For 30 + advance chapter: patreon.com/Snowing_Melody
Leaning closely against the tall, silver-rimmed dressing mirror in the corner of his dormitory, Severus Snape frowned slightly. He stared intensely at the unfamiliar, completely transformed face reflecting back at him in the dim glass.
Like the vast majority of deeply insecure, impoverished adolescent boys, Severus historically absolutely loathed looking in the mirror. He wasn't keen on it, he wasn't used to it, and in the past, catching a glimpse of his own sallow, greasy reflection had actively made him feel physically uncomfortable and deeply resentful.
But tonight was different.
In the enchanted mirror, his usually lank, stringy black hair had been meticulously, neatly washed and trimmed. It was styled in a simple, understated way that framed his pale face and actually made him look comfortable. The high-quality, incredibly expensive dark robes—courtesy of the anonymous Black family donation—swayed gently around his ankles in the flickering candlelight. The heavy, pristine luster of the tailored fabric undeniably revealed two highly potent, unfamiliar concepts to the world:
Decency. And absolute confidence.
Not bad at all, Severus thought, his chest swelling with a rare, highly guarded sense of pride. He reached up, tugged sharply at his stiff silver collar to adjust it, and forced a small, testing smile. The pale boy in the mirror mimicked the exact movement, his smile looking just a little bit stiff and unused, but undeniably genuine.
He had actually, successfully invited Lily Evans to attend Regulus's highly exclusive party with him tonight. And she had eagerly said yes.
Meanwhile, that arrogant, bullying idiot James Potter had only miraculously managed to invite Lily's loud Gryffindor best friend, Mary Macdonald, as his plus-one.
Ah. It truly is a massive, terrible pity that Potter and Lily simply haven't had many natural chances to talk alone at school this term, Severus sneered internally, his dark eyes glittering with sheer, unadulterated triumph. He looked at himself in the dressing mirror one last time. The sheer, intoxicating excitement of reuniting with his true friends in a social setting was written plainly all over his face.
He reached onto his desk, picked up the heavy parchment invitation—beautifully stamped with a hand-drawn, comical "Pig Head" crest—and tucked it securely into his inner robe pocket. He would go meet Lily at the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall right now, and they would proudly walk down to the party together!
In the damp, chilly highlands of the United Kingdom in late October, the sun always set incredibly early.
The brilliant, rose-gold sunset was currently painting the sprawling Hogwarts grounds in breathtaking, vibrant shades of bruised purple and burning orange. The scattered groups of lucky little wizards who had received the exclusive invitations walked down the sloping green lawns, their silhouettes outlined by the glowing horizon like a beautiful oil painting. Every single step they took was completely carefree, possessing the infectious, bouncing lightness unique to young boys and girls finally freed from their exhausting academic studies.
Shy, yet incredibly, visibly excited, Mary Macdonald walked a few paces behind James Potter. James's messy black hair was seriously sticking up in every conceivable direction in the autumn wind, but Mary wasn't looking at him. Her wide eyes were either nervously looking down at the crunching grass beneath her boots, or highly secretly, desperately stealing longing glances at the devastatingly handsome Sirius Black walking casually right beside James.
She honestly couldn't get enough of him. The Black Trio (Sirius, James, and Remus) was undeniably the absolute most flamboyant, effortlessly cool little social group in Gryffindor House. Mary was completely overjoyed just to be included in their orbit. Potter actually, formally invited me to a party so I could hang out with them, Mary thought happily, her cheeks flushed. This Potter boy really is incredibly nice.
Ding! James Potter had successfully, entirely unknowingly obtained the legendary, tragic "Good Person Card!" from his date.
Meanwhile, Regulus's actual, personal concern for the highly complex, dramatic romantic thoughts of these hormonal adolescent boys and girls was incredibly minimal, if not entirely non-existent.
Back in his original, modern youth, before he had transmigrated, he hadn't quite reached the specific age entirely driven by raging teenage hormones yet. The highly complex, messy romantic feelings between men and women were still a relatively vague, theoretical concept to him, right...?
After all. (´･_･`)
He honestly didn't really understand this specific, messy aspect of human psychology.
Unless... unless aggressively maxing out your confidant social links while playing Persona 5 could somehow technically count as valid, real-world romantic experience?
After all, Regulus reasoned entirely seriously in his own mind, my deep, tactical feelings for the digital girls in Persona were absolutely, 100% mathematically sincere.
Down inside Hagrid's sprawling, dirt-packed yard on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The busy, massive little giant, wearing his absolute best, least-moth-eaten hairy brown suit, completely couldn't stop beaming. He effortlessly, casually hauled and piled up massive, heavy tree trunks like toothpicks to build two towering, roaring bonfires, while Regulus walked around the perimeter, flawlessly using leveling charms to smoothly flatten the rough dirt ground for the guests.
Crack! "Master Black, sir!" The highly enthusiastic house-elf, Creevey, whom Regulus had personally, heavily bribed and invited up from the Hogwarts kitchens, popped into the yard and bowed so low his nose scraped the dirt. He reported proudly, "Creevey has flawlessly, perfectly prepared the meat for the roasting, exactly as you requested!"
