Branchiflore?” He offered. 

Severus had recognised the name as the apothecary in the French wizard shopping district. He grew excited over the idea of going, he had only been in two apothecaries before Slug and Jiggers and Mr Mulpepper’s. Though Severus never had the money to afford anything from either store he’d go and window shop during their trips to Hogsmeade. All the other students were so preoccupied with the sweets shops that he never had to worry about anyone bothering him. 

He was now filled with anticipation, nodding eagerly before processing the sentence his grandfather said before, thus souring his mood, “Big parties?” he grumbled.

The corner of Lord Prince’s mouth slightly twitched at that, it was the closest thing to a smile he would get from the formal pureblood. “Believe me, I loathed them growing up as well.” 

It was odd, thinking about his grandfather not particularly liking something that was a part of pureblood culture. He had such an air of elegance and the sensibilities of one who had loved all posh things. However, his grandfather was once a teenager and there was also the fact that he had married grandfather Etienne who was a very unusual pureblood. Sometimes it hurt his brain to think about how the two of them even ended up together, they were so different. 

His grandfather lightly stirred the two cups of tea with honey in them, all the items on the counter disappeared besides the cups. Lord Prince handed Severus one of the sweetened beverages, “Thank you,” he said lightly, the older man replied with a nod before grabbing the two other cups. 

“We’ll be out in the sitting room if you’d like to join us,” he offered. 

Severus was slightly startled at that, unused to adults wanting him to be around. “O-okay,” he said, wanting to kick himself for stuttering. 

His grandfather gave him one of his ‘smiles’ like before and the two of them headed out to the room. His other grandfather was already sitting on one side of the sofa, reading over paperwork. At the sound of footsteps he looked up, his face visibly brightening, “Oh look who decided to join us!” he said. 

Severus felt his face heat up at that. Lord Prince scoffed, handing his husband the other sweetened tea, “Stop trying to embarrass him,” he chided as he sat down next to him. 

Severus ended up taking one of the armchairs. His soup appeared on the end table to his right, he had forgotten about it though the smell was reminding him again of how hungry he was. He brought the warm bowl close to him, joining his grandparents' conversation after he finished eating. 

They talked well into the night. At Spinner’s End Severus could never imagine socialising with his parents. When his father came back from work he didn’t like to be bothered and his mother usually stayed in her room all day. This was different but rather nice. 

Chapter Text

Monday went far too quickly for Severus's liking. The dread that pooled in his stomach was hard to handle. Severus had always felt a little knot of worry for as long as he could remember. Some days it was barely noticeable and easy to distract himself from. On other days, like today, it was unmanageable, twisting and churning with such vigour that it made him sick. 

He had felt that sickness when looking at the fireplace of his grandparents’ manor. The fireplace itself was very lovely, a nice marble with intricate etchings up the leg and header. No, it was the implication of the fireplace itself and the floo powder sitting on the mantel that made him ill.  

He had to go back to Beauxbatons. Lord Prince had already given him a couple of vials of calming draught, warning him to only use it if he truly needed it. The older man went on to tell him that he had only given him these to hold him over until he talked with a mind healer. 

Severus put his hand in his pocket, clutching the one vial he kept in there for safe measure. The cold glass helped ground him. He let out a sigh before grabbing the floo powder from the mantel and sending himself off to Beauxbatons. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He hadn’t expected Delacour to be waiting right outside his door when he came back. Her face brightened when she saw him, “Prince! I was just about to knock,” she said, moving out of his way so he could get into his dorm. 

“Hello Delacour,” He replied while unlocking the door. Before he could say anything she stepped in.

“You’re lucky that you get your own room!” She mentioned offhandedly as she looked around. Luckily it seemed the school elves cleaned it while he was gone and they moved the growing pile of letters from his window sill to the desk. Though there were no personal items lying around, he still felt strangely vulnerable as she snooped. 

Severus walked in after her, setting his bag down on his chair, “Yeah, It’s nice I suppose. What were you wanting to tell me?” he asked, trying to bring the conversation back on topic. 

She faced him again, his eyes widening, “Oh right! I was going to ask if you’d like to have lunch with me.” 

If he were being honest he was going to eat in his room again but he thought it rude to refuse her proposal. The seventh year had gone out of her way to make Severus feel included and he didn’t want to sully her work. “O-okay,” he said. 

Delacour brightened, “Great! Since I’m already here we can walk together!” She said looping her arm through his and forcing him out of his room before he could protest. 

While they were walking she filled him in on all the things he missed while he was at Prince Manor. Apparently, two first-years were caught trying to swim in the Flamel fountain after curfew and were rewarded with three months of detention. Severus wondered how Beauxbatons would deal with students like Potter and Black. The two had done physical harm to multiple students throughout the years and had only gotten at the very most a week of detention. 

There was a long stretch of silence as they walked through the halls. Severus could tell that she wanted to say something, but didn’t push her to talk until after they made it to the dining chamber, “What is it?” he asked as soon as they sat down. 

She looked hesitant for a moment, “Are you…okay?” she asked, and before he could answer she started trying to clarify, “Erm I know I asked you before but you somehow seem worse. Not physically! You still look very nice, you just seem…sad.” 

Severus looked at her for a moment, trying to piece together her word vomit of a sentence. “I’m fine it’s just– I got a poor on my alchemy exam,” he mumbled, embarrassed to admit it. 

“Oh, that’s fantastic!” She said as she clasped her hands together. 

He glared at her.

“Don’t give me that look, nobody passes that class save for Marcellus who doesn’t count because he’s related to Nicholas Flamel. At the end of the year, Madame Beaulieu forces Talbot to curve the grades.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. While that had been somewhat of a comfort to Severus he still felt the drive to get a passing grade, if one person can do it that means that it’s possible. 

Severus raised a brow, “Who’s Marcellus?” he asked, the name didn’t sound familiar to him, he must’ve been in a different year. 

“Of course, you wouldn’t know him, he’s a sixth year,” she waved off, she then started looking around the tables, “he’s over there,” she said, pointing to a man crowded by girls of all different years. He looked like he would be on the cover of Witches Weekly with his too-white teeth and perfectly groomed dirty blonde hair. 

At that moment he looked their way, his blue eyes meeting Severus’s black before giving a wink. Severus looked over to Delacour, “I think he likes you,” he said, thinking the gesture was for her.  

The seventh year let out a sigh, “You’re hopeless,” she said under her breath. Then, a devious grin spread on her face, “You should ask him to help you study!” she suggested. 

Severus frowned, no one had ever helped him before. He preferred teaching himself, that was the way that he had learned everything in life. “I would rather beat Professor Talbot with my own intelligence,” he argued. It would be a thousand times more satisfying if he were to pass the test without the aid of another. 

Delacour shrugged, “Makes sense. It’s probably for the best anyway, I’ve only seen him tutoring the girls that he dates.” 

Severus understood the sentiment, you could only tutor so many people before it became too much and your own academics started to fall. Though Severus had mostly tutored his friends and did the homework of those who would pay him. He often used that money to buy supplies for his next year at Hogwarts. 

No, Severus was not going to be one of those students who relied on others to help him through his academics. He was going to do this on his own. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the week had been rather uneventful, he had spent his first day writing back to Regulus whose letters became more and more frantic through the days that he hadn’t responded. He had felt bad, truly. He knew that Regulus had to be rather lonely at Hogwarts and his lack of response was most definitely not helping. 

Severus had spent the rest of the week studying and attempting to catch up with what he had missed for the one and a half days he was gone. He tried his best not to let it consume him by forcing himself to eat in the dining chamber and socialise with the only two people he knew. 

He decided to only use the draught when going to his alchemy classes. Luckily the class was only twice a week so he didn’t need to take the potion too often. 

It was now Thursday night, he had been sitting at his desk reading over his alchemy notes when he felt a warmth radiating from the journal next to him. Curious as to why Lupin was writing to him so late into the night he opened it up. 

Happy Birthday! 

Severus’s brows furrowed and he looked at the time, it was already twelve? He picked up his quill and started writing back. 

 

Thank you 

 

Oh shite, did I accidentally wake you up?

 

I was already awake. 

 

Why are you up so late? You need to go to bed! 

 

You’re up too!

 

I’m also an hour behind! 

And I wanted to be the first to tell you Happy Birthday…

 

Oh 

 

So? How does it feel to be old?

I wouldn’t know myself.

 

Oh, sod off! You’re only two months younger than me. 

 

Two months and a day, stop trying to age me. 

 

Don’t worry Lupin, with a palette as childish as yours no one would mistake you for being older than you actually are. 

 

You wound me. 

It’s not my fault that you don’t appreciate the gift that is chocolate. 

 

Dark chocolate is decent but milk is disgusting. 

 

Milk is the best one! 

Dark chocolate tastes like dirt. 

 

Anything with such a strong milk flavour is disgusting. 

 

Don’t tell me, you’re one of those people who doesn’t drink milk

 

I don’t 

 

This is why you’re short 

 

I’m not short! You’re just tall 

 

Because I drink milk. 

So how does it feel being shorter and older?

 

Fuck off. 

