Narcissa seemed to doubt what to say to Severus.
"Uh-oh! Well..., that... I... it just like... well. Ahem, Merlin, well, we're really not very well," Narcissa finally replied a little embarrassed.
"Our relationship is fine, as always, but we have our misunderstandings like everyone else and the war doesn't help, but we still love each other like the first day" she added and explained quickly.
"Yes, I can imagine, I wish you both the best, I will always be grateful for everything you did for me these years, and if there is anything I can help you with don't hesitate to tell me"
"I... err..." Narcissa didn't know what to say back to Severus.
'Since when did Severus Snape behave so kindly, where is the cold, direct, dry, hard, dark man she knows' Narcissa asked herself.
"Narcissa, come on," Severus said softly.
"We've known each other for years. You should know that you can always count on me for something like this, I may have always been a bit too closed off, but as I said, I'm looking to turn over a new leaf," Severus added with an amused smile as he saw Narcissa's confused and surprised face.
Narcissa just nodded, completely bewildered.
She heard a strange ringing in her ears and wondered dizzily if she was under some sort of enchantment.
"Besides, I wanted to tell you that I consider you a good friend," Severus finally said.
"This... Severus..." Narcissa was too shocked by everything that was going on.
Severus had changed completely, it wasn't his physical appearance, no, he still looked the same as before, neither his voice nor his eyes changed, what changed was just his attitude, the way he spoke, the way he expressed himself, how sociable and kind he was being.
How sincere and grateful his words sounded made Narcissa couldn't believe she was talking to the Severus she knew, he was a completely different person.
But just by looking into his eyes, she knew that he was the Severus she knew, there was no other person with those deep black eyes that would make anyone lose themselves in his gaze or be frightened on more than one occasion.
She had long since grown accustomed to his cold stare.
For a moment, Narcissa could only stare at him.
She believed that Severus had to be under some magical effect, either from a potion or a spell.
This was completely unreal to her, the very idea that Severus was behaving like this was delusional, this all had to be the work of some kind of magic.
She had known him since their first year, he was always witty and very talented, but he also acted very distant in front of her, whenever he could he avoided her.
Severus was so strange, unlike most people who feigned interest and sought to talk to impress her or get along with her, he was always honest, hard, and cold with her, well, she knew he was like that with everyone, but that was what she liked about the little Slytherin.
Severus was genuine unlike the others, he could be strange, dark, and even a bit unpleasant the first time you met him, but once you spent time with him, you could see that he had a lot of potential, not just in potions or dark arts as Lucius thought, he had the talent to be someone important and powerful.
But the poor boy was blinded by that muggle-born, he wasn't progressing because of his obsession, he could have shone in Slytherin, but he was trapped in something that Narcissa knew from day one would never work.
She knew that Evans was a rock on Severus' back, one that wouldn't let him move forward.
Lily Evans might be a Muggleborn but she was no different to other girls her age, she would sooner or later start getting interested in other boys who surely had everything Severus didn't and Narcissa was convinced that Severus would suffer from it at some point.
Because Narcissa was a girl and she knew what every girl was looking for, and Severus might be very special, but he wasn't the kind of man a teenage girl would date, they preferred men like Lucius Malfoy and James Potter to men like Severus.
But that didn't mean she wasn't worried about young Severus' future, she could see the love he had for the young muggle-born girl, and sooner or later he would start obsessing over her, thinking of nothing but her.
Now Narcissa knew that she was not wrong in her thoughts, but perhaps all that suffering that she thought was going to destroy Severus and that was why she thought it was better to avoid it, ended up being the best thing for him.
That's because it made him change, and as far as she could see, it made him change for the better.
It was a very good thing and Narcissa was happy for Severus, she always considered him a friend.
She could be genuine with him and at the same time receive a sincere response from him.
Severus wasn't looking to get anything from her, that's why she came to him on more than one occasion and she thanked him for his advice and help in potions or other subjects because she knew that he did it without looking for anything in return from her, not her favour, not to get her attention, nothing, Severus wasn't interested in her and that was a breath of fresh air for Narcissa.
"Thank you, Severus, I also consider you a very good friend and I'm very happy to see that you've managed to overcome everything for the better," Narcissa thanked him with a warm and sincere smile.
After the two continued chatting for a few moments, Narcissa already had to go to the Ministry of Magic, so she gave a warm farewell to Severus, then she slipped through the bar and out the doors that led to the fireplaces connected to the Floo Network, her long white muslin dress rustling behind her.
When Narcissa left, Severus proceeded to finish his breakfast and read one of the letters that had come to him.
'Now... this is strange, I don't normally get letters from anyone other than Lily or some of my fellow Slytherins' Severus thought in confusion as he saw that this time he had two letters, one coming from Gringotts and the other from abroad, so it couldn't be from either of them.