A massive, beautifully marinated whole suckling Hog had been expertly butchered into premium cuts and perfectly prepared. The heavy slabs of meat were professionally skewered on several different, highly complex styles of iron roasting forks, and beautifully laid out on a massive, vibrant green Giant pumpkin leaf platter near the fire.
"Absolutely excellent work. Thank you so much, Creevey," Regulus smiled warmly, thanking the elf while simultaneously walking around tidying up the seating area. He occasionally, casually snapped his wand to cast highly effective, localized insect-repelling charms over the food tables.
"Oh! Please, just let Creevey do all these menial household chores for you, Master Black!" The house-elf's massive, tennis-ball eyes practically sparkled with tears of sheer, unadulterated devotion.
"Nonsense, Creevey. Practicing complex household charms is an absolutely vital part of my magical learning. It massively enhances fine magical control and raw wand usage," Regulus smiled, effortlessly charming a stack of napkins to fold themselves.
Regulus honestly wasn't just spouting empty, polite philosophy to the elf—
He knew canon. The terrifying, psychopathic Bellatrix Lestrange fanatically prided herself on her overwhelming, destructive dark magic, boasting of having very few true combat rivals in the entire world. And yet, wasn't she ultimately, violently, and instantly permanently defeated in a duel by a highly furious, fully-powered housewife named Molly Weasley?
That legendary, lethal victory was the direct, undeniable result of Molly spending decades constantly, obsessively practicing incredibly complex household charms, which heavily, physically emphasize the absolute mastery of high-speed, multi-tasking "magical micro-management."
Hagrid was incredibly quick to act. He enthusiastically dragged a massive pile of heavy, wooden stools of wildly varying heights out from his hut—honestly, they were so massive and crude they looked exactly like they were structurally built for Mountain Trolls. Then, he happily placed a massive, staggering pile of prepared food and drinks onto the long oak table—
There was a massive, sloshing oak barrel of premium, ice-cold Butterbeer that Regulus had secretly stored here earlier in the week; crystal pitchers of iced pumpkin juice; massive, savory slabs of cured ham illegally sourced directly from the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade; expensive, aged cheese wheels scrounged from the kitchens; and massive salad bowls carved directly out of Hagrid's garden's "smaller" giant pumpkins. The bowls were overflowing with natural, pollution-free, highly organic magical vegetables, bright red, juicy watermelon slices, and crisp green leaves tossed with a sparkling, golden olive oil vinaigrette...
Soon, the chatter of excited voices echoed down the path, and classmates and friends began arriving one after another.
Under the absolute, omniscient tactical cover of Regulus's passive Eagle Vision, he flawlessly tracked every single guest. Everyone who entered the yard received a highly warm, personalized, or incredibly polite pureblood hug from the host, and a beautifully woven, enchanted green laurel wreath to wear proudly on their head.
Hagrid also stood by the gate, aggressively, warmly greeting the students, entirely not leaving out the notoriously prejudiced Slytherin students. The tiny, nervous little Slytherin witch who had been brought along by Dirk Cresswell was visibly, physically trembling, clearly terrified by the looming, massive half-giant. Regulus smoothly stepped in. He personally, gently placed a fragrant laurel wreath directly onto her dark hair, subtly soothing her intense anxiety with his perfectly calm, aristocratic demeanor. See? Regulus's calm eyes communicated silently. Hagrid is incredibly, wonderfully friendly. This flawless, highly empathetic rescue instantly earned Regulus massive, starry-eyed, worshipful looks from his little witch classmate.
As the sun fully vanished, Regulus snapped his fingers, using wandless magic to instantly ignite the massive bonfires and the hundreds of floating magical candles hovering around the yard. Vibrant, highly illegal magical ribbons—smuggled directly from Zonko's Joke Shop—sprayed violently into the dark sky from the corners of the yard. The ribbons fluttered down, falling directly into the roaring bonfires, instantly creating a massive, breathtaking shower of multi-colored sparks that popped and glittered exactly like raining gems.
The crisp, freezing evening breeze perfectly carried the incredibly fragrant, mouth-watering smoke of the roasting meat, rising and merging beautifully into the clean, clear Scottish air. Above them, a sharp crescent moon shone with a brilliant, piercing white light amidst a sprawling sea of sparkling, diamond-like stars.
The towering, illuminated silhouette of the Castle, the dark, menacing tree line of the Forbidden Forest, and the distant, jagged mountains and cliffs were all clearly, beautifully visible from a distance.
But even vastly more beautiful than the magical scenery were the happy, unburdened people. Ultimately, more than twenty incredibly excited little wizards had come down to the yard, representing a flawless mix from all four Houses. Besides their direct classmates, the guest list was mostly comprised of the highly vetted, core members of the Dueling Club.
Among the incredibly well-dressed crowd, perhaps only James Potter hadn't actually bothered to dress up specially for the occasion. His highly unruly, stubbornly messy black hair was aggressively, comically poking straight out from the gaps in his elegant laurel wreath, making him look like a highly confused Roman emperor.