They spent a good chunk of the night arguing until ultimately Severus fell asleep at his desk. He only slept for a couple of hours until ultimately the sound of an owl pecking at his window awoke him. He was shocked when he opened his eyes and saw multiple owls waiting for him. When he let them in they all dropped their parcels and quickly flew back out leaving Severus shocked at the pile on his bed. 

His birthday was never really anything special growing up, Lily would be the only one to give him gifts before Hogwarts. His parents treated it like any other day, in fact for the longest time Severus had no clue what day he was actually born. He had only figured it out when he was older and twisted his ankle so badly that his mum had to take him to the hospital. 

Two years after that, when he had become friends with Lily, he had been invited to her birthday party and learned that people had celebrated the day that they were born. 

He was dumbfounded, to say the least. Inching over to the pile he grabbed the top package, wrapped in emerald green and a familiar scrawl that clued him in on the exact Slytherin who had sent him this. 

The package was light and thin causing Severus to become worried about what was in the contents of it. When he opened it up a piece of parchment was facing back at him. 

Happy Birthday, Sev! 

Now that I don’t have to worry about you causing me physical harm for spending too much money I was able to properly spoil you! 

The fabric in the box and the note had clued Severus in, the bastard had gotten him a robe! He pulled it out of the parcel, eyes widening as he looked at the garment. Severus wasn’t one for fashion or frilly things but even he could see that it was gorgeous. 

The black fabric flowed like water and felt soft to the touch. There were thin designs embroidered in silver and placed tastefully on the sleeves and bottom of the hem. It had a higher collar too which Regulus had most likely picked knowing that Severus didn’t like to show much skin. He wanted to be mad at Regulus but he couldn’t find it in himself to be, it was perfect. Comfortable and an elegance that wasn’t too flashy for Severus’s liking. 

He placed it back gently into the box, afraid of dirtying it, and opened more parcels from the pile. The next two had been letters wishing Severus happy birthday. The first was from his grandparents, who wouldn’t see him until tomorrow but still wanted to tell him on his actual birthday and the second had been from Lily. He smiled to himself as he read the words. He missed his best friend a lot more than he originally thought and made a reminder to write back to her. 

The next parcel was entirely foreign to Severus, he didn’t recognize the handwriting. He was shocked, to say the least, when he opened it and found that it was Pomfrey who had sent him something. She wrote to him wishing him a happy birthday and that she hoped he had healed properly. In the package was a hand-knitted scarf, a lovely dark green with silver stripes. She explained in the letter that she made it because he always came into her infirmary with horrible colds during the winter. 

Severus felt his eyes well up at that. He always got sick in the winter due to not having proper clothing. Even with warming charms, he would still fall ill. 

He used to be jealous of the students who would get knitted wear from their mothers or grandmothers during the holidays. He never understood why they’d complain about a gift that was made with so much love and time. Now he had one, lightly running a hand down the knitted scarf he made a reminder to write to the Medwitch. He felt a wave of embarrassment over not yet writing to her, he had been so busy that he completely forgot about expressing his gratitude.

He went onto the last package, it was from Lupin. The parcel was slightly clunkier than the other ones and not as nicely wrapped as Regulus’s. Severus found it charming, however. 

Inside the box were two items which were also wrapped to raise anticipation. Both were the same shape and size, long, thin, and rectangular. Severus grabbed the one closest to him and opened it, it was a chocolate wand but one of the dark chocolate versions. On the box was a note that read “bitter like you.” Severus rolled his eyes, trying to fight the smile on his face at the stupid joke. 

He had expected the other box to be the same thing and was shocked when it wasn’t. It was a quill, with a silver tip and black pheasant feather. Merlin, was he that obvious with his colour preferences? The note that came with this one informed him that the Gryffindor had charmed the quill to never dull or rust. 

Severus had made sure to write to all of them, properly thanking them for the birthday wishes and gifts. For Pomfrey, he made sure to express proper gratitude for what she did for him and even told her a bit about how his life was going now. 

When he left for breakfast he was shocked that Delacour and Sokolov had given him gifts too. Sokolov’s was wrapped in an intricate design, it was the best wrapping job he had ever seen. He presented the gift in both hands which Severus thought was odd but decided not to comment on it. Inside was a head of garlic and a ginger root, “In my country, we give flowers for birthday, ” he said. 

To be fair, garlic and ginger were both flowering plants. He could use the ginger root in his potions and though he had no use for the garlic he was still immensely grateful and made sure to thank the half-giant. 

Delacour’s gift had been a fancy hair brush and a hair ribbon, “You would look good with your hair up,” was all that she said when he opened it. He wanted to argue against it, tell her that he preferred his hair down but didn’t want to insult her. Instead, he thanked her and she brighted, offering to help style his hair for him. He now instantly regretted the decision. 

The rest of the day had been smooth sailing. Even alchemy couldn’t bring Severus’s mood down. This had been the best birthday he ever had, he couldn’t believe the number of people who cared enough to wish him a happy birthday let alone gift him something. A warm, fluttering feeling stayed in his chest throughout the entire day and the anticipation of going to the new apothecary had made it difficult for Severus to fall asleep. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Place Cachée was busier than the first time Severus went, perhaps due to the holidays just ending. Many witches and wizards alike were spending the galleons that they received from loved ones at the shops that lined the street. Thankfully most of the crowd stuck to the sweet shops, cafes, and tailors. 

Dr. Aziz Branchiflore’s seemed to be rather empty, with only a few people coming in and out of the store. “Branchiflore specialises in insects, while all their potion materials are of the highest quality their insects are specifically bred to produce the best results when used,” Lord Prince informed him as he opened the door for Severus, allowing him to go in first. 

Severus’s eyes widened. While it had sounded arbitrary, insects played an integral role in the art of potion-making. They were also a big reason why many, mostly girls, had hated potions. Many people were squeamish at the idea of using their eyes or having to remove the wings of an already dead insect. Lily never liked touching the “gross” ingredients and would make Severus do it instead. Having a strong stomach he never did mind it. 

Walking into the store Severus had to stop himself from gasping. There were potion ingredients in every nook and cranny of the store. Merlin, some of the items were even hanging from the wall! His grandfather pulled him over to the corner of the store to stop him from accidentally blocking customers who were trying to leave or enter. If he wasn’t so distracted from looking around everywhere he would be embarrassed. 

Lord Prince fixed Severus’s wind-swept hair as he spoke, “You are free to look for as long as you like and take anything that you wish,” he said. 

Snapping back into reality he looked to his grandfather, “You won’t be bored?” he asked. 

The corner of the older man’s lip lifted a bit, “Severus, you do know that I am a potioneer right?” 

Severus found himself smiling in return. It was a warm moment between the two of them before a third voice joined, “Prince?” it asked. 

Lord Prince immediately stiffened and the expression on his face soured. It shocked Severus as Lord Prince was usually very composed and hard to read. The older man turned, blocking Severus from the mystery person, “What are you doing here?” he asked in a biting tone.  

The man laughed, “Merlin, no need to be so tense! I was just stopping by to have a discussion with Branchiflore about a mysterious product I happen to find myself in possession of,” he said and Severus heard him stepping closer before talking again in a lower tone, “Funny thing is, everyone I’ve talked to has never heard of such a thing, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about it would you?” he asked. 

His grandfather let out a sigh, “Stop the theatrics, what is it?” he asked. 

“A paste that can mend wounds,” he said, cutting to the chase. 

Severus tensed up immediately at that and an involuntary sharp intake of breath escaped his lips. He was talking about what he made Lupin during his transformation. Did the Gryffindor betray him? No, if he did this person wouldn’t be asking around he would know it was Severus who made it. Then how did he come into possession of the item? 

Lord Prince looked back at him, concerned for his grandson’s odd behaviour. Unfortunately, that move, no matter how subtle, had piqued the interest of the mystery man. When their eyes met Severus nearly gasped again, he had looked just like Potter but older, if he were his grandfather’s age. 

From the looks of it, the man seemed just as shocked as he was. “You have another one? Merlin, this one looks just like you when you were younger,” he said.

He looked Severus up and down for a moment, making the boy feel uncomfortable, “You know I have a son around his age.” So he is Potter’s father? 

His grandfather went back to shielding Severus, “Yes, we are well aware of that,” he said, his tone revealing that he did not think too positively of the man’s son. 

The man’s brows furrowed, “What do you mean by that?” he asked. 

“Ask your son, or better yet ask the school to give you his records. You asked about that product. We don’t know anything about it, is that all?” Severus was equal parts impressed and terrified at how fast he had shut him down. 

Peeking behind his grandfather he could see that the man was dumbfounded. He blinked for a second before clearing his throat, “Erm, yes… I will be going now,” and he left soon after. 

The tension in his grandfather’s demeanour instantly disappeared and he turned toward Severus, “I am sorry about all of that,” he said. 

“How do you know Potter’s dad?” Severus asked, cutting straight to the chase. 

Lord Prince’s face soured again for a second before returning to normal, “I will tell you some other day. Right now you have some shelves to be browsing,” he said. 

The mention of the ingredients had made Severus perk up. He took that as his queue to go search around the store as his grandfather went and chatted with the owner. Though he couldn’t hear what they were saying it seemed as though the owner was profusely apologising and Lord Prince was trying to calm the poor man down. 

