Sirius saw how interested Anduin was and even gave him a copy of Applied Runes for Communication as a Christmas present. The book contained plenty of information on the technical aspects of setting up a Floo Network. After leafing through it, Anduin felt as if he'd struck gold. He had recently been studying Ancient Runes and runes, and the book offered plenty of material for him to put into practice and learn from.
"So this is Snape?" Anduin was leafing through one of Sirius's photo albums. One picture showed a group from Sirius's year. It didn't look like a graduation photo; it seemed more like they'd taken it together at some event.
"That's right. This was taken at Professor Slughorn's Slug Club. Look, this is Avery, this is Dolohov, and this one is Snape. Make sure you remember what they look like, in case you run into them someday." Sirius gave Anduin a detailed introduction to everyone in the photo.
But Snape was the one Anduin cared about most. He had a Potions textbook for upper-year students, signed "Half-Blood Prince." When he'd found the Sectumsempra spell in it, Anduin had been all but certain that the Half-Blood Prince was Snape. And judging by the notes in the book, Snape had to be exceptionally skilled at Potions.
Snape looked very young in the photo, with black hair a little longer than Anduin's current hairstyle. His eyes were melancholy, yet calm. It was hard to imagine what he looked like when he smiled.
The next day, it was time to attend the Christmas dinner. Anduin wore a pair of tailored, light-gray trousers and a French-style ink-black shirt, with a short-pile waistcoat in alternating silver and gray over it. A narrow tie striped in bright silver and black adorned his collar, and he