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There was a place, in a forest like many others, under an oak tree like many others, behind a wooden door like many others, that hid a family unlike any other. Behind a tall, gold-framed mirror, a Veela paced the tables of her pub, wearing a black dress cinched at the waist, a gleaming mane of silvery blonde hair, and an abundance of sparkling jewellery that drew the attention of every customer. Behind the bar, a man in a long tunic with raven hair pulled back into a dishevelled ponytail showed off a remarkable number of tattoos on his arms, shoulders and chest. In between serving drinks, he winked meaningfully at the bar owner, who returned them all with a knowing smile. On the wooden stage, accompanying the brave souls who left their seats to reach the microphone, was a boy in a floating wheelchair, his head tilted to one side, positioned behind a grand piano, his slender hands moving over the keys with surprising fluidity in stark contrast to his still body. Finally, around the long table set against the back wall of the room, familiar faces alternated: the pale, sharp face of Draco Malfoy, with his usual air of superiority; the serene, smiling face of Harry Potter, with his lightning scar and bright green eyes; those of Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and many other young people who were not supposed to be in that pub for Animagi at all, but who had won the favour of the owner and thus earned their way into the back room. This close-knit group of friends, at least for some of its members, had gradually ceased to be such over the course of that hot, scorching summer and had begun to take on the qualities of a real family.The boys would arrive, sit around the table, butterbeer in hand, and talk about their day, their work or their studies. Nodens and Sirius, an unlikely pairing that no one would have expected to see, spent most of their time swapping tales of their respective time at Hogwarts, even though the boy's time there was far from over. Sylvia, happier than she had been in a long time, if ever, listened to each story with great interest and had just as many stories ready for anyone willing to listen. However, there was something in that warm and loving atmosphere that caused the owner to alternate between feelings of fear and anger, which she expressed with icy glances at a couple of empty chairs around the same table. An absence, or rather two, that became increasingly difficult to ignore as the weeks went by. Every now and then, late at night, as she set up the wooden stage and floated the instruments back into place, Sylvia would gaze melancholically at those chairs, and almost invariably Sirius would join her, wrap his arms around her waist, take her hand and hold it close."They'll show up. Soon, they will," he said, every day.But they never did.Severus Snape knew the stages of grief better than most people in the world. He had seen them, studied them and then experienced them first hand. He had first done so on the day his mother had died, when he had just come of age; and then, of course, when Lily had died. From that moment on, Severus had decided he would do anything to avoid going through it again. It took him seventeen years to give in, and in the end he gained nothing more than he had the last time. Instead, this time, on top of the pain of losing someone, he now had to face rejection once again, all at once.With Lily, the denial phase was relatively short. There's not much to deny when you're holding someone's lifeless body. This time, however, Severus' mind seemed to refuse to believe what he had experienced for so long that he convinced himself he could easily go on like that for the rest of his life. He got up, made the usual coffee and poured it into two separate cups. He put one full on the kitchen table and even felt that strange, loving irritation he had felt every morning for the past two years. "Why on earth do you keep drinking it if you don't like it?" he heard himself say. "I like that I don't like it," he heard her reply. Then he sat in his armchair with the cup in one hand and a newspaper in the other. It was easy to pretend that nothing had changed: the amount of silence remained more or less the same. Occasionally, Severus would comment on some news article in the latest edition of the Daily Prophet, and he could imagine the reactions he would receive with such precision and vividness that he could hardly tell the difference; or so he told himself. One day, when he found himself reading the news that the Garnet case had been closed with no culprit found, he clearly saw her usual mischievous smile and felt the urge to reprimand her with a cold "Stop it".The period of deep denial of reality continued until something happened which forced him to wake up. It was a hot afternoon in late July, and Severus was sitting in his armchair, the door locked, the windows barred and the fireplace behind him blocked as usual. For days he had ignored the large grey owl that occasionally pecked at the wood that held the windows shut, and sometimes, when he lost his patience and cursed at it, he could hear her chuckling. One afternoon, however, it wasn't the usual owl that disturbed him; it was a determined knock on the front door. Severus ignored it. It was bound to happen sooner or later, he told himself. He had been too lucky not to be disturbed for the past few weeks. Instead of giving up and leaving, as Severus had predicted would happen within a couple of minutes, the knocking became more insistent and determined, until the Professor felt a strong urge to open the door and take out a lot of pent-up frustration on whoever was on the other side. Then that someone spoke."Omegas!" she exclaimed. "I know you're in there, you..."Severus couldn't move a muscle until Sylvia's outburst was over."Come out and face me!" she shouted. "I don't know what your problem is, or why you've decided to ignore me, but if you harm my owl again..."She went on for nearly half an hour. At the end of those long, intense thirty minutes, Severus was forced to admit that there was only one possible reason why the target of such anger hadn't responded to such provocation, if only to make it stop. Omegas wasn't there.The anger came. In the past, the anger phase had been slow, suffocating, invasive. It had soon turned into a thirst for revenge, giving him a purpose, something to fight against, a reason to get out of bed in the morning. The anger he felt towards Lord Voldemort had been so visceral that, with enough effort, he could even use it to distract himself from the anger he felt towards himself. That anger had been with him through all the other stages, and it hadn't left him for seventeen long years.This time the anger was explosive. As soon as he was sure that Sylvia was out of earshot, Severus rose from his armchair and the first thing he did was to overturn the coffee table in front of him. From that moment on, for the next few hours, he did nothing but destroy everything in his path. He was fully aware of what he was doing during the tantrum and consciously gave himself permission to succumb to it. He got angry with Omegas and made every single item that reminded him of her cunning face disappear from the house. He got rid of the second armchair, the overturned table, every book she had commented on in those bookshelves, and then all the sheets he had watched her toss and turn on. When the last pillow she'd rested her head on was gone, the anger still hadn't subsided, and Severus began to turn it on himself. He thought and thought again of every single thing he had done in their two years of relationship that could have caused her to leave for good. At first, he limited his self-loathing to things that made a semblance of sense, as he had done during his time away from her during the war. He had poisoned her with Veritaserum, poked his nose into her affairs, watched her risk her life more than once without doing anything. Once the relevant reasons were exhausted, Severus moved on to blaming himself for every cold look, every sarcastic remark, every show of disagreement or contempt he had directed at her. He listed them, one by one, from the first to the last, until he reached their final, painful conversation."YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!" he heard himself shout.He felt sick.Perhaps as a defence mechanism, or maybe just because it was easier, Severus turned his anger on every single person who had been around them during their last few months together. He got angry at Sirius Black, then at Draco, then at Harry Potter, even at Garnet. He was especially angry with Sylvia and dwelt for a long time on that last conversation she and Omegas had had in the back room of the Black Cat. Yes, the answer must be there, he told himself. It had been her. She had convinced her to go. Surely she had said something, convinced her to leave him. Maybe under Black's influence, she had convinced herself that Omegas deserved better and managed to persuade her too. He was almost ready to leave the house, to confront her, to shout at her until he lost his voice, but he soon gave up the idea. After all, she did deserve better, he thought, and hated himself all over again.The negotiation phase was supposed to be the time to try and come to terms with the pain and find a way to get on with one's life; or at least that's what more than one manual on the subject, muggle or otherwise, suggested. Severus had sought out those books, studied them, telling himself that if he was going to be a hopeless case, he at least wanted to be aware of it. Yet he had never been convinced by the negotiation. He hadn't seemed to have experienced it then, and his perplexity hadn't diminished recently. He should have felt the need to regain a routine, a life that was at least seemingly normal, but Severus had never really had a routine or normality. Unlike in the past, however, he knew he would have to face the phase this time; so he tried to force it. He forced himself to get up at what could be considered reasonable, or at least decent, hours. He tried to find something to do, books to read, and he tried to think about the future, the beginning of the next school year, but nothing worked. He couldn't find any real meaning in those mechanical gestures and obligatory thoughts, and he soon gave up on the idea that negotiating just wasn't for him. Severus had always been a practical man. There was no room for bargaining, not even with himself.Eventually, depression came. It wasn't supposed to be the final stage; the manuals spoke of acceptance and a hypothetical, utopian, possible peace once the agony was over, but Severus had never believed it. He had never gone beyond Stage Four, and he knew in his heart that he never would. At first he refused to give in to the tears. He didn't want to cry, he didn't need to, and the latent and ever-present rage within him urged him not to let a rejection force him into that despair, not again, not like that. There were only many sleepless nights, many resulting headaches, and a persistent feeling of nausea that made him lose his appetite for weeks. He spent most of his time immobile, dissecting his pain with stoic, analytical impassivity. He compared this depression with others he had experienced in the past, listing the similarities and differences as if he were about to write a scientific paper. It was strangely difficult. Every time he tried to relive the past pain, even though he remembered every action he'd taken in relation to it, the feeling seemed so distant, so blurred, that he couldn't draw any satisfactory conclusions. He spent a long time wondering why, and finally found his answer. It wasn't true that Severus had never managed to move on from his depression: he had. It was just a couple of years ago, as he sat in the chair behind his desk in his office at Hogwarts. He had looked around and felt happy for the first time in seventeen years. That must have been acceptance; that must have been the start of that famous 'moving on'. Severus had moved on, and now he had gone back, and everything, from Lily's first rejection, to her death, to the lonely years that followed, to that night three months ago, came crashing down on him. It was only after formulating this thought that Severus finally cried.He allowed himself to succumb to those tears over the next few days, especially as the time to return to Hogwarts approached, and he had no intention of revealing even the slightest hint of his feelings to anyone. Except anger, of course. The prospect of venting it, even partially, on students and colleagues was the only thing that gave him the strength to leave the house on the 1st of September. He apparated to Hogsmeade; he didn't want to get on the Hogwarts Express. There would be screaming children whom he couldn't punish yet; there would be the Headmistress, colleagues who would ask him how he spent his summer holidays; there would be Sylvia, who would surely be aware of the situation by now and would bombard him with questions; but above all, there would be that empty chair in the compartment reserved for professors. He didn't want to see it. He knew that sooner or later he would have to face it, whether at the High Table or behind the desk in the Potions classroom, but he wasn't ready to do so. Not yet.Thus Severus made his way to the castle. He arrived first and found the school completely empty, except for the gamekeeper and the caretaker. In other circumstances, he would have been pleased; in this case, it made no difference at all. He had buried every one of his feelings under layers upon layers of tightly packed apathy, and nothing in the world could break through it. He waited for the train to arrive and for the first students and professors to pass through the grand entrance doors. He made sure to give each of the students a venomous look, and seeing them lower their heads and avoid his gaze gave him a satisfaction he hadn't felt in a long time. He greeted his colleagues cordially and nodded to the Headmistress with a touch more respect and a touch less bile.Sylvia was one of the last to cross the threshold, and she did so with an expression as grim as his. She didn't bother to say hello to anyone present; she strode towards him, stopping directly in front of him as if she intended to slap him across the face. Severus prayed that she wouldn't; not so much because the thought itself troubled him, but because he didn't know how he would react if she did. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Sylvia's hands only reached her hips and she began to tap one foot on the floor in a clear attempt to show her frustration without resorting to violence."Where is she?" she barked.Severus hadn't expected the question. If she was anywhere, and not dead in some mass grave in a war-torn country, Sylvia would surely know her whereabouts better than he did. He furrowed his brow and looked over at the new Professor of Transfiguration for a while. He opened his mouth to reply, but abandoned the attempt when he saw a smile forming on her face, a smile that expressed not a single note of joy, only pure, deep fury."There she is, that bloody..." she said.She stormed past him, running across the atrium.Severus didn't have the courage to turn around immediately. At first he told himself that Sylvia must have been talking about someone else and that he had misunderstood. When he found the strength to look behind him and saw a black curl behind Sylvia's thick white head of hair, he refused to believe what he was witnessing. It had to be a coincidence, someone who just happened to have the same haircut, the same shoes and a dress the same colour as her eyes. Then Sylvia pushed her and she staggered back. Severus' eyes landed on that round face for the first time in three months, and the very first thought his brain formulated, before he could stop it, was 'Why hasn't she come home if she's in England?' Immediately, Severus found himself sharing every one of the feelings Sylvia was expressing with her shouts, and he felt a strong urge to join her. He took a step forward, then another, and another. Just as he was about to reach the two of them, Severus had to stop. Omegas' eyes had met his for a fraction of a second, and he lost the ability to move. He remained motionless in the middle of that corridor until Sylvia left with a final, heartfelt curse and strode decisively and angrily towards the Great Hall, followed by a dwindling stream of students. He stayed where he was, so did she, until the last student had passed through the doors. They stood alone, in the same positions, for exactly two minutes. Then Severus found the courage to take another step forward, but she took a step back. Severus raised his head, determined to show her nothing but cold indifference, turned and also crossed that threshold, heading towards the High Table.He sat down and prayed that she wouldn't have the audacity to join him and sit next to him as if nothing had happened. He was not surprised that his prayers were in vain. Omegas sat down and greeted Severus with a cordial, detached "Good evening" that was no different from the one she gave to everyone else at the table. He responded with a look that conveyed such hostility that he was grateful to be at the end of the table, where no one but her could see it. She simply ignored him. She waited in silence for the Sorting Ceremony to end and did not touch any food when the feast began. Severus, on the other hand, ate and made sure to do so in a way that gave her the impression he was enjoying it. He told himself he was doing it out of pure spite, but a part of him, buried under layers of bile, knew that the constant feeling of nausea had left him the moment he saw her, alive, safe within those walls.The feast began and ended, and Severus could only think of the moment when he would finally be able to confront her. A simple apology along the lines of 'I'm a coward' wouldn't be enough, oh no. She would have to pay. When the entire High Table, as well as the student tables, rose in a single shared movement and the prefects began loudly exclaiming "First years, this way!", Severus could barely comprehend what was happening. He was distracted for just a moment as Professor Sprout, not far away, red-faced and beaming, waved warmly and announced to anyone who would listen, "It's Noah! He's my stepson, you know? A prefect, yes! What an extraordinary boy, really..."Severus dismissed the chatter, which he found useless and cloying, with a displeased grimace and turned back to his thoughts. The subject of his musings, however, had vanished. He had just enough time to see her glide through the doors of the Great Hall, her violet dress billowing around her, and disappear down the corridor. He suppressed the urge to curse. He made his way around the table, determined to reach her as quickly as possible, but a crowd of students heading for their dormitories blocked his path. Someone joined what the Professor was starting to perceive as a crusade against him: Sylvia, who was once again standing in front of him, tapped her foot irritably."Is either of you going to give me some sort of explanation?" she asked icily.Severus raised his head, imposing his full height on her. He looked down at her with the clear, obvious intention of intimidating her."Move, Barbosa," he ordered.She looked indignant. "'Barbosa'?" she repeated, mimicking his manner. "Oh, so that's how it is now? I'm just 'Barbosa'? After everything we—""Step aside," he said.He had taken such a menacing step that she unconsciously backed away. Yet the offended scowl on her face remained."Fine," she declared in a tone that suggested the exact opposite. "Go on, do your thing. As if it matters that there are people who care enough about you to worry. As if— hey!" she exclaimed.Severus had pushed past her and she had tripped over a fifth year. He didn't care and continued on his way to Omegas' office on the second floor.He took a deep breath and opened the door without bothering to knock. She was already behind her wooden table, busy with who knows what, as if it were a normal morning instead of the torturous night Severus was experiencing. She didn't even bother to lift her head from her work when she heard him enter, and the Professor quickly understood the reason for her apparent lack of respect. He slammed the door behind him with a flick of his wand, approached her and spat out an angry "Why?".She made no sign of having heard him. Severus was on the verge of overturning the cauldron she was working on; then, recalling a memory that only added to his anger, he told himself she must have cast an Isolation Charm. He raised his wand, pointed it at her, resisted the urge to hex her and said, "Finite Incantatem".Omegas lifted her head. As if awakened, she looked around for a moment, then fixed her eyes on him for no more than a fraction of a second."Ah, Severus," she remarked.She said it in such a casual tone, as she had dozens, hundreds of times before, that he had to make an enormous effort not to lash out at her. He took another step towards the table, placed his palms on the wooden surface and waited for her to bother to notice the anger in his face."Why?" he repeated in a threatening hiss.Unlike how she usually was with the rest of the world, Omegas rarely misunderstood him. Usually she knew exactly what Severus was thinking, down to the last detail, almost as if she could read his mind. This time, however, much to his surprise, she had misunderstood the question he had asked her. Severus had meant it as an unfinished 'Why did you leave?'; she, on the other hand, felt it was 'Why did you come back?"Because I made a commitment," she replied. "I couldn't leave as if nothing had happened. I would have let my students down."Severus let out a false, joyless laugh. "You don't care about your students," he declared. "You never have."She raised a pair of large, judging eyes to him. "Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think."There was a brief pause, which Severus used only to summon the strength not to respond to that last remark with a violent slap on the table. Instead, he decided to remain calm and show her, in the most painful and sarcastic way possible, just how wrong she was. He gave her a wicked grin and began to circle the table in measured steps."You regretted walking out that door the moment you did, didn't you?" he asked in the tone of someone who knew the answer perfectly. "Just like last time. And now you refuse to tell me why you did it, just to avoid admitting to yourself that you made yet another stupid decision."She showed no sign of losing her composure. Only then did Severus notice the missing detail on her face that had made her seem so profoundly different since he had laid eyes on her again. Omegas wasn't smiling."I left because I needed time, Severus."He lifted his head and let out a mocking laugh."Fine. You took your bloody time and decided to come back, I suppose. Do you expect things to return to normal? That I am willing to—""I expect nothing," she interrupted firmly. She averted her gaze, focusing stubbornly on the cauldron in front of her. "I expect nothing from you. I'm here to teach, nothing more.""Liar," he accused, grinning again. "Tell me why you left.""Because I needed time," she repeated."Tell me why you needed time," he retorted.Omegas lifted her gaze from her work and turned slowly towards him."It's none of your business," she declared.Those words, spoken in that hostile tone, had never been directed at him by her, not even when he had invaded her privacy and looked at her memories without her consent. They should have made him angry, and Severus could feel the emotion, but he was too stunned to give it a voice. Omegas vanished the cauldron with a flick of her wand, took her bag, slung it over her shoulder and circled the table. She took a few steps forward, paused in the middle of the room and spoke without turning."Don't bother searching my office, Severus. You won't find your answer here," she declared. She walked to the door and gave him a final, feeble, "And when you're done searching, tidy up," before crossing the threshold and leaving him alone.Severus searched the office. He found nothing of relevance, but it was far from the last of her belongings he would snoop through in the coming days. 'You won't find your answer here'; if he knew Omegas and her cryptic way of communicating, that phrase meant the answer was out there somewhere. At first, Severus convinced himself that finding that answer would allow him to quell the despair that took hold of him every time he saw her pass through the doors of the Great Hall, walk down a corridor or enter a classroom. Then, driven by a faint sense of optimism he was surprised to find himself still capable of, he persuaded himself that finding an answer to the question of why she had left would also allow him to find a solution. To fix what was broken and return everything to normal.There are five phases we go through when we lose a loved one, whether physically, emotionally, forever or temporarily. Each time Severus faced them, he ended up experiencing a sixth. Now, forcing himself not to give in to depression, Severus slipped, as he had done each time he had experienced abandonment, into the deep pit that was the phase that seemed to belong to him and him alone: obsession.
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Severus was a spy, always had been. Of all his talents, which to be modest could not be called few, this was the first he realised he had, the most natural, the one he excelled at effortlessly. Perhaps it was because he had always felt like a shadow, even in his own home. He had become so accustomed to hearing his parents argue and shout his name as if he weren't even there, that from a very young age he had begun to feel like an invisible presence, a ghost who, if he stayed quiet and still enough, could easily be forgotten. Like everything else, it had its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest downside of not being seen is that you tend to be deeply lonely. The advantage, however, is that being invisible can be extremely useful in certain circumstances.At first he did nothing more than watch her. He kept his distance, observing her body language, her facial expressions, the tone of her voice. He eavesdropped on any conversations he could listen to without getting caught, attended her classes at times when he happened to have nothing to do, and even cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself a time or two. The conclusions he drew from this initial investigation shouldn't have made him feel better, but they still did.Omegas seemed... sad. It wasn't just the smile that was missing from her face; the calm, reserve and cordiality that had always accompanied her, even in her worst times, seemed to have left her for good. The sparkle in her violet eyes was gone; in fact, there was no trace of her eyes at all, as she had begun to wear a pair of sunglasses wherever she went, even indoors."Will you take that thing off? You're being ridiculous," Sylvia remarked as they left the Transfiguration classroom.The two had got into the habit of meeting after classes and heading to the Great Hall together around lunchtime."No, I won't," she replied. "You can always stop forcing me to eat with you if you find my company ridiculous."Sylvia gave her an offended glare and seemed on the verge of jumping at her."I'm not forcing you," she said, practically dragging her down the corridor by the arm. "Why are you even wearing them?"Omegas lifted her head and Severus knew, even without seeing it, that she was giving her a condescending look."I have decided that the opportunity to meet my eyes is a privilege that must be earned," she explained.The other snorted sarcastically. "Yeah, right. Or you spend your nights drinking instead of sleeping and don't want the whole High Table to know about it".Omegas shot her a murderous look that maintained its full effect even with the dark barrier in front of them. She looked away indifferently, slipped out of her friend's grip and walked on, arms crossed."Not that it makes much difference anyway," she remarked. "Ridiculous or not, as long as I'm next to you, no one will notice me."She gave Sylvia a cheeky grin, then a slight nod to a group of seventh years who were too busy staring at the Veela to notice that they were blocking the entire corridor."Move along!" Sylvia shouted angrily.The students bowed their heads and hurried off. For the first time since she had set foot back in the castle, Omegas gave a tiny half-smile.Eavesdropping on Potions classes wasn't difficult. The classroom was surrounded by places where Severus could be expected to be; his office was close by, his storeroom was directly opposite the classroom, and even his quarters were nearby. With the help of the Headmistress, who that year had decided to schedule a double Potions class on Tuesday afternoons when he had nothing to do, he attended those lessons for weeks on end. Omegas had undoubtedly lied about why she had returned: she had absolutely no desire to teach. During the previous year, her classes, unconventional as they had been, could hardly be described as boring. Professor Grindelwald engaged her students, stimulated them, interacted with them, although more than a few had probably hoped she wouldn't. Now, however, she seemed completely disinterested. She told her students what to do and how to do it, sat at her desk and spent the rest of the two hours reading or, more often, staring into space. When an unfortunate student approached her for clarification, Omegas responded so reluctantly and vaguely that the students soon gave up and started helping each other instead of asking her. Oddly enough, the method seemed to work: the fourth year Gryffindor and Slytherin classes that Severus observed ended up, against all odds, more cohesive than ever before.Watching her in her office was more complex: there was nothing on the second floor of the castle to justify Severus' presence near that door. Initially, the Professor ignored the matter. After all, he had already checked that office, and surely Omegas spent her afternoons bent over her desk working on who knew what, or perhaps keeping Dementors at bay, locked in cabinets covered with magical seals. He tried to convince himself that he didn't need to investigate any further, but abandoned that feeble conviction when he noticed that first Sylvia, then Nodens, took turns going in and out of her office. He didn't like it.As for Sylvia, he was fairly certain that she slipped into her office every chance she got because she seemed utterly incapable of being alone. The very first thing the girl had done upon setting foot within those walls as Professor Barbosa was to befriend every single member of the castle's teaching staff. She spent her days in turn with each professor who was willing to spend time with her, and most of them seemed happy to do so. She seemed to get on particularly well with Professor Sinistra, and the two spent most of their free time wandering around the park, immersed in light-hearted conversation. It was an odd pairing: Professor Sinistra, with her dark skin, almost always dressed in shades of silver and long wavy black hair, seemed to be the exact negative of the Veela she accompanied. When Professor Sinistra was busy with her lessons, though, Sylvia often found herself without anyone to share her inexhaustible supply of words with, and Severus deduced that Omegas must have been merely a collateral victim of her loneliness.Another thing Severus noticed, and confirmed by a fragment of the conversation between the two that he managed to overhear, was that Sylvia seemed blissfully unaware of her friend's emotional state, or at least acted as if everything was normal."Are you guys coming to the Black Cat this weekend?" Sylvia asked one Friday afternoon when, no doubt having worn them down, she had managed to convince Omegas to leave the castle for some fresh air."No, we're not," she replied as if it were obvious, "we have a lesson on Saturday morning."Sylvia huffed. "You're all stressing him out too much. Do you have any idea how many extra lessons he's having? If this keeps up, he won't even have time to sleep.""He seems to be managing quite well to me," Omegas observed, gesturing ahead.Not far away, around the gamekeeper's hut, Nodens was floating in his chair next to Hagrid, and the two seemed immersed in an extra lesson in Care of Magical Creatures. Severus spent the first ten seconds wondering how it was possible that Hagrid was still allowed to keep adult Blast-Ended Skrewts so close to the students. Then he lingered on the boy's appearance for a while, noting that he did indeed look healthier than he had ever seen him before. He held his head upright, his voice was less hoarse than usual, and a few moments later he even managed to almost fully raise one arm to wave to the two women across the park. Finally, Severus spent a lot of time thinking about the words 'you guys'. Two words that implied a direct invitation to more than one person. The other invitee certainly couldn't be him, given the circumstances, and much to his delight, Omegas had maintained her total disinterest in any human relationships. There was only one logical explanation for that 'you guys': Sylvia was inviting Nodens to spend the weekend away from school. It pleased him even less than seeing him constantly entering Omegas' office. Students couldn't come and go from the castle as they wished, couldn't have extra lessons, couldn't have that kind of relationship with the professors. That privileged treatment, far beyond anything Nodens had ever received before, annoyed him so much that he completely forgot that he had decided to ignore the matter. He convinced himself that it had something to do with Omegas' leaving and decided that he would find a way to investigate further.Before the Weasley twins decided to make it their personal mission to make life impossible for any staff member at Hogwarts, objects and spells used for 'espionage' purposes weren't given much attention. However, since items like Extendable Ears and Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder started circulating around the school, Professor McGonagall decided to react to such attempted subversion with increasing severity towards the practices. Severus fully agreed with each of these measures, or at least he had until then, because that Saturday morning, in order to attend Nodens' private lesson, he had no choice but to make himself invisible and sneak into Omegas' office. He couldn't use the Neglectus Charm because there was no one to cast it on him, nor the Disillusionment Charm because he was afraid it would wear off in the long run and she would be able to spot him; therefore, putting aside his self-loathing and his sudden inability to look at his own reflection even more than usual, Severus spent Friday night distilling an Invisibility Potion. On Saturday morning, he took it and slipped into the office in the few seconds that Nodens held the door open.Omegas didn't seem to notice anything."Close the door, Gad," she said, gesturing to the boy.He waved his wand in a movement so fluid compared to his usuals that even the Professor couldn't pretend to be indifferent. She was wearing her usual sunglasses, but Severus could still feel her eyes moving up and down the boy."Are you all right?" she asked, as if convinced that the sudden display of well-being was a symptom of some fatal illness."Never better!" he replied.He floated over to her behind the wooden table, settled beside her, and with a second movement summoned a cauldron identical to hers in front of him."What are we doing today?" he asked cheerfully.Omegas wasn't convinced at all. Bending down to reach him, she studied his face carefully, sliding her glasses down her nose."Are you sure you're all right?"Nodens recoiled slightly. "Y-yes..." he repeated, clearly uncomfortable. "A-are you all right, ma'am?"She blinked. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?""You don't look like you've slept in a while," the boy observed, referring to the pronounced bags under her eyes, hidden beneath her glasses.The Professor suddenly pulled away, put her glasses back in place and looked vaguely elsewhere."I'm perfectly fine," she declared.Severus drew two conclusions from that dialogue: the first was that whatever was happening to the boy had nothing to do with Omegas' departure; the second was that from the moment Nodens had entered, not a single honest word had been spoken within the walls of that office.The lesson passed quietly, as had dozens of others over the past year, and Severus knew he had no good reason to return the following Saturday. Yet he did. He went back the next, and the next, and the next, and did nothing but watch them work. For a few hours on those Saturdays, Severus slipped into denial and managed to convince himself that he was attending those lessons, just as he had done every Friday afternoon for months, until the previous May. He could almost see himself sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of the classroom, discussing missing Death Eaters and Time-Turners, with the prospect of heading to the Great Hall with her right after. But Omegas never went to the Great Hall. She had stopped eating, at least in public, and spent most of her time locked in her office. She would leave in the evenings and disappear down the corridor on the second floor. It didn't take Severus long to guess that she must have been spending her solitary nights in the Chamber of Secrets. The Headmistress hadn't assigned her a private room, he noted, and he spent a lot of time wondering why.All his observations led to one established and undeniable fact: Omegas was sad. She didn't have the usual veil of melancholy hovering around her, she wasn't desperate like she had been after Tonks' death, nor was she just sombre as always. She was sad, and she conveyed that feeling with every look, every word, every movement of her tired body. Severus told himself it must be his imagination, probably due to lack of sleep, but it seemed to him that the environment around her somehow reflected her sadness, as if it could sense it, absorb it and turn it into something almost tangible. If not the environment, the people certainly did. It wasn't long before the only two persons in the castle with whom she interacted began trying to cheer her up. Sylvia became increasingly insistent, trying to take her to the Black Cat at weekends. She also tried to convince her to join her and Professor Sinistra on their walks;"Really, Om, you should come! You'd like Aurora, you know? You have a lot in common," she said one Thursday afternoon as she escorted her to Potions class."Like what?" she asked in a tone that sounded more accusatory than curious."Well, you're both a bit... you know..."Omegas frowned. "A bit what?""A bit..." Sylvia continued, gesturing vaguely. "A bit odd."Omegas didn't like that remark. She lost the glimmer of composure she still had the strength to show in public, and her face suddenly seemed to go blank."Thank you," she said, seeming to struggle to keep a lump from forming in her throat.She turned and walked into the classroom. Sylvia gave up for a while after that exchange; or at least pretended to, for Severus had a feeling that her friend was behind Nodens' strange behaviour the following Saturday.The boy entered the office and immediately seemed embarrassed."Close the door, Gad," she said after a moment, as she did every Saturday.Nodens turned, waved his wand in an even smoother motion than on the previous Saturday, and returned his gaze to the Professor. He floated towards the table with less determination than usual, his head bowed, though he was now quite capable of holding it up."Professor?" he began hesitantly."Hm?" she replied, not looking at him."Well... I- I was wondering, you know..." he stammered.He seemed unable to continue for a while; then, no doubt encouraged by the total lack of attention she seemed to be paying him, he found the strength to ask his question."Would you like to come and watch the Quidditch match on Monday?"Omegas suddenly lifted her head and nearly dropped the bundle of borage branches she was holding."Why?" she asked in a tone that betrayed a certain concern."Well..." he replied uncertainly. "We're playing against Hufflepuff, it's the first real match of the season, and... they've allowed me to watch from the staff stands. You know, there's more space there. I'd be in the way in the student stands," he remarked, pointing to his chair.She studied him carefully. "I thought you weren't interested in Quidditch.""Oh!" he replied. "No, it's not that I'm particularly interested, it's just that... Sylvia's going, and maybe Sirius will come as a visitor, and then there's the new captain of the Hufflepuff team, Nox, everyone says he's a great Seeker, but they also say our Seeker, Hallow, is practically unbeatable. And then there's Hagrid, Professor Sprout and also Professor McGonagall. They'll all be there, so I thought you might like to come along."Severus hadn't spent much time with the boy, but he felt he could say with absolute certainty that those were the most words he'd ever spoken in one sitting.Omegas looked up at him a couple of times. Then, in a gesture that surprised both the boy and the invisible Professor a few steps away, she bowed her head, shook it and let out a sincere laugh."Making friends, Gad?" she asked.There was a hint of mockery in the way the question was asked. Nodens was embarrassed."I... I... yes," he murmured, in a much weaker tone than before. He looked at the Professor with a pair of dark eyes that suddenly seemed much larger than usual. "Is that bad?"Omegas smiled. "No, of course not," she said. She walked around the table and slowly approached him. "It's good. Maybe you should try to make some friends your own age, though."The boy wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I... don't get along very well with people my own age, ma'am."She smiled again. "I see. Well, Gad, I appreciate the invitation, but, you know, I've never been much of a Quidditch fan.""Really?" he said in surprise. "Sirius says you fly brilliantly."Omegas frowned. "Does he?"Nodens nodded."Ah," she murmured. "I suppose we can't be passionate about everything we're good at, can we? Otherwise we'd never find the time to do anything," she observed. "You of all people should know that. You are getting passionate about magical creatures these days, aren't you?"The boy was again embarrassed."Yes, ma'am," he admitted. "Hagrid, he... we get on. He has plenty of wonderful creatures in the forest."That was information he no doubt hadn't intended to share. He lowered his head quickly, as the Professor pointed a pair of inquisitive violet eyes at him from behind the dark glass barrier."Hagrid's taking you into the forest?" she asked."H-he... uh... he, well..." Nodens stammered.He swallowed and looked back at the Professor with an effort that seemed to cost him all his courage."Please don't tell Professor McGonagall," he implored.She burst out laughing. "If you don't tell her I made you read a book I stole from the Restricted Section of Durmstrang Library last year," she said, giving him a mischievous grin.The boy chuckled. "Right."There was a brief pause. Omegas took a few more steps towards the boy and got closer to him than she ever had before. She gave him a tender smile and spoke to him in a tone she hadn't used in a long time."You need to take a break. You're not a superhero; you'll make yourself sick if you keep going like this.""I'm afraid it's a bit late for that," he remarked, gesturing towards his chair.Omegas laughed heartily. "Not bad," she complimented. "But I mean it," she added, regaining her seriousness in an instant. "Why don't you at least take Saturday off? Have tea with Hagrid, spend some time outside, or inside if you prefer. Relax.""But Professor, our lessons—""We'll have time for those, Gad," she cut him off. "You're in your fourth year and already halfway through the sixth year Potions programme. I'll run out of things to teach you if we keep going at this pace."Nodens accepted the compliment with a much wider smile than usual."All right, ma'am," he said.She nodded and the boy turned his chair. He floated forward a little, opened the door with a wave of his wand and stopped on the threshold. He turned and whispered a heartfelt "Thank you" to the Professor before leaving. She nodded again, showing a care and affection for the boy that anyone would have believed. But not Severus. He knew that the reason for suspending the extra lessons was anything but concern for the boy's health. He recognised the expression on her face: it was the one she wore when she needed to be alone. His intuition was confirmed by her immediate actions. Omegas grabbed her wand and closed the door to the office. She circled the table again, sat down in her chair and rested her elbows on the desk. She took off her sunglasses, brought her hands up to her face and ran them through her dark curls.Then something happened. Something strange, new, unusual compared to the habits Omegas followed with maniacal rigor. She lifted her head, stared into space for a moment and spoke. Omegas never spoke when she was alone; she barely spoke in company. She didn't speak if she could avoid it."I must look really bad if I'm invited to Quidditch matches," she observed.She grabbed the black velvet bag nearby, pulled it towards her and pointed her wand inside. A glass vial came out, which she caught in the air and turned for a while in her hands. She stood up and began to walk slowly around the office."Besides, I've never been very good with such things, have I? So good with physical pain, and yet..." she left the sentence unfinished.Severus watched her curiously, his head tilted to one side. He moved slightly closer because Omegas had her back to him, and that sudden, odd behaviour made him feel a strong need to read the expression on her face. There was no need to, however, because when Severus was right in the middle of the room, Omegas suddenly turned and stopped in front of him."How do you manage?"Severus froze. He felt the impulse to turn to see if she was talking to someone behind him, but he knew there was no one else in the office and anyway, her violet eyes, now uncovered again, were fixed directly on him. Omegas gave him a sly smile and grabbed his arm in a lightning fast gesture. She slipped the vial she had taken from her bag into his hand, without bothering to be gentle, then let him go and waited. Severus, hesitant and genuinely frightened, slowly lowered his head and recognised what he held in his hand as the antidote to the Invisibility Potion.He hesitated. For a few minutes, he did nothing but return those eyes that shouldn't have been able to meet his, but did so with such insistence that he felt the need to hide. He'd tried hiding before and it didn't seem to be working, so finally Severus uncorked the vial and drank the contents. A normal Invisibility Potion antidote would have tasted bitter and made him fully visible within an hour. This one tasted like seawater and worked in less than five seconds. Omegas smiled and let her eyes wander over his face."Hi."Severus didn't react. He thought for a long time about what would be the right thing to say in such a situation, but couldn't find an answer. So he decided to answer the last question he had been asked."Your problem is that you try to cover up the pain with indifference," he explained. "It doesn't work. People end up wondering why you're so detached and try to engage you." He handed her the vial and she took it. "Try anger. People tend to ignore those who are angry. No one will ask you questions."Omegas let out a clearly ironic laugh and shook her head. "Thanks for the suggestion."She reached back to the table and picked up her bag. She placed the vial inside and slung it over her shoulder."Well, as you probably guessed, there won't be a lesson today. You may return to your office."Severus approached her. "Technically, I am in my office."She turned and gave him a single, tiny hint of a mischievous grin. Then she turned serious again and took a few steps in his direction as well."It's been over a month, Severus," she said. "Don't you think it's time to stop?"His stern frown suddenly darkened."How did you know—""Because I see you. Always," she interrupted.She looked him in the eye, and he knew that her statement lacked the romantic connotations it might have had in other contexts. It was vaguely threatening."I see you in the corridors, even if you keep your distance," she continued. "I see you outside the classroom, watching my lessons. I see you in the park, in the Great Hall, I see you—""You couldn't see me here," he replied, "I was invisible."Omegas let out a short laugh. "Yes, well, to be more practical, I smelled you."Severus kept looking at her, blinking a little longer than usual. He cursed himself for being stupid enough not to consider that possibility and finally replied with a simple but heartfelt, "Oh."There was a long pause. Severus used those moments to search for a note of anger, frustration or fear on her face, but there didn't seem to be any. It certainly wasn't the face of someone confronting a persecutor; she seemed almost amused. It irritated him."Why didn't you say something if you knew—""I thought it was your way of adjusting," she explained. "That if I gave you time, you'd stop after a while. But things are getting worse here, Severus." She stopped in front of him and met his eyes again. "It's becoming an obsession, you know that, don't you?"Severus knew perfectly well, but that didn't stop his latent anger from surfacing all at once."Did it ever occur to you that maybe it's because you vanished without any explanation at all?" he spat. "That maybe it's not you that's obsessing me, but the reason behind your—""Tell me that if I gave you the reason, you'd leave me alone," she interrupted. She moved closer, almost brushing against him, and her face became dangerous again. "Look me in the eye and tell me that if I gave you my reason, whatever it was, you'd respect it instead of trying to solve the problem."Those words certainly didn't have the effect on Severus that Omegas had hoped for. He gave her a half-smile and took on the triumphant air of someone who had won."So there is a problem to solve," he remarked.She scoffed. "No, Severus, there's no problem to solve," she said, stepping away again, "there's just a problem."He followed her. "Whatever it is, it can be—""No, it can't," she cut him off.Three was the limit of interruptions Severus could tolerate in a single conversation without getting angry. She had just reached four, causing his face to automatically contort into a furious grimace. She challenged it, first with some stubbornness, then with complete, dark resignation."Please, drop it," she pleaded. "Trust me. It's not worth your trouble. Let it go."Severus straightened and looked down at her. He spoke the next word in a tone that he hoped conveyed all the frustration, anger and pain that had accompanied him for the last four months of his life."No."She was silent for a moment. Then she sighed, with the air of dealing with a particularly stubborn child."Very well," she said. "Do as you please, then."She gave him an embarrassed smile, which Severus judged to be slightly pitiful, and which only exacerbated the feeling he had for her at the moment. He didn't say another word to her. He left the office, slamming the door behind him, telling himself that the phase of obsessive investigation could now be considered over. If she wanted to play her cards close to her chest, he wouldn't back down. It was open war.Severus didn't sleep that night. Not that it was anything new, it had become a routine, but for the first time in months, instead of spending the sleepless night tormenting himself, he spent it trying to find a way to annoy her. Something that would shake her up, something that would force her to stop running from the confrontation she had been avoiding for far too long. He thought and thought, and by dawn Severus realised he was enjoying himself. He realised that the prospect of causing her even a small part of the pain she had caused him was giving him the first tiny hint of joy he had felt in a long time. Finally, at dawn, he decided to act. Severus left his quarters, feeling no burning desire to return immediately. He walked slowly to the Headmistress' office, knocked on the door and waited to be invited in. When he was, he entered with a completely colourless face, made his move and left. He retraced his steps, returned to the dungeons, returned to his quarters, slowly sat down in his armchair and waited. He waited for the better part of a day, indicating that at least one of the parties involved had taken some time. Then, on Monday morning, the sound he had been waiting for finally manifested itself.A furious knock on the door of his quarters echoed through the small, silent sitting room. Severus grinned, rose from the armchair and filled two glasses with a wave of his wand."Come in," he said.Omegas entered with such force that the door slammed against the wall, rebounded and closed itself."Ah, Omegas," Severus said in the same vague tone she usually used with him. "Something to drink?"She ignored the pleasantries and gave him the look she usually reserved for those she wanted to decapitate. She pointed a finger at him."You told McGonagall about Hagrid taking Gad into the forest," she accused.He stared at her for a moment. He placed the second glass of wine on the table and sipped his own nonchalantly."Yes," he replied calmly.Omegas took a step forward, then stopped abruptly, closed her eyes and sighed."And why did you do that?" she asked, her tone falsely calm."Well, I couldn't possibly allow a fourth year to risk his life, could I? It would have been irresponsible of me. The forest is dangerous, you know."He sat back in the armchair and raised the glass to his lips again, partly to hide the smirk that threatened to betray his expressionless face."You don't care about Gad's safety," she bellowed. "You don't care about the safety of any student."He smiled insolently. "Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think."Omegas fell silent. They looked at each other for a long time, he satisfied, she searching for a way to argue with that statement."Gad doesn't know you were there," she continued, without any sign of softening her tone. "He thinks it was me.""Then tell him it was me," he suggested."I can't tell him it was you!" she exclaimed."Oh, right," Severus said, laughing sarcastically, "you'd have to explain why you allowed me to watch those lessons without him knowing. You'd have to admit that you violated his privacy.""I violated his privacy?" she blurted out. "I violated it, Severus? You do nothing but violate the privacy of everyone around you! It's basically your hobby. You should consider leaving the Dark Arts and devoting your time to that. I think you're more gifted at sticking your nose into things that don't concern you!"Severus chuckled at that."What's so funny?" she shouted.He didn't answer. He stayed in his armchair and continued to sip. She approached him cautiously."What is it you want? Hm? Because if it's a dialogue you're after, you're certainly not going to get it like this.""No, no," he said, shaking his head. "I've given up on dialogue at this point. I just wanted to make you angry.""WELL, CONGRATULATIONS!" Omegas yelled. "YOU DID IT! I'M ANGRY! NOW WHAT?"Severus stood up. He challenged the sparks of pure fury that Omegas was sending in his direction and stood in front of her. He prepared to deliver a speech he had been working on for months, hoping for the moment to unleash it on her. A speech that would talk about respect, responsibility, the consequences of actions, how much she had hurt him, and would end by letting her know that he not only wanted an answer, a concrete one, but that he demanded it. He opened his mouth and felt that mixture of anger and excitement typical of when one is about to take out all their frustration on someone. But he was denied that pleasure.Four light, hesitant, almost fearful knocks sounded on the dark wood of the door to the quarters. Severus and Omegas turned in unison, then looked at the clock. Half past five in the morning. They looked back at each other with identical confused expressions."Expecting someone?" she asked."No," he replied.The four knocks repeated, a little more determined, a lot more urgent. Severus and Omegas looked at the door, and then at each other again. A moment later, all traces of their argument had disappeared. She nodded and motioned for him to open the door. He also nodded and moved towards the door. He lowered the handle in a sharp motion and found himself facing a scene he had rarely seen in his many years of teaching. Professor McGonagall, in a Scottish nightgown, dishevelled, trembling and with reddened eyes, stood on the threshold, holding a white handkerchief to her mouth."Headmistress," he said in a tone that made the statement sound more like a question than a greeting."Is Omegas here?" she asked, completely forgetting the pleasantries.Severus stepped aside, allowing the Headmistress to see the woman behind him. Omegas approached her, brow furrowed and eyes squinting."Were you looking for me, Headmistress?""I was looking for both of you," she replied in a weak voice."What's wrong?" asked Severus.Professor McGonagall cast a look of horror at each of them in turn."A student has been murdered."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
