For some time after the women had gone, neither man spoke. They simply regarded one another in silence, until at last Orion broke it.
"You have surprised me considerably, Mr. Snape, with the breadth of your knowledge. I have also read your books on the Care of Magical Creatures, and though the subject is only the wizarding equivalent of a Muggle discipline, I must say the work is genuinely impressive. I confess I had not believed until today that they were actually yours. Please forgive me for doubting you." The head of the family gave a small, gracious nod.
"I understand entirely. I would not have believed it myself if a seventeen-year-old had handed them to me," Severus answered calmly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as his gaze drifted toward the window, where the light was beginning to fade. "But you didn't invite me to stay in order to discuss books."
"No." The ease left Orion's expression. "How serious are your intentions?"
"Straight to the point. I thought you'd work your way up to it more gradually, but very well..." The half-smile left Severus's face as well. "I'd like to ask for her hand. But..."
"But?"
"It's too soon to speak of anything so settled. I love your niece. Whether she could say the same of me, I honestly cannot tell, and to push her..." He rubbed the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable. "It isn't how I do things. I want her to arrive at it herself. We have time."
"And doesn't it concern you that someone else might claim her in the meantime, or that I might simply arrange a match?" Orion raised an eyebrow, the faint smile returning.
"Then there'll be one fewer wizard in Magical Britain. Does it particularly matter, when they seem to be killing each other nearly every day as it is?" He lifted his glass of wine and took a sip. "But your tone suggests you're not entirely opposed to this. Which, of course, is not something one could say of your wife." At the mention of Walburga, the other man's expression tightened.
"As head of this family, I am obliged above all else to elevate it, to protect its members, to uphold the traditions left to us by our ancestors. The fact that I am not opposed to letting my niece go already breaks one of those traditions. But what choice remains now? Our family can barely be called a House in any real sense: there is us, and the parents of the three girls, who are working abroad, and precious few besides..." Orion sighed, and a cigarette appeared in his hand, along with, rather incongruously, a Muggle lighter. Noticing Severus's thoughtful look, he smiled without warmth. "I worked mainly with Muggles while I was in Germany. Using magic in front of them and then Obliviating them afterward becomes tiresome, so I acquired the habit." Severus nodded. "Where was I... yes. At this rate, before long there will be nobody left at all.
"Then let Regulus get himself a harem. It is standard practice in the southwestern part of the world."
Orion's eyes twitched at the blandness of the suggestion, but to his own irritation, he found himself actually considering it. "Three sons from that arrangement, and they each find wives. There's your House restored. There may well be internal feuding, naturally, but raised properly, the children would support one another and would be more than capable of elevating the family beyond its rivals."
"That is... an interesting thought. And you as well..."
"No, it holds little interest for me, nor does House Prince, for that matter." Severus waved a dismissive hand. "They compelled me to take the name to inherit the estate. Personally, 'Snape' suited me just fine. Aristocratic preoccupations don't take hold of me so easily."
"Your mother would be distressed to hear that, I think."
In response, Severus only smiled at him, and a dry, quiet laugh escaped, leaving Orion looking at him with a slight frown, uncertain what exactly was amusing.
"Forgive me. But if my mother knew that her family had perished and the House had very nearly died out with them, I doubt distress would be her first reaction. You mentioned something earlier that struck me, actually. Allow me to quote you: 'Strange that she chose to run off with a Muggle, because I remember she was seeing someone quite seriously, some aristocrat or other, and it seemed things between them were going somewhere.'" The words landed, and a shadow passed across Orion's face. Severus had begun to figure out what had happened well before this conversation, though he found it difficult to believe anyone could treat their own family that way. A moment later, Orion felt cold sweat run down his spine as he lifted his eyes to meet Severus's expression.
Could it be that he... One terrible thought surfaced, dragging with it the memory of the Prince family's fate.
"Did you wish to ask something?" Severus asked pleasantly.
"No, I... I hadn't imagined they could have treated her so harshly." Orion attempted a smile to mask whatever expression had crossed his face. "As for your idea, I'll give it some thought."
"I was joking, naturally... though in your situation, and in most of the surviving Houses, I suspect it is less a joke than a straightforward necessity." Orion inclined his head, knowing it was true: most of the old families had already sunk into obscurity, and only a handful still managed to keep their heads above water. He raised his glass to his lips. "I would also suggest finding Regulus a Veela." Orion sniffed the wine rather than drinking it, and stared at Severus, who was calmly finishing his own glass. "Beyond the obvious appeal of beauty and charm, your descendants would become considerably more powerful in magical ability."
