I'm back, and still no closer to owning Harry Potter! Hmm... That could be a problem... :)
It had only been three days since Severus agreed to be Regulus' friend, and already he was regretting it.
Firstly, the boy was weird. There was no other word for it, he was just straight odd. He was a weird person with weird habits.
He liked to cuddle at least twice a day. He slept either at the end of the bed or in the bathtub. He had a nervous habit of playing with his fingers. He could perform extremely advanced spells but have trouble with a simple Expelliarmus. He still slept with his favorite stuffed bunny. He liked to pour pumpkin juice on his food to give it "flavor". His secret dream had been to become a cowboy. He was scared of his mother sometimes. He liked flowers. He had tasted alcohol when he was three; Sirius had given it to him. He used to dance around his room naked. He was scared of girls. All of these facts and more Regulus had confided in Severus, who was mildly disturbed by how strange his new friend was. Just plain weird, and another reason why Severus wished he had said no...
Secondly, the boy was annoying. Whenever he caught sight of Severus, he would either wave wildly, come running to him, or both. He would call Severus' name so loudly that everyone in the halls would turn and stare, leaving poor Severus red-faced and embarrassed. Then once Regulus got to Severus, the older boy would give him a verbal beating. Regulus would then pout and look so distressed that Severus had to apologize or else he would be branded the school's biggest jerk (not that he would care). But still.
The two were often the talk of the school due to their hallway antics and seating in the Great Hall; Severus now sat next to Regulus and Narcissa, who always ignored him in favor of one of her girl friends.
Regulus sat at the girls' end of the table, where they cooed over him and thought nearly every thing he did was so adorable. It made Severus sick. Though the shorter boy had admitted that he found the babying creepy, he never made any active moves to stop it, just sat there and ate his dinner, leaving Severus to squirm in discomfort.
Despite all the annoying drawbacks of being around Regulus, Severus was forced to admit that it was rather nice having a friend. Regulus was a wonderful listener; whenever Snape so much as opened his mouth the boy's head was up and he was ready to listen intently.
He was rather good at giving advice and offering sympathy whenever Severus opened up, which was very rare.
Severus hated to admit it, but the best part of his day was first seeing Regulus. The boy was a sight in the mornings; his wavy hair tousled and messy, eyes still half-lidded and sleepy, clothes disheveled. After Regulus would come from his dorm, Severus would take him aside and fix the boy up so that he didn't look like a complete slob/slug. It had become a part of his regular routine in just three days. Amazing how much had changed in three days.
"Severus!"
Severus turned to see his friend coming up behind him, carrying a heavy plant.
"Will you help me take this to the greenhouse? I know it's your break, and I'm sorry, I just need help-" Regulus nearly dropped the plant, and Severus hastily grabbed the other end.
He was surprised at how heavy the thing was; it was at least half his weight. "How did you drag this thing around?" he grunted as he helped maneuver the item down the stairs.
"Well, Professor Sprout told me to start growing it in my room, and I did and it kept growing and growing, so I kept bewitching the pot to get larger, until today and I figured it was time to take it down to the greenhouse so it can grow properly," Regulus explained.
"Ahh. And what kind is it?"
"It's a cherry tree. It can be used to make wands. It was a challenge project in Herbology, and I figured..." he trailed off, blushing.
"Could you use it in a potion?" Severus asked, interest caught. "I guess, I mean I don't know much about potions, I just grow plants," the Black boy shrugged, and his friend's eyes lit up.
"Can you grow me some?" he asked, and seeing the light in Severus' eyes was enough to sway Regulus.
"Sure!"
"Excellent!" Severus smiled then, and Regulus nearly swooned.
He tripped on a stair as it was. "Are you okay?" the older boy asked, concerned when Regulus stumbled. "Yeah, I'm fine, just didn't see the step," Regulus assured calmly, while on the inside he was throwing a celebratory part. Severus cared! He felt like someone had lit fireworks; everything seemed darker except for Severus, whose pale skin seemed accented by the bright red cherries dangling from the trees. Regulus was in heaven.
"Excellent job, m'boy!" Professor Sprout beamed and clapped a hand on Regulus' thin shoulder. The youngest Black was grinning nearly ear to ear as his teacher lavished praise on him.
"You watered it exactly! Not too much, not too little, look at the cherries!" the short woman plucked one of the fruits and ate it, exclaiming how wonderful Regulus was.
"You truly have a green thumb, my boy!"
"Thank you, ma'am. May I try- another project?" "Of course, of course! Pick anything you'd like, and we'll get the seeds for you right away!" Cheeks flushed with pure delight, Regulus wandered the greenhouse with Severus trailing behind.
"Can I try a Whomping Willow?" Regulus finally asked, and both Professor Sprout and Snape were stunned.
"W-Why?" they both stammered out at the same time, then gave each other a knowing look.
"I think they're so beautiful! Please Professor, I'll work on it in here! I'll teach it to like me! We can put it next to the Whomping Willow, like a baby one!" the Black boy persisted, and Severus raised an eyebrow. He wondered about Regulus sometimes... No, scratch that, all the time...
"I suppose..." Professor Sprout finally decided, and Regulus beamed. "But that plant is so dangerous, I don't want it near the others. Here-" she handed him a bright silver key- "you may go to Greenhouse Three once you get the seeds. I'll send in an order."
