"Dammit, I'm late! He could have left already! Well, it's not like he was waiting for me… Damn, but I wish he knew…"
At his sweet fifteen years, Regulus Black, younger brother to the Black family heir, was all what fitted the description of a young pureblood man. His mannerism and his decorum along with his looks was what made him the pride of his father and mother.
But looks could be deceiving. No matter how controlled and stoic the young Black seemed to be, he was just another normal teenage boy, who was still awkward and shy, and who still looked for a place to belong. Nobody who spared a glance to the raven-haired boy would think that he wasn't as unfeeling and harsh as he pretended to be. Regulus was often cold towards his classmates and even more unsympathetic to those who didn't belong to his house. He could even be described as cruel towards his older brother.
It was just a mask, a shield he carried with him. Regulus was a boy with many dreams and many wishes. In fact, one of his very dreams had been toying in his mind ever since the school term started.
"Maybe today, I will finally speak with him… He'll probably reply with one of his sarcastic remarks, but at least he will talk to me… That is, if he hasn't left yet. He couldn't have left yet!"
Regulus entered the library with swift grace, proper of a pureblood, and he scanned the library in search of the one he had been expecting to find. He smirked inwardly, for Severus Snape was sitting at one of the farthest desk at the east side of the library. Without hesitation, he walked towards the table, with his chin held high.
Gently, he pulled out the chair, and he noticed Severus didn't look up at him. It was alright, since he had been doing this for a least a month now, sharing the same table with Snape in the library. The first time he did, Snape was rightly startled, but Regulus paid no mind to it. He could seat wherever he wanted, and this is where he wanted to sit; next to the older boy.
Ever since he laid eyes on the Potions prodigy student, Regulus had felt attracted to the black-haired boy. Severus Snape was something else; he was brilliant with Potions, he had a snarky and sarcastic attitude, and he was friends with a Gryffindor. Or maybe he wasn't anymore, since he hadn't seen Lily Evans around Snape so much lately. Either way, Regulus found the older boy fascinating and one of his wishes was to become something like a friend to Snape. He didn't care if it took him the whole year; he was determined to wait the enough time necessary.
He needed to find a way to let Snape open up to him. And the only way he could casually start a conversation with Snape must have to deal with Potions. That's why he always did his Potions assignments when he sat next to the older boy. He had noticed that sometimes Severus looked at the covers of his Potions books with an eyebrow raised. Regulus was no flunk in the subject, but sometimes, he deliberately wrote some passages of his essays incorrect, just to see what Snape would do. Snape would fume exasperatedly when he looked over his essays, but of course, he didn't say a word. Regulus found this very amusing.
Once he sat down, he took out his ink, quills and parchment, and started with his Potions essay. His assignment was to describe profoundly the properties of many healings herbs and their usefulness in healing potions. He shifted his papers and his books so Snape could eye them more easily if he got curious, which he always was. He wrote for fifteen minutes, completing a quarter of his essay, and decided to search for another book in healing draughts and balms. He left the piece of parchment on the table, purposely so certain black-haired could read it. Especially the last paragraph.
He spent five minutes in the aisle, as he watched for the corner of his eye. Like he expected, Severus was reading the parchment, and he could see the annoyance in the boy's onyx eyes. He had to hide his mischievous grin behind the two books in his arms; Severus was so easy to rile up.
He sat down again at the table and he waited for a few more minutes. When he was about to start writing again, he heard Snape clearing his throat and he raised his gaze towards him, skeptically.
"I would advise you to rewrite your last paragraph, if you don't want Slughorn to be at your tail." He said in his deep soothing voice.
He managed to look confused and a bit irritated, but in truth, he was delighted. "What do you mean, I should rewrite? My essay is perfectly fine,"
Snape snorted. "As if! That last part had nothing to do with the properties of the parsley and the sage! I'm quite certain what you wrote there would be a great laugh for anyone who reads it."
Regulus raised an eyebrow "So you find amusing my essay?"
Snape seemed lost for a moment. "It's ridiculous and doesn't make sense." He stated.
"Well then, I don't like being a source for amusement for you, so if you would tell me what I did wrong, I would appreciate it." Regulus spat, feigning annoyance as he gave his parchment to Snape.
"I wasn't laughing at you" Severus said slowly as he read the parchment again and grabbed his quill.
"Yeah, I'm sure of that." Regulus replied, smirking inwardly.
That afternoon was a start of many afternoons to come, where Snape and Regulus would meet up in the library and instead of being two hours in total silence, they helped each other in their schoolwork. Regulus much enjoyed the attention of the older boy and loved to spend time with Severus, who was very brilliant in many ways. He was pleased to see he could also help Snape in other subjects, like Transfiguration. It seemed to be the only subject where Severus had his faults. That little fact always brought a smile to Regulus's face.
As the months passed, Severus and Regulus became somewhat like friends in their little time together. As they both hated the Marauders with a passion, some of their afternoons were spent in mouthing off the Gryffindor boys and planning ingenious ideas to get the older Black and his gang expelled. They knew the plans wouldn't ever work, but it was sweet to dream.
Regulus's feeling for the older boy grew stronger, and with time, he knew what he felt wasn't a simple attraction. What he felt was something so deep and so pure he didn't dare to speak out loud about it. He didn't care Severus was a boy, or wasn't as wealthy as he was. For the first time, Regulus wanted to go against his parents, who dislike homosexuals with fervor. Regulus couldn't control was his heart dictated, and his most recent wish was for his parents to never know his real preferences.
