Dear James,
I trust you've received my previous owl and have properly met Godric! It's truly incredible, mate. Regulus has somehow befriended these two massive golden eagles and can actually communicate with them. Even better, they've accepted me as a friend too. I really hope you can meet them in person soon. You won't believe the wingspan on them.
And get this: these two eagles were literally rescued by our father from the London Zoo! I know, it's completely mental. I never in a million years expected my father to do something like that, let alone in a Muggle area. Regulus is terrifyingly good at convincing people to do his bidding.
Recently, Regulus has also been obsessively researching other methods for us to communicate more easily across the country. On top of that, he's forcing us to practice dueling with various curses and hexes every single day... I have to admit, I was completely wrong before. Life at Grimmauld Place is actually infinitely more interesting during the summer holidays now that Regulus has started Hogwarts.
Anyway, hope to see you soon! Please reply with a time and place for us to meet up!
Missing you, Sirius P.S. Attached is a Muggle newspaper report about the zoo 'breakout'. Read it and weep.
A nearly identical letter, filled with the same frantic, boyish excitement, was also dispatched to Remus Lupin.
Meanwhile, Regulus sat at the heavy mahogany desk in his bedroom, the scratch of his quill echoing in the quiet room as he methodically wrote letters to several of his own Slytherin contacts, sending them off via the family's imposing, dark-feathered eagle owls.
He was incredibly, exhaustingly busy every single day. Just thoroughly exploring the deeply hidden, heavily warded secrets of his ancestral home had taken him the better part of a week. He meticulously inspected every cursed dark magic item in the drawing-room cabinets and aggressively skimmed through every foul-smelling, leather-bound dark magic tome in the Black family library, carefully selecting several highly advanced books to study and practice alongside Sirius.
He had ordered Kreacher to completely clear out a dusty, abandoned storage room on the top floor. He hauled in several enchanted training dummies and began fiercely, relentlessly practicing his offensive and defensive spellwork. His intensity was terrifying; he was grinding his magical combat proficiency with a manic dedication that vastly exceeded even a stressed fifth-year student frantically preparing for their O.W.L. exams.
Naturally, like all proud pureblood parents in the wizarding world, Walburga and Orion were absolutely thrilled and highly supportive of their youngest son's sudden, diligent pursuit of magical power. Kreacher, taking his cues from his beloved mistress, practically worshipped the ground Regulus walked on, putting in massive, zealous extra effort to serve him iced pumpkin juice and hot meals during his grueling training sessions.
Regulus also spent hours interrogating the magical portraits hanging in the gloomy hallways. He asked them so many complex, highly tricky historical and magical questions that his great-great-grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black, now actively fled from his own gilded frame the absolute second he saw Regulus walking down the stairs. The only resident in the entire house who still maintained boundless, fanatical enthusiasm and was willing to answer literally any question Regulus posed was Kreacher, the ancient House-elf who was clearly willing to walk through cursed fire for him.
Fascinatingly, because of Regulus's subtle, constant interventions, Kreacher's historically toxic attitude towards Sirius had actually begun to marginally improve. It was an incredibly rare sight. Or rather, it was mostly because Sirius, taking Regulus's advice to heart, was finally the first one to lower his arrogant Gryffindor pride and show a microscopic fraction of basic respect towards the elf. Whenever the tension spiked, Regulus effortlessly stepped in, smoothly saying the exact right things to stroke both of their egos and de-escalate the situation.
Deep, generational cracks in a family don't just magically mend overnight. But even if he was faced with three solid feet of enchanted ice, Regulus was determined to methodically melt it down.
For everyone to simply survive the coming war and live in peace, he had to be the one to carry the heavy burden of keeping this dysfunctional family from tearing itself apart.
Honestly, Regulus thought, wiping sweat from his brow after a grueling duel with a training dummy, could this family even function for five minutes without me?
"Young Master Sirius," Kreacher croaked, his knobby knuckles rapping gently against Sirius's bedroom door. "It is time for the young masters' daily dueling regimen."
"Alright, alright. I'll be right there," Sirius sighed heavily. He put down his quill, picked up his carved oak wand from the bedside table, and resignedly dragged himself to his feet. He stretched his shoulders, feeling the dull ache from yesterday's hexes. If I don't work harder, Sirius thought grimly, I'm going to be completely, humiliatingly left in the dust by my twelve-year-old brother.
Of course, Sirius could have easily chosen to just lock his door and refuse to participate in Regulus's intense, militant summer activities. But the summer holidays stretched out for months... and honestly, Regulus always came up with the most brilliantly unhinged, interesting ideas. Besides, as a proud Gryffindor, Sirius absolutely refused to let his parents' bigoted theory about 'Slytherin being the superior House' actually come true. He wasn't about to lose to a snake.
Miles away, in the grimy, smog-choked industrial town of Cokeworth, at the very end of Spinner's End.
Dear Severus,
Hope this letter finds you well!
I've recently made two very special 'friends,' and I am really looking forward to formally introducing them to you! However, they cannot Apparate, and I'm quite worried they won't be able to easily navigate to a Muggle town to find you. I'm currently trying to figure out the logistics of getting to Cokeworth myself. My parents strictly forbid me from traveling far into Muggle territory on my own, so I am seriously considering sneaking out and attempting to hail the Knight Bus.
