Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 167 Regulus
“No, that’s too long,” Snape refused decisively. “After you go out in a bit, bring him here immediately. I’ll only wait for you at the alley entrance for five minutes, Narcissa, and that’s it.” He didn’t want to give her any chance to back out, delay, or set a trap.

A flicker of struggle and worry crossed Narcissa's face. Going to the Blacks' house to take Regulus away immediately meant they wouldn't have enough time to prepare. But looking into Snape's uncompromising gaze, she knew there was no room for negotiation.

"Okay." She finally nodded through gritted teeth.

With the matter settled, the atmosphere relaxed a little.

"What about Sirius?" Snape asked casually. "What happened to him after he and some friends chose to leave the Founders' Ship? Did he go back to the Black family and become that rebellious son again?"

When Sirius was mentioned, Narcissa's face immediately showed disgust and indifference.

“Him?” she said coldly. “He is no longer a Black. Ever since the name Sirius was erased from the family tapestry, I have no idea where he is hiding or what dirty business he is doing.”

“Oh?” Snape remained noncommittal and continued, “What about his companions who came back with him, especially that Muggle-born Peter Pettigrew, that seemingly timid Gryffindor? Do you know anything about him?”

"It's strange, really, that his name wasn't included in the list of people associated with Azkaban in the Daily Prophet later on."

Narcissa frowned, seemingly having no recollection of the name or showing no interest in it.

“I’m sorry, Severus,” she thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head, “I know nothing about this man’s whereabouts. He’s not on Azkaban’s register? That only means he either wasn’t qualified, or…” She shrugged, indicating helplessness, “he just escaped by chance?”

"Is that so?" Snape murmured to himself thoughtfully, "That's strange..."

Narcissa did not respond; she had no interest in the whereabouts of the insect tail.

The two said no more.

Snape removed the protective magic; Narcissa beckoned to a waiter and paid for her drinks in Muggle currency.

They silently rose and left the Lamb Flag bar one after the other, walking into the narrow, dark, damp dead-end alley next door.

Standing at the alley entrance, Snape cleverly concealed his bulky figure in the shadow of a prominent wall. His wand had slid into his hand, hidden in the cuff of his oversized Muggle coat. His gaze warily swept over the bustling street outside the alley and the tranquility deep within.

Narcissa quickly walked to the other end of the alley, her figure disappearing swiftly from Snape's sight.

Time ticked by, and Snape was ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Less than three minutes later, a soft popping sound came from the alley.

Narcissa reappeared. Beside her stood a pale-faced, thin, black-haired boy.

Regulus Black, head bowed, body trembling slightly, eyes darting around, looked like a child just awakened from a nightmare. When he saw the stranger in the shadows at the alley entrance, he visibly flinched and instinctively hid behind his sister.

Regulus was holding a house-elf tightly in his hand, or rather, his arm was being held tightly by a house-elf.

This was an extremely old elf. He looked very old, and his skin seemed to be several times larger than his body actually needed.

He was almost completely naked, with only a snow-white towel wrapped around his waist, and the hair in his ears was as white and fluffy as cotton wool.

Kreacher's large eyes looked past the unsightly nose and towards the unfamiliar Snape with concern.

Snape shifted his gaze from the frightened Regulus to the elderly house-elf gripping the boy's arm.

"Why is there one more?" He looked up at Narcissa and asked.

“Uncle and Aunt are worried that Regulus might not be used to being away from home all of a sudden, and that no one will take care of him,” Narcissa said, glancing at Kreacher who was trying to shield Regulus with his small body. “Kreacher watched him grow up and knows him best. Let him come with us. Besides,” she added quickly, “you can order him around as you please.”

“Kreacher is very capable and will never cause you any trouble. His French onion soup is extremely authentic, absolutely the best I have ever tasted, and his Wiltshire stew is a masterpiece. His syrup fruit pie, steak and kidney pie, and other dishes are so delicious that even the most discerning wizards will only praise them openly.”

“We already have enough house-elves on board to take care of our food and lodging.” Snape shook his head, unmoved, wanting to see what else Narcissa or the Black family would be willing to contribute.

He glanced at Kreacher's cloudy eyes. The old elf met his gaze and obediently lowered his head.

Narcissa was momentarily speechless. She paused, then tentatively posed another question:

“Severus, do you…do you need Gallons? The Black family can provide you with support…”

“Garonne? Forget it.” Snape interrupted her abruptly, letting out a snort of laughter. “We don’t need that kind of useless stuff. Instead of offering a little money, you’d be more practical to just take me to the Malfoy family’s vault in Gringotts yourself and let me see the sights.” He reiterated his previous promise about the vault, turning it into a new and more urgent condition.

Narcissa nodded calmly and gestured to Snape with her eyes not to say anything more.

Having received the response he wanted, Snape said no more. He simply stretched out his thick arm and offered it to Regulus.

Seeing this, Narcissa gently nudged Regulus, who was still standing there in a state of great unease, from behind.

“Go, Rael,” she said. “Follow this gentleman, and remember, protect yourself and be careful.”

Regulus seemed to wake up only after his sister pushed him.

He turned around, gave Narcissa a deep look, nodded vigorously, took a deep breath, clenched his fist on Kreacher's hand, mustered his courage, and took a step toward Snape.

Kreacher immediately followed closely behind, his small body shielding Regulus as much as possible.

Snape watched the master and servant approach with a blank expression. His large hand bypassed the elf and pressed firmly on Regulus's somewhat thin shoulder; Kreacher gasped nervously.

“Goodbye, friend.” He glanced at Narcissa. Narcissa’s gaze lingered on her brother for a moment.

