Chapter 235 - 234. Plans.

Chapter 234. Plans.

Twenty minutes later, Severus stood up from the table and approached the professor, a parchment in his hand.

"You finished the work faster than I expected," the lady said, glancing at the wall clock above the door with faint surprise, her right eyebrow lifting as she looked down at him.

"There was nothing difficult about it. Anyone who paid attention during lectures could answer the questions without trouble, though the last one... that was certainly the most unpleasant."

"Did it give you trouble?" Now she sounded genuinely surprised, unrolling the parchment to study his answers. "Hmmm..." She frowned in puzzlement, unable to understand what he meant, since the answer was correct. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

"I would have finished in eight minutes if not for the last question: too many numbers and combinations, plus explaining their meanings..." Hearing this and seeing the "exhaustion" on his face, the witch narrowed her eyes dangerously. Severus responded with his usual serene smile.

"I see." The parchment vanished from her hand. "Twelve points. You are dismissed."

"Thank you." Severus nodded slightly, turned, and left the office under the scrutinizing gaze of the Ministry employee and the surprised looks of the other students. After the written exam, there should have been an oral examination, yet one of the school’s strictest professors, second only to Minerva, had dismissed him outright.

"If you wanted the same treatment, you should have studied harder and read the additional material I recommended," the lady said, measuring them with a cold gaze. She had spoken with Severus quite often after class and knew better than anyone the extent of this young man’s knowledge. She was one hundred percent certain he could answer any of the forty examination questions; after all, she had written a good half of them during their meetings.

Some students lowered their eyes in shame at her words, while others felt envy and resentment toward the half-blood. They kept their opinions to themselves, however, as there were still twenty-three minutes left in the written examination.

The observer himself simply nodded silently, placing a checkmark beside the name "Severus Prince." What could he say when the Minister of Magic himself had ordered them to practically carry this wizard around and support him should anything go wrong?

As soon as Severus exited the office, he was met outside by two half-blood brothers, along with Regulus and Layla.

"May I congratulate you?"

"Congratulate me for what?" he asked Black, slightly bewildered. Regulus looked pleased as punch, yet his posture and gestures were too... perfect, as if he were trying to emphasize in every possible way that he was not merely an aristocrat, but an aristocrat from an ancient family. He was laying it on so thick that Severus felt an urge to give the youngster a good smack to bring him back to his senses.

Strangely enough, Greengrass was thinking along similar lines. She, too, was tired of his semi-formal manner of speaking ever since the letter arrived yesterday. Regulus hadn’t revealed its contents, but from the moment he read it, he began behaving strangely, which reminded her of her older brother, who used to adopt that same condescending tone, as if he were speaking not to his sister but to a foolish child.

Curious, Severus read his thoughts, then lowered his gaze to the silver ring bearing the Black family crest, which Regulus began to rub with undisguised pride when he noticed Severus’s attention.

"Apparently I should be congratulating you, the main heir to the head of the Black family?" he said, clapping Regulus on the shoulder with a note of praise in his voice. This surprised both Greengrass and the two brothers. "Just come back down to earth. Don’t turn into a second Lucius, or I’ll beat it out of you myself, and it will hurt."

"Main heir?" the witch asked in confusion, also lowering her gaze to the ring.

"This means that while I wear this ring, I am my father’s sole heir, personally recognized by him," the Slytherin revealed with evident pride in his voice. Strangely enough, this did not surprise the girl at all.

"But you already were..."

"Before this, I still had my brother. Even though he was burned off the tapestry, he was still the heir. Yesterday I received a letter from my father along with this ring, personally appointing me as his heir. All the documents are signed, and in two weeks there will be a banquet to publicly announce it," he answered, barely containing his excitement while trying to imitate his father, a performance that looked rather comical.

"The silver ring goes to the heir, the golden one to the head of the family, but aside from the material, there’s no difference: the enchantments are identical," Severus added.

"I see... I didn’t know about that. We don’t have such a tradition in my family," Layla said, shaking her head. She then looked at Black with a hint of dissatisfaction. He could have told her earlier instead of behaving like an idiot and putting her in an awkward position.

Catching the witch’s gaze, which promised nothing good, Regulus felt a touch of embarrassment. He had wanted to surprise and amaze them both, but things hadn’t turned out as expected.

