Regulus knew that voice, his head snapped up so fast. And for a fleeting second, a flash of fear crossed his eyes before he schooled his features into stillness.
He'd liked Severus at school, found the older boy fascinating. They had a common enemy - Regulus' brother. And Regulus was just enough of a brat that he'd occasionally try to touch Severus' potions ingredients.
And then after school...
They'd both been capable of unimaginable cruelty. Regulus' enthusiasm for the perfect Death Eater part was feigned - an affliction of his own making. But he could only assume Severus was a true believer, a faithful follower of the Dark Lord.
Severus looked older than he'd remembered. He did always strike Regulus as a survivor.
Regulus thought of a thousand different ways of playing this in the fleeting seconds after Severus made himself known. Regulus chose a path.
He looked down at the book, and when he did look back up, his face was a bit more open, brighter, something more of what he looked like at school, before he'd joined the Death Eaters and had lost the light behind his eyes.
"We cannot leave, and the majority of souls we're trapped with here are from the Americas. It seemed prudent to try to understand them. Anything to find a way to make this more endurable." None of it was a lie. Regulus was trying to understand people more, he just left off the end purpose of his endeavors.
"When did you arrive?" Regulus asked. He really needed to go down at look at that guest registry in the lobby.