"Thank you so much, Professor!" Regulus gushed as he left, and she smiled. "Anything for my best student."
"Come on, Sev, we gotta head back or we'll be late for dinner," Regulus called, and Severus grumbled, "Don't remind me when you're the one dawdling," but he followed the shorter boy.
Professor Sprout smiled as she watched the boys go, then commented to herself, "They'll make a lovely couple." The Fanged Geranium beside her nodded its agreement, then snarled something out, and the teacher smacked it lightly. "Oh, don't be so naughty!"
At dinner, all Regulus could talk about was his plants. This elicited even more gushing over him.
"Oh, look at how excited the little guy is," one of the girls cooed, and the other nodded and cried, "He's so adorable!"
Narcissa caught Severus' eye and she rolled her silver-blue orbs. Barely containing his laughter, Severus excused himself and Regulus followed. They walked through the hall, and Severus listened as Regulus went on.
"And then I'll plant it under the Whomping Willow so it'll have a baby and then maybe it won't be so mean!" the young Slytherin continued.
"What's this about sneaking around the Whomping Willow?" a low familiar voice said, and Severus' back stiffened.
He turned his head slightly, and sure enough, James Potter and his Gryffindor (Gryffindork) crew were standing behind him. Potter stood with his arms crossed over his chest, an arrogant smirk spread across his face. His closest group of friends, Lupin and Pettigrew looked nervous, but the other kids around them were confident. Strangely enough, Black wasn't wondered why; normally Regulus' older brother loved to tease him.
Snape snapped back into attention as Regulus replied cooly, "That's none of your business." The older boy admired the icy steel in Regulus' voice and the flash in his eyes.
"Oh, really?" Potter put on a face of mock-intrigue as he stepped closer.
"You better not go snooping around there," he ordered. "Get out of my face," Regulus snapped back, pushing at Potter, who pushed back.
"Don't lay a hand on me, slime!" he threatened. "Like you should talk, filthy blood traitor." Regulus spat in his face.
What happened next was chaos; Gryffindors immediately charged at the slender boy, who held his wand up and shouted a Protection spell so that they could not attack him or Severus.
The spell was weaker because he was in distress, however, and soon James Potter had him pressed up on a wall, and Regulus fought with kicks and bites, but all Potter did was laugh and shout to his friends about how funny it would be if he got the boy to suck his-
"ENOUGH!" the roar made everyone stop; Severus was startled to see Sirius Black storming towards the group, cheeks red with rage.
"Get your hands off of my brother!" he shouted at James, who let go and stared at the boy in shock; evidently he had not know that was his best friend's little brother. Moron, Severus thought. The brothers looked so much alike, after all.
Sirius was pushing Regulus' matted curls away from his face, murmuring comforting words. He gently pushed the shaken boy towards Severus, and turned to face James.
"I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you never lay a hand on my brother!" he shouted, voice so filled with rage that even Severus felt tiny flicks of fear lick his stomach.
"Mate, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Potter said frantically, and Sirius gave a derisive laugh; apparently he was thinking along the same lines as Severus.
"Right," he said sarcastically. "You didn't know. Well, Potter, then I guess if you can't be half-assed to put two and two together, then I can't be half-assed to hang around you."
He started to stalk away, but turned and made eye contact with Severus. "Make sure he's okay," he said, and the Slytherin boy nodded. The older Black boy turned back around and continued walking.
"Are you okay?" Severus asked gently. Regulus hadn't spoken a word since the fight. The two boys were sitting in the Slytherin common room now, with Severus kneeling before the younger boy.
Curls obscuring his face, Regulus simply nodded. With a small sigh, Severus took Regulus' face in his hand and lifted it to eye level.
"Do you want to tell a teacher?" he questioned, and the boy shook his head vigorously.
"What is it that you want then?" "I want- to be held," Regulus practically whispered. Severus felt a twinge of pity for the boy, and he put an arm around him.
Regulus gently laid his head on Severus' collarbone, breath slowing gradually. His icy hands were pressed to Severus' chest. The older boy took his friend's hands and chafed them until they were warm, then laid back and reflected.
Tonight had been... startling. He had not expected something like that after such a peaceful day. And over nothing; just Regulus talking about his plants. Then Potter had turned it into an issue, which had rose quickly into chaos, which Black had stopped. Severus recalled the deadly look in Sirius' eyes; it was obvious that no matter how much he hated his family, Regulus was precious to him.
Severus felt a wave of self-hatred wash over him. He was a coward.
Why hadn't he stood up for Regulus? If it had been him, the younger boy would have gone so far as to use his own body as a shield for Severus. Severus thought; could he do that? For Lily, of course, but Regulus... He was not sure.
He could sense that the boy had some romantic feelings for him; that much was obvious. But could he return them? Could he return them whole-heartedly? Right now, Severus was unsure. Conjuring a blanket, he slid out from under Regulus and gently placed it over the sleeping boy, then walked to his own dorm.
Whoa, that chapter was a little more... serious. Weird. Uh, yeah, but I hope you all will like it! :D
Review responses:
Infinite Nosferatu: Haha, I like your spirit about it! Will definitely try to update more often, maybe I'll start the romance soon... :D
Well, that's it for now! Bye!