"I make a terrible friend. I got the last one killed," Severus responded blandly, turning a corner and looking over his shoulder a second to be sure he hadn't lost Alecto, though she kept up just fine. "I'm not very used to... girls. So, if I come off callous, understand that it's not you but your gender."
He hoped it helped, though he rarely behaved or felt any better around other men so it was practically a lie anyhow. He was just thorny. It couldn't be helped, he was used to being spat on and tortured and found that in being a nasty, spiteful little beast that he fared considerably better. Maybe he'd rather be feared than respected.
"We're here," he said, suddenly stopping dead in his tracks in front of a dirty, noisy little bar to open the door for Alecto, not unaware of a few social niceties, "Why, pray tell, did you brother keep you from being around me?"