the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 56 - Chess Pieces

Half an hour later, Severus found himself back out in the corridor, waiting beside Harry while Lupin and Dumbledore dealt with the last of the legal issues and reclaimed Lupin's wand from the Aurors. After the case had been dismissed, they'd all been swarmed by people wanting to ask questions. Severus in particular had been swamped by questions from the other Potion Masters; he'd answered as best he could while still trying to keep close tabs on Harry. He was worried that if he looked away for a moment Harry would disappear into the crowd. Certainly he wouldn't put it past Fudge to whisk the boy away from him.

He'd detailed the potion in the scroll he'd given Master Dorester, though he'd been purposely vague about his source material. They had all agreed that they did not want Voldemort to find out that they had Slytherin's journals. As such, Severus claimed only that the potion instructions had come from 'an ancient source', which he pointedly refused to name. The full story would have to wait for a more peaceful time to come out.

Eventually Severus had managed to usher Harry back into the corridor. They'd watched as the group of Potion Masters headed off down the hallway toward the now empty exit. But the moment they had moved through the golden Press Ward that was still in effect, reporters, who'd been lying in wait around the corner, had descended upon them.

Watching the reporters now, Severus did not relish wading through them once again. Once had been enough. Their questions had alarmed him - particularly the ones about the Pharaoh and the Shelong brothers of China. He suspected that some of those marriage proposals Albus had mentioned had come from them.

While he had never met Pharaoh Nitocris, he had seen pictures of her. She was young yet, only fifteen years old, but still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. The Pharaonic Dynasties of Egypt had long ago stopped in-breeding amongst close family members and had instead begun searching the world for suitable mates, picking either magically powerful Wizards or Witches, or those with non-human lineages. Supposedly Nitocris had not only Veela blood in her veins, but also Kitsune blood from Asia. That she would be looking to Harry Potter as a future bond mate did not surprise Severus at all. He was equally certain that he did not want Harry to ever meet the girl.

As for the Shelong brothers - he knew only stories about them. But they too were supposedly extremely handsome - their bloodline boasted Imperial Dragon in their ancestry. While he did not know if those claims were true, he did know that both young men were highly sought after by royalty the world over. If he had his way, Harry would not be meeting them either.

He watched as the Potion Guild members spoke with the press at the far end of the hallway. Unlike him, they were not reluctant to talk - no doubt word of the Lycanthropy cure as well as the full transcripts from Remus' trial would be in tomorrow's paper. Severus had already prepared a press release about his potion, which he'd given to Shaklebolt to hand over to the reporters later.

His eyes rested briefly on Andre Serrent who was speaking with a report from the Daily Prophet. A vague sense of unease stirred within him. He had not expected to run into him today - he had not seen the man since the Potion Conference last summer. Their brief association had been pleasant; while the man was handsome, Severus had been far more attracted to his sharp mind. And certainly it had not been Severus' looks that had attracted Andre either. As far as he knew they had parted amicably. But there had been something challenging in Andre's eyes as he'd looked at Harry earlier, which surprised Severus. It had not escaped his notice that Harry had sensed something as well.

Staring now at Andre and the reporters, he couldn't help but wonder if the man would hint at a relationship between them. That would be highly unfortunate - especially in light of the questions the press had been asking about Harry. The idea that anyone questioned the validity of their marriage disturbed him deeply - even a hint of a scandal on his part might bring them both under closer scrutiny.