HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

The next morning, Ian and his friends had breakfast in their dorm room since they didn't have class during the first period.

Aris took a sip of milk. "After you were called away, the professor told us to go back to the common room. Not long after, Prefect Flint and a few seventh-year students came for a short meeting by the fireplace. They weren't very loud, but Regulus was called over. I happened to be looking for a book on the bookshelf next to it."

He tore open a piece of bread. "The core message is twofold. First, the Ministry of Magic is targeting the Malfoys this time. Snape's involvement was an accident, but also a warning. Second, the House must maintain a unified narrative: only state that it's an academic exchange. Any discussion about the specific content of the book, especially unconventional parts, must cease."

Kevin took a swig of pumpkin juice and continued, "There's a third point. Someone asked what would happen if Severus couldn't handle the pressure and said something he shouldn't have. Flint said..."

He mimicked the prefect's stiff tone, "'Professor Slughorn will handle it. The headmaster knows what's what. As for the students, Hogwarts has its own rules.'"

Ian's fork paused. "Is this about protecting someone, or drawing a line?"

"Yes, all of them." Aris pushed up his glasses. "It's because Paul Severus is now Slughorn's academic star and a promising talent that Malfoy has his eye on. We can't let him fail on something so trivial."

"Drawing boundaries is to tell everyone that we don't care what they do in private, but if they cause trouble, the academy will only deal with it within the rules, don't expect anything more."

Severus quietly chopped the fried eggs on his plate, his eyelashes drooping, obscuring his eyes.

"What was Regulus's reaction?" Ian asked.

"He didn't say anything, just listened the whole time, and finally nodded." Aris paused for a moment, "But when the meeting ended, his face was paler than usual, and he walked at the back, as if... he had breathed a sigh of relief, or as if he was even more tired."

The conversation did not continue.

With no classes in the afternoon, Severus rummaged through the depths of his wardrobe and pulled out an inconspicuous dark gray travel cloak, then checked his purse.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come along?" Ian asked, leaning against the four-poster bed.

"Too many people will draw attention." Severus stuffed the note Dumbledore had given him into his inner pocket. "Besides, Slughorn is going to give individual instruction to some students whose practical skills are worrying this afternoon, and he called you out."

Ian clicked his tongue: "Old fox, afraid that we'll come up with some scheme he can't control."

"We'll talk when I get back tonight." Severus fastened his cloak, paused at the door, and said, "If I'm not back before curfew..."

"I'll go find Dumbledore and tell him you've been kidnapped by a suspicious bookstore owner and need the headmaster to rescue you personally," Ian replied quickly.

Severus's lips curved into a very slight smile, and he turned and left.

The Leaky Cauldron was as dimly lit and noisy as ever. He quickly made his way through the crowd and knocked on the brick wall leading to Diagon Alley.

Following the address, he stopped in front of an unassuming wooden door with peeling paint.

The house number was barely legible, and something that looked like the claw of some small magical creature was hanging on the doorknob.

Pushing open the door, the shop appeared smaller and more cluttered than it did from the outside.

The tall bookshelves reached the ceiling, crammed with books of all colors and thicknesses, many of which looked like they might fall apart at any moment. Books were also piled on the floor, leaving almost no room to step.

Behind the counter, a thin old man with gray hair, wrapped in a thick woven shawl, looked up and sized him up through a pair of heavy glasses.

That's Giggs.

"It's closed." The old man's voice was hoarse as he lowered his head again, fiddling with a rusty planetarium in his hand.

Severus took the note Dumbledore had given him from his pocket, placed it on the counter, and pushed it in front of the other person.

Giggs glanced at the note, then looked up at him and snorted.

"Albus is giving me trouble again," he muttered, putting down the planetarium and slowly emerging from behind the counter, his steps somewhat unsteady.

"Come with me."

He led Severus through the narrow aisle of stacks of books to the back of the shop, where he moved aside an empty bookshelf that appeared to be placed randomly, revealing a wooden staircase leading downwards.

"Down there, the third shelf on the left, the second row from the top, those covered with gray cloth," Giggs pointed down, but showed no intention of going down himself.

"You can look at it, but you can't copy it or take it away. The time... is until sunset. Don't touch anything else. Some books... are temperamental."

The stairs creaked, leading to a small, cellar-like space.

The third shelf on the left, under the gray cloth, contains more than a dozen ancient books with different bindings, some of which don't even have covers.

Severus carefully lifted the gray cloth and pulled out the first book.

For the next few hours, he completely lost track of time.

These books contain the original details of those dangerous formulas.

The ideas are clearer and the logic is more rigorous. Although equally profound, they lead to completely opposite directions.

He read with great eagerness, firmly imprinting those complex and profound formulas and inferences.

It wasn't until his legs went numb and his neck stiffened that he realized time had passed.

He closed the last copy of the notebook in his hand, rubbed his temples, and felt a dizziness from mental exhaustion, but more than that, he felt a sense of enlightenment and exhilaration.

He carefully put all the books back in their places, covered them with a gray cloth, and climbed the stairs.

Giggs was still behind the counter, this time repairing a brass bookend that would bite on its own.

Hearing the noise, he didn't even look up: "Finished watching?"

"I've finished reading it. Thank you, sir."

"Hmm." Giggs waved his hand. "Go through the back door, turn left at the end of the alley, and you'll get back to the back alley of the Leaky Cauldron. Don't come to places like this, kid. You already have enough trouble to back you up there."

Severus left through the back door and stepped into a quieter alley.

He walked quickly, following Giggs's directions, his hand always beside his wand.

As they approached the alley entrance, hushed voices drifted from a side road, accompanied by a few muffled groans of pain.

Severus paused, quickly turned sideways to press himself against the shadow of the wall, and held his breath.

He heard the rough, hoarse male voice clearly: "...Final warning, money, or a message."

Another, younger voice trembled: "I...I really don't know...I'm just a gofer..."

"Then don't blame us, Heart-Piercing—"

Severus's back tensed instantly, and he cautiously retreated.

The boy, cornered against the wall, looked around in terror, his gaze falling on the corner where Severus was hiding.

The boy's eyes widened suddenly, a glimmer of hope flashing in them like a drowning man grasping at a piece of driftwood, and he let out a short "ho" sound.

"Who's there?!" The owner of the gruff voice keenly noticed the boy's gaze shift and abruptly turned to look at the shadows at the alley entrance.