The sun had almost set by the time Severus had finished looking at every single item in the shop. When he came back to his grandfather empty handed the older man had forced him to pick out something. Severus came back with beetle eyes, one of the cheaper items at the store. 

While herbs are almost always the cheapest product at any apothecary, the fact that Prince Manor had a garden with all the same herbs deterred him from getting them. 

 While checking out the owner of the store put a vial of Acromantula Venom in his bag. Severus had nearly choked and the owner chuckled at his expression, “Consider it a sorry for having to deal with old Fleamount!” he joked. 

After a bit of arguing back and forth, the store owner managed to convince Severus to keep the venom. Besides the slight hiccup in the beginning Severus had a blast being able to peruse the store with no time limits. Truly, this was the best birthday that Severus ever had, nothing could bring his mood down at that moment, not even the feeling of being watched as he left the store. 

Chapter Text

It had been a normal Sunday at Hogwarts until the Daily Prophets arrived. James’s morning, before the parcels appeared, had been rather lovely. 

He had woken up before either of his mates. Waking up before Wormtail was to be expected, the rat animagus notoriously slept in, oftentimes accidentally missing morning classes because of it. What had been strange was James being up before Moony. The lycanthrope typically woke up first out of the marauders though he had been staying up later these past few days writing in the two-way journal. 

James was happy that his friend had found a bird to talk to. He had thought that Moony would never find someone, not that he didn’t have faith in his friend but it was the fact that he had very low confidence that made James worry. There was also his self-sacrificing tendencies that squandered any chances he had at dating. Anytime James had mentioned anything about dating Moony would refuse, using his werewolf situation as an excuse. So the Potter heir was pleased that his friend didn't seem to be making that excuse anymore. 

Deciding to let his two mates sleep in, James made his way to breakfast. To his utter delight, Lily was already seated and better yet, was sitting alone. James quickly sat across from her, the sound of the benches scrapping caught her attention. When she looked up she pursed her lips though James swore he saw the twisting of the corner of her mouth, “Evans,” he said, giving her a slight bow of the head. 

“Potter,” she said before looking back down, pushing around her breakfast with her fork. 

“How has your day been?” he asked while loading food onto his plate. He tried to avoid heavy starches as he had quidditch practice in an hour. 

A light huff of air escaped her lips, “I’ve only been up a couple of minutes, not much today to report on I’m afraid,” she said. 

“Well then how were your dreams? Was I in any of them?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Lily was about to respond when suddenly Wormtail showed up. James mentally cursed the rodent as he sat down next to him, a yawn escaping from him as he innocently loaded his plate. Lily didn’t seem to mind as she kindly greeted the rat animagus but James minded, a lot. His mates knew better than to interrupt him while he was pursuing Evans, especially when she didn’t seem to be verbally berating him! 

“How are you two feeling about O.W.Ls? Have you started studying yet or are you still pushing it off?” The witch teased. 

“Please, you don’t really need to start studying for O.W.Ls until a week before!” James said with an air of confidence. 

“I think I’ll start studying potions soon, I’m most worried about those,” Peter said, worriedly playing with his napkin. 

Lily frowned, “If you’re having trouble you can join my study group for potions Peter, we all meet on Thursdays after dinner in the library,” she offered.  

A look of surprise flashed on Peter’s face, “Oh– thanks, I might take you up on your offer,” he said. 

James almost pouted at that, “Can I join too?” he asked, hoping she’d say yes. 

She raised a brow, “What happened to waiting to study until the last minute?” she teased. 

“Procrastination is overrated. Besides, I’m a little rusty on my potions,” James lied. 

Lily pretended to ponder on it for a moment, “Well, I suppose we can squeeze in another member,” she then looked over James’s shoulder, “Would you like to join us too?” she asked. 

James followed her gaze to find Moony about to sit down next to them. He had looked tired and dishevelled though he had always looked like that to be fair. 

“Join what?” Lupin asked in a hoarse voice. 

“Our potions study group,” Lily said, “It’s on Thursdays, Mary and Marlene are a part of it.” 

Moony grabbed at a piece of toast, the lycanthrope typically didn’t eat much for breakfast. “I’m good,” he said, spreading butter on his bread. 

Lily’s eyebrows knitted, “Are you sure? I know you struggle with potions and all that…” she said. 

“He probably just wants to talk with his girlfriend,” James teased. 

Moony’s shoulders tensed, dropping his butter knife he turned to James, giving him a half-hearted glare. Before he could protest Lily spoke up, “You have a girlfriend? Since when?” she asked, a strange mixture of curiosity and disappointment present on her face. 

“I don’t,” was all he said in reply. 

There was a moment of awkward silence between the four of them before the owls' arrival distracted them. James had thanked Merlin that they had come when they had, diffusing the tense situation. 

That was until the Daily Prophet nearly landed on James’s plate. The Potter heir was about to complain when his eyes landed on the front page, they widened as he saw an all too familiar face. Ignoring the concerned inquiries from his mates, he snatched the paper, bringing it closer to get a proper look. 

There was no doubt about it, Severus Snape was in the front photo. He almost didn’t recognize him, his hair was nicely groomed, his clothing well-fitted, and his nose was less crooked. The only thing that gave it away was the git’s eyes. The photo being in black and white intensifies the darkness of them, pulling the on-looker in. Unfortunately, the photographed version of Snape never looked properly at him, instead his eyes watched his surroundings. 

The photo was obviously taken without Snape’s knowledge, the half-blood looking to be walking out of a store in a wizarding shopping district that James hadn’t recognised. Curious as to why he was even on the front page of the Daily Prophet James looked up at the headline, his mouth drying as he read. ‘The Desolate Prince Line Has Found a New Heir!’ in big bold letters. 

Gasps and hushed voices filled the room as the older students who had subscriptions to the Daily Prophet read the article. None of them could believe what had happened to the lowly half-blood. Mere weeks before he had been known as a poor ill-favoured half-blood with no prospects, bullied not only by Gryffindors but his own house as well. Rumours about his leaving had been the same, Sirius killed the half-blood and went to Azkaban or the half-blood had finally offed himself. 

The truth had seemed to be quite the opposite, instead of dying the ex-Slytherin had seemed to be prospering. Now he was the sole heir to a prestigious pure-blood family that no one had heard from in decades. He would no longer wear the same threadbare robes, he would no longer look unwashed, and he would no longer be harassed without consequences. The last part had worried James the most, would Snape's grandparents come after him like they had Sirius? Would James be expelled from Hogwarts for his misbehaviour too? 

“What’s everyone going mad about?” Peter asked, knocking James out of his thoughts. 

Peeling his eyes from the prophet he was met with three pairs of curious eyes looking back at him. Not being able to find the words to explain it James placed the newspaper down on the table for the three of them to see. It had taken them a moment to notice who it was but once they had they gasped. 

“Is that Severus?” Lily asked as she leaned across the table, attempting to read the paper upside down. She frowned as she took in the words, “Heir?” she questioned though more to herself. 

“Erm yeah, it seems so,” he said. 

Lily looked up from the paper, her brilliant green eyes meeting his hazel, “But he just told me that he was living with his grandparents! He didn’t say anything about them being purebloods, let alone him being their heir!” she argued. 

He didn’t understand why the witch had seemed upset, “I suppose so, it’s surprising too you know with the Princes being…” James said, not being able to finish his sentence. 

The witch frowned, “Being what?” she asked. 

“Blood purists,” he reluctantly answered. A look of shock and disgust washed over Lily’s face. Curious to see his friends’ reactions James first looked over to Peter who had been listening with a slightly worried expression. He then turned to look at Moony who’s eyes were still on the prophet, seemingly unaware of the conversation going on around him. When James followed the lycanthrope’s eyes they landed on the photo of Snape. 

He was going to question Moony before Lily spoke up again. “Do you think that he’s…”

She didn’t have to finish the question, James knew exactly what she was asking. He shrugged, “Most likely. I mean he’s a bloody Slytherin for Merlin’s sake, they’re opportunistic. It wouldn’t surprise me if he subscribed to their ideas to be able to become some heir to a rich pureblood family. I had my suspicious that the bastard was–” 

A low growl cut him off, all eyes cut to Moony as he cleared his throat. “Erm sorry– My pumpkin juice went down the wrong pipe,” he said before quickly standing up, “I err need to go,” he said before swiftly dashing off. 

“What’s his deal?” James asked, confused by his friend’s odd behaviour.  

Peter shrugged, “Don’t know, I’ll go check on him,” he said, leaving James with Lily. 

James turned to the witch, his charming smile was met with a sombre look, “I…think I’m going to go too,” she mumbled, leaving James by himself. 

The Potter heir let out a frustrated sigh and looked back at the paper. He silently cursed the dungeon bat for ruining his day, it seemed even when he was out of the picture he was still able to tarnish James’s chances with Lily. He scowled as he watched the photo, eyes trailing the soft slopes of Snape’s face. 

While everyone else was preoccupied with their prophets, whispering conspiratorially among themselves, no one had noticed the slight scowl that marred the Headmaster’s face. 