Lily and Mary's flowing, simple Greek-style robes paired with their green leafy crowns looked absolutely, incredibly cute and ethereal. The little Slytherin witch from before, however, was wearing a highly stiff, overly elaborate, massively expensive formal pureblood gown, which naturally seemed a bit hilariously out of place amidst the rustic, muddy Greek garden party. But she was also undeniably very pretty, and Regulus made sure to compliment her fabric.
Reflected brilliantly in the bright, dancing firelight, Regulus clapped his hands, loudly interrupting the large group who were happily laughing and chatting together with Butterbeers in hand. He stepped up to the fire and began to highly solemnly, theatrically introduce his absolute favorite, heavily guarded secret blend of aromatic spices, aggressively imported all the way from the "far East"...
Regulus shamelessly pulled a massive, ridiculous, tall white Muggle chef's hat out of his robes, slapped it onto his aristocratic head, and started aggressively pulling people over to the fire to actively help him roast the meat.
He held his hawthorn wand flawlessly in one hand, executing complex micro-spells to perfectly rotate the heavy iron spits, while with his other hand, he aggressively, precisely sprinkled sweet cooking wine and heavily smeared his thick, dark, thirteen-spice sauce over the crackling skin.
Severus was immediately, ruthlessly dragged over by Regulus to act as his sous-chef. Snape stood rigidly by the fire, highly intensely using his flawless Potions skills to perfectly stir and blend the complex dry spices, aggressively squeezing the sharp, fragrant, highly acidic juice from bright yellow lemons directly over the sizzling fat...
Sirius, meanwhile, was standing on the other side of the spit. He was frowning in intense, highly serious concentration, meticulously, precisely applying localized, sustained warming charms to ensure the massive cuts of roasted meat cooked entirely evenly through to the bone without burning the skin...
The sheer, utterly bizarre sight of several highly arrogant, notoriously wealthy pureblood/half-blood little wizards aggressively, passionately showing off their impeccable domestic cooking skills and household charms greatly, massively surprised their classmates present. Especially the ladies...
Ding! The Black brothers and Snape's collective Hogwarts popularity index was currently, violently rising through the roof.
When the meat was finally perfectly cooked, the thick skin crackling and popping with hot oil, the very first, premium piece of tender pork loin was naturally, effortlessly sliced off with a surgical Severing Charm by Regulus. It was highly respectfully offered directly to the friends and family who had actively participated in the grueling preparation. Then, the massive, steaming slabs of leg meat were rapidly sliced into thin, mouth-watering portions and generously distributed to absolutely everyone in the yard.
At the incredibly warm, utterly perfect evening feast, all the heavy, crushing worries of blood prejudice, academic stress, and looming war peacefully ascended directly into the freezing, starry sky along with the fragrant smoke from the roaring bonfires.
Near the edge of the pumpkin patch, Hagrid was incredibly happily tossing massive, bloody chunks of fresh raw meat high into the air to feed the two apex golden eagles, who were currently entirely connected to Regulus in spirit. Godric and Regina snatched the meat from the air with terrifying, lightning-fast precision.
"Hey, Hagrid! Look right here!" Regulus called out loudly over the chatter.
Hagrid turned his massive, bearded head and saw Regulus holding a highly complex, heavy magical camera he had just pulled out from somewhere, smiling brilliantly at him through the viewfinder.
"Say cheese, my friend!" Regulus grinned.
The little giant let out a booming laugh and grinned, flashing a massive, incredibly happy smile.
FLASH!
Startled by the blinding magnesium flash of the camera, from the soft green grass of the yard all the way up toward the boundless, sprawling high sky—Godric and Regina simultaneously let out a massive, piercing, clear eagle cry. The two majestic birds violently flapped their massive golden wings and circled beautifully upward into the starlight.
High above the sprawling grounds, in the tallest tower of the castle.
"Albus... what in the bloody hell is that blazing racket outside the window?"
The sudden, incredibly bright, highly colorful red and gold firelight violently shone through the arched glass, directly hitting a painted portrait facing the window in the Headmaster's office. The flashing light aggressively woke up a certain, highly grumpy old Headmaster (Phineas Nigellus Black), who in turn loudly, aggressively woke up the current Headmaster, who had been sitting alone in the dark, deep in highly paranoid thought.
Dumbledore blinked, startled out of his dark memories. He slowly, highly cautiously turned his head to look out the heavy glass window—
BOOM! A massive, incredibly deafening magical firework violently exploded in the freezing night air directly over the Forbidden Forest. The brilliant, blinding neon light flawlessly, theatrically depicted the massive, comical, glowing face of a Giant Pig Head!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Three more massive, shrieking sparks violently rose into the dark sky, detonating and falling slowly back toward the earth like a spectacular shower of burning stars and golden rain...
What... what on earth is actually going on down there? Dumbledore stared blankly at the glowing pig in the sky.
The brilliant, highly calculating Headmaster—who had absolutely, officially not been invited to the pork roast—sat alone in the cold silence of his office, and once again, began to deeply, heavily contemplate the terrifying, unpredictable variables currently operating within his school.