Chapter Fifty-Three

A few days after the incident with Pettigrew, Severus's life continued down the same vein it had been. It seemed Roger Mulciber and his cronies wouldn't relent, however, and every time Severus encountered the group of boys, they were up to no good. The removal of house points from Slytherin became a regular occurrence, and with growing irritation, Severus knew he would have to either talk with Slughorn or Dumbledore soon about the junior Death Eaters.

One day after dinner, Severus was surveying the common room for trouble. Mulciber and his friends were no where to be found, so he took a seat on the couch, deciding to relax. His thoughts drifted to his conversation with Pettigrew, and he wondered again if it had made any difference. He supposed only time would tell. Pettigrew didn't stare at him as often during Potions, which was a relief, but Severus was sure the rat of a boy had told his friends about their conversation. Surprisingly, the Marauders hadn't bothered him... yet.

Lost in his thoughts, Severus was startled out of them by a plain, dull voice asking, "Can we talk?"

Severus shook himself out of his mindly wanderings and turned his head toward the speaker. Regulus Black was standing there, no expression in particular on his face. He looked remarkably like his older brother, but his face seldom held any emotion. While Sirius was either grinning or scowling or laughing or ranting, Regulus was listless and almost detached. Thinking of the other boy, Severus realized he had hardly known him in his past life. He hadn't spoken a single word to him in this life, so he was vexed as to why Regulus would want to talk to him now.

"Very well," Severus replied guardly.

Regulus dropped into a chair nearby and posed, "Why did you defy the Dark Lord?"

There was nothing threatening in the way the question was asked, but neither was there any awe. The question might have been asked out of mere curiosity, but even that seemed objectionable, as the tone was flat. It barely passed as a question, even.

"Because I don't believe in what he stands for," Severus stated simply.

"Why?"

"Why are you so interested?" Severus asked, his guard going up more.

Regulus shrugged indifferently, almost appearing bored with the conversation. Severus wouldn't have been surprised if the other boy had yawned.

"My family, you know, is an ancient Pureblood line. My parents support the Dark Lord. I always thought my brother was an idiot for going against them, for being sorted into Gryffindor." As Regulus spoke, his voice took on a bitter quality, and he uttered "Gryffindor" like it needed to be spit out. "He doesn't even live at home anymore. Anyway, that's beside the point. I still think Sirius is an idiot for any number of reasons, but what you did made me think. I followed what I knew because it seemed right at the time, but now I'm not entirely sure."

Severus nodded carefully, not ready to believe the words coming from Regulus's month. He may not have known the other boy well before, but he did know Regulus had been killed for trying to leave the Death Eaters. Perhaps Regulus wasn't as cut-throat and evil as so many of the others. Was he similar to Severus? Had someone been threatened who Regulus cared about, and had that made him change his mind?

"Whatever you decide," Severus said, "know this: I do not think the Dark Lord would treat his servants any better than his enemies. He tried to promise me power, glory, anything, you name it, but I know he speaks nothing but lies."

Regulus pondered Severus's words and finally nodded. "Thank you, Snape," he replied, his voice once again dull. He stood and sauntered up to his room.

Severus watched the other boy as he left, feeling both curious and cautious. He wouldn't openly trust Regulus, but if he could sway Regulus from joining the Death Eaters, like Pettigrew, that would one less person he needed to worry about.

Noting the time, Severus knew he would need to be in the library soon to study with Lily. He regrettably had to patrol the halls again tonight... with Lupin. He had yet to patrol with Lily, and he had a suspicion that Dumbledore had arranged the assignments like that on purpose.

He quickly stopped by his room to collect his books and then proceeded to the library. Lily was already there, but he wasn't late. Taking a seat next to her, he was greeted with a kiss. Seconds later, they heard the indignant squawk of Madam Pince, the librarian.

Lily giggled softly as the librarian walked away, muttering threats under her breath. Severus's mouth twitched on one side, and he half-smiled, mildly amused by the older woman's antics.

"You would think we were cursing her precious books by just kissing," Lily joked.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Severus whispered back. "You're probably right." He smirked.

Lily sobered and gave Severus a searching gaze. "You know, your sense of humor has really improved over the past several months," she said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose I could blame that one on you," Severus replied. "Look at you, Lily: changing people's senses of humor and cursing the books in the library by kissing humorless men. What dark powers do you possess?"

Lily stifled a giggle and gave Severus a gentle slap on the upper arm. "You're horrible," she murmured, still smiling.

"I know," Severus said.

The playful banter between them was a pleasant side-effect of being in Lily's company so often. Severus knew he wouldn't have been able to take a joke a few months ago without losing his temper and feeling he was being ridiculed. He knew better now than to think Lily would ever say anything rude or condescending to him. The earlier mood he had felt of unease around Regulus and followed by the annoyance at having to patrol with Lupin disappeared. He was filled with a blissful warmth that went all the way to his toes.

"Well, I suppose we ought to actually get some studying done while we're here," Lily said, trying to compose herself. "Or else Madam Pince really will throw us out."

"Right," Severus agreed, inwardly a little disappointed they couldn't continue their banter.

Throughout their studying, however, they exchanged knowing looks, stole kisses, and whispered inside jokes. As much as Severus enjoyed learning, studying seventh year subject matter was mostly old hat for him and more often than not caused him boredom.

Eventually, the time came when they had to part ways. Severus was still in a relatively good mood, although more saddened than anything that he had to leave Lily for the time being.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sev," Lily told him.

"Until then," Severus said softly, and they kissed one last time.

Severus returned his study materials to his room and went to the Entrance Hall, where he awaited Lupin's arrival. Lupin was right on time, and as he approached Severus, he was quiet. Severus raised a curious eyebrow at the other boy.

"Let's do this, shall we?" Severus inquired.

Lupin merely nodded and walked in silence alongside Severus.

Well, this is quite the opposite it was last time, Severus thought.

Perhaps against his better judgment, Severus finally asked, a little sarcastically, "What, no pleasant greeting this time, Lupin?"

Lupin frowned at Severus. "No," was all he uttered.

"You're less talkative than I'm accused of usually being," Severus couldn't help but remark.

"So, now you're willing to talk to me?" Lupin suddenly questioned harshly.

Taken aback, Severus felt his good mood dissipate. "And I thought I was rude," Severus replied, glaring at Lupin.

"What do you want from me, Snape?" Lupin asked, his tone growing more irritated by the second. "I just don't get you. You tell me you have no interest in being friends and are incredibly rude to me one day, and now you're the one initiating conversation with me? And what was that you were trying to do when you protected Peter a few days back?"

"For your information," Severus said stiffly, "I was simply doing my duty as Head Boy when I aided Pettigrew." He avoided responding to Lupin's other accusations, for he wasn't sure what answer to supply.

"From what Peter told me, you more than saved him from those bullies. You were half-decent to him and gave him advice. That's not something I would have expected from you, not after you seemed to make it clear you hated our guts... my friends and me."

Severus wasn't going to tell Lupin the reason he was helping Pettigrew was out of self-interest, or was it? He felt himself closing up, as had been his usual way of dealing with probing questions in the past, but something inside tugged at his heartstrings, and Severus admitted, grudgingly, "You are not like Potter and Black, and Pettigrew isn't like them, either... although he's not like you."

Refusing to elaborate further, Severus stopping speaking.

Lupin's eyes were large with shock, but he didn't say anything, either. Severus hadn't told him he liked him, far from it, but Lupin thought maybe Peter's recounting of Severus's interaction with him to be truthful. Maybe Severus Snape was more decent than he gave him credit for.