"When was the last time I saw that bloody book?" — Severus Snape muttered under his breath as he tried the Summoning Charm for the umpteenth time to no avail.

He had searched his office, every drawer in his desk, every shelf, every cabinet. He had inspected his bedroom, under his bed, inside the trunks he had used to move his lab instruments to the Malfoy Manor, but it was impossible to find the old Advanced Potion Making book that he had inherited from his mother and in which he had spent much of his time as a student making notes in, refining the instructions for brewing potions, using its margins to scribble the spells he had invented; spending his time as a swotting, scrawny teenager with way too much knowledge of the Dark Arts and way too little interaction with healthy friendships.

It wasn't in his office or his bedroom, that was for sure. The only place left to search was his old domain: The potions classroom, where Horace Slughorn taught now. He took a deep breath and headed towards it, hoping he wouldn't have to run into Horace, who was supposed to be in his own office at that hour. So much effort in looking for that tattered book was because he would have wanted to give it to Laurel, the woman was already reaching the same level in potions brewing as the students in the sixth year and a book like that would be of great help. Severus wouldn't have to worry about the spells written in the margins, besides knowing that he wouldn't be judged for creating curses from such a young age, Laurel wouldn't be able to cast them and accidentally hurt someone either.

After thirty minutes of rummaging through dusty shelves and cupboards full of cobwebs he gave up, his old potions book was not in the school. He turned on his steps thinking that it could only be in Spinner's End, however, he could have sworn he had last seen it at Hogwarts.

So, he contented himself with giving Laurel his seventh-year NEWT preparation potion book, much more advanced, but he had no doubt, that she would know how to take advantage of it.

A sudden realization came to mind. All the books that belonged to him during his student years were kept in his office except for that one. What if a student had taken it? But no, it couldn't have been possible, the novelty of a new spell would have swept through Hogwarts like wildfire.

It had happened during his third year, after being ambushed in the dormitory by his own Slytherin housemates, he had had to defend himself using hexes that none of the other Slytherins knew, and very soon several of his spells were in vogue at the school, getting to a point that for a while, it was impossible to walk through the corridors without taking the risk of being lifted into the air by the ankle.

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The figure of a lanky teenager, swathed in a threadbare second-hand robe, was striding quickly and nervously across the Slytherin common room toward the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories.

Severus had skipped dinner. He had to take advantage of the solitude of the dormitories to use the lavatories and change his clothes before the other Slytherins descended from the Great Hall and crowded the common room, leaving him, the only Half-Blood to be sorted into Slytherin in years, turned into easy prey for his Purebloods housemates.

That uncomfortable ritual of bathing secretly and in a hurry had started since his first year at Hogwarts, since his classmates began asking about his scarce belongings, his used books and his malnourished appearance. Then they asked about his family, about his last name, about his father. His mother had made it clear that he shouldn't be ashamed of being a half-blood, but she, being a pureblood, knew very little of the contempt her little Severus had to deal with, living with fervent believers in blood superiority.

Those times were not the same times that Eileen Prince had attended Hogwarts. Now a new hope of rebellion gripped the minds of proud Pureblood wizards, a revolution led by a dark wizard against Muggles and undesirables. A wizard so powerful, some were convinced he had defeated death. Lord Voldemort was seeking followers, and Slytherin house was the perfect breeding ground to provide willing Death Eaters to his army. This was no place for scrawny, skint, half-bloods like Severus Snape.

Severus washed fast: face, neck, armpits, privates, feet. Hair? Would he have time? He hated to close his eyes while lathering his head and lose sight of his wand. He would be defenceless against any attack, but it would only take a couple more minutes. He thought that today he really needed it. Lily had wrinkled her nose as they worked on potions together. She had blamed the Doxy eggs, with which they had to use to make the Invigorating Potion, but Severus knew he couldn't put off his need to wash himself any longer. He was no longer an eleven-year-old boy; he was growing up and the smell of a teenager's body was not easy to tolerate.

He rinsed his hair in a flash, stepped out of the showers, and quickly grabbed his wand, drying himself off completely. A suspicious noise made him stop and strain his ears. Nothing. Hurrying, he finished dressing in his pyjamas that were already too small for him and left the bathroom, his wand hidden under the bundle of dirty clothes he was carrying in his hands.

"¡Tarantallegra!"