'Unless one of them has travelled outside of Britain recently' Severus thought that was a possibility.
He first opened the letter from Gringotts.
When he opened the envelope the first thing he read was:
"Mr. Severus T. Snape. Acceptance of emancipation proceedings."
'Oh... what a pleasant surprise, it seems they finally accepted my petition for emancipation, so it seems I am currently emancipated which gives me a lot of freedom as a member of the magical and muggle community' Severus said to himself with a smile, with all the problems he was currently having it was good to see some good news.
After the death of his parents, he had decided not to tell anyone at Hogwarts about the event and to make his own emancipation arrangements at Gringotts in conjunction with the British Ministry of Magic.
He had discovered that it was apparently not that difficult to do so, as he had no direct relatives alive since the Christmas holidays.
Severus already met all the minimum requirements for the emancipation process, which were to be over 16 years of age.
He was also taking advantage of the fact that the British magical world is in chaos due to the Dark Lord and his followers the death eaters, which makes it easier to do this kind of thing as the British Ministry of Magic doesn't have time for this kind of thing at the moment and as long as you have your papers in order and you meet the conditions, these things are approved immediately.
And at Gringotts, as long as they have a new bank account for an adult wizard, they won't have any problems.
'Well..., now that the good news I wanted so much has arrived, let's see what this letter from abroad is,' Severus said to himself, not knowing what to expect from this letter.
Quickly, Severus took the letter which had a high-quality red sealing wax seal that said SWI, and opened it.
"Hmm, SWI?..., Eh, what is this?" wondered a confused Severus.
He quickly read what it was about, intrigued:
"Salem Witches Institute, Salem Potions College Summer Program" read Severus.
"Oh, I remember now, I had applied to the Salem Potions College summer programme some time ago," Severus recalled.
Salem Potions College abbreviated as SCoP, was one of the many colleges of the Salem Witches' Institute abbreviated as SWI.
He had applied only as a challenge that Lily had made to him at the beginning of his fifth year, it was just a joke between the two of them, as SWI was known to be an all-girls school and supposedly the potions school within the institute was one of the best in the world when it came to researching and studying potions.
Lily had jokingly challenged Severus to send a letter requesting to apply to SCoP and he accepted.
He ended up sending some of the improvements he had made to the recipes in the Hogwarts potions book.
It was just a silly challenge that they had both laughed about for a while, nothing serious.
Severus wasn't really interested in SWI's letter, so he read it quickly and without much interest.
He already had too much to do to waste his time in a Potions school, besides he already considered himself a self-taught genius at Potions and what he needed now was to strengthen himself, not study.
Having finished looking at his correspondence and eating his breakfast, Severus decided to leave the pub early to go and buy a sword.
He felt naked and insecure without his lightsaber, so it was his priority at the moment.
His wand may give him some comfort, but a part of him doesn't feel safe without a sword to fight with at critical moments.
As he left the pub, Severus greeted Rob and thanked him again for the extra portion at breakfast, the waiter returned the greeting as usual, though he seemed visibly intrigued by the young wizard's thanks.
Certainly, Severus still seemed cold and dark when you saw him, but the clear differences in him were beginning to show in his behaviour.
By simply saying "hello" and "thank you" without needing to do so, he was already acting very different from the previous Severus.
In time it is to be expected that his personality and appearance will change much more drastically as he now has two souls and two personalities united in one body.
The sun was low in the sky when Severus left the pub.
He walked through the magical cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley to pass by different shops and other places that were of interest to him.
But the first thing he looked for was a sword, and knowing that antique shops used to sell the magical swords used by wizards in medieval times Severus decided to try his luck and look for one that would satisfy his needs.
There were many magical swords, but Severus didn't have the money to buy any of these, plus none of these swords were all that impressive in Severus' eyes.
'Maybe I'll have to content myself with a simple sword...' Severus said to himself with a look of disgust at the thought of using a simple sword, but that should be enough to train for a while to get his weak body in shape.
"How I miss my lightsaber," muttered Severus knowing that getting a weapon that compared to a lightsaber was almost impossible on this planet.
Still, he decided to try his luck elsewhere, Knockturn Alley might hold something interesting.
Wearing a black cloak that hid his entire face and body, Severus entered Knockturn Alley.
He visited several interesting places, but none of them had what he was looking for.
He also came across many unpleasant people, but it was not his first time in this dark and scary alley.
He had had to deal many times with unorthodox people in order to obtain goods that could not be obtained by ordinary means.
Right now he was determined to go to one of the shops where he and Lucius used to go very often.
Finally, Severus reached Borgin and Burkes.
The doorbell rang, indicating to Mr. Borgin that someone had entered.
Looking up, Mr. Borgin smiled, showing yellowed, unkempt teeth as he brushed his greasy hair out of his wrinkled face.