Chapter Text

That night, when they returned from the apothecary, Severus sat in his bed, admiring the vial of Acromantula Venom that Mr. Branchiflore had gifted him. He still couldn’t believe the number of gifts that he had received, though a small voice in the back of his head kept telling him how he didn’t deserve any of them. He tried his best to suppress it as he placed the vial safely down. It was a small dose, not enough to kill him, but the venom itself was very expensive, and he didn’t want to waste it. 

He still needed to respond to Lupin before going to bed. He was not looking forward to telling him what happened at the apothecary, though it needed to be done. He needed to know how Potter’s father had gotten his hands on his potions. 

He let out a heavy sigh before opening the journal, which revealed Lupin’s most recent message.

How was your visit to the apothecary? 

 

It was fine, nicer than the one at Hogsmeade. 

 

Why just fine? Did something happen? 

 

We ran into Potter’s father there. 

 

Fleamont? Why was he in France?

 

He was trying to see if the store owner knew anything about a product he had. 

 

It was one of the gifts I made you. 

There was a pause on Lupin’s end—a pause that was not normal for the Gryffindor. Severus was about to press him for answers when suddenly he started to write back. 

Shite, I’m so sorry. 

My pa asked me about the gift you gave me, and I panicked and said it was from James.

I didn’t think he’d write to his father.

Why did you lie?

 

My pa is… Protective when it comes to my condition. 

He is aware that James knows about it, but he’d tan my hide if he found out that anyone else does. 

 

When Severus didn’t reply for a moment, he wrote back again.

 

Are you upset with me?

 

Why would I be upset?

 

That I didn’t tell him about you. 

I can write to him if you want?

 

No, it’s fine. 

I’m not upset; I was just confused over why he had it.

Besides, I don’t want my grandfather to know it was me who made it

 

Why not? It’s brilliant! 

You should get it patented before someone pawns it as their own. 

 

I’ll think about it.

So, how was your day? 

 

The tension was soon washed away as the two of them wrote to each other. It was strange to Severus how much he missed Hogwarts. He had been tormented there, yet still, he found himself longing for it when he heard about Lupin’s day. It wasn’t the school's fault that the students disliked him, and the staff had never cared about his well-being.

He had missed the tree by the Great Lake, where he’d sit and read his textbooks. He missed the Slytherin Dungeons and how he could often see the giant squid swimming by. He missed seeing Lily and Reg. He didn’t want to be annoying and pester Lily into writing to him more, and he knew that Regulus couldn’t risk sending too many letters. He supposed that’s why he enjoyed writing to Lupin; he felt familiar. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus had woken up later than usual; he wrote to the Gryffindor well into the night, falling asleep with his journal still open and on his lap. Looking at the ink smudges on the page, it appeared that Lupin did as well.  

He quickly got out of bed, putting on his robes, to meet his grandfathers for breakfast. Back at Spinner's End, Severus and his family never ate together. His father left for work before sunrise and came home late from the pub every night. His mother would often lock herself in her room for hours on end, leaving Severus to fend for himself. Which usually meant eating mouldy bread, which, despite picking off the mould itself, always made him ill.

Needless to say, he wasn’t used to sitting around the table with family. He usually let his grandfathers talk while he listened. 

Severus didn’t like talking; he was much better at spectating. That’s why his friendship with Lily worked so well; she often talked for the both of them when Severus would go on his long bouts of silence.  

As he neared the dining room, he could hear the muffled talk of his grandfathers. He stopped by the entrance; both of his grandparents were standing. Lord Prince was clutching something in his hands. There was a tense air between the two of them.  

“How did this information get out?” Etienne asked. 

As Severus stepped closer, he realised that Lord Prince was holding the Daily Prophet. A frown formed on Severus’s face. What was in there that was upsetting his grandfather so much? 

“The only person it could’ve been is—” Before Lord Prince could finish his sentence, his eyes landed on Severus. 

Etienne, curious as to why his husband suddenly stopped talking, followed his gaze. "Oh, Severus, you’re up late…” He said, attempting to exchange pleasantries. 

Severus shifted uncomfortably, “Yeah, I erm stayed up a little too late. What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” both his grandfathers said at the same time. 

Severus frowned, “I’m not a child; whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said. He was tired of adults always hiding things from him. He was a year away from being legally of age in the eyes of the Ministry, for Merlin’s sake!

Augustin let out a sigh, “It’s not that we think you’re immature; it’s just– You’ve been going through a lot right now. I don’t know if more stress will be healthy for you.”  

Severus’s frown deepened; they were treating him as if he were delicate. He could handle a lot; he has handled a lot. Sure, he broke down once, but that was the first time he'd cried in almost ten years! He could handle whatever it was they were about to tell him.  

“I can handle it, I promise,” Severus said, making sure to keep his voice steady.

The two older wizards shared a look before Lord Prince hesitantly placed the Prophet on the table. 

Severus’s eyes widened when he was met with his own face on the front cover. Based on the surroundings, it was right when he was leaving the apothecary; he had recalled feeling like he was being watched, and apparently his intuition was correct. But why would he be on the Prophet? What was there to say about him?  

Looking up at the headline had given him the answer. Oh. 

“I’m sorry,” Etienne said when Severus remained silent for too long. “We wanted you to come out with this on your own terms, but it seems that you can’t do that anymore.” 

Severus’s brows furrowed, “Who would do this?” He had felt slightly numb. 

“I don’t kno–” 

“I believe I know who it is,” Lord Prince interrupted, a severe expression on his face. 

“Who?” Etienne asked. 

Augustin cleared his throat, making a point to look away from his husband. “Well, when we were at the apothecary, we may have run into Potter…” 

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, a hurt expression on his face. 

“I thought it wasn’t going to be a problem,” Augustin replied. 

"Well, clearly it was,” he said, gesturing to the article. His expression softened when he saw the hurt look on his husband's face, “I…Sorry, that was rude of me.” 

“No, it’s fine. You’re right; I should’ve told you. I just know how upset you get when it comes to him, and I truly didn’t think he’d do all of this. It’s been over fifty years for Merlin’s sake!” Augustin replied. 

Severus was surprised at how the two of them handled their little spat, quickly apologising and explaining their sides rather than yelling over one another and trying to ‘win’ the argument. If it were his mother and father, they would’ve said the most vitriolic thing they could think of in order to hurt the other person more.  

There was one question that arose from that conversation, however, that Severus didn’t quite understand. 

“Why would Mr. Potter want to do all of this?” Severus interjected. When he met the man, he truly didn’t give off malicious intent. What happened over fifty years ago that would make the man still upset to this day? 

Lord Prince cleared his throat, “I believe he is trying to reinstate the contract between the Princes and Potters,” he admitted. 

Etienne let out a slight gasp, “You can’t be serious.”  

“He mentioned having a son around Severus’s age when he saw him. At first, I had my suspicions but thought I was being too paranoid. Though after this, I’m sure that I was correct.” 

"Well, we aren’t agreeing to it!” Etienne exclaimed. 

“Agreeing to what? What contract?” Severus asked. He was completely lost in trying to understand what was going on at the moment.

It was silent for a moment before Lord Prince murmured, “A marriage contract…” 

Severus’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head, “He wants me to marry Potter?! C-can he even do that?” 

The idea of marrying that dunderhead had made his blood turn to ice. The Potter heir had spent his years at Hogwarts tormenting him, and if the contract were to come to fruition, then he’d spend the rest of his lifetime in the hands of his bully. The Gryffindor was obsessed with Lily, and if he were forced to marry Severus, he would most definitely take his anger out on the ex-Slytherin. 

“Not without our permission, no, but I fear that he might go above us and get the Ministry involved…” Etienne said. 

“He can’t. Our contract was officially annulled by my father on his deathbed. This brings on nothing but a headache for us,” Augustin explained. 

“Wait, you and Mr. Potter were…” 

“Betrothed? Yes. We were promised since birth, but I broke it before it came into fruition,” Augustin explained. 

So his grandfather and James’s father were supposed to marry each other? Merlin, he was so close to being related to James! Though theoretically speaking, they wouldn’t have been born. Wait, if they were promised at birth, then–

“How old is Potter’s father?” Severus asked in disbelief. 

Augustin gave him a faux-affronted look. “Choose your next words wisely; he’s only a few months younger than me. Though our birth months thankfully set us in different years.” 

“I take it you didn’t like him very much?” Severus tried. 

His grandfather let out a slight huff; whether it was in amusement or agitation, Severus didn’t know. “He had believed that since we were promised that he owned me. He’d try to control whom I could acquaint myself with and would spend all of his free time pestering me.”  

“That sounds like how James is with Lily,” Severus said. 

“Who’s Lily?” Etienne asked. 

Severus blushed; he didn’t realise that he said that thought out loud, “I erm. Lily’s my best friend. James, Lord Potter’s son, has a crush on her, and he didn’t approve of us being friends…” It had sounded so childish when he said it out loud, but that was the truth. The Potter heir had harassed him for years just for the fact that he was friends with the girl he liked. 

“Figures his spawn would end up like him,” Etienne murmured under his breath, though Severus still caught it. 

A slight smile spread on his lips at that. While the situation at hand was not pleasant, it was nice to have people partially understand how he feels about Potter. At Hogwarts, most of the staff had brushed off his bad behaviour since his family was on the light side of the magical war. In their eyes, he could do no wrong. 

