Chapter 39

After returning to Hogwarts, Severus first of all looked for Slughorn to say hello, and after that he returned to his room, putting on a disillusionment spell to avoid eyes.

After all, the newspaper had reached Hogwarts in the morning, and he had no particular desire to go through that horror again.

Yes, and no matter how unexpected it was, but basically the topic of conversation of almost all Slytherins was precisely him. Of course, he knew it was only a delay of the inevitable, but after today, Snape just wanted to give his head a little rest...

~~~~~~~~~ 

After reaching his room the archmage didn't even bother to undress before falling onto the bed face down into the pillow.

"Severus, first undress: it's not good to fall asleep in clothes, " Nagini pulled him by the sleeve.

"Are you really itching to see me naked?" he winked at her with a playful smile, rolling over on his back and basking in the wave of embarrassment emanating from her with a satisfied face.

"Pervert!"

"And this is pot calling the kettle black, first you yourself wanted me to undress, and now I'm a pervert."

"Stop mocking me already, I know that you understand what I mean!"

"Okay, be happy that I'm in a good mood," he snapped his fingers, and the clothes immediately changed to shorts.

"It's not like that, I still remember your sour face from dinner, how those people began to come to us, and right up to the very evening, although when you returned, for some reason you smiled ... " Nagini looked at him suspiciously.

"Yes, at a good discount, I took a huge amount of ingredients, one might even say that they almost cost me nothing."

"For nothing, you say …"

"Of course. They were so generous that they gave away almost everything." With a satisfied smile, he stroked her head.

"Okay, I won't bring up this topic anymore, because this is your business, but just be careful."

"You talk like my mom."

"Hmph!"

"Well, I won't be so reckless in the future, and there's no need: I have already achieved my main goal," putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes, and Nagini, hearing his words, breathed a sigh of relief.

'But I still didn't expect such an outcome from the ritual… With almost no side effects and with such a great addition, eh… if someone from my world found out about this, all the Masters and some Archmages would definitely hunt me down,' feeling Spilling from the core of magic circulating throughout the body, he could not help smiling happily, because he had done simply impossible by creating a material core at the rank of Master, when even some Archmages could not create such a thing.

The difference between the formless core and the material core was enormous. The mere fact that the Wizard could store magic in his body, and not be a simple "guide", already meant a lot, and this is not to mention the fact that after the appearance of the core, the wizard was no longer limited in the power of the spell, if, of course, there was a sufficient amount of magic in the core. 

And at the same time, he could still be a "conductor", absorbing magic from the air and releasing it at the same moment in the form of a spell.

But this was only the tip of the iceberg and one of the main advantages of the material core.

The less relevant ones included improved control and speed of absorption of magic, increased physical capabilities due to a smoother flow of magic through the body, the main five senses, regeneration, and much more.

From the ritual, Severus received not only the core, but also what his body lacked so much - that is a penchant for fire magic from the Phoenix, thanks to which fire spells will now consume much less magic, and their strength, on the contrary, will increase significantly. But that's not all because, in addition to being related to fire, he also had an immunity to poisons.

Even Nagini's poison had no effect on him, and Severus still did not dare to try Basilisk poison, because it is not just some normal magic poison, but something much worse, and even if he were in his old body, he would hardly have done it.

From the dragon, the young man received a stronger skeleton and physical strength, which, of course, paled in comparison with the first two gifts. All this was already simply an unrealistic result for the Archmage. 

After all, his expectations from the ritual were limited only to the last two points, with a slight hope for the first.

"But still, what could serve to materialize the core…? Maybe something was wrong with the dragon crystal or the ones in the cave, or maybe the problem was with the Basilisk or the Phoenix...? Eh ... too many "maybe" it will be necessary to sort this out in the future…" with a weary sigh, he snapped his fingers again, and the light in the room went out. "Good night."

"Good night to you too, " she hissed back in a sleepy voice, sitting on a nearby pillow and closing her eyes ...

