Chapter 59. After the Holiday
Diagon Alley
When Severus appeared in the shop, he immediately noticed Nagini lying on the counter, stretched out along the wood, watching him with narrowed eyes.
"I am back."
"It is already one in the morning." she hissed gloomily.
With a smile, he sat down across from her and rested his head on the table, as if he had been carrying the weight of the night on his shoulders.
"Sorry. I really thought I would be back by twelve, but something held me up," he said, reaching out to stroke her head in slow, calming strokes.
"You saw that woman again?"
"Well, that too," Severus drawled, eyes half-closed with sleep. "And do not be jealous. Falling in love at my age is completely normal, and I will not abandon you until I restore your human form. Only after that will you decide for yourself whether you stay with me or go your own way."
"As if you do not know the answer to that question."
With a tired sigh, he lifted his head and looked straight into her eyes.
"Maybe I have not lived long, but I have seen enough of how people act. Right now you are in a desperate position, ready to cling to any chance at all, as long as you can keep your humanity." He ran his hand gently along her smooth scales and smiled warmly. "And when you are human again, you might start thinking differently. You might decide I am not some fairy-tale prince, just an ordinary wizard, and you would be better off without me."
"That is not true!"
"Nagini, I am only assuming. Let us wait until you become human again, and then we will decide what to do with your feelings, all right?" A flood of emotions rolled through him, from anger to joy and even sadness, so for a while he blocked their connection and kept looking her in the eyes, not letting a single stray feeling slip through.
The silence stretched for a full minute until she nodded timidly.
"All right. But what if I feel the same then, and you are already with her? Not just that. You will definitely be with her by then. What then?"
"Polygamy is not forbidden in magical Britain, and by then I will probably be the last of my line, the Princes, and the line will need to be restored, if you understand what I mean." He winked at her with a somewhat lewd smile, but Nagini did not react at all. He only heard her tired sigh. "All right, the joke did not land. Still, let us not get so far ahead. Maybe nothing will work out between her and me, so we will wait and see."
"I."
"Do not rush your answer," Severus cut her off, poking her muzzle with a finger. "We still have two years ahead of us, three at worst. That is a long time, plenty of time, so let us not bring this up again, all right?"
"All right. Thank you for being honest. but what if you fall in love with another woman?"
Severus could not hold it in and laughed, making Nagini a little embarrassed.
"That will not happen. I am not a fan of harems. Two wives can already be called a harem, but for me personally it is not, I still lean toward traditional relationships. But like I said, we will live and see. Maybe nothing will really work out for us, who knows?"
"I understand, but I am sure you will be together, and I am not even against it. If I cannot get my human form back, you will not be alone because of me."
"Are you doubting my abilities?" Severus asked, pretending to be offended. He poked her muzzle again and then continued in a mock, menacing tone, "If I said you will be human again, then you will be. So do not bring this up anymore, understand?!"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. Then climb on, it is time for us to go back to Hogwarts." Nagini nodded shyly, crawled onto his hand, and Severus glanced at the empty space beside him. "Tobby, move us to my room."
"Yes, Master!" an excited voice replied, and with a sharp crack they vanished from the shop, leaving the air empty and still. On the table, a small letter was left behind beside a pouch of potions and Galleons.
The morning after yesterday's holiday, which had taken place not only at the Blacks' but also at Hogwarts, classes resumed. The Divination professor was even discharged from St. Mungo's, only to end up back there the very next day, but that was a completely different story, and it could wait.
News about what had happened at the ball reached the school by the next morning, and almost everyone in Slytherin was discussing it, trying to guess who could have treated the Lestranges so brutally, and why anyone would dare to do it at all. There was even a rumor that Walburga herself had arranged it so she would not have to marry her niece off, because she had found a more suitable candidate. Others claimed the brothers had insulted someone they should not have, and paid the price.
