It is. Sometimes. Without politics he would still hate me and I would probably still hate him. But he can't say he hates me because I was poor, and ugly, and got better marks than him, and was a convenient outlet for his violent tendencies before I learned how to defend myself. He has to say 'I hate Severus because he's probably actually evil'.

[ This is a lot. At once. And it is very personal. Severus says it all completely evenly, almost detached. ]

You know I'm going to ask about Erik now.

[ Because fuck. He drains his beer. ]