February 20, 1976 - Hogwarts

Severus trudged down to Filch's office, not exactly overjoyed at the prospect of spending his entire day at the mercy of the caretaker. Still, he couldn't help but feel a measure of relief - the detention would be a respite from his intrusive thoughts, made even louder and more laden with guilt each time he caught sight of a certain face.

"There you are, Mr. Snape," Filch smiled crookedly, holding open the door for him. "Come on in."

Severus shivered as he stepped inside, realising almost immediately why the old caretaker always seemed so overdressed. The air here was like he'd imagined the dungeons of Slytherin to feel, before he had even entered Hogwarts for the first time - cold, and humid.

He took out his wand to cast a warming charm, but was immediately stopped.

"No magic here," Filch growled out. "You take that out one more time, I'll be confiscating it for the day."

Bewildered and annoyed, Severus pocketed his wand, moving to stand in the middle of the office, where two stacks of files had been laid out on the floor, in complete disarray.

"When you organise those, you'll be free to go," the caretaker instructed, before hobbling off to the other side of the room, and busying himself with something at his desk. Heaving a sigh, Severus set off to work.

Some minutes later, a knock on the door disturbed the quiet that had fallen over the room, and Severus pursed his lips in annoyance as he lost the easy rhythm of sorting that he had fallen into.

This time Filch did not need to walk to the door, as moments later it opened, revealing a silhouette that caused his breath to stop.

"Mr. Black."

"Mr. Filch. I'm here for my detention."

In seconds, he had regained his breath, though his heart still hammered painfully against his chest. The name, the shape were the same, but the voice - thank Salazar.

Regulus Black stepped inside the office, the easy smile on his face painfully familiar. "Should I help Snape? Or is there something else you wanted me to do?"

Filch hesitated for a second before grumbling out, "Help Snape. But no talking."

Regulus did not hesitate before walking over, giving Severus a nod in greeting, and settling gracefully onto the floor, his back towards Filch's desk. He took a second to scan Severus' stack of organised files, then quickly brought over about half of the pile still in disarray, and began to work, copying Severus' method.

No whining, no complaining, no entitlement. Impossible.

To be fair, he had known for a long time that Regulus was not his brother, but the two of them were difficult to separate in his mind. They did not only look similar - Regulus being tall for his age - but even their very mannerisms were almost indistinguishable, giving the experience of meeting the two very different personalities an eerie feeling.

"What are you here for?" Regulus whispered under his breath, a spark of curiosity in his grey-coloured eyes.

Severus furrowed his brow, but responded nonetheless, wondering whether Regulus was still as opposed to Sirius' behaviour as he had been in the past. "A fight with your brother," he answered, sotto voce.

The boy across from him twisted his lips in annoyance. "What did he get?"

Severus simply raised his brow in response, and Regulus sighed.

"Thought so," he replied, then muttered, his gaze drifting downwards, "Golden boy of the school."

He shrugged, uncertain what more he could say, and returned to his task.

While the older Black's disinheritance had dealt a blow to his reputation amongst some - especially the eldest student - it was clear that no matter his actions, he would always be favoured by most everyone else. Really, Severus doubted there even was an action heinous enough that would cause his sycophants to turn against him - excuses would be made, and in a matter of days all would be forgiven.

Well, at least he imagined so, but the thought was not as irrational as he felt it should have been.

Annoyed at the images now on his mind, Severus forced his focus to turn instead to Regulus, who was working quickly and efficiently, but seemed disassociated from his actions. There was a blankness to his face, a kind of lack of emotion -

"You know Occlumency?" he whispered. Seconds later, Severus bit his tongue, wondering when he had forgotten one of the most basic rules of Slytherin.

Regulus snapped out of his haze, and tilted his head curiously. "Have you?"

Well, he wouldn't keep making mistakes, at least. "No, but I've read a fair number of books about it. Your expression seemed familiar."

