the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 75 - Brave New World

Remus handed Severus an evening edition of the newspaper as he'd sat down to eat in the Great Hall. As Severus glanced through it, he kept a close eye on the door, waiting for Harry to enter. He couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the boy's day had gone.

Beside him, Sirius, Remus and Charlie were discussing the ramifications of Lucius Malfoy's sudden rise to power in the Wizengamot; Draco, seated next to Pansy at the Slytherin table, was watching the three of them intently. Judging by the look on Draco's face, it was all the Slytherin could do not join them at the Head Table to hear what they were discussing. Draco had his own paper in front of him and was glancing at it frequently, no doubt dissecting every word of every story that even mentioned his father.

Severus noted the many looks the boy was garnering from the rest of Slytherin House. Draco's marriage to Charlie had unsettled them. While Draco had done a remarkable job playing off the incident as some sort of power play - though how he had managed that Severus didn't know - it still had left many of the Slytherins confused about where things stood. Draco's sudden alliance with the Weasleys and now Harry Potter, brought so clearly to light when he'd stood with them on the Quidditch Pitch and faced down the Elder Demon, had just confused things even more. They were no longer certain how their social order stood.

He saw Harry enter a moment later with Ron and Hermione flanking him; the three of them joined their year mates at Gryffindor table. Briefly Harry glanced toward him, and Severus was rewarded with a tell-tale flush to the young man's face. He smirked in amusement, guessing at the reason for the flush. He wondered if Harry was looking forward to their date. Friday night suddenly seemed like a long way off. He mentally began planning what he would need to do before then - wooing a Gryffindor was bound to be challenging.

He watched closely as Harry started in on his dinner, while around him the other Gryffindors were avidly reading the paper. Severus knew that Harry had missed breakfast, and had barely eaten anything at lunch. He was bound to be hungry. Remembering Madam Pomfrey's words about Harry's health, he was pleased to see such a healthy appetite. Harry had been using far too much magic to allow his appetite to wane.

And then Hermione Granger reached across the table and pulled Harry's plate away from him, slapping down the paper in front of him instead. Severus' eyes narrowed in irritation - didn't the girl know that Harry needed to eat? After all the things that had happened to him lately, he needed to keep his strength up to counteract the strain he was putting his body through. Severus resisted the urge to storm over there and give the girl a piece of his mind.

There seemed to be a heated discussion going on at the table, and Severus contemplated drawing his wand and casting a listening charm. He could guess however what they were talking about - none of them were pleased with Harry's decision to give Lucius Malfoy the seats on the Wizengamot. He wondered if any of those children really understood what sort of responsibility the world had placed on Harry's shoulders - and if they had any understanding at all of how difficult all this must be for the young man.

And then he'd felt a strange burning in his arm - different from the summoning pain he felt in the Dark Mark when Voldemort was calling to his followers. He frowned, touching the coils of silver beneath the sleeve of his robe. Lupin noticed the movement and turned toward him.

"Is everything alright, Severus?" he asked in concern.

Severus scowled - the burning was growing sharper, hotter. But a sudden disturbance at Gryffindor table caught everyone's attention. Severus looked up just in time to see Harry stumbling away from the table.

"That's it? That's the secret!" the young Gryffindor exclaimed in shock - everyone in the room heard the horror in his voice. As one, the teachers stood, all of them instinctively understanding that something was wrong - very wrong.