"Don't." He coughed. "Joke like..." He coughed again. "That..." He pressed a handkerchief to his mouth.
I'm not joking. Your House has acquired certain ancestral afflictions over generations; fresh blood is the only reliable remedy, and the steady, gentle temperament of a Veela could go a long way toward softening the particular blend of madness and hot-headedness that runs in the Black line." Severus said this in the same even, matter-of-fact voice. "I understand you find the idea objectionable. But you have very little room to be selective, and a boy born of a Veela is in every outward respect an ordinary wizard."
"I... shall think on it..." Orion set down his glass and pressed his fingers to his temples. Severus's words were, taken on their own terms, entirely reasonable, and yet, to welcome a Veela into the family, not merely a half-blood but an actual magical creature: Orion could not bring himself to accept it. It was worse, in his estimation, than even a Muggle-born. If it ever came to light, the shame would be impossible to live down.
"Well, I won't intrude any further into your family's affairs. That is not my place. As for Bella, my intentions are in dead earnest. I will wait for the day she chooses to open herself to me of her own accord. You are of course free to pursue other arrangements on her behalf, but in that event, as I have already indicated, there will be one fewer wizard in Magical Britain, and I will not handle that situation with the same restraint I showed the Lestranges." The coldness in Severus's voice was enough to raise the hairs on the back of Orion's neck for the second time that evening.
A character like that simply couldn't belong to someone under thirty... As strange as it was to admit, Orion found the young man sitting across from him far more unsettling than Voldemort, whom he'd once had occasion to meet. With Voldemort, however unhinged, one at least knew roughly what to expect. With this one, no matter how Orion tried, he could not find a seam. Severus was almost impossible to read, except in moments that touched on Bella or his mother. So young. Such a disquieting young man.
"I would also ask you not to involve yourself in our relationship. I mean no offense or disrespect by that. But it seems to me that when feelings are mutual, it is a considerable improvement over a wife who is indifferent to you, or worse." At that, Orion drew out the last word with a crooked smile, recalling his first year of marriage to Walburga, the blank look she had given him in those days, before things had slowly, eventually shifted between them. He still remembered it. "Very well. I won't. But in return, I'd like to propose something."
"I'm listening." Severus folded his hands on the table and settled his professional half-smile back into place, giving Orion his full attention.
"The rights to your books, I take it, remain yours?"
"Of course."
"What would you think about publishing them abroad? I'm quite certain they would earn a considerable amount."
The discussion that followed stretched well over an hour. The Blacks maintained shops in several countries along Britain's borders, some of them specializing in books, and there was a good deal of practical ground to cover.
In the end they arrived at an agreement: a split of fifteen to eighty-five percent, with Severus taking fifteen percent on each copy sold abroad and Orion managing all the practical arrangements required to bring the books to market in other countries.
Severus was not especially driven by the prospect. He was no longer particularly chasing Galleons; what sat in his account was more than enough for several lifetimes, with a great deal left over besides. But establishing something solid with Bella's family was worth something too, and not a small something.
By the time deep night had settled outside and the clock showed eleven, Severus began making his preparations to leave, though Orion, under his wife's scorching gaze from the doorway, pressed him to stay a while longer. Severus declined: Nagini was waiting for him at home, and he had promised to return at a reasonable hour.
He said his goodbyes and left them an artifact as a gift, one he had made while working on Bellatrix's ring, which carried a similar protective effect, though somewhat diminished. Then he Apparated home.
Looking back on it, he had to concede the day had been rather productive on the personal front. By the end of the evening, even Walburga, who had been listening through a house-elf the entire time, had thawed toward him by a measurable degree, and both she and Orion were giving some thought to the idea of a certain arrangement for Regulus and the future of the House of Black.
Meanwhile, somewhere across the city, a young man who had just finished his homework and settled contentedly into bed suddenly opened his eyes wide, a tremor running through his entire body and an anxiety rising from nowhere for no reason he could name.
Back in his own apartment, Severus stepped into the living room and found it in semi-darkness. Nagini was curled on the sofa in front of the television, which was still murmuring, a small bucket of popcorn beside her, nearly empty. Something in his chest gave a small, guilty twist.
*I think the ritual can wait until tomorrow.* He smiled, crouched down, and ran his hand gently over her head. "Forgive me. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." As if she had heard him, Nagini gave a small, disgruntled snort in her sleep, and the smile on Severus's face softened into something more genuine. He lifted her carefully with magic, careful not to wake her, and carried her toward the stairs.
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 270
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 189
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 271
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 116
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