HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

Back in the common room, Aris pulled Kevin aside, leaving Ian alone.

As soon as he returned to their dormitory and the door closed, Severus leaned against the door, head down, as if all his strength had been drained away.

Ian stood in front of him, not daring to touch him rashly, but just staring intently at him.

"...What did he say?" Ian asked in a very soft voice.

Severus's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice dry. "He said...that lord admires my talent in potions and...certain areas, and thinks my previous failures were a pity."

"He can provide me with all the resources I need to support my continued research on soul-soothing agents, and even... in more in-depth directions."

Ian's heart sank.

"He advised me to think it over carefully, for my... future." Severus gave a sarcastic smile, his eyes chillingly cold. "He also said that the world is not peaceful these days, and talented young people are prone to going astray, or... getting implicated. Mr. and Mrs. Burke's work at the Ministry of Magic and St. Mungo's... is highly respected, but they inevitably come into contact with some sensitive matters."

"Ian said... 'Your bright little Burke and his enlightened parents' need a safer environment."

A naked threat.

Use Ian, John, and Leah to force him to comply.

"He said it wasn't coercion, it was an invitation, but a smart person knows how to choose." Severus's voice trailed off, becoming almost inaudible. "He said, 'I'll think it over before Easter.'"

The dormitory was deathly silent.

The fire crackled occasionally in the fireplace, casting a shadow on Severus's pale face.

Ian looked at him, then he reached out and cupped Severus's cheeks, forcing him to look up at him.

"Severus Snape," Ian said, his voice steady yet powerful, "listen carefully."

Severus's pupils trembled slightly as he looked at him.

"I don't care what you promised or didn't promise, and I don't care what Lucius Malfoy or the guy behind him said."

Ian ran his thumb across his cold cheek. "From the day I brought you home, from the day my parents treated you like one of their own, we've been together."

"Threatening my parents? The Burke family hasn't been intimidated into standing in the wizarding world for so many years. They're more resilient than we imagine, and they have their own connections. As for me..."

Ian leaned closer, forehead to forehead with Severus's, their breaths mingling, his grey eyes staring straight into Severus's dark depths, unwavering and resolute:

"I remember saying I chose you."

"No matter what happens, no matter who we have to face, no matter what price we have to pay."

I choose you.

"So don't try to shoulder this alone, and don't agree to any nonsense for the sake of safety. Let's work together to find a solution, just like we did for Regulus, just like we always have."

"You, me, Kevin, Aris, even Lily, and our families—we are not pawns to be manipulated, Severus."

Severus stared at him, gazing into the unwavering resolve and unfathomable love and protection in Ian's eyes.

He abruptly closed his eyes, leaned forward, and pressed his forehead heavily against Ian's shoulder. His arms stiffly rose and finally, he tightly wrapped them around Ian's waist, like a drowning person clinging to the only piece of driftwood.

"...Ian." He called his name in a hoarse voice, his tone trembling.

"I'm here." Ian hugged him back, tightly and steadily. "I'll always be here."

……

The last few days of the Christmas holidays passed in a tense calm.

The fire in the cellar seemed to be burning brighter than in previous years, yet it couldn't dispel an invisible chill.

Ian and Severus were almost inseparable, spending most of their time in the dormitory or in the corner of the empty common room.

Severus became even quieter, often lost in thought while staring at his potions textbook or parchment. Ian no longer simply stayed by his side quietly; he would occasionally lean over, nudge him with his shoulder, or push a freshly brewed cup of hot tea toward him, whispering trivial matters.

Severus would usually just grunt "hmm," but his tense body would slowly relax a little.

On the afternoon of the first day back to school, the corridors were once again packed with students, and the noise drowned out everything else.

As evening fell, the door to the Room of Requirement was opened, and Regulus entered.

He looked paler and more haggard than when he left school, wrapped in a heavy black travel cloak, like a moving shadow.

He didn't immediately take out his book as usual, nor did he greet anyone; he simply sat there.

Kevin and Aris exchanged a glance, and Severus put down the silver knife he was sharpening.

After a long silence, he said, "...he borrowed Kreacher."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Who?" Kevin asked instinctively, then realized what was happening and his expression changed.

"That... sir," Regulus said, his voice trembling slightly as he uttered the title, "On the third day after Christmas, he said he needed a little elf to complete a... small task, which my parents... considered an unparalleled honor."

He took a deep breath, as if the words he was about to say required immense effort.

"Kreacher didn't come back until midnight yesterday. It... was very strange. It was soaking wet, ice cold, and shivering incessantly, muttering, 'Kreacher failed. Kreacher has disgraced its master.'"

"I tried many methods to get it to speak intermittently."

Regulus's voice was very low. "A cave. By the sea, blood is needed to open the door, inside is a huge black lake, in the middle of which is a small island with a stone basin filled with potions... which must be drunk."

His narrative was fragmented, but enough to piece together a sinister and terrifying picture.

A treasure trove protected by dark magic, accessible only at a great cost, where the hidden "treasure" is an ancient locket bearing the Slytherin mark.

"That's no ordinary treasure," Regulus said, almost in a murmur. "It's the secret to his immortality. I've read about it. In the deepest, most forbidden section of the family library, there's a vague record of split souls stored in containers... Horcruxes."

The air freezes.

"To tear one's own soul apart and store it in a specific item in order to gain immortality is insane."

Aris looked at Regulus in shock. He had read about this magic in a tattered manuscript of "Deciphering Cutting-Edge Black Magic".

"And not just one." Regulus's voice was even more desperate. "If the records are correct... creating Horcruxes requires murder, splitting souls... He wouldn't be satisfied with just one, the locket might just be one of them."

"Kreacher overheard snippets...that in his good mood, he mentioned the collection to Bella, to others...and more than one piece."

The firelight cast flickering light on everyone's faces.

A dark lord who seeks immortality and may have achieved it through the most evil means.

This was worse than they had ever anticipated, much worse.