Regulus specifically chose a day when his mother Walburga was not home, waiting for Severus's arrival by the fireplace.
To be honest, he worried that Walburga would interrogate his friend and hurt little Severus's feelings... In this regard, his father Orion was at most overly silent and completely unenthusiastic, posing little threat to the mental health of minors.
And Sirius himself didn't particularly care about Snape. So, regarding Regulus's invitation to Severus, he merely shrugged disapprovingly—if someone didn't actively provoke him, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to others.
A little past ten in the morning, in the center of the flickering fireplace flames, Severus's figure abruptly appeared. A few seconds later, he wobbled and steadied himself, narrowly avoiding falling face-first outside the Black Family's fireplace.
"Hi, Regulus, sorry I'm late, my mom left a little later—" Severus said, brushing soot off his robe. This was Lily's new robe she had lent him, and he considered it very important.
"Severus! Great!" Regulus stepped forward and gave Severus a hug.
With clean hair and a tidy robe, it was clear that Severus valued this meeting and had made an effort to dress up.
"Welcome the young master's good friend to the Black Family for a visit!" In the living room, Kreacher dragged a silver tray countless times larger than his head, placing lavender honey cake and tea on the table. He then bowed, "Kreacher asks Master Snape to change into comfortable slippers!"
"Thank you." Severus was flattered, while Regulus gave Kreacher a grateful smile.
Orion, who had been sitting in the living room, managed to ask Severus's name somewhat gently and simply said "Welcome," before getting up and leaving the space to the two children. If not for courtesy, he probably wouldn't have wanted to appear at all.
The awkwardness Severus felt immediately dissipated by more than half. He sat on the sofa, chatting, eating pastries, drinking tea, and curiously examining the long room with the high ceiling.
Sunlight streamed in from the street-facing windows, making the silver-threaded brocade curtains sparkle. Thick carpets, huge chandeliers, and on the olive-green walls hung some magnificent tapestries that looked very old. On one wall, a tapestry embroidered with gold threads covered the entire wall.
His eyes lingered one by one on the crystal vials filled with dragon's blood on the mantelpiece, animal claws, coiled snakeskins... and the strange assortment of magical objects in the glass cabinets.
The Black Family actually had quite a few Potion ingredients displayed as decorations in the house?
Is this the extraordinary taste of old pure-blood families...?
His gaze turned to the enormous tapestry—
On the tapestry was a sprawling family tree that traced back to the Middle Ages. At the top of the tapestry, large words were embroidered: The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black Always Pure.
Severus paused, impressed though not fully understanding, the enormous family tree clearly leaving a deep impression on him.
Regulus simply got up and led him to the side of the tapestry, letting him look closely.
At the bottom of the tapestry, Severus saw two familiar names: Sirius Black and Regulus Black.
There were many more familiar names: Bellatrix, Narcissa, Phineas Nigellus...
"What do you think?" Regulus smiled, "Isn't it quite impressive?"
"The Black Family is truly remarkable." Severus thought for a moment and said, mimicking Malfoy's tone.
He couldn't let Severus believe this nonsense about pure-blood supremacy.
"Indulging in the past, living with a siege mentality—" Regulus considered his words carefully and said solemnly, his voice slow and clear, "Severus, I have to keep telling myself—don't let things like this distract you—"
"Because that way, people won't see the future."
Sirius, who was coming downstairs, stopped on the stairs, his heart feeling as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer.
"Regulus, you're confusing me, I don't understand... Is there something wrong with this?" Severus asked, looking at the tapestry with confusion.
"Living in a siege for too long—you'll become afraid of everything outside. And if you don't participate in the world, the source of one's self-esteem—becomes too limited." Regulus walked to the tapestry, saying words that Severus only half-understood.
When talking to smart people, you can't be explicit; you have to let them figure it out themselves for it to be successful.
Regulus was always sincere while trying to use some linguistic artistry, though he didn't actually know how well he was conveying his thoughts.
He continued, "It's not enough—what's inside the siege isn't enough to fill a person's heart, not enough to let someone become themselves."
"Severus, let me tell you a secret—being born noble or anything like that doesn't exist—"
Sirius stood still on the stairs, endless time seeming to freeze, while Regulus's unbelievable words echoed repeatedly in his ears.
"Many people have forgotten what it takes to earn others' respect—" Regulus pointed to the tapestry, smiling as he gazed at Severus.
"Let's not talk about such boring topics," Regulus pretended not to have heard Sirius at all, "Do you want to see my room before we go to Diagon Alley? I also need to introduce you to the eagles."
...
After greeting Sirius, who looked quite unnatural on the stairs, Regulus led Severus all the way up to his room on the top floor.
The room had many Slytherin banner decorations, which Regulus had kept, but one wall had been converted into a full-sized bookshelf.
Severus's eyes widened as he looked at the shelves packed with books, almost unable to close his mouth: "So many books—this is... all the textbooks from first year to seventh year... Are you reading all of these?"
"I believe previewing is necessary. We only have a few short years at Hogwarts, and we need to use our time effectively—if you preview well beforehand, you can slack off when you get to Hogwarts and have more time to explore the Castle and discover treasures." Regulus said, pulling out the most expensive third-year textbooks from the bookshelf.
This seemingly reasonable yet heretical line of reasoning greatly shocked Severus, and before he knew it, the serious-looking Regulus had stuffed a pile of third-year textbooks into his arms.
"You can try previewing them too."
Sometimes, speaking is merely to divert the other person's attention, actually to take a pre-planned action while they are thinking.
—*The Art of Language: Draft* by Regulus Black
...
On the roof of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Regulus cast a Cleaning Charm on the bird droppings that had recently appeared frequently, and then introduced Godric and Regina to Severus.
Regulus saw a mix of emotions welling up in Severus's eyes: fondness, longing, and finally... disappointment...
An unknown Muggle once said: Envy and jealousy, at first glance, seem like similar emotions, but envy contains the motive "I wish I were as good as you," while jealousy contains the motive "I wish you were as bad as me."
Which one was Severus feeling now?
Regulus believed it was the former—after all, they were friends, weren't they?
He suddenly understood why Snape had joined the Death Eaters' side so resolutely at first—when a powerful, charismatic, highly respected "sales leader" affirms a child who has nothing but talent, and is willing to paint glorious "big pictures" for him, making him believe he can possess the things he craves...
Many people don't actually know what they want.
Especially for things they have never possessed, they will be full of unrealistic fantasies.
Presumably, the Dark Lord was undoubtedly a master of the art of language.
If Severus needed it, could he... could he be this "sales leader"—
Follow the Dark Lord's path, leaving the Dark Lord with nowhere to go?
Hey, one thing at a time—
Regulus chased the scattered thoughts out of his mind. He didn't have time now to get caught up in the internal struggle of guessing others' thoughts. He said to the air, "Kreacher, can you take a picture for us?"
"Kreacher is willing to serve the young masters—" Kreacher appeared with a magical camera with the pop of Apparition, "Please say cheese, young masters!"
"Cheese~"
Click! Two people and two eagles, the friendship on the rooftop was captured.