Severus loved Potions class. It was the one time he could lose himself in brewing, which is something he had liked since he was a little boy. He wished he could brew potions outside of class. He mentioned this to his friends.
"Why don't you ask Slughorn if you can have your own potions lab?" James asked.
"Are you kidding? I'm not asking that man for anything!" Severus snapped. "He would find a way to use me, or somehow try to play favorites!"
"Why don't you ask Grandfather?" Sirius asked.
"Oh yeah, he'd probably say that a first year student shouldn't be brewing potions by themselves," Severus replied.
"Actually, he probably would just have you show him that you can brew without supervision, and if you pass his test, he would probably grant you with your own potions lab," Sirius pointed out.
"Sirius is right," Lily said. "It can't hurt!"
Severus finally nodded. "Alright. I'll go, but if I end up in detention, I'll blame all of you."
"That's fine!" Sirius said with a grin. "Go on! Go talk to him!" Severus glared at him before walking out of the common room.
Sirius and Lily bent over laughing. "What's so funny?" James asked.
"Severus has been family since September, yet, he has not talked to Grandfather one-on-one to have any bonding time," Sirius said.
"So we're just helping him," Lily said with a smirk. "Can we cross step one off our list, Sirius?"
"Yes, Lily, I think we can," Sirius agreed. Remus and James gave each other looks of confusion.
Severus got to the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. "Equal opportunity," he stated. He wondered if all the passwords would be about equality, like Dumbledore's passwords were all candies.
When he reached the top, he was about to knock when he heard, "Come in, Severus."
Severus realized this would be an informal meeting, since Arcturus had used his first name instead of Mr. Snape. He walked into the office and sat across from Arcturus.
"Arcturus, I had a question," Severus said hesitantly.
"What is it?" Arcturus asked.
"Well, I have always enjoyed brewing potions since I was just a little boy," Severus started explaining. "When I brew, I feel like I can escape reality for a while. But here, we only get to brew for a few hours a week. I was wondering if… if I can..." He trailed off, suddenly unsure of himself.
"Go ahead," Arcturus urged him.
"If I could have my own place to brew, like a potions lab?" Severus asked in a rush.
Arcturus chuckled. "Almost any other teacher would say no, but I believe that, if you show me that you won't burn down the castle, then you can certainly have a room in the dungeons where you can brew anytime you want, as long as you're not using it to skip classes, of course."
"Really?" Severus asked, shocked. "I… I thought you'd tell me no."
Arcturus shook his head. "You have outstanding marks in Potions so far, so that is promising. I will have you brew some basic potions, and if you do them well, I will allow you to have your own place to brew. Is that a deal?"
"What do you want in return?" Severus asked.
"I'm not asking for anything in return," Arcturus said. "I know some pure-bloods use that for their own games, and I myself use it when playing politics, but other than that, I do not demand for anything in return. So don't worry about doing something in return."
Severus nodded. "Then I accept," he stated. Arcturus smiled.
"Good," he said. "You shall come back here tomorrow evening, and we will see if your brewing skills are as good as your grade says they are."
"Thank you, Arcturus," Severus said gratefully.
"You are very welcome, Severus," Arcturus said. "You remind me of your mother. She was a potions mistress before she married your father."
"Really?" Severus asked. "I knew she knew how to brew potions, because she's the one who taught me, but she never talks about her life before marrying my father, so I had no idea she was a potions mistress."
"I shall tell you what I know then," Arcturus said with a small smile. "Now, it's almost curfew. I promise to tell you stories tomorrow." Severus grinned.
"Thank you," he replied, heading to the door.
"Severus?" Arcturus called out. "Happy birthday." Severus froze. He turned around.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"Family knows other family members' birthdays," Arcturus responded.
"Er, alright," Severus said. "Er, thank you." He was not used to people wishing him a happy birthday, except for his mother.
Before he could leave the office, Regulus came running in through a door he didn't notice before.
"Severus! Before you go, I have something for you," he said, handing Severus a package. "Happy birthday!"
Severus opened it to find that it was a book. A Potions book to be exact. "Er, where did you find this?" he asked.
"Grandmother found it and I asked her to get it so I could give it to you," regulus explained. "It just came out."
"Er, thank you," Severus said, still shocked that Regulus had gotten him a present. Before Severus knew what was happening, Regulus was giving him a hug.
Arcturus smirked. It seemed that Severus was not used to hugs. Oh well, they would just have to change that.
Severus headed back to Gryffindor Tower, amazed at how well the conversation had gone. He entered the common room to find Alice and Mary waiting for him.
"Well? What did he say?" Alice asked. Alice and Mary had started hanging out with the Marauders more, and Severus guessed it was only a matter of time before they officially became Marauders.
"He said he'll have me brew some potions tomorrow evening, and if I do as well as my grade in class shows, then I'll have a room in the dungeons to brew," Severus summarized. Mary squealed in delight. Alice smiled, and the boys cheered.
"I told you he'd do that!" Sirius said.
Severus nodded. It was the best birthday he had ever had.