45 Chapter 45: Socializing

Today's dueling class had nothing new.

So when it was over, Severus and Ethan were quietly getting ready to go to their dormitory, but Professor Ava Hale sent for them both.

When everyone else in the class left, Severus and Ethan stayed behind to talk to the teacher.

"Well, from what I could see in the classes we had, I can tell that you two are the only ones really interested in entering the contest with the intention of winning, so I have a proposition for you."

Ethan and Severus looked at each other thoughtfully for a few seconds before speaking.

"Sis... Cough Cough, I mean Professor Hale."

"No need for the honorific Ethan, I'm pretty sure Severus as well as everyone in the class, already know we're related."

"Yes..., it doesn't change the fact that it's awkward."

"Oh, if it's for me don't worry, I don't really care if you are siblings, regarding this proposal, what is it about?" asked Severus, not the least bit interested in the relationship they had.

"You see Ethan, not everyone is interested in those little things, stop making a big deal out of it already."

"Yeah, well... Grimprince may only be interested in his potions and dueling, but the rest of the world does like to talk about our relationship sister."

"Oh, then just let them talk. Now, what I wanted to propose to you both, was to take extra classes with me where I could instruct you both personally and thus better prepare you for the dueling contest, how about that?"

"That sounds interesting, but wouldn't there be a problem if others found out about our special treatment?" asked Severus cautiously.

"You don't have to worry about that, as long as it's not during class time, no one can comment on that, I'm well within my rights to choose who I see most prepared and if you guys decide to work overtime it's your decision."

"That's fine, I'm in, even if I don't want to admit it, if it wasn't for your guidance I wouldn't be able to master the fire like I do now."

"Oh, it seems you really want to win this competition little brother, it's been a long time since you let me train you, I remember your excuse was that you wanted to make it to the top on your own and be a duelist they call...what was it?...ah yes, KING OF FIRE!"

Severus laughed a little at the comment, causing Ethan to cringe and look angrily at his sister.

"You mentioned that on purpose and that was a long time ago" Ethan complained.

"I only told the truth," said Ava Hale innocently.

"So Severus, I can tell you like this?" spoke the teacher again.

"Yes, I prefer to be called that way, Professor Hale."

"Well, that's good to hear, so, Severus, what do you say, would you be interested in joining the classes?"

"Well, if you could get Sparky to control fire magic like that, I can't miss the opportunity, but what times would the extra classes be that you mention?"

"Perfect, I was thinking that the extra classes would be on Thursdays from 8:15 to 9:15, while you would also stay thirty minutes more on the days we have the dueling classes, like now, only instead of talking, we are going to be training, what do you think?"

"In that case, I hope to learn a lot from you, Professor Hale."

"And you will Severus, I assure you. And your little brother?"

"Yes, yes, but no talking about private things in training, that doesn't have to be mentioned."

"You mean you expect me not to mention embarrassing things from when you were little?"

"You..., just don't mention anything."

" Relax little brother, Severus doesn't seem like the type to go around telling gossip to others."

"Never mind, just don't comment on it."

"Alright alright, I won't say anything about your childhood that will embarrass you, content?"

Ethan just nodded wearily, while Severus watched the pair of brothers amused from the side.

He might not be interested in knowing their personal lives, but it never hurt to know embarrassing things about Ethan.

A few moments later, Severus went to dinner along with Gwen and Freyja in the SCoP room.

It was rather awkward the situation Severus had gone through that day.

Many wizards and witches took turns congratulating him on winning the contest and many others thanked him for creating a potion that helps werewolves.

He even received more than one rather inappropriate invitation from several witches who were very interested in him.

As a result of all this, Severus spent almost all the free time he had in the day, greeting, chatting with, and thanking more people than he did in his entire two lives.

Hogwarts, Headmaster's Room.

Albus Dumbledore was not as old as some people thought, that is, he was not 200 years old.

He was, however, old, he was now already 96 years old.

He had already lived for many years and had experienced things that most beings still alive could not recall from memory.

He had also defeated one of the most formidable wizards in the history of the magical world, which earned him respect throughout the magical community as the most powerful white wizard.

But Albus was no longer on his best days, he was now a withered, old, and wise man who only hoped to live a quiet and peaceful life at Hogwarts where he had his best memories.

But life did not grant him that luxury.

First, a young girl named Myrtle was killed by a basilisk and a young half-giant was expelled for what Albus knew for certain was not his misdeed.

And he was now about to witness the start of another war led by one of his own former students who was also leading other former students who were also at Hogwarts.

It seems that Dumbledore's dream will not be fulfilled after all.

But still, he rejoices in the little things that happen in his life and in the lives of his students.

Now was one of those moments.

Albus had seen the news about Severus in the paper and despite being shocked, surprised, and a little frustrated with himself for not seeing better through the young wizard, he was mostly proud and happy for young Severus.