"Ah," Regulus accepted the explanation easily. "Well, you are correct. It's just a little, but my parents always wanted us to be able to shield our minds."

"Black - Sirius knows it too?" Severus asked, alarmed.

Regulus had to stifle his laugh, so as not to alert Filch, who was already glancing at them with suspicion. "No - Merlin no. My father tried for a week before he gave up, and abandoned it as a lost cause. No, Sirius is probably the person least suited to the art on Earth."

"That's good to hear - "

"Quiet!" Filch's hiss interrupted them, and Regulus flashed him a conspiratorial smile, before returning once more to his files.

Feeling oddly vindicated, it did not take him much longer to make quick work of the rest of his stack, and both he and Regulus finished at roughly the same time. Filch dismissed them, and the two of them walked in easy silence, before they parted ways.

"Talk to you later?" the younger boy offered, his tone losing a hint of his previous confidence.

"Sure," Severus replied. As he walked away, a satisfied feeling settled in his chest. Regulus did not seem as moronic as his brother, or others his age, and Severus felt that he might even enjoy this newfound connection.

February 21, 1976 - Hogwarts

Severus sat comfortably at the edges of the Common Room, eyes half-closed as he focused on his thoughts. A notion had entered his head a few days prior - one that suggested he should redeem himself in Atria Shafiq's eyes, or at last do something to assuage the unease he felt at having misjudged her intentions.

How he would do that, Severus had no idea.

"Hey Snape. Doing anything interesting?"

Regulus flopped down on the couch beside him, seeming genuinely interested as he turned to face him.

"Black," he greeted mildly. "Not really. I'm just thinking."

"About?" Regulus raised his brows, then added with a mischievous smile, "You can call me Regulus, you know."

Severus frowned for a second at the younger boy as if to judge his intentions, before nodding. "Very well, then, Regulus," he responded, then paused to calculate his next words. "...I'm attempting to come up with a plan, to gain atonement."

"From whom?" Regulus asked, a spark of curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"It matter not," he dismissed the enquiry. "But I think I would like to do so by… getting back at someone, so to speak. The question now is how to do so exactly."

"Get back at whom?" Regulus said. "I can't exactly help you if I don't know who it is you want to get revenge on."

"You want to... help me?" Severus asked, suspicion colouring his tone. The two of them had only spoken a handful of times in their life; there was no reason why the other Slytherin should be offering aid.

"Sure," Regulus shrugged. "I don't exactly have many other things to do, and getting some revenge is always interesting."

"I don't exactly have any reason to trust you - you know that, right?"

"True," Regulus replied easily, unconcerned with assurances or platitudes.

"...Alright."

" - I cannot believe my daughter would ever do something so shameful. I am so disappointed in you, Dolores. Expect consequences when you get home!"

The howler burst into flames just as Umbridge reached the exit of the Great Hall, causing the girl to falter, and spill the ashes in her hands onto her skirt. As the students around her watched in hushed anticipation, Severus smiled vindictively, sharing a glance with Regulus, who seemed similarly proud of his accomplishment.

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman, Dolores," Atria commented mildly, her voice ringing loudly in the quiet of the hall. "She must care about her daughter so much to even bother - "

"Shut up, Shafiq!" Umbridge snapped in a shrill tone, whirling around to face her. "It was a prank - nothing more. My mother - " she cut herself off suddenly, the colour draining from her face. She did not bother to explain herself further, but fled from the Hall, vanishing as fast as she could.

As the room broke out into speculative whispers, and the students turned their attention back to breakfast, Severus sought out Shafiq's gaze. She tilted her head curiously at him - her expression non-combative for the first time since that day - and Severus nodded.

The smallest of smiles appeared on her lips, and she gave him a quick nod in thanks, before turning away. Accomplishment and pride bloomed in his chest.

•••

Here it is - hope you enjoyed. Thank you SilentMayhem and Stephanie MRV for your help, especially with this chapter. It's greatly appreciated. Have a delightful week, everyone.