<div align="center"><strong>Regulus:</strong></div><br/>"Merlin, that smell never goes away," Regulus commented dryly. Grey eyes scanned the surroundings warily. It was a bloody menace having to observe these twits chatter away excitedly. To be fair, Regulus had been quite as excitable about his inevitable return to Hogwarts in the past. However, things had changed over the summer and now the sight of the steaming engine was merely cause for disdain.<br/><br/>Hogwarts. It only ever succeeded in holding one back.<br/><br/>He was a handsome boy who stood no higher than 5'9. There was a haughty confidence to the way he walked and carried himself, as though he simply knew that he was entitled to think himself better than the rest. Well, he bloody well was, wasn't he? Being born to the noble and most ancient house of Black, Regulus had been taught from an early age that he was cut from a certain cloth and as such, he had every right and reason to believe he was above people.<br/><br/>For the most part, Regulus had understood and acted accordingly but it was never a matter of wealth for him. It all came down to one's blood. There were the acceptable purebloods like him and then there were those who would never be deemed worthy of his attention. But worst of all, there were the blood traitors and sadly, there seemed to be a growing number of those within the family. These really were dark times.<br/><br/>"You're lucky, Severus. You have only a year to suffer through this."<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Severus:</strong></div><br/>Severus understood well enough what his companion meant by 'that smell'. It was the smell of familiarity and their youth being frittered away on unimportant things. While he understood that his fellow Slytherin was less than enthusiastic about having to return to those castle walls, he had to silently admit that Hogwarts was a bloody utopian paradise in comparison to his shabby dwellings in Spinner's End. Besides, his father nor his beatings could touch him at Hogwarts.<br/><br/>Thankfully, much of his summer had been spent well away from home. Risking a quick glance at the younger of the Black brothers, Severus felt a twinge of shameful gratitude for what seemed like the umpteenth time. For reasons he could only discuss in private with a certain crowd of people, he and Regulus had grown to be as close as two Slytherins could without it being regarded as foolish. At times, he could consider the younger boy a friend. Hell, he had spent enough of his summer with Regulus and aside from all that, they were both bound to something that went beyond Hogwarts. Times were changing and Severus meant to remain one step ahead. Thankfully, he had someone like Regulus to do that with.<br/><br/>It was the sight of Potter and his lot that ripped him away from his thoughts. He felt the familiar mixture and dread and hate so red and hot that it threatened to scorch his insides. Jaw clenched, Severus tried to ease some of the tenseness in his frame, hoping that Regulus wouldn't notice. It was a damned embarrassment to reveal just how unsettling it was to even have to see the little Gryffindor gits, especially when one of them was the older brother of his companion. At least Regulus shared in his hatred.<br/><br/>Either Regulus knew exactly how he felt and was doing him a favour by pointedly choosing to ignore them, or his mask of indifference was completely honest. Either way, Severus was grateful.<br/><br/>"Don't worry. I'm sure you've thought up plenty of ways to make the years<em>fly</em>by."<br/><br/>The two Slytherins shared significant looks and even Severus found himself smirking a bit. Now all he had to do was get past those unsufferable Gryffindors without being noticed.