There was no need to speak. The three of them hurried along the dungeon corridor, the Headmistress leading and the other two following. They walked quickly, without asking questions, to the fifth floor of the castle. They reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered and found, in front of the fourth door on the right, almost the entire teaching staff in their nightclothes. Professor McGonagall stopped abruptly in front of the group and gave each of the professors present a grave look."Headmistress!" exclaimed Sylvia, who was wearing a black silk nightgown. "What—""Not now, Sylvia," she interrupted. "The situation is extremely delicate. Your cooperation is vital.""What can we do?" intervened Professor Sinistra, wearing a silver nightshirt. "Filius woke us and told us to come here, but we don't know what—""Very well, Filius," she said, nodding to Professor Flitwick, "you and Sybill go and wake up Pomona. Don't bring her up here, take her to the Great Hall, give her a hot cup of tea and wait for me."The two nodded and obeyed a moment later."Sylvia, Aurora, keep an eye on the students. Make sure no one reaches the prefects' bathroom, in fact, make sure no one reaches the fifth floor. They mustn't see anything," she said firmly."But Professor, what—" Sylvia tried again, but was interrupted once more."I'll let you know in due course. We are in full crisis now," she said briskly. "Rolanda?" she called.Professor Hooch approached, while the other two reluctantly moved away to carry out their tasks."Wake the prefects and the captains of the Quidditch teams. Tell them that today's match has been cancelled.""Headmistress..." she said, clearly devastated by the news, "I don't... I don't know the password to the other dormitories, I can only get into Ravenclaw's," she noted."Gillywater is Gryffindor's," she replied. "Severus?"Professor Hooch turned to him, who very reluctantly muttered a "Thestral" under his breath."There will be no need to inform the Hufflepuff Captain," the Headmistress added with a look that made it clear how unwelcome further questions on the matter were."Good," Professor Hooch replied, "Yes, good." And she darted off down the corridor.The Headmistress turned to the remaining three."Rubeus, Omegas and Severus, you come with me." She turned to the door, then back to them. "Prepare yourselves. As you may have guessed, it's not going to be pleasant."She looked back at the entrance and said "Lotus".The door opened slowly, and the scene behind it was indeed unpleasant. The first thing they saw was the stained glass window with the image of a mermaid, smashed to pieces. Beneath it, the prefects' large bathtub was filled to the brim, and the soap suds had completely evaporated. Lying on the water's surface, arms outstretched, legs spread, and a look of pure terror on his face, was a pale boy with sleek black hair shaved at the sides, still wearing a Hufflepuff uniform and clutching his wand in his left hand. The water beneath his motionless body had taken on a reddish hue, leaving little doubt as to the fate of the unfortunate boy floating above. Professor McGonagall, with the handkerchief back over her mouth, cast a look of horror and regret at the scene, conveying to each of the others the gravity of her feelings. Or she would have, if the three of them hadn't been busy reacting in three diametrically opposed ways to the sight before them.Hagrid gasped and took a quick step back. He seemed to be choking back a sob, fighting both the urge to look away and the urge to keep watching. Severus froze for a moment. His eyes widened, he stayed where he was, and only after a few moments of cautious reflection did he lean forward slightly, careful not to show any hint of emotional reaction. Finally, without hesitation, Omegas took every step that separated her from the edge of the tub, knelt down and for a few moments it seemed she was considering putting a hand in. She studied the boy's body, her head tilted to one side and a decidedly inappropriate expression on her face. What the three reactions, so very different, had in common was an absolute inability to speak for the next five minutes.Severus, regaining his composure, looked around and knew he had to be the one to speak first. Hagrid was too shaken to utter anything coherent, McGonagall seemed to have lost the ability to speak forever, and he was genuinely afraid of what might be the first thing to come out of Omegas's mouth."Who's the boy?" he asked, careful to show nothing more than respectful professionalism."He- He's... Noah," Hagrid stammered, choking on sobs. "The n-new captain o' the H-Hufflepuff team. A wonderful boy, really. So sweet, full o' friends, always—""He's Sprout's stepson?" asked Omegas, without taking her eyes off his body.Professor McGonagall was so distraught that she didn't notice the utter lack of sensitivity in the other's tone. She nodded and dabbed at the corner of her eye with her handkerchief."He died... under my responsibility," she murmured. "A boy died on my watch. I let it happen... I did—""You didn't do anything," Omegas interjected firmly. "The boy was out of bed in the middle of the night, against the rules you imposed on the students for legitimate reasons. And anyway, we don't know all the facts, do we? We know nothing. It could have been anyone..."She spoke that last sentence with just a hint of intrigue as she returned her violet eyes to the boy's body. This time, judging by the stern look she gave her, the Headmistress noticed the blatant inappropriateness, but chose to overlook it, probably surprised by the other's words of reassurance."Why are we here?" Severus intervened.It was only after asking the question that he realised he had shown the same lack of tact as the woman."I mean, why us, of all the Hogwarts staff?" he hastily clarified."Well, I thought that whoever or whatever did this must have been either a magical creature, a potion or something that falls under the definition of 'Dark Arts'," she explained. "So I called my experts.""Excellent intuition," Omegas commented."Of course, I've already sent an owl to the Auror Department—""Oh, no, you notified the Aurors?" the other interrupted, in the tone of a child who has just had a toy taken away.The Headmistress looked up at her, eyes full of reproach."Of course I notified the Aurors," she said firmly.Omegas scoffed. "Then we'd better make our considerations quickly, before they come and start snooping around." She stood and took decisive steps towards the gamekeeper. "Rubeus?"He looked at her from behind his large, polka-dotted handkerchief, showing not the slightest sign of having the strength for an investigation."W- wha'?" he sobbed.She looked at him in confusion. "You're the expert on magical creatures. Do you think it could have been a magical creature?"Hagrid stared at her for a moment; then he tried to lean forward to make his considerations, but was shaken by a sob far more violent than the previous ones, and finally stepped back."I-I don' think a creature could- could have done summat like tha', no," he explained. "Anyway, i don' see how it could have get inter the castle, even if it wanted ter.""Yes, good observation," she agreed. "Well, I don't think it could have been a potion. Any that I can think of that would cause such massive bleeding would have left marks on the body, and it seems clean. Most poisons, if they make their victim bleed, usually do so orally." She approached the body again and examined it carefully. "There seems to be no sign of bleeding from the mouth. I'd rule out potions. Severus?"He looked around again and found himself facing three pairs of expectant eyes. Slightly uncomfortable, he took a step forward, then another, reaching the edge of the tub. Leaning forward, he analysed the scene more closely, taking far more time than necessary to speak again.The reason for his hesitation wasn't the difficulty in drawing his conclusions, but rather the feelings that being in such a situation evoked. His gaze shifted for a moment from the body of the boy in front of him to that of the woman beside him. Together again, facing a mystery to be solved. The emotion the realisation stirred in him was so far removed from what he had felt a second earlier, looking at the corpse of a student, that his brain flickered. He made sure the hesitation lasted no longer than a moment. He stood up straight, took one last look at the boy, then turned to the Headmistress."There are no wounds on the body, at least not on this side," he observed. "The curses that cause this kind of bleeding leave obvious marks. His clothes would be torn if he had been attacked with one of them.""He could have been attacked from behind," Omegas noted."Yes," he agreed, "but that's unlikely. The boy holds his wand tightly, very tightly, and his expression leaves no room for speculation. He fought his attacker, confronted him. He also fell on his back. It's more likely he was attacked from the front."Omegas gave him a smirk, one that eloquently said 'Not bad'. It was an automatic gesture, and in an equally mechanical one, he gave her a satisfied grin. Then both realised the exchange they had just had and quickly returned to their unperturbed frowns."But if it wasn't a creature, a potion or a curse," Professor McGonagall observed, "then what was it?"All three present turned to her."There is another possibility," explained Severus, who had already considered the hypothesis."What?" asked Omegas, excited and unable to hide it."That it's not his blood," he replied.She turned to look at the tub again. The usual unsettling glow in her eyes suddenly ignited."Interesting," she said, leaning back over the scene."But Severus," the Headmistress continued, moving quickly towards him, "if it's not his blood, then whose—""The attacker's, I presume." He shrugged. "The boy fought back. Maybe he managed to hit the attacker, and the killer was wounded. He could have done the deed and then stopped to treat himself without worrying about leaving traces."Omegas scoffed. "Idiot."Severus took all his strength not to respond to that comment with an amused grin."If that's the case, we could trace him, right?" asked Professor McGonagall. "We could find him.""It's possible," Severus confirmed."Then we can only hope that you're right, Severus."He nodded slowly. There was a moment of static silence before Omegas' voice, as calm as always, at least in public, spoke again."We should move him," she announced."We can't move him," the Headmistress replied, "not before the Aurors arrive, Omegas.""Hmm..." she murmured. "No, I think we should move him now."The other rolled her eyes in annoyance."And why, pray tell, would there be this sudden urgency?"Omegas slowly stood up and gave her an insolent smile."The boy has just opened his eyes."The next fifteen minutes were chaos. Professor McGonagall, still in her nightgown, ran out of the prefects' bathroom calling loudly for Madam Pomfrey and somehow managed to maintain all her rigidity. Hagrid, in an impulsive gesture, ran to the tub, seemingly intending to jump in and pull the boy out with his bare hands."Rubeus, please," Omegas tried, holding him back by the sleeve, "wait for Madam Pomfrey to arrive. We don't know anything, you could make it worse!"But nothing seemed to calm him."He'll drown! He'll drown if we leave 'im!" he shouted.Severus and Omegas exchanged a perplexed glance, then cast an investigative look at the body. The boy, lying motionless on the surface of the water, didn't seem inclined to stop floating, or to make any movement apart from blinking. Omegas tried to point it out to the half-giant, but to no avail, and finally Severus had to levitate him to the ground to prevent Hagrid from immersing himself in the tub and contaminating the scene. Meanwhile, thanks to the Headmistress' cries and the general commotion of the teaching staff, most of the students had gotten out of bed, and a few curious ones, including players from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams who seemed particularly persistent, tried to get past the supervision of Professors Sinistra and Barbosa. One brave fifth-year Ravenclaw girl managed to get past the teachers and into the fifth floor corridor."Merrick!" Sylvia shouted, chasing her up the stairs. "Merrick, come back here! You're in detention, do you hear me? Come back here!"But the girl reached the now wide open bathroom door, saw the boy on the floor and let out a scream that would wake anyone lucky enough to be still asleep. Sylvia, now holding the girl by the arm, saw the scene and froze."What... what the hell happened?" she muttered.Omegas looked up at her, then at the boy at her feet, then back at her."What do you think happened?" she asked sarcastically. "Take the girl away!"Sylvia was visibly irritated. "'The girl' has a name, Omegas. You've known her for two years, you should know it."The other rolled her eyes. "You think this is the time for a lesson? There's a half-dead boy here," she observed."Oh really?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "And what's his name?"Omegas opened her mouth, took a breath and then immediately closed it. She looked at Severus, then at Hagrid."What did you say his name was?"Severus, caught in a moment of disorientation, did the last thing he should have done under the circumstances. He let out a barely audible laugh, lowered his head and shook it. Then he raised it and found himself facing Hagrid's incredulous eyes, Sylvia's scandalised ones and Omegas' deeply sad ones. Irritated, he raised his wand to slam the door in their faces, but he didn't get the chance. The commotion had attracted the rest of the staff.Professor Sprout took a moment to focus on the scene before her. At first, she was mostly dumbfounded, staring at the boy lying on the floor with half-closed eyes. Then, in an instant, she seemed to regain the ability to make sense of the image. She widened her eyes, parted her lips and shook her head slightly."No..." she murmured. "No, no..."And she continued to shake it, faster and faster, until her hat fell to the ground. She tried to throw herself onto the boy's body, but Hagrid lunged forward, preventing her from reaching him."NO!" she cried, her voice loud enough to cut through the surrounding air. "NO! LET ME IN! LET ME IN!""'s okay, professor, he's not dead. He's not dead!" the gamekeeper tried, but she seemed unable to hear him."NOAH! NOAH!" she screamed, a pair of large tears streaming down her plump cheeks.The other teachers around her watched the scene in horror, some with their heads down, trying not to look, others in shock, their eyes fixed on the boy, and others sharing their colleague's tears. Hagrid lifted Professor Sprout up and began to walk away."NO, NOAH! PLEASE, PLEASE, NO!"Her voice continued to echo down the corridor, growing more distant but losing none of its desperation. Severus, who had seen many similar scenes, over the past two years had grown accustomed to sharing them with the same pair of eyes, and in a movement he couldn't control, he turned to find her. She met his gaze for a moment; then she turned away, reached the far corner of the group and didn't look at anyone again until Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey reentered the bathroom with a floating stretcher in tow.The boy was taken to the infirmary, the students were escorted to their dormitories and the professors headed for the Great Hall to assess the situation. The chaos had subsided for the moment, at least inside the castle, for in the hearts of the staff it didn't seem to be easing at all. In the Great Hall, surrounded by her colleagues, Professor Sprout sat at the High Table, clutching her hat. Some patted her encouragingly on the back, others tried to whisper words of comfort, but nothing seemed to distract her vacant gaze, which was fixed on an indefinite point beyond the four long tables."How do I tell Madeleine?" she whispered after more than twenty minutes of stunned silence. "I've told her to send him to Hogwarts after the war. How do I tell her?""They will find out what happened to him, Pomona," Professor Flitwick tried. "Poppy will find a way to cure him, the boy will be fine. Everything will be fine."Hagrid nodded vigorously. "O' course. O' course she will cure 'im," he said, as Professor Trelawney proceeded to describe in vivid detail visions of the boy appearing happy and perfectly healthy, and how the influence of Jupiter and its healing powers would ensure the boy's full recovery within a few months. Professor Sinistra rolled her eyes and seemed on the verge of retorting, but was promptly interrupted by Sylvia, who approached the table with a steaming cup of tea and placed it in front of Professor Sprout."Here you are," she said affectionately. "This will do you good. It's a special tea, you know. It's my mother's old recipe."The other accepted with a weak, sad smile, and Severus, observing the scene from a safe distance, was grateful that none of those present, except him and Omegas, had ever met Mrs. Barbosa before her recent passing. He turned to look for Omegas, intending to comment on that exchange with a sarcastic glance, but realised she wasn't there. She was the only one, except for Professor McGonagall, who hadn't reached the Great Hall with the others.The Headmistress, however, joined the group about half an hour later, accompanied by a tall woman with short blonde hair and broad shoulders, and two boys who were unmistakably Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Professor McGonagall raised an arm to signal the others to stop talking, and a moment later everyone fell silent."This is Astrid Beaumont," she announced. "She's the new Head Auror. She is here for the inspection, and in the coming days she will have free access to the castle to conduct her investigation. I expect the full cooperation of each and every one of you."She cast a few authoritative glances at each of the professors, reserving a particularly inquisitorial one for Severus. Then she turned with an even sterner expression, searching for something. She frowned and approached him as the Head Auror, with the two boys in tow, headed for the High Table to introduce herself to the others."Where is Omegas?" she whispered.Severus looked at her in confusion. "I don't know.""Well, find out," she ordered. "And keep an eye on her. We both know her opinion of the Aurors. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."He frowned, more than a hint of irritation distorting his thin face."And why should I be the one to keep an eye on her?" he asked.Professor McGonagall turned to him with a raised eyebrow. She looked him in the eye, then let her gaze sweep over him with an ironic air."I thought we had already established that, Severus. I'm not stupid," she declared.She turned and walked towards the High Table. Severus stood still, watching as she approached Professor Sprout, helped her up and led her away from the crowd. It took him a while to focus on the logical consequence of the exchange he had just had, but finally, with a lost look and thoughts far removed from anything happening around him, the realisation came. Professor McGonagall didn't know. Omegas didn't have a private room, not because the Headmistress hadn't assigned her one, but because she hadn't communicated that she needed one. Officially, Omegas still shared quarters with him. Inevitably, intrusively, a feeling that seemed to have left him for months reappeared. Hope. Surely there was a reason for that lack of communication, and discovering it suddenly became more important than any mystery involving attacked boys and mysterious magical wounds."Professor Snape?"A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was a firm, confident voice, yet calm, almost reassuring. Severus looked up at the woman standing before him and found himself looking into a pair of hazel eyes and hair that was decidedly too bright a blonde to be natural. The Head Auror gave him a warm smile and held out her hand."Astrid Beaumont."Severus hesitated for a moment. The last time he had found himself shaking hands with a representative of the Auror Department, it hadn't led to anything pleasant. Finally, determined to show nothing but his usual cold impassivity, he extended his arm and returned the greeting."I apologise for the intrusion. It must be unpleasant. You must be quite shaken, I imagine."Severus hated, and would always hate, others making assumptions about his state of mind; but when they were off the mark, it was decidedly easier to hide his irritation."Shaken, yes," he confirmed.The other didn't seem to notice the heavy irony behind his answer and gave him another encouraging look."You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, aren't you?""I am," he replied, not bothering to hide a good dose of personal satisfaction."Good!" she exclaimed. "An expert eye, someone from within the school, will be useful. Mr Potter speaks very highly of you, you know?"The Professor resisted the impulse to respond to that comment with a glare."He speaks highly of most teachers, truth be told... it's a pleasure to be able to put faces to his stories, though the circumstances are obviously far from pleasant," the Auror continued. "I haven't had the chance to put a face to Professor Grindelwald yet, though. Do you know where she is?"Only when the question was asked did Severus realise that he did, indeed, know exactly where Omegas was. He studied the woman's kind face for a few more seconds, then nodded slowly."I'll go get her.""Thank you, Professor," she said."You're welcome," he replied.He ended the conversation with a quiet nod and walked towards the atrium, driven by far more than the simple intention of keeping his word.He climbed the stairs and found Omegas where he had imagined she would be: standing just outside the infirmary door. She had her arms crossed and her eyes were fixed on Madam Pomfrey, who was examining the boy. Severus approached and stopped beside her, watching the scene with her in silence. Noah, his eyes wide open and his face frozen in the same expression of horror, didn't move a muscle. Madam Pomfrey lifted his arms, then his legs, and finally ran her wand over his body several times. She took a glass bottle from the bedside table, poured some of the contents onto a spoon and placed it between the boy's lips: nothing. Nothing but his eyelids seemed to show any sign of life. The Healer turned to Omegas and shook her head gravely. She signalled her understanding with a nod. Madam Pomfrey turned again and hid the bottle in the cupboard."What is it?" asked Severus."We've tried every Revitalising Potion currently on the market," Omegas explained. "That one is not currently on the market."She didn't elaborate, and the two fell back into their silent contemplation."I've never seen that potion fail before," she continued after almost two minutes of silence. "Never. Once, in France, there was a girl who had been sleeping for—""For almost an entire year," he interrupted, "and no potion seemed to work, until an unknown elderly Potioneer arrived who handed you and the locals a mysterious bottle. The parents, desperate, decided to trust and try, and the girl regained consciousness in time for her wedding two weeks later. Yes, I know."Omegas turned sharply. Only then did she seem to realise who was standing next to her. She gave him a look of sadness that quickly turned to one of resentment."Hi," she said."Hi," he replied. "Still angry?"He asked the question with a hint of mockery, which earned him a murderous look."Yes," she replied, sincerely. "But I suppose I'll have to put aside the sudden urge to punch you that has come over me. I'd risk giving Madam Pomfrey more work, and she's already so busy."Severus gave her an amused and slightly insolent grin."Anyway," she continued, "I think the Headmistress will be too busy to worry about Gad's walks in the forest for a while.""Hmm," he commented, "Nodens should thank our mysterious attacker.""He should," she agreed.A few more minutes of silence passed before Severus decided to broach the subject. Madam Pomfrey, meanwhile, had turned the boy onto his back and was examining him, looking for something to explain the paralysis."Speaking of the Headmistress..." he began as if it were a trivial matter. "We had an interesting conversation earlier.""Hmm?" she replied in a distant tone."It seems your reputation hasn't improved much since Lexius was arrested. The Headmistress is afraid you might have problems with the new Head Auror."Omegas chuckled. "Yeah, well, I can't blame her."He snorted in response. "No, neither can I."He turned to her, waiting for her to meet his gaze, but she didn't."For some unknown reason, the Headmistress has asked me to keep an eye on you," he continued, feigning a very false nonchalance.Omegas' eyes snapped to him, albeit just for a moment. She flushed and quickly returned her attention to the boy, who was now back on the white sheets."Do you know anything about it?" Severus pressed.She turned away and he was almost certain he saw a hint of an irritated grimace. He grinned, savouring every trace of discomfort she failed to hide."Where and how the Headmistress gets her information is none of my business, Severus," she commented sourly. "Nor yours, for that matter.""Where and how she gets her information is our business, Omegas," he countered, "if the information concerns our private life.""There is no 'our' private life," she retorted, scoffing. "There's my private life, and then there's your private life."Severus gave her a crooked and vaguely malicious smile. "Not according to her."Omegas' lips trembled. She lifted her head and looked straight ahead again."I allow myself to believe that I have more accurate information about my private life than Professor McGonagall.""Of course, yes," he said, nodding. "My question is: why?"Omegas didn't answer. She kept her gaze fixed to the left, almost turning her back on him. Severus moved closer, giving her a look so penetrating that she was forced to turn and meet it."Why doesn't she know, Omegas?" he asked, not bothering to hide a certain malice.She wrinkled her nose. "I'm a rather private person, if you hadn't noticed," she replied in a threatening hiss.He raised an eyebrow. "Private enough not to ask for personal quarters and be forced to sleep in the Chamber of Secrets?"Omegas frowned. "How do you know where I sleep?"Severus opened his mouth, but finally decided not to answer.They just stared at each other for a few moments, both forgetting the presence of two prying eyes just a few inches away. They only remembered Madam Pomfrey's presence when she cleared her throat, forcing them to turn towards her. The Healer, now standing in front of them, seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown."This is an infirmary, not a pub," she observed irritably. "If you want to chat, do it somewhere else."Embarrassed, Severus and Omegas nodded in unison, turned and started walking down the corridor on the fourth floor."You need to stop," she ordered, walking so fast he almost had to run to keep up."Stop what?""You know damn well. You're stalking me.""I'm not stalking you," he replied sternly."Yes, you are!" she exclaimed, stopping abruptly. "You watch me while I teach.""I'm ensuring that my previous teaching is treated with the respect it deserves.""You eavesdrop on my conversations with Sylvia," she continued."I have the same right to walk these corridors as anyone else. If I happen to be near you while—""You spy on my private lessons!" Omegas snapped."Thank Merlin," he remarked, "otherwise a student in an already fragile physical condition would have ventured into the Forbidden Forest knowing he had your permission to—""Oh, stop it! Who are you trying to fool?" she interrupted. "You don't even like the boy."An angry grimace slipped from Severus' control. "You like him too much," he hissed.Omegas seemed about to object but reconsidered. She took a deep breath and the hostile expression on her face changed dangerously to an impassive one. She approached him menacingly and pointed a finger at him."Who I like and how much is none of your business," she said in a murmur that was all too close to a growl.Severus met the sparks of hatred in her violet eyes with an equally deadly stare. He remained silent for a few more moments, just long enough for the previous topic to be considered closed and for his words to have the desired impact."You know what I think, Omegas?""What?" she said impatiently."I think the reason you didn't tell McGonagall you needed personal quarters is the same reason you didn't expose me as soon as you realised I was spying on you," he explained.She scoffed derisively."The same you came back to Hogwarts" he continued. "And the same you're still here, having this conversation with me, instead of running away like you do when anyone else in the castle tries to talk to you."Omegas continued to look him in the eyes, furiously, until she betrayed a fleeting, tiny grimace of pain. She looked away quickly, in a gesture that was all too eloquent. Severus smiled. He wanted it to be a smile that conveyed an honest 'tell me the truth. You can talk to me. Whatever it is, we can work it out', but it wasn't. When she turned back, she did so with eyes at least ten times angrier than before."Are you trying to humiliate me, Severus?" she asked.It was the most dangerous tone he had ever heard from those lips."No, not to humiliate you. No," he explained hastily. "I just want to know the truth."She moved closer, almost touching the tip of his nose. The grimace on her face made Severus want to back away, but he didn't."Leave me alone," she ordered, in a barely audible whisper, yet so clear in its ferocity.He didn't respond. He swallowed and waited for her to back off, but she didn't."The new Head Auror is looking for you," he said with great nonchalance. "You'd better go and introduce yourself, and you'd better do it politely. Otherwise, the Headmistress will come to complain to me and I'll have to come looking for you."Omegas didn't reply. She walked away slowly, with the same angry expression on her face; then she looked over her shoulder, walked past him and headed for the stairs.Severus listened as the footsteps behind him grew fainter. When he could no longer hear them, he turned and walked to the staircase, heading towards the Great Hall without saying a word. That Monday continued to be as strange as it had begun. Classes were cancelled and students were confined to their common rooms until the Auror inspection was over. When it was, Astrid Beaumont left, promising to begin her investigation as soon as possible and announcing her intention to return to the castle the following day to take statements from everyone present. In the afternoon, Professor Sprout's wife, Madeleine, a short woman with a thick mane of brown hair pulled back in an elaborate updo and eye make-up that must have been heavy before it ran down her face, was escorted to the infirmary and spent the next two hours bent over her son's motionless body, doing nothing but despairing. Severus stayed away from her grief; not because it pained him to watch, as it had in the past, or because he simply wanted to stay away from any possible emotional involvement. He did so because, as bizarre, heartbreaking and surreal as the situation was, the only thought he could formulate for the rest of that absurd Monday was that he had had an argument with Omegas that morning and had unexpectedly, incontrovertibly won.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
On Tuesday, Severus awoke in a decidedly better mood than he had been in the past few months. All things considered, he felt that recent events were significant steps forward compared to the silences and detached cordiality that had accompanied every interaction with Omegas in the recent period. Anger was definitely better than indifference. As he left his quarters, heading for breakfast in the Great Hall, he was eventually forced to remember that the previous Monday had not been a good day at all for the rest of the castle.Hogwarts was in mourning. Although he was still alive, most of his classmates, especially those who had been allowed to visit him in the infirmary, seemed convinced that Noah would never recover. News of his condition had spread like wildfire, and now the four house tables sat in sombre silence, only part of which was in solidarity. Many of the students, especially those from Ravenclaw and Slytherin, seemed more frightened than saddened for their classmate. Among the rumours circulating around the castle was one accusing a fellow student of the attack."It's definitely a seventh year," a fourth year Slytherin girl had whispered earlier that morning as she and a friend walked down the dungeon corridor."Yeah," the other nodded. "Have you heard what Hallow's been saying? He saw him, he was his friend, they let him in. He says he's practically dead." She shook her head vigorously and moved closer to her friend's ear. "There's no way it was someone younger, it had to be a seventh year."The other nodded in agreement and the two continued on their way, only to freeze and cling to each other as a seventh year Ravenclaw walked by. Perplexed, he frowned and shot confused glances in their direction until he disappeared around a corner.Severus, for his part, was conflicted. On one hand, a student in a life-threatening situation, attacked within the castle, brought with it a host of unpleasant consequences. Aside from the tragedy itself, the frightened students, the responsibility weighing on the professors and the general atmosphere of unease, having an ongoing investigation within the walls meant enduring the Auror Department coming and going, the surveillance shifts along the corridors that Professor McGonagall would undoubtedly assign him, and the anguish of the boy's mother, who seemed to have practically moved into the infirmary with no intention of leaving. However, it had to be said that, unpleasant as it was, this was arguably the most interesting thing to happen within those walls since Voldemort had been alive. Severus kept the thought to himself, of course. Officially, the visits he made first to the infirmary and then to the prefects' bathroom before starting his morning classes were nothing more than additional research, an attempt to assist the Head Auror who would be arriving in the afternoon.The boy was still motionless, and the Professor couldn't get too close; partly because he didn't want to risk a reprimand from Madam Pomfrey, and partly because the boy's mother was still sitting at his bedside, sobbing. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't examine him as he wished. The prefects' bathroom, however, was empty. The crime scene had not yet been cleaned, but a few spells had been cast on both the tub and the broken glass to prevent anyone from touching them and contaminating the evidence. As for the tub, there wasn't much to be done: he would have to wait for the Auror Department's analysis to get his answers, especially since he couldn't reach the water inside. However, he did notice something about the stained glass. He approached the window and carefully observed the way the glass was broken. It took him about two minutes to conclude that it was definitely not broken from the outside. No one could have entered through that window: it was too high, too narrow, and the castle was protected by spells that prevented potential intruders from breaking in. No, the glass must have been broken from the inside, which meant that whatever had happened, the broken window was collateral damage. A curse, then, a powerful one, definitely too elaborate even for a seventh year, seemed the most likely hypothesis.During his first Defence Against the Dark Arts class of the day, Severus had the seventh year Slytherin and Gryffindor students. He explained Liches: undead, demonic creatures that reached their monstrous final form after a ritual in which they placed a piece of their soul into an object. They had never been part of the Hogwarts curriculum until a couple of years before, but given recent events, the Professor and the Headmistress had agreed to include the creatures in the programme. Towards the end of the lesson, as always, the Professor asked the class if there were any questions and, as usual, walked towards his desk without looking at his students, knowing that none of them had paid enough attention to ask for clarification. When he turned, he was surprised to see two different hands raised. One belonged to a Gryffindor, the other to a Slytherin. He gave the girl the word first, almost certain that she would irritate him, so that he could alleviate that annoyance with the question from the boy, who was one of his brightest students.He wasn't wrong: the girl asked a question about the ritual required to make a Horcrux, showing a blatant lack of attention, since the Professor had clearly explained that the details of the ritual were forgotten, that it was ancient, and that any information that remained about it was carefully hidden. No one was in any position to perform the ritual. Severus pointed it out to her, with a good dose of sharpness in his tone."But do you know how it's done, sir?" she persisted. "I mean, you must have seen something. Anything. You were close to You-Know-Who for years."That question irritated him even more than the previous one. Not so much for the insinuation or the impertinence, but more because, despite his many years in Voldemort's service, that secret had never been revealed to him, and he didn't like being reminded of it. He glared at the girl."Even if I knew, Novak, I certainly couldn't tell a bunch of children, could I? That would be irresponsible.""But how are we supposed to understand if we ever come across someone trying to perform the ritual, if we don't know—""I trust that any of you, faced with such a dark ritual, would be able to recognise it even without knowing its exact purpose, Novak," he interrupted her. He took a few steps in her direction and looked down at her. "Though perhaps, all things considered, my trust may be nothing more than blind optimism."The girl, embarrassed, lowered her head and didn't answer. The Professor walked away, satisfied, turned and directed his gaze at the other student with his hand raised."Yes, MacLeod."The boy lowered his arm. "Sir, you said that when a Lich is killed, instead of dying, it will reform within a few inches of the object into which it has placed its soul.""I did, yes," he confirmed."But in the case of multiple objects, like the Dark Lord? Where would it reform?"The question met his expectations. It wasn't just an observation that showed the boy was paying attention to his words; it was also intelligent and purely academic, as Severus doubted there would ever be another Dark Wizard who intended to create more than one Horcrux in MacLeod's lifetime. There was one major flaw in that question: the Professor had no idea how to answer it. He paused in the centre of the classroom and considered for a few moments. Suddenly, a hand at the back of the classroom rose slowly, catching his attention and that of several students. Severus looked at the owner of the hand in confusion, then forced an air of indifference."Yes, Professor Grindelwald?"Omegas lowered her hand. "There has only been one documented case in history of a Dark Wizard splitting his soul into multiple parts," she began, moving slowly between the desks. "Fortunately for us, those who fought him managed to defeat him before his transformation into a Lich was complete. So we don't have enough data to give a concrete answer, but..."She stopped in front of the Professor."If I had to guess, I'd say he would reform next to the first object he used as a container for his soul, then eventually next to the second, and so on. What do you think, Professor Snape?"He ran his eyes over her face. "Plausible."She nodded slowly, and Severus noted with interest that along with her new sunglasses, Omegas now wore a resentful expression that seemed to have replaced her unflappable smile. A few moments later, however, the bell rang and the Professor was forced to look away from her face, turn, reach the desk and assign homework to his students.When the last student had stood up and walked towards the door, Omegas reached him and sat down on the edge of the desk. Severus walked around the table and stopped beside her, looking at her face."To what do I owe the pleasure of your intrusion?"She gave him a look that showed none of the amusement that question would have caused in the past."The Aurors are here," she explained. "I was asked to come get you."Severus frowned. "The meeting with the teachers is scheduled for this afternoon.""I know," she said. "It's not Beaumont. Harry wants to talk to us. In private, no less."Increasingly confused, he pondered the possible reasons for the meeting for a moment. Then his brain grasped the obvious implication behind the request. He turned, looked at her again and grinned."Potter doesn't know either."Omegas gave him a malevolent look that only increased the Professor's personal satisfaction."The boy is a romantic," he continued. "He'd never have forced us into the same room if he'd known. He would have preferred to talk to us separately."She didn't answer. She wrinkled her nose in an irritated grimace, turned, stood up and walked towards the classroom door."Harry's waiting for us in your office," she explained. "I told him to make himself comfortable. I hope you don't mind," she added, clearly intending to annoy him.Severus caught up with her and gave her a look of absolute indifference."Technically, that's your office," he observed.He earned a second glare, which didn't stop him from grinning all the way to the dungeons.The moment Severus opened the office door, Harry, who had been sitting in his chair fiddling with a vial on his desk, stood up abruptly and threw it onto the table so quickly that it was a miracle it didn't shatter."Sir," he greeted him sheepishly.The Professor, who normally would have been deeply disturbed by his presence, found that he wasn't. The boy in front of him believed that he and Omegas were still something. For the first time, it didn't bother him at all that he was sharing an opinion with Harry Potter."You wanted to see us, Potter?" he asked, a little less grumpy than usual.The other nodded. "Yes, sir. I wanted to talk to you before the meeting this afternoon."Severus reached the desk, sat down in his chair and with two identical waves of his wand made a chair appear on the other side of the table and one beside his own. He gestured for the boy to sit down, who nodded quietly and obeyed. Then he looked insistently at Omegas. She rolled her eyes in a movement so obvious that the dark glass she was hiding behind couldn't hide it. She walked over to his side of the table, sat down beside him and crossed her arms. Harry watched the scene with curious eyes. Unsure what to do, he opened his mouth a few times without saying anything; then he leaned towards the woman and whispered."Are you okay?"Omegas leaned towards the boy as well. "Do I look 'okay' to you?""Uh..." he replied, perplexed. "Not really, no."She leaned back in her chair. "Then don't ask stupid questions."Severus gave a half-amused smirk before regaining all his seriousness."Why are you here?" he asked, giving Harry a stern glance.The boy looked away vaguely. Severus read a great deal of embarrassment mixed with guilt in his gaze, a mixture of emotions confirmed by the subdued tone with which he muttered, "Well... you see, sir, I..." a moment later. He hesitated a few more times until, looking at the professors, he realised he was facing two irritated and rather impatient expressions. He took a deep breath, stood up, turned his back on them and uttered the next sentence all at once."I've come to make sure there's nothing I need to know before the investigation begins."Severus didn't immediately understand. He frowned, turned to Omegas and found her as disoriented as he was. It was only when he looked back at the boy's uncomfortable expression that he understood the insinuation behind the statement. All the resentment he hadn't felt towards him in the last few minutes resurfaced with three times the usual intensity. He rose from his chair and slowly approached him. He didn't speak until he was a hand's breadth away from his face, a pair of dangerously black eyes fixed on him."Are you accusing us, Potter?"Harry swallowed slightly. He met his gaze, then glanced at the woman behind him."No, sir," he said firmly. "But the last two murders investigated by the Auror Department were committed by one of you. So I thought it better to make sure."Severus suppressed the urge to slap him, then the urge to shout at him. He finally decided to vent his frustration by calling him a complete idiot and throwing him out of the office, but he was interrupted before he could."Why?" asked Omegas.Both the boy and the Professor turned to her."What?" said Harry, confused.She stood up, only to sit back down on the edge of the table."Why did you want to make sure, to report us? Or to cover for us?"Harry didn't answer. Severus looked at him again, astonished, and no one spoke for a long time. The boy lowered his head, only to raise it a moment later with a resolute look that Severus had never seen on his face before."I suppose it would depend on your reasons."Severus could no longer hide his surprise. His eyes widened, and for a moment his mind was filled with the realisation that Harry Potter was offering to cover for a hypothetical, seemingly unjustified attack on a student of his own. He turned again and observed one of Omegas' now ancient sly smiles on her face. She approached Harry and gave him a look that was half-compliant, half-tender. She remained silent for a moment; when she spoke again, it was with renewed calm."It's not one of ours, Harry," she explained. "Too elegant to be one of mine, not enough to be one of his."Severus gave her a half-smile. "Thank you.""Don't mention it," she replied, barely glancing at him.The boy shot a reproachful glance from one to the other. "That's not the answer I was expecting.""You expected us to have done it?" she asked."No," he said, shaking his head. "I expected you to get angry and call me an idiot. To shout at me to never again suggest that you'd harm one of your students.""Oh," Omegas replied. "Why, would you have believed us?""Of course I would have!" he said indignantly.She chuckled. "And I took the trouble to give you a logical reason. Did you hear that, Severus? These days, all you have to say to the Aurors is 'I didn't do it'."He gave a sarcastic snort and the two exchanged a conspiratorial look that lasted no more than a moment before she turned and sat back in her chair.Severus looked back at Harry. "Is your boss planning to interrogate us?""No," he said with a huff. "None of the teaching staff are suspects; the Auror Department is at a loss, at least for now.""Obviously," the other commented.They stared at each other, all three showing a great deal of shared discomfort."Is that all?" Severus asked, hoping to dismiss the boy.Harry seemed even more embarrassed than he had been a moment before. He flushed slightly and bowed his head."No, not really, sir," he murmured.He took two identical white envelopes with scarlet embroidery and gold lettering from the inside pocket of his cloak. Without looking at him, he handed one to Severus and the other to Omegas. Severus studied it with a raised eyebrow."What is this?""An invitation, sir. To a wedding. M-my wedding, in the summer."Severus looked up from the envelope and stared at him in disbelief. There was a brief pause; then Omegas, now standing again, tossed the envelope onto the desk, chuckled and approached the boy."Was it planned, or was it a mistake?" she asked.Harry, still staring at the floor, found the courage to raise his eyes slightly to the woman's face."What do you mean?""The pregnancy," she explained, "was it planned or was it a mistake?"The boy froze. He seemed taken aback at first, then his expression quickly changed to one of indignation."What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "Can't we get married just because we love each other?""At twenty and with no war upon us?" she scoffed with a sarcastic laugh. "No."Harry looked at her again, then shifted his gaze to the Professor. The blank look he observed seemed to irritate him even more. He shook his head and turned back to Omegas, now with a clear air of reproach."My child is no mistake."She laughed. "Bloody idiots," she commented."And anyway, the wedding was already planned. It has nothing to do with—""Of course not," she cut him off. "It's just a lucky coincidence."Harry snorted. "Are you coming or not?" he asked, losing even the hint of politeness he had left.In other situations, Severus would certainly have reprimanded him for his lack of respect, but Omegas had been so smug and annoying that he couldn't blame him. He turned to her and they exchanged a look full of unspoken words. Then the woman looked back at the boy, approached him and regained a small part of her composed calm."Of course," she said."Good," the other replied, clearly annoyed. He glanced at Severus and took his leave with a nod and a "Sir" through gritted teeth.When Harry slammed the door behind him more violently than usual, Severus approached Omegas and directed a pair of inquisitive and clearly amused eyes at her."What?" she snapped.He grinned. "What's wrong with you?"Omegas didn't respond. She let her glasses slide slightly down her nose and returned his gaze with one that expressed completely unjustified rage.Severus stifled a laugh. "Covering up pain with anger?"He wasn't sure, but he thought he caught the faintest hint of a sly smile beneath that thick layer of fury. Omegas adjusted her glasses, turned and walked towards the door."I have a lesson," she announced. "If you plan to attend, at least make yourself useful instead of standing outside the door."She floated over the threshold and down the corridor. Severus watched her with a smirk that wouldn't fade for the rest of the day. Deciding to take her last comment as an invitation rather than a snide remark, he made his way to the Potions classroom. She neither looked at him nor spoke to him, but for the first time in months, the two of them shared a room without arguing and without him having to hide.When the lesson ended, Severus dared not make a sound. He followed her out of the classroom towards the Great Hall and sat in silence next to her at the High Table. He watched her eat with obvious reluctance and imitated her. About halfway through lunch they were joined by Sylvia, who huffed loudly, sat next to Omegas and displayed a large black ink stain on the collar of her burgundy dress. They both stared at her for a moment."What happened?" Omegas asked."I don't want to talk about it," Sylvia replied.The other chuckled. "I hope you put them in detention.""He didn't do it on purpose," Sylvia protested. "He tripped.""Yeah," her friend said, "probably because he was too busy looking at you instead of paying attention to where he was going.""Oh, shut up," she ordered, starting to eat. "You