Before the conversation could go any further, Severus’s stomach growled. The blush on his face darkened as Etienne chuckled, “We’ve kept you too long; eat your breakfast, and we’ll discuss this later.” 

Severus was about to protest, but Augustin placed a hand on his shoulder, “Please don’t stress out about this, Severus. This,” he gestured to the Prophet, “won’t change anything; but we will find out who wrote this article and make sure that they are fired.” 

“And the contract?” He asked.

“I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t come into fruition.” He said, squeezing his shoulder before taking the Prophet and leaving the dining room. 

Etienne gave Severus a small, reassuring smile before heading out too. 

While he had been incredibly stressed about the idea of the contract and his heir status being revealed to all of magical Britain, a part of him had felt relieved that he finally had people who would help him out. They could get through this.

Hopefully. 

Chapter Text

Lily had been thrilled for fifth year. During the summer, she had gotten a letter from McGonagall asking if she would like to be a prefect. The witch wrote back immediately accepting, her writing not as neat as it usually was due to her excitement. 

She raced down to the spot near the lake that she and Severus usually met at. Thankfully the Slytherin was already there, picking at the pilled fabric of his trousers. He was always at their spot first, sitting on the grass on days it hadn’t rained. He would look troubled, but the expression would quickly change once he noticed Lily was there. That always made the witch feel good, that her presence alone would uplift her friend’s spirits. 

That day was no different. Lily called out his name as she raced towards him. A small smile graced his face as he looked up and saw the witch. She nearly toppled over him as she tried to stop. 

Helping steady her, the Slytherin let out a huff of laughter, “Jeez Lily, slow down!” 

Her cheeks slightly pinked at the embarrassment of almost falling into the lake. “Sorry! It’s just—look what I got!” She exclaimed, nearly shoving the parchment in Severus’s face. 

Severus gingerly grabbed the paper from Lily’s hands, being careful not to crease it. She watched as her friend’s eyes slowly widened as he took in the words. “This is great, Lils! I know you’ve been wanting this,” he said, handing it back to Lily. 

“This is going to make me look more desirable for possible internships. Slughorn gave me an offer, but I want to still see what other options I have before I accept,” she said, sitting down next to Severus.  

“Slughorn gave you an offer?” he asked. 

Lily’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you! He asked right before I got on the train... Did he not ask you too?” 

"Erm, no, he didn’t,” Severus said stiffly. 

Lily frowned; she was not surprised that the potions professor didn’t ask the Slytherin. He wouldn’t even invite Severus to join the Slug Club, though he was just as good as Lily when it came to potions. “I’m sorry, Sev.” 

He shrugged it off. “It’s fine,” he said with the same level of apathy he used whenever unfortunate things like this happened to him. 

“It’s not,” Lily insisted. “You’ll prove him wrong with your OWLs, just watch.” 

Severus let out a sigh, laying back down on the grass. His face looked troubled again as he played with his fingers. It was a nervous habit, one that Lily noticed him doing since they were young. Severus had a lot of those patterns that would give away the feelings he never voiced. 

The witch’s brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?” 

He pressed his lips together and mumbled out a quick, “nothing.” 

Lily, who was as stubborn as a mule, wouldn't take no for an answer. She began poking hard at his sides, a sensitive spot for the Slytherin. Like clockwork, he let out a small yelp and began batting the witches hands away. “Leave me alone!” he hissed, trying to hold back involuntary laughter.  

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong!” She exclaimed. 

“Fine! Fine! Just stop touching me already!” He said between breaths. 

Lily put her hands in her lap, giving Severus an innocent smile like she hadn’t just tortured information out of him. 

“I…I have a bad feeling about this year...” He said softly. 

She frowned. “Why? This year’s going to be fine. I’ll be a prefect so I can let the marauders have it. Trust me, I won’t let them mess with you.” 

He was still quiet, his brows furrowed, and he looked away from Lily. 

“That’s not it, is it?” she asked. 

“It’s just—you know you don’t have to be friends with me out of obligation…”

“What makes you think that?” The comment had come out of left field but the way that Severus said it and how he was acting had said otherwise. He had to have been thinking about it for a while. 

He avoided her eyes and began picking at some of the grass. “You’re popular, and you’re getting all of these opportunities. I just can’t help but think I’m holding you back sometimes, Lils.”  

Her frown deepened. She would be lying if she said people hadn’t told her that before. In fact, Marlene and Mary had often complained to Lily about her friendship with the Slytherin. He was strange, and while it didn’t bother Lily much as she knew he was genuinely harmless, she could see how others would take it. The feeling she’d get of helping him, of being the only light in his life while gratifying, was not worth becoming a social pariah. That’s why she started to slightly distance herself from him at Hogwarts, but she would never fully abandon him. The guilt would be far too much for her.  

However, it didn’t help that he was interested in dark curses and in the most infamous house. While the witch cared for her friend, sometimes she wished that he would make more of an effort to be normal; perhaps he wouldn’t be bullied so much. 

“You're not Sev, and if I hear you utter those words again, I’m going to hex you into next Tuesday!" The witch threatened. 

A weak smile formed on the Slytherin’s lips. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” 

“No problem, don’t worry about this school year; everything's going to go great!” 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fifth year had turned out to not be everything that Lily had hoped for. Prefect work was stressful, Lily wasn’t prepared for how much went into the role. Looking after all the students in their house took too much time out of her own studies, and that worried her. The witch was not like many of her other friends; she didn’t have a family name or connections right outside Hogwarts to help her. She needed to do well on her tests. 

Thankfully Lupin, the other Gryffindor prefect, took over on certain responsibilities when Lily became too overwhelmed. She was initially nervous when she saw that he was appointed as her other half, as he was a part of the marauders, but he had turned out to be rather nice and respectful. It made Lily wonder if the marauders were really that bad. Truly nasty people wouldn’t befriend someone so nice, would they? Perhaps they really were just harmless pranks that they unintentionally took too far. 

They pranked many students, even professors! Maybe Severus was being dramatic when it came to the level of harassment he received. He could’ve at least tried to make an effort to not provoke them. 

She didn't even want to think about Severus, she was upset with him. Only a few weeks into the school year, he disappeared without a trace, only giving her a vague response. Something about a prank going wrong and him staying with his grandparents for a bit. She didn’t understand why he had to completely leave Hogwarts and abandon her. 

However, what she saw this morning in the Prophet made her suddenly grateful that the Slytherin was gone. Or ex-Slytherin, she should say. 

How could he betray her like that? After all that she’s done for him? She spent five years publicly and privately defending him just for him to throw it in her face. She should’ve believed what they all said about him, he truly was like all the others in his house. She was foolish for thinking otherwise. 

As soon as she made it to her dorm she grabbed the unopened letter that Severus sent and threw it in the fire. She wasn’t going to dignify the snake with a response and she hoped that he would take the hint.  

She fell onto her bed, rubbing angrily at the hot tears that threatened to fall. How could he become heir to a house full of death eaters? A house that so desperately wanted people like Lily to cease to exist. Did Severus truly want riches so badly that he’d put it over his only friend’s life? 

Potter seemed to be right about him all along…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Remus was embarrassed, to say the least. While he had often started to become moody during the week of the full moon, he had never growled at someone before. It was utterly mortifying! He inwardly cursed at Moony for deciding to budge into their conversation. There was a boundary between the two; Moony could only overtake his body one day of the month, yet the wolf crossed it for the first time. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t know why the wolf did it, however. The creature had a fondness for the ex-Slytherin. He felt it when the journal would warm, and he felt it more so when he looked at the picture in the prophet. The latter was accompanied by a strange fluttering feeling in the lycanthrope’s chest. He didn’t know whether or not that was from him or Moony, however, and that worried him. 

Severus had looked…nice in the photo, really nice. Has he always looked like that? He couldn’t remember, Severus was in an almost perpetual state of looking down, often with his nose in a book, making his curtain of dark hair cover his face. He only remembered even making eye contact with the Slytherin a handful of times in their five years of being at the same school and each time he remembered feeling weird afterward though Remus just chalked the feeling up to being guilt. 

Remus slinked into one of the alcoves in the hallway, he didn’t feel up to going to his dorms yet in fear of running into Peter or James. He needed to come up with a good reason for his strange attitude, though he knew that in the end he’d put the blame on Moony. He also needed to let Severus know about his appearance in the prophet. He didn’t want to; Remus never liked being the bearer of bad news, but he had to. Severus deserved to know. 

So, something happened this morning…

I already know about the prophet 

Remus blinked, equally surprised at how quick Severus answered and how he had already known of the article's existence. Seemingly reading his mind, the Beaxbaton’s student replied. 

Lord Prince is subscribed to it. 

Oh, well at least I wasn’t the one who had to break it to you

Are you okay?

With what? 

Severus… 

Okay fine. 

I feel... not the greatest about it, I’ll admit. 

But I am comforted by the fact that I am not at Hogwarts to experience it firsthand. 

I have never heard the dining hall become so quiet. 

Oh Merlin, please don’t tell me 

I’m already mortified enough over the fact that the whole of magical Britain has seen that picture. 

At least you look nice in the photo 

As soon as he wrote that down, Remus wanted to scratch it out immediately or throw the journal out the window. Why did he say that? Why was he such a dunderhead around him? Thankfully, Severus didn’t seem to be perturbed about what he wrote. 

