Blood Stones (Snarry)

Choosing A Name

Time seemed to move both faster and slower than it should. Harry spent most days sitting at the table, watching the map change, and staring out the closest window in admiration of the yet again changing seasons. The leaves which had only changed into beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow a few weeks ago had finally begun to fall from the colder weather, the pumpkins that they had laid out only days ago had begun to shrivel up. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had never thought much of decorating for holidays such as Halloween despite it being Dudley's favorite. Ron's family however, where he had often spent smaller holidays, and not to mention Hogwarts, made a point to nearly over decorate. He held his belly as he remembered the taste of the Halloween feast under the dim lights of floating jack-o-lanterns.

"When's the last time you had something to eat?" He heard Severus' velvet voice come up beside him.

Looking up, he observed that he was carrying a plate with a turkey sandwich, some fruit and nuts and a cup of jasmine tea. The room had begun to fill with people coming back from their hunt for the evening, the light from the windows had begun to dim and the map had progressed some since the last time he had looked at it. It had been nearly two weeks now since they had started and nearly half of the map had been explored, thanks to the very many volunteers.

"Likely at breakfast, the last time you made me something to eat." Severus looked sternly as he placed the plate in front of Harry who had suddenly realized the extent of his hunger.

He stared at the last moving bit of map. The map itself was sort of a dull orange color and it turned to a dark grey as each person progressed through it.

"What is that?" Severus asked as he stared down at it, noticing a small flash of red had begun to appear on the map.

"It looks like someone might have found something..." A crack could be heard just outside the door before it swung open, Meeko peering though, covered in dirt with an object in hand.

Severus took what appeared to be a rather large handful of mud into the kitchen and rinsed through it carefully until a black stone glinted back at him from his hand. As he brought it back into to the table where Harry was sitting, he noticed the absolute silence of the room and the grip Harry had around the stone which he wore. He approached Harry and picked up the stone from his neck and bringing the piece that was found in close; he could feel the pull that it had. Only after inspecting it carefully to be sure it wasn't yet the last piece, . The sensations that returned, as mundane as they seemed, made him feel more alive. He felt itchy, his hair begun to grow again, stubble begin to form... the only thing left to feel was his beating heart.

The stone was about the size of a golf ball, but jagged and oblong. It was black and shiny like glass with thin traces of gold marbled through it. It looked flawless all the way around except for a small, jagged hole in the center, no larger than the end of Severus' smallest finger.

"We must be close." Severus breathed finally, looking now at Harry's face which seemed just as relieved.

"Thank you Meeko." He managed to turn to face them for a moment and smile.

"Of course, sir."

"Please, have something to eat, rest, go home for the weekend. We can resume this next week." He said to the others.

Harry and Severus had not spent any time alone in the two weeks that they had spent looking for fragments aside from sleeping, which is all they seemed to be able to manage. The exhaustion alone was enough to keep them from one another, but the emotional toll was just as heavy. The crowd slowly trickled out, with Hermione being the last to leave, and for the first time in two weeks, their house was truly quiet. Severus waved his wand, and everything moved back to its place at once; dishes in the sink being washed, blankets folded on the chair, fire ablaze in the fireplace, floors being swept and mopped, everything dusted. The beds could be heard being made upstairs and the shower running.