"Black. Stay a moment."
Rigel stopped mid-step, his expression unreadable, and turned toward Snape. The professor's dark eyes met his, sharp as blades under the dim dungeon light
"Follow me," Snape ordered, voice low and clipped.
Without a word, Rigel complied. The corridor was silent but for the faint echo of their footsteps on the cold stone floor. When they reached Snape's office, the professor pushed the door open with a flick of his wand and gestured for him to enter.
Once inside, the heavy door shut behind them with a muted thud. The air was thick with the scent of herbs, parchment, and something metallic, potion fumes still lingering. Snape moved to his desk, his black robes trailing behind him like a shadow, and sat down with deliberate calm. Then, with a subtle motion of his hand, he indicated one of the chairs in front of him.
Rigel sat with the same class his mother teached him in young age."What is it you wish to discuss, Professor?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side in curiosity.
Snape hesitated just a fraction. "It's personal. Your mother."
Rigel went still, his posture hardening as memories of his mother surfaced fragments of laughter, her gentle voice, the warmth of a distant home. Among those recollections, one image stood out: a man she used to speak of, a friend named Severus."So you were one of her closest friends," he murmured. "Along with Lily."
A faint shift pulled at Snape's expression, surprise, maybe something softer but it get veiled soon after.
"Yes," he said quietly. "How… how is she? It's been nearly a decade since I last heard from her."
Rigel's tone softened, a faint shadow of pain passing over his expression."She died when I was three," he said quietly with a little tremble in the voice. "So I suppose it's only natural you haven't heard from her since."
Something tightened in Snape's features pain, muted but visible the like he felt only another time in his life.
"…How?" he asked.
Rigel's tone dropped, controlled but edged with something darker underneath."Death Eaters. They held us for three months..... before killing her."
His expression flickered just a second before he forced it back into stone. Snape still noticed the way Rigel's hand curled around the side of the chair.
Snape's voice dropped into disbelief. "How did you survive?"
Rigel tilted his head slightly.They got careless. I was the last one alive, so they assumed I was harmless. When one of them tried to stab me, Mrs. Hiss bit him. I grabbed his knife and killed him. The others were drunk seemed they'd already celebrated. They didn't react until it was too late."
A thin, unsettling smile curved his lips. A quiet laugh followed cold, wrong, echoing faintly in the room's stillness."It taught me that filth exists with or without magic."
Snape, for his part, remained outwardly calm, his expression betraying nothing, while his mind carefully weighed each word.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "You have my condolences."
"There's no need," Rigel replied. "I know it wasn't easy for you either. And I've made peace with it."
Snape's voice softened almost human. "If you ever need assistance… so long as it doesn't harm Slytherin, you may ask."
Rigel nodded once. "Then I'll take my leave."
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"Yes, that's all. You may go now, Black."
The boy paused."Professor… when we're alone, or somewhere secure, you may call me Rigel."
For a heartbeat, I kept my expression still. Then I allowed the smallest nod."Then, when we are alone, you may call me Severus."
He left without another word, closing the door behind him with quiet finality.
Silence settled over the room.
Only then did the weight of the conversation truly press down."So… I'm really the last one still alive," I muttered, barely above a whisper.
A faint, humorless huff escaped me."Serana… I'll watch over your son. Someone has to."
My eyes drifted upward, as if she might be listening.
You could have told me, you foolish woman… that you were pregnant.And the father well, I have a suspicion.At least the boy didn't inherit your abysmal talent for potions.
The memory of her ceaseless questions, her terrible brewing attempts, all the wasted hours… pulled a dry, bitter laugh from my throat.
I told myself to return to my work.But my hands didn't move a thought lingered, unwelcome but persistent.A child of three who had killed. Deliberately. With frightening clarity.
Most wizards twice his age would have broken under the weight of such an act.The boy, instead, had folded the memory away with the quiet efficiency of someone who had learned far too early that no one would protect him.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, irritation prickling beneath the skin.
If Albus ever discovered the truth…He would try to help. Of course he would. The old man never stops trying.But he is not the mentor he once was age has dulled his instincts, blurred his judgement. He sees "children in need," not the reality standing in front of him.
And Rigel… Rigel is not a child Albus can handle.
The Headmaster would smother him with guidance, drown him in gentle words and well-meaning expectations and in doing so, push the boy exactly where he should not go.
No.This isn't something I can leave to an aging idealist, however kind his intentions may be.
