Lucius snorted, though he considered his grievances quite serious, he was in a far better mood now that he had someone to complain to. "Oh, yes," he clapped the dark-haired boy on the back and began to walk down the alley. "First off, it's becoming abundantly clear that that Borgin fellow simply likes to waste my time more often than not. I mean, honestly, you'd think he would only owl me to look at artifacts when they are sufficiently rare, not something any child could find laying around while playing in their parent's root cellar," Lucius shook his head.
"And then, it seems Flourish and Blotts has some new staff. At least one new man, anyway, and he was absolutely dreadful to talk to. Knew nothing at all about the products, and was quite sheepish. Not exactly the qualities you'd think such an establishment would look for in a new hiree. Not that it matters, really, I wasn't set on making a purchase from there today," he exhaled sharply after all the words spilled from his mouth.
"So, how have you been? You're nearly as tall as me these days!" he waved a hand over Severus' in a mockery of measuring him. "I remember when you used to be close to a head shorter."