Regulus specifically chose a day when his mother, Walburga, was not at home to wait by the fireplace for Severus's arrival.
To be honest, he was worried Walburga might interrogate his friend and hurt little Sev's feelings… In this regard, their father Orion was at worst overly silent and completely unenthusiastic, but at least he posed no threat to a young person's emotional well-being.
As for Sirius himself, he didn't particularly care about Snape.
So when Regulus invited Severus over, he just shrugged in disapproval—unless someone actively provoked him, he couldn't be bothered to pay others any attention.
Around ten in the morning, Severus's figure suddenly appeared in the flickering flames of the fireplace.
A few seconds later, he staggered out, barely managing not to fall face-first onto the Black family's hearth.
"Hi, Regulus. Sorry I'm late. My mum took a bit longer to leave than expected—" Severus brushed the soot off his robes as he spoke. These were the new robes Lily had lent him, and he treated them with great care.
"Sev! Great to see you!" Regulus stepped forward and gave Severus a hug.His clean hair and tidy robes showed that Severus had taken this visit seriously and had made an effort to look presentable.
"Welcome to the Black household, dear friend of the young master!" In the sitting room, Kreacher waddled in carrying a silver tray several times larger than his own head.
He laid out lavender and honey sponge cake with tea on the table and then gave a bow. "Kreacher invites Master's friend to change into a pair of comfortable slippers!"
"Thank you," Severus replied, pleasantly surprised, while Regulus gave Kreacher a grateful smile.
Orion, who had been sitting in the lounge, made a barely polite effort to ask Severus's name and offered a simple "Welcome" before getting up to leave the space to the two boys. If not for manners, he probably wouldn't have shown up at all.
The tension on Severus's face eased significantly. He sat on the sofa, chatting, enjoying the treats and tea, and curiously examining the long, high-ceilinged room.
Sunlight poured in through the street-facing windows, making the brocade curtains threaded with silver shimmer. The thick carpet, the massive chandelier, and the olive-green walls were adorned with old, ornate tapestries. One entire wall was covered by a tapestry embroidered with golden thread.
Severus's gaze first paused on the crystal vials filled with dragon's blood on the mantel, the animal claws, the coiled snakeskin… one by one. There was also a glass cabinet filled with all sorts of bizarre magical items.
The Blacks actually had quite a few potion ingredients displayed as decorations?
The unique taste of an old pure-blood family, perhaps…
His eyes shifted to the massive tapestry—
It was a sprawling family tree, tracing back to the Middle Ages. At the top, large embroidered words read: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black – Toujours Pur.
Severus blinked in awe, not fully understanding but clearly impressed. The enormous family tree made a deep impression on him.
Regulus simply got up and led him over to the tapestry, letting him take his time examining it.
At the very bottom, Severus saw two familiar names: Sirius Black and Regulus Black.
And even more familiar names: Bellatrix, Narcissa, Phineas Nigellus…
"What do you think?" Regulus smiled. "Pretty intimidating, right?"
"The Black family is truly remarkable," Severus said after a moment's thought, mimicking the tone of Prefect Malfoy.
Can't let Severus fall for this pure-blood superiority nonsense.
"Living immersed in the past, behind the walls of a fortress—" Regulus chose his words carefully, speaking slowly and clearly, "Sev, I have to keep reminding myself—not to let things like this distract me—"
"Why?"
"Because if you do, you stop seeing the future."
Eh? Sirius, who was coming down the stairs, froze in place. His heart felt like it had just been struck by a heavy hammer.
"Reg, you've lost me. I don't get it… is there something wrong with it?" Severus looked at the tapestry, puzzled.
"Living too long inside the fortress—you start to fear everything outside. And if you never engage with the world, then the source of your self-worth… becomes far too limited." Regulus stood before the tapestry, saying words that Severus half-understood.
With clever people, you couldn't spell it out. They had to figure it out themselves—that was the only way it would sink in.
Regulus always tried to speak sincerely while using a bit of rhetorical art. In truth, he wasn't even sure how well he was doing.
He went on: "It's just not enough—the things inside the fortress aren't enough to fill a person's heart, not enough to make someone truly themselves."
"Sev, let me tell you a secret—being born noble? It's a myth—"
Sirius stood frozen on the staircase, as if time itself had stopped, Regulus's unbelievable words echoing again and again in his ears.
"A lot of people forget what truly earns others' respect—" Regulus pointed at the tapestry, smiling as he looked at Severus.
"Anyways. Enough with this boring topic," Regulus said, pretending not to notice Sirius at all. "Want to see my room before we head to Diagon Alley? You'll also get to meet the eagles."
…
After briefly greeting the rather awkward-looking Sirius on the stairs, Regulus led Severus all the way up to his room on the top floor.
There were quite a few Slytherin banners decorating the room, all of which Regulus had kept. Only one wall had been turned into a full bookshelf.
Severus's eyes widened as he looked at the shelves packed full of books, nearly speechless. "So many books—this is… even the entire curriculum from first to seventh year… You've read all of these?"
"I think it's necessary to study in advance. We only have a few years at Hogwarts—we should make every moment count. If we prep early, we can slack off when term starts and use that extra time to explore the castle and hunt for treasure," Regulus said, pulling out the most expensive third-year textbooks from the shelf.
This sort of warped yet oddly reasonable logic left Severus completely stunned.
Before he realized what was happening, the dead-serious Regulus had already stuffed a pile of third-year textbooks into his arms.
"You should try reviewing ahead too."
Sometimes, talking was just a way to shift the other person's focus—so that while they were thinking, you could go ahead and do what you'd planned.
——The Art of Language · Draft Author: Regulus Black
…
On the rooftop of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Regulus cast a Scouring Charm on a patch where bird droppings had recently appeared, then introduced Goddy and Regina to Severus.
As he watched, a complex blend of emotion flickered in Severus's eyes—there was admiration, longing, and finally… disappointment.
A Muggle once said: Envy and jealousy may appear similar at first glance, but envy is driven by the desire to become as good as the other person, while jealousy is driven by the desire to see the other person fall to your level.
So which was it for Severus now?
Regulus believed it was the former—after all, they were friends, weren't they?
He suddenly began to understand why Snape had, from the very beginning, chosen to throw himself into the ranks of the Death Eaters—when a powerful, charismatic, and highly admired "recruitment head" extended approval to a child who had nothing but talent, offering him glorious promises and convincing him he could one day possess the things he longed for…
Many people don't actually know what it is they truly want.
Especially when it comes to things they've never had—those are often wrapped in unrealistic fantasies.
No doubt, the Dark Lord was a master of linguistic persuasion.
If Severus needed it, then could he… be that recruiter instead?
Take the Dark Lord's path, and leave the Dark Lord with no path to walk?
Heh, one thing at a time—
Regulus pushed the chaotic thoughts out of his mind. He didn't have the time to get bogged down guessing what others were thinking.
He turned to the air and said, "Kreacher, could you help us take a photo?"
"Kreacher is honored to serve the young masters—" With a loud pop of Apparition, Kreacher appeared holding a magical camera. "Young masters, please say cheese!"
"Cheese~"
Click! Two boys and two eagles—their rooftop friendship was frozen in that moment.