The three of them then vanished without a trace from the dark alley.

The next moment, they found themselves on the shore of an unfamiliar lake. The lake shimmered in the evening breeze, and the air was fresh and cool. The discomfort from Apparition caused Regulus to stumble, and Kreacher quickly steadied him.

After Regulus regained his footing, he looked up and around.

“Sir,” he asked curiously, looking around at the tranquil scenery, “is this the real Hogwarts?” He clearly thought he had been taken to a secret location leading to some castle.

Snape did not answer immediately. He released his hand from Regulus's shoulder and stood in front of him.

Under the bewildered gazes of Regulus and Kreacher, his somewhat obese Muggle face began to writhe and change like a melting wax figure; his bones crackled slightly, and his body rapidly lengthened and thinned.

A dozen seconds later, a face that Regulus recognized very well appeared in front of him.

"Severus?!" Regulus gasped in shock, stumbling backward and bumping into Kreacher behind him, nearly knocking the little sprite over. "How is it you?!"

Snape straightened the cuffs of his Muggle coat, which now appeared even wider after being restored to their original state.

"What?" he said. "Didn't Narcissa tell you the real identity of her contact beforehand?"

“No, no.” Regulus shook his head blankly. “Sister Cici just told me to leave with a reliable gentleman who would take me to the real Hogwarts, a safe place.”

“Then I am indeed very reliable, and her assessment is quite accurate,” Snape laughed. “Compared to letting you continue experiencing life at the ‘internship unit’ until you break down or are disposed of, following us is definitely the most reliable option right now.”

"Alright, Mr. Regulus Black, put out your left hand."

Regulus shuddered at the words Snape used, such as "internship unit" and "to be disposed of." When he heard that he was to be shown his left hand, he instinctively pulled it behind his back, a flicker of fear crossing his face.

But seeing Snape's not-so-gentle gaze, he hesitated and slowly extended his left hand from behind his back.

Snape grabbed Regulus's wrist and then rolled up his sleeve to reveal the menacing Dark Mark on the inside of his arm.

"Don't touch that! Master Regulus!" Kreacher cried out in alarm and lunged forward to stop him, but was stopped by Snape's gaze. He could only anxiously wring the towel around his body and make low, whimpering noises.

Regulus watched Snape nervously, wondering what he was going to do.

“We need to deal with this particular tattoo,” Snape said, staring at the Dark Mark. He pulled a thick parchment from his pocket. “I’m willing to believe your remorse, Regulus, but that has nothing to do with how much I personally trust you.”

“This trust is not enough for me to entrust the safety of dozens of students on your self-control. I cannot risk the lives of others.” He looked up at Regulus. “This thing is a dangerous locator and summoning beacon.”

“Relax,” Snape said, covering the Dark Mark on Regulus’s arm with the parchment, obscuring the skull and snake head design.

His wand then pointed to the point of coverage, and intricate runes slid from between his lips, the tip of the wand emitting a soft light that seeped into the parchment.

Kreacher nervously shifted his feet forward, his large ears standing straight up, his eyes fixed on Snape's wand, as if he would pounce on him without hesitation should Snape do anything to harm the young master.

As magic was infused, the edges of the parchment began to soften and stretch, slowly conforming to and blending with Regulus's skin as if it were alive. Its color also rapidly adjusted, becoming increasingly similar to Regulus's own skin tone.

A moment later, the parchment disguised itself as part of the skin and adhered to the original Dark Mark. At first glance, it appeared to be just a small patch of skin on the arm, slightly darker in color and with some unique texture.

“That way you won’t be able to touch it.” Snape moved the wand away, observing his work with satisfaction.

Regulus immediately raised his arm and examined it repeatedly in the dim light. The covered area felt slightly foreign to the touch, and the skin was somewhat taut.

He looked at Snape with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Snape put away his wand and reassured her, “this isn’t a permanent sticker. I’m not like your dear brother Sirius, who likes to use permanent stickers to put up posters of Muggle bikini girls. This thing just covers and isolates, and can be removed.”

When Sirius was mentioned, Regulus's eyes flickered.

"Then..." he asked hesitantly, "Sirius, is he with you too?"

“He has left, chosen another path,” Snape said. “Alright, let’s move on to the next part. Take out everything you have with you. Anything, wands, trinkets, letters, souvenirs…everything.”

Regulus hesitated for a moment, then obediently began to take things out of his robe pockets, and Kreacher quickly stepped forward to help.

“We didn’t bring much,” he said, handing Snape a bag embroidered with the Black family crest. “We packed very little in a hurry.”

Snape picked up the bulging money bag, opened it, and saw that it contained hundreds of Galleons.

He frowned, carefully picking up each coin and examining them with his wand, sensing whether there were any other magical traces remaining besides the anti-counterfeiting magic the fairies had bestowed upon them during minting.

After confirming that everything was correct, he tossed the money pouch to Kreacher: "Here you go, this is your young master's allowance."

Then, Snape picked up a small, square mirror.

“This is a two-way mirror,” Regulus explained. “It’s a pair; the other side is with my mother. That way, it’s convenient for us to talk to each other and know we’re safe.” His voice lowered, then he added, “She specifically went to Uncle Alphad to borrow it. Even though they haven’t been in contact for a long time…”

“I’ll keep this for now.” Snape tucked the two-way mirror into his robe pocket. “Unauthorized external communication is not allowed on board. If you need to use it, come find me and use it under my supervision. Understand?”

Regulus looked somewhat disappointed as the mirror was taken away, but he still nodded silently: "Understood."

　Thank you OSCARHUHU for the 5000 Qidian coins.

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(End of this chapter)