London's number one double agent, Potion Master, future Headmaster, and well-known sharp-tongued man - Severus Snape, what kind of Potion project is he secretly working on?
Regulus felt this had something to do with his brother's little group.
I heard that in a Potion Class last month, Potter's cauldron spewed out a foul-smelling green smoke, which ruined the Potions of a whole row of students. Professor Slughorn's face turned green, and Gryffindor had points deducted again.
Sirius accused Snape of interfering, but couldn't produce any evidence, earning him Snape's unreserved mockery.
An eye for an eye - in the subsequent Transfiguration class, James injected itching powder into Snape's Transfiguration materials, causing Snape's face and scalp to turn red and itchy, affecting the innocent as well, but forcing Snape to wash his hair, barely winning back a round.
This guy Potter grew up in Godric's Hollow, which had a very serious aging population. Since childhood, he was protected by various old and middle-aged Wizards to play magic and cause trouble, and his skills were great.
As for student Snape, he often made risky moves, relying on ruthlessness and unexpected tactics, fighting back and forth with Potter and the other two by himself.
Regulus deeply admired this: when your opponent has more people than you, a better family background, and talent no worse than yours, you have to put in double the effort to win.
Wanting to prove oneself, wanting to win, seems to be a powerful force.
Not to mention, there was also the factor of girls mixed in.
Now it's Snape's turn to make a move. What kind of surprise will he bring?
...
As for Regulus himself, he quickly understood the pain of detention, and this was even with Professor Slughorn being lenient—
As a student, he had to attend classes in different classrooms every day, frequent the library, study, practice spells, and on top of piles of homework and final exam revision, he had to be in detention every night!
Detention made him incredibly nostalgic for the free time he had before. It was like being in prison—detention was a punishment for time, which is life itself.
Regulus even started to admire Sirius and the others, how did they have so much time to cause trouble?
He also wanted to be full of energy after a day's activity and continue to party late at night, wandering the Forbidden Forest without sleeping, but—he really would be very sleepy!
Thinking about having to continue writing homework and exploring the Castle after detention ended, Regulus wanted to give his cheat a bad review.
Time Turner urgently needed!
On Friday night, during detention, Regulus shared Honeydukes chocolate with Severus—
Severus originally didn't want to accept anything from a Black, but he couldn't resist when Regulus had even prepared tea and pointed at the lily decoration on the chocolate, saying, "This is lily-flavored, it's rare."
Once is new, twice is familiar.
Severus had to say that his opinion of Regulus had greatly changed. This Black was silent and steady, completely different from that annoying Black in Gryffindor.
Especially Regulus's expression of being amazed by his skills and knowledge, and his friendly actions of sharing snacks and preparing a cup of tea for him, etc., hit little Severus right in the heart.
What a perceptive young man! He was also hardworking, polite, and very respectful towards him. It was comfortable to get along with him.
At the same time, Regulus's manner of subjecting Potion ingredients to all sorts of torture and then recording all the effects also made Severus quite interested.
For Regulus, now that he had experimental materials paid for by public funds, he definitely had to process the Potion ingredients in various ways to strive for the best results.
Regulus finished today's Potion processing, gave Severus a look, and while the Professor was away, he wrote like lightning, starting on his homework.
Severus was brewing a Potion that could make the mind more focused—a Wakefulness Potion. This was the most popular Potion during exam revision. Slughorn would use these Potions as rewards to increase students' enthusiasm for learning.
"I'm leaving now, Severus. See you!"
...
The next day was the weekend, so he could sleep in.
Therefore, Regulus planned a big project for tonight.
He was cautious along the way, occasionally avoiding people wandering around late at night, occasionally stopping to bribe the cats roaming the Castle—some of these cats were Filch's helpers, and his Stealth state was currently ineffective against animals.
Thinking about Potter's Invisibility Cloak, that was a real cheat! Regulus sighed as he slipped into the famous girls' bathroom located on the second floor of the Castle.
He pushed open the door with the large sign that read "Out of Order."
