The seer

We apparated to a dimly lit street near the Grimmauld place. Severus held me upright as I fought with nausea rolling over me. Alcohol and tag-along apparition certainly didn’t go well together and I really had to gather myself in order not to throw up.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and met his gaze. He looked somewhat amused by my expression and I huffed. “I’ll never apparate again.”

Severus let go of me and stepped back. “How about not drinking again?”

“Not possible.”

“They’re expecting us.” He snorted and then made his way towards the headquarters. I jogged after him, trying not to slip on the icy pavement.

We entered the Grimmauld place and settled to our usual spots in the kitchen. Me sitting by the table and Severus lingering in the shadows by the wall. Molly was as caring as ever and had supplied me with a cup of steaming hot tea as soon as she had laid her eyes on me. And with the cup between my palms, I noticed that many of the order members were missing. Only some of the inner circle was present.

The front door opened and I heard drunken voices. Cold wind crept in to the kitchen and made me shiver. I held onto my steaming mug tighter. The amount of tea was enough to last me through the meeting.

A small smile lit up my face. Molly had an iron will. I wondered that after so many years living with a big family full of strong-willed children, she wasn’t worried about mistakes and mishaps. Most probably the twins had seen to it that she could withstand anything thrown in her way.

Remus entered the room first. My heart jumped to my throat when I saw how he looked. His brows were furrowed and jaw tight. But he didn’t look at me, only glanced around from under his brows. Charlie followed after Remus and spotted me by the table. He smiled and made his way to sit beside me. Sirius came last and followed Charlie. He too looked at me with a wolfish grin and sat next to Charlie.

“I hope Snivellus didn’t cause you to lose your spirits”, Charlie chuckled.

“He sure can do that”, I answered nonchalantly. “What’s up with Remus?” I nudged with my head towards the other side of the room, where the agitated man was pacing. I was still uneasy and wanted to make sure they didn’t know.

Sirius leaned back and fiddled with one of the various rings on his fingers. “He is worried about me. And what Dumbledore may think.”

I hummed. Very understandable. I relaxed and let out a deep breath. It seemed like they hadn’t seen me and Severus earlier.

A light flared in the room and I turned my attention towards the fireplace as its flames grew big and the headmaster stepped out of the fireplace. He greeted us with a nod and a few words and then made his way to the kitchen. Minerva followed after him from the fire and laid a stern look at Sirius. Her lips were tightly pursed together and she took a seat across from us. A smell of smoke wafted after her.

“Tea, anyone?” Dumbledore piped from the kitchen counter as he levitated the pot in the air.

I looked at my cup. My reflection stared back from the liquids surface. I was a mess with tangled hair, glistening eyes and red cheeks. My lips were slightly swollen and I felt energy tingling on them, reminding me of what had happened just moments ago.

“Remus, sit down,” Molly Weasley called out to him.

She was sitting with a relaxed posture on a chair near Minerva. Remus turned to look at Molly and lowered his head and crossed his hands. He made his way over to us and sat on my other side. He was still very stressed about Sirius and I noticed that his nails had sharpened because of it.  Somehow, the situation had made him fight against his werewolf side.

“It has come to my attention that in Hogwarts there is a student-founded defense against the dark arts group called Dumbledore’s army,” Minerva said. “I have overheard several conversations about this group and I suspect that the students are practicing in the room of requirements. This all is, as you know, caused by our dear ministry spy, professor Umbridge, who is allowed to appoint new rules in our school.”

Several whispers broke the air.

“I have nothing against study groups, however, this one has grown into a classroom where students from all the houses have practiced advanced spells on their own,” The stern professor continued. “Normally I would shut this thing down or set a supervisor but it seems that Harry Potter is the one in charge of this organization. And what I’ve heard, he seems to be doing a good job with it. I personally think that the students need it to prepare for the war to come.”

I tapped my finger against the wooden table. I didn’t really know much about Hogwarts and how it worked. I’d only been there once before and that hadn’t gone so well. I looked over to Tonks, who was sitting by the fire. Their gaze met mine and I sent a playful smile at them. It seemed like Tonks was happy about the news and they shook their head with a smile in return.

The conversation continued and the people debated whether or not let this group continue training together. Many were siding with Minerva on the topic with the exception of Arthur and Molly, who had concerns towards the student’s safety.

