Chapter 6
It was the first official meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. The only member who couldn't be present was Albus' other Death Eater spy, but as nobody knew he had two spies, that was understandable.
He gazed around the drawing room proudly. Minerva was deep in conversation with Rubeus and Augusta Longbottom; Mundungus was in the corner, watching the group with a frown; Alastor, Kingsley, and Tonks were at the entrance to the drawing room, keeping an eye on the thief; Sturgis Podmore was beside the thief, half-asleep; Dedalus Diggle and Arabella Figg were in another corner, the Squib looking awkward and Dedalus looking excited; and the rest of the members that hadn't been in the Order in the first war were in the center of the drawing room, chatting. Severus had yet to arrive, but as it was Harrison and Harley's birthday, he was willing to wait.
Albus shot a few sparks into the air, and the noise tapered off. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," he said gravely. "I called this meeting because of a matter of great importance; Lord Voldemort has returned."
Half the room gasped, screeched or yelped at the name. "Are you sure?" Emmaline Vance rasped worriedly, looking incredibly pale.
Albus nodded grimly. "Severus, my spy, confirmed it. He returned on the Spring Equinox, at around five o'clock in the afternoon. The only reason I waited this long to call a meeting was because half of our original members had either disappeared or been killed, or, like the Longbottoms-" Augusta looked pained "-been cursed into insanity. We needed more followers if we ever want to defeat Voldemort."
More gasps and yelps. Kingsley looked mildly irritated at the repeated use of Voldemort's name.
"Where is Snape?" Alastor asked suspiciously.
"He's with his godson, Harrison Potter-Black; he'll be here later," Albus explained.
"I thought the Malfoy boy was his godson," Sturgis sneered.
"Yes, that is true," Albus agreed. "Severus has never judged a child for their parents' actions-" which was annoying, he'd needed Severus to treat the boys like James Potter had treated the dour man "-and neither will I. Draco Malfoy is thirteen years old, and I doubt Lucius has introduced his master to his son yet. Half because Voldemort wouldn't employ a weak, unintelligent child, and half because his wife would probably murder him," he added wryly.
Tonks barked a laugh. "My mum did say her sister was almost as scary as Aunt Bella when it came to protecting kids, but especially 'Little Dragon.'"
Alastor scoffed quietly, and half of the new recruits looked skeptical.
"I am hoping that, the more time young Draco spends with the Potter-Black twins, he'll be more open to joining us, rather than Voldemort," Albus said calmly, although he doubted that very much. "We don't have much time for this meeting, so, let's begin."
The Aurors -- Kingsley, Alastor, Tonks, and a new recruit, Barrington Abbott -- were told to keep an eye out for signs that Voldemort was recruiting; the Solicitors, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and Michael MacMillian, were asked to go over past trials and make a list of Death Eaters, Imperiused or not; Mundungus gave a report of suspicious activity that could possibly do with the Death Eaters, which wasn't much; Dedalus Diggle and Vivian Brown, who worked in the Ministry, were to keep an eye on those they already knew were Death Eaters; and Arabella Figg was asked to continue keeping an eye on the Dursleys, since Voldemort might use them to track down the twins. Rubeus and Minerva were looking out for adult witches and wizards who would possibly want to join the Order, and Augusta, who was on the School Board, would keep an eye on Lucius Malfoy and report if he tried anything that the Order didn't want.
Severus arrived just before the meeting ended, around nine o'clock. He wore his usual scowl, but Albus noticed it was softer than usual.
"Ah, Severus, I'm glad you made it," Albus said warmly. "Sit down, sit down. Now, any news on the Voldemort front?"
The Death Eater twitched and glared at him, ignoring the shrieks and shudders at the name. "The Dark Lord has only summoned the Inner Circle -- at least, those who are not in Azkaban," he drawled. "He only mentioned that he wished to return to his full strength and recruit more followers before continuing his work. He is also trying to track down Bellatrix Lestrange and her cohorts, but has not had any luck."
"That is good news," Albus said. "This gives us time to gather more people for the Order, as well. Have you had any luck with the escaped Death Eaters?" he asked the four Aurors.
"No," Alastor said shortly. He'd originally been retired, but Amelia Bones had been forced to rehire him to help track down the five renegades.
Kingsley was a bit more helpful. "We know that Theodorus Nott separated from the other four, and that they all escaped using Animagus forms," the man said in his elegant accent. "We lost track of Nott's raven, but he appeared to be heading in the direction of his father's manor. From what I learned of the man's trial, he was only arrested for being a Death Eater. He was very protective of his son and has never harmed a child."
"He's a Death Eater," said Brown scathingly. "They all are-"
Severus growled, interrupting the woman. "Excuse me?" he hissed.