If the boy needs control, I will teach him.If he needs restraint, I will enforce it.And if he needs someone who sees the darkness for what it is not a tragedy, not a moral lesson, but a fact then I am the only one remotely qualified.
A favour for Serana, perhaps.Or simply the knowledge that, for once, I can do something properly where others would inevitably stumble.
Either way… Albus doesn't need to know.
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Rigel returned to his room and asked,
The serpent slithered closer, holding the newspaper carefully in his mouth before handing it to him. Rigel unfolded it and began to read. The first article that caught his eye read:
Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had, in fact, been emptied earlier that same day.
"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.
Rigel let out a low, amused laugh. "And they dared to claim their security was superior to that of the Serpico. Let's see if they still call our precautions excessive after this."
Now, Tenebris, rest a bit. Tonight, we're going to explore the castle.>
But before he could say more, Etheline interjected,
Etheline let out a small sigh.
The day coiled in on itself, fading into shades of black and silver. The torches outside hissed as they dimmed, and the castle exhaled its nocturnal breath. Rigel rose from his chair, his shadow stretching across the floor like a serpent poised to strike.
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The corridors of Hogwarts lay in silence vast, ancient, breathing with the weight of centuries. Moonlight spilled through the tall windows, carving pale lines across the floor, while Rigel moved soundlessly, his steps deliberate, his enchanted vision allowing him to see with ease through the gloom.
Tenebris slid beside him a streak of living shadow, nearly invisible in the dark, the faint gleam of his eyes the only proof of his presence.
He paused by an archway. For a heartbeat, he looked less like the heir of two ancient lines and more like a boy chasing a bedtime story that had escaped into the night.
Rigel's smile was faint but certain.
The moment he spotted the carving, Rigel's eyes lit up with a spark far too pure for someone like him.
He stepped closer, running his fingers over the mark.
Tenebris tilted his head.
As the word open left his mouth, the outline of a doorway shimmered into existence, the stones sliding aside with a low hiss.
Behind the door stretched a narrow corridor, with a staircase straight ahead. Near the stairs, faint carvings marked the stone: I–II–III beside the downward path, and V–VI–VII near the one leading upward. It was clearly a secret passage connecting the castle's floors hidden, efficient, and forgotten by time.
The wall shifted again, revealing the passage's exit. Rigel stepped out into he dim hall and turned a corner when...Bang!...He collided headlong with someone.
Behind him, Tenebris let out a hiss dripping with sarcasm.
The boy Rigel had bumped into stumbled back a few steps, whispering sharply over his shoulder,"Fred! You said there wasn't anybody here!"
From the side, another boy identical to the first appeared out of the shadows."George, I swear on Merlin's beard, there wasn't anybody before!"
Meanwhile, Rigel muttered to Ten,
Then he turned toward the twins and said calmly, "If you two didn't see me, I didn't see you," offering his hand in an oddly formal gesture.
One of the twins grinned. "Now, now what's all the rush?"
The other chimed in, a playful smirk curling his lips. "It's not every night we bump into a Slytherin first-year. So… what are you doing out of bed?"
Rigel arched a brow, the faintest trace of amusement flickering in his eyes. "That depends. Are we pretending this didn't happen, or are you going to run to a prefect?"
The one named Fred laughed under his breath. "Run to a prefect? Us? Please, that'd ruin our image as the school pranksters."
George nodded. "Exactly. Besides, you've got style, kid. Most Slytherins would've started hissing threats by now and most first-years wouldn't even dare to be out this late."
Rigel's smirk deepened. "Hissing? It's more like barking, really. More than half the house is pathetic, in my opinion."
For a moment, the twins exchanged a look that was half impressed, half entertained...and another half confused.
"Merlin's socks, you're dramatic," Fred said, grinning. "We like you already."
Rigel tilted his head slightly. "Good. Then you won't mention seeing me tonight."
George gave a mock salute. "Not a word, little snake. Our lips are sealed."
Fred added with a wink, "Though, if you ever need to sneak around again… we might be persuaded to share a few routes."
Rigel chuckled quietly. "Duly noted."
Then George said, before disappearing with his brother, "If you're looking for a midnight snack, the kitchens are near the Hufflepuff common room entrance, down in the basement just under the Great Hall."
Tenebris hissed softly behind him, sounding almost amused.
And so ended Rigel's first nighttime adventure.
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