After the evening performance, at seven in the morning, Severus returned to Hogwarts with Nagini. But not alone. The kitten had tagged along as well. He had to temporarily wear a collar so he wouldn't be mistaken for a stray while Severus registered him under his name.
Regarding Vitold's words, he wasn't particularly worried. He had everything under control. He and Toby watched over Bella. Regulus was under the school's supervision. Josรฉ watched over the Black house. Severus had also contacted Shafiq last night and ordered him not to leave the shop, and to activate the updated and strengthened defensive charms from before. As for the Macmillans, he had personally met with them only once this entire year. Black Star was unlikely to touch them at all. Normally, they used owls for communication, sending them primarily at night to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
Severus was ready to meet uninvited guests. He still doubted Vitold would act so crudely. He intended to try negotiating peacefully first. Most likely, he would begin the capture operation only after receiving a negative response. But just in case, Severus decided to prepare in advance, in case the Steel Division leader suddenly got it into his head to begin implementing his plan ahead of schedule.
Nevertheless, after tonight, he decided to adjust his plan slightly. Earlier, he had intended to capture Vitold's mind and use him to reach the organization's leader. But now he had another idea. Though, of course, the main goal remained the same: to get the man in the mask.
No, he wasn't afraid of him. Indeed, the leader possessed an interesting artifactโand, in certain hands, even a very dangerous one. But Severus doubted he even possessed the skills to simply approach him, draw a weapon or wand, and attack. Unless, of course, this unknown's strength equaled that of a Magister at his peak or a warrior of the same level. That would be very hard to imagine, but one shouldn't dismiss the possibility either. In the world of magic, almost anything was possible.
Donning his school robes and wizard's hat, Severus left the room along with the little beast, leaving Nagini to sleep. The kitten also quickly slipped away, while three half-bloods, watching in shock, waited near the room, along with several Slytherins on the same floor.
"Yes!" The three students snapped back to attention, quickly caught up with him, and surrounded him in a triangular formation.
Severus himself had nothing against this trio of brothers. What he liked about them was their restraint and taciturnity.
They were members of the Austin family, a pure-blood lineage that hadn't made it into the Sacred Twenty-Eight, having burned through whatever wealth and influence it once possessed over the past century. These three were all that remained of their line. One day, they simply showed up and told him they wanted to become his vassals, to follow him.
Of course, at first, Severus thought the trio were simply spies from the Ministry or Death Eaters, because it was all too suspicious. But after examining their memories and, just to be safe, checking whether they had undergone "cleansing," everything turned out to be much simpler. These three were simply his fans.
He, also a half-blood and much poorer than they were, had amassed a whole fortune in a couple of months. Almost all of Britain talked about him. Not to mention he had created a school subject from scratch and become the youngest Potions Master in Britain. And all this at seventeen.
Yes, they envied him, just like anyone else. But their respect was much stronger. For this reason, the three brothers wanted to serve him. They understood that alone, they could not return former glory to the family, especially with their meager minds. But by becoming vassals of a more powerful and wealthy individual, and moreover a half-blood like them, the Slytherins were certain they would succeed.
Besides them, of course, there were several more students thinking exactly the same thing. However, some pursued completely different goals: wealth, fame, influence, and much more.
Three families had already unofficially sworn loyalty to Severus: the Austins, Beckers, and Daumans. He himself did not feel strongly either way about it. Though Nagini did find it somewhat amusing. The house-elves, upon learning their master now had vassals, prepared a feast. Even Severus's mother was very excited when she heard this news. She was a true aristocrat and understood far better that, alone in this terrible world called "aristocracy," one simply could not survive.
In the Slytherin common room, he met Regulus, and together they headed to the Great Hall.
The hours until lunch passed quietly. He was still a bit irritated that people kept staring at him, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he simply ignored them.
As for the kitten, he hadn't seen it since morning, not even once. That was very strange, but at the same time, Severus was glad it wasn't causing problems, and he could go about his business in peace.
It was now lunchtime. Afterward, he intended to visit Professor Slughorn and tell him about his new pet so that the necessary paperwork and permissions could be processed quickly, allowing the cat to roam the castle grounds freely.
As usual, he sat at the table chatting with Regulus. Recently, the younger Black had become much more open and behaved more reasonably. He had come to understand that serving Voldemort wasn't the best idea, but he couldn't give up his dream. Still, Regulus had agreed with Severus's words that until he fathered an heir, he shouldn't even think about such a dangerous profession. When he heard that, the youth choked on his soup, but he admitted Severus had a point. If he died, there would be no one to continue the family line. All the women in the family were already married or engaged, except for Bella, of course. But knowing his teacher's character, his cousin's unmarried state wouldn't last long.
At the moment, they were discussing magic, or more precisely, the Fire Whirlwind spell, which Regulus had managed to cast quite well, almost without Severus's help. They tried to avoid the topic of Tom.
But speak of the devil, and he appears. A woman's shriek rang through the hall. All the students looked in surprise at the staff table, or more precisely, at Minerva McGonagall. With a mixture of amazement and indignation, she pursed her lips in displeasure as she stared at the gray kitten that was, at that very moment, eating her lunch: a fish casserole she had specially asked the house-elves to prepare that morning.
