Neither of Them Was a Good Person

Lily picked up the stack of books again, but after hesitating, she set them down. "Actually, I'm looking for material for a Potions Essay.

Professor Slughorn assigned a review on the principles behind Moonstone's role in Calming Draughts and requires at least three citations from primary literature."

She looked troubledly at the pile of books. "But I don't know how to organize it. These sources all say roughly the same thing, but not exactly."

Regulus glanced at her. Knowing that little wizards had never received any relevant writing training, he asked, "How do you usually write essays?"

"I just... copy what's in the books and add my own understanding?" Lily said uncertainly.

Regulus sat down at the table and gestured for Lily to sit with him.

"There's a systematic method of academic writing used in Muggle Universities—"

At the words "Muggle University," Lily's eyes immediately lit up.

Regulus continued, "First, don't start writing right away. Go through all your sources first, note down every useful point, and mark where it came from."

Lily blinked and listened intently.

Regulus pulled a blank sheet of Parchment from his notebook and tore it into several small strips. "For example: the moonlight magic of Moonstone can neutralize the lingering agitated magic of Nightmare Grass; see page 147 of Moonlight and Potions."

He wrote "Literature 1" in the corner of the slip.

"That way, you have one independent piece of information. Once you've gathered enough sources, start categorizing them—which ones discuss properties, which discuss preparation, and which discuss side effects."

Lily's eyes widened. "And then?"

"Then find the connections between those viewpoints." Regulus tapped lightly with his Wand, and several strips of Parchment floated into the air.

"For example, you might find that Book A says Moonstone should be ground into powder, Book B says it should be sliced, and Book C says it should be soaked whole.

"At that point, you need to think: why are there differences? Are the formulas different? Do the authors belong to different schools of thought? Or did they study Moonstone from different places of origin?"

He arranged and rearranged the slips in the air. "Once you find the reasons behind the differences, you can write an essay with depth.

"Finally, use your own logic to connect all these fragments: 'Taking factor X into account, A's view is more suitable for situation Y, while B's method is superior under condition Z. Therefore, the overall recommendation is...'"

Lily was completely absorbed. She took out her own Parchment and Quill and quickly wrote down the steps.

"Review, research sources, categorize, find connections, build the logic... This is so useful! Can I tell other people? My friends are worrying over their essays too!"

Regulus nodded. "You can, but don't say I taught you."

Lily paused her writing and looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"Because I'm a Slytherin, and you're a Gryffindor," Regulus said calmly.

"Some boundaries don't need to be deliberately crossed, nor is there any need to provoke them. If your friends ask, say you saw the method in a Muggle Library."

For a Slytherin to teach Muggle methods was taboo in pure-blood circles, especially in the current climate.

But he believed Lily would keep the secret. She understood the importance of boundaries.

At the same time, it was a test—whether she could keep a promise.

That was important.

After thinking for a moment, Lily understood what Regulus meant. As a pure-blood Slytherin, he should not be the one to discover, propose, use, or even share methods from Muggles.

Even if they really were helpful—to everyone.

Lily nodded firmly. "I understand. Thank you, Black."

"You're welcome."

Lily packed up her things and prepared to leave. When she reached the end of the bookshelves, she turned back. "You know? If you were in Gryffindor, we might have become very good friends."

Regulus looked up at Lily's serious expression.

His voice was very soft. "Friends aren't divided by House, Miss Evans."

Lily smiled, and that smile was as bright as a ray of sunlight breaking through dark clouds.

"Then... goodbye, Regulus."

"Goodbye, Lily."

The red-haired girl vanished between the bookshelves, while Regulus remained seated in his wooden chair. He knew someone would come.

Five minutes later, a cold voice came from the shadows of the shelves. "Stay away from her."

Severus Snape stepped out from the darkness between two rows of bookshelves, his black robes nearly blending into the shadows.

His face was even paler than usual, his lips pressed into a thin line, and some suppressed fury churned in his black eyes.