"By the way, Layla, congratulate your brother on his upcoming wedding for me," he said, deciding to distract the girl, who was clearly contemplating how to punish his friend and apprentice.

"The best gift would be your attendance," the witch said with a note of dissatisfaction. She then gave Severus a sharp look and added, "You promised to visit our manor but still haven’t done so, and it’s been half a year already."

"I was too busy to spare the time, and I don’t think I need to explain why." The aristocrat pouted, offended, and turned away. Black smiled awkwardly at her reaction, while the two half-blood brothers remained completely indifferent, standing behind Severus and watching the passing students with the same disinterest as before.

"By the way, you two." He looked at the two self-proclaimed vassals of his house, whom he had nevertheless accepted under the "pressure" of a certain woman. "I’ll be expecting you and the other family heads at my place in a month. You’re too weak to serve as my guards, so you’ll be doing something else. I have many matters that require a watchful eye."

"Yes!" both answered simultaneously, bowing slightly. They took no offense at his words; on the contrary, they felt relief. After graduation, they hadn’t known what to do with themselves, understanding that, aside from their physical strength, they were mediocre wizards at best. The protection of someone like Severus was vital to them because they feared their family of five, with no wealth or influence, would simply be swallowed up or destroyed.

Thanks to Severus, they had a real chance to revive their house, restore its former glory, and walk with heads held high, unashamed of calling themselves Austins.

A few minutes later, the group headed toward the Slytherin common room to await lunch. Afterward, another exam, Astronomy, would take place in the Astronomy Tower, which everyone would attend: Severus, Layla, the two Austin brothers, and most of the seventh-year students seeking another "Outstanding" for their records, as the exam in this subject was always quite easy.

"By the way, how are your exams going?" Severus asked Black on the way, stroking Lucky’s head. The cat had joined them a minute earlier near the stairs.

"Easy. With your help, I got eleven points in Potions," Regulus answered, pride in his voice, though he maintained perfect composure. This drew a couple of chuckles from Greengrass, and an almost imperceptible blush rose to his cheeks. "And we are very grateful that you took the time to help us prepare."

Severus nodded slightly, accepting the gratitude. "By the way, I keep forgetting to mention that in September, I’m leaving for France. Most likely, if nothing serious happens, I’ll spend at least three years abroad, perhaps more."

"I see... a pity." Regulus didn’t look particularly surprised, unlike Greengrass and the two half-bloods. Severus had already told him he planned to travel after completing his studies, and Regulus even felt slightly envious. He could only dream of such things himself. "But I hope you’ll come to our banquet?"

"Of course. For such an occasion, I’ll try to free up some time."

"Ahem! Ahem!" The only girl in the group drew attention to herself, fixing Severus with a narrowed, expectant gaze in true Bella fashion, the kind that would send shivers down many a spine.

"Okay, okay, I’ll come, I’ll come. I’ll play matchmaker for once," he said slyly, embarrassing both lovebirds. For the first time, even the two half-bloods smirked slightly at their reaction.

"By the way, what will you say to my...?" Regulus tried to change the subject.

"I’ll sort that out after I’ve passed all my exams, but I plan to take her with me, if she wants to, which I have no doubt she will. But if she refuses, I’ll kidnap her, put her in a golden cage, and take her to France with me." As he moved along the first-floor corridors, his "good-natured" smile made every passing student feel deeply uncomfortable.

"You’re talking about my sister..." Although Black knew his sister would never allow herself to be kidnapped—she would beat the kidnapper senseless—he still felt the need to remind Severus of this.

"I said that so you wouldn’t be surprised if one day someone breaks into your house and kidnaps her, but that’s only a last resort, if the other twenty-two plans don’t work." Severus winked playfully, turning onto the stairs leading to the dungeons. "Okay, you go ahead. I still have something to do." He handed Lucky to a pair of caring feminine hands, which immediately began to stroke the gray ball of fur, eliciting contented purrs. Then he headed toward the Potions classroom, where students from first through fourth year, as well as sixth years separately, were taking exams today.

He needed to submit a plan for his thesis defense presentation, which would take place near the end of the month in the Great Hall before a Ministry of Magic commission, though more qualified than usual.

"All right, then we’ll wait for you at the entrance to the Great Hall. Don’t be late," Regulus said finally, before following the others toward the Slytherin common room, accompanied by the purring of one cheeky kitten who had been much quieter even in Severus’s hands.

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