Dumbledore had known about Seveus' potential since the day he entered Hogwarts.

But he also knew that Severus Snape was a very complex young man who had been through a lot.

He understood this completely and knew that the boy was very much like the former student he had at Hogwarts, a young man Albus had been wary of years before.

They were both intelligent and talented far surpassing the other students, but they were also very attracted to the Dark Arts, to the point of loving this as if it were their refuge from the real world.

They were both half-bloods with a complicated and sad family history, who hated and despised Muggles because of their Muggle parents, this caused hatred and darkness to grow within their hearts beyond what was possible to remedy.

But they also had their differences.

One was dashing, handsome, social, and used his charisma to achieve many of his goals.

While in Severus' case it was different, his appearance did not favor him and his attitudes less, so he preferred the solitude of his books to make social bonds.

Albus didn't know which was worse, someone who sought to use others whom he considered inferior or someone who simply wanted to be alone while seeing others as inferior.

One became a dark lord who sought blood purity along with his "followers" as an excuse to seek to achieve his desired goals.

His darkness led him down the path of power and domination of others.

Whereas Severus could be even worse, he could end up wanting to kill both Muggles and wizards if he was consumed by darkness.

His darkness could lead him to want to destroy everything without caring about anyone or anything.

But Severus had something that his former student and current Dark Lord did not and that was love.

And it was that kind of love that was only seen in very special situations.

Dumbledore knew that young Severus' feelings were so strong that if he had to use the darkest and most horrible methods to keep the person he loved alive, he would do it without any conscience.

And that frightened him because Dumbledore knew that sooner or later Severus and Lily's very different personalities and ideals would clash and no one would know what would happen to Severus.

He wasn't worried about Lily, he knew the young girl was an angel who would never hurt by loving another being.

What scared him was the fact that Severus was a ticking time bomb, one that no one could control and a very dangerous one at that.

And although Severus was obviously a brilliant young man, his mental state depended on only one person and that sooner or later would bring chaos.

In fact, what Albus knew would happen sooner or later happened, Severus and Lily ended up splitting up, and young Severus didn't seem to take it well at all from what he saw in his fifth year.

And now that Voldemort was becoming more and more powerful, with a terrifying charisma that interested wizards all over the world and was looking for young wizards to join him in some sort of mad attempt to cleanse the world of Muggles, Dumbledore couldn't trust or worry about a ticking time bomb that depended on just one person.

He had to prepare the next generation that would fight and stop Voldemort.

And Severus was not part of them, as his goals were not aimed against the Dark Lord, but rather on his side.

Still, it pained him now to discover that he was wrong about young Severus, but he was also glad to know that he had not gone over to the dark side after his separation from Lily and that he had been able to move on with his life and have new goals.

It was a relief to Dumbledore to know that he would not be another ally of the Dark Lord to worry about, at least for now.

Friday, July 13th.

Severus got up early to return to Prince Manor and get both the Prince Potions factory and the newly created Prince Industries well organized.

This week there were only two days of classes in the SCoP program, but for Severus, it was more exhausting than any other week.

This was because, in these two days, Severus had had to constantly socialize with many people he didn't know and didn't care to know either.

And to make matters worse, he had not stopped receiving deliveries of letters from his owl.

Many people spoke to him from all over the world congratulating him on his victory in the contest, he even seemed to have admirers now.

But also many important people from different parts of the magical world spoke to him to negotiate for the potion he created.

The first letters to arrive were from those interested in the potion and from families who gave him their thanks for the fact that he created a potion that will help werewolves who were usually rejected and it was known that there were not many who sought to help them.

He also received a letter from Narcissa, she was not at all happy with his actions, he received many complaints from her, but still, she warned him to stay away from Britain for now.

And Severus could imagine why the situation in Britain is only getting worse by the day and his potion was a strong blow to Voldemort.

Having made this potion is likely to slow down Voldemort's plans for the War, so he must not be happy at all.

Severus is sure that if the Dark Lord could kill him this instant he would do it without blinking a second.

What surprised him was that Lucius spoke to him on Thursday telling him that his father, Abraxas Malfoy, had died and that he was taking over his position from now on.

He even invited him to the wake but also wrote him some coded messages to let him know it was just a possible trap.

It was amusing to know that Lucius the now Head of the Noble House of Malfoy, and possibly one of Voldemort's new favorite puppets was warning Severus in a very Slytherin way not to go to Britain for anything in the world.

Lucius even congratulated him on having inherited such a fortune as the Prince's.

And obviously, as Severus had expected, there was no letter from Lily.

He wasn't going to deny that it still hurt, but he had already decided to let her go her own way without him.

And Severus would do the same, after all, one could let someone else go and still love them.