Remus Lupin was the first to notice Regulus Black.
Lupin sensed a dangerous presence almost instantly. His expression shifted slightly as he turned to see Regulus standing quietly at the end of the corridor, and he immediately nudged the still-rambling James Potter with his elbow.
Regulus raised an eyebrow slightly. A beast's intuition?
James followed Lupin's gaze, and his smile froze on his face. He gripped his wand reflexively, a flash of alarm and forced hostility flickering in his eyes.
Peter Pettigrew was so frightened that he hid directly behind Lupin.
Sirius Black also looked over.
As the two pairs of grey eyes met, the cynical smile on Sirius's face slowly vanished.
The two brothers stared at each other silently across a distance of a dozen feet in the corridor filled with malicious laughter.
Sirius's thoughts drifted slightly.
He remembered James saying earlier that he was going to vent his frustrations and teach Regulus a lesson, only to return looking as if his soul had been hollowed out.
He also recalled Remus's low-voiced description of a battle that was so brief it was despair-inducing.
He remembered their childhood, how his younger brother always stayed quietly by their mother's side yet could easily achieve things that Sirius struggled to do even with all his effort.
Even more, he remembered the countless times since starting school that he had caught glimpses of Regulus hurrying past in the library, in corridors, or on the way to class, clutching thick books while alone.
He seemed to be… always studying, or on his way to study.
This thought suddenly popped into Sirius's mind.
It was completely different from the life he and James led, spending their days thinking about Quidditch, pranks, and exploring the castle's secrets.
Before, he had thought it was boring, rigid—a sign of being shackled by the family.
But now, combined with James's experience and the invisible pressure Regulus exerted just by standing there, he finally had a different perspective.
Had the gap really become this large without him realizing it?
It wasn't just the suffocating gap in magical strength, but a gap in… the choice of their paths and the level of commitment to them.
"Seen enough of the show?" Sirius's voice was drier than usual, yet it carried his characteristic stubbornness that refused to back down.
However, his gaze no longer met Regulus's directly, shifting instead to the adjacent wall.
Only then did Regulus step forward, his footsteps echoing clearly in the stone corridor.
He didn't look at James, Snape, or anyone else; he simply stopped in the middle of the two groups, his gaze landing on Sirius.
"Bullying someone who is alone is how you prove your courage and find fun?" Regulus's voice was calm. "If that's the case, then Gryffindor's courage is far too cheap."
James wanted to retort, but remembering the previous lesson and Regulus's cold warning, the words stuck in his throat.
*It's not time yet,* he thought. *I'm not ready!*
Regulus continued to look at Sirius, his tone devoid of much emotion. "Wasting your time and energy on such things will do you no good.
The world will soon have no room left for so many jokes and games.
If you don't want to find yourself one day without even the ability to protect yourself or those you want to protect, you had better start thinking seriously now about what your magic should be used for.
And how to make it truly useful."
Sirius didn't hear a lecture in Regulus's words; it was more like a reminder based on facts. He could even vaguely sense something complex behind it.
A piece of advice given for the sake of blood ties.
Sirius's heart felt as if it had been tugged by something.
He wanted to retort loudly, to say he didn't need a sermon from a Slytherin, from this traitorous brother; he wanted to say he lived freely and happily and would protect his loved ones in his own way.
But the things Regulus mentioned were like shards of ice, smashing into his mind that was heated by rebellion and friendship.
He thought of the increasingly tense atmosphere at home, the veiled mentions in his parents' letters, and Cousin Bella's growing madness.
Perhaps Regulus was right.
But this only made him more irritable and rebellious.
"My business is none of yours!" Sirius snapped back stiffly, then turned to James and the others. "Let's go, this is boring."
James seemed to want to say something more, but Lupin gave him a gentle pull.
They followed Sirius, leaving the corridor in a hurried manner, their retreating backs looking somewhat rushed.
After the Marauders left, only Regulus and a disheveled Snape remained in the corridor.
Snape quickly used a cleaning charm to remove the stains from his robes and straightened his wet hair, his expression still dark.
The look he gave Regulus was full of vigilance and suspicion, along with a trace of shame and resentment at being seen in such a pathetic state.
"I don't need your help, Black," Snape's voice was raspy, carrying clear resistance. "I don't need charity from any pure-blood young master."
Regulus was not surprised by his reaction.
Severus Snape was brilliant, with a high talent for Potions and the Dark Arts, but he was also extremely sensitive and insecure, his heart filled with a pride and resentment twisted by his upbringing and experiences.
He craved power, recognition, and integration into pure-blood circles, yet he held an instinctive suspicion and defensiveness toward any approach from core members of those circles.
In Regulus's eyes, Snape was a highly valuable potential collaborator, one might even say a high-quality asset.
A future Potion Master with deep knowledge of the Dark Arts, meticulous, and skilled in endurance.
If a connection could be established in the right way, his value would far exceed that of Avery or even Hermes.
"Charity?" Regulus repeated the word, his tone remaining flat. "Do you think I stood here just to admire your wretchedness or to enjoy the superiority of saving you?"
Snape pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes conveyed his affirmation.
"You're wrong," Regulus said. "I just happened to be passing by, and they were blocking my way. As for you…"
He looked Snape up and down. "Your talent for Potions is something even Professor Slughorn praises highly.
Your insights into Defense Against the Dark Arts… or rather, certain specific fields of magic, also far exceed those of your peers. What you possess is far more valuable than many who only know how to show off their family trees."
Snape's body tensed slightly. Regulus's words struck the most contradictory part of his heart; he both detested pure-blood arrogance and craved for his talents to be recognized by that circle.
"However," Regulus's tone shifted, "if you continue to waste your energy on childish confrontations with Potter and his lot, or if you are satisfied with only what is in the school textbooks, you will always be on the defensive, and your talent will be buried.
True power cannot be gained simply by relying on the public areas of the Hogwarts library and self-studying scattered Dark Arts notes."
A flash of shock and deeper vigilance crossed Snape's eyes. "What… do you mean?"
"It's simple," Regulus took a step closer, lowering his voice to ensure only the two of them could hear. "Accepting help is not shameful, Snape.
One cannot rely solely on oneself, especially when you want to obtain knowledge and power that is… monopolized by certain people.
I can provide certain channels, opportunities to read books you might not otherwise have access to, or limited exchanges in certain fields.
In exchange, I may require your insights into Potions or certain obscure magical research."
The terms Regulus offered were vague, but extremely tempting.
"You can take your time to think about it," Regulus said, and without another word, he turned to leave.
He knew that for someone as suspicious and proud as Snape, pushing too hard would only be counterproductive.
As Regulus's figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor, Snape stood alone, his mind in turmoil.
Regulus Black's words echoed in his head like a curse.
The feeling of humiliation remained, but even stronger was the impact of those words.
Black had seen his talent, and might even know he was privately studying the Dark Arts!
Was the opportunity he offered… real? Or was it a trap?
To recruit him?
Or simply to exploit his talent for Potions?
But undeniably, Black had a point.
What was there to gain from tangling with Potter and the others, besides humiliation and wasted time?
The things taught at school were simply not enough to grant him truly formidable power, not enough to escape his current situation, and not enough to make him worthy of… Lily!
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