Severus frowned; he disliked Mr. Borgin for many reasons, but his shop had all sorts of interesting things, which was tempting, and if he happened to get a worthwhile sword, then coming here would not have been a waste.
Mr. Borgin was a careless man, even if he was always trying to look his best among the rich thoroughbreds.
'It seems that before as Snape, me and this old man were not so different' Severus chuckled sarcastically to himself.
"Oh, young Snape, I see you're not coming with young Malfoy today, it's a pleasure to have you..."
"Cut the crap and Lucius isn't coming, so you can save your speech, I don't have time for your flowery words," Severus said with no emotion on his face, causing Mr. Borgin to nod calmly
Borgin wrung his hands: "My apologies, so..., what is it you seek today?"
"I come to collect what you owe me for the potion you requested" Severus hissed glaring at him.
"Oh yes, I remember... how could I forget" he replied laughing nervously.
'Yeah, right... he probably wouldn't even bother to pay me if it wasn't for the fact that I have the "support" of the Malfoy's' Severus thought.
He had made a rather obscure and complex potion at Borgin's request, apparently, a dark wizard was willing to pay him a large sum of money for this potion, so Severus agreed to make it for him.
Only Borgin is too stingy to give the money he earned, so they agreed on another form of payment.
"As agreed, I will take something from your shop worth the sale of the potion," said Severus.
"Very well, tell me... something in particular that you are looking for?"
"Actually, yes, a magical sword, do you have any interesting ones?" asked Severus not bothering to waste time looking, he knew he wouldn't try to con him as long as the Malfoy's were involved.
Being friends with Lucius had its advantages.
Mr. Borgin nodded vigorously and bowed.
Then he stood up, clutching a large black box full of ancient swords.
"Now, I don't think I need to make this clear, but remember that the Ministry does not allow the sale of these kinds of weapons. Having these around will cause you a lot of trouble," Borgin informed Severus.
Severus waved his hand.
"Don't worry," Severus replied as he looked at all the swords.
Some were acceptable, they had runes and incantations with properties that could be useful, but nothing very interesting.
There were even a large number of cursed swords, which had sheaths with a clear 'DO NOT UNSHEATH' specification.
"This is all you have?..." asked Severus with clear disappointment on his face.
"Hmmm, there might be a sword or two more, follow me this way," replied Borgin.
As the two of them walked further into the shop, Severus saw a withered hand on a purple velvet cushion, an opal necklace that was cursed, and a large black cabinet that had runes carved into it.
Finally, the two came to an old box, Brogin's arm reached out to open it, to show what was inside.
An old green sheath with a sword just as old.
Severus quickly unsheathed the sword and was very impressed.
It was a completely black sword and its design was unlike any sword he had ever seen before.
But as soon as he saw it, Severus knew that this was the sword he was looking for, it didn't compare to a lightsaber, but it fulfilled all his needs.
"The Gaun family sword, it was made hundreds of years ago by the elves, the most skilled metalworkers in the magical world, and is therefore enchanted. The sword is constructed from various metals and arcane mediums, performing an alchemical transmutation of base metals to alloy them with dark magic, it is said to be a cursed sword but there is no proof that it is" commented Mr. Borgin.
"Good. This will do!" nodded Severus.
"You know, I assumed you would say that..., but this sword, however, cursed it is considered to be, is still a highly valued antique, its price is many times that of the sale of the potion," said Borgin with a nasty grin.
He clearly wanted something else in return.
"You know I have no money and you wouldn't have shown it to me for no reason, so say it, what do you want?" hissed Severus in annoyance.
"As straightforward as ever, well, that makes things easier..., the buyer himself wants seven more potions, if you accept... the sword is yours" Borgin grinned through his ugly, crooked yellow teeth.
"Deal, but I'll take the sword now!" agreed Severus without a second thought.
The potion Borgin wanted was complicated and dangerous and forbidden to be made, but for Severus, the sword was worth the price.
After discussing the final details of the potions' delivery time and other unimportant things, Severus finally left Borgin and Burkes.
He couldn't wait to try the sword, he was eager to train, though not so eager to meditate... he knew that connecting with the Force would not be easy and that his meditation would be greatly affected by his two souls.
Still, he was not discouraged, he even thought that if he was lucky he might come across some dark wizard or some idiot who wanted to attack him in Knockturn Alley, so he could test his sword.
Unfortunately, he got out of Knockturn Alley without any trouble and was now back on the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.
Upon entering Diagon Alley, Severus ran into some unexpected people, these people were a few feet away from where he was standing and were slowly approaching him.
"Hello, Evans," Potter said in that voice, that voice he used whenever he spoke to Lily.
Potter was walking through the shops along with his group of friends and now Lily.
Severus wanted to curse himself for his bad luck, but now he was pretty sure he could control his emotions, and he didn't worry so much.