As the debate went on, I lost my focus and leaned back on the chair. I couldn’t say yes or no, both sides had good points. The students needed to learn to defend themselves but they were inexperienced in doing so. Professors had training and certain guidelines to consider while doing teaching. What if something went wrong and someone would get injured? Harry Potter could not be held responsible for the injuries or the protocol regarding handling them even though he was the leader of the group. Every extracurricular class needed a supervisor in place, even only in name for the legal reasons.

My tea was still steaming and I sipped from it slowly. I didn’t dare to look at the shadows where I knew Severus was currently listening. It was hard enough for me to keep up with the discussion and I was looking for distractions to keep awake.

Now that the rush of adrenaline caused by getting almost caught with Severus had faded away I was getting tired. And the alcohol still flowing in my veins didn’t help at all. It buzzed around, numbing my senses and making my limbs feel heavy and eyes droopy.

I put the mug of tea on the table and crossed my arms. I sneaked a peek at Severus but he seemed to be listening to the conversation intently. I closed my eyes  and let my mind wander to the moment I had shared with him.

Then a realization dawned on me and I opened my eyes again. He had spoken into my mind just before apparating. I hadn’t even remembered it until now. I moved my gaze up to Severus again and as he sensed me looking, his eyes shifted to mine.

Well, at least I could try. I looked straight at him and pulled a little magic towards me. “How did you talk into my mind earlier?” I thought to myself. Severus was only observing me. I nudged at him with my power. “Dammit you’re a legilimens, use your ability, do it again."

Severus arched an eyebrow and seemed to get the message. “Your drunken mind is even worse than Weasley’s”, his voice said straight into my head.

My eyes widened. It had been like he had just whispered the words next to my ear. “Am I able to do that too?”

Severus seemed to snort. “No. I’m only hearing you because I’m gracing your mind. It seems you’ll need much more practice in legilimency before you can speak to my mind.  If you ever reach the level of required skill.”

“Bastard.” I thought. Severus’s lips twitched and he broke the eye contact and turned back to the conversation.

I bit the inside of my cheek. It seemed our compatible magic was a much more complicated thing than the books had led me to believe. I made a mental note to research the subject even more. But first I needed to sober up.

Albus Dumbledore’s voice broke the air. “If this group ever is found by the Ministry, I will personally take responsibility for it. No one in Hogwarts will get into trouble for the sake of learning.”

I looked at the elderly headmaster. His authoritative tone had set an end for the debate. Nods and murmurs filled the room and it was over. Then his light blue eyes looked my way and Sirius straightened up. He speculated each of us before speaking, “I trust you will be more careful next time, you Sirius especially.”

Remus looked down ashamed. “It was completely my fault.”

“No, it wasn’t, come on Remus”, Sirius said. I agreed.

“We all take the responsibility”, Charlie stated.

“As you should”, Arthur said sternly.

Albus made a calming gesture with his hands. “No need to point fingers here. I'm grateful that nothing worse happened”, he said. I smiled slightly. I was grateful for him for not being angry at us. This night could’ve ended on a much worse note.

He removed his half-moon-shaped glasses and rubbed his eyes. “This will be enough for today. We all need to rest tonight. Thank you for the meeting.”

The inner circle agreed and some of us got up. Remus was already making his way out when I turned to look at him. I wanted to comfort him but he still seemed quite shaken about tonight. The thought of losing Sirius had caused him a lot of stress.

Charlie laid a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll come around.”

I turned to look at him. Sirius peeked from over his shoulder and said “He always comes around. He just needs time.”

“Then best leave him be for a moment”, I nodded. “By the way, are you still drunk?”

Sirius laughed. “I’m sure Charlie is.”

The Weasley blushed. “I might.”

I joined the laughter. “Me too.”

Sirius got up and I started as well. I needed to sleep in order to clear my head. I searched the room for Severus and saw him waiting by the door with an annoyed look on his face. I needed to go.

I levitated my cup to the sink and spoke to Charlie. “I think I need to go. My ride is looking displeased.”

The orange -haired man glanced towards the door “He sure does.” Then he turned back to me. “See you at the next meeting. Had a fun time today.”

I said my goodbyes back to him and the others before following Severus out and apparating away.