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After dropping him off at Gringotts with a summons to their underground office, Severus began his research of any Prince Properties to live in temporarily. Looking through it and his vaults, he deposited a bit to buy new robes and accepted the Portkey before letting it take him away.
He smiled at the building in front of him. The Prince cottage was the smallest and most unknown among the bunch on the list. It was made sturdy against any kind of blizzards and warded with a small number of Blood Wards. He read the analyzation of the wards and ignored any lost bypassers as he recalibrated them to his own needs. He added anti-apparation, anti-floo entry, anti-owls (except those with Goblin magic) and sound proof. He also conducted the ward he created for his mastery he completed a month ago and made it seem ugly to outsiders. 'There we go...' Setting his own Magical Signature into the wards, he entered the front gate and was greeted with two house-elves.
"Hello, new Master," the female one squeaked with her floppy ears bouncing in joy. "I am Sprinkly and this is Randolf! We serve you, young master!"
"Nice to meet you two," responded the boy, secretly having a soft spot for magical creatures. "I'm Severus Prince. Can you give me a tour? I don't know much about this place..."
"Of course, Master Prince!" Sprinkly chirped while beginning the journey through the rooms and areas. The insides were pretty nice and kept clean. His grandfather, the former Lord Prince, died a month prior so it was still maintained by the time he died. There was a large living room with an active hearth for Floo Travel and a contract to reconnect the place with the Ministry's system was set on the coffee table. Besides that, there was a kitchen for the elves and a connecting mini bedroom.
The best place beside the blue and silver master bedroom was the library which was filled to the brim with knowledge Hogwarts didn't supply in decades. Severus' eyes sparkled in interest but he held back his need to indulge in those parchments and turned to check the rest. After taking into consideration the size, emptiness and other things, he concluded something crucial...
The place was too empty...
Sure he wasn't someone who cared for people to distract him. But to own a huge house for himself with only two house-elves made it seem too lonely. At first, he shrugged the thought away and tried to settle in. But he woke up the following midnight shivering in fear while his ears strained to hear anything. He had lived with Tobias' loud snores to make such a quiet space unsettling and he sighed.
'Seems like I'll need to find a housemate...'
The following day was spent advertising his open house with special conditions such as self-care, non-threatening the house elves, not being excessively noisy and wouldn't drag others into his place. Many hated his rules since they depended sacredly on the magical creatures while others preferred loud areas and making a scene. When he did get an application, Severus managed to catch their hidden intentions with his swift Legilimency and showed them out before turning to the next application.
Eventually, he was to meet the fifth person who owl mailed him to meet up at the Leaky Cauldron and he sat at a table while eyeing his Potion Journal to kill time. The sound of the door opening made him glance every now and then but eventually, he got bored of waiting and turned his full attention onto his book.
Unknowing to him, soon, his client would enter and sit across him silently while eyeing the former Slytherin. It was silent as the only sound surrounding them was his quill scratches until the visitor rapped his knuckle on the table to get Severus' attention and he raised his onyx eyes.
The taller teen in front of him was about rather thin and had a sharp jawline and brown messy hair which seemed to curl at the tips. He held a satchel over his shoulder which he held on his lap while his obsidian eyes met Severus' onyx pair. He had an amused look in his eyes but didn't display his emotions on his expression. His familiar facial points made things snap into place.
"Rabastan Lestrange?" Frowned the elder to see his junior among one of his applications. "I'm pretty sure the Lestrange Manor is still open for you unless you were recently disowned..."
"It's nice to meet you too, Senior Snape," greeted the younger man while nodding curtly. "Or, should I call you Senior Prince now?"
"Doesn't matter," Severus waved it off dismissively before turning back to the main topic. "That's not important. What are you doing here? Did your sister send you as a prank?"
This brought a small smile onto his thin lips as he whispered, "I can assure you, Bella isn't a prankster unlike my brother and I..." After his eyes trailed up Severus' body, making him shudder, his eyes narrowed. "Your place still open for a housemate? I need a place for a year or so... Then, I'm kicking off to France till the war is up!"
It surprised Severus that one of the Lestrange brothers would want to leave Britain. The Lestranges were infamous for their strength in dueling Dark Magic so he wouldn't be surprised if they joined the Dark Lord. But here they were, sitting across each other, a Prince and a Lestrange to be roommates...
And for once, the idea wasn't so bad...
"Welcome to the Prince Cottage!" Announced Severus while opening the door while the elves lined up to greet their new master. He had already entered him into the wards system to keep him in. "The elves will be at your command, though I hope you won't abuse them. You clean up your own mess but you can keep away from the kitchen if you want. The living room is open to all but the floo won't be connected so you need to learn Apparating during your last year in Hogwarts... And finally..." He led him upstairs after having Randolf send his items to the guest room.
Opening the large doors, Severus smirked as he heard Rabastan gasp insight of the rows and rows of books. "The Prince Library. Do be careful to watch against those warded but you may read anything as long as you keep them in good conditions!"
"Of course," hissed the brunette while running a finger over the spines of old books. "Merlin's beard, the Prince Library is amazing..."
"You do know the Prince line owns a fucking castle, so the library there must be ten times the size," Severus chuckled at the gawking look from his junior. "I'll consider bringing you along for the house check later..."
"Thanks," Rabastan muttered before touching his pockets. "So... rent?"
Severus calculated the monthly payments for the land, wardings and house elves. But at the same time, House Elves preferred to be rewarded with things, not money, while the wardings were Severus' own work. He didn't realize he was mumbling it all out loud rather than in his mind and Rabastan gawked at his words.
"Wait, you warded this entire cottage yourself?" Gasped the younger student while taking in the house's size. "But... Hogwarts doesn't have the course? How did you... But warding can only be legal if you passed your NEWTS in the course so there's no way..."
"I self-studied and earned an O in my NEWTS for Warding," Severus awkwardly admitted while scratching his nape. "I mean, warding is a fascinating subject and I'm surprised Hogwarts didn't teach it. So, I studied it on my own and gained a Mastery in Warding, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy by proving it during the field test. I warded an entire room with Blood wards recreated with my own usage of spells and arithmetical calculations in addition to the strengthening and invisibility rune to recreate a mirage. It's sorta like the Wards surrounding Hogwarts to make Muggles see a restricted area..."
Rabastan's jaw had dropped at the explanation before he spluttered in shock, "B-But... T-That's Lady magic's own p-p-p-power! S-She's the one to make Muggles see that mirage! You recreated a spell on your own at the age of eighteen for a Mastery in warding?"
"At the age of seventeen I created the wards but I've been unconsciously been using it since I joined Hogwarts," replied Severus nervously while trying not to meet his juniors awe look. "Apparently, I hated the attention so I wore one to keep away others..."
"You're wearing glamors?"
"Wards, not glamors," Severus nodded while proving it by taking it off for a split second, revealing his beautiful clean black locks, his adorable button nose and slim slender limbs. He looked like a princess rather than a prince for a split second which brought a blush onto the Lestranges face but Severus didn't notice as he resupplied the wards. "Glamors can be easily spotted but wards need more magic. I was rather desperate and I got used to my exhaustion."
When he finally snapped out of his stupor, Rabastan had trapped Severus between his arms and stared into those onyx eyes before whispering, "Marry me..."
And he received a kick in his nuts...
"Warding is an interesting way," muttered Polaris while walking side by side with his student. "So tell me, Severus... How is your roommate?"
"Still can't feel his nuts right now..." Severus casually stated while sipping on his icy cool orange juice during practice.
"That's my boy..."