Severus reacted immediately, blocking the hex Mulciber had cast on him as soon as he set foot in the dormitory.

"The half-breed has good reflexes!" — Evan Rosier laughed as he suddenly appeared behind Severus and knocked him to the ground. Crouching down, he approached him, pulling at his hair and forcing him to look back at him. — "Even after a bath, you still reek of Muggle scum, Snape. I don't expect you to understand that. What are you wearing? Have you stolen the rags of a house-elf?"

Severus didn't reply, he kept his eyes fixed on the floor, he knew he shouldn't get into trouble, he shouldn't antagonize them. After all, he still had to live, eat, sleep and take classes with them until he finished Hogwarts. And Severus wanted most of all to finish his studies, graduate, and completely forget that he had ever lived as a Muggle in Spinner's End.

"Look at me when I speak to you, mongrel!" — Rosier stood up and smiling sadistically, he kicked his stomach making him wince in pain.

"Come on, Evan". — William Wilkes said, glancing nervously toward the entrance door. — "This was not what we had planned. We were just going to make fun of him".

"Are you afraid, Will?" — Rosier scoffed and then turning to Mulciber, he added: — "You're not afraid, are you, Richard? You are not afraid of this loser".

Getting no response from Mulciber, Rosier kicked Severus again, this time in the face, breaking his nose and drawing blood. The boy barely let out a shriek which he instantly stifled.

"That is enough". — Altan Avery had walked over to Rosier, pulling him away from Severus. "We must explain what has happened to Madam Pomfrey. You'll get us into serious trouble, Evan".

"He's a half-breed..." — Rosier looked at his friends incredulously. — "He's just..."

"He's also a Slytherin." — Avery replied. — "Help me getting him up, Mulciber".

"Don't you want to be like them?" — Rosier uttered, his eyes darting to each of his friends. — "Don't you want to join forces with You-Know-Who? To help a mongrel..."

"Shut up, Evan! Our families have been clear, we should not discuss this in public".

A sudden blush reddened the pale boy's face, nodding slightly as he walked over to Severus who still refused to stand up, his eyes closed, trying to control the sharp pain in his nose.

"You were lucky my friends felt sorry for you, Snape." — He teased. — "You must be more careful from now on. Slytherin can't have a weakling like you. Especially a weakling who spends so much time with that Gryffindor Mudblood. You are just like your mother, a disgrace to noble magical blood, a lover of filthy Muggles".

Something snapped inside Severus. He couldn't control his anger; he did not want to. He stood for the first time in front of his classmates without slouching, his back straight, his angular shoulders distended, his bloodstained face eerily undaunted. He may have been physically weak, but the combined abilities of the four boys in front of him could not even be compared to the extraordinary force of his curses.

He flicked his wand without uttering a word. For a second, the boys thought the Slytherin runt did not know which spell to cast and Rosier almost burst out laughing, but his cackling turned into panicked screams when he found himself dangling in mid-air. His robes fell over his face, and he desperately moved them away, locking eyes with Severus and screaming for help from his friends.

They all looked at Severus and no one dared to move. A second flick of the wand and the face of the boy was covered in boils and blisters, some of them of the size of a Galleon. Rosier had started to cry, some of the blisters burst, letting out a foul-smelling liquid that permeated the entire room.

Wilkes couldn't stand the stench, afraid he was going to vomit on the spot, he ran out of the dormitories to the common room, yelling for help.

"You better take a bath". — Severus's voice had started to change a few months ago and despite the sudden cracks and squeaks in his speech, the cold tone of it managed to send a shiver down the boys' spines. — "You stink, Rosier. You stink like your mum's pureblood arse".

Severus raised his wand again, the curse he had just invented but had not yet tested on a sentient being, was spinning in his mind, ready to be cast.

Sectumsempra

Sectumsempra

Sectumsempra

He took a deep breath, calming his rage, and tightened his grip on his wand. He looked at Rosier, but he pointed his wand in a different direction.

A flash of white light came from his wand as Wilkes re-entered the bedroom accompanied by the seventh-year prefect, Lucius Malfoy. The sound of Rosier's bed curtains ripping and the sudden rain of feathers from his slashed pillow only contributed to the shrieking cries of the boy hanging upside down.

