42 42)Things are changing fast
"Oh come on Prince, who the fuck takes History of Magic in NEWTs too?", Avery asked bewildered looking at his dormmate who had changed so much over the summer.
"I do", Severus replied calmly as he didn't knew what was wrong with taking that subject.
"Only you would be having the balls to go to Binns class even after OWLs", Mulciber spoke up amused as he looked at the winner of Liquid Luck.
"I just want to have a class not getting glared or throwing insults with the Gryffindors", Severus replied as he took a single grape and put it inside his mouth from the table during the lunch.
Sure enough from the Gryffindor table, people were peeking at him while some discreetly glared at him along with other house members who by now had heard about the incident in Potions class.
"I should have been there to see Sirius's face", Regulus commented from Severus's side.
He had heard the insult for what it was from Mulciber and it had made his day. He wished he could have been there to see his brother's face when he would have heard that. It would have been something he would have treasured forever.
"Your brother was really pissed off, but then again I hardly care about his feelings", Severus replied with a small shrug as he took another grape. He didn't had enough time or mind to care for the mutt.
"Hmm, the last comment about him being a disgrace and dirt to the Black family legacy was cruel though", Regulus mused aloud to others.
"I wanted it to be cruel, besides if it hadn't been right- Would he have been blasted off from the family tree", Severus asked theatrically to Regulus. It seemed to Severus inwardly that the younger Black still cared a little for his elder brother, but then again they shared a bond of blood which was not an easy thing to shrug off. Regulus had years of memories of his brother which surely was going to affect his emotions regarding him.
Severus meanwhile simply looked at the time with the mechanical wrist watch in his hand. The History of Magic was going to be the next class where he could relax a little perhaps.
He sure couldn't wait for the lunch to end.
Alice looked at the classroom of History of Magic as she stood outside waiting for entry. Maximum students here were the students from Ravenclaw with her being the lone one from Gryffindor along with some Hufflepuffs and Severus being the lone Slytherin.
He was sitting at the last as she saw him giving a look over the students. His eyes lingered over her for only a moment but she caught his motive and understood.
She took the seat infront of him as he didn't showed an ounce of emotion on his face at the whole act.
Pandora being the loyal friend she was simply sat along with her, in Pandora's opinion Alice was acting a little strange during and after the summer. Perhaps something had happened which had made her a little different than before. Her friend had a small presence in her own now with an alertness to everything refined more than before. She was even better at potions than before from her fifth year which she had gauged from the Potions class today.
Pandora was curious about the whole thing but she didn't wanted to pry into the personal matters of her friend. Everyone deserved a little privacy of their own in somethings.
The class started and after two minutes suddenly she felt a slight shift in the air near where they were sitting. Alice too felt that as she became a little alert.
The next thing confused Pandora from her wits and to her bones, as she saw a figure sitting besides Alice.
The figure being the same one whose spell had flown from infront of her table during the potions class and knocked Sirius Black off his feet.
The boy in rumours of everyone with his new look and behaviour.
"I have applied a strong notice me not charm as well as a silencing ward around us", he spoke slowly and Pandora could see that his voice didn't caused even a little disturbance amongst the class and no one's attention came to him or them.
"Can she be trusted?", his voice became a little soft as he looked forward to the figure of Professor Binns.
"Pandora, meet Severus Prince, a fellow classmate and my boyfriend", Alice said softly as she looked at Pandora with a slight begging expression on her face.
Suddenly it all made sense for Pandora who was all too stunned by the news. She wanted to scream and eagerly ask Alice for details but had no choice other than to curb her that side as they were in class now. The decorum must be maintained after all. Besides Alice was her only friend within the whole Hogwarts and she wasn't going to create problems for her lone friend.
"We started dating this summer only", she said looking slowly at Pandora as she answered the unasked question of her friend.
Pandora made an understanding face as she suddenly understood why her friend had been acting a little strange now. She had gone and found herself in loooooove.
She had nothing against Severus Prince honestly, he had never bothered her so he was a blank person in her character sheet till now. It was not wise to judge a person from from rumours after all.
"Hii, I am Pandora Moonheart and is it true that you create spells?", she introduced herself and asked the million dollar question she had been trying to ask him someday, as she had heard from various rumours that he could create spells.
Alice had to supress a laugh, in hindsight she should have suspected that something like this would be the first thing Pandora would ask to Severus.
For Severus he honestly found this naiveness and eagerness a litte amusing. It was like the bluntness and the casual japes he usually traded with lady Bethany. Though there were no amusing japes here, the bluntness and eagerness was fun in its own way.
"Hello I am Severus Prince and yes I do have some talent in spellcreation", he said with a small smile looking at her.
Pandora never considered herself a genius or extremely intelligent witch but she believed her intuitions for a person to be pretty good. Looking at him she could genuinely feel that he was not being fake to her in anyway. It was like he was more amused by her as if to think that what to make of her.
Alice started telling her more about how they met and started dating while Pandora drew doodles and Severus played a game of tic tac toe with himself.
