HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

The Christmas spirit is beginning to spread.

Holly and mistletoe were hung in the auditorium, and Professor Flitwick used magic to make snowflakes slowly fall from the auditorium ceiling.

The students were discussing holiday plans, gifts, and the Christmas ball.

The list of Slytherin students who remained at the school began circulating again.

Ian and his group had no choice but to stay.

The day before Christmas Eve, a report appeared in a corner of the Daily Prophet: the eldest son of the Black family may have broken with the family after leaving home late at night.

The accompanying image shows Sirius Black leaving his old house late at night.

In the lounge, some people whispered among themselves, some exchanged meaningful glances, and most remained silent.

On Christmas Day, Professor Slughorn's Slug Club hosted a small Christmas tea party, and Severus and Ian were among the invitees.

The atmosphere was lively, and the professor, as always, was enthusiastic about showcasing the latest achievements of his "promising" old friends and students, including several who had already made a name for themselves in the Ministry of Magic and whose names occasionally appeared in the Daily Prophet.

They expressed their admiration for the outstanding young people at Hogwarts, and their gaze lingered on Severus with particular friendliness.

Severus held his cup, polite but distant.

Ian skillfully navigated the situation, taking on those subtle attempts at solicitation and deflecting them in a more tactful way, neither embarrassing the other party nor making any promises.

After the tea party, they ran into Regulus in the corridor.

He was alone, watching the fine snow falling outside the window, when he heard footsteps and turned around.

He looked thinner than before, and his face was somewhat pale in the snow, but his manners were impeccable.

"Snape, Burke." He nodded. "Was the tea party pleasant?"

"Very helpful, thank you," Ian replied.

Regulus's gaze lingered on Severus's face for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just smiled slightly.

"That's good, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Blake," Severus said.

Regulus nodded, turned and left, his back straight, his steps measured, yet somehow exuding a sense of loneliness.

"He..." Severus began, then stopped.

"He chose one side," Ian interjected calmly, "just like his brother chose the other side."

Some choices, once made, are impossible to turn back from.

……

During the holiday, the castle was much emptier, with only a few students remaining, making the common room seem more spacious than usual.

The fireplace burned even brighter, its crackling sound particularly clear in the empty stone chamber.

Ian pushed the chessboard to Aris across from him, watching him deftly checkmate his king with his queen.

"I'm done playing," he leaned back in his armchair and rubbed his temples. "If I keep losing, my allowance won't be enough to buy Severus moonstone powder for next month."

Aris adjusted his glasses, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Your tactics are too direct, too predictable, and besides," he glanced at the other side of the fire, "your mind isn't on this."

By the fire, Severus sat in a corner with a book open on his lap, but his gaze was fixed on several parchment sheets filled with calculations.

He frowned slightly, and the tip of his quill pen unconsciously touched the paper, leaving a few small ink dots.

Regulus demonstrated a new Quidditch feint to Kevin, and the boy excitedly mimicked it, knocking over a teacup on the small table next to him.

Regulus cleaned it up effortlessly with his wand, his movements fluid and his face bearing a polite smile.

But when Kevin turned to pick up the broom model, his smile vanished like a mask for a moment, revealing the deep weariness beneath.

He walked over and sat down in the empty armchair next to Ian, silently watching the fire for a while.

"Sirius went to the Potters' house," he said suddenly, his voice so soft that only Ian and Aris, who were nearby, could hear him.

He didn't look at anyone, as if he were simply stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"His mother burned his portion of the family tree carpet, saying that the Blake family would no longer have this son."

The firelight danced on his pale face, but couldn't penetrate the depths of his gray eyes.

Ian didn't say anything.

Aris closed the chessboard.

In the distance, Severus looked up and glanced at Regulus, his gaze briefly meeting Regulus's empty eyes before quickly looking down again at the parchment.

The crackling of the fire filled the brief silence.

Regulus stared at his clasped hands, his knuckles turning slightly white.

Kevin, holding the broom model, was bewildered. He looked at Regulus, then at the others, and finally said nothing. He simply placed the model back on the table, walked over to the carpet next to Regulus, sat cross-legged, took out a handful of honey candies from his pocket, and silently handed one to Regulus.

Regulus paused for a moment, looking at the candy, then at the somewhat awkward concern on Kevin's face. His lips twitched slightly, and he finally took the candy, whispering, "Thank you."

He left that corner.

……

On the last day of the holiday, when Ian woke up, Severus's bed curtains were already drawn, the bed was neatly made, and he was nowhere to be seen.

He put on his sweater and found a piece of parchment spread out on the desk, with a quill pen lying to the side, the ink still wet.

It was the same notebook from that book again, the handwriting even more illegible than usual, with several places repeatedly scribbled over.

"Getting up so early," Ian muttered, grabbing the paper and glancing at it.

A few seconds later, he frowned, put the note back in its place, put on his robe, and walked out.

The corridor was empty, the portraits were still snoring, and when I turned the corner on the second floor, I could hear suppressed arguments.

That's the direction of Slughorn's office.

"...I understand your good intentions, Professor." Severus's voice was a little tense, "but this letter of recommendation...I'm not sure if it's appropriate."

"Oh, my dear child!" Slughorn's mellow voice was filled with exaggerated concern. "This is an opportunity that so many people would kill for! Mr. Malfoy greatly admires your potential in the field of Soul Potions. His uncle, you know, is in charge of approving funding for potion research at St. Mungo's board of directors..."

"My research is still in the theoretical stage."

"Theory needs practice! The Malfoy Manor's library, tsk tsk, its collection is so vast that even Hogwarts might not be able to compare, and..."

He lowered his voice slightly, "Lucius hinted that if you'd like to visit the manor during your vacation, he'd be happy to offer some manuscripts from his private collection, concerning... well, the grafting of ancient runes with the source of magic."

Ian stopped in his tracks.

Severus remained silent for a few seconds.

"I need time to think about it."

"Of course, of course! Caution is a virtue." Slughorn's laughter was somewhat dry. "But you'd better give me an answer before the end of winter break, you know, this kind of opportunity..."

The door opened, and Ian quickly retreated behind a suit of armor.