"Formidable". — Lucius was dumbstruck, his bright grey eyes boring into Severus. — "A third-year, performing non-verbal spells, being able to create this". — Lucius gestured with a sweep of his hand at the destroyed bed and at Rosier. — "It is... impressive."

Severus immediately lowered his wand and turned at the sound of the prefect's voice, his anger suddenly replaced by fear of being punished, expelled. However, Malfoy's words and the smile on his face did not match the seriousness of the actions he had committed.

"I... I was just trying... Rosier insulted my mother..."

"Evan Rosier, that is unacceptable." Malfoy said in a harsh voice towards a Rosier who wouldn't stop crying. — "Apologize to Severus right now".

"I... I'm sorry." — He said between whimpers.

"Very well". — And turning to Severus who still couldn't believe what he was hearing: — "You're a half-blood, Snape. Your mother is a Prince, right? You must be proud to carry the blood of a pureblood family. Don't let others put you down. Slytherin house will always praise whoever proves worthy, and your talent is certainly worthy of admiration".

Severus was speechless, Lucius Malfoy had always been fair and kind to him. Him being the only one who had extended a hand to congratulate him the night he was sorted into Slytherin, but it was the first time he seemed to go out of his way to defend him, to make him feel like he belonged.

"Please, please put me down!" — Rosier cries turned their attention back to him.

"Can you?" — Lucius was eager to see more of the power the scrawny half-blood was able to do. He could see now his magical abilities could be put in good use.

Severus nodded and cast the Liberacorpus counter-spell, sending Rosier sprawling to the ground.

"Wilkes, Mulciber, take him to the infirmary. Say it was himself who did that to his face when he lost a bet. Avery, clean up this mess. And Rosier, you will give your pyjamas to Snape, I see Severus needs a new one".

The students nodded and left the dormitory, taking the whining Evan with them. Altan Avery turned his back and began to pick up the huge amount of feathers littering the floor as Lucius Malfoy let out a pleased sigh.

"Episkey". — Lucius whispered pointing his wand at Severus' face, healing his nose instantly. He then winked goodbye to him. — "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Snape."

Severus was still looking in disbelief as he left the room until Avery's voice made him jump.

"This is Evan's pyjamas." — He told him as he handed him the soft cotton navy blue pyjamas.

Severus took it with a nod and was happy to see that the size was too big for him. His father would be glad he wouldn't have to waste money on new pyjamas, this one he could wear for another couple of years.

"Hey, could you help me? Severus? I am not really that good with spells".

Severus waved his wand and made the feathers disappear, the torn curtains... well, he would leave it like that for a while.

"Wicked!" — Exclaimed Avery. — "That hex you used, to put him upside down in the air. That was impressive".

Severus shrugged and could not stop himself from smirking.

"I created that spell".

"Bonkers! You are joking, I have never heard of anyone inventing spells!"

"I did".

"Can you teach me?"

That night, Severus sat in bed, the snores and sighs of his asleep dormmates filling up the spacious room, the stench of Rosier burst blisters long gone. He had his tattered copy of Advanced Potion Making opened on his lap, the light from his wand illuminating the words he would scribble in each book he owned. The fresh black inked shone:

This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince.

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The final streaks of sun coloured the sky purple and shone through the snow-capped mountains. The entrance courtyard, surrounded by its stone cloister was now silent, the students now gone. A beautiful scene to watch from the high of the front stone steps leading to the Great Hall, for sure, but it was not the stunning setting Severus was staring at.

Laurel was briskly walking towards him, kicking off shimmering snow, her feet hurrying up the stone steps until she reached him, her face slightly blushed from the cold wind, her warm breath rising into the air from her red lips. He controlled the urge to kiss her right there.

"I hope this helps you". — He whispered, handing her his seventh-year potions book. — "It's a bit advanced, but you can always ask me anything".

You can always ask me anything

His words echoed in her mind. Laurel met his eyes. Their immense blackness always ended up comforting her. She would ask him later, but not today. Not tonight.

She noticed how dusty his robe was and gently brushed the dirt away from his lapel, her delicate fingers removing the cobwebs clinging to his frock coat.

Severus couldn't help but smile as he saw in her eyes a look of deep affection that he hadn't had the fortune to see before in his life.

"Where have you been?" — She whispered before they turned around and headed towards the entrance hall, from where the cacophony of the students in the Great Hall could be heard.

"It is a long story"