***

And, as Severus expected, his next day began with the fact that from the very morning, as soon as he left the room, two classmates had already approached him and offered to go together, while they behaved as if they were the closest friend Severus ever had.

Although, no matter how much the Archmage poked around in his head, he could not remember them.

Therefore, he simply scored on them and, politely refusing, left, which, of course, he regretted a little later when other Slytherins began to approach him with congratulations in the living room ... Of course, there is nothing wrong with accepting someone's congratulations, but instead of just compliments it was veiled letters of employment.  

From such "stuffiness", Severus had a very strong desire to raise the temperature even higher… by a couple of thousand degrees. But even from this situation, he found a way out in the face of Regulus, who was passing by, and, having greeted him with a smile, the Archmage quickly got out of the crowd and stood to the right of the young man.

And after that, the rest, oddly enough, no longer began to press on him, but only, snorting in displeasure, quickly began to disperse.

As they walked towards the great hall, they chatted casually on a variety of topics. Black was not very offended that Severus decided to use him in this way, but on the contrary, it showed that the Black house was still on horseback, and the rumours about the withering were just a mere fiction, since they were able to lure the newest potion master to their side. 

"…By the way, about that spell, I was able to use it," Regulus said proudly, turning up his nose, out of the corner of his eye looking towards the slightly surprised Archmage.

"I am amazed. I thought it would take you at least a couple of months, maybe more. How many copies can you make?" Severus's question made him a little embarrassed.

"Only one thing…"

"Don't be embarrassed about it: everyone started the same way, just practise more often, and you will be happy," patting Regulus on the shoulder with a reassuring smile, Severus continued. "What about the passive barrier?" 

Only an hour, and then I lose control …"

"Also not bad, the day before yesterday you could only maintain it for fifty-eight minutes and twenty seconds, and after some day, you increased the time by forty seconds. Keep up the good work, and by the end of Hogwarts you will be able to support Protego for days on end, and even raise control."

"I…" Already approaching the entrance to the Great Hall, Regulus stopped abruptly.

"Why are you helping me?" Unable to restrain himself, Regulus asked this question, tormenting his last days, because as for the Aristocrat, who from childhood was taught to be suspicious of everyone and not to accept "gifts" without first knowing what the other side wants from you, this was too doubtful.

"No matter how much I think about it, I can't believe that it's only because of my cousin, because even if I'm on your side, it won't change her feelings and won't convince my house, who is very strict about the purity of blood and will never allow Bella to be with a half-blood and although we don't talk much for a long time, I was able to understand that you are not a stupid person and you understand it yourself …"

"Hmm... that's because..." a dramatic pause, "... a secret!" Severus broke him off, making Regulus surprised at first, and then angry.

"But if you can create three fire spears by the end of the year and hold the barrier all day, then I'll tell you, well, do you agree or are you scared?"

"I? And Scared?! Fine! I accept this condition!" Regulus wanted to shake the outstretched hand of the Archmage, but at the last moment Severus removed it and said "And if you can't, then put on shoes, a skirt and a blouse and walk through the first three floors in this castle, can you?"

"What?! No, I won't do it!"

"Are you… scared?"

"I..I-I?! No! I agree!"

"That's nice …"

'How easy it is to manipulate them ... although they look similar in appearance, but the characters are slightly different …' Severus thought in his heart.

"By the way, didn't your grandmother have a stupid idea to marry Bella?"

"It is true and you can't do anything about it even if I tell you."

"Hmm… so Lestranges," the Archmage drawled thoughtfully, which made Regulus dumbfounded, and only after a few seconds he realised what had happened, and quickly looked away. "It won't help, and don't worry, I don't like to read other people's minds, and you were thinking too loudly."

'So you're about to get married….sigh, and this only made me want to make you mine more.' Severus came out of his thoughts, the young man(Regulus), stomping his feet in displeasure, entered the Great Hall. "He was offended, but I just helped him." Shaking his head, Snape was about to follow to breakfast as well, but before he had made it three steps to the entrance, a woman's voice called out to him…