'What's the worst that could happen..., a Potter and his group with no arms to use wands' Severus chuckled.
'Well... for the use they're put to it wouldn't do anyone any harm if that happened' he muttered to himself.
'Besides, I could test my sword...' thought Severus, but moments later he sighed and shook his head.
"Yes Potter?" replied Lily.
"So..., what do you say we have another dinner?" Potter was speaking again, Severus watched as Potter's hands came out of his pockets and one pair of fingers tapped his thigh while the other ran through his hair.
"Come on Evans, you said you had a good time, you can say it again then" joked Sirius who was standing next to James.
"Keep your promise first," said Lily and shrugged, as she continued walking.
"Besides, I'm looking forward to going home now, rest and clear my head for a while" she added.
"Yeah..., Yes... I guess so... I get it" Potter nodded a little frustrated.
"Relax, we're men of our word Evans, but don't forget to reconsider the date, otherwise Jamesy will be sad" Sirius joked, causing Potter to punch him for embarrassing him.
"Sirius!, Potter and I are just friends," replied Lily.
"We've always been sort of mates before, and now we're just good friends and I'm still really mad at you guys for various things, but for now I really appreciate the support you've given me all year, I realise you can be a lot of jokes but you're still good people, and that's why I love you as friends" clarified Lily.
Potter nodded despite being a little crestfallen; he had been nodding as soon as the first words slipped between Lily's lips.
It seemed painful how vigorously he nodded.
"Yes," Potter said.
"Padfoot, I told you we're just friends, stop embarrassing me, please," Potter added gently smacking Sirius again.
Lily shook her head in amusement and kept walking.
"Oh, sorry," Sirius said mockingly.
"I thought it was a date, my mistake," he added amused.
"Yeah, your mistake," Potter said quickly.
"Evans, you know you can count on us to relax or whatever you need, we all care about you, we understand what you're going through," Potter commented.
"Yes Lily, it's going to be hard, but it's always better to have company to get through some things" nodded Lupin giving her friend a tender look.
"That, what they said Evans!, and besides it's not worth being depressed over people who aren't worth it, and Snivellus, he's not worth it" commented Sirius.
While Peter just nodded at his comments from the side.
Then there was a moment of silence.
"Sirius..., you guys don't know him like I used to," Lily took another deep breath and spoke.
"Or maybe I never knew him the right way, the way I thought I did. I know I didn't," Lily added a little frustrated and downcast.
Lily laughed barely sarcastically and continued speaking but with a bit of coldness and sadness in her voice: "Merlin, I should have seen it coming from the way he used to talk or name others just because they weren't 'like us' or because they were 'muggleborns... I should have seen it coming, only maybe I didn't want to, he was so different with me."
Severus decided to stop listening to their conversation.
He didn't want to listen anymore as Lily blamed him for all his old mistakes, he didn't want to see her let Potter and his lot into his life, taking his place as if James bloody Potter had never done anything wrong before.
He wasn't perfect, but Potter and his friends were no better than he was.
He had been wrong a lot, but he had also apologised, he had begged, he had tried to make it up to her, and for what, so that she could effectively cut him out of her life so that she could be friends with James bloody Potter and his group of bullies?
Of course, it had only been a matter of time before Lily got Severus out of her life, she wasn't wrong about Severus' bad behaviour towards others.
But it was still annoying to Severus that they made him out to be the only bad guy in the story and Potter out to be Saint Potter.
Ever since the beginning of his fifth year at Hogwarts when he had promised Dumbledore not to tell what had happened that day with Remus, James and his group had let everyone know that Potter had saved his life, and Severus hadn't been able to contradict anything.
Severus was angry about it, it was worse when he tried to warn Lily to stay away from Remus Lupin.
He knew the two of them got on very well, but he was dangerous, Severus had experienced it first hand, he had to warn Lily despite swearing to Dumbledore that he wouldn't say anything, he couldn't explain things to her, but he could warn her.
But that only made it worse, Lily began to believe that Severus was just trying to discredit his friend Lupin and she also told him that he was ungrateful for not thanking Saint Potter for saving her life, it was frustrating.
Remembering that made Severus want to punch Potter and his whole bloody lot.
Now Severus understood that Lupin was dangerous, but he knew that he was not a bad person, of Potter's group, he was the only one who controlled himself and it wasn't his fault what happened to him, Lupin was just suffering from his condition.
But at that moment Severus was terrified and wanted to warn Lily, but it all went so wrong that it almost made Severus laugh now.
"So clever, so creative and so talented, but I dealt so badly with my life situations that it makes me laugh," Severus said to himself with a grimace.
Severus felt the bitterness as it worked its way through his veins, boiling his blood, making his heart race so fast that it would surely burst out of his chest and leave him for dead.
But he stopped it, he wasn't so weak that he couldn't control his emotions.
He had to learn from his mistakes.