finally joined us, Severus," she observed.Hearing Sylvia call him by his first name was surprising enough to make the Professor hesitate, and before he could express his frustration about it, she had already changed the subject."What do you think the Aurors want?" she asked, betraying only a hint of anxiety."Nothing," Severus replied. "They'll probably just ask us to cooperate. None of us are suspects."Sylvia made a sound of annoyance. "I hope not," she commented. She shook her head and for a moment seemed to lose her appetite. "The whole thing is absurd. That poor boy... within the walls of Hogwarts. A tragedy.""A tragedy, yes..." Omegas repeated, her gaze distant and a far too eloquent grimace on her face.Sylvia looked at her, then gave her a light tap on the shoulder."Will you stop it?""What have I done?" she asked, scoffing."At least try to pretend you're not enjoying this?"Omegas gave up on her lunch altogether, set down her fork and knife and pushed her plate away."I'm just saying it's interesting, that's all," she explained. "You know Madam Pomfrey still couldn't make him move?""I know, yes," Sylvia said. "Poppy told me. It's so sad...""Nothing," Omegas continued, captivated. "Not even a finger. And it's unclear why, the boy is perfectly healthy. No wound, no traces of curses or spells, no poisons of any kind. Nothing on his body, his clothes, no suspicious spells among the last ones his wand produced. Nothing at all. Whoever did this was very good."She stared into space for a while, rocking back and forth in her chair."You know what, I want to take a look at the prefects' bathroom before the meeting with the Aurors.""I've been there," Severus interjected, taking a nonchalant sip of water.The other looked at him expectantly."And?" she asked impatiently."And," he said, enjoying her reaction. "I couldn't analyse the blood, of course, but the glass..." he leaned towards her and began to whisper. "The glass was undoubtedly broken from the inside. It wasn't a break-in; they didn't use the window to get in. I think it was collateral damage.""Couldn't they have used it to escape?" Omegas objected."No," he replied, "it's unlikely. If we assume the theory that the attacker was injured is true, I doubt they could have even reached the window, let alone escaped into the park unnoticed from that height.""Perhaps they can fly," she suggested.He gave her a sceptical look. "How many people do you know who can?"She thought for a moment."One," she said finally.Severus grinned. She gave him a penetrating look from behind her dark glasses, and he couldn't be sure if the exchange was a flirt or a veiled accusation. It didn't make much difference though: he liked it and didn't bother to hide it."Do you two want me to leave you alone?" Sylvia interjected. "So you can use a boy's life to do your... things?"Omegas looked at her. She blushed visibly, then rolled her eyes. She leaned back in her chair, pulled out her wand and twirled it. A small six-digit number appeared on the white cloth of one of the napkins on the table. At more or less regular intervals, the last digit increased or decreased. The other two looked at it in confusion."What is it?" Sylvia asked."That's the number of children in critical condition around the world right now," she explained. "It's not our job to suffer for them, there are others who do that. If we did, I'm afraid we'd need more years than we have."The other huffed. "It doesn't cost anything to be kind sometimes, you know?""I know, yes," Omegas nodded. "If you want to be kind, please do it somewhere else. There's no need to pretend with me."Sylvia seemed to think about it. Then, resigned, she completely lost the contrite expression she had been wearing until that moment, and regained her usual cold gaze."Fine," she said, and resumed eating as if nothing had happened. "Are you guys coming to the Black Cat on Saturday?"Her friend frowned. "Why?""Because it's my birthday, Omegas," she said, dangerously serious."Oh," said the other.Neither of them responded to the invitation. They exchanged a second long, silent, eloquent look until Sylvia, impatient, stood up and took her plate and glass."You know what? I'm having lunch with Aurora," she declared, walking to the other end of the table with her head held high.Omegas snorted a laugh and refused to speak until the meeting with the Aurors took place.The Head Auror, as expected, took care to reassure everyone present that none of them were in any way under suspicion for the tragedy of the previous day. She invited anyone with any ideas to come forward and never lost an ounce of her calm, polite professionalism, even when Professor Trelawney offered her clairvoyant skills and spent the next fifteen minutes pontificating about sinister dark shadows looming menacingly over the boy. No one gave her any heed; no one except the boy's mother who, clutching Professor Sprout, gasped and spent the next twenty minutes sobbing. It took Professor McGonagall nearly half an hour to convince her that Trelawney's ravings were nothing but nonsense, and that it was rather unlikely that a perfectly normal sixteen-year-old boy would be haunted by dark presences of such magnitude. It was particularly difficult because the boy's mother didn't understand a word, and Professor Sprout had to translate phrase by phrase in French. The woman, not without casting a few pained glances at Harry Potter, finally seemed to calm down, and the session ended shortly afterwards.The entire staff stood up and quickly made their way to the exit; Professor Trelawney gave the Headmistress a particularly resentful look, which she did not hesitate to return with an icy glare. Ron Weasley, who along with Harry had been included in the case as the only one from the Auror Department to have attended the school in recent times, approached his friend and murmured something to him. The other nodded and gave him a signal that unmistakably meant 'wait outside'. Ron left the room, followed by Sylvia, Professor Sinistra and Omegas. The latter, however, did not have time to cross the threshold before a firm voice caught her attention."Professor Grindelwald, Professor Snape?" Beaumont called them.The two turned. They exchanged a quick glance, then watched as the Head Auror gestured for them to come forward. They obeyed, turned around and sat down again around the long High Table. The Headmistress followed, rigid and with a troubled look that had not left her for a second in the last forty-eight hours."Is everything all right?" she asked, clearly hiding a note of concern behind her rigid demeanour.The Auror smiled. "Everything's fine, Headmistress," she reassured her. "I just need to have a few words with your professors. If I'm allowed, of course."Professor McGonagall looked up at her."Of course," she nodded, reluctantly but determined not to show it.She gave Severus and Omegas sharp looks, the latter with a decidedly more peremptory tone, and made her way towards the exit of the Great Hall as well.The Head Auror walked around the table and took a seat in front of them, signalling for Harry to join her and sit beside her. She gave the professors a warm smile, rested her elbows on the table and crossed her fingers."Thank you for coming," she began. "First of all, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the Auror Department for the treatment you received from my predecessor. We didn't make much of an impression, did we?""No, I'd say you didn't," Severus agreed, without the slightest hint of willingness to accept her apology.He sensed Omegas stifling a laugh. The other didn't lose her polite manners."Mr Potter, as I've already mentioned to Professor Snape, speaks extremely highly of you," she declared.Harry blushed, lowered his head and refused to meet her gaze for the rest of the conversation."You, Professor Snape, as far as I know, have a rather conflicted past with the Auror Department.""You can put it that way," he replied with a grin that suggested the statement was nothing more than an understatement.The Auror turned to Omegas. "You've been arrested four times, in four different countries."Severus turned, surprised. He found her relaxed, arms crossed and eyebrows raised."Yes," she confirmed, "but never in England. Well, it's not too late, is it?"The Professor stifled a laugh and, to his surprise, so did the Head Auror. There was a brief pause, then Beaumont stood up and began to walk slowly along the table."This may be the perfect time to air old grievances," she remarked. "Such a tragic incident, in the school where you teach. You'll no doubt be as motivated to get to the bottom of this as any member of the Department. Perhaps more."Severus and Omegas looked at each other, equally perplexed."Are you asking for our help, Ms Beaumont?" he asked.The other stopped and gave him a second warm smile."Astrid, please." She looked at them in turn, then continued walking. "You, Professor Snape, are one of the leading experts on the Dark Arts in the country, at least from an academic point of view," she stated.Severus didn't bother to hide his satisfaction."And you, Professor Grindelwald," the Auror continued, "have travelled. You've seen more things than anyone in the Auror Department, including the senior members." She looked first at her, then at him. "Your help would be invaluable."A long silence followed. Astrid studied the two impassive faces in front of her and seemed to sense the complete lack of trust they had in her, her position and her entire Department. She finally decided to try a more direct approach. She sat down again, leaned towards them and lowered her tone considerably."I'll be honest, we have no idea what happened in that bathroom," she explained. "If you have any hypotheses, any at all... if you have any methods of inquiry in mind, or any—""The fact, Astrid," Omegas intervened, leaning forward as well, "is that I fear that even if I put my methods at your disposal, you and your Department might find them a bit... well... unconventional."The other seemed to think. She leaned further forward, almost reaching her face, and spoke in a murmur."I have no problem with unconventional methods, Professor," she replied. "As long as the good that results is greater than any eventual price to be paid."Omegas remained silent. She continued to look her in the eyes, and a few moments later she gave her one of her genuine smiles, a smile that Severus hadn't seen in months and was not at all pleased to see directed at the head of the Auror Department."Can you get us some blood samples to analyse?" Omegas asked, leaning back in her chair."Of course," the other nodded."And the boy," she continued. "We need to examine him.""The boy is about to be transferred to St Mungo's in the hope that the Healers can figure something out," Astrid explained. "I'll make sure you have access to his room, within the hospital's visiting hours of course.""Good," Omegas commented.The Auror stood up, clearly intending to leave. She buttoned the khaki vest she wore over her crisp white shirt and waited for the other three to get up as well. She looked from one to the other, then held out her hand to the woman."Can I count on your cooperation?" she asked.Omegas observed her hand. She hesitated for a moment, but finally, in a gesture that surprised the other two present, she took it and gave Astrid a cordial smile. Once that handshake was over, the Head Auror extended her hand to the other professor.Severus did not like the woman for a myriad of reasons, some of which were even rational. He considered not shaking her hand; then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the woman next to him. Accepting that collaboration meant agreeing to work with Omegas on an investigation. A responsibility that even she would not be inclined to shirk. It meant being forced to solve a mystery with her, to investigate, just as they had done in the past. It meant doing the very thing that had brought them closer in the first place, and the very thing he needed to do to ensure that they grew closer again. Reluctantly, with a mixture of excitement and irritation fighting inside him, Severus took the hand and shook it more firmly than necessary."Excellent!" Astrid exclaimed. "I'll make sure you have those samples by tomorrow. Professor Snape," she said, nodding. "Professor Grindelwald."She gave Omegas a smile that was decidedly more intense than the one she had reserved for him before turning and leaving the hall with Harry in tow.When the two disappeared beyond the doors of the Great Hall, Omegas snorted a laugh."I don't mind that Astrid, you know," she stated.Severus shot her a glare, to which she responded with a good dose of absolute indifference. Then, realising once again the situation Omegas had just agreed to, his expression quickly turned into a satisfied grin."What?" she asked, confused."You just agreed to investigate the attacked boy with me," he observed.She wrinkled her nose and stared intently at the wall to her left."I did, yes.""Why?" he asked, a hint of accusation in his tone."Because it's interesting," she said coldly. "And because I trust you to handle the situation with the professionalism that—""You know I won't," he cut her off.He looked at her with such stubbornness that she was forced to look back. She approached him and pointed her finger at him."I'm ready to give it all up at any moment," she threatened.He grinned. "No, you're not. You made a commitment, you have a responsibility to the boy."She rolled her eyes. "You're talking like Sylvia. I thought I made myself clear. I don't care about the boy, any more than I care about the millions of other boys in his situation, Severus.""Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow."Really," she confirmed in an absolutely believable tone."Then why do you have a spell ready to count them?"Omegas fell silent. It was hard to leave that woman speechless; Severus treasured every occasion when he could silence her in a special corner of his memory. He watched her for as long as it took to savour the sensation, to make it his own, to push the memory aside. Then, with the same grin on his face, he turned and made his way to the exit."You'd better hurry, Omegas," he remarked. "You have a lesson in twelve minutes, and you're always at least ten minutes early."And he left the Great Hall, aware that her eyes were still on him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The following day and the days after were the happiest in Severus' life in a long time. Every afternoon after lessons, the two of them locked themselves in an office and analysed what the Auror Department had provided. On the first day, some glass shards recovered from the prefects' bathroom before it was cleaned arrived in Omegas' office."You were right, Severus," she remarked, holding a bottle-green shard between them. "The impact was from the inside. Look at the relief," she pointed out. "It's damaged. If it had come from the outside, it would be intact, right?"He approached and examined the shard closely. "Yes," he confirmed."The problem is: what kind of impact?" she asked.Severus thought. After a moment's silence, he reached to the back of the room, waved his wand and a pane of glass, almost identical to the original, appeared intact against the wall."What are you doing?" she asked."Trying," he explained. He turned and walked to the opposite wall. "The distance was approximately this, taking the edge of the bathtub as the point where the hypothetical curse originated.""More or less, yes," Omegas nodded. She waved her wand as well, raising the glass pane almost to the ceiling. "There, that's good.""Good," Severus repeated.He took his position and began to cast every curse he thought might be powerful enough to shatter the glass. For the first half hour, Omegas watched him with detached indifference. When the first hour passed and Severus had not exhausted his repertoire, she began to be vaguely impressed. After about two and a half hours, Omegas had taken a seat on the wooden chair behind the desk and was now watching the scene as if she were at the theatre."How many do you know exactly?" she asked as Severus cast a curse at the glass pane that he didn't even remember he knew."A few," he replied with some satisfaction.She gave him a grin, which he took as a silent compliment, before returning to her new expression, so naked, without the smile that had always accompanied it. Severus chose not to respond in any way to that display of appreciation. Omegas had been clear about her desire to keep their new collaboration purely professional, and he had agreed. He had no intention of keeping his word, but preferred to take things slowly. When they finally concluded that none of the curses matched the marks on the shards accurately, they agreed to reflect on the matter separately. She bid him farewell with a cordial "Goodnight, Severus", to which he replied with an impassive "Goodnight, Omegas", and they went their separate ways.On Thursday, all of Noah's personal effects arrived in Severus' office, both those he had with him on the day of the incident and those recovered from his dormitory. He spent most of his time examining his clothes, then his wand, even his textbooks, but was finally forced to admit that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Omegas, on the other hand, spent those hours reading, seated in her chair. The boy apparently kept diaries; a great deal of diaries, judging by the number of pages she found herself flipping through that late afternoon. Severus had let Omegas search for traces of possible hostile relationships or extraordinary events in the boy's life. He had watched her read countless times and concluded that between the two of them, she was certainly the faster reader. When he had finished making his observations about the boy's effects, the Professor sat next to her and for a while did nothing but watch. He remembered the silent hours he had spent doing the same at Spinner's End, the weeks after her move, and for a while he lost himself in his memories. Only when those memories became too painful for him to handle while maintaining the professionalism he had promised, did he decide to break the silence."Any thoughts?" he asked."Yes," she said, closing the last of the diaries with a thud. "I think the boy fancied every single female in the castle, Severus, including some of the professors." She shook her head and tossed the diary onto the desk. "They don't pay me enough for this."Severus snorted a laugh. "Actually, they don't pay you for this at all.""True," she said. "Anyway, nothing out of the ordinary. No conflicting relationships, not even a vaguely ambiguous one, nothing. He seems to have always got on with everyone. He has so many friends that at one point I couldn't keep track of who was who." She brought her hands to her face, then slid them to her black curls, tousling them slightly. "How the hell did he do it? I mean, he must have spent ninety percent of his time with people!" she exclaimed, slightly disgusted."Well, he was never a particularly brilliant student, that's for sure," he replied. "The hours he should have spent studying, he probably spent playing Quidditch or... socialising," he said, pronouncing the last word as if it were reprehensible.She responded with a grimace of disapproval. "Still. Even with all the free time in the world, how on earth did he maintain so many relationships?" she asked, genuinely impressed. "I can't even keep one properly."This statement was followed by a silence that was far from their usual. It took Omegas a while to catch the nuance of embarrassment behind that sudden muteness; she did so when, raising her gaze to him, she found him staring at her with a certain stubbornness. At that, she stood up, turned her back on him and headed for the door."Goodnight, Severus," she murmured."Goodnight, Omegas."The next day, Friday, two different blood samples were sent to Omegas and Severus. The two had no reason to work in the same office, and she didn't hesitate to point that out."We have two samples, we can analyse them separately. Actually, it's better that way: we can draw our own conclusions without influencing each other and then compare them."He couldn't argue with such a reasonable observation and was finally forced to accept it in silence, taking care not to show his dismay at the matter. Alone in his office, Severus spent a great deal of time bent over his desk, working on the mixture of water, soap and blood. He knew how to separate the three substances and took no more than half an hour to isolate a sample so that he could analyse only the blood. Once he had it, he spent a moment thinking about the easiest way to get information about its owner. There were several spells he knew that could affect a person's blood differently depending on certain characteristics of the person themselves; their age, their health, any curses or connections to dark magic they might have. Severus tried them all, one after the other, twice. None of the spells worked. Not in the sense that they didn't give any definitive information, or simply described the profile of an ordinary individual; in the sense that every revealing spell he cast on the blood failed. Astonished, he tried a third time, then a fourth. Nothing. For the next twenty minutes, Severus did nothing but stare at the sample, elbows on the desk, chin on the back of his hands, back bent in an irregular curve. Finally, he came to the only logical conclusion, given all the facts. Whoever it belonged to, the blood…The door opened, distracting him from his thoughts. Without knocking or greeting him, Omegas slipped into the room and slammed the door behind her without ceremony. She looked at him gravely, a brand new obsessive light in her eyes, now uncovered and free of the sunglasses that had previously hidden them."It is not human, Severus," she declared. "The blood is not human."He met her gaze, knowing full well that he was conveying the same excitement."Yes," he confirmed. "How did you know?""It doesn't react to any potion," she explained. "None. Which means we can rule out most magical creatures too, right? Veela, giants, half-giants, marids, house-elves. Even creatures that can resist human spells generally respond to potions.""Yes," he confirmed, "but not all of them."She nodded convincingly. "We need a list.""Indeed," Severus agreed.They could have made that list in two different offices if they wanted to. They would probably have included the same creatures, and at most they would have merged the ones the two lists didn't have in common and created one final list. However, Omegas, now deep in her obsession, completely forgot about the detachment she was supposed to show him. She also seemed to forget that she had a chair and a desk at her disposal: she pulled a quill from her bag, slammed the bag down on the table, grabbed a parchment and threw herself on the floor. She wrote, and then wrote some more. The two of them did nothing but list magical creatures that could take potions without them having any effect on their bodies. They spent hours, many of them pensive and silent. After nearly forty minutes of absolute silence, Severus turned to her again."You know, I think we should include Liches as well. It's virtually impossible that a Lich attacked the boy, but for the sake of completeness, I think—"He stopped. He looked at the woman who was still lying on the floor and realised that she was asleep. Severus smiled. He reached for his wand, waved it and conjured a mattress, pillow and sheets beneath her. For the remaining hours of that Friday night, he did nothing but watch her sleep.As often happened, Omegas woke up late, with a start and the look of someone who was just emerging from a battle to the death. She looked around, disoriented, and found Severus sitting at the desk, a parchment in one hand and his wand in the other."Good morning, Omegas," he greeted her calmly. "Slept well?"She quickly changed from a confused expression to a displeased grimace."How long have I been asleep?"Severus checked the clock. "Ten hours.""Why didn't you wake me?" she asked with an accusatory tone.He shrugged. "I thought you needed the rest," he replied in a tone of innocent falsehood that didn't even convince him. "Oh, I must have forgotten about the private lesson you were supposed to give Nodens, about... an hour ago, I think?"Omegas' expression turned dangerously to one of anger."Two hours ago," she corrected. "But it doesn't matter, we didn't have a lesson this morning. The Headmistress gave him permission to spend the weekend at the Black Cat, for Sylvia's birthday."Severus looked away, giving the wall to his left a frustrated grimace he couldn't suppress."Good. No problem then.""There is a problem," she countered.She stood up, grabbed her bag, pulled out her wand and made the mattress disappear."And that would be?" he asked.She raised her arms and gestured around the office. "Does this feel professional?"He grinned. "Not really, no."Omegas approached him. She placed her palms on the table, looked him in the eye and gave him a silence filled with every word she wanted to shout at him, many of which were insults. Then she stood up straight and walked away, turning her back to him."It was a mistake, Severus.""What?" he asked, irritated. "You just slept.""Expecting you to keep it professional. You're not capable of it.""I never said I was," he observed."No, indeed," she confirmed. She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I want a copy of that list. From now on, we will investigate separately."Before he could reply, she had disappeared down the dungeon corridor.Severus did not like her stance at all. He didn't like it, firstly, because he was being blamed for something that wasn't his fault, since she was the one who had fallen asleep in his office. Secondly, he didn't like the peremptory manner in which she had practically ordered him to hand over a list he had spent most of the previous night working on. Finally, he didn't like it because he hadn't been able to make these logical, fair objections since she had left his office without giving him a chance to react.Suddenly, Severus was angry again. This time, it wasn't the kind of explosive rage that had previously led him to overturn tables or cast curses; it was a paralysing fury that prevented him from doing anything for several hours. He spent the morning revising the list, which now included thirty-two creatures that were undoubtedly capable of resisting any of the potions tested, twenty-eight that were only capable of resisting some of the potions tested but could still be involved if that resistance was enhanced by specific spells, and seventeen other creatures whose true capabilities were unknown to both Severus and Omegas, making a total of seventy-seven magical creatures that were potentially guilty of attacking the boy. However, how and when any of those creatures could have entered the castle remained a mystery.Severus tried for a long time to concentrate on the enigma in front of him, then he tried to start testing the blood to exclude some creatures from the list; he tried to distract himself by grading essays on Flayers that some of his students had handed in the day before, but nothing worked. Severus was furious. He needed a confrontation, and he needed it now. So, after vowing he would never set foot in that place again and successfully avoiding it for months, the Professor swallowed his pride and headed for Hogsmeade around nine in the evening, determined to apparate in front of the Black Cat's entrance, find Omegas and vent all the frustration he had accumulated over the last eight hours.However, when he crossed the black door and then the mirror at the pub entrance, Omegas wasn't there. What he hadn't considered before rushing in was Sylvia's birthday party, which she seemed to have organised on a grand scale. There were many guests, some still sitting at the main table by the buffet. Others were already on the dance floor and still others, including the birthday girl herself, were on the wooden stage. Sylvia was holding a microphone and singing a song, from which Severus extracted the words "all that glitters is gold" and "sometimes words have two meanings" before losing interest completely. He searched and searched again, among the endless sea of people, but Omegas was nowhere to be found. As the song ended, Sylvia, clearly tipsy, pointed her finger at him and nearly fell off the stage."Hey, there's the Professor! Hello, Professor," she greeted him.She had spoken directly into the microphone, and many in the audience turned to him, looking for the source of her enthusiasm. The girl stepped off the stage and made her way through the dense crowd, all eyes on her. When she reached him, she gave him the kind of relaxed smile he had only ever seen her display when she was somewhat intoxicated."You came, I'm glad!" she exclaimed. "But you're late, we already had dinner."Sirius, who had been busy making drinks on the other side of the large room, hurried over to her and hugged her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder."Hello, Snape," he greeted cheerfully.Severus rolled his eyes. "Where's Omegas?"Sylvia frowned, then suddenly darkened."Of course," she declared angrily. "You're not here for my birthday, are you?"He didn't answer, but gave her a look that suggested he wasn't in the mood for one of her rants. The girl made an exasperated sound and refused to meet his gaze."Well, she at least had the decency to pretend to be here for the party before she ditched me and went off to do her own thing in the Blue Room," she explained. "She didn't last more than half an hour, but I appreciated the effort," she added sarcastically.Severus cast an impassive glance at her, who was still determined not to meet his eyes, and then at Sirius, who was now shaking his head in judgement. Without further ado, he turned and walked to the mirror.Passing through the blue door, he found nothing but a narrow stone staircase that seemed to go right up to the ceiling. Perplexed and vaguely intrigued, Severus climbed a few steps, and as he approached the surface he realised that the reason those stone steps seemed to go on forever was that beyond the last one there was no ceiling at all: there was a mirror of water. He understood how the entrance worked, aided by the memory of the last time he had been there, although he had crossed it the other way round. He pulled out his wand, cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself and reached out to put his hand in the water. Almost immediately, he was transported upwards and found himself standing on what had only moments before been a ceiling.Entering the underwater pub and looking around, Severus couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't the place itself that amazed him, although the place seemed to have been refurbished since the last time he'd been there: the colourful coral that served as chairs and tables for the guests was shinier and brighter than ever, and cocktails of all shapes and sizes were being served in enchanted goblets to sea creatures of all kinds who chatted merrily, smoked, drank or floated senselessly between the tables. What amazed him more than anything, however, was a group at the back of the room, sitting on the floor in a disorderly circle. Each of them looked as if they had given up their sobriety some time ago, and most seemed rather cheerful. They were laughing, someone was playing music, someone else was drinking undeterred, and at the centre of the group, standing for all to see, was a couple so unlikely that it took Severus a moment to concentrate. Nerius, the leader of the cursed pirate crew that often frequented the pub, was singing at the top of his lungs a song whose lyrics consisted largely of the words "I drink 'til I die", while Omegas, violin in hand, accompanied the whole scene without a hint of her usual composure.For a while, all Severus could do was watch the scene without moving a muscle. When the song ended and most of the crew began to clap vigorously, he finally found the strength to move the steps that separated him from the odd assortment of individuals. Omegas noticed him almost immediately, smiled and pointed at him with his violin bow."Ah, Severus!" she called out slurred.He didn't answer. He studied what were undoubtedly gills on her neck, then each of the half-human, half-fish creatures sitting in a circle around them. Omegas stood up with an "Oof" and wobbled for a moment before regaining her balance. Nerius, beside her, glanced at the expression on her face, then looked at the Professor and chuckled."That's Severus?" he asked, a clear note of mockery in his tone. "Really?"Omegas put the violin and bow in her bag, took it off her shoulder, grabbed it by the handle and hit Nerius on the head with considerable force. The other made a sound of displeasure, rubbed his head and shot a few murderous glances at some of his companions who had burst out laughing. Omegas grinned, made her way through the circle of seated pirates and approached him."What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.He looked up at her. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" he countered.She frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"Severus pointed his gaze at Nerius. "I thought you hated each other," he said, not bothering to lower his voice.Omegas chuckled. "Oh, yes, we do! Don't we?" she asked, turning to him."You bet we do," he replied, raising his cup in a toast.She nodded. "Yes, I hate them all. Except Arion," she explained, pointing to one of the men sitting on the floor.He was human from the neck down, but instead of a normal face, he had the eyes and mouth of an anglerfish, complete with a light at the end of a protrusion extending from his forehead."I like Arion," she added.He smiled, revealing long, sharp teeth, and made a sound that was anything but reassuring. Severus glanced at the creature, then back at the woman before him. He approached her slightly and spoke in a clear tone of reproach."Are you drunk?""Yes," she replied calmly. She intercepted a floating drink, grabbed it and offered it to him. "You want one?"He shot her a glare. "Why on earth would I want one?"She shrugged. "I don't know, I thought you were looking for me.""I was looking for you.""Well, I'm here. Are you staying?" she asked, shaking the glass in her hand.Severus considered his options. He certainly couldn't have the confrontation he was hoping for in the pub, in front of everyone. He could turn around, leave, and live with his frustration until she decided to return, or he could stay, accept the drink, and even if he didn't manage to confront her, at least drown his sorrows in alcohol with Omegas in a decidedly unprofessional setting. About thirty seconds later, Severus had made his way through the crowd and was sitting on the ground between Omegas and Arion.He had never seen her talk so much, especially in such a context. She seemed suddenly incapable of closing her mouth, a rather unusual behaviour for a woman who was in the habit of using spells to isolate herself from the rest of the world. Severus soon realised the reason: Omegas was not socialising at all. She was venting. She had deliberately chosen a group of people she knew would be hostile to her, and every single word that came out of her mouth was meant to provoke those around her. When someone asked the two of them what kind of relationship they had, clearly intending to make them uncomfortable, she downed another drink, looked up at the disfigured face that vaguely resembled the muzzle of a great white shark in front of her, and replied, "We're colleagues, Dorian. We work in the same place. You know that thing you do when you provide a service and someone gives you money for it? It may sound alien to you since you're basically a slave to the Duke, but that's how people live."Someone in the crowd laughed. Dorian did not seem at all amused by the woman's words and stared at her for the next hour with the look of someone waiting for the right moment to strike. Severus made sure his wand was within reach, but decided not to intervene unless it became necessary.Scenes like that continued almost identically until late into the night. Omegas insulted, judged and offended every single aspect of each of those creatures' lives, from their work to their private lives to their intelligence, and she did it in such a sarcastic yet elegant way that by mid-evening Severus stopped worrying and simply enjoyed the show. The whole thing reached its climax when one of the pirates, a man from the chest down but with a large number of tentacles instead of arms, face and hair, lost his balance as he walked past Omegas and spilled a large amount of a brown liquid on her, just as she was explaining in detail to a guy next to her why he had failed as an individual. A loud laugh erupted from the circle, encouraged by the culprit himself, who didn't seem inclined to apologise. Omegas stood up, looked him in the eyes and gave him a disturbingly sinister smile."What's the matter, Grindelwald?" he chuckled. "Have I ruined your outfit?"She approached him, almost touching him, and instead of answering, spent the next twenty seconds sniffing him. Then she stepped back and looked him in the eyes."You're half squid, Leander," she declared. "If I were to kill you and then eat you, would that be cannibalism? Would it only be partial? Let's discuss it."Severus snorted, and many around him laughed heartily. Leander himself seemed amused by the comment; he approached her, the tentacles that replaced his face quivering."I've never met a woman like you in my life," he said. "And I've lived a pretty long life."She raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you haven't looked closely enough.""Hmm, I don't think so. I'm not even sure you are one, you know?" he went on, and one of the tentacles that replaced his hands came dangerously close to the woman's shoulder. "Maybe we should check."A playful "oooh" rose from the circle. Severus was up in a flash, wand in hand. She, however, instead of backing away, moved even closer."Please, I beg you," she whispered, "try and see what happens."The other slowly slid the tentacle until it reached her shoulder. What happened when he touched her was not pleasant, at least not for Leander.In a rapid motion, Omegas grabbed the tentacle, pulled it forward and smashed the glass she was holding over his head. From that moment on, it was one of the most chaotic and violent brawls Severus had ever seen, and he had attended dozens of events with many bored Death Eaters. He mostly stood and watched, and soon realised that it was not only one of the most frenetic, but also one of the happiest. The participants, who quickly became almost everyone in the Blue Room, seemed genuinely happy to be jumping on their companions rather than angry. Everyone, without exception, laughed heartily and approached the fight with an almost fraternal glee. Everyone except Omegas, who in the meantime had thrown Leander to the ground, planted her knees on his chest and continued punching him. He, now exhausted and unable to defend himself, began to lose even the few signs of life he had shown up to that point, while she, now resembling more an animal than a human, showed no signs of stopping. As what was now undoubtedly her victim lost consciousness, Severus decided to intervene. He made his way through the crowd, dodging a few blows that someone too drunk to realise he didn't belong there or in the brawl was trying to land on him, and reached the woman. He tried to talk to her, to tell her to stop, but didn't waste much time on it, knowing it would lead nowhere. For a moment he considered grabbing her arm and trying to carry her off, but to be honest he didn't have the strength or courage to do that. So he whirled his wand, immobilised her and made her float above his head. Predictably, she shouted unrepeatable words at him, which he pretended not to hear. He reached the other side of the room, the point where the current would take them to the wreck that served as an alternate entrance or exit to the pub, and a few seconds later they were both pushed out.When they found themselves with their feet planted on the wood of the boat split in half, Severus released Omegas from the spell and she, almost immediately, made to dive back into the pub. He blocked her path to the entrance and gave her a stern look, which she returned with an enraged one."Let me in," she ordered angrily."No," he replied, equally angry."Why not?" she snapped, punching a nearby wooden plank.It broke cleanly and one of her knuckles began to bleed. He looked at her with a mixture of pity and reproach. He reached out a hand and tried to grab hers. She pushed it away violently."DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shouted.For a brief moment they did nothing but stare at each other. In that face, the one he had learned to read better than any other, Severus saw so much pain, anger and guilt that he felt the need to look away. He tried to hold the gaze, but it was in vain. Omegas collapsed to the ground, buried her face in her hands and burst into desperate sobs.Severus didn't know what to do. He had never known what to do in situations like that one; generally, when someone cried, he did what he thought was most appropriate given the context. If he could, he would make a quick exit. If his relationship with the person required him to be supportive, which was rare, he would search for the right words to say to end the torment, lying if necessary, just to get himself out of the situation. But with her it was different; it always had been. He never felt the need to run from her tears, nor the need to make them stop as soon as possible. What he felt at that moment, as he had in the past, was a desire to watch them, to analyse them, to understand them. So Severus sat down on the floor beside her. He sealed the passageway to the pub, making sure that no one could leave, but more importantly, that she couldn't get back in, and did nothing. He watched and listened to her cry for a long time until, without knowing exactly how or when it happened, he found himself lying on the wet wood of the ship, the waves of the sea rocking him, his gaze fixed on the starry sky, with Omegas lying beside him. He remained silent until it seemed she had calmed down; then he turned and watched her look at the sky for a while before returning his gaze to the stars."What happened in there?" he asked."There was a brawl, Severus," she replied as if it were obvious. "It happens in pubs sometimes."He half-smiled. "Yes, I know. I wasn't referring to that.""What were you referring to then?""You almost killed a man," he observed, making sure to say it with the utmost calm.She turned and looked at him, wrinkling her nose. "I almost killed an idiot," she corrected."Yes," he confirmed, nodding. "You've met a lot of idiots over the years. You've never killed them."Omegas grinned. "No, I've actually killed a few."Severus snorted a laugh. "You know what I mean."She was silent for a while. "Yes, I do," she murmured, turning her head the other way.There was a long pause, to the point where Severus, convinced that Omegas would no longer speak, thought of getting up and forcing her to return to the castle. A few moments later, however, she spoke again."Yesterday was the anniversary of Jay's death," she explained.Severus decided not to reply."For nine years, every 26th of October, I have been alone," she continued after another brief silence. "Always, even when I didn't want to be. Right after the war, I made sure I was alone. The next year, at Hogwarts, I found a way to be alone that night. It's always been my way..." she stopped.She swallowed, took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was a little more shaky than before."I don't know if you understand, maybe you can't. You don't want to be alone on Halloween night, you don't want to relive... well, you try to distract yourself. I don't. For nine years I spent that particular night alone with his memory. Now his memory is gone and I..."She brought her hands to her face again and cried for a few more minutes before she managed to speak the next sentence."I forgot."There were countless things Severus had thought to say to her on the subject over the past two years. It had been a series of mostly cold, rational observations, vacillating between a reassuring "You shouldn't feel guilty. It wasn't your fault, nobody takes their own life for one reason. You didn't do it," and a much more inappropriate "Accept reality and stop being a hypocrite. You weren't even happy together, the only reason you're torturing yourself is that the boy is dead. You wouldn't be thinking about it if you'd just broken up," but every time he tried to say something about it, he couldn't. He didn't like her talking about it. He would have preferred to pretend that part of her life never existed, as they had always done. So when he finally decided to answer, he sounded perhaps a bit more irritated than he would have liked."I couldn't have known. You never told me.""No, I didn't," she confirmed.She jumped up from the floor, held out a hand and pulled him up. She looked into his eyes, her face suddenly serious."You need to let it go," she said.He looked away and felt the anger suddenly return."What?" he asked, knowing the answer."You know what," she replied. "I need you to stop. I really need you to be professional. None of this would have happened if you—""Why?" he cut her off."Why what?""Why do you need me to be professional, Omegas?" he continued, stepping closer. "Is it because you don't want to be with me? Or because you do want to be with me?"She took a step back, but didn't look away."Because I'm asking you to, and I need you to respect me."Severus was unable to respond for a few moments. He took another step forward and she took another step back."If you tell me why… if you explain me what happened, what—""How can I tell you without being sure that you can respect my decisions?"He frowned. "Is that what you're doing? Testing me?" he asked, more as an accusation than a question.She sighed. She seemed to be struggling with herself, but finally she too took a step forward, stopping just a hand's breadth from his nose."I need to know that you can respect my space.""I've always respected your bloody space, Omegas," he snapped. "You don't speak for weeks sometimes, you know that, don't you? There have been times when I have forgotten that you were living in my house. Sometimes, when I'm in a room with you, I have to check if you're still there when I realise you haven't shown any signs of life for the last three hours. Do you think it's easy? Do you think I haven't tried to respect you over the years? But you're... you're..."He couldn't go on. The only two words that came to mind were 'cold' and 'aloof', and the conscious need to use them made him realise that he was dangerously close to making the same accusations that Jay had made. He swallowed and watched as she gave him a sad smile."I know," she murmured. "I know how I am. I'm sorry."He looked away. He was on the verge of crying, screaming, or both, and he didn't want to do either. A moment later he regained his composure, lifted his head and looked down at her."Are you going to tell me what's going on?"She smiled. It was the first real smile she had given him since her return."You know I will. You'd find out anyway, wouldn't you? It's impossible to have secrets with you."Severus gave a small smile, despite himself. He looked at her again, silently. Not because he didn't know what to say, but because he knew he wouldn't be looking into those eyes again for quite some time."All right," he said finally. "I'll be professional."She nodded. "Thank you."They stood there, facing each other, until the situation became vaguely awkward. Omegas moved away, picked up her bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder."I have to say goodbye to Sylvia," she announced. "If she's still alive. I gave her quite an amount of Liquid Ecstasy." she chuckled. "Will you clear the way?"He raised an eyebrow. "Do you promise not to kill anyone on the way?"She gave him a scowl."That's a legitimate and professional concern," he observed. "If you were arrested, it would slow down the investigation considerably."Omegas snorted a laugh. "I promise," she said.Severus nodded. He pulled out his wand, waved it and reopened the passage in the middle of the broken boat that would take her back to the pub. She walked towards him, reached the edge of the passage and turned to him."Goodnight, Severus." "Goodnight, Omegas."A moment later she had disappeared into the depths of the ocean.Severus kept his promise over the next few days. On Sunday, he took time off and spent most of it alone in his quarters. On Monday, when he met her in the corridors, he simply greeted her with a quiet nod and moved on. He didn't follow her to class, he didn't eavesdrop on her conversation with Sylvia at lunch, and when she told him in the afternoon that she was going to start excluding some of the creatures on the list and that she was going to do it alone in her office, he didn't argue. He locked himself in his office and did the same.On Tuesday, instead of sitting apart at the other end of the table, Omegas sat next to him at lunch, and Sylvia joined them shortly after. They didn't exchange a glance, but on the way back, along the path that would take him to his office and her to the Potions classroom, they discussed the discoveries they had made the day before. They had each managed to eliminate a dozen or so magical creatures from the list, which meant that there was still a lot of work to be done. Promising to tackle some of it that very afternoon, they parted ways.Wednesday was particularly difficult. Severus woke up and the decorations in the corridor as he stepped out of his quarters immediately reminded him that it was Halloween night. He kept his distance from everyone and everything. He hated that day, he hated that night, and most of all he hated the fact that the one person he wanted by his side, the one person who knew what that night meant to him, wouldn't be there. He taught his classes and was considerably more irritable than usual. He sent three different students to detention, and honestly, he couldn't say for sure what excuse he used to justify it, but seeing their horrified faces at the thought of spending Saturday morning polishing Filch's silverware instead of sleeping made him feel genuinely better. It also gave him the opportunity to deduct points from every house except Slytherin in a single day; a great achievement considering that the year before, distracted by the Veela and Death Eaters, he had let Ravenclaw win the House Cup. He certainly wasn't going to let that happen again. He ate lunch in his office, alone, and stayed there for the entire time he wasn't in class. He decided not to work that afternoon; Omegas would understand.Around eight in the evening, maintaining an appearance of total cold composure, he headed to the Great Hall and attended the banquet with such detachment that he barely realised he was there. He didn't eat, he didn't engage in conversation, he just let his gaze sweep over the four tables filled with cheerful students, making sure to give a death glare to anyone who dared to look in his direction. When the meal was over, Severus went to his quarters, intending to sit in his armchair and drink until he forgot that day, and the days before, and the weeks, and the months, and eventually, if he could manage it, the last twenty years.The night passed as expected, until around half past one in the morning when the door to his quarters opened. Seeing her enter shouldn't have surprised him, as she was the only person in the world who knew his password, but it still left him speechless. Omegas didn't greet him. She closed the door behind her, gave him a single, fleeting glance, then headed for the wooden cupboard. She took out a glass, poured herself a drink and sat down in what had long been her armchair. She sipped in silence, giving no indication that she noticed his eyes. Severus thought long and hard about how to respond to her gesture, which seemed more like a grand, eloquent declaration than an action. He finally decided to respond with sarcasm, as he always did on the rare occasions when she showed him explicit affection."This isn't very professional," he remarked."Quiet," she replied.Severus smiled and obeyed. They did nothing but sit in those armchairs and drink until dawn, when Omegas stood up and pointed her wand at him."On three?" she asked.He nodded, stood and drew his wand, pointing it at her. He waved it in the air three times and they both said "Refocilio" in unison. Omegas nodded, disappeared beyond the door and in the following days behaved as if that night had never happened.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It took three whole weeks of work to rule out every creature on the list. Initially, they focused on the thirty-two they were convinced were most likely to provide their answer. They included most of the known creatures commonly classified as 'demons', excluding, of course, those incapable of bleeding. They tested the blood with every spell, potion, substance or specific curse capable of countering each of those creatures, one by one. The blood continued to be unresponsive. They then moved on to the twenty-eight that might have been the answer if the blood had first been modified with something to make it more resistant. They tried every counter spell and antidote they could think of; when they exhausted those, they went to the library and looked for more. They spent silent afternoons, sleepless nights, days and days doing nothing but trying to find a mix of spells and potions that could explain the anomalous behaviour of the blood, and found nothing. When it came time to move on to the last seventeen creatures, those whose details they didn't know because they were too obscure, too rare or simply too uninteresting, the two had to spend even more time poring over the pages of dusty tomes, some of which were written in unlikely languages and therefore needed to be translated before they could be read. Severus had never minded spending his time alone, in silence, reading, especially when the ultimate goal of that pursuit was to solve a mystery. This investigation, however, was one of the most frustrating experiences of his life.