Brown blanched. "I didn't mean you-"
"Half the Death Eaters were either forced to join the Dark Lord or Imperiused," Severus snapped at her. "Most of the rest only joined because they thought that the Dark Lord was trying to bring back old traditions and give everyone, human or not, equal rights. But you cannot leave once you become a Death Eater. The only way to leave is to be killed or flee to Australia, the Americas, or Canada."
"What about the rest?" MacMillian asked curiously.
"Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback," Severus said darkly, and everyone shuddered. Augusta looked angry and upset.
Albus cleared his throat. He didn't believe Severus for one second about the Death Eaters; they were all like Lestrange and Greyback. "I believe that is everything we need to discuss. Severus, a word?" He shot Alastor a sharp look, telling the Auror not to listen in or watch.
With a grunt of annoyance, the Auror joined the crowd of people leaving. Severus waited until Brown shut the door behind them before striding up to Albus. "Yes?" he asked sourly.
"How was the party?" Albus asked conversationally, aware that Severus just wanted him to get to the point but not caring.
Severus rolled his eyes but responded in a resigned tone. "Remus, the Mutt, Alaric and I created an escape room for the boys and their friends. They enjoyed it immensely. What do you want?"
Alaric had helped them? Albus wasn't sure how to feel about that. "You may want to sit down for this," Albus said heavily, taking a seat. "You are not going to like it."
The man frowned warily at him but obeyed.
"When Voldemort-" Albus ignored Severus' flinch and glare "-was hit with his own Killing Curse, a piece of his soul broke off and attached itself to the closest living person in the room: Harrison Potter-Black." Severus went twice as pale as he usually was. "I have searched far and wide for a way to remove the piece of soul without killing your godson, but I'm afraid it's impossible. Which means," Albus sighed, looking like a tired, sad old man, "that the only way to defeat Voldemort is for Harrison Potter-Black to die."
"Absolutely not!" Severus snarled, startling Albus. "I refuse to let Harrison be killed!" He stood up. "I will search for a ritual to remove the piece myself."
"Severus, I-"
"You do not have access to the knowledge and magic that I do," Severus hissed. "You do not have the heart to do what I have the heart to do. I would rather be tortured to insanity like the Longbottoms than lose my godson -- either of them!" He stormed out of the room, not realizing the panic he was giving Albus.
As soon as Severus had returned to Slytherin Manor, he held the Dark Mark charm in his hand and concentrated. After a pause, Tom sent him a vision -- he was in the library, reading a book in Parseltongue.
Severus rushed the to the library as fast as he could.
"Severus? What's wrong?" Tom asked in alarm when the Potions Master entered the room.
"Albus knows that Harrison is one of your Horcruxes," Severus rasped, collapsing next to Tom on the couch. Tom looked outraged and alarmed. "The bastard implied that there was no way to remove the soul piece, and that Harrison had to die."
Tom sent the book back to its place with a flick of his wand and pulled Severus onto his lap. Severus went bright red. "Don't worry, Sev," he said gently, wrapping both arms around the man. "Rowena gave me the ritual to remove the Horcrux, and we're doing it tomorrow. Harrison will be fine, love."
Severus turned, somehow, an even brighter red. Tom smirked at him and kissed the side of his neck, causing the usually-dour man to splutter in protest. "Come to bed with me," Tom said. "Just to sleep," he added when his boyfriend could only manage a loud squeak.
"I... alright," Severus whispered.
There was a hissing noise, and both turned to see a smug-looking Nagini enter the room. She spoke to Tom, who actually blushed. "Shut up, Nagini," Tom replied in English.
Nagini hiss-laughed, poked Tom in the side with the end of her tail, and slithered out of the room, leaving the Dark Lord flustered and indignant. For some reason, this made Severus feel all warm; Tom actually cared about him, enough that he was just as flustered as Severus was when his snake teased him about their relationship.
Severus pushed aside his fear and pressed his lips to Tom's briefly, his heart pounding. The man blinked in surprise, and a soft smile appeared on his face. He returned the kiss, just as brief and just as gentle. Then Tom swooped Severus into a bridal-carry and left the library.
"I think I love you," Tom admitted quietly when they arrived at the door to his room. He set Severus down. "I've never been loved before, so... I'm not sure, but I know that I care deeply for you."
"I..." Severus paused. "I feel the same," he confessed in the barest whisper.
A warm, bright, wide smile appeared on Tom's face. He pulled Severus closer and kissed him again, longer this time but still soft and loving. "Do you want to do more than just sleep?" Tom asked hesitantly.
"Not tonight," Severus replied after a pause. "I'm exhausted." He swallowed. "In the morning?"
Tom's eyes dilated, and Severus could feel the Dark Lord's hard on, given the man was still holding him close. He went bright red again, and Tom smirked.
"Shut up," Severus grumbled, earning a joyful laugh.