The students could barely suppress their laughter at the sight. The ever-strict lady simply didn't know what to do. She could only watch this little beast, who had already devoured half her lunch, and purse her lips.
"Whose cat is this?" McGonagall exclaimed, barely restraining her anger as she surveyed the students with a cold gaze. They quickly hid their smiles and returned to their lunch.
"Now, now, calm down, Professor," Dumbledore said with a good-natured expression, examining the magical creature with mild interest. To his genuine surprise, he couldn't sense its presence at all. It was as if only an illusion stood before him. But even an illusion usually carries at least some trace of magic. This greatly confused the old wizard. Of course, one might think this was a simple Muggle kitten. But the way it had materialized from nowhere immediately ruled out that theory. "Hmm?" Squinting, he saw around its neck a thin collar with the initials 'S.S.' On its back was the Slytherin emblem. He understood almost immediately who the creature belonged to. Such initials belonged to only one person in this house. "Severus, you have a very interesting pet," he said with a smirk, lowering his glasses to look at Severus.
"Thank you." Rising from the table with a hint of embarrassment, Severus nodded. "I apologize. I wanted to register him under my name after lunch."
"Mr. Severus, you!" McGonagall exclaimed sternly, fixing him with a severe gaze. From that look, any other student would have surely paled and broken into a cold sweat.
"Settle down, Professor. He didn't intentionally ruin your lunch. Isn't that right?"
"Of course. Why would I even do such a thing?" Meeting Dumbledore's cheerful gaze, Severus nodded again with a perfectly serious expression.
"You see. So let's settle down and continue lunch." Dumbledore's soothing tone and good-natured smile almost instantly cooled McGonagall's ardor. Even the kitten looked better. She might actually enjoy her dinner now.
"Yes, Headmaster. But I still insist on punishment, to avoid setting a precedent."
"Let Professor Slughorn handle this then. What do you think?"
"Fine."
"Yes, Headmaster." Slughorn stood and fixed Severus with a stern gaze. "Mr. Severus, I expect you after dinner. And for the next three days as well."
At that, the Slytherins nearly laughed aloud at such a harsh punishment. Everyone knew Severus already spent every evening with Slughorn in extra lessons. Gryffindor students openly gloated and laughed at the snake. But the happiest, of course, were the idiot trio. The other houses remained almost entirely neutral, though a couple of students joined in the laughter.
At this, McGonagall nodded with slight displeasure but still agreed to the punishment. Like the Slytherin students, she also knew about the evening lessons. Lowering her gaze to the kitten, who had been simply eating his lunch all this time, she smiled slightly. Though she didn't admit it openly, she was a cat lady. Seeing the little one cutely munching his lunch, she really wanted to pet and cuddle him. But she couldn't. She didn't want to ruin her image as a "strict professor."
"Mr. Severus, take your plate." Meow. The little beast looked at the embarrassed witch and nodded to her, as if thanking her for the food. Then he calmly jumped from the table and headed to Severus, while every female student at Hogwarts watched intently.
After lunch, the kitten climbed onto Severus's shoulder, looking very satisfied. He licked his paw and ignored the stares of the students they passed.
"Still shouldn't have brought you. You only cause problems," Severus muttered with a weary sigh. Everything had just started settling down. But no. Again he ended up in the center of attention. Now, again, for a week, maybe even two, they wouldn't leave him alone. "Listen, do you have a name?" He looked at the little beast, who tilted his head in puzzlement, as if not understanding what he meant. "A name is what I'll call you. For example, at breakfast, instead of 'hey' or 'little one,' I'll address you by name. Like 'Tom.'"
The kitten wasn't stupid and almost immediately understood what Severus meant. He silently shook his head. He had never even thought about this. All his life, he had lived alone in the forest and had no friends there to address him by name.
"I understand. Do you want me to give you a name?"
"Mrrr." He seemed to consider this, then after a few seconds nodded and stared at Severus expectantly.
"Hmm. Maybe 'Glutton'?"
"Meow!"
"Why not? It suits you perfectly. I have a feeling there's a real black hole in your stomach. In one evening, you ate four fish each the size of you."
But noticing the little one's unkind squint, Severus smirked. He still liked teasing this tiny creature, because his displeased expression looked especially cute. "All right, all right. Don't be angry. I'm joking. But what should I call you?"
He began running through the names of all known cats from his past and present life in his head. "Maybe 'Lucky'?"
As soon as this name escaped his lips, the little one froze for a moment. That surprised Severus. He had never seen such a reaction from him before. "This word means lucky one. Because you really are a true lucky one. To survive in that place and become so strongโnot everyone could," he explained, assuming the kitten simply didn't know what the word meant.
Meow!
As he listened to the cheerful meowing, a smile spread across Severus's face. He couldn't explain where these strange feelings came from, but the name felt just right for this glutton.
"Then, from this day forward, you are 'Lucky.'"
He stroked the contentedly squinting kitten's head as they continued toward the Slytherin common room. Before dinner, he wanted to continue work on the ritual and begin preparations to strengthen his core to the peak of Magister rank soon. Over the next three and a half years, it would stabilize and be able to withstand the breakthrough to Archmage.
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 264
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 184
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 265
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 111
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