Regulus stopped what he was doing and looked at him calmly. "Snape, is there something you need?"

"I said, stay away from Lily." Snape's voice was low and urgent, like a snake hissing. "I can see your tricks clearly. Pretending to be gentle, pretending to be different—it's all just to gain her trust, and then—"

"And then what?" Regulus cut him off. "Use her? Hurt her?"

Snape took a step forward, his fingers pressing against his cuff as he spoke fiercely. "You think you're better than those people? You think I don't know what you're planning?"

Regulus let out a faint sigh. "Snape, you were watching from over there the whole time, weren't you? Watching Lily talk to me, watching her smile, watching her leave, and then coming out to warn me."

He looked directly at him. "Do you think that's protecting her? Or can you simply not stand seeing her show kindness to anyone other than you?"

Snape's expression abruptly darkened. "You—"

"Let me finish." Regulus raised a hand, the gesture slight. "You're angry not because I might hurt Lily. You know perfectly well I wouldn't—at least, not now.

It's only because Lily took the initiative to talk to me, because she smiled at me, because she seemed... willing to trust a Slytherin other than you?"

He leaned back. "And you want to be the only wizard she trusts, right? The special one, the different one, the one who understands everything about her."

Snape's breathing grew heavy, his fingers trembling slightly.

Clearly, Regulus had hit the mark.

Regulus shook his head, his tone turning cold. "Today, she can talk to me. Tomorrow, she might even do a Potion experiment with James Potter."

At the mention of Potter's name, Snape's pupils abruptly constricted, his fingers nearly hooking around the handle of his Wand.

"See?" Regulus said. "Just hearing his name is enough to make you lose control."

"A word of advice, Snape. If you truly care about Lily, don't try to control who she befriends or who she talks to. That will only push her further away.

"You should make her choose to stay by your side willingly, not because you've driven away every rival."

Snape stood there, his body tense beneath his black robe. Several seconds passed before he spoke. "What do you know... How could a Pure-blood Young Master like you possibly understand—"

"I understand more than you think." Regulus cut him off again, staring directly into Snape's eyes. "I understand the arrogance of Pureblood families, the struggles of Half-blood wizards, and the isolation of those born to Muggles.

"But none of that is a reason for you to act this way."

He rose to his feet and walked straight past Snape. "Warning me?"

He said no more, picked up Astral Meditation, and headed toward Madam Pince's desk, leaving Snape standing alone in the Shadows between the bookshelves.

Regulus thought to himself that Snape was a contradiction. His talent was astonishing, yet he was trapped by inferiority and possessiveness. He craved power and pursued darkness.

In the original story, he did not truly awaken until he lost Lily, but by then, there was no turning back.

He might not take today's words to heart. If he was smart enough, he would begin to reflect. If he was not... at least he now knew that I am not his enemy.

Interestingly, his obsession with Lily was precisely his greatest weakness. Voldemort would exploit it in the future, and so would Dumbledore.

Perhaps when everyone else was exploiting his paranoia, the one person who did not might gain something unexpected instead.

And speaking of Snape, one could not leave out James Potter.

In Regulus's eyes, Lily's canon love interest was the truly insignificant supporting character.

A school bully, merely because he later saw the light and joined the side of justice, could be praised as a hero?

Could he then rightfully gain love, friendship, family, and posthumous honors?

This world was truly ironic at times. The line between good and evil, between the righteous and the villainous, often depended only on which side you stood on in the end, rather than what you had done before.

Snape was no good person, but Potter was even less so. From a certain perspective, Potter was even worse.

Regulus quickly reined in his thoughts. Since this world accepted prodigals returning to the right path, there was no need for him to dwell on it.

Madam Pince inspected the book. "Astral Meditation. An obscure book. The borrowing period is two weeks."

"That's enough." Regulus signed his name.

When he left the Library, torches had already been lit along the Castle's Corridors, their flickering light casting long Shadows across the stone walls.