Every time Omegas entered his office, which had started to happen more and more since he had shown her he could keep his distance, Severus got distracted. Every time they sat at the same table in the library, two different books in hand, and he happened to look up at her, he lost his place and had to read the whole page again. Every time she called out to him to tell him something, for the few seconds before the conversation, he had to convince himself that she was finally going to tell him what she had been keeping from him, and every single time she didn't. He had spent months hoping to share space with her again, and now it unnerved him every time she crossed the threshold of his office. As they crossed off the last of the seventeen creatures, Severus didn't know whether to be frustrated by the total lack of answers, intrigued by the growing mystery, or relieved that at least that part of the investigation was over. The relief didn't last long, however, as the very next day, on a freezing Monday morning in November, Omegas entered his office again, without knocking or saying a word, closed the door behind her, summoned a chair and sat down opposite him, on the other side of the desk.
"We need to talk."
Severus, who had promised himself he would have no expectations, lest they be disappointed as they had been, failed miserably in his intention. He slowly put down the parchment he was holding in his hands, in a movement that feigned a solemnity in sharp contrast to what he actually felt, and folded his hands on the table.
"I'm listening," he said, hoping not to betray his overwhelming impatience.
She met his eyes. She seemed vaguely unsure of what to do, then sighed and tossed a white envelope onto the table. Severus took it and tried for a few seconds to decipher what was written inside, but the handwriting was so chaotic that he gave up after a few moments.
"What is this?" he asked frustrated, rightly suspecting that this wasn't going to be the clarification he'd hoped for.
"Astrid wants an update," she explained. "She says she's coming this afternoon, after class. She asked to meet at the Three Broomsticks."
He wrinkled his nose. "What's that got to do with me? She wants to meet you," he observed, not without a good dose of resentment.
"Well," Omegas said, leaning towards him, "first of all we need to agree on what to tell her and what not to tell her."
Severus studied her conspiring look for a few moments. He raised his eyebrows and a small grin escaped his control.
"We do, yes," he nodded. "What else?"
"Well, you know, it's just..." she replied, in a tone Severus knew well and didn't like at all. She lowered her head, then raised it again, looking him firmly in the eyes. "I need you to go."
He looked at her with a fresh wave of irritation twisting his face.
"And why is that?"
She looked vaguely elsewhere. "I have to go to St Mungo's," she explained.
"You do not have to go to St Mungo's," he countered. "We have an appointment with the Healers taking care of the boy tomorrow afternoon, not today. They won't let you see him earlier, and you won't do it without me anyway."
"It's not for the boy," she replied. "I want to speak to his mother. You see..." she continued, getting up and pacing. "Sprout mostly spoke for her, but I'm not convinced. She seems uncertain, I think she's hiding something. I'm hoping to find her alone this afternoon, and since I'm the only one between you and me who speaks her language—"
"Stop lying," he cut her off.
Omegas fell silent. Severus rose, walked over to her and looked her in the eyes.
"Tell me the truth," he commanded.
She held his gaze for a moment, then sighed.
"All right," she murmured. "I don't want to go. I think she likes me."
He grimaced in dismay. "Oh, she certainly likes you."
She frowned and looked at him in confusion. Finally she caught on and seemed suddenly indignant.
"I didn't... I didn't mean..." She stopped, swallowing audibly. "You think... you think she—"
"Yes," he said sternly.
Omegas remained silent for a while. She blinked much more than was necessary and swallowed a second time.
"You need to go, Severus."
He looked up at her. He thought for a moment, then reluctantly decided that the thought of having to endure a meeting with the Head Auror was better than the thought of the two women sitting across from each other at the Three Broomsticks.
"Fine," he said.
Omegas suddenly brightened. She gave him the biggest smile he had seen in a long time.
"Really?" she asked incredulously.
Severus nodded.
"Oh, good!" she exclaimed.
She turned away and headed back towards the door.
"See you later then. I'll let you know how it went with the boy's mother." She stopped abruptly and took on a thoughtful expression. "What's her name again? Maddalene, Madelyn..."
"Madeleine," he corrected her. "Shouldn't we agree on what to tell her and what not to tell her?"
She waved her hand in the air as if to dismiss the suggestion.
"No, that's not necessary," she replied. "You choose. I trust you."
She gave him one last cheerful smile, which prevented him from responding to that statement as he would have liked, and left the room.
She didn't show up for the rest of the day. After class, hoping that he had correctly deciphered the scribbles that should have indicated the time of the meeting, Severus waited until half past seven and made his way to Hogsmeade, wondering why a meeting that was supposed to be just a brief update on the investigation had been scheduled for dinner time. He entered the Three Broomsticks with the annoyance that usually accompanied any visit to the place, almost completely ignored the friendly greeting from the pub's owner, and spotted the Head Auror sitting at one of the tables at the back of the room. She was wearing a grey waistcoat and white shirt under her travelling cloak, and already had a half-empty mug of butterbeer in her hand. Severus joined her and took great satisfaction in seeing her serene smile disappear as soon as she saw his face.
"Professor Snape," she greeted him, standing up and offering him her hand.
"Good evening," he replied, barely suppressing a grin.
He shook her hand and the two of them stood in awkward silence for a moment.
"Please," she said, inviting him to sit. "May I offer you something to drink, to eat—"
"No, thank you," he cut her off. "I prefer to dine at the castle. Assuming I manage to return in time for dinner service."
The Auror, correctly interpreting the implication behind his statement, forced a smile that expressed nothing but discomfort. Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Is it customary for the Auror Department to invite their consultants to dinner for a simple update meeting?"
She looked him in the eye, suddenly losing all the embarrassment she had shown until that moment. She took another sip, put the mug down and relaxed against the backrest.
"I'm not one for conventions, Professor," she explained. "I had a feeling that might be a common view of ours."
He wrinkled his nose and made sure to give her one of his best venomous looks.
"I'm afraid we have two very different ways of defying convention."
She chuckled. "Do we?"
Severus was so irritated, compounded by the frustration that had been with him for weeks, that he couldn't answer; or rather, he held himself back from answering, certain that he wouldn't be able to maintain his usual manners if he tried.
However, she remained unfazed. She nodded in thanks to the pub owner, who served her a plate of chips, and began to eat nonchalantly.
"I understand you would prefer it to be quick," she said after swallowing a bite.
"I would, yes," he confirmed, now glaring at her with an unjustified look of disgust.
"Good," she said. She took another sip, wiped her mouth and met his eyes. "Shall we begin?"
Severus was silent for a moment, returning her piercing gaze and considering what to do. Then he settled into his seat, taking care to appear as authoritative and indifferent as possible.
"We've ruled out every curse a student could have cast, including seventh years," he explained.
"Mm," she replied, "and the more advanced ones?"
"We ruled them out as well," he replied. "We concluded that whatever it was must have used some unknown magic, probably non-human."
"Or it's a curse you don't know about," she remarked.
She looked at him again, this time with a cheerful smile that made him want to show her just how deep his knowledge of the subject was. He took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. He considered mentioning that the abnormal reaction of the blood confirmed the hypothesis of a non-human creature, but suddenly lost all desire to cooperate. So he relaxed against the backrest as well and looked away vaguely.
"Of course, it's possible," he replied. "Has the Auror Department managed to identify this hypothetical advanced curse?"
She hesitated. She fiddled with her food for a moment, as if she had suddenly lost her appetite.
"No," she replied.
Severus studied her face and for a moment considered the possibility of reading her mind, but quickly dismissed the idea. It would have been too risky. He had to reluctantly admit how difficult it was to decipher the Head Auror's face.
"Nothing in the diaries?" she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Nothing," he replied.
"And the blood?"
He put on one of his best impassive expressions. "Nothing significant," he lied. "At least for now. We need to do further analysis. We finished the standard ones weeks ago, but..." he shrugged, "whoever it belongs to seems to have made themselves untraceable."
"Mm," she said.
She dusted off her hands and set her plate aside, though it was still half full.
"And what have you been doing these weeks?" she asked.
He looked up at her. "Excuse me?"
"You said you finished the standard analyses weeks ago, but you still have to do the specific ones," she observed. "What have you been doing in the meantime?"
It was at that point that Severus' irritation became impossible to contain. He made an irritated grimace, leaned towards her and fixed a pair of stern, icy black eyes on her.
"Professor Grindelwald and I, as you may have guessed from the titles we use in front of our surnames, already have a profession, Madam Beaumont. Since it is thanks to that profession that we earn our living, and not due to unpaid consultancy for the Auror Department, which we agree to carry out out of pure kindness, I presume you expected that our investigations would not be as swift as yours. After all..." he said with a hint of a laugh, "that's supposed to be your job, isn't it?"
The woman returned his gaze without losing her smile, but beneath the surface Severus was certain he could read a deep resentment that matched the one she had provoked in him. Satisfied, he allowed himself a half-smile. The Head Auror placed her napkin on the table, rose and offered her hand.
"I won't bother you any longer," she said.
He stood as well. "Very thoughtful of you."
They shook hands, a little longer and a little less firmly than the first time.
"Give my regards to Professor Grindelwald," she said.
"You can count on it," he replied.
He turned and left the pub ten times more frustrated than when he came in.
His mood did not improve at all when, upon reaching the Great Hall, he saw every one of his colleagues around the High Table except the one he needed. He had returned to the castle intending to find Omegas, tell her how the meeting had gone, possibly complain about it for a while, then retreat to his quarters and try to ease his irritation with a glass, or more likely a bottle, of wine. Thus, when he looked for her in her office and couldn't find her, then searched all the corridors of the dungeons and still couldn't find her, his simple annoyance grew closer and closer to outright rage. He finally found her by sheer chance when, realising that he was almost out of the Sleeping Draught he kept in his quarters, he rushed to the storeroom to fetch a spare. He turned on the light with a wave of his wand and found her on the floor, wedged between two shelves with a book in her hand.
"Hi," she greeted him without looking up.
Severus closed his eyes, sighed and forced himself not to snap at her. He slammed the door behind him with some force and made sure to utter the following "What are you doing here?" with eloquent disapproval.
Omegas looked at him with an innocent expression that did nothing to improve her situation.
"Reading," she said, lifting the book slightly.
"Couldn't you read in the Chamber of Secrets?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied vaguely. "It's just too big down there. I needed—"
"What you need is to make a decision, Omegas," he interjected, increasingly furious. "Either you stay with me and enter my property as you please, or you don't."
She was silent for a moment. She looked at him with obvious, great guilt in her eyes; then she lowered her head, closed the book and stood up.
"Sorry," she murmured. "It won't happen again."
And she headed for the door.
Severus, his deep anger only slightly tempered by a hint of guilt, knew that given the size of the place, he had less than a second to make his decision and act.
"Wait."
Omegas turned and looked at him again.
"I need to tell you about the meeting with Beaumont, and you about the boy's mother," he said, still stern but slightly less hostile.
She gave him a weak smile. "All right," she replied. "Would you like to go to your office?"
He looked around and hesitated for a moment. "No, here's fine if you want."
She smiled again, a little more convinced this time, retraced her steps and sat down. Severus summoned the small ladder nearby and sat down on the top step.
"Would you like to start?" Omegas asked.
"I don't have much to say, frankly," he replied. "She wasn't happy about me going in your place."
"Wasn't she?" she said, genuinely surprised.
"No, Omegas," he repeated, as serious as ever. "She invited you to dinner."
"She didn't 'invite' me," she replied, suddenly defensive. "She informed me where a professional meeting was taking place, nothing more."
"Professional, of course," he retorted.
She sighed. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her we think it's a creature, since we've ruled out every known possible curse."
"And her reply?"
He wrinkled his nose. "She suggested it might be a curse we don't know about."
She chuckled softly. "Did you tell her about the blood?"
"No," he replied.
"Why not?"
"Pure spite."
Omegas laughed, and for a moment Severus completely forgot the anger that had accompanied him throughout the day.
Then his eyes fell on the book she was holding, which he realised was not a book at all. He frowned and gestured at it.
"Rereading his diaries?"
"Hmm?" she replied absently. "Oh, yes."
"Why?" he asked. "Did his mother tell you something interesting?"
She went visibly pale. "Interesting, yes. You could call it that."
He waited for her to elaborate, then remembered who he was dealing with. Annoyed, he made an impatient gesture to urge her to speak. Omegas drew her knees to her chest and lazily tossed the diary to the ground.
"Noah wasn't the outgoing and carefree boy everyone makes him out to be, according to his mother," she explained. "It seems he was... sad. She used the word 'depressed'." She lowered her head and ran a hand through her dark curls. "The friendships he had, she said, were all superficial, and the boy suffered for it. She said he felt stupid, he kept saying he wasn't good at anything, that he felt like a failure. He was convinced that he had only become a prefect thanks to Professor Sprout's influence".
She paused for a moment and looked at the diary.
"There's not a hint of that in there. It reads like it was written by the happiest boy in the world, but if you believe his mother, he seemed to have a mental breakdown each and every day."
"Do we believe her?" he asked.
Omegas suddenly became even more serious. She leaned towards him, her elbows on her knees, and gave him a sombre look.
"She..." she murmured. She swallowed and seemed to force herself to continue. "She says that she thinks there's a possibility that Noah... that he... well, you know..."
Severus frowned. "That he tried to take his own life?"
She swallowed again and nodded gravely. He considered the possibility for a moment, taking no more than five seconds to dismiss it.
"That's impossible," he said. "There was someone else's blood at the scene, or something else's. And even if there hadn't been, who would choose to commit suicide by cursing themselves?"
"No, I know," she said, shaking her head. "Obviously he didn't."
He narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "Then why are you rereading his diaries?"
Omegas hesitated just for an instant, enough for him to sense that there was something deeper going on. It wasn't hard to guess what.
"I'm just trying to understand," she replied. "I mean... how is it possible that there isn't a single reference to this supposed 'depression'? These were his diaries. The ones he wrote in... to vent, I suppose. It's as if... as if he was living two lives."
"Maybe she's exaggerating," he suggested. "Maybe he wasn't as sad as she says."
She made a sceptical face. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a parent to accept that their child is suffering to such an extent?" she asked, her tone making it clear that she certainly did. "No one would ever want to admit something like that. He must have been really, really sad."
There was a long pause. Severus did not intervene, sensing that her speech was far from over and that she was gathering the strength to continue. He wasn't wrong.
"When Jay died, every single relative and friend he had refused to believe it," she explained. "His mother in particular was convinced that her son had been murdered." She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "She even managed to convince some of the detectives, you know? I was under investigation for a while."
He looked at her, eyes wide with surprise, suddenly disregarding his usual vow of silence whenever Jay was mentioned.
"How is it possible that you were investigated?" he asked incredulously. "You weren't even there when he died. They saw you arrive. And why would you have done it anyway?"
She sighed, made a sound of annoyance and gestured as if to dismiss the subject as unimportant.
"They found out about the girlfriend," she explained.
"The girlfriend?" he asked, even more confused.
"The girlfriend, yes," she confirmed.
"You were the girlfriend," he remarked.
"No, no, not me," Omegas explained, "the other girlfriend. They thought I killed him out of jealousy."
The revelation was followed by a silence much longer than the previous one. After trying to speak a few times and closing his mouth without saying anything, Severus finally decided to approach the subject calmly and make sure he was asking the right questions.
"You..." he began, clearing his throat. "You weren't his only girlfriend?"
"I wasn't, no," she replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"And that..." he continued, lowering his voice considerably. "That was fine with you? Did you have a... an agreement?"
She lifted her head and looked at him as if he were mad.
"Well, I wasn't supposed to know, was I?" she said, laughing. "Of course we didn't have an agreement. How could we?"
Severus' expression quickly changed from astonishment to outright indignation.
"So he kept it from you."
She chuckled. "He tried, yes."
"He cheated on you," he observed, now with a great deal of judgement in his tone. "And you let him."
Omegas shrugged. "What do you think would have happened if I'd stopped him? They'd have split up, and next time he'd have hidden it better." She shook her head. "No, I'd rather know."
"What the hell does that even mean?" he snapped. "Didn't it make you suffer?"
"A bit, sometimes," she nodded.
"Then why—"
"He wasn't happy with me," she cut him off. "Hadn't been for years. I thought maybe... I don't know, he needed it. I thought he'd found someone else and was trying to figure out how to leave me, but he needed time, so I gave it to him."
She lowered her head again and shook it.
"Eventually he broke up with her and chose me. It was just before... and, well, we saw how that turned out," she observed. "I'd say he made the wrong choice."
Those words irritated him much more than he had been before he entered the room.
"He cheated on you for how long? Months? Years?" he said gravely. "And you feel guilty? For what, answering 'no' to a question? You should have left the moment you found out."
Omegas looked at him. She was silent for a moment, then gave him a sad smile.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not—"
"No," he interrupted. "I'm not trying to comfort you, Omegas. I'm calling you an idiot."
He said it so convincingly that she didn't argue.
"How could you go on as if nothing had happened? How can you, even today—"
"I tend not to judge people by their worst mistake, Severus," she said. She gave him a piercing look. "You know that."
In any other context, the phrase would have had its intended effect. In this context, however, it caused a bitter reflection that only added to Severus' anger. He let out a joyless, sarcastic and at times mocking laugh. She looked at him, clearly puzzled.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing, I was just thinking," he said, "about the fact that your former boyfriend could apparently cheat on you openly without you leaving him, but I don't even deserve to know exactly what it was I did that made you leave. It must have been something really serious, all things considered."
"Severus, this has nothing to do with—"
"Of course not!" he shouted. He stood up suddenly, pushing the ladder away with an angry gesture. "And why would it have anything to do with me? The idiot you dumped without explanation after two years. Two years, Omegas! Months without news, only to come back and act as if nothing had happened. But no, of course, why should it have anything to do with me? Why would I want to talk about it? We're just colleagues, right? Nothing more. We've never been anything more!"
She, still motionless on the floor, endured his outburst without daring to say a word or move a muscle. He pointed a finger at her, and when he spoke again, his tone was not just angry. It was dangerous.
"You wouldn't even be working here if it wasn't for me. You stayed at Hogwarts just to be with me. And now I'm supposed to act like it's normal to just be your colleague? I'm supposed to be 'professional'?" He let out another bitter laugh. "Do you expect me to believe that you didn't come back for me?"
Omegas didn't react. She waited a few seconds, then slowly stood up without breaking eye contact.
"Tell me the truth," he ordered in a whisper.
She swallowed and searched his face with her eyes.
"Yes, I came back for you. Of course I came back for you," she replied in the same murmur.
"Then why aren't you in our quarters?" he asked in a way that made the question sound more like a plea.
She gave him a faint smile. "Because I can't."
"Why not?" he shouted again. "If you're not here to be with me, then why? To torture me? To check that I don't jump off the Astronomy Tower?"
The moment he uttered that last sentence, Severus froze. He suddenly saw himself from the outside, his face contorted with rage, towering over her with every inch of his height, and heard himself spit out the words. He knew he had gone too far and was unable to say or do anything for a while. He simply stood there, watching Omegas' heart break. He saw her eyes become teary, then her gaze drift away. He watched her swallow and sniffle. When she walked past him with her head down, brushed his shoulder and reached the door, he couldn't stop her.
During the long night that followed the exchange, Severus hated himself more than he had in a long time. He spent the first quarter of an hour standing in that very storeroom, reliving the scene, hoping to convince himself that it hadn't really happened. That he hadn't found Omegas, that he had fallen asleep in his bed and had had a very vivid nightmare. When he finally got out and reached his bed, he realised that it definitely couldn't have been a dream. His absolute inability to sleep that night was all too real. He didn't even have the strength to get up and drown the pain in alcohol.
By dawn, Severus had completely given up on sleeping. He sat on the mattress for a while, trying to convince himself not to do what he was about to do. That was his rational side, telling him he felt bad enough without rubbing salt in the wound; but Severus didn't listen. He reached for the wand on his bedside table and two minutes later, the time it took for him to completely silence logic, he had cast his Patronus. He had never done it before, not even when she had left him. He had deliberately chosen not to let her hurt him that much. Now, however, Severus felt he deserved it. Inevitably, thoughts of the last time he had been on that very mattress, performing that very act, came to mind. It had been during the war, with Omegas sleeping on a chair transfigured into a bed in the next room. That had been the last time he had seen his doe. Severus cried until it was time to go up for breakfast in the Great Hall.
From that moment on, he held back his tears, but they didn't let him go. He gave his lessons automatically, without really being there. Not that it made much difference; most of those children wouldn't have listened to him anyway. He didn't return to the Great Hall for lunch, nor did he intend to do so for dinner; she wouldn't be there. She hadn't shown up for breakfast and he knew she would continue to avoid him. Then, suddenly, Severus remembered the appointment they had with the Healers at St Mungo's to visit the boy. He glanced at the clock behind him and realised that for the first time in almost forty years, he was late. He rushed out of his office so quickly that it felt like he was flying, even though he was firmly on the ground; then he remembered that he could indeed fly, so he decided to do so until he reached Hogsmeade, then apparated.
He arrived on time. He asked the usual woman with the sickly sweet smile at reception for directions and she directed him to the fourth floor, as expected. Severus took one of the lifts. When the doors opened, he recognised the boy's room, not only because it was the largest and had the most Healers inside, but because standing still in front of the glass, her head tilted slightly to one side, was Omegas. Severus saw her and the first emotion he felt was panic. He decided to put it aside; it wouldn't get him anywhere. He took a few steps towards her, and the closer he got, the more resolute his decision became in his mind. Severus decided that he would never again experience for his Patronus what he had been forced to experience that night. He stopped beside her, and even though she pretended otherwise, he could feel Omegas' eyes darting quickly in his direction. She didn't greet him, nor did she show any sign of acknowledging his presence. He wasn't surprised. He kept his eyes on the boy behind the glass for a while, without really looking at him. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said it.
"I'm sorry."
To call the look Omegas gave him following that declaration 'surprised' would be an understatement. It was something between 'bewildered' and 'scandalised'. She turned to him with wide eyes that he refused to meet.
"Well, this is new," she observed sarcastically. "I must have looked truly desperate. Are you sure you—"
"Could you please accept or reject my apology?" he interrupted, suddenly regaining all his annoyance.
In an involuntary gesture, Severus had turned to meet her gaze. He felt the need to hide and die at the same time, a need only slightly alleviated by the smile she gave him a moment later. Omegas looked back through the glass.
"I accept it."
He couldn't take his eyes off her, incredulous. "Do you?"
"Yes," she said nonchalantly. "It's not the worst thing that's ever been said to me."
"It isn't?"
She looked at him again. "Yes, it is, actually," she admitted. "Which is remarkable, all things considered." She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "You managed to make me cry, Severus. Not bad."
Severus, confused by those suddenly clever and genuinely admiring eyes, found himself smiling back at her, laughing and shaking his head.
"You're mad, you know that, don't you?"
"I know," she confirmed. "You'll have the right to complain about it when you stop taking advantage of it," she declared, forcing him to stifle a second laugh. "Now, speaking of more serious matters..." she nodded at the glass.
He followed her gaze and watched as the last pair of Healers left the room. As they passed through the door, they gave Omegas a malevolent look, which she didn't bother to return. Then, for the first time, Severus looked into the room, really paying attention.
Noah was huddled on the mattress, a white sheet over his shoulders, his eyes wide open. He was rocking back and forth, shaking slightly.
"They managed to wake him," he remarked.
She shook her head. "Not really, no. He was never really unconscious, it seems."
She gestured to the boy and turned to him.
"Wherever you put him, he stays there. He's sitting now because they made him sit. If you put him down, he stays down. He doesn't eat, drink, sleep or react to any stimulus, according to the Healers."
Severus watched him for a moment. He should have felt pity, sympathy, perhaps even pain, he thought. But all he felt was interest. He turned to her with a frown.
"Why didn't you go in?"
Omegas rolled her eyes. "Because of the light," she said, pointing to the chandelier in the room that emitted a very bright white light. "I can't stand it. I asked one of the Healers to turn it off and turn on the bedside lamp," she explained, indicating the lamp, "she said no."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because, and I quote, 'it gives me the creeps.'" She shook her head, clear disapproval in her eyes. "Thirty years old, working in a hospital, surrounded by pain and death, and she's afraid of the dark."
Severus smirked. "You pointed that out to her, didn't you?"
"Yes," she replied.
"In these exact words?" he asked, stifling a laugh.
"Yes," she repeated.
"And what did she say?"
She sighed. "Nothing worth repeating."
He chuckled softly.
"Anyway, she threatened to have me thrown out if I tried to turn it off. I refused to go in until she did, and... well, that's all."
Genuinely amused, Severus looked at her, then back at the room and considered. Finally, he drew his wand from under his cloak, waved it, turned off the chandelier and switched on the lamp. It emitted a soft yellow light, much less intrusive than the other. Omegas turned to him with narrowed eyes.
"Technically, it wasn't you," Severus observed.
She smiled. "Please point that out to the Healers when they return."
He gave her an impertinent grimace that only vaguely resembled a grin.
"We'll see."
She chuckled. "Are you planning to have me taken away by security?"
He shrugged. "I mean, what’s a fifth arrest, after all?”
Omegas laughed heartily, lowered her head and looked back through the glass. Severus couldn't take his eyes off that reaction, so spontaneous, so familiar, one he'd longed to see again for months.
He didn't stop watching her, lost in thought, even when she suddenly widened her eyes, her amused expression overtaken by pure terror. Severus only snapped out of it when, in a flash, Omegas reached for his arm and grabbed it.
"What—"
"Look," she said in a whisper. Severus followed her gaze, confused, back beyond the glass. In front of them stood a shadow, so black it seemed to absorb all surrounding light, projected onto the white wall. It had no eyes to observe them, yet Severus felt its gaze fixed on him. He studied it for a moment, then looked at the boy. Still shivering and huddled on the mattress, he certainly couldn't project his shadow there.
"What the... what the hell..." were the only words he could mutter.
He looked at Omegas, who seemed both intrigued and terrified as he had never seen her before.
"I don't know," she replied in the same whisper.
They remained silent, watching the black shadow until it raised an arm and pointed at the wall to their left. They both jumped in unison.
"I'm calling the Healers," he declared.
"Yes," Omegas confirmed. "I'm coming with you."
