Listening to Severus showed their age difference a lot more than any physical appearance. "I can't say that I can relate." And was he jealous? Of Severus? No, that wasn't right, because he couldn't care less about those three. He was jealous that Severus had a life he never had. "Gryffindors have a tendency of seeing what's in front of them and never thinking about what they can't see. On the other hand, they would never believe that Dumbledore was so ... sly to ask someone to kill him. A Slytherin would have known."
He raised an eyebrow. "Did he know? The man was terrible at potion, but he knew more than people assumed about magical things, whether they were spells or history, all the tidbits he got from dealing with the right people."
Regulus snorted. "What is there to understand? He craved power, no matter what he pretended to be. He used this school to exert that power and he used information to keep that power. He was too afraid to use that power out there, so he used it with children. No one will ever convince me that the man cared about anyone but his own power." He took a deep breath, trying to concentrate on more important things. "They are still there. When the hex started to affect more people, they closed their borders and let Britain rot. I suppose after two wars and an hex of their own creation they figured that they were better off. And to answer your question, the Ministry did it. It tried to find some way to increase the birth rate by mixing magic and Muggle science. Purebloods opposed it but they were outnumbered by the liberal wing of the ministry. Muggleborns and half-bloods finally killed us all. How ironic."