Oh bugger off, 

I’m not even looking at the camera 

And the wind was making my hair blow everywhere 

You look like you were modelling for a shampoo ad 

I hate you 

Remus felt himself smile. To an outsider, it probably looked odd, him smiling after someone expressed their dislike for him, but it wasn’t someone; it was Severus, and he knew the heir’s words had no weight to them. However, a question did pop into Remus’s mind, one that wiped the smile off his face. 

Who even took the photo?

How could anyone from the prophet even know of your location 

Let alone your family history

Take a wild guess 

Remus frowned as he thought hard about it. He was about to give up entirely until he remembered their conversation from last night. 

Fleamont? 

Yep

But why? 

What was even the motive behind all of this? 

There’s bad blood between him and my grandfather 

Apparently being a dunderhead is genetic 

Still, I don’t see the point in bringing you into all of this 

You’re innocent 

Never thought I’d see the day that a Gryffindor called a Slytherin innocent… 

Severus! 

Okay, I may know why he did it 

I just…don’t want to tell you 

Why not? 

It’s…mortifying 

I can’t risk it possibly getting out 

I would never tell anyone 

It’s not that, 

It’s the fact that someone could take either your journal or mine 

Right… 

I didn’t think about that 

Well, would you ever tell me if we were face-to-face? 

Sure 

I’ll tell you whenever we see each other thirty years from now 

Thirty?? 

You think we’ll see each other so soon? 

Well, you know how I am 

Always the optimist  

Chapter Text

Severus was surprisingly looking forward to going back to Beauxbaton.

It wasn’t for any other reason than being a form of distraction; he needed to take his mind off the fact that his face was seen all over magical Britain, that there was history between his family and the Potters. Reading could only do so much to stifle the anxious thoughts in his mind.

He was also itching to brew; he hoped that he could convince Professor Proulx to let him use his equipment to make Lupin’s potions. He spent a good chunk of his weekend pouring over his notebook, tweaking the measurement of certain ingredients to perfect his work. He couldn’t use his grandfather’s potion room, not after Lord Potter told him about the mystery product he came across.

No, he didn’t want his grandfathers to catch on to him. Sure, the potions themselves were innocuous, but they would soon catch on to the fact that he made them every month around the full moon. It was too risky.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Severus returned to the magical school, he immediately made his way towards Professor Prolux’s office. While he didn’t want to bombard the professor so early in the morning, there was really no other time to do it.

He got a little lost on his way over to his office, still getting used to the layout of the school. Luckily, this time he knew just enough French to ask someone for directions. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find someone who had been in one of his classes.

In the end he saw a bloke from his History of Magic class. When he approached the student, his eyes widened and his face became pink. He seemed to be frozen in fear, as though Severus was some lion stalking his way over to him. Severus tried to give the student a small smile to perhaps make him seem less scary-looking, but that only made his face more red.

“Erm, do you know the way to Professor Prolux’s office?” He asked in French. The words were slightly wobbly as he was nervous, not used to speaking in that language.

The student blinked dumbly at him. At first, Severus thought that his French was so horrid that he didn’t understand him, but then he spoke, “I-it’s down the hall and take two lefts. His name is on a plaque beside the door,” he stuttered.

Severus nodded. “Thank you,” he said, and quickly walked away before having to go through anymore of that awkward interaction.

He found it with relative ease; the hard part came in the form of knocking on the door. He never showed up to professor’s offices before, ever since Slughorn did nothing to help him with the bullying he experienced.Taking a deep breath, he tapped his knuckles on the hardwood. He heard a muffled, “Coming!” through the door, which only served to make his nerves more intense.

Professor Prolux opened the door, a look of surprise gracing his features. “Oh, Mr. Prince, what a surprise!” he exclaimed.

Severus stiffened, “Is now a bad time? I can leave,” he stammered out.

“No! No! Come in, I’m brewing some coffee. Would you like a cup?” He asked politely.

“Erm, sure,” Severus stiffly replied, hesitantly entering the professor’s office just in case he changed his mind and decided to kick him out.

The walls had built-in bookshelves, which were filled to the brim with large tomes and vials of non-dangerous potion ingredients. Professor Prolux offered him a seat before making his way to the kitchenette in the corner of the office, pouring them both a cup. Severus nervously played with the fabric of his uniform, smoothing out the wrinkles.

“Thank you,” Severus murmured as the potions professor placed the cup down in front of him.

Professor Prolux nodded and sat down in his own seat. “Now, what’s the matter?” he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

Well, this was going to be the difficult part. “I er-,” he cleared his throat. “May I use one of your cauldrons to brew some potions? I will scrub the cauldrons for a week and organise your ingredients,” he pleaded.

The potions professor blinked at him, a confused expression adorning his features. “Why would I make you clean the cauldrons? We have spells for that.”

Severus’s cheeks slightly reddened; Slughorn always made him clean them when he asked to use his brewing equipment. "Well, that’s what we do at Hogwarts, sir.”

“I assure you that isn’t necessary, and as for your question, yes, you may use a cauldron. However, I must be in the room to supervise and make sure you don’t hurt yourself,” he said lightly.

Severus wanted to argue that he’d done loads of experiments alone and had yet to hurt himself, but he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He accepted the conditions, and the two talked for a while first about what time would fit their schedules, Wednesday evening, and then they quickly derailed into potions talk; the both of them nearly missed the first period.

The rest of Severus’s day went relatively smoothly. At the end of their evening French class, Severus spotted Delacour walking down the hall, arm linked with one of her friends. When she noticed the half-blood, a smile broke out on her face, and she waved at him, which he returned awkwardly.

The seventh year said something to the girl next to her and unlinked their arms, making her way quickly over to Severus and Sokolov. “Hello, just the two brooding students I was looking for!” she said jovially.

He scowled at the sentiment, brooding? Severus didn’t brood; he just didn’t smile at anyone who didn’t deserve it. There was a difference.

“Delacour,” Severus greeted, “how was your weekend?” Severus wasn’t one for small talk, but the etiquette classes that his grandfather had been drilling into him made such topics a habit.

She gave him a small smile and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him in the familiar direction of his dorm. It was in the same way that she walked with her friend just moments ago; were they friends? Severus quickly pushed that silly thought away. “My weekend was lovely; how was yours?” she asked.

He involuntarily pulled a face that gave away that his weekend wasn’t pleasant. “It was fine,” he lied.

She raised a brow. “You’re a horrible liar,” she pointed out.

He bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m not lying! I just... found out something unfortunate.” Yes, unfortunate was the best word to use when you found out that your tormenter’s father potentially wants to try to marry the two of you off.

A concerned look appeared on the seventh year’s face. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

The genuine worry momentarily threw him for a loop. “Oh- erm, yes. No one’s hurt or anything; just- found out about a possible marriage contract is all,” he didn’t know why he told her that. He was too vague in his initial answer, making it sound as though someone he was close to was terminally ill or passed. In the process of trying to clear it up, he unintentionally said too much.

All tension cleared from her face. “Oh? You’re not already betrothed to someone?” She asked as though that was the most shocking thing.

Severus scoffed, “No, of course not!” It was ridiculous how everyone at this school seemed to have such a different view of him. At Hogwarts, no one had even so much as asked if he was seeing anyone; they already knew that no one would be interested in touching ‘Slimey Snivellus.’ “Why is that so shocking to hear?” He added on at the end, his tone slightly self-conscious.

“Well, you have many admirers here, and you never seem to give them the time of day, so I assumed that you were already promised to another,” she said matter of factly.

“What? I don’t have any admirers!” He protested.

“You do too!” She argued back.

He looked over to the half-giant, who nodded in confirmation.

Severus raised a brow, not backing down from the challenge. “Then why hasn’t anyone approached me?”

“Because you are very unapproachable,” she stated.

“Bollocks, no I’m not!”

It was Delacour’s turn to raise her brow. “What would you tell someone if they asked you out on a date?” She asked.

“I’d tell them to piss off,” he said plainly.

She pointed at him, “See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

Severus was about to protest, but they had already made it to his dorm. He unlocked the door, ready to continue his argument, until he looked inside his room. His eyes widened as he took in the pile of letters pouring from his window sill and onto his bed. It looked almost as if every Hogwarts student had sent him a letter.

“Oh Merlin!” Delacour exclaimed behind him. “What did you do?”

He stood frozen at the door. “I- I don’t know,” he stammered. Was this because of the article? It couldn’t be, it was just released.

“Well, since you’re asking so nicely, yes, we’ll help you go through your mail!” Delacour said, pushing past Severus and entering his room.

His brows furrowed. “I didn’t ask-”

“You’re getting help anyway. Besides, I want an excuse to be nosey,” she admitted.

Severus let out a huff of annoyance but didn’t protest; he’d need the help even if he was too stubborn to admit it himself. There were a lot of parcels—too many for him to go through in a day, let alone a week.

Delacour immediately took the small spot on Severus’s bed that wasn’t covered in mail and picked up the first letter in reach. Not wanting to waste time, Severus made his way into the room, verbally telling Sokolov he could join them if he’d like, as the half-giant stood awkwardly in the doorway, clearly wanting to be a part of whatever they were doing but seemingly too shy to ask.