She refused to let go of his arm for the next half hour.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Darkness was definitely not what had stopped the Healer assigned to Noah's case from turning on the light. The woman, who by some bizarre coincidence was the same one who had taken care of Garnet not so long ago, a short, plump woman with short, reddish-orange curls, was called Iris Pender, and she didn't miss the opportunity to tell Severus and the Head Auror, who had joined them shortly afterwards, that she had tried to explain the reason for her unease to Omegas, but that she had reacted so hostilely, without giving her a chance to speak, that she had eventually lost patience and refused to explain any further. As soon as the Healer turned and walked away down the corridor, chin up and with a great deal of smugness in her gaze, Astrid stifled a laugh."What exactly did she say to her?""She accused her of being afraid of the dark," Severus replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his tone. "Probably called her an idiot."The Auror chuckled and the Professor, to avoid betraying the resentment he was feeling, turned back towards the boy's room. Noah was lying down again, his eyes closed and his hands in his lap. The shadow, clearly visible in the faint yellow light of the lamp, was still projected against the wall, but now huddled in a corner of the room. Omegas, sitting on the floor at a safe distance, watched it with a captivated yet slightly fearful look and seemed to have lost the ability to blink."What do you think it is?" she asked, looking from the woman to the black shadow."I don't know," he replied, clearly annoyed. "For now.""Have you seen anything like it before?""No.""Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "We must be dealing with something extremely rare, given your extensive experience in the field."Severus, accustomed as he was to the judgement of the Auror Department regarding his past, interpreted that statement as an accusation and gave her a resentful look."Oh, no, it wasn't an insult, Professor," she hastened to explain, "quite the contrary. I admire your dedication and the role you have played in the war."She smiled at him and turned back to look behind the glass."Not many would have had the courage to do what you did. I myself, when the Ministry fell under Death Eater control, chose to resign rather than take an active role in the Resistance. I was a coward, I know, but," she said, lowering her voice, "I had a daughter to protect. I chose to put her first. I was more selfish than you. Than both of you, in fact," she glanced at Omegas.A tiny part of the resentment he had felt towards her left him. However, with the impassive expression he maintained throughout this confession, Severus was careful not to let her know."What is she doing?" she asked, her head now slightly tilted to one side.He looked back at the room and saw Omegas lying prone on the floor, an arm extended towards the shadow. He half-smiled."She's trying to touch it," he explained.Astrid frowned. "Why?""I have no idea."He tapped the glass to get the woman's attention, who immediately turned and shrugged at his admonishing look. The Auror smiled, then turned to him."Will you send me an owl if you have any news?"He raised an eyebrow. "You aren't planning to investigate?""Of course," she replied. "Well, not personally. I'm afraid I don't have the expertise to understand such a thing.""Perhaps you should consult an expert," he suggested.She gave him an almost entirely impassive look, save for a tiny trace of cunning."I just did."Severus wasn't quite sure whether to feel outraged or flattered by that last statement. What he did feel, however, was great annoyance, not only at the idea that the Head Auror had just given him an order, but also, and more importantly, because he knew full well that he would give in and try to solve the mystery, just as she had asked him to. He gave her a malevolent look, which she returned with a blank one, before turning and bidding him a cordial "Good evening, Professor".Seeing her disappear behind the closed lift doors, Severus hesitated only a moment before entering the room. Crossing the threshold, he studied the shadow huddled in the corner for a moment. It had retained its eerie aura, continuing to give the impression of a black hole, a kind of void, almost as if it didn't really belong in the space it occupied. The feeling it had given him the first time he had seen it, that it could somehow look at him even though it had no eyes to do so, was gone. Now it was motionless, harmless; it seemed almost asleep. He turned to Omegas, who was still lying on the floor with an arm stretched towards the shadow. He reached her, looked down at her with a reproachful expression and waited for her to meet his gaze."What?" she asked."Does that seem wise to you?" he asked in return, nodding at her index finger.She chuckled. "Do I seem wise to you?"He gave her a stern look and offered her his hand. She sighed, but eventually took it and let herself be pulled up. They looked at each other, then both turned their eyes to the shadow beside them."Have you found anything?" he asked, feigning a casualness that was anything but genuine."Yes," she replied with some satisfaction.She turned towards the glass walls and gave him a significant nod. Severus frowned at her, then turned to the open shutters. He glanced back at Omegas, who now wore a conspiratorial and vaguely mischievous smile that made him roll his eyes. Curiosity, however, far outweighed his annoyance, and a moment later the Professor had taken out his wand and closed the shutters. She nodded in thanks and took out her wand as well."I had time to conduct a couple of experiments while you kept the Healer occupied," she explained. "By the way, did Astrid come up with any ideas?"Severus didn't like the fact that she was considering the possibility that the Head Auror was sharp enough to see things clearly before him."Yes," he replied, wrinkling his nose. "She determined that she's too incompetent to conduct a satisfactory investigation and asked me to do it on her behalf.""Oh," she said, surprised. She smiled and shook her head. "An Auror with some humbleness. Astonishing."He liked that comment even less."The experiments?" he asked, annoyed."Yes, right," she said, as if snapping out of it. "So. The spells that affect the body, as expected, since it has no body, don't work."As she said this, she twirled her wand and whispered "Wingardium Leviosa". Nothing happened."As for the spells that directly affect the soul, well... the matter is different."She glanced at the closed shutters, then pointed her wand at the shadow."Imperio," she whispered.Immediately, it stood up straight. Severus suppressed a start; he watched it rise from the ground, still projected on the wall, reach the ceiling, following the trajectory of Omegas's wand, and then return to its previous huddled position. Omegas broke the curse and put her wand back in the pocket of her blue dress."Whatever it is, it has a soul," she stated.The statement, undeniable given the facts, was followed by a long silence. Severus, intrigued, moved closer to the shadow, studying it more closely. Omegas was immediately beside him, examining it with equal care."What do you think it is?" she asked, inappropriately excited as usual."I don't know," he replied, vaguely frustrated."Could this be it?" Omegas asked again. "The creature, I mean. Could it be a trace, perhaps of something we don't know?"He made a sceptical grimace. "Does that seem plausible?"She shrugged. "Well, I don't claim to know every single magical creature out there. I've seen some strange things, you know?""I know, yes," he replied, "but even if it were, a magical creature so rare that none of the Healers or Aurors can recognise its traces... why would it be at Hogwarts?"She shook her head. She turned to look back at the shadow."Doesn't it feel like there's something odd about it?""Hmm?""Compared to when we first saw it, I mean," she clarified."Obviously," he remarked, "it's motionless now.""Yes, but it's not just that," Omegas explained. "Before, I mean... when it first appeared, it was... it was like..." she murmured, but couldn't find the words."Like it was watching us?" Severus suggested.She looked at him in surprise. "Yes," she confirmed. "You felt it too?"He nodded. They both looked back at it."It was terrifying," she said, seeming rather pleased to make that observation. "Now it's just... there. What's changed?"Severus categorically refused to utter the words 'I don't know' for the third time in a single day. He continued to study it, moving closer and then further away. He examined the rest of the room, the boy lying on the pristine sheets, and only spoke again when, after glancing from the boy to the shadow once more, an idea struck him."Maybe it's not moving because it can't see where it's going," he suggested.Confused, Omegas looked at him with narrowed eyes, waiting for an explanation. Instead of words, the explanation came in the form of a demonstration. Severus reached over to Noah, waved his wand and lifted him into a sitting position on the bed. Then, slowly, he brought a hand to his face and gently opened both of his eyes, one by one. Omegas watched the scene curiously until Severus, having done what he needed to do, looked back at the wall and parted his lips slightly. She followed his gaze, stepped back and put a hand to her chest. The shadow had suddenly risen and seemed able to fix its supposed gaze on her again. It raised an arm and pointed at Omegas, who, paralysed, did nothing but blink and stare at it without saying a word.Severus reached her in two quick strides and stood beside her. After two full minutes of silent contemplation, all she could do was swallow audibly and whisper a faint "Fascinating".She took a step forward and he promptly grabbed her arm and held her back."How?" she asked, lost in thought. She turned to Severus and met his eyes. "How did you do it?"He watched her gaze and fought hard not to sound like he was showing off. He failed."If it's not part of the perpetrator, it must be part of the victim," he explained. He looked at the boy. "The only difference from when we first saw the shadow is that the boy's eyes were open. Look at him," he invited.She turned to Noah and looked into his empty eyes."Do you feel he's looking at you?" he asked.Omegas shook her head."Now look," he continued, pointing to the shadow.She turned and started a second time."Yes," she confirmed in a whisper. She looked back at Severus. "But how is that possible?"He thought for a moment, then drew his wand. He pointed it at Noah and said, "Imperio." Nothing happened. Omegas, now with parted lips and wide eyes, approached the boy."You... you lifted him before," she said."Yes," he replied."Spells that affect the body work," she said, "but not those—""Not those that affect the soul," he finished.She reached him in an excited leap and pointed to the shadow beside them."That's his soul?" she asked in a whisper.He gave her an inappropriately wide grin. "Yes.""How is that possible?" she replied. "Souls aren't like that, they're—""No, I know," he interrupted, giving in completely to his interest. "But it's the only explanation.""Right," she confirmed. She remained silent for a few seconds, then added, "You deduced it from the fact that the boy had his eyes open?"Severus preened. "I deduced it from his vacant stare, actually. But yes," he nodded, "that was the only real difference from when we first saw it..." he stopped short.He found himself staring into Omegas' eyes, which now looked at him as if she was about to kiss him. For a period of time he deemed embarrassing, he couldn't do anything but enjoy that expression.Then the room's shutters were suddenly opened, the door flung wide and Omegas stepped back. Iris, the Healer, entered the room and cast a suspicious look first at him, then at her."What are you doing?" she asked sourly."Investigating," Omegas replied calmly.Iris gave her a displeased grimace. "Do it elsewhere," she ordered. "The boy needs to rest."She moved towards the bed, past the shadow. She jumped, cursing under her breath."Can't we turn the damned chandelier back on?" she asked angrily."No, I'm afraid not," the other said, shaking her head. "The shadow is a clue. We need—""Yeah, sure, whatever," she interrupted. "You and your bloody clues. Aurors coming and going, professors telling us how to do our job. This is a hospital, remember?"With that, she drew her wand and levitated the boy into the air. She put him back on the mattress, placed his hands in his lap, closed his eyes and covered him with a sheet. Severus and Omegas turned and watched as the shadow returned to its corner, huddled and blind once again."Well?" the Healer asked, increasingly spiteful. "Are you planning to stay long?"They looked at her, then at each other. In silent agreement, they decided not to argue and left without further objection.Omegas couldn't even hold back for the time it took for the elevator doors to close."Souls aren't like that, Severus," she said. "They don't work like that. Have you ever seen one?""No," he replied. "Not one in normal conditions, anyway.""Well, I have," she said. "I once witnessed a Dementor's Kiss in person. I saw the soul leave the body of—" she stopped abruptly. She looked at him, narrowing her eyes and frowning. "What do you mean, 'not one in normal conditions'?"Severus smirked. The lift doors opened and they stepped out."I've seen cursed souls," he explained. "Or what was left of them. I've seen torn souls, corrupted souls, cursed souls..." he continued, stopping in the middle of one of the corridors. "But nothing like this. Even when broken, a living soul usually retains its energy. This one is as if it's...""Extinguished?" she suggested.He looked at her and nodded."Extinguished but conscious," he observed. "Whatever it is, it shouldn't exist. It shouldn't be able to survive, but more importantly, no creature should be able to do such a thing.""No, indeed," she confirmed, shaking her head. "It's not only unusual, it could be..." She turned to him and met his eyes. "It could be unique," she murmured.Severus ran his eyes over her face a few times, spending a few extra moments on the manic gleam in her violet irises. He was about to reciprocate it, but he stopped. He stiffened and looked up at her."Control yourself." he scolded. "We're in a hospital."Omegas chuckled. "What for? It's just you and me here," she observed, looking around.He wanted to make sure the corridor they were in was empty, but he couldn't take his eyes off hers and had to take her word for it. She gave him one of the most insolent smiles he had ever seen."Oh, admit it, you're as excited as I am," she whispered. "I won't tell anyone, you know."He miraculously managed to suppress the grin he was about to let slip. He took a step towards her."There's a boy on the verge of death," he stated."Yes," she nodded."His soul is being forced out of his body," he continued, taking another step towards her. "He is suffering. Probably in ways we can't understand. That none of us can imagine.""Yes," she repeated, and for the first time since her return, instead of backing away, she moved closer as well.The slight, almost imperceptible movement made Severus completely forget where he was and the situation they were in, as well as the history between them over the past five months. The next sentence he uttered was to avoid saying what was actually on his mind."I don't think you're sane."The tone in which he said those words, however, made his thoughts more than obvious, and the third and final "Yes" she murmured was eloquent enough to make it clear that she was on the same page. They just looked at each other for the next few seconds until a voice at the other end of the corridor broke the tension."Sir?" it said.Severus closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried hard not to let the irritation he was feeling show, but he wasn't as successful as he might have been in other contexts."I'm going to kill him," he muttered through clenched teeth.Omegas stifled a laugh. "I don't think that's the best idea. He's your godson, they'd suspect you."He gave a half-smile and they both turned to meet the sharp features of Draco Malfoy, now just a few paces away.The boy, with his lime-coloured uniform and long platinum hair flowing down the corridor, wasn't the only unexpected face to appear before them. Seated in the wheelchair that the newly appointed Healer was pushing was Nodens, who greeted them with his usual cordiality and a decidedly uncommon dose of cheerfulness."What are you doing here?" Draco asked.That question, somewhat bold, was far removed from the reverent manner in which he usually addressed the Professor. Severus was about to point it out, not without a stern look and a strong reprimand in his tone, but he was distracted by Draco's face. The boy looked exhausted, dejected, on the verge of defeat. Severus hesitated for a moment, wondering why there was such sudden gloom, and finally concluded that it must be a mixture of gruelling hours at St Mungo's and family grief."We came to visit the boy," Omegas explained. "What are you doing here?" she asked, nodding to Nodens."Oh, I often come here after class, ma'am," he replied.She frowned. "Since when?""A few weeks," he said. "The Healers are trying this new... this kind of treatment, I don't know exactly what it is. I keep asking them to explain it, but they say it's too complicated.""It really is," Draco interjected. "They tried to explain it to me, but I couldn't understand any of it."Nodens chuckled, and the reason for his sudden apparent resurrection became much clearer to Severus. Omegas, however, seemed deeply perplexed. She looked from one boy to the other with narrowed eyes; she turned to the Professor with an air of expecting some kind of explanation, but none came. She returned her curious gaze to Nodens."A treatment for what?" she asked.That question, which predictably drew a few confused and rather embarrassed looks from the two in front of her, was correctly interpreted by Severus as the result of genuine cluelessness."Well, for... for me, ma'am," Nodens stammered."Why, what happened?" she asked again, now with a faint note of concern.The boy started to answer, but immediately shut his mouth. He studied the woman carefully, as if trying to find out if she was making fun of him. Finding nothing but honest naivety in her face, he slowly turned to Draco, who shrugged and shook his head. Then he looked at Severus, who honestly didn't know how to intervene in that bizarre interaction. Finally, he turned back to Omegas and floated slightly forward."You didn't..." he began, lowering his tone. "You never noticed that I'm... that I'm..."She blinked, leaning slightly towards him. "That you're what?""Uh... I mean that there's something wrong with me," he said, gesturing towards his chair.Omegas gave him a look somewhere between bewilderment and indignation."There's nothing wrong with you.""No, no, of course," he hastened to clarify, as if he had directed a grave insult at her rather than himself. "I mean, I... haven't you ever noticed that I can't walk? That until last year I couldn't even lift my head?" he asked incredulously. "You must have noticed," he added with a small laugh."Yes, I noticed," she said."And it didn't seem... odd to you?""I..." she murmured.She turned to Severus, clearly expecting a suggestion on how to continue the conversation without causing further embarrassment. He, too busy wondering what on earth was wrong with her and suppressing a laugh, couldn't offer anything helpful. Omegas turned back again."So what's wrong with you?" she asked, with none of the tact that such a question would require."Omegas!" Draco exclaimed, feigning indignation that was largely belied by a hint of laughter."What?" she said."You can't ask questions like that," he explained."Why not?""No, no, it's fine," Nodens interjected, apparently equally amused. "It's fine." He sat back in his chair and looked at them both in turn. "Er... nobody knows for sure, ma'am. It seems I've been like this since before I was abandoned at St. Mungo's. Most of the Healers who have examined me believe it's something congenital, others think it was some kind of accident. Some even said it must have been done to me on purpose, but... nobody knows.""Ah," Omegas replied. She was silent for a moment, then looked at him. "Interesting."Nodens bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, ma'am."There was a short, decidedly awkward pause."Well..." the boy said, "I'm going back to my room upstairs.""Yes, of course," Draco replied. "Do you need a—""No," the other replied, already floating towards the lifts. "Goodbye, ma'am," he said. "Sir," he added with a final nod to Severus.The other three stood still, waiting for him to disappear around a bend. Then, in a gesture that caught Severus so off guard that he couldn't react, Draco raised the file he was holding and smacked Omegas on the shoulder, a gesture that was a reprimand, but a decidedly affectionate one.“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked."I don't..." she started, but couldn't continue."Have you never noticed that there's something wrong with Gad?" Draco pressed.Omegas lowered her head and blushed slightly."Well, I always thought there was something odd about him, but I thought it was more a matter of personality. I thought he was hiding something.""Hiding something?" Draco said incredulously. "He's in a wheelchair! Didn't you ever notice?""Yes, I... I noticed, of course.""And?"She shrugged. "I didn't attach much importance to it."The boy burst into a small, playful laugh, and Severus, his eyes darting from one to the other with growing disbelief, was about to drop all restraint and ask them when their relationship had become so friendly. However, the answer came before he could speak."The Christmas holidays are approaching," Draco observed."Yes," Omegas replied.The boy smiled eloquently. "I take it you're not planning on coming home."She seemed embarrassed for a moment; then she found her composure and gave him one of her imperturbable smiles."No," she confirmed."Hmm..." he said, still smirking.He looked at them in turn, and Severus made sure to return each of his impertinent glances with icy stares, which for some bizarre reason did not seem to have their usual effect."Well, I'd better go then," he said vaguely. "Greg's after me.""Yes, he's after you," Omegas repeated."Oh, stop it!" he exclaimed, giggling.He cleared his throat and regained his haughty demeanour."Sir," he greeted.Severus could only dismiss him with a nod. Draco took one last look at the woman before passing them and disappearing down the corridor.Left alone, Severus and Omegas looked at each other for a moment, he confused, she clueless. Then she began to walk briskly towards the hospital exit, forcing him to follow. Once outside the building, before he could say anything, Omegas disapparated and Severus followed. Arriving in Hogsmeade, she looked at him, gave him a cordial smile and tried to say goodbye with a cold, "So, I suppose we'll keep in touch if there are any developments."Severus' reply was slow, and she decided to take his silence as agreement. She turned and started towards the castle, but was almost immediately forced to stop."Wait," he ordered. He quickly caught up with her and looked at her inquisitively."What?" she asked.Severus opened his mouth to answer and found he didn't know where to begin. He thought for a moment and finally decided on a simple, "I have questions."She hesitated for a moment. "Oh," she replied. "Of course. Would you like to..." she murmured. She cleared her throat and looked away stubbornly. "Do you want to discuss it somewhere, I don't know... maybe have a drink?" she nodded towards the building behind the Professor.He turned and looked at the Three Broomsticks, as crowded and chaotic as ever. He looked back at Omegas, at least ten times more astonished than he had been before. Never since he had known her, not even during the two years they had spent as a proper couple, had she ever suggested having a drink outside of their quarters. Again he didn't answer, and she seemed to interpret this silence as the opposite of the previous one."Never mind, we can talk while we walk—""No, no," he hurried to intervene, "it's fine."Omegas looked at him and gave him a faint smile."All right," she said. "Do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks?"Severus, who hated that place with all his being and would have preferred to drink in any other pub on the planet, nodded and replied convincingly, "If that's where you want to go.""Yeah, sure," she said.They exchanged a long, slightly painful, embarrassed look; then she walked past him, entered the pub, and a few minutes later Severus was sitting opposite her at one of the back tables, not quite sure why or how he found himself in that situation."So," Omegas said after taking a gulp of butterbeer. "Would you like to start with the questions?"He took a sip as well, forcing himself to appear casual."Yes," he replied.He put down the mug and leaned slightly towards her. The very first thing he wanted to ask her was too personal to be the first question. So he put it aside, furrowed his brow in a deliberately thoughtful frown and asked, "Who’s Greg?"She chuckled. "Ah, yes, him," she replied. "He's Draco's boss. One of his bosses, actually. He assists three different Healers, you know, as an apprentice. One's called Greg, one's called Quentin, if I remember correctly, and the last one is Zachary."She took another sip and swallowed it with a satisfaction that seemed vaguely exaggerated."I can't remember which is which. Sylvia tried to explain which one he fancies, which one he can't stand and which one is just a good friend, but honestly I didn't pay any attention. However, I found out that if I drop an insinuation whenever one of them is mentioned, he laughs, regardless of which one it is, so…”Severus barely held back a laugh. "And how do you know all these things?" he asked, trying to get closer to the answers he actually wanted.She stared stubbornly at her mug. "Draco and I were quite close over the summer," she explained."Why?" he pressed.Omegas cleared her throat. "He lives in my house, Severus. You know that.""I thought you gave it to him," he objected."Yes," she confirmed. "Well, I needed it, so he took me in for a while.""Hmm," he said.He was silent for a moment, long enough for the next question to sound casual."So Draco knows?"He raised the mug to his lips, pretending not to notice the woman's eyes that had suddenly snapped to him."Not exactly, no," she murmured after a few seconds of hesitation. "I told him I would only stay as long as it took to settle a few things and move my things... elsewhere."Severus grinned. "Really?" he asked ironically."Really, yes," Omegas replied."Elsewhere where?" he asked, already guessing what the answer would be.Confirmation of that intuition came in the form of a look that was both admonishing and quite explicit."So, if I understand correctly," he said, sitting back in his chair. "You leave home without giving me an explanation. You say you're sure of your decision, tell me you've only come back for your students; then you admit you lied and came back for me, but you remain adamant about not being together. Meanwhile, you move into Draco's house, forcing yourself to live in the place where your ex-partner took his life, instead of talking to me and trying to fix whatever problem you have with me.""I told you," she tried to intervene, "I don't—""And yet, for some reason, you lie to the boy and make him believe that nothing has changed between us. Is my analysis correct?" he asked, feigning total nonchalance and raising the mug to his lips again.She met his eyes for a moment. "Yes," she said with an uncomfortable grimace.Severus met her annoyance with a piercing stare. This time, however, unlike on every other occasion they had discussed the issue, he was careful to do so in a way that showed no hint of resentment. He tried to convey only a sincere interest, a kind of challenge; a quiet 'I'm going to get to the bottom of this whether you like it or not'. She seemed to appreciate it. She smiled at him, and the conversation continued in silence for a while. Then, as if nothing had happened, Omegas took a sip, swallowed it, put down her mug and looked around."I hate this place," she declared.He half-smiled. "Really?""Yes," she confirmed. "It's too noisy. And I don't like Butterbeer either. It's too sweet."He bowed his head and gave a small laugh. "Indeed, it's disgusting."She gave him a tender smile. "Next time we'll go to the Hog's Head. Aberforth likes me, you know? We've always got on. He's rather odd, mostly in a good way. Apart from the obsession with goats, of course. Have you seen his Patronus?"Severus, whose brain had almost completely stopped functioning at the words 'next time', answered the question with an absent "Hmm?"A few moments later, he was forced to snap back to reality, only to find that she was lost in some kind of reflection, staring at a point behind him. He turned around to try to understand, finding nothing but the usual annoying crowd deep in chatter. He turned back to her and frowned."What's wrong?" he asked."Pay the bill," she said.He raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?""Pay the bill, Severus. I've got an idea."With that, she rose from her seat and headed for the exit so quickly that he had no time to argue. He paid and joined her outside, giving her a glare that she didn't even notice.They hurried towards the castle, which was now on the verge of falling into the sleep that usually accompanied that hour. When they crossed the doors, Omegas didn't bother with explanations. She reached the girls' bathroom on the second floor, ignoring Moaning Myrtle's squeaks and making an indistinct hiss towards one of the sinks. The door to the Chamber of Secrets opened and a moment later she disappeared down the tunnel that served as its entrance. Severus cursed under his breath and reluctantly followed her. Reaching the end of the long corridor with the entwined serpent statues, Omegas approached a large wooden table, almost identical to the one she had in her office, but even bigger and more maniacally organised. Severus watched as she bent down and fumbled with one of the drawers."Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked, annoyed."His soul, Severus," she said without lifting her head. "That's his soul.""Yes," he confirmed sarcastically. "We figured that out hours ago, Omegas."Her head suddenly popped up from behind the table. "Exactly," she confirmed.She stood up and placed what he recognised as one of the blood samples sent from the Auror Department on the desk. Omegas opened the vial and poured a few drops onto the dark wooden surface."What are you doing?" he asked."There aren't many magical creatures capable of having such a powerful effect on the human soul," she explained, "and from the list we've compiled, we've practically ruled them all out.""I know that," he replied."But there is one," she added. "One we didn't include, and rightly so. You know why?"He rolled his eyes. "Why?" he asked impatiently.She gave him a mischievous grin. "Because it doesn't bleed."She pulled out her wand, pointed it at the desk and said clearly, "Expecto Patronum."They watched in silence as the silvery figure emerged from the tip of her wand and raced towards the drops of blood. Incredulous, lips parted, eyes wide, they watched as the blood flowed along the dark wood, as if trying to escape the Patronus and hide behind one of the cauldrons resting on the side of the desk. Finally, they saw it give way under the silver light and vanish into nothingness. Omegas recalled her Patronus, and it obediently stopped a palm from her nose and disappeared.A long silence followed that scene, and the reasons for their sudden lack of words were diametrically opposed. Omegas did a sort of pirouette around the table, stopped in front of him and addressed him with obvious excitement."It's a Dementor, Severus!" she exclaimed. "How can it be a Dementor? Dementors don't have blood. But it has to be a Dementor, right? What else could react like that to a Patronus? It has to be," she said, pacing up and down. "Do you realise what this means? We have a Dementor that can bleed. A living Dementor, or an unknown creature that behaves like a Dementor but isn't exactly..."She trailed off. She had stopped in front of him and met his lost gaze, which expressed a feeling deeply different from the reasonable, if excited, interest she had shown. Omegas looked at him, confused, and furrowed her brow."What?" she asked.Severus only managed to meet her gaze a few seconds later. He swallowed before finding the strength to whisper the next words."It's still a bat."Omegas turned abruptly. She looked at the exact spot where her Patronus had disappeared moments before; then she looked back at him.Neither of them spoke for a length of time they could not measure coherently. Finally, in an act of courage that surprised him enough to convince him that he had only imagined the moments that followed, Severus moved closer and kissed her. It lasted, as always, too long for him to count and too short to satisfy him. When it ended, Omegas swallowed and seemed on the verge of bursting into tears. She turned, careful not to look at him again."Goodnight, Severus," she said after a while.He turned as well. "Goodnight, Omegas," he replied and walked down the corridor.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Severus woke up the next morning, the empty half of his bed causing him slightly less pain than usual. He reached the bathroom, splashed water on his face, and the reflection he saw in the mirror disgusted him less than it had the day before. He entered the Great Hall, took his seat behind the staff table and had breakfast without the usual wave of nausea that accompanied his meals. Then he taught his classes, and a couple of very lucky Gryffindor students entered the classroom two minutes late without having any points deducted from their house. Normally, it would have taken him hours, days, maybe even weeks to understand what emotion was driving him to perform such unusual actions, to feel such unfamiliar sensations. But that morning, the Professor knew it immediately: he had felt it before. Severus had woken up with the knowledge of being loved, and no matter how much distance Omegas tried to maintain, nothing in the world could ever take that certainty away from him.
Omegas wasn't faring as well, and she seemed to have given up the effort of hiding it. Her sunglasses were back on her nose, the smile was gone from her face and she seemed to carry an aura of sadness that darkened every corridor she floated through, every classroom she entered to teach, every corner of the castle where she sat to eat, alone, in silence. Rationally, Severus knew that her pain should make him suffer, and it often did, but a far less compassionate part of him knew that the reason for her sadness was that she still loved him, and so took a certain pleasure in watching the pain on her tired face. Another, even worse part, which the Professor struggled to silence, not always successfully, persistently told him that he rather liked that bizarre, contagious dark aura she carried with her.
Anyway, from that night on, Severus kept his distance. He spoke to her only and exclusively to discuss the investigation, which soon reached a dead end. There was nothing in the many volumes they consulted in the following weeks, nor in those they had consulted in the previous weeks, that explained the bizarre reaction of the blood to Omegas' Patronus. As expected, none of the books explained the origin of the Dementors: it was one of the greatest mysteries of magic. Severus had heard legends of ancient rituals belonging to extinct cultures and civilisations, but he had never found anything to confirm those rumours. What all the texts seemed to agree on, however, was that Dementors were dead creatures, demons who, if they ever had life, had lost it centuries, perhaps millennia ago, and therefore did not have a single drop of blood in their veins. According to many of those texts, they didn't even have veins. Dementors were relatively few in number and evenly distributed across much of Europe, Africa and some parts of the Americas. They were ancient, not only in origin, but the individuals themselves had existed for millennia. They were seemingly indestructible, impossible to kill or harm in any way: the only way to deal with them was to drive them away with the Patronus.
Severus already had such information, and turned his attention to finding a possible explanation for the state to which Noah's soul had been reduced. He found nothing of significance. There was no documented attack by a Dementor or any other magical creature capable of so cleanly separating a soul from a body, extinguishing it and yet somehow maintaining a connection with its owner. He communicated his findings, or rather the complete lack of them, to Omegas on a cold afternoon in mid December, and she accepted his statements, as she did now with every interaction, with a nod, without looking up at him. The Professor nodded, turned and left her office without adding anything else.
Omegas seemed to have chosen the opposite method of investigation to his. Realising that the blood wouldn't give her any definitive answers, she convinced herself that she would find a solution by interacting with the victim. She spent most of those winter afternoons locked in Noah's room at St Mungo's with his shadow, claiming to be searching for a way to communicate with the boy.
"If there's a soul, there's a consciousness," she told Severus and Astrid during one of their update meetings.
They had agreed to meet that afternoon in Omegas' office to take stock of the situation.
"If there's consciousness, there's awareness. The boy knows who his attacker is, he saw him face to face. You said that, didn't you?" she asked, turning her gaze to Severus.
"I did," he nodded.
"If we could find a way to communicate with him, he could tell us who, or rather what, attacked him," she continued.
"Are you still convinced it was a creature?" the Auror asked, slightly sceptical.
"Of course it was a creature," Omegas replied, "how could it be otherwise?"
The other shrugged. "It could be an unknown curse."
She let out a vaguely mocking laugh. "A curse that can extinguish a soul and then cleanly separate it from the body?" she asked rhetorically. "There is no such thing." She stopped abruptly and turned slowly towards Severus. "Is there?"
He looked at her, then turned to the Auror. "Not that I know of, no."
"If he doesn't know it, it presumably doesn't exist," Omegas insisted.
Severus allowed the fleeting hint of a half-smile. Astrid looked at them in turn, seeming to study them for a moment.
"Very well," she said then, "but how do we get the boy to talk? The Healers have no idea how to reinsert his soul into his body. They're looking for a way, but it could take months. Years even."
"Yes, I know, I spoke to them," she replied. "I have no intention of waiting that long."
"Then how?" the Head Auror repeated.
Omegas gave her a sly smile. "I plan to communicate directly with his shadow," she explained, as if it were the simplest of tasks.
With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door, leaving the two of them alone in her office. Severus and Astrid watched her walk down the corridor for a few moments, then she turned to the Professor. She looked up at him and received an icy stare in return.
"Can I help you?" he asked oily.
"Do you know what's on her mind?" the other asked.
He grinned. "Generally, yes."
"Ah," she replied. "What is she going to do?"
"She will obsess over the shadow until she finds a way to communicate with it," he explained, "or until she decides she has something more interesting to occupy her time with."
"Hmm," Astrid said. "Let's hope nothing more interesting comes up then."
She said it in a tone and with a look of complicity that tested Severus' nerves, nerves he had managed to keep in check for weeks. He gave her an icy glare that clearly conveyed that he would prefer her to be less friendly; then he turned away.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave the office," he said coldly. "Professor Grindelwald doesn't like strangers being here in her absence."
"Oh, of course," she replied cordially. She started for the door, stopping just short of the threshold. "Aren't you coming?"
He looked at her. "I'm not a stranger."
There was a brief pause. The Auror bowed her head, gave a half-smile and repeated a weak "Of course" before finally leaving and walking down the corridor. Severus, who really had no reason to be there and only wished to get to his quarters and lock himself in, approached the wooden table, sat down and waited what he thought was an appropriate amount of time to avoid running into the Head Auror on the stairs.
The days that followed proved him right: Omegas was obsessed. Every moment she wasn't in the classroom was spent either in the Chamber of Secrets, mainly during the night hours, or in St Mungo's, in the boys' room. Severus followed her a few times. Not secretly, but with a simple and well-founded professional interest in the matter. He stayed on the sidelines, watching her from behind the glass, and noticed two things: first, the shadow didn't seem to be able to communicate with anything or anyone. The most it seemed to be able to do was point a finger, which it wasn't able to use for conversation. Omegas tried to ask it to make that movement once for 'yes' and twice for 'no', but the shadow couldn't do it. In Severus' opinion, the boy's soul couldn't even control itself, let alone hold a conversation. The second thing he noted was that Omegas must have reached the same conclusion some time ago. She didn't seem genuinely interested in achieving her goal; rather, she seemed to use it as an excuse to spend long silent hours sitting on the floor of the room, watching the shadow and ignoring the boy lying on the bed. Severus often wondered why, during the long silent hours he had spent watching her before they were thrown out of the hospital for staying past closing time. The routine of her staring at the shadow, as if expecting an explanation, and him staring back at her, repeated itself every afternoon for the next two weeks. At the end of the day, the two would return to the castle, usually without saying a word, she disappearing into the girls' bathroom on the second floor, he down the stairs to the dungeons.
One Friday evening, the last before the students and some of the professors left to spend the Christmas holidays with their families, Severus was walking down the corridor and just before he could put his hand on the doorknob of his quarters, he was intercepted and forced to turn around.
"Severus!" called a voice he still wasn't used to hearing using his first name.
Sylvia approached him, her gaze icy and her stride as determined as ever. She was wearing a loose emerald green dress, cinched at the waist, and so much gold and red jewellery that she vaguely resembled a decorated Christmas tree. Severus kept that thought to himself, because the girl had stopped in front of him, her hands on her hips, as she usually did before complaining about something, and he didn't want to give her another reason to do so.
"Yes?" he asked, giving her an equally icy look.
She looked around. "Where is Omegas?"
He mimicked her movement. "Not here," he observed.
"I can see that," she replied.
"Good," he said.
He turned and started for the door again.
"Wait," she commanded.
Severus turned slowly, making sure he had the expression of someone who wasn't taking orders. She didn't seem discouraged.
"I need to know if you guys are coming to dinner for Christmas or not," she declared. "There are only three days left, and Omegas keeps ignoring me. I need to know if you're coming, I need to organise everything... two more people make a difference. I tried to explain that to her, but—"
"When you say 'you guys'," he interrupted, now frowning and squinting his eyes, "do you mean me and her?"
The girl looked at him like he was stupid. "Of course I mean you and her. Who else would I mean?"
Severus looked at her for another moment in silence. When he had heard her say 'Are you guys coming to the Black Cat' months earlier, she wasn't referring to Nodens at all. She had always invited him. Sylvia didn't know.
"Well, are you coming or not?" she huffed. "Please. It's complicated enough organising everything without you—"
"We're coming," he interrupted again.
She looked at him in disbelief. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yes."
Sylvia's face suddenly lit up and she gave the Professor a broad smile, which was met with a completely blank look.
"Great!" she exclaimed. "The appointment is at eight, at the Black Cat."
She turned to leave, then reconsidered. She approached and whispered.
"Could you tell Omegas to bring... you know what?"
He looked at her with a stern expression.
"Never mind, she always has it with her at parties," she stated. "Goodnight."
She turned to leave, but just as she turned her back, the Professor remembered that there was something he needed to ask her. He had refrained from doing so because the idea of sounding pleading, desperate or even vaguely suffering had held him back. But Sylvia didn't know, and that changed the game.
"Wait," he ordered.
The girl turned and walked back towards him. "What?"
He walked up to her and fixed her with a questioning look.
"What did you say to her?" he asked.
She frowned. "What did I say to whom?"
"Omegas," he said firmly. "During Draco's birthday party. We were at the Black Cat and were about to leave, but you asked to speak to her privately."
His next look conveyed how important he deemed it for her to answer honestly.
"What did you tell her?"
Sylvia didn't seem intimidated, just deeply confused. She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment, then shook her head and chuckled.
"How can I possibly remember? It was months ago," she remarked. "I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning."
"No, no," he insisted. "You said something to her. You needed privacy, and it's not like you're usually the most private person," he observed, looking up at her.
She responded with an icy stare.
"It must have been something important," he pressed.
Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't remember," she repeated. "Why don't you ask her?"
Severus didn't like her impertinent tone at all, and since his piercing glare seemed to have no effect and he had long since lost the right to reprimand her, he decided to disrespect her in the most subtle and at the same time useful way he could think of. He narrowed his eyes, concentrated and read her mind.
There was such chaos in that brain, mostly made up of disjointed memories and overlapping thoughts, many of them involving Sirius Black, which he was forced to ignore with a wave of nausea, that it took him a while to find the memories related to Omegas. He watched them all, one by one, in those few seconds, from the moment they'd met to the brief conversation they'd had that morning, during which Sylvia had asked her for an answer about Christmas dinner and the other had brushed her off with a terse "Not now, I'm late for a lesson" and turned away. He found nothing relevant. Disappointed and rather exhausted by the disorderly flood of information he had just acquired, Severus left her mind and returned to stand by the door of his quarters. The girl shook her head slightly and seemed disoriented. She looked around a couple of times, then fixed her gaze on him with a look that was halfway between incredulous and outraged.
"Did you just read my mind?" she blurted out.
He ran his eyes over her angry expression. "Yes."
Sylvia seemed on the verge of killing him.
"You have no right," she began, pointing a long black nail at him. "No right to—"
"Learn to close your mind and it won't happen again," he cut her off.
"That's not the point..." she trailed off.
Suddenly shifting from anger to her usual coldness, she straightened the folds of her dress and cleared her throat.
"Would you teach me?" she asked in a whisper.
He frowned. 'No' was the first word that came to mind, and he thought about uttering it without bothering to be polite, but curiosity overcame that impulse.
"Why?" he asked.
She sighed. "I've been asking Omegas to teach me for ages, but every time she starts talking about palaces, libraries, mental order and such," she explained. "I don't want to learn how to be organised, I just want people to stay out of my head, you know?"
Severus knew. He thought for a moment; then, without fully understanding why, and without being sure that he was completely in control of his actions, he nodded.
"Alright," he said.
Sylvia's eyes snapped to him. She gave him a small smile and nodded firmly.
"Good," she said decisively. "After the Christmas holidays, then."
"Good," he repeated.
Sylvia turned, her silvery blonde hair swaying all the way down the corridor as she headed for the stairs. Severus watched her go, suddenly losing all interest in spending his evening alone with a glass in his hand. He let go of the handle, turned and headed for the other end of the corridor.
He had long considered the possibility of entering the Chamber of Secrets. He had begun looking for a way when he realised that Omegas was spending her nights there, more than two months before. At first it was just another way to spy on her. Then it became a search for an exuberant way to annoy her: bursting into what was now effectively her room in the middle of the night. Once the anger subsided, it became more of an intellectual challenge. Severus had to find a way to enter the chamber without being forced to turn into a snake and learn Parseltongue. A few weeks earlier, he had finally come up with an idea; simple, almost stupid in its obviousness, but, as so often in the past, with a good chance of success. The investigation had distracted him, though, and he hadn't had time to try it out. That evening, knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't be able to have a private conversation with Omegas in the following days, as there would be no classes and she would therefore lock herself in Noah's room at St Mungo's, he decided to try. The plan went so smoothly that as the Professor slipped into the tunnel that would lead him straight to the Chamber of Secrets, he had to stop himself from bursting out laughing.
He crossed the passage, still partially covered in rubble, then went down the usual corridor. Upon reaching the actual chamber, he found Omegas sitting with her back against the corpse of the Basilisk, which she had apparently decided to use as part of the decor rather than dispose of. He announced himself with a cough, and she, taken by surprise, started, dropping the book she was holding. Severus grinned and approached her with determined steps, while she kept her wide purple eyes fixed on him in astonishment.
"How... how on earth did you get in?" she asked in a whisper.
Severus sat down beside her and half-smiled. "I summoned a snake. Then I used the Imperius Curse on it. I commanded it to say 'open' and it obviously spoke in Parseltongue."
Omegas continued to stare at him, now with her mouth agape in an expression that made it very difficult for him not to look too smug. Then her gaze shifted from his face to an undefined point in front of her.
"Centuries..." she murmured incredulously. "Centuries of secrecy, legends and mysteries surrounding the Chamber of Secrets, and you entered in what? Two minutes?"
He gave up trying at that point and beamed, not bothering to hide it.
"I actually thought about it for a while before the idea came to me," he said in a falsely modest tone. "But yes, practically it took me no more than a few minutes."
She shook her head. "Salazar Slytherin," she announced, raising her arms as if speaking to an invisible audience, "the most cunning man who ever walked this earth."
Severus laughed.
"Sometimes I think I should have been in Ravenclaw, you know?" she added. "Then I remember that I'm literally a snake and it passes. Does that happen to you?"
"It has, yes," he replied. "Well, my surname is 'Snape'."
Omegas chuckled. "Mine is 'Grindelwald'," she noted.
"Hmm," Severus mused, "we didn't stand a chance."
She shook her head again and laughed heartily. Then she looked up at him, suddenly remembering that she wasn't supposed to seem pleased to see him. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked away.
"What are you doing here?"
Severus ran his eyes over her face, raising an eyebrow and deciding not to suppress the grin, halfway between malicious and genuinely amused, that threatened to betray his impassivity.
"Sylvia ambushed me trying to get to my quarters," he explained. "She complained."
"That's nothing new," she replied.
He shook his head. "No, indeed," he agreed. "She said she wanted to speak to you, but you ignored her."
"Again, nothing new," Omegas noted.
Severus nodded. He paused briefly, waiting for her to find the courage to look him in the eye. When she didn't, he decided to continue.
"She asked what we were planning to do for Christmas," he said casually. "You and me. She seemed strangely convinced that one's actions depended on the other's. Almost like... almost like we were a couple."
She bowed her head quickly and seemed to try to disappear into her knees.
"But that's nothing new either, is it?"
At that point, Omegas raised her head and looked at him with a mix of guilt and deep irritation that gave Severus great satisfaction. He narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully.
"If the Headmistress doesn't know," he began, raising one finger at a time with a good dose of irony. "Potter doesn't know. Draco doesn't know. And Sylvia doesn't know..." he took on a falsely thoughtful expression. "Then no one knows."
She kept looking at him for a few seconds, then sighed and brought a hand to her forehead.
"No one knows, no," she confirmed.
He smiled wryly.
"And why doesn't anyone know?"
"Because I'm a private pe—"
"Please," he interrupted, "you've used that one before. Don't recycle lies, you can do better."
Omegas looked on the verge of exploding. Severus was too determined to get to the bottom of it to be deterred by her murderous stare, but to be on the safe side he decided to get up. He took a few steps away and paced slowly in front of her.
"There can only be two reasons," he said, now with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Which would be?" she said, standing up as well.
"You can't believe it's possible to go on hiding from everyone around us that we're no longer together," he explained. "So there must be another reason. The first thing that comes to mind is that you always expected us to get back together sooner or later, so you decided not to tell anyone because it wouldn't make any difference."
She let out a laugh. "Have you become an optimist?"
"No," he replied, "I don't think that's the reason. I just said it to see your reaction and confirm it."
"Right,'" she replied. "So?"
"So there's only the second option left," he said.
"Which is?"
Severus stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes.
"You don't want it to be real," he declared.
Her expression in response to those words told him all he needed to know.
"You didn't tell anyone because if you had, it would have been real, and you don't want it to be."
Omegas continued not to answer. He approached her and stared intently until she was forced to meet his gaze.
"It doesn't have to be real," he whispered. "If no one knows, everything can go back to normal."
"Of course," she said sarcastically. "I'll come home and we pretend nothing happened, is that alright with you?"
"Yes," he replied, without a trace of irony.
She looked at him in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes," he repeated, dead serious.
"How... how can that..." she tried to say, but stopped mid-sentence.
She took on the clear expression of someone contemplating, and Severus responded with a look so pleading it embarrassed him, but he didn't care. He took a step closer and spoke in the most determined tone he could muster under the circumstances.
"I don't care. Whatever it is, I don't care."
Omegas smiled at him and let a tear slide down her cheek.
"I do."
She turned away and regained her composure.
"I left for a reason, Severus. Because of a problem. The chance to go back doesn't solve that problem."
"Tell me what the problem is," he ordered.
"Why?"
"So I can solve it," he said as if it were obvious.
She let out a joyless laugh. "No, you can't," she said. "No one can."
"Try me," he insisted.
She turned to meet his eyes. By then, every trace of emotion she had shown until that moment had been replaced by one of her usual cunning smiles.
"I admire your tenacity," she said, declaring a completely inappropriate distance, "but it's not worth it."
"You've told me that before."
"Yes," she nodded, "and I still believe it."
He shrugged. "I disagree."
Omegas maintained her composure for a few seconds; then she gave up and sighed loudly.
"Are we back to obsession, Severus?" she asked irritably.
"We never left it, to be honest," he countered.
"What happened to 'respecting my space'?"
Severus glanced around, then gave her a look of false innocence.
"This may not be the ideal time to tell you, but I accepted Sylvia's invitation and told her we'd go together."
She frowned. "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely," he replied.
"Why on earth—"
"It's become impossible to be around you lately," he interrupted. "I saw an opportunity and I took it."
She shook her head and chuckled.
"That's codependency, you know that, right?"
"Yes," he confirmed without hesitation. He pointed a finger at her and gave her one of his best sardonic looks. "You chose to be with a man who had remained loyal to the same person for almost thirty years," he observed, "knowing that he had never even been with that person. What did you expect?"
Omegas remained silent, and the penetrating gaze she gave him forced him to do the same. He wondered at the reason for her sudden, unusual intensity, a depth she hadn't shown for months; then he understood. He realised that it was the first time since he had known her that he had mentioned Lily, if only indirectly. He froze and so did she, at least for the first few moments; then she smiled at him. It was a pure, sincere smile that made him feel guilty as he had rarely felt in his life. In a gesture that was completely illogical, he bowed his head, stared stubbornly at the floor, and murmured, "I'm sorry," for the second time in over twenty years.
"Don't," she said in a stern tone he had rarely heard her use.
He interpreted it as 'don't compare the two situations', which irritated him, as it always did when he was told what to do, but he couldn't blame her.
"I won't," he replied. "I didn't mean—"
"I mean don't be sorry," she clarified.
Severus looked up at her and found her giving him the same genuine smile.
It lasted a few more moments, then Omegas turned around. She reached the wooden table, pointed her wand at one of the drawers and whispered, "Perceptum". A third drawer appeared between the first and second, occupying a space Severus hadn't noticed was missing. Omegas approached it and said, "
Wundergirl
". The drawer opened with a click. She grabbed something from inside, closed it and made it disappear; then she walked carefully towards him. She stopped in front of him, looked at him, smiled again and took his hand. She gently placed the object she was holding in his hand, and Severus, slightly dazed, took a little longer than he should have to realise that it was a small book. Frowning, he lowered his gaze and studied it. It was definitely old: the pages were yellowed, and the burgundy cover was almost completely detached from the rest of the book. Engraved on the dark red velvet was what Severus deduced to be the title of the volume, but he couldn't read it because it was written in a language he didn't understand. He looked back at her.
"What's this?" he asked, confused.
"Do you like Greek mythology?" she asked.
The question didn't help his confusion. Resigning himself to the fact that she had returned to communicating in her usual cryptic manner, he decided to play along.
"I've never been particularly attracted to it," he replied. "I've always preferred Norse mythology."
"Really?" she said, genuinely surprised.
"Yes," he confirmed. "More battles and a little less romantic intrigue."
She chuckled. "Indeed," she agreed. "Well, I hope you'll make an exception," she added, nodding at the book.
Severus looked at it again. "How am I supposed to read it?" he asked. "It's in German."
"Oh, right," she said.
She fumbled in her bag for a moment and pulled out a pair of antique-looking oval glasses. She handed them to him with a smile.
"Here, take these."
He took them and studied them for a moment. "What are they?"
"That's a gift from Professor Zakoten," she explained. "I want them back when you're finished."
He studied them for a few more moments, then put them on. The glasses were definitely not prescription. Nothing changed, except that when he looked at the book again, instead of the German writing, Severus could read the words Myths and Hidden Truths: The Forbidden Bestiary. He turned it over in his hands and read the title half a dozen times before looking up again.
When he did, he found Omegas' face before him. She was watching him with a mysterious and slightly tender smile.
"What?" he asked.
She nodded at his face. "They look good on you," she said.
Severus dismissed the remark as a lie, as he had on each of the few occasions he had been complimented on his appearance. Then he realised it was the first real compliment he had received from her in two years, not counting the ones about his intelligence, and fell silent.
"Why are you giving me a book about mythical creatures?" he asked. "Is it for the case?"
"No, it's not for the case," she replied. She frowned and bit her lip in a thoughtful expression. "But it's not a bad idea, actually. When you're finished—"
"Why do I have this book in my hands, Omegas?" he interrupted impatiently.
She returned to her impassive self and shrugged.
"You wanted answers," she said vaguely.
"Will I find my answers here?" he asked, even more confused.
Omegas smiled. "If you look carefully," she replied.
Severus lifted his head and looked down at her, clutching the book as if his life depended on it.
"I will."
She nodded. "Good."
There was a brief pause. Omegas turned and gestured lazily towards the corridor behind her.
"You know the way."
He turned and looked at the tunnel that would lead him out, then turned back to her.
"When I've figured out the problem and found a solution, will you come home?" he asked.
She gave him a sad, somewhat resigned smile. "If you find a solution—"
"When," he corrected.
Omegas met his resolute gaze with one equally determined. "Yes."
Severus smiled. It was a slightly grim smile, but decidedly more sincere than his usual ones. He turned and walked purposefully down the corridor.
"Goodnight, Omegas," he said.