He also wished for Severus to feel the same way as him, but with his snarky friend, he never knew what to expect.
[…]
"Dammit, I'm going to kill you Sirius! How could you do this? You say you aren't a Black, but with your actions, you sure contradict yourself!"
Regulus went to search Severus into the hospital wing; he had been told by another student that his brother and James Potter had played a nasty prank on Severus and that he almost died. He didn't know if the other boy was exaggerating, but he wasn't going to take his chances.
He entered the Infirmary and immediately saw Severus being revised by Madam Pomfrey. From where he stood, Severus seemed perfectly fine and he let out a sigh of relief. He was heard by both the medi-witch and the Slytherin student, who looked at him in surprise.
"Mr. Black, your brother isn't here." Madam Pomfrey said.
"I'm not here for my brother. I was told what happened and I came to find you, Severus."
Severus just nodded, as Madam Pomfrey finished with him. The medi-witch gave him a warm smile. "You just sprained your ankle, dear, and that Calming Draught did you good. I say you just need a good night sleep, but you can return to your dorm if you wish to."
"Thanks, ma'am," Severus replied with a nod. Regulus offered himself to escort Snape back to the dungeons and Madam Pomfrey gave him leave.
Once they were again in the silent hallways, Regulus attacked Severus with many questions. "What happened, Severus? The guy just told me you were again a target by my brother and Potter in one of their pranks and that you almost died, but you seem fine to me. Not that I'm not happy about it, but I don't understand! Please tell me what happened!"
Severus sighed. "I am forbidden by the Headmaster to say anything about the events of tonight. But you're right when you say I almost died. Or even if I hadn't died, I would prefer death anyways."
Regulus couldn't accept that for an answer; he needed to know. "Please Sev! You know I would never spread a word if you want to keep it a secret! And how could the Headmaster ask such thing of you, if you almost lost your life? Please tell me!" He almost cried.
Severus rolled his eyes and took Regulus by his forearm. They swipe inside one of the empty classrooms and Severus casted a locking charm, a Muffliato, and an anti-eavesdropping spell. They sat on one of the desk, and just because Regulus had become a well welcomed companion once Lily had decided she didn't want to be friends with him anymore, he told him what really happened with Potter, Lupin and Black.
Once he was finished, the young Black was enraged and was ranting in indignation. "How could my brother do such a thing? He's so stupid and ignorant! How can the Headmaster allow a werewolf in the school? Both he and my brother should be expelled! He can't ignore that you almost died! Does he care not for the other students as well?"
Severus just left the young Slytherin rant all he wanted; it surprised him that Regulus would be defending him so fervently. He knew the brothers had a long feud, but he didn't expect for the younger brother to side by him.
"You just see! I'll give dear Sirius a piece of my mind! When I'm done with him, he'll—"
"No, Regulus," Severus stopped his rant. "It's no use. Also, the Headmaster told me strictly to not search for retribution, as well as to not spill the true nature of Lupin. It doesn't matter anyways—"
"It doesn't matter?" Regulus said, taken aback. "You mean to say your life doesn't matter? Well, let me tell you something, Severus Tobias Snape, it does! It matters to me! I don't care what other think, you're important to me! More than anything I—"
Regulus stopped in mid-sentence once he realized what he was saying. He felt a blooming blush covering his cheeks, and he didn't dare to open his eyes, which he had closed while spilling his feelings for the older boy. He didn't want to see the rejection or the disgust in the other boy's onyx eyes; he didn't think he could bear it.
"Regulus? What…?" Severus was thoroughly shaken with the other boy's confession. He had never even imagined the boy would someday say such words to him. Did he mean them as friends or something else? In truth, Severus didn't want to risk his relationship with the younger boy with his unwanted feelings; he knew his friend was a pureblood and a Black, someone who wouldn't spare a second glance to a poor half-blood like him. But that didn't mean Severus couldn't wish upon it.
And now this… he didn't know how to react or reply.
"It's t-true…" Regulus stammered. He made his final decision. Now or never. He thought. "You're very important to me, Severus. I've always had… l-liked you, now even more, since we started to spend more time together… That's why you can't say your life doesn't matter! Because I can't spare the thought of losing you!"
He choked with the lump in his throat. He felt very small and lost. "I still want you; I still want to be your friend. You don't need to do anything or say anything. I just want to keep spending time with you, don't push me awa—"
He was interrupted when he felt Severus's lip upon his. Suddenly, there were millions of fireworks exploding in his body, and he moaned into the kiss. Severus found the opportunity to inspect the younger boy's mouth with his tongue. Regulus was exuberating in happiness.
Once they parted away for air, Regulus smiled at up at Severus. The older boy averted his glance, seemingly embarrassed of what just happened.
"I've only recently realized… my feelings for you, but I've ignored them, since I knew I didn't have anything to offer you in return."
Regulus shook his head. "I don't want anything from you, Sev."
"You know I'm a half-blood and not as wealthy as you are."
"I don't care for that; my wish is to be beside." Regulus smiled again before leaning in for another kiss. Severus sighed in defeat and took control of the younger boy's mouth. Regulus laced his arms around Severus's neck and pulled him closer. Severus arched the petite boy against him, and they continued to kiss, enjoying each other and the fact that their wishes finally came true.
Written for the Camp Potter in the HPFC forum; Activity: Fireworks Show.