Severus offered him the desk and placed a small stack of mail for him to go through, hoping that none of it was too important. While he could speak and understand English very well, he wasn’t sure how well he could read in a language that was foreign to him.

Severus took the floor, grabbing a big wad of mail and shuffling through. He was being hyperbolic when he said all of Hogwarts had sent him parcels, but it seemed to ring true. All the letters were from classmates, all of whom either bullied him or weren’t aware of his existence before.

Some of them were letters inviting him to their fancy parties, others apologising to him, clearly trying to save face, and some embarrassingly asked to start a courtship with him. He swiftly burnt the latter.

He was shocked at how many confessions he had received, though he knew none of them were true. They didn’t like him before, but now, since he had money, they attempted to shimmy their way into being his friend. Unlike before, he's ‘valuable’ to them now.

He once dreamed of the day that would happen, that others would accept him and want to be around him, but now it left a bad taste in his mouth. He brushed off the feeling, forcing himself to concentrate on the task at hand.

They worked as a well-oiled machine, Delacour and Sokolov reading the names of the senders and Severus determining whether or not they were worth reading the contents of; most of them weren’t.

However, Delacour would open some of the letters and read them in a snooty accent that admittedly made Severus chuckle a bit. At one point, she opened one of the parcels, and her eyes widened, her face turning slightly pink.

“What is it?” Severus asked, slightly perturbed by the strange reaction.

“Nothing! Just... someone wrote something very... inappropriate. Your innocent eyes shouldn’t bear witness to such filth,” she stated, and then proceeded to crumble the paper and throw it with the rest of the discarded letters.

While he was morbidly curious, Severus thought it best not to find out for himself.

The rest of the night had been rather smooth, until Severus landed on a particular letter. His blood ran cold when he read the name ‘Lucius Malfoy’ on one of the envelopes. The name was scrawled in a posh way; the long, curling letters felt as though they were wrapping themselves around Severus’s heart.

What could he possibly want? 

Chapter Text

Severus felt the room begin to spin as he stared at the envelope in his hand. He didn’t realise it at first, but he had stopped breathing entirely. 

Someone shook his shoulder violently. “Prince,” a familiar feminine voice pushed through the loud static in his head. 

He looked up from the envelope to see Delacour, looking at him with concern. “Are you okay? I’ve been calling your name, and you weren’t responding.” 

He blinked at her, still coming to from the strange spell he was under just moments ago. His face turned a light shade of pink once he realised that he had zoned out right in front of them. He shoved the letter under his bed. “Erm, yeah, sorry. I’m… not feeling so good,” he said.

It wasn’t necessarily a lie. 

He was an excellent liar. He needed to be in order to survive, and the one thing that separated a good lie from a bad one was how close one could get to the truth. 

It was because of that Delacour believed him. “Oh, you’re probably overwhelmed. Take a break; we’ll go through the rest,” she said with so much warmth that Severus had almost felt bad for lying. 

“You’re probably right…” He mumbled. 

The two listed off names, and Severus decided whether or not they should be tossed or kept. He couldn't believe the sheer number of students who had written to him. Some of them were in completely different years, some had never even spoken to him during his time at Hogwarts, and others had actively participated in bullying him. 

After a while, he noticed that Sokolov had grown silent. 

Curious, and in a desperate need to stretch his legs, he decided to go over to the half-giant and see what had his attention.  

Sokolov was staring at an unopened envelope; as he got closer, he noticed that it was Regulus’s. 

He frowned, “What’s the matter?” 

The half-giant hadn’t looked up. Instead, he put a large finger to the wax seal on the envelope. Regulus had a whole set of different colour waxes and seal stamps. Today he had decided on black wax and a cat stamp, completely forgoing the usual family crest. “Cute,” Sokolov said. 

Severus’s brows raised. He was certainly not expecting that. “Would you like it? I can take it off for you,” he offered. 

Sokolov’s eyes brightened. “Yes, please.” It was the happiest he had seen the bloke. He usually wore a stern expression that scared off half the school. 

True to his word, he removed the wax seal and handed it to the half-giant, who wore a small smile on his face. The seal looked humorously tiny in his hand, but Sokolov handled it with care. “I’m sure Regulus would be glad that someone appreciates his stationary efforts,” Severus quipped out loud before opening the actual letter and reading its contents. 

The pure-blood’s letter was mostly informing him about the absolute panic that was going on in the Slytherin house once Severus’s heir status became known. Regulus had found the whole thing to be quite funny, but Severus felt uncomfortable reading the details, especially the part where Regulus informed him that Mulciber wouldn’t stop talking about how ‘fit’ he looked in the prophet. 

Regulus ended the letter joyfully, telling him how he could now write to him more. 

That part had made Severus happy. 

Sokolov stayed quietly admiring the stamp while Severus read, though he occasionally looked over at the letter. Once Severus was finished and folded the parchment, the half-giant finally spoke, “Your friend writes like girl.” 

Severus couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his features. “I’ll make sure to tell him that.” 

They got back to work, knocking out the rest of the envelopes. Once they finally finished going through all the letters Delacour rose from her spot, stretching like she was in pain, though she hadn’t sat on the floor like Severus or on the uncomfortable wooden chair like Sokolov. “We’ll head out now. Sweet dreams, Prince,” she said. 

Severus made sure to profusely thank them both for all their help, but Delacour just waved him off, telling that half-blood that she was just nosey and merely wanted to read his letters. 

She grabbed Sokolov, and the two collected their things. “Feel better, Prince,” Sokolov said before giving him a small wave and leaving. 

Once they left, Severus made sure to write back to Regulus. He then grabbed his book bag; he was going to get more studying done until he felt the warmth radiating off his bag. Lupin had written to him, and judging by the heat, it had been a while ago. 

He grabbed the journal, opening it up to see the Gryffindor’s newest message. 

How’s your first day back?

Okay

Sorry for not responding, 

It seems like the entirety of Hogwarts wanted to write to me. 

Lupin wrote back relatively quickly. He was most likely getting ready for bed himself. 

What did they say?

Nothing important

Mostly people trying to befriend me

I did get some courtship offers, though. 

It was quiet on his end for a moment. 

Courting? Who? 

No one important. 

Did you accept any? 

Of the people trying to befriend you, I mean. 

No

They don’t actually like me.

They just want to have connections because they believe I’m now important. 

It’s odd how quickly everyone’s opinions of me changed. 

Suddenly, because I’m an 'heir', I’m worth their time. 

I’m still the same old unextraordinary me. 

You’re wrong.

You’re brilliant.

That’s hogwash.

It’s not! 

You’re the brightest person I know. 

Thank you for forgiving me, truly.

I know it’s selfish but I’m glad you did. 

I didn’t deserve it, but I’m lucky to have you. 

Severus’s chest fluttered, and his stomach felt as though it was full of pixies when he read Lupin’s words. He was talking nonsense. That was clear enough to see. Still, Severus indulged him.  

I’m glad I did too. 

He wanted to cross it out as soon as he wrote it, but he knew it was too late. 

I’m going to bed now.

Goodnight. 

Severus then slammed the journal shut and put it back in his bag, his face slightly pink as he tried to go to sleep. Their conversation made Severus completely forget about the letter that was under his bed. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the next two days Severus was still bombarded with letters. He had resorted to just glancing at the name before deciding to throw them away or keep them. 

He had thrown most of them away. 

“I’m going to go mad. Is there any way I could just block the messages from coming?” he asked Delacour during lunch. 

It was just the two of them today; Sokolov had gotten detention. He didn’t know why. Perhaps it had happened in one of the classes they didn’t have together. He decided to save his pastry for the half-giant. Severus knew that they were his favourite. 

He’d go and meet him after he brewed his potions with Professor Prolux. 

“I know a way you could get the letters to stop,” Delacour said flippantly. Her eyes shone with mischief, which made Severus slightly apprehensive.

“How?” 

She leaned forward, her voice in a whisper, “You can promise yourself to someone.” 

Severus nearly spat out the tea that he had just taken a sip of. “What?! I’m way too young for that.” He hadn’t even dated anyone yet. He knew that many pure-bloods were promised since birth, like Narcissa and Lucius, but Severus still found it strange.

In the pure-blood world, one didn't marry for love but for power; they chose whoever could get them farther in life. Severus didn't want that, but then again, his parents were in love when they first married, and look where that got them. 

“Well, that’s how I finally got most of the unwanted attention to stop,” she said, displaying her hand where she wore a golden ring. 

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the large stone on her finger. “You’re engaged?! To whom?” Why hadn't Severus noticed it before?

Well, maybe he had noticed the ring but just not the significance of it on that particular finger. Romance wasn't often on his mind, and things like that regularly flew over his head. 

“He isn’t in school anymore,” she said casually. 

Severus, suddenly filled with concern, lowered his voice, “Are you a victim? Do you need help?” he asked, ready to poison someone for her if need be. 

She laughed at his reaction, “No! He was just in the year above me.” 

He visibly untensed at that, “Well…as long as you’re happy, I suppose.” He still found it incredibly odd, but he kept that to himself. 