How have you been lately? Have you been stuck at home all summer? We absolutely need to make concrete plans to meet up—at least twice before term starts. It would be highly beneficial if we could coordinate a trip to Diagon Alley together to scout the apothecary markets.
Hugs. Sincerely yours, Regulus
P.S. I hope you don't mind my family's owl. He has a nasty temper and is particularly fond of pecking fingers. You need to reply quickly. P.P.S. I completely forgot that I actually have access to the Floo Network! We can easily arrange a specific time, and I can just invite you directly over to my house! My parents said it's perfectly fine. I told you my address before we left, do you remember it?
Unlike Lily Evans, whose bright, cheerful home frequently received friendly owl post, this was the very first time Severus Snape had ever received a letter from a Hogwarts schoolmate at his Muggle residence.
Standing in his dark, damp, incredibly cramped bedroom, Severus read the heavy parchment letter three entire times. His dark eyes scanned every single ink stroke, ensuring he hadn't missed any hidden meaning or subtle pureblood insult, before carefully, almost reverently, folding the parchment and slipping it deep into his pocket.
Perched on the peeling windowsill, the massive, terrifyingly aristocratic Black family eagle owl stood fiercely at attention. Its large, predatory golden eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Severus, looking as though it would violently peck his eyes out if he dared to delay the young master's reply by even a second.
Severus hastily grabbed a scrap of parchment and a battered quill, scribbling furiously:
Dear Regulus,
Everything is fine here. I am also looking forward to meeting you and discussing our... mutual interests.
I should be home all summer. (At this point, the rare, faint smile that had formed on Severus's sallow face instantly drooped, replaced by the crushing reality of his miserable home life.) Let me think—
For a first-year student like you, attempting to hail the Knight Bus alone is indeed not very safe. I've heard the motion sickness is violently terrible. Floo powder is a vastly superior idea, and yes, I still remember your address perfectly. I will come to you. I know exactly where my mother hides her emergency stash of Floo powder. I am free almost all summer.
Sincerely yours, Severus
After he tied the reply to the massive owl's leg and watched it launch itself into the smoggy sky, a sudden, massive surge of anxiety crashed over Severus. Aside from his ongoing war with the 'blood-traitor' Sirius, Severus was a Slytherin. He was acutely, painfully aware of the crushing political and historical weight the surname 'Black' carried in the wizarding world.
He had seen it with his own eyes during his first year. The undisputed king of Slytherin, the impossibly wealthy, arrogant pureblood Lucius Malfoy, was incredibly deferential, respectful, and intensely proud just to be seen with his girlfriend, Narcissa Black.
In his two years at Hogwarts, he had watched the senior Narcissa Black be treated like literal royalty by the rest of the House. Not to mention, the moment Regulus had enrolled, Rabastan Lestrange—a terrifying senior from an equally wealthy, fanatical background—had strictly instructed the lower years to take 'extra care' of the little Black heir.
And now, he, a half-blood wearing second-hand Muggle clothes from Spinner's End, had just been casually invited into the ancestral stronghold of this mysterious, terrifyingly ancient pureblood family.
A massive, soot-stained factory chimney stood prominently against the distant, hazy horizon.
"Then you should definitely buy some nice new clothes for the visit, Severus!" Lily Evans sat on the rusted playground swing, happily clapping her hands together, her bright eyes shining. "And—you should probably wash your hair."
Oh. Right. Severus, who had rushed to the park to eagerly share the news of his invitation with Lily, suddenly felt his stomach drop as he realized the sheer, horrifying socioeconomic gap between himself and the House of Black.
Lily didn't have a bad impression of Regulus at all. She had a naturally bright, forgiving personality and would never actively dislike someone unless they proved themselves to be genuinely cruel or prejudiced. For example, although she found James Potter and Sirius Black highly arrogant and annoying, she didn't exactly hate them.
"An Ancient and Noble wizarding family..." Lily sighed, her tone full of genuine, romantic longing. She gently pushed off the dirt, swinging back and forth. It was painfully clear she was intensely curious about the hidden world of pureblood wizarding families. "I wonder what their home will be like... Do you think their house will be completely full of enchanted objects and wild magic, just like Hogwarts Castle? Oh, I really hope I get a chance to see the inside of a real wizarding family's home someday."
No. You really, really wouldn't want to go there, Severus thought grimly. His mind instantly flashed to the vicious, highly toxic attitudes his senior Slytherin classmates held toward Muggle-born witches like Lily. If she ever stepped foot in Grimmauld Place, they would likely curse her on sight.
The heavy, suffocating thought suddenly made his chest ache. The bright, buzzing joy of being invited to the Black family home slowly began to diminish and smother, exactly like the dying flame of a burnt-out candle.
"Oh! I know! I have a completely new wizarding robe!" Lily continued, completely oblivious to his internal spiral, still excitedly offering helpful suggestions. "Don't worry, Sev... it's just a standard, plain black robe. It doesn't have the Gryffindor crest sewn onto it yet, and you're about the exact same height as me... I'll run and get it for you when I go home!"
Lily offered him a brilliantly warm, infectious smile that felt like a small sun piercing through the Cokeworth smog. Her bright green, almond-shaped eyes were overwhelmingly beautiful as they caught the afternoon sunlight.
Severus stared at her, the dark, oppressive cold in his chest instantly melting away.
"Mm. Thank you, Lily," Severus nodded softly, the small, hopeful flame in his heart suddenly flaring back to life, burning stronger than ever.