He was halfway down, his black cloak billowing and the book still clutched to his chest, when she responded with a weak, "Goodnight, Severus."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
For well over twenty-four hours, Severus did not take his eyes off the book. The intensive reading was only partly driven by the compulsive need for answers that had accompanied his every action for months; another good reason was that the Christmas holidays had begun, and the Professor had nothing else to occupy his time for the three days separating him from the Christmas party at the Black Cat. The third and final reason Severus could not stop flipping through the pages was that their contents were undeniably interesting.The book presented itself entirely as a bestiary: a long list of magical and mythological creatures, each with a chapter detailing their origins, their impact on both the magical and non-magical worlds, their characteristics and their culture. This volume was specifically focused on creatures whose origins could be traced back to Ancient Greece, and thus remained in the collective imagination as part of the mythology of that era. It also implied that this was just one of a larger collection of texts that promised to cover magical creatures of various origins.The book was split into three parts. The first chapters were devoted to creatures whose existence was certain, whose origins were known, and who even seemed to have had the opportunity to participate in the writing of some parts of those treatises. The text reported that some centaurs had personally described certain of their traditions and beliefs in meticulous detail, and had consequently been exiled or isolated from their communities, accused of collaborating with humans. Severus, however, did not care much for these first chapters. He read them anyway, in case the elusive answers he sought were hidden within their pages, but he gained no information he did not already have.The second part of the book consisted of a series of chapters describing and cataloguing all those creatures whose existence was well documented but whose extinction was certain. These were species that had disappeared centuries ago, but whose cultures and impact on the Wizarding World were so significant that their history had survived to the present day. It spoke of creatures like the Minotaurs—the section on the legend surrounding their creation was particularly explicit and disturbing—the Harpies, the Cyclops and the Pegasi. It was an interesting read. Severus had never been particularly passionate about magical creatures, except those classified under the label 'dark', and much of the reason for that lack of interest was due to the fact that the Care of Magical Creatures lessons had always been held outdoors, in groups, and were mostly practical, three things that had always strongly conflicted with his nature. Exploring the subject in the privacy of his office, through a well-written and detailed text, was a pleasant and unexpected discovery.What really puzzled him, however, was the title of the book. Myths and Hidden Truths: The Forbidden Bestiary. Severus had read enough forbidden books to recognise one from the first few lines of the preface, and he had found nothing in those pages to justify the use of that word. He strongly suspected that this supposed secrecy had to do with the last part of the volume, the final chapters, and he knew from the introduction to them that he was not mistaken. The third and final group of creatures referred to a series of beasts whose existence had only been hypothesised, many of which fell under the modern definition of 'demon' and were said to have learned to adapt, living undisturbed and hidden among humans, concealing their true nature. Severus doubted their true existence, and it took him little more than a moment to dismiss the entire paragraph as the ravings of an overly enthusiastic author, but he could not deny that the subject intrigued him.He had just finished reading the last few lines, in which the author claimed to have personally encountered some of the creatures during his travels, when someone knocked on the door, forcing him to look up from the book for the first time in almost two days."Come in."The door opened and Professor McGonagall, in her emerald green robes, pointed hat and usual severe expression, entered the office and closed the door behind her."Good morning, Severus," she greeted him.He, who hadn't left the room for at least twelve hours, looked at the clock in confusion and suddenly realised that it was past nine in the morning."Good morning, Headmistress."She summoned a chair, placed it in front of the desk, sat down and looked around for a moment."Where is Omegas?" she asked, frowning.Severus, already on the verge of rolling his eyes, put the book down."What has she done?""Oh, nothing," the Headmistress clarified. "Oddly," she added.He made a grimace that silently agreed with her."She should be at St Mungo's," he explained. "She's trying to find a way to communicate with the boy's soul. She practically never leaves the room if she can help it.""I see," she replied. "Very well. Then you will inform her if you deem it necessary."The Professor, now giving her his full attention, narrowed his eyes and waited for clarification on a matter that, judging by the Headmistress' expression, must be serious."Last year you and Omegas gave Gad private Potions lessons," she began, suddenly averting her stern gaze."Yes," he confirmed. "Actually, it was she who gave him private lessons. I was merely assisting.""Yes, that's what I thought," she replied. She put her hands in her lap and intertwined her fingers. "I need you to switch roles this year. Starting in January."Severus frowned. Convinced he had misunderstood, he waited for her to elaborate, but she did not. The Headmistress kept her serious eyes on him, and the Professor, who could no longer pretend that he hadn't got the message, began to get annoyed."Are you asking me to give Nodens private lessons, Headmistress?" he asked in a tone so dripping with sarcastic deference that no one would have believed it."Yes, Severus," she replied calmly."And why would I do such a thing?" he objected, now clearly irritated.Professor McGonagall's expression quickly shifted from stern to authoritative."Gad doesn't need extra lessons in Potions, nor in Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy or even Transfiguration for that matter," she argued."He doesn't need extra lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts either," he replied reluctantly. "He's the best in his year.""That's the point, Severus," she replied, "in his year."She stood up and paced the office with measured strides. He, again confused and noticeably annoyed, mimicked her."Gad is well above the O.W.L. curriculum in all subjects," the Headmistress continued. "All but Defence Against the Dark Arts."He shrugged. "Then he's only on par with the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum, since he's in his fourth year," he observed.Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared menacingly and her lips tightened in an expression Severus knew well, but which did not prevent him from standing his ground and giving her a look as hostile as hers."Gad and I have discussed it," she explained, "and we have decided that, all things considered, if he concentrates enough on the extra lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he might be able to obtain his O.W.L.s by the end of this year.""You've discussed it?" he repeated, now on the verge of anger. He approached her, challenging the icy stare he received. "And since when do students have the right to discuss such matters directly with the headmistress?""Gad is a special case," she replied, "and as such his situation requires special treatment.""This is not special treatment," he protested. "It's favouritism."Her face turned a dangerous shade of red. She remained silent for a moment, then approached him inquisitorially."I will not allow you to judge the way I do my job, Severus," she declared.Severus remained silent. He continued to send sparks of resentment in her direction, but dared not open his mouth again. The discussion, now more argument than dialogue, continued in a long, tense silence until the Headmistress, now certain he would not answer, turned and headed for the door."I'm not asking you," she announced. "I'm informing you. You start after the Christmas holidays."She left, slamming the door behind her with a hint of more force than usual, leaving him alone to fight the urge to smash every single glass object on the shelves behind him, a task that would have required a great deal of time and energy.It took him some time to regain the concentration he needed to continue reading. He spent a few minutes cursing himself for choosing to spend the holidays at the castle and contemplating packing his bags and stepping into a fireplace that would take him directly to his living room at Spinner's End, where no one could disturb him with matters of private lessons for privileged child prodigies. But the memory of the last time he had spent there, and the thought of finding his apartment as empty as it had been before he left, convinced him to stay in his office, and when he opened the book again he was more determined than ever to find the answers it contained.It took a few more hours before he noticed the first clues. The first pages spoke of an alleged demonic creature called Mormo, a sort of female ghost that, according to legend, sowed panic in homes and shops and fed on the blood of children. Definitely dark, interesting in a way, but it couldn't be what he was looking for. The second chapter dealt with the Furies, demons of vengeance, supposed spirits that haunted the perpetrators of serious crimes, especially violent ones. The reading was fascinating and gave Severus an almost satisfying sensation, but it still wasn't the answer he was looking for. He continued to leaf through the pages: he read of Gorgons, Empusa, Erinyes and Keres until, on reaching the seventh of that final collection of chapters, a photograph, originally wedged between two pages, fell to the ground.Severus bent down, picked it up and examined it. It was an old-looking photograph of a pale woman, well-dressed, with rosy cheeks and very long black curls that extended out of the frame, giving the impression that they reached to the floor. She blinked occasionally, revealing a pair of bright eyes and hinting at a cryptic smile. He studied that smile carefully, then shifted his gaze back to the woman's eyes and thought he saw a hint of violet. He told himself he must have imagined it, considering the photo was old and not even in colour, and turned the photo over. On the back it simply said Thais, MCMXII. Finding nothing else to discover, at least not on the picture he held in his hand, Severus put it aside and looked for the first time at the page he had just turned.The chapter was dedicated to Lamiae. The first part of the text told the legend of the origin of the first Lamia, about a queen who was the lover of a god, and the jealous wife of the god in question, who cursed the queen and turned her into a half-demon, condemning her to an eternity of damnation, constantly seeking revenge. Nothing particularly interesting: a story, like dozens of others he had read in the same book, most likely invented to justify the very existence of the creatures. He didn't spend more than five minutes on it before moving on; a wise decision, as he was forced to read and reread the following pages for hours before he could convince himself that the connections his brain was making weren't far-fetched, but actually valid, even logical. The Lamiae were, or rather were supposed to be, half-woman, half-snake creatures. Among the characteristics attributed to them were: the ability to change shape, from animal to human; above average strength and agility; a high resistance to pain; and a natural inclination towards violence, both in its handling and in its practice.It took Severus a while. Not to connect the dots, that was easy: he had connected much more distant dots, part of a much more complex picture. It took him only a moment longer to acknowledge it, but he managed to do so after a second quick analysis of the Lamia's distinctly violet eyes in the photograph. Once it was a fact, it took him no more than an instant to accept the reality. Omegas was not entirely human. It was a possibility he had considered some time before, when she had accidentally fallen into a passage that should have been closed to anyone who was one hundred percent human. He had considered the hypothesis for a moment, then put it aside, dismissing it as unimportant, and did the same when the hypothesis became an actual reality. These were not the thoughts he had brooded over, but rather the reflection that had followed. Surely that was the information he was looking for, the answer to the question 'Why can't we be together?', and there was only one logical explanation for the fact that Omegas considered her lineage a problem serious enough to leave him without explanations: she believed he wouldn't accept her. She had truly believed that it would make a difference to him if he knew whether she was human or not.For a single moment he felt pity for her; then an all-consuming rage, as intense as the one he had felt after her departure, silenced everything else. That was the opinion Omegas had of him. She believed he was the kind of man who judged others by their bloodline. The kind of man you couldn't even discuss certain things with. She had preferred to disappear from his life without explanation, rather than confess something that from his point of view was nothing but futile, superficial and insignificant. He took a drink and forced himself to regain at least a semblance of composure. When he rose from his chair and headed towards St Mungo's, it was already late afternoon.It didn't work too well; by the time Severus reached the hospital, he was almost more nervous than he had been before his drink. He strode through the entrance, his expression drawing several anxious glances, which he ignored. Without stopping at reception, he headed straight for the lifts, entering one and reaching the fourth floor. He walked down the corridor, which he now knew only too well, and stopped outside Noah's room. The boy was lying on the bed, his eyes closed, the crisp sheets pulled up almost to his mouth. His shadow, huddled in a corner, showed no sign of life except for a slight tremor. Two women, the usual Healer, Iris, and a colleague, both in lime green uniforms, were engaged in a heated conversation. There was, however, no trace of Omegas.Frowning and with a palpable hostility in his eyes that seemed to poison the air around him, Severus entered the room just in time to hear one of the two women say to the other, "I don't care, Miriam. It's exactly what she deserves. She's been acting like she owns the place ever since she arrived. And besides, you're always too kind. If you had dealt with her—"She stopped abruptly. The other had gestured at her and Iris had turned. Seeing the Professor, she gave him a look almost as dark as his own. She opened her mouth, and from the vehemence with which she did so, Severus deduced that she was not about to say anything pleasant, but her colleague stopped her. She stepped forward and gave him a polite smile."Good evening," she said warmly."Good evening," he repeated, much colder."Good evening," the other said, looking away irritably.The Healer named Miriam took another step towards him and stopped in front of him."Can I help you with something?" she said in an absurdly solicitous tone that made Severus feel like a lost four-year-old.He didn't like it and let her know with a serious look that seemed to have no effect."Yes," he said then. "I'm looking for Professor Grindelwald."The other Healer, now with her back to him, snorted a laugh. Miriam turned and reprimanded her with a glance, then turned back to the Professor."I'm afraid you're in the wrong wing, Mr...""Professor Snape," he said.She smiled. "Professor Snape," she repeated.She pointed to the door and gestured for him to leave the room; he followed her into the corridor."This is the Janus Thickey Ward," she explained, "you will find the Spell Damage Ward in the twin wing, just across the corridor, immediately to your left."Severus, confused, followed the direction of her finger, then slowly turned back to her."Why are you directing me to the Spell Damage Ward?" he asked.She frowned, puzzled but not losing her annoyingly tender smile."You said you were looking for Professor Grindelwald," she observed."Yes," he confirmed."Well, you'll find her there," she explained.Severus' confusion grew, until a realisation he wished he hadn't had made him swallow and instantly turn from irritation to panic."I'll find her there as a patient?" he asked in a whisper.Miriam, only then realising the misunderstanding, suddenly turned pale."You... you didn't come to visit her?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.The few seconds it took the Healer to utter those words were used by Severus to turn and take his first frantic steps down the fourth floor corridor.He walked all the way to the Spell Damage Ward with his heart in his throat, and as he passed each empty room or one occupied by a patient who wasn't her, his terror only increased. The need he had felt to scream at her turned into a much more concrete need to be sure there was someone left to scream at. That need, however, changed again when, upon reaching the last door of the ward, Severus entered the room and found Omegas conscious, smiling and sitting on the bed as if she had just woken up from a nap. At that point, he felt a strong urge to strangle her, which was not helped when she noticed him and greeted him with the usual vague "Ah, Severus".Severus closed his eyes, took a deep breath and miraculously managed to control his actions, if not his tone."What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.She made an irritated sound. "I was stunned.""Who stunned you?""A couple of Healers," she explained disdainfully. "Nothing serious. They brought me here, I think they were afraid I might stay unconscious for a while," she chuckled. "Did they call you? They shouldn't have, you're not on my emergency contact list."The statement did nothing to improve Severus' foul mood. He approached the bed with measured steps and looked up at her."And who is on your emergency contact list?" he asked in a falsely calm tone.Omegas shrugged. "No one, really."He continued to stare at her with the same icy stare until she lost her smile and lowered her eyes."I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to worry you."Severus regained just a hint of calm. He remained silent for a few moments, watching her guilty look, before speaking again."They didn't call me," he explained. "I came looking for you."She lifted her head again. "Oh. Why?"He gave her a grimace, the implicit meaning of which was a sarcastic 'why do you think?’ He pulled out the little red-bound book and tossed it into her hands. She caught it on the fly."Ah," she commented. "You read it?""I read it, yes," he replied.He called for a chair, first placed in the opposite corner of the room, positioned it beside the bed and sat down. He fixed her with a pair of penetrating eyes and she, clearly uncomfortable, cleared her throat and looked away."Did you find it interesting?" she asked."Some parts more than others," he replied in the same vague tone."I can imagine," she said.There was an awkward silence. For a while, Omegas fiddled with the folds of the sheet that covered the lower half of her body."Did... did you..." she stammered. "Did you understand who... did you understand what—""Yes, Omegas," he interrupted her.By now, the panic had left him and the reason he had entered the hospital to confront her had returned. She didn't miss it."Are you angry?" she asked, studying his expression."Of course I'm angry," he hissed. "What did you expect?"She, genuinely confused, took a moment to answer. "I don't know. Not anger, though," she said calmly.Severus rose from the chair and turned away from her. When he turned again, his face expressed nothing but pure rage."You think I care," he accused, pointing a finger at her. "That's what you think of me. That I'm the kind of man who—""I don't, Severus," she cut him off."Yes, you do," he countered. "Why else would you have kept it from me?"She let out a wry laugh. "Well, it's not exactly the sort of information you want to broadcast to the world, is it?" she observed. "I'm a demon, at least half of me. It's normal that I wanted to keep it hidden.""It's normal, yes," he shouted. "From everyone. But not from me."They looked at each other. Omegas betrayed a fleeting, tender smile before regaining her usual cryptic demeanor. Severus approached her again and looked down at her."I was the first person you told your name to," he said gravely. "I looked into your father's eyes. I saw you attack, I saw you perform dark rituals, I saw you empty a vial of poison and take your own life. I saw you kill. I killed with you," he went on. He sat down again and looked into her eyes, now with a resigned, suffering look, more than an angry one. "Did you really think that of me? That I would judge you for something you have no control over? For what you are?"The smile he received in response to those words was no longer just a hint.Omegas shook her head. "No, I didn't think that.""Then why—" he began, but was interrupted.Someone entered the room, and judging by the way the door had been opened and the heavy footsteps that had preceded it, that someone was angry. Severus looked up at the newcomer and found himself facing two bright green eyes, as furious as he had ever seen them.Harry Potter slammed the door behind him and pointed a finger at Omegas, apparently unaware of the man beside her."What have you done?" he shouted.She frowned. "What have I done?" she replied. "That woman stunned me! Her and that Quentin. I bet he's the one Draco hates," she added, turning to Severus, "he's an idiot."Harry took a step forward. "You attacked a patient!" he yelled.The statement was followed by a stunned silence, as the woman looked away innocently, the boy continued to glare at her, and Severus turned towards her with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. Omegas caught his gaze, shrugged and made a face as if to say 'so what?'. Then she turned back to the other."Who told you?" she asked."He did!" Harry burst out. "He's threatening to report you. He's going around saying they're allowing dangerous lunatics to teach at Hogwarts.""Oh, please," she said, "I hardly touched him. It's not like—""That's not the point, Omegas!" he cut her off.Severus felt a strong urge to stand up and shout at him not to speak to her in that tone, but frankly he had no idea how to argue with him under the circumstances."You can't go around attacking people every time someone does the slightest thing—""It wasn't the slightest thing," she countered."This is the fourth time since the beginning of the summer!" he shouted, completely ignoring her objection. "The fourth. First at the Leaky Cauldron, then at the Black Cat, then in Knockturn Alley, and now at St Mungo's!" He stepped closer and looked at her gravely. "This is a hospital, you know that, don't you?""Yes," she replied calmly. "Unfortunately, Harry, there are idiots everywhere. It's an epidemic, really."Severus stifled a laugh. It wasn't so much the joke itself, but rather the flush that the boy's cheeks were getting as the conversation went on, making him feel, for the first time in ten years, as if someone was finally giving him a taste of his own medicine.Harry made a clear effort to calm himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again, the anger he had expressed up to that point did not seem to have diminished at all; if anything, it had increased."I'm not going to cover for you anymore," he said firmly. "Enough. From now on, you deal with Professor McGonagall."Omegas let out a small laugh. "Oh, stop it. You will cover for me."The other seemed ready to explode. "And why would I do that?"She gave him a mischievous smile. "Do you really want me to say it?""Yes, please," he said sarcastically, "enlighten me.""Because you care too much about me," she replied, not bothering to look him in the eye. "And it's not even just a matter of sentimentality, no, I passed that point a long time ago," she let out a laugh. "It's that you feel indebted to me, and not just for the war, or for getting the Resurrection Stone back, or for covering for you with the Lexius story."Relaxing on the bed, she finally looked up at him and gave him a grin."You have the unfortunate habit of assigning a role to everyone you choose to be around. I do have a role in your life, Harry. You see me as a bit of a parental figure for... well, for obvious reasons," she said, glancing at Severus for a moment.He returned the gesture with a look of surprise and slight disgust."But you also see me as a danger to myself. You've been trying to protect me ever since the war ended, do you think I haven't noticed? Somehow, I think..." she murmured, taking on a falsely thoughtful expression. "Yes, I think that makes you a parental figure to me. Of course, it doesn't help that you have a real child on the way." She pointed a finger at him and chuckled. "You're using me as a testing ground, aren't you?"The boy, now staring at her with an indignant grimace and parted lips, made no reply."Anyway, you won't turn in a woman you see as both a mother and a daughter. You wouldn't have the heart," she added.He remained quiet for a while. After finishing her speech, Omegas stared at him intently, and Severus imitated her. Harry, at first clearly on the verge of an outburst, quickly shifted from anger to confusion and then to a calm, if annoyed, resignation."Who on earth says such things out loud?" he asked in a whisper.She smiled. "Am I wrong?"The boy's eyes moved from her to the man sitting beside her. He fell silent, blushing suddenly and regaining all his irritation."You can't go around attacking people for no reason," he said firmly, completely ignoring the exchange they had just had.Omegas darkened. "I had a reason," she replied. "That idiot was wandering around the hospital complaining about the queues. He was shouting at the Healers, claiming he needed some special attention because his son had fallen off a damn toy broomstick. He was shouting that they were paying too much attention to the boy," she added in a dangerously low tone. "He called him a freak."Harry frowned. "Who, Noah?""No, not Noah," she said. "Gad, in the next room."The other fell silent again. He returned her intense gaze, and a great wave of heartfelt understanding slowly washed over his face."He called Gad a freak?" he asked."Yes," she confirmed.Harry stood still for a moment, as if paralysed. Then he cleared his throat, adjusted his round glasses on his nose and pulled a paper bag from under his cloak. He threw it to the woman, taking care not to look at her.She caught it in mid-air and looked at it with a furrowed brow."What is it?""Dinner," he replied.Omegas smiled. "Good boy."He scowled at her and pointed a finger at her again."Stop assaulting people," he ordered."Yes, sir," she said. She took a bite of the sandwich she had just been given and swallowed it happily. "When can I get out of here?""Immediately," he replied, still clearly annoyed. "I spoke to the Healers. That man actually threatened them, they won't report you. I convinced them to discharge you.""Hm," she said with a look of great satisfaction on her face. "You're going to be a great father.""Oh, shut up," the other burst out.Severus, now watching the exchange with a puzzled expression, suddenly felt the boy's eyes on him. He turned and gave him a look that he hoped conveyed the emotional distance he fully intended to maintain. The other straightened for a moment and looked away, clearly uncomfortable."See you at Christmas?" he asked the woman."Yes," she replied."Good," he said. "Professor Snape," he greeted, without looking at him."Potter," he replied.Harry gave Omegas a gesture halfway between cordial and impatient and left them alone a moment later.Severus remained silent for a moment, contemplating the scene he had just witnessed, before finding the strength to make a sarcastic comment."Have you by any chance adopted any other illegitimate children in your months of absence that I should know about?"She laughed. "They adopted themselves, actually. I didn't have much say in the matter."She got out of bed with a sharp movement, picked up the book he had given her a little while before, pulled out the photo inside and handed it to him. He took it with a puzzled look and studied it again."It's your mother," he stated."Yes," she confirmed.She moved away, reached over to the bedside table and pulled her wand from her bag. She waved it and lowered the blinds in the room."What am I supposed to do with it?" he asked."Turn it over," Omegas replied.He obeyed, especially since she had pulled a dark green dress out of her bag and taken off her hospital gown, so he needed a credible excuse to look elsewhere."Can you read Roman numerals?" she asked."Obviously," he replied haughtily."Good," she said, now fully dressed. "Read them."Severus looked down again and read Thais, MCMXII. Then he looked back at the woman before him."Nineteen twelve," he declared.She nodded. She dug in her pocket again and pulled out a second photograph, this one much less old than the other. She handed it to him and he saw the same woman, in an almost identical pose to the other, giving him a mysterious smile. The inscription on the back read Thais, 1962. "That is one of the last photographs of my mother, if you believe what her sister says," Omegas explained. "Sylvia visited her. She is my closest living relative, she traced her with the Ministry's Genetic Magic spells. She thought she was doing me a favour."Severus' eyes snapped to hers. "That's what she told you that night."She gave a half-smile. "Yes.""How is that possible?" he asked. "I read her mind. There was no—""I erased her memory," she cut him off.He, who had not even considered the possibility, looked at her for a moment in disbelief and murmured an "ah" through clenched teeth."Anyway, that's not the point," she said briskly. "Look at the photo, Severus. Do you see the problem?"Severus looked down again. He studied one photograph, then the other. Despite the evidence before him, it took a while for his brain to accept the reality that was unfolding before him: that woman had not aged a day in fifty years. He jerked his head up and looked Omegas in the eyes. The deeply sombre look she gave him suddenly became much more understandable. He remained silent, doing nothing but connecting the dots and coming to macabre conclusions."I don't look younger than I am because of a genetic accident," she explained in a calm tone that was in stark contrast to the emotion she felt. "I don't know exactly how many years I have left, there's no exact date of birth attached to my mother's name, nowhere," she let out a bitter laugh. "Which I suppose suggests how old she was when she had me. She certainly didn't die of natural causes, so assuming I don't have a tragic accident in the next, say, sixty years..."Severus suddenly rose from his chair. He stood in front of her, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head slightly to one side."You can't age?"She smiled sadly and nodded slowly. He looked back and forth in amazement between the woman in front of him and the one in the photo."Do you see the problem?" she repeated.Severus saw it. He understood it and he hated it. He could have accepted facing any problem but that one. He swallowed and didn't dare say it out loud, the very thought of it choking him. Omegas, however, who had certainly had more time to rationalise than him, found the strength to express it."I can't watch you grow old knowing I'll never have the chance to do it with you," she said firmly. "You can't ask me to do that, Severus. I can't watch you die."A long, desperate pause followed the confession. Severus tried not to let his voice sound broken as he broke the silence, but he wasn't as successful as he had hoped."It wasn't the idea of spending the rest of your life with me that made you run away," he said, more to himself than to her. "It was the idea of not being able to."She gave him one last sad smile. "Does that make things better?""No," he replied. "It makes them worse."She nodded. "Now you know why I didn't want to tell you."She moved away from him, approaching the door and taking her cloak. Severus quickly caught up with her, stopped in front of her again and uttered the next sentence, unable to control his actions."You left me because you love me too much?"He put it as a question, for the very idea that someone could feel such a deep emotion towards him sounded too unrealistic for him to fully grasp."That's one way to look at it, of course," she replied. "Or perhaps I'm just too much of a coward."Omegas lowered her head. Severus guessed, correctly, that the reason for her decision was the need to avert her eyes from the gaze she was being offered."I should have left, I know," she muttered. "I should have walked away and never come back. But I couldn't, not right away, I didn't—" she stopped. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "It's better for both of us if we end it here, Severus. Yes, it's been two years, and yes, it's painful, but what about when ten years have passed? When twenty years have passed? It will only get worse. I can't... I can't—"At that point, Omegas brought her hands to her face and cried, and Severus, who until then had never gone so far in front of her, betrayed a single tear at the very moment when it would have been convenient not to. He reached over and wiped it away before she could see it."I'm sorry," she said."For what?" he asked."Everything." She wiped her face as well, regaining her usual composure. "We agree there's no solution?"Severus agreed. How could he not? He held her violet eyes for a long time. The knowledge that he might soon be forced to never see them again made him change his mind drastically. Forcing himself to assume his usual impassive expression, he raised his head solemnly."No," he said.He reached over to the bed, picked up the red-bound book and slipped it into the inside pocket of his cloak. Omegas, puzzled, followed his movements with a furrowed brow. Severus came back to stand in front of her, looked up at her and raised an eyebrow."I'll see you in Hogsmeade at half past seven for Christmas dinner," he declared. "It's better if we apparate together, to keep up appearances. I don't want to have to explain when we get back together.""What... did you hear what I just said? We can't—""No," he repeated firmly. "I disagree. I'll find a solution."She let out a laugh that showed not the slightest hint of joy."To death?" she asked sarcastically.He gave her the most serious look he had ever given anyone."Yes."Omegas fell silent. She parted her lips and looked at him, half sympathetic, as if he were out of his mind, half sincerely admiring. Severus held that look for only a few seconds before turning away."Goodnight, Omegas," he said and left the room without waiting for a response.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was all over again. In the lonely hours that separated him from Christmas dinner, Severus was acutely aware that he was once again in complete denial. He knew that he would not find a way to solve the problem, and that no solution would magically fall from the sky, for there were no solutions to such a problem. He also knew that in time the anger would return, then the negotiation, and finally a depression from which he would probably never recover. He knew it was over, but he tried to tell himself it wasn't. Severus decided to pretend that everything was fine. That nothing that had happened since June was real; that Omegas was simply locked up in the Chamber of Secrets working on some bizarre experiment of dubious morality, but that she would eventually come out and return to their quarters. On Christmas morning, Severus decided to face the day as if everything was normal. To live through the evening that awaited him, convincing himself that the next day would never come. What would happen after that, when that day inevitably came, he would find out in time.As the hours passed, it became increasingly difficult to push his thoughts away, and he finally decided to leave school early: he would wait for her in Hogsmeade. He put on his cloak, closed the door to his quarters behind him and walked to the nearby village. He arrived half an hour early for the appointment, but when he reached the Three Broomsticks, she was already there. She did not greet him with the usual casual 'Ah, Severus'; she simply nodded at him, and he returned the gesture almost identically. He stopped in front of her and gave her a completely blank look."You're early," he observed."I'm always early," she replied."By ten minutes," he countered. "You're too early."She smiled. "Yes, that's true. So are you."Severus nodded. They looked at each other in silence for a while, mostly using furtive glances to express a discomfort that had never accompanied any of their interactions before."Would you like a drink before we go?" he asked, trying to maintain his usual cold tone.Omegas shook her head. "No, we can't, remember? The entrance to the Black Cat conflicts with alcohol."He shrugged. "We can sober up before we go down.""That's true, we can," she agreed. "Or we can drink there, so we don't have to pay for the drinks."Severus knew that the suggestion was not to save money, but to spare her the embarrassment and pain of sharing a space with him alone. He didn't like it, but he couldn't blame her. He nodded, gestured to her and murmured an "After you" that didn't sound as convincing as he would have liked. Moments later, they had both apparated into the heart of Alice Holt Forest and were heading for the oak tree at the entrance to the Black Cat.As they passed through the black door, the usual bald, stocky man with a pencil-thin moustache approached and greeted them cheerfully in his surprisingly high-pitched voice."Omegas, Severus!" he exclaimed.Severus wasn't quite sure when and how they had become familiar enough to call each other by their first names. He decided to overlook it and simply greeted him with a nod, mainly because, truth be told, he couldn't remember his name. Omegas came to his rescue."Hello, Rufus.""Merry Christmas," the other said.She replied with a displeased grimace and a barely audible "Merry Christmas"."Oh, there's no need to transform," he said as the woman approached the mirror that served as the entrance to the pub. "Sylvia has opened the way for humans.""Good, yes," she replied absently. She was about to step into the mirror, then turned to the guardian. "Aren't you coming?"Rufus blushed visibly. "Oh... that's... that's really... really kind," he stammered. "Really... I'll have to wait for all the guests to arrive before I can... but it's really kind, yeah... I might come to dinner, I suppose... I might, if Sylvia... maybe..."Omegas frowned and looked at Severus with the expression of someone greatly regretting their choices. He rolled his eyes, trying to stifle a laugh, and stepped through the mirror. She followed without further hesitation.The place was half deserted. A few customers, clearly not part of the dinner party that was about to take place, were still seated at the tables along the walls, while a long, already set table stood in the middle of the room, waiting to be filled. Only two of the seats around it were occupied: the first by Sirius Black and the second, which if possible was even more annoying to Severus than the other, by Nodens. The two of them were chatting merrily while Sylvia, with dishevelled hair, a large burgundy dress and the air of someone on the verge of a mental breakdown, was incessantly moving plates of overflowing food along the buffet, then Christmas decorations hanging on the walls, then Christmas baubles from one branch to another of a large decorated fir tree at the back of the room. The girl heard them enter, turned, widened her eyes, and approached them so quickly that she nearly tripped a few times on her skirt, which almost reached the floor."You're early," she remarked breathlessly. "Why are you early? You weren't supposed to be here before eight."The two looked at each other in confusion. Omegas opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted."It doesn't matter," Sylvia said, clearly meaning the opposite. "You'll be with Sirius and Gad. Go," she ordered.They didn't move an inch. They stared at her with identical sardonic and slightly annoyed expressions until, with a loud sigh, she repeated "Go!" in such an imperative tone that they both jumped. Sylvia turned, reached the stage and began to move the instruments around. Severus and Omegas exchanged another puzzled look; then, in silence, they reached the long table in the centre of the room."Snape, Grindelwald!" exclaimed Sirius, leaning back in his chair.Nodens turned, rotating his neck for the first time without having to turn his entire chair, and gave them both a warm smile, much more relaxed than usual."Professor Snape, sir," he greeted. "Ma'am.""Gad!" she said, surprised. "Weren't you at St Mungo's?""Oh, yes, ma'am," he replied. "But Sirius and Sylvia, they... well, they got me out."Omegas frowned. "They got you out?"The other nodded. "Yes. The Healers said I can stay with them when I'm not at school, if they promise to take me there if necessary. They made them sign a contract."Now completely astonished, she shifted her gaze from the boy to the man beside him."You... adopted him?" she asked incredulously.Sirius shrugged. "More or less.""Why on earth—" she began, but was cut off."Steven!" Sylvia roared.She fixed a pair of icy black eyes on one of the customers, and the other four curiously followed her gaze. Steven was a tall, blond man, slim, with a pair of intense brown eyes."Steven, I swear to God, if I catch you selling love potions again, I won't just kick you out, I'll kill you with my bare hands," the owner threatened him.The woman Steven had been talking to gave him a disgusted look, got up and moved to another table. Sirius chuckled and shook his head."Are you sure we can't help her?" Gad asked, looking at Sylvia with a worried expression. "She looks like she needs it.""Nah, she's always like that before a party," he replied. "This is her 'violent anxiety attack' phase. If you try to help her, she'll just scream at you, saying you're useless and that she always has to do everything by herself."Omegas, who had meanwhile taken a seat next to Severus and across from the other two, rolled her eyes."That's because you don't know how to talk to her," she countered.He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?""Yes, really," she replied, mocking him.He gestured to Sylvia. "Go on then, let's see."She gave him a hostile glance, then turned with a look of disdain and cleared her throat."Sylvia?" she called."What?" the other snapped."Do you need help?" she asked calmly."No, I don't need bloody help," Sylvia shot back, her tone so high it sounded vaguely hysterical. "You'd only make things worse. I always have to do everything—""I agree," the other interrupted. "Do you know why?""Why?" Sylvia asked, moving an amplifier for no apparent reason.Omegas dropped her serene smile and suddenly took on the grave expression of someone about to commit mass murder."Because everything is already perfectly fine, you absolute moron," she snapped. "Stop being an idiot and come have a drink."With that, she pulled a few glasses out of her bag and what was undoubtedly a bottle filled to the brim with Liquid Ecstasy. Sylvia froze. She looked at the object in her hands, then at the woman at the other end of the room. She put the amplifier back exactly where she'd picked it up, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked over to the table with a haughty air. Without a word, she sat down and took the full glass offered to her. Omegas raised hers in a toast."Cheers," she said, her tone calm once more.Sylvia clinked her glass without looking at anyone. Omegas relaxed into her chair and gave Sirius a cheeky grin, which he returned with an incredulous stare. Severus watched the reaction with immense satisfaction, barely suppressing a laugh."That's not fair," Sirius remarked a moment later. "If I spoke to you like that, you'd kill me.""And rightly so," Sylvia nodded."Good girl," Omegas interjected, winking at her.She emptied her glass in one gulp, swallowing the contents with a satisfied grunt, then set it down on the table and ran a finger from Gad to the other two."Tell me, what's this adoption thing?"Sylvia blushed slightly. "It's not an adoption," she hastened to clarify. "It's just an arrangement we've made with St Mungo's. He can stay with us when he's not at school, instead of being stuck there. You know, Black house is big, and so is the Black Cat, so... it's just until he can live on his own anyway.""Hmm," Omegas commented, "so it's a written contract that makes you legally responsible for his well-being, except during the times when he's under the responsibility of his teachers, until he reaches adulthood and can be responsible for himself," she observed. She turned to Severus with a raised eyebrow. "What does that sound like?"He replied with an equally wry look. "An adoption," he confirmed."Interesting," she said sarcastically."Stop it," Sirius ordered.Severus shot him a murderous look, and Omegas chuckled."Is it even possible?" she asked curiously. "Technically, you're also one of his teachers," she pointed out, pointing at Sylvia. "Isn't that a conflict of interest?""No," Severus intervened. "There's no rule against it. There's only one wizarding school in the whole country; if there were, they'd have to forbid teachers from having children."She replied with a grimace, which he interpreted as a "Seems right to me", with which he agreed. However, he decided to keep that view to himself, knowing from personal experience that it wasn't shared by most."Anyway," continued the Professor, who had been waiting for an excuse to pick on the boy since he entered the room. "Even if there were a bias, you can't really say that Nodens isn't already accustomed to favouritism, can you?"As he said it, he shot a piercing glance at Gad, who suddenly blushed and bowed his head. That insinuation earned him two identical hostile glares from Sirius and Sylvia, and a puzzled one from Omegas."What do you mean?" the latter asked."Professor McGonagall has been speaking with you, hasn't she, Professor?" Gad asked without lifting his head."Yes," Severus confirmed icily.The boy blushed even more visibly. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I told her not to, I really did, you have to believe me. I tried, I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted—""What are you talking about?" Sirius interjected.Gad looked at him, then dropped his eyes back to the table. "Professor McGonagall insists that I complete the O.W.L. programme this year and take the exams," he explained. "Technically, I'm already ahead in all subjects except Defence Against the Dark Arts, so... so she asked Professor Snape to give me extra classes.""She didn't ask me to give you 'extra classes'," he retorted sourly. "She asked me to give you 'private lessons'."He pronounced the last two words as if they were the most humiliating thing imaginable.Sirius chuckled. "Bloody hell, Snape, she asked you to give him lessons? It's almost like you're a teacher.""I already do give him lessons, Black," he snapped, "along with the rest of his year. But apparently normal lessons aren't enough for the superior mind of a fifteen year old.""Well, technically he should be in his fifth year, shouldn't he?" Sylvia chimed in. "He's a year behind because of the rebuilding after the war, the year Hogwarts was closed. In theory, his 'fifteen-year-old mind' should be able to—""That's not the point," he cut her off angrily."Oi, Gad," Omegas said, clearly trying to divert attention from the argument. "Why does McGonagall care so much?"The boy blushed again. "Well, it's... it's because of the new treatment at St Mungo's, you know... I've improved a lot lately.""Yes, I've noticed," she lied."Well, Professor McGonagall, she... she was the one who brought me to Hogwarts when I turned eleven. The Healers insisted that I stay at St Mungo's. Some wanted me to study there, others said it was pointless anyway as I wouldn't make it to the next year."He paused and looked away vaguely. He did so in a clear attempt to play down the importance of his words, but the tone he used immediately after betrayed him."They've been saying I wouldn't make it to next year for as long as I can remember, actually. But the Professor, she... she insisted. She came for me, brought me to Hogwarts and... I didn't die the next year. Or the year after that, or the year after that. And now there's this therapy at St Mungo's. The Healers are optimistic, but for some reason Professor McGonagall seems convinced that it's an improvement before a decline. She didn't tell me, I overheard her talking to Quentin..." he trailed off and finally found the strength to look Omegas in the eye. "I think she's convinced I wouldn't make it to the exams if I took them next year, so she's trying to speed things up."Everyone around the table fell silent for a while. Sirius looked at the boy with great sympathy, while the look in Sylvia's eyes was one of genuine pity. Severus, now slightly embarrassed, kept his eyes on the bottle in front of him, as if it had suddenly become a fascinating dark artefact. Omegas' gaze, however, did not change one bit. She nodded calmly, leaned back in her chair and replied with a simple "I see".When the group had recovered from the confession, Sirius suddenly shifted from sympathy to anger and fixed his grey eyes on Severus."Did you at least ask him why before blurting it out?" he asked contemptuously.He, who in all honesty would have preferred to have asked and avoided the awkwardness, looked up at him with an air of superiority."You are in no position to judge how I treat my students, Black. You're not a professor," he said with a wicked grin. "You sold the chance to be one to get into a pub."The other smiled. "Well, I don't regret the consequences of that decision anyway," he replied.He turned to Sylvia and took her hand. She smiled tenderly at him, moved her chair closer to his and rested her head on his shoulder."Perfect, thanks for the nightmares," Omegas interjected.Severus stifled a smile and Nodens chuckled. Sylvia seemed about to retort in irritation, but to Severus' simultaneous delight and disappointment, the first guests began to enter the room, some passing through the mirror, others materialising behind the white door behind the stage.They didn't stop arriving for nearly an hour. It seemed that Sylvia had decided to invite everyone she came across during the year. Draco entered, looking just as exhausted as the last time she had seen him, followed by the entire Weasley family, complete with parents, children and their partners. As Bill and Fleur entered, Sylvia went to greet them and began chatting cheerfully with the other Veela. Then Professor Sinistra arrived, also greeted warmly by the pub owner, and then Harry and Ginny, whose entrance was accompanied by a great commotion of hearty congratulations. Severus stayed on the sidelines, greeting each guest with nothing more than a nod. Omegas, who had started drinking as soon as the first guest arrived, didn't even bother to look up at the many people who tried to greet her. Ignoring Neville Longbottom, she took another sip from her glass and turned to Severus with a grim expression."Keep in mind, this is all your fault," she declared, gesturing at the festive crowd. "We wouldn't be here if you hadn't accepted the invite."He gave her a half-smile and took a sip himself. "I wouldn't have accepted it if you hadn't hidden in the Chamber of Secrets," he replied."And I wouldn't have been hiding in the Chamber of Secrets if you had behaved professionally as agreed," she retorted, barely above a whisper.He shrugged ironically. "It was worth it," he remarked.She huffed and downed the entire contents of her glass in the next gulp. A moment later, Remus Lupin entered the room, looking a little less shabby than the last time he had seen him, but with his now customary sombre expression. He greeted Sirius with a warm hug, then each of the other guests with faint smiles and warm nods. Finally, he came before them, bowed his head slightly and greeted the Professor with a respectful, albeit distant, "Snape". He replied with an impassive 'Lupin' and the other turned his attention to the woman sitting next to him. For the first time since the guests had begun to arrive, she raised her head and looked at him."Omegas," he greeted her."Hello, Remus," she said. "How's Ted?""Teddy's fine," he replied. "He's with his grandmother. I tried to invite her, but she said she preferred to be alone."She nodded. "How's business?" she asked again."Good, yeah..." he said vaguely. "Quite well. Oh, sorry, I have to congratulate a former student," he added, looking at Harry.He slipped away, and Severus, who had been watching the exchange with eager eyes, waited for an explanation until impatience got the better of him."'Remus'?" he asked sourly. "The 'business'? What—""Yes, Remus has convinced me to put my Wolfsbane Potion on the market," she explained. "I never wanted anything to do with that sort of thing, you know... economy," she said, pronouncing the last word as if it were disgusting. "But he needed a job, so we made a deal."He, now completely astonished and somewhat nauseous, watched her with his mouth half open and his eyes narrowed."What?" she asked."How many people have you bonded with in the last few months?" he asked in a decidedly accusatory tone."I haven't 'bonded' with anyone," she replied sourly.He grimaced, letting her know that he wasn't buying it. She huffed again, rolled her eyes and turned away. Severus decided then and there that he would spend the rest of the evening trying to find an answer to that question.He didn't discover anything particularly significant. Omegas, probably in an attempt to experience the evening in the opposite manner to how he had decided to approach it, kept even more to herself than usual. She barely interacted with any of the guests; she barely interacted with Severus himself. But that did not prevent him from convincing himself, at least for the time they sat at the dinner table together, that nothing had changed since the last time they had been in the same situation. The pleasant, if fragile, atmosphere of suspension was accompanied by mostly frivolous chatter, encouraged mainly by Sylvia, Sirius and Mrs Weasley, who seemed determined to update each of the diners on her children's successes, completely ignoring their embarrassed faces and pleas as they sat around her. She spoke first of Bill, whose career at Gringotts couldn't be going any better; then of Charlie, and how lucky he was to be home for Christmas, considering how busy he was in Romania with his dragons; then of Percy, who was continuing his work at the Ministry, and of the twins, whose business in Diagon Alley, she said, was thriving. At that point, Severus stopped listening, partly because he couldn't care less about the information, and partly because he was lost in his own thoughts, particularly about what could possibly drive a sane person to have seven children. He looked away from that side of the table and over to the other. He observed Omegas glancing curiously in front of her and followed her gaze until it met the serene face of Nodens, who seemed determined to find out precisely how much food his stomach could hold before bursting. The Professor snorted a laugh and gave him a somewhat proud smile."The treatment is really working, isn't it?" she commented.He looked up at her and replied with a vague "Hmm?" for if he had tried to form a sentence he would probably have choked."It's not just that," Sylvia cut in. "They starved him in that hospital, didn't they, Gad?"The boy nodded vigorously."That's right," Sirius confirmed. "Have you noticed how much the other boy, Noah, has thinned out too?"Omegas chuckled. "It's probably more because he physically can't eat," she observed."Omegas!" Harry, sitting a few seats away, scolded her."What?" she said, genuinely confused.She got a few glares from Sylvia and Sirius, and a stifled laugh from Severus, which she quickly averted. Nodens, meanwhile, had plunged into his portion of roast potatoes as if he'd never tasted anything so delicious in his life, and didn't seem to have registered anything."About that," Sirius said, leaning forward and fixing his eyes on Harry. "Any news? Found out anything?""Nothing," he replied bitterly. "According to Astrid, it must have been a creature, not a person."Omegas made a sound of annoyance. "According to Astrid, of course," she murmured, so quietly that Severus was the only one to hear the comment.Sirius frowned. "How could it have been a creature?" he asked, confused. "What kind of creature could do that?""I know, that's what I told her," the other nodded. "But she seems convinced it couldn't have been a curse. I don't know what made her think—""It was me, Potter," Severus interjected, as mellifluous as ever.The boy turned to him, bravely meeting his former professor's icy gaze."It was... you, sir?""I told her it couldn't have been a curse," he clarified. "I ruled out every possible curse that could have affected the boy's soul, more than once."Harry didn't reply, but neither did he show any sign of agreement. He simply remained silent until Sirius broke the silence with a surprised, "The Auror Department asked you to investigate?"Severus met his incredulous gaze and returned it with a grin of malicious satisfaction."To us, to be precise," he replied, nodding towards Omegas.She gave him a small smile. It was the first real interaction they had had in hours. Sirius glanced between them a few times."Why on earth would they ask for your help?" he insisted, not bothering to hide the resentment in his tone.Severus shrugged with deliberately false modesty. "The Auror Department was at a loss, and they deemed us the only ones capable of investigating on their behalf.""Really?" he said, now raising an eyebrow."Indeed," the other hissed."So tell us," Sirius said, spreading his arms and relaxing in his chair. "How could a magical creature of such nature enter and leave the castle without being seen by anyone?"Everyone who had witnessed the exchange stopped eating for a moment and fixed their eyes on the two of them. Severus and Omegas, who had already discussed the matter extensively and ruled out every possible answer to that question, decided by mutual telepathic agreement to list them one by one, pretending they were plausible, and to do so in a condescending tone that implicitly made him look like an idiot."It could be a creature with the ability to become invisible," she began."It could have been helped by someone," he went on."It could be able to appear human," she added."Or possess a human," he remarked."It could be a creature that doesn't move through space in a conventional way," she continued."It could have been summoned," he nodded."It could still be at Hogwarts," she concluded.Severus fell silent and turned abruptly. That wasn't on the list of options they'd ruled out. He found Omegas returning his gaze with wide eyes and a half-open mouth, as if she couldn't believe her own words. Intrigued, he considered the possibility for a moment."Yes..." he mumbled after a while. "It would make sense. It would explain the lack of tracks outside the castle.""It fits with the fact that it was injured and therefore couldn't get far," she observed."If it had always been in the school," he continued. "If it had been hidden, lurking, from the beginning...""That would explain why it wasn't seen coming or going," she continued. "But why go to such lengths to attack a boy?"Severus thought for a moment. "It could have been a mistake. Perhaps it didn't want to be found and the boy saw it by chance. It had to defend itself.""Yes," Omegas nodded, now with an inappropriate smile. "That explains the broken window, the mess at the scene, the blood. If it had planned the attack, it would have done it quietly, neatly, certainly without hurting itself. But most importantly, if it had wanted to kill the boy, he would be dead now, not in that state."She smiled again, excited, and looked him in the eyes."We treated it as an attack, but it's not that, Severus. The creature isn't necessarily dark, it's not evil...""It's frightened," he concluded.The look they exchanged after that last statement was a silent, mutual compliment."I've got a spare room in the back if you need it," Sylvia said after a moment.The two turned to see her sitting so close to Sirius that if she moved any closer, she would end up on his lap. He, apparently delighted by her blatant display of hypocrisy, chuckled and returned the murderous looks from the other two with a certain impertinence. Then Severus looked around and caught the smirk of Harry Potter that made him want to curse him on the spot; the impressed gaze of Nodens, who had suddenly stopped eating and was staring at them with his lips forming a small 'o'; and finally the sombre face of Omegas, as uncomfortable as ever when she was the centre of attention, but at that moment betraying an almost imperceptible note of pain. She quickly regained her composure, put down the glass she was holding and rose from the table."I think I'll skip dessert," she said.Sylvia frowned. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, getting up as well."Out," she replied calmly. "I'm not feeling too well, I think—""You can't leave!" the other interrupted. "Dinner isn't over. It's Christmas, there's presents, there's—""Well, enjoy yourselves," Omegas said, apparently indifferent. "I'll go."She walked away, only to return a moment later when Sylvia, now furious, slammed her fist down on the table."You accepted my invitation," she said icily, pointing a finger at her.The other gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "No, I didn't. He accepted your invitation," she replied, pointing at Severus. "And I'm sure he'll be a man of his word."She looked at him, and found herself confronted with a completely impassive expression; then she turned and walked quickly towards the white door behind the stage, without saying goodbye or looking at anyone else.Sylvia, exhausted, sat down heavily in her chair and huffed loudly."Why does she always do this?" she ranted.Sirius put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. Then he turned to Severus and gave him a furious look, as if he considered Omegas' behaviour his responsibility. He didn't respond, except with one of his icy stares. He remained silent, partly because he knew that Omegas' sudden need to leave was also his fault; partly because he didn't have the strength to do so. That reaction had finally broken the suspension that had made his illusions possible until that moment, and Severus, once again alone, was unable to interact with anyone for quite some time.Dinner continued. Dessert was served, then the presents were unwrapped, an activity during which the Professor made sure to find himself conveniently elsewhere. Everyone laughed and engaged in cheerful chatter and affectionate exchanges. As the last of the presents was unwrapped, the music started and many of the guests rose from the table and embraced their partners. Sylvia sang, and for a while all eyes were on her. Then Fleur joined her, and the two of them continued to sing increasingly cheerful Christmas carols as drinks were offered to them from below the stage.What Severus did all that time was drink. He had told himself that he would stay just long enough for Sylvia to be distracted so that he could also slip behind the white door and return to Hogwarts, but when that moment came, he realised that to leave would be to end the evening, and then he would have to face the reality of the next day: a reality that would see him alone, powerless, facing the absolute certainty of time, old age and death until the end of his days. So he stayed at the Black Cat. He drank, then drank some more. He lost himself in his thoughts, which oscillated between pain and the senseless conviction that he would soon find a solution to the problem. Gradually, being careful not to be noticed by those around him, he emptied each of the wine bottles along the table; when those ran out, he eyed uncertainly the bottle of Liquid Ecstasy that Omegas had left there before dinner started, and finally decided to give in to temptation. He didn't care about keeping up appearances, why should he? He didn't care about anything anymore.He filled one of the small glasses next to the bottle and downed the contents in one go. The feeling of being able to do anything, without fear, without the sense of helplessness that had accompanied him for months, was so pleasant that when he finished the first glass, he filled a second, then a third. He was about to down the fourth when, without knowing exactly why, he shifted his gaze from the bottle to one of the few guests still sitting at the table. Draco, a glass in his hand and a dejected look on his face, kept his eyes on the stage in front of him, but didn't seem at all inclined to join the party going on there. Severus wondered why. He told himself it must be the stress of work, but the explanation didn't convince him. He tried to tell himself it could be the death of his mother, or his father, or perhaps Garnet, but something didn't seem to add up. He let his instincts guide him, aware that every action he took was due to the large amount of Felix Felicis he had consumed, not logic, and instead of drinking the fourth glass, he approached the boy and offered it to him.He looked up and gave him a faint smile."No, thank you. Better not. I'm not in the mood.""That's what it's for," the Professor countered."Yes, I know," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not in the mood to be happy."There was a depth to that statement that Severus hadn't expected from the boy. He sat down next to him without saying a word, contemplating that fourth glass."How's work?" he asked after a while."Hmm?" Draco replied, too busy watching the dance floor to pay attention. "Oh, good. Yeah... it's exhausting, to be honest."The other gave him a half-smile, but didn't reply. He allowed a few more moments of silence to pass, then asked his question without much thought. Out of pure curiosity."Why a Healer?"Draco looked at him, frowning slightly. "Excuse me?""Why did you choose to be a Healer?" he repeated. "You had connections practically everywhere. Even after the war, the Malfoy name could have secured you a respectable position. In the Ministry, perhaps. Instead, you chose to become a Healer. It's a difficult, demanding job. You have chosen to dedicate your life to helping others."The boy looked away, then down at the glass he was holding."Is it a sort of redemption?" the Professor insisted.The other replied with a long silence that was more eloquent than any possible words."It reminds me of my mother," he murmured after a while. He found the strength to raise his head and look at his godfather again. "Since I was born, anyone who had the honour of being cared for by her told her that she would have been a great Healer."He turned towards the stage with a sad smile on his face."She loved that compliment. Towards the end, when there were many wounded at Malfoy Manor, she took care of them," he said. "Every now and then someone would tell her that. Those were the only times she ever smiled."Severus fell silent. He continued to watch the boy, and only after a few quiet minutes did he realise that the impulse he felt was to hold him. He swallowed, glanced at the still-full glass in front of him and pushed it aside."Are you all right, sir?" Draco asked, noticing the suddenly frightened look on his face.The Professor looked at him again, hastily searching for any way to respond that would divert attention from his state of mind."You're going to have to start calling me by my name sooner or later, you know?" he asked.Draco chuckled softly. "Yeah, sooner or later."Severus let out a laugh in return and went back to isolating himself in his silence. That continued until the boy, somewhat embarrassed, cleared his throat and settled in his seat."Sir?" he began, in the tone he only used when he felt uncomfortable."Hmm?" the other replied."Look, maybe this is nonsense... it probably is, I know, which is why I didn't say anything to anyone at St Mungo's, but..." he turned to face him fully and lowered his voice dramatically. "I know it's illegal and dark. But technically, when you make a Horcrux, you put a piece of your soul into something, even something conscious, like the snake, right? So, well... if we could figure out exactly how to make a Horcrux, and we did it to Noah, with his own soul, he could..."He left the sentence hanging. He had looked up at the Professor again and found himself facing a pair of wide eyes, such as he had rarely seen before."Sorry," he said quickly. "It's a terrible idea.""No, it's not," the other replied, lost in thought. "It's a brilliant idea."Draco, completely taken aback, lost the ability to speak and stared at him with his mouth hanging open for quite a while."R-really?" he stammered."Yes," the other whispered. "Nagini... she was..." he turned to Draco as if awakened. "Thank you.""I-I... you're welcome, sir," he said, a little more cheerfully. "Do you think I should suggest it to the Healers?""God, no," Severus replied. "They'd have you arrested."He stood up so abruptly that he almost knocked over his chair and walked towards the white door, the boy's astonished eyes still fixed on him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
In the hours that followed, Severus found himself experiencing every possible side effect of the potion he had taken, one by one. He experienced hysteria, which he showed in the frantic manner in which he rushed through the streets of Hogsmeade as soon as he had apparated. He felt melancholy, especially at the thought of the Christmas decorations that lined the corridors of the castle. He saw, as if she were there, Omegas turning to him, huffing and declaring sarcastically, "Next year we'll stay at Hogwarts for Christmas." He saw himself smile and coldly reply, "No doubt." He felt rage when, after passing through the long, eerie corridor of the Chamber of Secrets, he realised that Omegas wasn't there. He tried to find her in her office, but she wasn't there, and his anger only grew. Then came the momentary megalomania, and Severus remembered that he had ingested so much Liquid Luck that if he wanted to, he could find it with his eyes closed, even at the ends of the earth. He calmed down and let the potion do its work; a few minutes later, he was on his way to Malfoy Manor with such euphoria coursing through his veins that he was sure he would explode at any moment.He didn't care about the rain that started pouring down as soon as he stepped out of the castle. He didn't care about getting wet, or the cold, or the darkness, or the sinister smile he knew was plastered on his face. He arrived at the entrance of the mansion, rang the bell and waited. Omegas opened the door and found herself facing a man drenched from head to toe, wrapped in his black cloak, with a rather unsettling grin on his face and a couple of lightning bolts that chose to illuminate the dark sky behind him at that very moment. She blinked a few times in confusion, opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She considered for a few more seconds, then gestured for him to enter."Come in," she said politely.Omegas gently closed the door and joined Severus, who was now standing motionless in the middle of the living room, soaking the carpet under his shoes."Can I get you anything?" she asked, feigning nonchalance. "I don't know, a whiskey, some wine... maybe a towel.""No, thank you," he replied, equally indifferent. "I'm fine.""Mm," she murmured absently. "Do you mind if I..." she gestured vaguely towards the liquor cabinet."Go ahead," he invited.Omegas opened the cabinet and filled a glass with a brown liquid. She closed it, took a sip and lit the fireplace with a wave of her wand."How did you know where to find me?" she asked curiously.Severus approached the fireplace and let the pleasant warmth of the fire envelop him."I didn't," he replied."Then how did you—""I took a ridiculous amount of Liquid Ecstasy."He turned to her and watched as a cunning smile spread across her face."Why are you at Malfoy Manor?" he asked."I needed a place where no one would look for me," she explained. "Didn't work out very well, did it?"The already present grin on Severus' face widened slightly. "How did you get in? There are anti-apparition spells all over the house.""I picked the lock," she replied as if it were obvious.He let out a sincere laugh, only hinted at, but much more than he usually allowed himself. She moved closer, as if to observe his unusual reaction more closely. She smiled at him, then turned to the fireplace and took another sip."I suspect you're not here just to trample on the memory of Lucius Malfoy," she said, nodding at the now muddy carpet.He shook his head. "No.""So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked.Severus turned, and his previously vaguely unsettling smile took on a maniacal edge."I've found the solution," he announced.She frowned. "To what?""To our problem.""You mean Noah's case?" she asked, confused."No, not the case," he clarified. He took a step towards her and she, surprisingly, did not retreat. "Our problem. Yours and mine."Omegas's expression shifted from confused to compassionate. She looked at him as one looks at a desperate madman, which was indeed the most accurate description of his state of mind at that moment."Of course," she replied calmly. "How much Liquid Ecstasy did you say you took?"He laughed again, even more sincerely than the first time. "A bit."Omegas suddenly became serious. She didn't lose her smile, but her eyes grew sombre."I'm listening," she said.Severus, who by then had decided to abandon all inhibitions, convinced that whatever the potion was urging him to do was somehow the right choice, moved closer. She still didn't back away, and he, in a gesture so distant it was almost forgotten, took her face in his hands and pressed his forehead against hers. She still didn't pull away. Severus closed his eyes, and for a few moments he did nothing but savour the touch. Then, in a whisper so low it was barely audible, he said the word "Nagini."She, equally lost in the gesture, responded with a muffled "Mm?""Nagini couldn't age," he went on, not daring to open his eyes."No, she couldn't," she confirmed absently.A drop of water slid from Severus' hair onto Omegas' cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb."She couldn't age because Voldemort put a piece of his soul in her," he observed."Yes," she said, now twirling a strand of his hair around her finger in an apparently unconscious movement."Voldemort could do that because he had broken his soul," he continued in the same whisper. "He had broken it by killing with the Killing Curse.""Mm-hmm," she murmured.Severus smiled and held her face tighter. "You killed Nagini with the Killing Curse," he concluded. "You broke your soul."The logical thread that had led Severus to those considerations, and the implicit proposal that resulted, took a while to take shape in Omegas' mind, much longer than it would have if he had simply sat down and presented his idea dispassionately. It didn't take more than a minute, though, and when it did, she stepped back so abruptly that she almost tripped over the carpet. She retreated until she bumped into the liquor cabinet behind her and stared at him with an expression of horror that couldn't quite hide a note of bemusement. She swallowed, visibly forcing herself to regain her composure."Have you completely lost your mind?""Possibly, yes," he replied calmly.He watched her reaction with a hint of genuine satisfaction. He had unsettled her. None of his ideas, not even the most absurd and controversial, had ever managed to unsettle her before. He grinned at her and began to walk slowly in her direction again. At that point, she would have certainly wanted to retreat, but her back was already against the wall."You were the one who told me about it as a war practice. You told me legends of wizards and witches who placed a piece of their soul into a loved one. You—""Do you have any idea what you're suggesting, Severus?" she cut him off, her voice breaking.He didn't answer. He stopped in front of her, but didn't go any further because Omegas' hand holding the glass had started to tremble slightly."Do you have any idea what it would mean to do such a thing?" she continued. "You wouldn't have a single thought that's yours alone. I wouldn't be able to feel an emotion that's purely mine. My life, my survival, would depend entirely on yours."She swallowed again and let her terrified gaze sweep over him."I accuse you of encouraging codependency," she whispered breathlessly. "And you propose coexistence?"It was only when she had uttered that last sentence that Severus realised how rash, even absurd, the idea of making such a request had been. He lowered his gaze and all the euphoria he had felt just a moment before dissipated. Uncomfortable, almost embarrassed, he told himself that the only way to keep her from running out of the house screaming was to lift his head and force himself to apologise for the third time in just a few months. He told himself that, but when he looked at her again, he found something that made him change his mind. Omegas had fixed her violet eyes on an undefined point in the room and parted her lips. She was considering it. The grin returned to Severus' face with a vengeance before he could do anything to stop it. He stepped into her line of sight, forcing her to look him in the eye."You're thinking about it," he accused.She swallowed for a third time. "No," she replied. It was far from her best lie.She took a deep breath, walked past him and sat down on the dragon leather sofa. She emptied her glass and set it on the table, then bowed her head and put a hand to her forehead."Yes," she murmured with a clear lump in her throat.He quickly joined her and sat down in front of her. "Good," he said firmly."It's not good at all!" she exclaimed, meeting his eyes again. "Do you realise what—""I realise, yes," he replied. "It's dangerous. It's dark. It's—""I don't care how dark it is," she interrupted. "Nor how dangerous. Who do you think you're talking to?"He tilted his head slightly in confusion and narrowed his eyes. "Then why?""Why?" she repeated in astonishment. "Why? You don't..." she stopped. She adjusted her position and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "It's irreversible, Severus. We would be bound to each other forever, with no possibility of going back. Or rather, you would have no possibility of going back. I could always kill you," she said, clearly trying to scare him.It didn't work. Severus shrugged and grimaced."I know that.""And you're okay with that?" she asked incredulously."Yes," he nodded. "It seems to me to be the least of our problems, to be honest.""The least of our— we could never leave each other!""Good," he repeated.Omegas stopped arguing. She continued to look at him, now with an intensity those eyes rarely expressed. She remained silent for a few moments, unsure whether or not to ask the next question."How convinced are you?" she asked."Enough to find the courage to propose it," he replied."How is that even possible?" she insisted. "We've been together for two years, not twenty. You can't know."He smiled. "Do I need to remind you how long it took me to know last time?"She fell silent again. Severus leaned forward as well, meeting her gaze with equal intensity."Is it you who doesn't know?" he murmured, not quite understanding where he found the nerve to ask.She opened her mouth, then closed it. She did it four times in all, and by the second time, Severus knew what her answer would be. Omegas had no problem being brutally honest when it came to admitting that she didn't feel something. She only had trouble admitting the opposite."You know," he declared.She nodded, almost imperceptibly, in resignation, and Severus could no longer control the expression on his face. He smiled, and it was perhaps the most sincere smile he had ever given her.Omegas didn't seem particularly pleased. She got up from the sofa restlessly and began pacing the living room."That's not the only problem, anyway," she began, without a trace of her usual calm. "We wouldn't know how to do it even if we wanted to. To find out, we'd need access to information that's been hidden for centuries. Maybe millennia. It would be virtually impossible not to get caught.""I've thought about that," he replied.She stopped. "Really?" she asked incredulously.He nodded. "Draco suggested we use Horcrux magic to ensure the boy's soul returns to his body.""Ah," she said. She smiled, impressed. "Not bad, Draco!""I know," he nodded, allowing himself just a hint of pride."It might not work though. What if it only works with broken souls? Noah's soul is technically intact.""Yes," he confirmed. "But if we were caught looking for information about Horcruxes, we'd have a good reason to give them. Draco would be a witness. They couldn't accuse us of anything.""Mm..." she mumbled.She paced up and down again, searching for more problems that would prevent her from saying yes. At first they were concrete issues, such as "How are we going to find the time to teach, solve Noah's case and find a way to perform the darkest spell in the history of magic?", to which Severus gave equally direct answers, such as "Riddle managed to do it under the watchful eyes of the teaching staff while passing his N.E.W.T.s, and we are both smarter than he ever was". At that remark, Omegas replied with a satisfied smile and did not object.Then the problems she raised began to become less practical, more conceptual, hypothetical and distant in time."What will we do when everyone around us begins to age and we remain as we are?""We'll tell them to mind their own business," he said sourly."And if they don't mind their own business? People never do," she countered."We can always leave when it starts to get noticeable," he replied."That's true, we can... we can..." she muttered, already looking for the next problem. A few seconds later she found it. "Everyone around us is going to die," she stated.He nodded. "Yes, that's true.""Are you okay with that?"Severus stood and approached her with measured steps. "You won't die. Not as long as I'm alive," he declared. "I'm okay with that."Omegas clearly lost the ability to argue. She looked away from him and stared at a point over his shoulder. She thought again, and it took her a few more minutes to find something to argue with."What if they try to kill you?" she asked.He frowned. "Why would they try to kill me?""To kill me," she said, resuming her pace. "Probabilistically speaking, if you and I live forever, everything that can happen will happen eventually. Which means that sooner or later someone will figure out what we've done and want to eliminate the problem. They'll want to get rid of me, and to do that they'll have to kill you."Severus rolled his eyes. "You're bordering on paranoia, Omegas, do you realise that? We can't know—""It would be much smarter if it was mutual," she interrupted.That statement convinced him to keep quiet and listen to what she had to say."Mutual?" he asked, intrigued.She nodded. "Mutual." She pointed a finger at him. "You killed Dumbledore. Your soul is also broken. If it were mutual, to kill me they would have to kill you, but to kill you they would have to kill me. The problem would iterate, and neither of us would die. The only way to eliminate us would be to kill us both at the same time," she observed coldly. "I could live with that."Severus, who could hardly believe his ears at that point, stared at her wide-eyed, mouth agape.Omegas looked up at him. "What?""You... you would be willing to—""Oh, stop it," she said, gesturing in his direction. "You just made the exact same proposal.""It's different," he said."Why on earth should it be?" she retorted."Because your soul is worth welcoming," he replied.It was exactly the sort of statement that he would normally have had the common sense to keep to himself: pathetic, pitiful, simultaneously capable of conveying both all his misery and all his self-loathing. Omegas suddenly darkened, stopped in front of him and seemed on the verge of jumping at his throat."I won't do it unless it's mutual," she hissed.Severus smiled mischievously. "Does that mean you will do it?"Omegas kept looking into his eyes for a while, her gaze somewhere between anger and resignation. Then she stepped away, turning her back to him."No," she said firmly.He frowned, irritated, and followed her."Why not?" he snapped. "I've found a solution to every problem you've listed. You're clearly convinced."She turned sharply. "The only reason I'm convinced, Severus, is because you came here with God knows how much Felix Felicis in your system," she accused, pointing a finger at him. "Of course I'm convinced. I'm faced with someone who is trying to convince me and literally cannot fail."Severus made the annoyed grimace he reserved for moments when he found himself unable to prove someone wrong. He looked at her again and spread his arms wide."Cast a Refocilio on me."She frowned. "Excuse me?""Cast a Refocilio and I'll ask again," he insisted.Omegas tried to reply but found no argument. She looked at the man standing before her, waiting, arms spread, one eyebrow raised. She sighed, drew her wand and pointed it at him."Refocilio," she murmured.The usual pink glow shot from the tip of her wand and hit Severus in the face. He closed his eyes, opening them only when he was sure he was completely sober. Then he fixed his gaze on her, standing still in the middle of the living room, her wand still in her hand. He stepped towards her, determined, his resolve now clear and unwavering. He stopped a hand's breadth from her face."Would you allow me to welcome a piece of your soul?"He chose his words carefully, speaking them in a deliberately low tone. Omegas quickly averted her gaze, lowered her head and whispered a faint, "Sweet Salazar..."Severus grinned. "You're still convinced."She flushed and raised her head with a fresh burst of visible anger."That's because I haven't slept in two days," she replied curtly. "I'm the one who's not thinking straight. I need to sleep."He chuckled. "Stop it. You want to do it.""No!" she burst out.She was silent for a moment, then turned away. She walked over to her bag, which was lying on the floor nearby, and pointed her wand at it, catching a small bottle of dark glass as it flew into her hand. She took two glasses from the liquor cabinet and filled them. Pouring a few drops from the bottle into each, she turned and handed one to Severus."What's this?" he asked."Sleeping Draught," she replied. "We'll talk about it after we've slept. Both of us."He shook his head and let out a half-mocking laugh. "Is it so hard to accept the idea that you might actually want this?""Yes, it is, Severus," she nodded.Their eyes locked intensely."This is nonsense," he said. "You know you'll still be convinced in the morning.""Why worry then?" she countered.She held out the glass again, her eyes fixed on his until he took it. She backed away a few steps, letting her gaze travel from his face to his shoes, still covered in mud."Take a shower," she ordered.He half-smiled. "Goodnight, Omegas."She didn't answer. She turned her to him and disappeared up the stairs.Severus stayed awake, and he did so by choice. He spent the first few minutes contemplating the possible outcomes of the night, concluding that if everything went wrong and this was to be the last night he would spend sharing a house with Omegas, even if behind a closed door, then he preferred to live every moment of it. He took a shower, washed and dried his clothes, then wandered off in search of something to eat, as he had barely touched food during dinner and had just been hit by a spell that emptied his stomach. He reached the kitchen, opened one of the many cupboards and found it crammed, a sign that this wasn't the first time Omegas had taken refuge at Malfoy Manor. He scanned the contents of each cupboard and noticed that most of the boxes inside were rice-based products. There was rice of every colour, white, black, red and yellow, and then there was rice flour, rice oil, rice vinegar, rice milk, puffed rice, even the wine was made out of rice. That must have been a new obsession. He shook his head, half smiled and prepared something.Once he had eaten, Severus wandered tirelessly through the corridors of the manor. He had no real goal, no specific destination, nothing to look for. He wandered for the sake of wandering. He walked through the gardens of the mansion as soon as the rain had stopped, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the late hour. He had always enjoyed being awake when the rest of the world was asleep; it was stolen time, time that belonged to no one but him. He would have equally enjoyed to spend the time others spent awake asleep, but that wasn't always possible. The gardens were well maintained, considering the length of time the house had been abandoned. There were many plants, most of which he recognised as poisonous, that didn't look like they had been left unattended for years. It surprised him; Omegas wasn't the type of person who generally wasted time taking care of flowers. She considered them useful only as long as she could use them as ingredients, and generally preferred to buy them or, in more desperate situations, steal them. He put that curiosity aside, along with a long list of questions he wanted to ask her in the unlikely event that he saw her return home with him sooner or later, and went back inside.He walked down to the cellar, which had always been his favourite place in the house, and found it completely emptied of all the dark artefacts that Lucius Malfoy had passionately collected over the decades. The Ministry must have done its job after the war, he thought. A large wooden table, all too familiar, was placed in the centre of the empty room, and five cauldrons, each of different size and containing a liquid of a different colour, were placed on the dark wooden surface. He recognised three: one was a Purifying Potion, one was an Excitement Potion and one was a Generic Antidote; all three had probably been prepared as demonstrations to be used when classes resumed. A fourth cauldron contained a yellowish liquid Severus had never seen before. He considered examining it, but his attention was finally drawn to the last cauldron, the smallest of those on the table, which contained a thick, opaque, dark grey liquid. He studied it carefully and found that the process by which the solution had been created was very similar to those commonly used to make potions such as Amortentia or the Invisibility Potion. Each ingredient in the mixture was intended to enhance the main ingredient, which in the case of Amortentia was Veela hair, while in the case of the Invisibility Potion it was Demiguise Tincture. However, he couldn't identify the main ingredient used to make the potion. He was intrigued, and for a moment, distracted by the discovery, he thought of calling Omegas and asking her for an explanation, only to remember a moment later that there was a real possibility that he might never be able to ask her anything again. He lost the desire to investigate further and decided to leave the cellar.Finally, Severus reached the upper floor. He walked along the corridors, eyeing each of the many bedrooms in the manor, starting with the one he had once slept in when he had been Lucius' guest. He entered and looked around, expecting to have to suppress an annoying pang of melancholy, but it did not come. He hadn't missed the place, he hadn't missed that life, and he realised at that moment that no matter what happened when dawn came, at least some part of him would be glad of the man he had become and the one he had left behind.As he passed the open doors on the first floor, he noticed that all the bedrooms were empty. Puzzled, he wondered where Omegas was sleeping and let his gaze slide along the walls covered in gold-framed portraits. He found his answer in the only closed door, the last in a long line: the storeroom. Smiling, he approached it cautiously, considering the possibility of lowering the handle and entering, but ultimately deciding against it. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor. He stayed there for hours, imagining her curled up on the dusty floor behind the wooden barrier. He continued until the image in his mind became so vivid that he thought he could hear its sounds. Finally, Severus imitated the vision, curled up himself and closed his eyes. He told himself that the sole purpose of that action was to make the image more tangible, more real; yet within two minutes he had fallen asleep, his head on the floor, his face turned towards the gap under the wooden door.It wasn't a particularly wise move, as proven by the knock on the head Severus received only a few hours later when the door was opened. He woke up with a start and jumped up from the floor, his heart pounding. He found himself face to face with a puzzled Omegas, wearing her violet dress, her hair dishevelled and looking like someone who, despite having slept, hadn't done so peacefully. She looked up at him and he, recovering from the shock, realised that he had impulsively grabbed his wand and pointed it at her. He lowered it slowly, not breaking eye contact, and hurried to find an excuse to justify his presence on the floor outside the room where she was sleeping. He couldn't find one, and ended up opening and closing his mouth awkwardly until her expression changed from confusion to a cunning yet tender smile he felt he hadn't seen in centuries. She approached him, fixed her violet eyes on his and remained silent for a few more moments before uttering the next words softly but firmly."You were right, I'm still convinced."She walked past him to the stairs leading down, leaving him standing there, mouth agape, savouring the sweetest 'you were right' he had ever experienced.When he finally regained his ability to move, which took an uncomfortably long time, he also hurried downstairs to find her in the living room, wand in hand, putting the glass back in its place, emptying the fireplace and cleaning the carpet that had been the victim of Severus' dramatic entrance the night before. Meanwhile, as he managed to stop replaying the words 'I'm still convinced' in his head, he realised that Omegas was softly humming a melancholy melody that contrasted starkly with the serene expression on her face. When she had finished in the living room, she made her way to the kitchen and he, unable to do anything else, followed in silence. Omegas opened each cupboard one by one and made the boxes inside float into her bag. Then she turned and gave a small start when she saw the man standing still and quiet in front of her again."You're damn quiet, you know that?" she asked, giving him another cheerful smile. "How on earth do you do it?"He tried to play along and answer the question as if nothing had happened, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was, "Are you still convinced?"She nodded. "Yes, I told you," she replied calmly. "You?""Yes," he said immediately."Good!" she exclaimed.She walked past him again, resumed her humming and left the room.It took him a bit longer than the first time to recover and follow her, and when Severus finally managed to leave the kitchen and return to the living room, Omegas was already heading up the stairs to the cellar. She placed her bag on the sofa, reached the coat rack and pulled on her winter cloak. Then she retraced her steps, returned to the sofa, grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. He followed her every move with his gaze, and only when she was about to put her hand on the doorknob did he decide to speak."Where are you going?" he asked.She turned and looked around for a moment, confused."Out of here," she explained. "I hate this place, it's huge. It's suffocating."Severus completely ignored the paradox of her last statement. He approached her cautiously, tentatively."And where is it you're going?" he whispered.Omegas looked at him, increasingly puzzled. "Home," she said as if it were obvious.She narrowed her eyes and moved closer, studying his expression with meticulous attention."Would you rather go back to Hogwarts?" she asked, completely misunderstanding it. "I know we said we'd stay at the castle this year, but Christmas is gone. If we go home, we can avoid the New Year's Eve celebrations, and it's more convenient to go to St Mungo's without having to go to Hogsmeade every time we need to apparate. Of course, if you want..." she stopped talking.By then, the sentiment Severus was expressing, unable to suppress it, had become too obvious, too understandable, to be misinterpreted. Omegas suddenly lost her smile and scrutinised his face so closely that, had he been able to form coherent thoughts, he would have felt like he was under a microscope. She drew back, frowned and remained silent for a while."A-are you..." she stammered as the silence became overwhelming. "Are you crying?"Severus, honestly, had no idea. He raised a hand to his face and was horrified to find his cheeks wet. He looked at his hand as if it belonged to another man, widened his eyes and murmured the weakest "Yes.""Oh," she replied. She lowered her head uncomfortably and stared at the floor. "Out of... sadness?"He shook his head."Oh!" she repeated, now in a much less sombre tone than before. She raised her head again and ran her eyes over his face. "I don't... I don't know what to do," she said sincerely."Neither do I," he replied, equally honest."Hm," she whispered. "Is it... is it a problem for you if I... just... do nothing?"He found the strength to look away from his hand and was met with a pair of genuinely frightened eyes."Of course not," he said in a cold tone that was not matched by his broken voice. "Give me a moment.""No hurry," she replied.Severus turned. He had his back to her for exactly five seconds; then he faced her again, with a newly found impassive gaze. He cleared his throat and gestured towards the exit."Shall we go?"Omegas smiled again, nodded and opened the door. She stepped through, and Severus, before he crossed the threshold, gave the entrance to Malfoy Manor a final, fleeting glance, just to take pleasure in the realisation of how little he would miss the place.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Of the many questions Severus had accumulated over the months, he didn't ask a single one in the first few days. There was no room in his mind for cauldrons of unknown substances, well kept gardens in abandoned manors, alleged attackers at large in the corridors of Hogwarts, or ancient, imperishable half-snake creatures. There was only life at Spinner's End, a life he had longed for and feared he would never have, and which, he now knew for certain, would never leave that house again.
It was only when the New Year arrived that Omegas, in an even better mood than she had been the previous January, brought him back to reality and reminded him that they had more than one mystery to solve outside those four walls.
"You know what I was thinking?" she asked, her head bent over the worktable, now back against the living room wall.
"Hm?" he replied absently, sitting in the armchair, absorbed in a book that would have been heavy reading for anyone else, but which he used to relax.
"I think there's a real possibility that the solution is here."
Severus lowered the book and frowned. "How so?" he asked, a great deal of scepticism in his tone.
Omegas put down the ladle she was holding and beckoned him to join her. He stood up, moved to her side and identified the contents of the small cauldron in front of her as the grey one he had analysed at Malfoy Manor a few days earlier, though that time and place seemed to belong to another life.
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
"It has no name," she replied. "Not yet. You helped me create it last year, remember?"
He turned to meet her gaze and took a moment to search his memories. It didn't take long for a memory, one of those happy enough to be used to produce a Patronus, to surface and make him understand what she was talking about. He saw Omegas entering his office, striding towards him and kissing him in front of Sirius Black's incredulous eyes. Then he heard her shout, "You helped me find a way, Severus! I did it, can you believe it? I did it!" and pirouette around the room.
Severus allowed himself a half-smile, before abruptly suppressing it and regaining his composure.
"I remember, yes," he replied. He looked at the dark grey liquid again, now with eager eyes. "Is that it? The potion that..."
"Separates the soul from the body? Yes," she said nonchalantly. "Only for a short time, not permanently, and it drains all traces of joy from whoever drinks it, forcing them to relive their greatest pain, but otherwise it works flawlessly."
He took a few steps closer to the cauldron and continued to stare at it, fascinated. She smiled and approached him.
"Would you like to know how it's made?" she asked, a hint of insolence in her tone.
Severus snapped back to reality. He looked up at her, raised an eyebrow and spoke in a tone of great superiority.
"You used the same process that is used to make Amortentia," he explained. "You used ingredients that enhance the effect of the main one. I suppose that's why you found a solution right after I starved your Dementor. Dementors don't have hair to pull or blood to drain. You managed to find something to channel their magic and add it to the mix."
He turned again to find her staring at him, mouth agape. Miraculously, he managed to pretend it didn't affect him in the slightest and waited.
She shook her head and chuckled. "I forgot you were clever," she muttered.
He grinned. "Don't let it happen again," he warned.
It took Omegas a while to look away. She cleared her throat, collected herself and shifted her gaze elsewhere.
"I had to find a collection of ingredients that would react positively to Dementor magic," she explained vaguely. "It wasn't easy. I'd been working on it for at least a couple of years when we met."
"Why?" he asked.
She looked at him, confused. "Why what?"
"Why have you been working on it? Why a way to separate body and soul?"
"Oh!" she said with a new cheerful smile. "It's an old idea of Professor Zakoten's. A sort of obsession, really. He helped me draw up a list of ingredients when I was his student. Then, over time, you know... things happened..."
She paused, probably to give said 'things' the space they deserved.
"Anyway, I forgot. One day, a few years ago, I witnessed a Dementor's kiss."
"You told me, yes," he nodded.
"Well, it came back to me then. I thought of finishing it and then going back to Durmstrang to show him," she smiled again. "He was absolutely certain that I would succeed sooner or later."
"He was right," he remarked, nodding at the contents of the cauldron.
"He always is," she said, lost in thought.
It was the first time such a profound, almost theatrical demonstration of respect for that man hadn't bothered him. The rational part of himself, the part that tried to convince him that he was a better man than he thought, told him that the reason was that he had decided to put blind jealousy behind him; but his far more brutal and honest part knew that the reason for such tolerance lay in the knowledge that, however much admiration she might have for Professor Zakoten, it did not rise to the level of let's-bind-our-souls-together, and that, much to his annoyance, comforted him.
"It's skin, by the way," she said.
"Hm?" he replied.