“I am,” she said matter-of-factly. “Anyways, just find someone to be engaged with temporarily. Some boy who won’t take advantage of you.” 

Severus was about to outright refuse until the words fully hit him. “Boy? How do you—" 

“I’m part veela Prince,” she said plainly as if he were dumb. 

Severus raised an eyebrow, not sure how this applied to the conversation. “So?” 

“So, I can make people do what I want as long as they’re attracted to women. My powers don’t work on you. Believe me, I tried,” she mumbled the last part under her breath, though Severus still picked it up. 

“Oh… well, regardless, I haven’t even held hands with someone before. I can’t do that.” He felt embarrassed admitting that out loud, but he knew that the seventh year wouldn't judge him, though he still couldn't hold back the slight colouring of his cheeks. 

“How about you ask that little friend you’re always writing to?” She suggested. 

When Severus realised who she was talking about, his face warmed. “Lupin? No, I can’t.” 

A smirk appeared on her face, and Severus realised at some point he messed up, though he didn’t know where. “So that's his name. Is he cute?” 

Severus sputtered, his face turning more pink, “I’m not answering that.”

She looked a little disappointed. “Why not?” 

“Because! That stuff is... subjective,” he answered. He didn’t like outwardly talking about his attractions.

He knew it wasn’t a big deal in the wizarding world, but still, his father’s unsavoury opinions about those with his… proclivities rang throughout his head. Of course, he had found a few of his fellow students handsome in his five years of attending Hogwarts, but he never entertained the idea further than that. He hadn't even told Lily about his disinterest in the opposite sex, afraid of what she would think. He was already weird enough as is in her eyes, and he didn't want to make it worse. He was poor, ugly, and interested in the dark arts; he didn't want to add... that to the list as well. 

She raised a brow, clearly suspicious of him. “He makes you smile.” 

“Well, we’re friends. That’s why,” he shrugged. “Besides, I don’t think he’s…you know. And he has a lot going on right now. I can’t possibly add more.” 

Lupin had to deal with his monthly transformations and the pain that followed that. They also had a rocky relationship that had just recently started working out; he didn’t want to muck it up by asking the bloke to be fake engaged with him. 

He knew that the Gryffindor would agree. He was a people pleaser at heart and had a hard time saying no. 

That was why they had a complicated history in the first place. 

Before Delacour could rebut, a bell chimed, signalling that lunch was over. Severus quickly grabbed his things before rushing out of the Dining Chamber, not wanting to hear her reply. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He had spent the rest of the day worrying over what Delacour had told him, only getting a moment of peace while he brewed. 

Making potions had always helped clear his mind. 

He poured over his notes as he brought the cauldron to a boil, hoping that this time would be perfect. 

At first, Professor Prolux had kept his head down, grading papers while Severus worked on his potion. However, after a few glances up to make sure the half-blood was okay, he had turned to outright watching him, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Mr. Prince, what are you making?” He asked, getting up from his spot. 

Severus stiffened. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he had found rescue in the form of someone knocking on the door. 

The professor’s attention was successfully diverted as he quickly straightened his clothes and combed a hand through his slightly greying hair. He opened the door to reveal Professor Nurmi. Severus was currently taking her for defence against the dark arts. Why was she here? 

“H-hello, Nurmi,” Professor Prolux stammered. 

“Prolux,” she greeted, “Do you have my potion?” 

“Erm, yes! Let me just get it—come in if you’d like,” he said as he made his way to his desk. 

The vampire stepped into the room. She then looked over at Severus and gave him a raised brow. “Mr. Prince, what are you doing here so late in the night?” she asked as she glided over to him, peering into his cauldron. 

“Erm, brewing potions for a friend. How about you?” He asked; it was probably rude, but his curiosity outweighed his politeness. 

She smiled at him, the expression looking slightly odd on her haughty face, “That’s very kind of you. I am here because a friend has brewed me a potion.” 

Severus frowned, “Are you sick?” he asked as Professor Prolux came over to hand her a goblet. 

She thanked him as she grabbed the cup. “No, not sick. It’s how I eat, as parents wouldn’t approve of me living off of the wild life. Your professor had so kindly created a synthetic blood for me to consume,” she said, taking a sip of her drink as though it were a glass of wine. 

Severus’s eyes widened. “That’s possible? Is there any potions like that for other types of…” He wasn’t sure how to word it without sounding ignorant. 

“Creatures?” She supplied. 

He nodded. 

“Unfortunately very few, but all it takes is a very passionate potioneer to befriend and take interest in one to make it happen,” she said, giving him a knowing look that made his skin prickle. 

Was she onto him? 

She drank the rest of her potion, handed the goblet back to the potions professor, and gave Severus a warm ‘goodnight’ before leaving the room. 

Professor Prolux let out an awkward cough, his face a light shade of pink, and returned to his desk to grade, completely forgetting about his questioning of what Severus was doing. 

Severus thanked Professor Nurmi and whatever strange spell she had put the professor under as he stirred his potion. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As he made his way back to his dorm room, he remembered to visit Sokolov. 

He was nervous while standing in front of the half-giant's door. While his friend had been to his room plenty of times, Severus had never seen his. Was it a good time? Maybe he was asleep. Was he okay with him even entering his room? The half-giant has always been a fairly private person. 

Before he could decide whether or not to knock, the door opened, and a grouchy-looking Sokolov in a nightgown was staring at him. “Why standing at my door so long?” he asked, though he didn’t seem mad, just genuinely curious. 

In fact, Severus was sure he had never seen the half-giant truly angry before, and the idea of it alone slightly terrified him. “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, suddenly feeling ridiculous. “I heard you had gotten detention.” 

Sokolov nodded, “I did. Come in, will tell you.” 

Severus apprehensively entered his room. The first thing he noticed was that it was bigger than his, though that was completely fair given the half-giant's stature. 

The room was surprisingly warm and inviting; on his desk, he had displayed small animals carved from wood, next to the wax stamp Severus had given him. “Did you make these?” he asked, pointing to the wooden creatures. 

Sokolov nodded. 

Above the desk, on the wall, were a few pictures. One was of Sokolov in the Durmstrang uniform, a small kind looking old woman next to him with a loving hand on his arm as he looked broodingly away from the camera. 

“Your grandma?” Severus asked. 

He nodded again, though his eyes seemed to soften at the picture. 

Next to it was a picture of a couple. The man looked a lot like Sokolov, with strong brows and dark hair, though his was cut shorter than Sokolov’s. The woman was just as mountainous, with blond hair that was braided in a tight bun. Both wore stern faces that only softened once they looked at the baby in their arms. 

Severus took note that it was the only picture of his parents that he had. 

“Both half-giants,” he supplied Severus. 

He had wanted to ask what happened to them, but he kept it to himself and turned to Sokolov. “How did you get detention?” he asked, not wanting to possibly pick at the half-giant's old wounds. 

Sokolov was quiet for a while, so long that Severus had almost thought that the bloke wasn’t going to respond at all. “Tried to smuggle Thestral,” he said. 

Severus blinked at the man, "What?" He asked, not sure if he had heard him correctly. 

The half-giant began to slowly explain. From his broken English, Severus had put together the story. Apparently his friend had seen the creature outside and had wanted to bring it to his dorm to warm up by the fire. He had almost made it to his dorm before a professor saw the creature and reprimanded him. Sokolov said the last part bitterly, and Severus tried to hold back the twitching of his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” Severus said to the half-giant, awkwardly putting a hand on his arm in some semblance of comfort. Merlin, he was bad at this. 

"It is fine," Sokolov replied though he still looked dejected. 

“Wait,” Severus said, suddenly remembering he had meant to give the half-giant something. He dug into his pocket and retrieved a pastry that was wrapped in a cloth. He had put a stasis charm on it so it had stayed warm. “For you,” he said, handing the pastry over to him. 

Sokolov’s face slightly untensed. “Thank you, Prince,” he said. 

“Call me Severus,” he replied. He didn’t like being called Prince by those that were close to him. Don’t get him wrong. He had vastly preferred it to Snape, but it felt off. As though he were some sort of royalty and his friends were merely servants. 

He nodded. 

“I won’t keep you any longer. Goodnight, Sokolov,” he said as he began to make his way to the door. 

“Goodnight, Severus.” 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he entered his dorm, he saw Malfoy's letter sticking out from under his bed. Shit, the past few days had been so hectic that he had forgotten entirely about it.

Though he didn't want to read its contents, he still kneeled to retrieve it. 

Once he opened it, his blood had turned to ice. 

Dearest Severus Snape, 

    Or should I say Prince now? I’m hurt to find that out through the Prophet and not from you yourself. Forget about those who helped you now that you’re doing well for yourself? Don’t push aside those that knew your worth from the beginning. 

    I’ve believed in you before anyone else. Remember that. 

   You owe me. 

    I know of your friend and what he’s hiding under the full moon. And I know of the contract between the Princes and the Potters. Keep that in mind while writing your response. 

Regards, 

Lucius Malfoy. 

The parchment set itself on fire after he read it, and Severus, who was still holding the letter, dropped it to the ground. Thankfully the fire was self-contained, only burning the letter; it seemed that there was some self-destruct charm placed on it. 

Still, as he watched the flames grow, so too did the dread in the pit of his stomach.