the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 64 - The Rest of the World

A knock at the door drew Severus' attention away from the front page of the paper. He wasn't really ready to face the rest of the world - he felt raw inside, and strangely vulnerable. And if he were honest with himself, he didn't want Harry to face the rest of the world either - far better to remain locked up in their quarters where nothing could touch them.

The knock sounded again, and Severus sighed - ready or not, the rest of the world was not going to go away. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the room and opened the door. Sirius and Remus were waiting in the hall, and he motioned them inside quickly before closing the portrait door once more.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius asked immediately.

"Shower," Severus answered. Remus, he noticed, was clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands.

"Albus should be down in a few minutes," Remus informed him as they all moved to sit in front of the fire. "He's gathering some of the international papers, and I think he wanted to find out what was going on with the Ministry."

Sirius glanced toward the closed bedroom door, his eyes filled with concern. "How is he?" he asked, and Severus didn't have to ask who he meant.

Unfortunately Severus also didn't really have a good response. He just shrugged somewhat helplessly. "Confused, but managing. Just like always." Harry always seemed to pull through these things no matter what happened - he shouldered burdens no one else would, and seemed to accept them as his due.

"Why weren't you there last night?" Sirius asked then, catching Severus off guard. He stared at the man in shock, wondering how he could have known...and then it hit him. Black had been Called. Of course, Black had been Called - and he had been able to go, unlike Severus.

Seeing the look of shock on Severus' face, Sirius just shrugged. "You and I have hexed each other enough to know exactly how strong the other is. If I was Called, you were Called."

"The Dark Mark," Severus replied bitterly. "It prevented me from answering the Call. The Dark Lord holds my place, and my power." There was no point in sugar-coating the truth. Black and the others would need to know where things stood.

For a long moment Sirius just stared hard at him, and then a look of realization washed over his face. "All those empty places," he hissed. "They weren't empty. They were all Death Eaters. I had wondered why Lucius Malfoy and my cousin Bellatrix were not there."

"How many?" Remus asked. "How many of the places were empty?"

"Nearly half," Sirius replied, and Severus found himself paling at the realization. Half! Half of the most powerful Wizards and Witches in the world had taken the Dark Mark.

"Merlin!" Remus exclaimed. "And that's what we are up against? That's what Harry is up against?"

"Did you know?" Sirius asked Severus accusingly.

Severus glared at him. "Of course I didn't know!" he protested. "None of us did! Do you think any of us would have taken the Mark if we'd known? Can you imagine Lucius Malfoy giving up such a position? And the last thing I ever wanted to do was aid Voldemort."

"Then there's bound to be a whole lot of angry people out there today," Black replied.

"I don't think the Dark Lord cares," Severus replied. "If he's gotten to the point where he's summoning elder demons, he's not even remotely sane any more."

The fire flared suddenly and a moment later Dumbledore flooed through - stepping out of the fireplace with a stack of newspapers in his hands. The old man looked tired, and Severus couldn't help but wonder how much sleep he might have gotten the night before. He greeted them all and then held out his tin of potion-laced lemon drops in offering. All three of them declined.