"So Severus do you care for Alice?", Pandora asked going for the most important question till now about her friend. She did not knew if she could fight him but she would surely try to hex him if he tried anything unsavoury with her friend.
"I do", and his entire face and confidence felt genuine to Pandora as she nodded and gave a thumbs up to Alice.
"Congratulations Alice!, your boyfriend passed my test", Pandora exclaimed with a side hug to the girl who was caught unaware.
"Now how did it felt to kiss someone Alice? Did the nargles gave trouble", Pandora asked looking at Alice eagerly with a happy look on her face.
"Pandora!", Alice breathed slowly looking at the area as Severus had to compose himself to not laugh. Yes Pandora Moonheart was a very interesting person to talk with.
After fifteen minutes Pandora was doodling again in her notebook when Alice looked at Severus with a small concerned look, "wasn't it a little overboard and cruel with Sirius?", she asked him slowly. She wanted to know why he did it as she had learnt in the past month that everything he did had a motive with it.
"I wasn't the one to bring someone's mother first. If he couldn't listen about his own then he had no business throwing around my mother's name", he replied calmly looking back at her.
Alice nodded as she squeezed his hand slightly and gave him a kiss on cheek, "I love it when it is never you who start messing around", she said with a small smile.
"I never start things first", he replied with a confident look. At her pointed look, he gave a small sheepish smile, "okay I never start things; most of the times", he admitted letting an amused smile on her lips at the words.
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Meanwhile in the Headmaster's office, Albus Dumbledore was having a talk with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Whitby.
"Professor and then he said that he heard that the Black family had finally decided to cleanse the dirt and unwanted from their legacy. It hurt Sirius so much that even after the class they still tried to confront him about his cruel comment to him.....", Hermione explained everything about the events of today to a thoughtful Dumbledore.
"I knew that he had taken on the Prince name but I didn't thought that his actions would have changed so much too. It seems his confidence and behaviour has taken a little boost and change after getting his house's Lordship", Dumbledore mused thinking about the matter which the trio had brought forward him.
"Is it worrying Professor?", Hermione asked looking at Headmaster Dumbledore.
"It could be, from what I know Mr Prince will be quite busy with his new house and the welfare of his house which had been revived from dormancy would be his first priority for now. It might give him enough reason to not join Tom as a man with his talents would be a dangerous enemy", Albus spoke calmly considering everything.
"Why would Voldemort be interested in much and why would he be so dangerous?", Harry asked a little unsure. Sure Snape was a good duellist but there were people like Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange who were far more superior duellist than him.
Dumbledore took a sigh as he took another lemon drop, "you three know by now that he is quite proficient in spellcreation, a talent which is among the rarest. And Mr Prince has talent and flair both for it, I may have been able to create some simple spells but those with the flair and talent could do it in far less amount and without injuring themselves as the process is extremely dangerous. Now think of it as this way, if Tom wants one in his ranks then he will hardly send him to operations instead prioritizing him and letting him develop more deadly curses and useful spells for them. We could likely end in a situation where there will be unknown curses thrown and we would never be able to cure them. It would be a situation where we would not be able to do anything. His safety would be assured and Tom will keep people like him close to him and among his trusted", Albus spoke up gravelly telling them the seriousness of the matter. Now when he knew more about Mr Prince's talents from Mr Potter and his friends, he was not going to let it happen so easily.
It was something which the three had never understood.
"It will not be his skills in potions or duelling which he will use most. It will be his talents in Spellcreation which will be used by Tom first", Albus commented letting the truth known to them. A spellcreator with enough talent could cause huge problems for the whole Order.
"Regardless things are changing fast and we have to deal with them accordingly. Worrying over the spoiled would not help us instead we have to adapt and suit ourselves like the situation. If Mr Prince will be a threat then I will deal with it myself before he causes problems for us", Albus commented sternly, his grandfather persona replaced by the man who defeated Grindelwald.
He had seen the casualties in the first wizarding war from Harry's and others memories and he sure was not going to let the history repeat itself. A history which only held bloodshed and despair for the whole wizarding world. He didn't knew that his plans were not going to be easy for that much.
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Horace looked at the student of his own house who had arrived into his quarters with an envelope in his hand.
"Hello Professor, I hope I am not intruding in your personal time", he spoke up calmly looking at him.
Horace smiled looking at his most skilled student. "Severus come on", he said inviting his student to sit in his quarters.
"Now what brings you here", Horace asked knowing that beating around the bush would not help him with his student.
"Oh, I wanted to have a leave two days later for the whole evening and night", he said looking at his Head of the House.
"It could be done", Horace said instantly letting out a nod from him.
"Oh Professor, I hope that you will clear your schedules for that day too as I want you to be there too", Severus said looking at him with a small smirk extending the envelope.
Horace took the envelope and opened it, his eyes turned wide in surprise as he looked at the boy infront of him.
"It seems I must really clear my schedules as you say", Slughorn said with a proud laugh at his student who nodded with a small curl of his lips.
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Throw as many powerstones as you could to the story. Lets cross 1200 powerstones this week
Next chapter will be on Sunday with a bonus chapter on Saturday.
It will also start another arc which I wanted to add in the story.