And, of course, Severus, the red-haired guest who had practically been hugging Bellatrix Black in front of everyone and had barely kept his hands from sliding under her skirt, did not go unnoticed either. Bellatrix had not been against it, not even a little.
But, strangely enough, Rodolphus did not refuse the marriage and still announced it would happen, and Severus even started wondering whether he should pay him another courtesy visit. He dropped the idea anyway, almost as soon as it occurred to him. He was simply too lazy to deal with it, and what was the point when the wedding would not be until the seventh of July, nineteen seventy-eight? There was still plenty of time. Killing such a worthless wizard would take seconds, even a house-elf would be enough.
So he did not think about it any further, and he did not have time for it either, because he had far more important matters. First, he needed to deal with that room and all the junk piled inside. Second, there was the Grimoire. Karner was buying the materials, and thanks to his connections he promised it would be finished within a week, while Severus was not slacking either. After classes, and sometimes even in place of them, he worked on the cover, which he planned to make from basilisk skin, carefully preparing every stitch and edge. Third, there was preparing for the date.
As for searching for the founders' legacies and the other secrets of the castle, Severus decided to postpone that until the Grimoire was done. After that, he planned to transfer all the knowledge from the library books and that room directly into it, and calmly continue his search at home. That way no one would get interested in what he was reading, and he would not be distracted by the red-haired girl who kept accidentally ending up in the library at the same time as him, or throwing casual glances his way during breaks, as if she expected him to look back. He did not even want to know what was going on in her head, so he simply ignored her.
A few days later Regulus returned to school looking a little dejected. Strangely enough, he did not attack Severus with accusations, but he still looked at him resentfully.
From Regulus, Severus learned that after his departure Walburga had interrogated Bellatrix for about two hours, pressing and pressing, until Bella stepped in and explained everything. She did not reveal his identity, and neither did he. Bellatrix brushed it off with, "He is not someone our family can offend," and that was enough to satisfy Walburga's curiosity. Walburga was used to trusting her niece, who put the family's welfare first, even at balls, even with beautiful dresses, although her fanatical loyalty to the Dark Lord still irritated Walburga.
Walburga tormented Regulus for several days, but she did not go to extremes, because she understood perfectly well he was not at fault, assuming someone had put him under a spell. Still, she became interested in his new friend, Severus Snape of the Prince line. Walburga did not force Regulus to cut ties, but she advised him to look for more pure-blood friends.
The very next day, after gathering information about him, she regretted those words deeply. At the same time, she did not take them back, because she had pride, and she had that stubbornness every Black seemed to be born with.
Severus was not particularly surprised by Regulus's tragic story, and when Regulus asked if he really would not speak to him anymore, Severus answered firmly that it would not happen. After all, it was thanks to him that Regulus had been able to move much further in studying magic and become several times stronger than before. In a training duel with Bellatrix, Regulus had even surprised her and earned praise. Still, he did not admit that all of it was because of him, because his life, and every single bone in his body, were still dear to him.
Regulus also warned Severus to be careful, because the Lestranges had begun searching for the person who had done that horror to the brothers. At the same time, Regulus kept shooting suspicious looks at Severus's calm smile, as if trying to make sure it really was him. Deep down, Black was one hundred percent sure it was him, but he decided to keep that thought to himself.
The rest of the week, right up to the weekend, passed quietly. No one bothered Severus, and he could calmly focus on sewing and sorting, without anyone breathing down his neck. After sorting through about ten percent of that junk, he found many interesting things, and he did not forget to mark them. Once he could leave the castle walls, he would definitely take it all with him, although he still took a few artifacts now for analyzing runic patterns and magic.
The day of the date with Bella was also drawing closer, so Severus did not linger in that room and wanted to finish the Grimoire as quickly as possible. From a house-elf, he learned that Karner had finally gathered every necessary material, so on Friday evening, after classes with Slughorn, he almost immediately returned to Diagon Alley, without wasting a second more.
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