HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

When Severus woke up, Ian was already dressed and putting his textbooks into his schoolbag.

Seeing him sit up, Ian pointed to the table, "I left you some hot water."

"Thank you." Severus's voice was a little hoarse. He got out of bed to wash up, and when he came back, Ian had already packed his schoolbag and was leaning against the table waiting for him.

"breakfast?"

"Um."

On the way to the auditorium, Kevin kept complaining about the Transfiguration assignment, and Aris patiently corrected several of his misconceptions.

Severus and Ian walked behind, their arms occasionally brushing together.

……

In Potions class, Slughorn indeed announced a test, which involved making cough syrup.

Severus's finished product still impressed Slughorn, and Ian was able to break free from the potion pit of yesteryear and independently brew qualified potions.

After class, they walked side by side toward the library. The September sun shone through the high windows onto the stone corridor, warm and dry. As they passed the corner on the third floor, they ran into Potter and his group.

Sirius Black walked at the front, paused when he saw them, and a half-smile appeared on his lips.

James Porter, standing beside him, glanced at Severus for a moment before looking away, whispering something to Sirius, and the two of them laughed at the same time.

Remus Lupin walked a little behind, met Severus and Ian's gaze, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Peter Pediru jogged to catch up with them.

The two groups of people passed each other without saying a word.

Only after entering the library did Ian whisper, "They've been behaving much better lately."

Severus sat down in his usual corner, opened his book, and said, "For now."

"Yes, they were just punished by Professor McGonagall yesterday." Ian sat down opposite him and pulled out a paper on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The library was quiet, with only the soft scratching of quills across parchment and the occasional turning of pages.

Severus wrote for a while, then looked up and saw Ian frowning at his textbook, his fingers unconsciously twirling a quill pen.

"Where is it not?" Severus asked.

"Homework left by Auster," Ian pushed the textbook over.

Severus glanced at the title. "There's a book in the forbidden section called 'The Unforgivable Curse and Its Defense: History and Theory,' it's in there."

"When did you go to the restricted book section?"

"The night you went on patrol," Severus said casually, "was the note Slughorn signed, for research on an improvement to a tranquilizer."

Ian raised an eyebrow. "May I take a look?"

I'll bring it to you this afternoon.

Thanks.

They continued doing their homework as the sunlight slowly moved, creeping from the corner of the table to the edge of the parchment. Kevin and Aris came over, carrying a pile of reference books.

"I'm going blind," Kevin slumped into a chair. "Ancient runes are inhuman; all those symbols look the same!"

"You didn't take notes carefully," Aris said calmly, pushing a notebook over. "This is a reference table; memorize it."

"So many?!"

"Only thirty basic runes."

Kevin let out a wail and buried his face in the book.

Ian and Severus exchanged a glance and continued writing their own things.

……

Ian’s prefecture duties were gradually getting on track. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, he patrolled with Lily, sometimes with Lupin, and if Lupin was “not feeling well,” another sixth-year Ravenclaw prefect would take his place.

The conversation during patrols ranged from homework to the future. Lily said she wanted to become an Auror after graduation, while Ian didn't specify what he wanted to do, only mentioning that he might continue researching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Will you stay in England?" Lily suddenly asked during a patrol.

"Probably," Ian replied casually. "My parents are here."

"What about Severus? Has he mentioned what he wants to do in the future?"

Ian paused. "He didn't say it, but it must be research, potions or defense against the dark magic."

Lily nodded. "He's very talented. Professor Slughorn always praises him."

She paused, her voice softening, "Sometimes I feel that Severus is moving too fast..."

Ian looked at her. Lily's expression was serious in the glow of her wand.

"He will find his way," Ian said, "and he won't be alone."

Lily looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "You're right."

October is here, and the weather is getting colder.

On weekend afternoons, they gathered at the House of Requests and Responses.

Kevin was staring at a copper instrument, puzzled. "Can this thing really test the quality of invisibility potion?"

"Theoretically, yes," Aris said, flipping through the book without looking up as he added the materials to the crucible. "If you follow the steps instead of trying to speed up the reaction with a stirring spell."

"I just want to save time!"

"The result was that more time was wasted."

Severus and Ian were on the other side; Ian was tending to his precious plants, while Severus, unusually, wasn't brewing potions but practicing spells.

Before long, Kevin finally gave up on the device and instead began studying a book about prank spells.

Aris sighed and moved his cauldron a little further away.

"Halloween is coming soon," Kevin suddenly said. "I heard that the auditorium will be decorated as a vampire castle this year."

"It's pretty much the same every year," Aris said.

"But the pumpkin pie at the dinner was delicious."

That's undeniable.

"Are you attending the dinner?" Kevin asked.

Ian looked at Severus, who shook his head. "Too many people."

“I’m not going either,” Ian said. “I might have to patrol.”

"How boring," Kevin muttered. "I'm not going either. I'm tired of those decorations anyway."

Aris closed the book. "Actually, the library is much less crowded during Halloween, which is perfect for reviewing the history of magic."

Kevin's expression fell.

As expected, the castle became lively on Halloween Eve.

The corridor was filled with the sweet smell of pumpkins, the armor was covered with a comical cloak, and Peeves was throwing squealing rubber bats everywhere.

Ian and Lily's patrol duties were increased, and Filch made a list of "key surveillance areas," including the prize display room, the entrance to the restricted corridor on the fourth floor, and several secret passages near the kitchen.

"He thought we'd be like him, arresting students all day long," Lily said, rubbing her shoulder. They had just chased a Hufflepuff couple out of an abandoned broom cabinet.

"My job," Ian said, checking the next location on the list. "Three more places, then we'll be done."

"I hope the rest are all empty."

On a secluded terrace on the fifth floor, they saw Regulus standing alone.

He stood with his back to the corridor, gazing at the desolate courtyard outside. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, his gray eyes lacking any sparkle in the dim light.