A Bond for the Ages

Chapter 43

Severus sighed and let his eyes close ever so briefly as his tea worked its way through his body, warming him and easing, however minutely, the tension and headache he'd been unable to rid himself of for days, nearly a week. He opened his eyes and looked to the empty chairs on his right, only two of the main sources of his stress. He frowned slightly at his friends' absences. He hadn't seen or heard from Leif since Friday nearly six days ago and he hadn't seen Alexei since the previous evening when they finally told Draco about the new arrangements for him. Suffice to say, Draco had not been overly enthused at, not only being moved out of the Slytherin dorms despite the danger he faced there, but also at being confined to Severus' rooms unless he had someone with him. Just another thing to add to his list of stressors, a resentful teenager he was just trying to keep safe.

He sighed again, taking another sip of tea as he glanced out at Harry, finding the Gryffindor sitting near Granger and Weasley, but at a small distance. He could see the looks they kept sending Harry and the tightness in Harry's face as he poked at his dinner. Severus didn't know what was happening between the three, but it was clearly upsetting Harry, something the child did not need as he healed, worried about Draco despite being told Draco would be fine, and dealt with the nightmares he still couldn't remember.

His attention was pulled from the Gryffindor by minor commotion down the table. Siguard had skidded his chair backwards while reading a scroll and jumped to his feet. Severus frowned in curious confusion as Siguard hurried over to Dumbledore, saying something in the headmaster's ear. Dumbledore's face tightened as he nodded at Siguard. As Siguard rushed through the staff entrance, Dumbledore turned to Severus who frowned deeper at the glint in the blue eyes that was decidedly not the usual sparkle. This was something harder. The look made Severus uneasy and, as Dumbledore also disappeared through the staff entrance, left him with a strong need to check on Harry and Draco.

He looked back out at the Hall. Harry was still at Gryffindor table, but was now engaged in conversation with the Weasley twins and Lovegood who had joined him. He moved his gaze to Slytherin table, noting the absences, one of which was not expected. Four were those who had attacked Draco and subsequently vanished from Hogwarts, presumably running back to their parents. One was Draco, still in the infirmary though he would finally be released to Severus on Friday in two days. The curious absence was that of Blaise Zabini, particularly as his usual group of friends were there; they weren't often apart.

Making a decision and needing to go to his House anyway, he finished off his tea and left the Great Hall with one last glance at Harry. He headed down to the dungeons, winding through until he found the door with the snakes carved into it and the stone snake that made an archway over it. He pressed his palm to the amaryllis carved near a snake tail—the way for him as Head of Slytherin to enter without having to worry about passwords—and pushed into the common room. It was mostly empty, the majority of his House at dinner. There were a couple of seventh years in a far corner and a handful of third years spread around a large table that was covered in notebooks, parchments, and textbooks. No one of concern to see or hear them, so he made his way to the lone figure sitting on a sofa near the fireplace, gazing into the blazing flames. He sat on the sofa opposite from Blaise, crossing his legs and eyes dancing over the boy.

Blaise had been released from the infirmary that morning, the serious nature of his skull fracture finally taken care of. It had been quite the head injury along with a cracked cheekbone and orbital socket. The boy's left eye was still blackened and scabbed-over cuts still sat on his cheek and lip, Blaise apparently having refused treatment for them.

"I'm sorry," Blaise said quietly, surprising Severus.

"What for, Mr. Zabini?" Severus asked and sad brown eyes turned to him.