This was the first time he had visited here since coming to Hogwarts—it was dirty, broken, and wet. The environmental description is omitted—in short, it perfectly set the gloomy atmosphere for the future Basilisk attack.
"You're not a girl!" A ghost's face, with a pearly sheen, suddenly popped out from above the innermost stall. An exaggerated melancholic expression, straight long hair, and a pair of glasses.
"Obviously." Unexpectedly running into Moaning Myrtle as soon as he arrived, Regulus greeted her politely, "Hello, Moaning Myrtle."
"You know Moaning Myrtle!" The ghost floated out of the stall, scrutinizing him with suspicious eyes, "You look familiar!"
"Have you seen my brother? His name is Sirius Black."
"Sirius Black." Moaning Myrtle repeated in an operatic tone, revealing a shy expression, "So you're the brother of that very handsome boy with Black hair, but—you're not as handsome as he is!"
"Yes." Regulus nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. It must have been because he wasn't very good at talking to girls/female ghosts.
"What are you doing here? You're not here to laugh at poor Moaning Myrtle, are you?" Moaning Myrtle started talking to herself—
"No."
"Nobody cares about Moaning Myrtle, I have feelings too." Large tears inexplicably welled up in the ghost's eyes, and she turned around and disappeared into the stall again. Regulus could still hear the sound of splashing water.
Regulus shook his head. He hadn't even had time to ask anything—this "creature" called a (female) ghost was simply too magical.
Just as he was checking the taps of the sinks one by one, he heard footsteps outside the door. Regulus pulled open a small single stall with his backhand, hid inside, and carefully stepped onto the toilet lid with both feet.
The bathroom door creaked open again, the footsteps got closer, the door of the adjacent stall was pulled open, the sound of ceramic and metal colliding rang out, and soon after, the crackling sound of fire, as well as the sound of liquid bubbling and stirring, began.
Regulus was dumbfounded—this wasn't a bathroom at all, it was clearly the Hogwarts Potion Making extracurricular activity room!
A light cough came from inside the stall.
My goodness, Regulus massaged his forehead—that voice, it was Severus.
After a moment of hesitation, Regulus also coughed lightly. The clanking sound from the next stall instantly disappeared. He pushed open the door of his small stall and walked to the door of Severus's stall:
"It's me, Severus."
After a few seconds, Severus finally opened the door, blocking the cauldron behind him, staring at Regulus with vigilance, his eyes full of doubt, wondering what he was imagining.
"I came here to find Moaning Myrtle," Regulus said directly, "I was here first."
Severus's eyes flickered, and his expression softened considerably.
"What do you want with Moaning Myrtle?"
"Can you keep a secret?" Regulus thought for a moment and counter-asked.
"Of course I can." Severus replied immediately, "Can you?"
The cauldron behind him made a popping sound, and Regulus noticed Severus forcing himself not to turn his neck back.
"Of course, Slytherin never tells tales." Regulus swore, pointing at the candle, "Besides, we are friends. You should look at your Potion."
Upon hearing the word "friends," Snape showed a strange expression, but finally let out a sigh of relief and quickly turned back to busy himself with his Potion.
The Potion emitted a clean, clear scent, completely different from the surrounding environment. With Regulus's Potion knowledge, he really couldn't tell what was being brewed.
"Have you heard the legend of the four founders of Hogwarts?" Regulus looked at the Potion and spoke casually, "I heard from Sirius that he wanted to find the treasure of Hogwarts."
Hearing the name "Sirius," Severus perked up his ears.
To make things more believable, Regulus began to fill in some irrelevant details: "Our great-great-grandfather, Phineas Nigellus, was the Headmaster of Hogwarts. We have a portrait of him hanging in our house, just like the ones at Hogwarts."
Severus had indeed heard that the Black Family had once produced a Headmaster.
"Great-great-grandfather once let slip that the legend of the treasure is documented."
"So, you're here to collect clues?" Severus deliberately emphasized "here."
"Yes." Regulus nodded from the side, "If you tell me what you're doing, I'll tell you what I've found."
Snape was surprised, "You already have clues?"
Guess—Regulus smiled mysteriously.