"The ingredient, the part of the Dementor I used. It's skin," she explained. "It’s almost impossible to get hold of, I tried for quite a while. They only get close enough to drain your joy, but they won't let you touch them. And it's just as impossible to knock them out, the only thing that works is the Patronus, but that just drives them away, nothing more. I was about to give up, but then you starved it," she said, smiling. "Apparently it's the only thing that slows them down enough to have a chance to reach them."
"I know," he interjected.
She stopped talking. She looked at him, confused, and narrowed her eyes.
"You know?"
"Yes, I know," Severus confirmed, "I did my experiments in my sixth year."
Omegas parted her lips and glared at him angrily. "You've known all along and you didn't tell me? It took me months!"
"You didn't ask," he replied coldly. "I didn't know what you were up to."
She looked at him a few more moments, frowning, then continued as if nothing had happened.
"They have nothing that can be extracted, as you know, I suppose."
He nodded. "Except the skin."
"Except the skin," she confirmed. "Dead skin at that. They have nothing living," she muttered to herself. "I can't fathom how a Dementor could bleed..."
She lost herself in thought again, and Severus moved impatiently between her gaze and the indeterminate point in the room she was staring at.
"The solution?" he asked impatiently.
"Right," she replied, shaking her head slightly. "I thought if we recreated this same potion using the blood they sent us instead of skin, and tested it on someone, we could confirm that it's indeed a Dementor. A strange one, capable of bleeding, but if the potion's effect remains the same, it must be a Dementor. After that, assuming we're right and it's still in the castle, we could call in the Aurors and Professors, evacuate the school and locate it. It shouldn't be too difficult. All we'd have to do is send a few Patronuses on a reconnaissance mission.
Severus tried not to show the great wave of awe that threatened to wash over him, but he knew, thanks to the other's eloquent grin, that he hadn't succeeded as he would have liked. He quickly looked away and regained his composure.
"Do you have a list of ingredients?" he asked.
"I do, yes," she replied.
She pointed her wand at her bag and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it and handed it to him.
"You can check off the herbs and flowers, I'll get them from Sylvia," she said. "Those are most of the ingredients. The raven's blood takes five minutes and a cage, and incense is everywhere. It's the stones that's the problem. Obsidian is one of the rarest on the market, and Labradorite is banned in most countries. Last time I had to go all the way to Canada and enter a mine to get it."
He read the list a few times, then half-smiled. "It's not a problem."
She looked at him in surprise. "Do you have them?"
"No," he replied. "But I know where to get them."
He rolled up the scroll again, walked around the table and reached for the cloak on the coat rack. Omegas followed him.
"Where?" she asked curiously.
"In Knockturn Alley. There's this place—"
"Oh, good! I'll come with you," she interrupted, hastily pulling on her cloak as well.
Severus froze in astonishment, staring at her inquisitively.
"What?" she asked, giggling.
He frowned. "You're leaving the house?"
She shrugged. "Well, it's January. The weather's lovely," she remarked.
The weather was not lovely in the slightest. It had been raining non-stop for three weeks.
"I feel like going for a walk. And anyway, I want to stop by St Mungo's on the way back, it's been a while since I visited the boy," she added. "Oh, and then we could have a drink at the Hog's Head!"
Severus was speechless. He watched as she cleared the desk, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked cheerfully to the door.
"Are you going to stay there, or..." she murmured.
He quickly regained control. He wrapped himself in his cloak and followed her with measured steps.
"You're in a good mood," he remarked.
"Very perceptive," she said sarcastically.
He grinned in response. "I wonder why..."
"Oh, stop it," she replied sourly. "Not everything is about you."
With that, she smirked and took his hand, not letting go until they reached Knockturn Alley and she realised there were too many eyes on them.
There was a shop in a dark alleyway in that area that he had wanted to take her to ever since she had first stepped into his storeroom, and she had called it 'heaven'. However, he had never found a credible excuse to convince her to accompany him, nor had he had the courage to tell her that he wanted to take her there just to see her smile. So, as they rounded the corner and reached the last shop at the end of the street, Severus was quite excited, though he managed to hide it perfectly behind his usual scowl. Omegas lingered for a moment on the wooden sign hanging over the entrance door, which read 'Grim's Brews', before entering. She reached the middle of the shop, stopped and gaped, unable to stop looking around for a long time with enchanted eyes. Severus, who had decided to enjoy her reaction whilst staying in the background, watched as she hovered over each of the high shelves of magical herbs, then ran her fingers over the spines of all the potion books in the bookshelves, then gazed in fascination at each of the vials haphazardly arranged on the surface of the desk at the entrance. He watched as she considered reaching out and grabbing a vial of Bat Spleen, which had absolutely nothing special about it, but then thought better of it, as if she didn't dare touch something so precious, so magnificent. She approached him, stood before him, and for a few moments did nothing but hold his gaze.
"It's like heaven, but bigger," she said breathlessly.
Severus smiled at her. He glanced around himself and silently agreed, showing an equally fascinated interest. He had loved the place since the very first time he had set foot in it as a boy. Almost immediately, he had felt the urge to get lost among the shelves, hoping never to find the exit and be forced to stay there forever. There was one major flaw in that shop, however, and it didn't take long for it to emerge from the stairs leading down to the basement and announce itself with an affected voice.
"Severus, it's been a minute!"
The two turned to see a small man in his sixties, well groomed and wearing a pompous emerald green robe.
"Mr Grim," Severus greeted him, careful not to betray a hint of disgust.
The man approached him and shook his hand warmly.
"This is Professor Grindelwald," he said, nodding at her.
She offered her hand with a smile. "Omegas."
"Pleased to meet you," he replied. "How can I help you?"
Severus pulled the rolled-up parchment from under his cloak and handed it to him without a word. Mr Grim took a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from the desk, put them on and read.
"I suspect some of the ingredients on the list are kept in the cellar," Severus hinted in the oily tone he reserved for such business.
"Yes..." the other murmured. He slowly removed his glasses, rolled up the parchment and handed it back. "Will you help yourself?"
"As always," he nodded.
He cast a meaningful glance at Omegas, hoping she would interpret it as 'don't get too friendly'; unnecessary, as she most likely intended to wander the shelves in her usual silence. He made his way to the stairs leading down to the cellar, just as crowded but darker and more chaotic. He found what he needed in no more than a couple of minutes, returned to the upper floor and, having climbed the last step, found them both wearing expressions that made it clear that they had been having a conversation and that neither of them had enjoyed it. He rolled his eyes, paid and took his leave with a falsely polite "Good afternoon", which was met with an equally forced "Likewise".
Leaving the shop, he waited until they had passed the alley before admonishing Omegas with a stern look.
"You got friendly with him," he accused.
"I didn't get friendly with him," she countered. "He got friendly with me."
"Oh, really?" he said, raising a sceptical eyebrow.
She nodded. "I was looking at some Ashwinder eggs and he came over to ask if I wanted to buy them."
"He was doing his job," he observed.
"I told him no, that I'd had enough of Felix Felicis for a while," she continued. "He looked at me like I was mad."
Severus allowed himself a laugh. Omegas stopped in the middle of the street, an indignant scowl on her face.
"The man doesn't even know what Felix Felicis is," she declared, pointing to the street behind them. "He lives in a gold mine and has no idea—"
"No, he doesn't," Severus cut her off, failing miserably to avoid sounding judgmental. "He's not a Potioneer, he's just a businessman. It's convenient, actually. He's not reluctant to sell anything since he doesn't know how dark his customers' intentions might be."
Omegas lowered her head and seemed to ponder for a moment. Then she raised it determinedly.
"It's disgusting," she said.
Severus suppressed the smile he wanted to give her and instead shot accusatory sparks in her direction.
"Did you point that out to him?" he asked icily.
"Oh, yes," she nodded, pleased.
He let out a sound halfway between a groan and a laugh.
"I can't leave you alone for two minutes," he scolded.
She looked at him with a mischievous smile. "No, you can't."
Severus replied with an almost identical grin before resuming his walk with his usual cold, solemn air.
They arrived at St Mungo's about a quarter of an hour later. They passed the receptionist, whose gentle smile irritated Severus far less than the last time he had seen it, and quickly got into one of the lifts.
"Have you managed to communicate with it?" he asked, taking great care not to meet her gaze.
He knew the answer would be no. He didn't ask for confirmation, just to annoy her. Omegas didn't fail to let him know that she was aware, with the murderous look she gave him a moment later.
"No," she replied through clenched teeth. "I tried to talk to it. I tried to talk to the boy, since its shadow sees through his eyes, I thought it could hear through his ears."
"But it didn't work?" he asked again.
"No," she repeated, more irritated than before. "It doesn't move. All it does is stand up and point. I don't even know what it's pointing at, considering it can only move its arm in four directions. It could be anything in the room."
"Hm..." he mumbled.
The lift doors opened and they took their first steps into the corridor, stopping just short of Noah's room. The two Healers in charge, Miriam and Iris, stood in front of one of the glass walls, watching the inside of the room with curious eyes and, in Miriam's case, an affectionate smile. A piano tune, slightly muffled by the closed door, came from inside. Severus and Omegas exchanged questioning glances and quickened their pace. They reached the two Healers and silently observed the unusual sight before them.
Nodens, seated on a stool, his hands gliding over the white keys with surprising delicacy, played with what seemed to be great concentration and at the same time a serene elegance. Meanwhile, Noah's shadow, closer to the boy than it had dared to approach anyone else, moved. It wasn't exactly dancing, but it was gesticulating, swaying and showing signs of life like never before. Even Noah's body, huddled in a corner of the mattress, eyes open and knees to his chest, watched the boy play, swaying from side to side as if suddenly able to control himself. Omegas, mouth agape, observed the scene, unable to utter anything but a faint "How... how the hell..."
"We don't know," Miriam came to her aid. "It's been going on for days. The boy asked us if he could play for him... such a sweet boy, really. So we brought the piano. Noah likes it, doesn't he? We hope it eases his suffering a little..."
Omegas continued to watch in stunned silence, until obvious anger took hold of her face.
"And you didn't call me?" she accused.
Miriam lowered her head and tried to mumble something. Iris, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and addressed her in a cold tone.
"You're not his Healer, much as I'm sure you'd like to be," she spat. "We are. If you want to be kept informed of the patient's well-being, I suggest you take the necessary exams and get hired."
With that she met the woman's indignant gaze, then the man's angry one, turned and walked away, her nose so high that Severus wondered how she could see where she was going. Miriam blushed slightly.
"Please forgive her," she hastened to say. "We're all nervous, you know... we haven't found a way to help him yet, and... would you like to go in?" she asked kindly.
"Yes," Severus nodded.
"Oh, good," the other said. "Please be quiet, though. Better not to distract the boy."
She opened the door and nodded. The two exchanged a final glance before crossing the threshold and entering the room.
They walked in opposite directions. Omegas quickly reached the shadow and began to study it up close. She watched its movements carefully, unable to take her eyes off it, as if trying to memorise it. Severus, on the other hand, walked towards Nodens with calm, measured steps. He stood in front of him, on the other side of the piano, but the boy didn't seem to notice him. He continued to play, seemingly oblivious to the presence of anyone around him, and only stirred when the woman muttered, "Fascinating."
At that point Nodens looked up, met the cold black eyes of the Professor and pressed the wrong key. That dissonant note caught Omegas' attention, and she quickly turned and joined the other two.
"S-sir," the boy stammered. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Clearly," he replied.
There was a moment of awkward silence, broken when the Healer entered the room and hurriedly approached Noah's body.
"Sorry," Omegas said with a smile, "we distracted him."
"Oh, it doesn't matter," she said. "It's time for him to rest anyway."
She laid the boy on the bed, closed his eyes and covered him up to his chest. His shadow, meanwhile, had returned to huddle in a corner.
"I didn't know you played the piano," Omegas said, nodding at the instrument.
"Yes, ma'am," Gad replied with some pride. "One of the Healers taught me when I was little. It's the only instrument I can play, you know... you only need your fingers," he remarked. "I can't press the pedals, but I've learned to enchant them."
She replied with an impressed smirk. "Not bad."
"Thank you, ma'am," he said, now smiling.
Severus rolled his eyes. He approached the shadow and studied it closely.
"How did you know it would help him?" she asked.
"I didn't," the boy replied. "I thought... I thought maybe he was feeling lonely."
The Healer, now beside them, looked at him with tender eyes and gave him a great smile.
"Such a sweet boy..." she murmured.
Nodens, clearly embarrassed, blushed and quickly lowered his head.
"It's nothing really," he clarified. "I enjoy playing."
"Mhm..." Omegas murmured.
She turned to Severus, clearly not interested in continuing that conversation.
"What do you think it is?" she asked, intrigued. "Is it trying to communicate? Why so suddenly? It's been weeks..."
"We have to consider the possibility that it's just the music," he replied.
He studied the shadow for a few more moments, then rose to join the others.
"Many legends speak of music as a form of magic when produced by wizards or witches, especially in a healing context," he explained. "It is said to be able to speak directly to the soul of the listener. I've never given much credit to such stories, but... well, that was before I heard you sing."
He uttered the sentence without realising, as had happened far too often lately, that they weren't alone in the room. Omegas blushed and looked away.
"Your singing has nothing pleasant to offer, of course..." he hastened to add.
She let out an ironic laugh and Severus, equally uncomfortable, cleared his throat.
"But... it undeniably speaks. I think the effect is heightened by the fact that we are dealing with a soul without a body. It's normal for the reaction to be more... visceral."
There was another long pause. All four took turns looking at the boy lying on the bed, then at the shadow huddled in the corner.
"It makes sense," Omegas agreed.
"Do you think it might work as a cure?" Nodens asked. "That if I keep playing, he could go back to... well... the way he was before?"
All three adults present turned to him. The boy was trying to hide, behind an obviously forced pragmatism, a great wave of empathy, at times painful. Severus glanced from him to Noah and had no difficulty understanding the reason. He watched as Miriam looked at him with a sickening sweetness, then as Omegas assumed the expression she used when trying to hide compassion with firmness. She walked around the piano and approached Nodens.
"No, Gad, I don't think so," she replied calmly. "Whatever has been done to him is decidedly dark, and it certainly won't be solved by playing."
The boy swallowed and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"But I'd say it helps, doesn't it?" she added, looking at the Healer. "I've never seen his soul so active. It might be a good way to keep it alive until we find a solution."
"Yes, yes, of course!" the other said encouragingly.
Nodens lifted his head suddenly. "Do you have an idea? Do you know how to help him?" he asked.
At that, Omegas turned to Severus and with a look conveyed her heartfelt desire to update the boy. He responded with a warning, definitive look. The last time they had involved him, and that had been purely by accident, they had both risked being fired. She agreed with a grimace and turned back to Nodens.
"Nothing significant so far," she replied with a smile. "Anyway, you're about to start Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, aren't you? Considering how quickly you learn, I wouldn't be too surprised if by the end of the year you're the one who finds the way," she said in an obvious attempt to cheer him up.
He smiled and bowed his head again. "Will you be there, ma'am?" he asked in a whisper.
"Pardon?" she replied.
"During class," he clarified. He glanced from her to Severus a few times. "Because... Professor Snape was there during our lessons, so I thought..."
Omegas turned to Severus, who maintained a blank expression, then turned back to the boy.
"Do you want me to be there?" she asked.
"N-no, no," he replied. "I-I mean, I don't mind, but it's not like it’s necessary, I just..." He swallowed.
The air of pure terror with which he had uttered those words, which had triggered a great wave of satisfaction mixed with amusement in Severus, made Omegas suspicious. She narrowed her eyes and turned to him again. This time Severus responded with a look that she correctly interpreted as a 'I have no control over the way I make people feel'. That was a big, silent lie that she didn't buy, especially since he was hiding a mischievous grin that she didn't miss.
"Of course I'll be there, Gad," she said firmly.
The boy nodded, now a touch more confident.
"Well, I think it's time to let Noah rest," Miriam interjected. "Shall we go, Gad? I'll take you back to your room until Sirius arrives."
Nodens nodded again, bade farewell with two polite "Goodbye, Professor," and let himself be escorted to the next room by the Healer.
"What have you done to Gad?" she asked as the others disappeared through the door.
Severus had expected the question. What he hadn't expected, however, was that it would be asked with a stifled laugh. He looked at her curiously as she approached, waiting.
"Nothing in particular," he replied. "I've hardly spoken to him, except in front of you or the rest of his class.", he said.
"Hm..." she muttered, unconvinced. "Then why is he terrified?"
He shrugged. "How should I know? He must have heard rumours... stories, you know how children are. They believe anything."
"They believe anything, yes," she repeated, now with a sly smile. "Like the story that you once threatened to kill a student's toad with a poorly made potion? Or the one about how, faced with a hexed girl whose teeth were growing uncontrollably, you replied to her plea for help with 'I see no difference'?"
Severus, taken aback, suddenly darkened and parted his lips in an expression of horror. "Who told you that?"
She chuckled. "Sylvia. Sirius told her, and I think he heard it from Harry's friend, the younger Weasley boy. The Auror, what's his name?"
"Ronald."
"Him," she replied. She shook her head and laughed again. "'I see no difference'... what the hell were you thinking?"
He approached her, eyes narrowed and unnecessarily probing. There wasn't much to investigate, as Omegas was making no effort to hide her thoughts.
"Do you find that funny?" he asked, startled.
"A little, yes," she replied.
They stared at each other. Every thought that crossed Severus' mind in the moments that followed was inappropriate given the context, so he had to quickly find something to say to distract himself. He raised a scornful eyebrow.
"You could have told me before. I've been trying to be tolerant with the students around you for over a year."
"That's what you call 'tolerant'?"
Severus replied with a vaguely sinister grin, which he was forced to wipe away a moment later when Miriam re-entered the room.
"Ah, you're still here, good!" she exclaimed, clearly addressing Omegas.
"So it seems," she replied with a smile.
"You know, I wanted to tell you when the shadow first showed signs of life, but... it was after Christmas. I tried sending an owl to Hogwarts, but the Headmistress told me you weren't there."
"No, I went home for Christmas."
"I thought so," the other nodded, "so I tried sending an owl directly to you, but it couldn't find you."
"Ah," Omegas said, now vaguely embarrassed. "Yes, I have a... I have an amulet, actually, that makes me untraceable to owls... I... I forgot about it."
The Healer looked at her and blinked a little longer than usual.
"I see," she said. "I tried to find your address too," she added, "but you've never registered one with the Ministry of Magic."
"Yes," Omegas confirmed, "I've never been very stable."
The two looked at each other in silence for a few painfully long seconds.
"Is there an address I can send an owl to in case something happens before classes resume?" Miriam asked, showing remarkable patience.
Omegas pondered for a moment. She turned to Severus, who was witnessing the exchange, pretending not to exist, then back to the Healer.
"Cokeworth, Spinner's End, number 9," she declared with great satisfaction. "Do you think I should register it with the Ministry?" she asked, looking at him again.
He looked at her and nodded energetically.
"I will," Omegas said. "Goodbye, Miriam."
Before the other had time to react to the farewell, she was out the door and down the corridor, with him following her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
No owls arrived at Spinner's End in the days that separated them from the end of the Christmas holidays. Back at Hogwarts, apart from the first night when the two of them sat in their armchairs and did nothing but enjoy the thought that those armchairs had once again become theirs, the busiest period Severus had ever experienced began, including the times when he had been forced to divide his role between professor and Death Eater.
There were the regular lessons, which took up most of his time. Then there were the ones he had promised to give Sylvia, with which he had even been forced to be patient, given the risk that she might suddenly turn into a murderous half-bird on whom no spell would have any effect. Sylvia had never been a bad student, even in subjects for which she had no natural talent. Although her nature was in stark contrast to potion making, mainly because most of the ingredients were dead animals, she had always worked hard and achieved good results. Severus had always been discreetly proud of her, though he had been careful not to let her know. Closing her mind, however, seemed too far from her natural inclinations for her to overcome this congenital flaw with effort. The Professor was forced to witness harrowing memories, most of which were from her childhood and the years she had lived at the Barbosa house. It was exhausting, and the only thing that brought him any relief was the knowledge that the woman who had caused so much pain was dead, thanks to him. Not even the memories with Garnet were particularly pleasant, considering that he was partly responsible for the boy's death. There had been loneliness and suffering even during the time the girl had spent at Hogwarts, though that pain seemed distant, faded, almost like a scar rather than a wound. Not even the happy memories and thoughts he was forced to witness were much of a relief, since most of them concerned Sirius Black.
He had just pointed his wand at her and declared "Legilimens" when a vision of them huddled in front of a blazing fireplace, whispering disgusting words of comfort, suddenly gave him the urge to vomit. He left her mind with a nauseated grimace.
"Aren't you embarrassed to show me such things?" he spat.
"Of course I am," she replied irritably. "I have no control over what you see, that's the point."
"You would if you assumed it," he retorted. "You're supposed to control your thoughts, not the other way around."
Sylvia snorted. "You say that like it's easy." She put her hands to her face and rubbed her temples. "Can't you try it without pointing your wand at me? It should be harder, shouldn't it?"
He sneered. "It should, yes," he replied, barely hiding his great satisfaction. "It stopped being hard years ago."
She snorted again and got up from the chair in the middle of his office. "I don't know what to do," she said honestly. "You keep telling me to control my thoughts and... tame my mind or whatever, but they're just words, nothing practical."
"It is practical," he objected, sternly. "You must learn to understand what you're feeling, to organise your thoughts, to secure them."
These words made Sylvia visibly angry.
"You sound like Omegas," she accused him.
He returned with an equally cold look. "That's probably because she's right."
"Oh, of course!" she snapped. "She's always right, isn't she?"
Severus, genuinely taken aback by the sudden outburst, took a little longer than usual to react. He hadn't even had time to catch his breath, preparing to shout at her, before she had declared firmly, "You know what? This was a mistake. You're just like her," and quickly left the room.
Then there were the private lessons with Nodens, which were simultaneously intensely pleasant and frustrating, like few experiences he had ever had. They were pleasant because being in an office once again, together with Omegas and the boy, without having to hide, knowing that he was not only welcome but that he was the one in charge of the lessons, gave him great pleasure. They were frustrating because, as they progressed, Severus realised that the prospect of challenging Nodens was not feasible in the short term, perhaps not at all. Every time the Professor asked a question, the boy responded with such a wealth of detail that it left little room to delve deeper with more specific questions. Every time he was told to sit quietly and read, he sat quietly and read, no matter how many hours he was left on his own. When he finished reading, instead of complaining or asking for further instructions, which would undoubtedly have given Severus the opportunity to reprimand him, Nodens would reread until he had memorised the texts if necessary. When they moved on to practical lessons, the boy proved to be far beyond the fourth year curriculum, and even the few spells he didn't know before he mastered so quickly, and after explanations sometimes so brief, that the Professor could find nothing to criticise. It frustrated him, not only because he had developed an irrational dislike for him that had made him wish he had the chance to annoy him for more than a year, but because with time, slowly and imperceptibly, that dislike began to fade and Nodens became in his eyes nothing more than what he had always been: a lonely, silent, strange boy, smarter than his classmates and with a great talent for the Dark Arts. The feelings he began to develop for him from then on frustrated him even more.
Even at night, Severus could not rest. With the resumption of classes, the two had to come to terms with the idea that if there was indeed a possibility that a powerful and dangerous creature was roaming the castle, both the Auror Department and the Headmistress had to be informed, and they reluctantly communicated their recent discoveries to Astrid and then to Professor McGonagall. The Head Auror reacted with calm admiration when they revealed the background to their investigations; the Headmistress, on the other hand, was gripped by a full-blown bout of anxiety mixed with paranoia that showed no signs of abating for weeks. Determined to ensure that no other students were attacked, even though Omegas and Severus had made it clear that it was probably an accident and the creature had simply been frightened, the Professor began animating Hogwarts' guardians, the statues, the armour, giving orders to the portraits in the corridors and, as if that weren't enough, having the teachers take turns patrolling the castle at night. For Severus, it was a horrible reminder of the time when he'd been forced to do the same because of Sirius Black, and he didn't like it at all.
"Ah, come on, it's not that bad," Omegas observed one night when the Headmistress had at least had the good sense to align their shifts. "It's better than having to do it during the day anyway. Hogwarts is so pleasant when it's quiet."
January's good mood did not seem to have left her yet.
"It doesn't matter how pleasant it is," he replied, as grumpy as ever. "It's pointless. Nothing will happen. It doesn't make sense to trust one part of our investigation and completely ignore another."
"Well, I guess she's scared," she replied. "She's been headmistress for just over a year, and one student almost died, not to mention another who almost got involved in things way beyond his head last year."
He grinned a little. "You say that as if you weren't the one who got him involved."
"We, Severus," she corrected him. "We involved him."
"Same thing."
"Not yet," she said. "About that, did you find anything in the library about... you know what?"
"I haven't even had time to go to the library," he replied irritably, "between lessons with Nodens and those with Sylvia."
"I thought Sylvia had given up."
"She did," he confirmed. "She accused me of being 'just like you' and stormed out."
Omegas stopped abruptly. "What's wrong with being 'just like me'?"
He shrugged. "I don't know." He approached her and looked at her curiously. "What have you done to her?"
"Nothing!" she exclaimed. "The last time I spoke to her was at Christmas, in front of you. Then I just ignored her, like I always do."
"Hm..." he murmured, unconvinced.
He was about to investigate further, but was forced to stop a moment later. Omegas raised an arm.
"Shh."
Severus fell silent. She looked around, alert, eyes narrowed and with a bizarre predatory air, as if looking for an animal to strike down. She clicked her tongue in the air, then ran it over her lips, seeming to taste something. She took a few cautious steps to the other side of the corridor and he, silent as ever, followed. Omegas reached out a hand, apparently towards nothing, and grabbed what was revealed a few seconds later to be an invisibility cloak. Beneath it was a boy Severus recognised as a seventh year Ravenclaw, tall, blond, with a pair of large blue eyes.
"Reed," he said, icily and with a barely concealed note of wicked satisfaction.
"H-how... how did you..." the boy stammered.
"You think you're smarter than the entire teaching staff, don't you?" the Professor asked in a dangerously calm tone.
"N-no, sir," the other replied.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Omegas interjected.
"I-I... well, I was just trying to get back to my dormitory, Professor."
She raised an eyebrow. "And where were you before you made such a sensible decision?"
"Er... I-I... ma'am, well, I..." he mumbled uncomfortably. He swallowed, forcing the next words out as if they were stuck in his throat. "I-I was in your dormitory. The Slytherin dormitory."
Confused, she frowned and looked at him, not showing the slightest sign of understanding the implications of his confession.
"Why were you in the Slytherin dormitory?"
Reed looked at her, as embarrassed and confused as she was; then he looked to Severus for help. He found none.
"We are on high alert, Reed, and you dare to insult the security measures the Headmistress has imposed to prevent students from endangering themselves," he declared.
The boy swallowed again and seemed to shrink on the spot. "I'm sorry, sir."
"What do you expect me to do with your apology?" he spat. He glanced from him to the cloak in Omegas' hands. "Where did you get it?"
"A-at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, sir," the other replied.
Severus' face automatically pulled into an irritated grimace. "We'll keep it," he said.
Reed nodded.
"You're in detention, obviously," he added. "With Filch, not me. I don't have time to put up with the antics of an insolent, ungrateful, irreverent boy."
The boy lowered his head quickly. There was a long, silent pause before he found the courage to raise it again. He looked at Omegas with a pair of pleading eyes, to which she responded with her usual unperturbed smile; then he dared to look at Severus again.
"Why are you still here, Reed?" he asked in an oily, unsettling manner.
The boy nodded again and fled until he reached the corner at the end of the third floor corridor and disappeared behind it.
"Have you been 'tolerant'?" asked Omegas, flashing a sly smile.
"Believe it or not, I have," he replied.
She chuckled and resumed walking, now with the invisibility cloak draped over one shoulder.
"How did you sense him?" Severus asked a moment later.
"The smell," she explained. "He was wearing a ridiculous amount of cologne. Didn't you smell it?"
"He was quite distant," he noted.
"Yes," she agreed.
Severus stopped suddenly and looked up at her.
"What?" asked Omegas.
"Did you...
taste
his perfume?"
She looked around, confused. "Yes. Why?"
He shook his head. "And you never realised you were a snake?"
Omegas gave him a look that was half annoyed, half embarrassed.
"Wait a minute," he said, a clear realisation shining in his black eyes. He pointed a finger at her with a mocking grin on his face. "You never learned Parseltongue. You always knew it."
She looked down quickly. Severus walked towards her with measured steps.
"Did you lie to me, Omegas?"
"No, I was genuinely convinced I'd learnt it," she protested. "I... I woke up one morning as a snake. I thought..." she sighed. "I thought I'd been drinking and forgotten to have taken the Animagus Potion. I tried to speak Parseltongue and, well... I just did."
"All those stories about 'nature versus nurture'," he scoffed. "'There's nothing nature does that nurture can't improve,' but at the end of the day, you're just like us mere mortals, aren't you?"
Omegas blushed visibly. "Will you stop it?" she hissed. "We wouldn't have found the boy if it wasn't for me."
"Of course," he said, "if that makes you feel better."
She gaped, outraged. She muttered something that sounded vaguely like a curse, then began to march towards the other end of the corridor. He followed in amusement, enjoying every moment of the ensuing bickering, which only ended when their shift was over.
Even on weekends, the only time hypothetically available for him to relax, Severus was busy. Between researching Horcruxes, supposedly bleeding Dementors and preparing an overly complex potion, he barely had time to eat and sleep, even on Saturdays and Sundays. He knew full well that he wouldn't find anything about the ritual required to make a Horcrux; it was a search he'd undertaken as soon as he'd discovered their existence, and he'd found nothing more than a mention in a dated volume kept on a dusty shelf in the restricted section. Nevertheless, it was this research that he devoted most of his time to, partly because he had enough information on Dementors to last a lifetime, and partly because deep down he feared that if he didn't find a way to do what he needed to do immediately, Omegas would reconsider. She didn't seem to be sympathetic to that concern. She spent most of her limited free time preparing the potion that would soon allow them to identify the creature, in her usual silent, floating manner.
It took a couple of weeks before she eventually decided to address the issue.
"Do you remember
Secrets of the Darkest Art?
" she brought up one Saturday afternoon, as if it hadn't been more than half an hour since Christmas Eve.
"Hm?" he mumbled, lost in thought.
"
Secrets of the Darkest Art,
" she repeated, "the book. The one Harry's friend mentioned. What's her name, the clever one obsessed with house-elves?"
"Hermione Granger?"
"That one," she confirmed. "Once, during an Order meeting, when we were trying to find out which door in the Department of Mysteries Nagini was hiding behind, she mentioned that book. It was the same book that Harry tried to retrieve from his beaded bag when I possessed the corpse of that raven."
At that, as if it understood the gravity of the words, the very much alive black raven behind her, confined in a large cage and having recently survived a considerable blood donation, croaked irritably.
"Silencio," she cast, pointing her wand at it.
The bird continued to croak, but made no sound. Severus closed the book he was holding and thought for a moment.
"Yes..." he murmured shortly afterwards, "right." He turned to her and frowned. "You remember the name of a book that was mentioned once, years ago, but not the name of a girl you've spoken to dozens of times?"
Omegas stopped what she was doing and looked at him, confused. "Does that surprise you?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, not really," he said nonchalantly. He opened the book again and continued reading as if nothing had happened. "There's nothing in that book that explains how to make a Horcrux, it just says it's necessary to split your soul and what that entails. I read it after the war. It's not a Dark Arts book, it's a
Defence Against
the Dark Arts book."
"Ah," she replied, disappointed. "Then I don't think we'll find anything. Not in England, anyway. Do you know who we could ask?"
"Who?" he asked, suddenly interested.
"The author of the
Forbidden Bestiary
."
He looked at her in surprise. "You know the author?"
She smiled. "Of course I—"
That sentence was brutally interrupted by the door to Omegas' office, which was opened and consequently slammed with some violence.
Sylvia, with jingling bracelets and a corset so tight around her waist that Severus wondered how she could breathe, entered without knocking or greeting anyone, reached over to the worktable and slammed a string of flowers onto it.
"The white lilacs you asked for," she announced, expressing a considerable amount of anger.
"Oh, thank you," Omegas replied with a smile, seemingly unaware that she was part of an argument.
"Don't mention it," the other said, clearly sarcastic. "Don't bother asking me if you ever need a rare plant again. I have nothing to do. I'm at your disposal, as always."
Her friend smiled at her again. "That's very kind of you," she remarked.
Sylvia glared at her with such fury that Severus wondered if the other really was that naive, or if she was just playing dumb. However, that icy look seemed to move her, and Omegas was finally forced to realise that something was wrong. She turned to Severus in confusion, a huge question mark crossing her face; then she looked back at her friend.
"Are you angry with me, by any chance?" she asked.
Sylvia scoffed. "A month," she said coldly. "Took you a month to notice. Not bad for someone who consults for the Auror Department."
She frowned. "How was I supposed to know? You didn't say anything."
"I didn't say anything because I haven't spoken to you in a month!" Sylvia snapped.
There was a brief pause.
"Oh," Omegas murmured, embarrassed.
She walked around the table, approached her and tried in vain to meet her gaze, but the other kept it fixed elsewhere, pouting with her arms crossed.
"May I ask why you're so angry?"
"You should know why," Sylvia spat.
"I don't doubt it," she nodded. "But I don't. Would you mind—"
"It's about the Christmas party."
That explanation didn't work as intended. Omegas frowned and seemed to ponder for a while, only to return Sylvia's fiery gaze without showing the slightest sign of understanding.
"What could I possibly have done?" she asked. "I hardly stayed at the Christmas party."
Sylvia approached her dangerously, to the point where Severus felt the need to reach for his wand.
"That's precisely the point, Omegas," she said through gritted teeth.
The other didn't back down. She continued to study her face with an almost academic curiosity.
"What, the fact that I left?"
"Yes."
"But I always leave," she remarked. "I left on your birthday, I was one of the first to leave on Draco's—"
"EXACTLY!" Sylvia shouted.
Omegas fell silent. The other moved away in a flash, as if to stop herself from hitting her. She reached the centre of the room and pointed a finger at her, completely forgetting that a third party was watching the scene.
"You're bloody selfish, you know that, don't you?" she began, her voice trembling with anger. "You always do this. You come, you do as you please, and you leave without thinking about how it makes other people feel. Without thinking that maybe, if I invited you, it was because I wanted you to be there, not so you could drink half my pub and leave!" she ranted.
She shook her head and laughed bitterly.
"I shouldn't be surprised," she added. "You've always been like this, since the day I met you. But I thought... I thought maybe, just this once—"
A lump in her throat stopped her from continuing. She lowered her head, and when she raised it again, she looked at her friend with deep, tearful black eyes.
"Did it cross your mind that this would be my first Christmas without Garnet?" she murmured. "That I might need my so-called best friend to be there for..."
She paused again and sniffled, without losing, as she always did in such circumstances, a hint of the grace she always carried with her.
"It's my fault for expecting it," she declared, regaining her coldness. "I was stupid. It won't happen again."
Severus was certain that those words had affected Omegas, since they had managed to affect even him, despite his efforts to deny it to himself. Indeed, when he looked from Sylvia to the woman in front of her, he found her with a horrified expression on her face. He watched her swallow, look down, then inhale and regain her composure. He watched as she lifted her head, suddenly alert, as if she were about to embark on a particularly dangerous mission. He followed her gaze as she took decisive steps towards her friend, stopping before her. Severus recognised the movement; he had seen her do it before, only then he had been on the other side, as hurt and angry as Sylvia.
"You're right," she said firmly. "I've been selfish and a terrible friend. I'm sorry."
Just as when those words had been directed at him, Sylvia met her eyes, surprised, disarmed, unable to say a word.
"I didn't think about it. I was stupid. I apologise," Omegas added.
The other swallowed. Both remained silent for a long time, seemingly powerless before the words that had just been spoken.
"I-I..." Sylvia stammered. "What... what am I supposed to say?"
Omegas smiled at her. "I don't know. You can still shout at me if you want to, you have every right to."
"Of course I want to!" she snapped. "I wanted to shout at you. I wanted to call you an idiot and storm out, but you're being mature about it, and now I'd look stupid if I did."
Her friend chuckled. "Do you want me to act like an idiot so you can get angry again?"
"No," she said, irritated. "It's too late now. You've ruined everything."
She looked away, annoyed, and Omegas smiled again.
"I'm sorry," she repeated.
"Of course you are," the other replied.
Omegas approached her. "Do you want me to hug you?"
"I don't want you to hug me!" Sylvia exclaimed.
"All right," she said.
There was another pause, slightly shorter than the previous one.
"Yes, I want you to hug me."
"All right," Omegas repeated.
She approached her again, hugged her, and when she tried to break free a reasonable amount of time later, Sylvia refused to let her.
Under normal circumstances, Severus would have been embarrassed to be an onlooker at such a scene, and would have been desperate to disappear. Strangely, however, he found himself watching that bizarre reconciliation as if he were behind a glass, witnessing the particularly rare behaviour of a pair of mythological creatures, which in fact both women were. The awkwardness didn't last long, though; a few minutes later, Sylvia finally let go of her friend, took a silk handkerchief from the pocket of her dress, wiped her face, and turned to him.
"I'm sorry I shouted at you," she whispered. "I... wasn't mad at you."
Severus opened his mouth, didn't make even the faintest semblance of a sound, closed it again and sought help from Omegas with a look. She, already back behind her table, busy chopping the lilacs, gave him a crooked smile and shook her head in what he interpreted as a 'you'd better accept the apology'. He turned back to the girl and struggled to speak without betraying an irritated grimace, but failed.
"It doesn't matter," he forced himself to say. "But I won't be giving you any more lessons."
"Heavens, no, thank you," she replied hastily. "I'll find a way to learn on my own."
Omegas chuckled, and Severus let that blatant lack of respect pass only because the idea of facing her tearful eyes again made him feel sick. Sylvia cautiously approached the desk and watched her friend with curious eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh," Omegas said with a satisfied smile. "This is... well, I won't bore you with the details. Anyway, you just brought me the last ingredient," she said, adding the White Lilacs to her cauldron.
Severus approached and watched as the liquid inside took on a blood-red hue, very different from the greyish colour he had seen the last time she had made the same potion.
"Is it ready?" he asked, betraying a hint of impatience.
"Oh, yes," she replied, pleased.
She fumbled in her bag for a moment and pulled out a glass vial; then she took a ladle, scooped up some of the red liquid and filled the vial almost to the brim. She corked it and held it out to Severus with a decisive, deeply satisfied gesture. He stared at it for several seconds, transfixed, and for some reason found himself unable to touch it.
"What is it?" asked Sylvia, eyeing the vial as if it were some legendary artefact.
"It's our answer," Omegas explained, as vague as usual. "This will tell us once and for all if we're dealing with a Dementor or not."
The other frowned. "A Dementor?" she asked, sceptically. "How can it be a Dementor? Didn't you say that the blood at the crime scene was that of the attacker?"
"Exactly," she nodded. "That's the point. It should be impossible. And yet..."
She lost herself in thought for a moment, and Severus, unable to do otherwise, followed her in those reflections, lingering for a few moments, staring at nothing in particular. Sylvia, now with a raised eyebrow, looked at them in turn and shook her head.
"The day I get a proper answer from either of you, I'm throwing a party," she said.
Severus snapped out of his thoughts and returned her gaze with an equally sardonic look.
"Please don't invite us," he replied.
Omegas laughed heartily. She pirouetted around the desk and stopped a palm's width from his nose.
"So," she said.
"So," he repeated, meeting her eyes.
"We're ready," she said, letting out a huge wave of excitement.
"I'd say so," he nodded. "We just need to find someone to test it on."
She nodded back. "Indeed. On that note," she added, pointing to Sylvia, "I'm glad you're here. You've arrived just in time."
The other looked at her with a vaguely disgusted expression. "Whatever that stuff is, I'm not drinking it."
Omegas chuckled. "No, of course not. I'd never make you drink it, are you crazy? It's not pleasant. Nothing too dangerous, mind you, there's much worse, but it has the side effect of a feeling of despair that can last anywhere from three hours to two weeks."
"How do you know?" asked Sylvia.
Her friend gave one of her best cryptic smiles.
"No, I'm glad you're here because if things go wrong, you know... there's two of you. You can both cast a Patronus, right?"
Sylvia and Severus looked at each other for a moment, both frowning; then they realised simultaneously. They turned back to Omegas, determined to stop her, but she had distracted them in the few minutes that had just passed, grabbed the vial unnoticed and retreated with slow, imperceptible steps to the other end of the office. In the time it took them to decide to rush towards her, she uncorked the vial and emptied it.
They waited, motionless, wide-eyed and staring at her. Omegas suddenly lowered her head, stood still for a moment, then raised it with two large tears streaming down her face.
"Yes, nothing pleasant," she confirmed, her voice broken, but with a smile that dared not leave her face.
Then she stopped speaking. She spread her arms in a gesture she seemed to have no control over, and a second later the other two were watching her hover a few centimetres from the ceiling. She opened her mouth, and what came out was nothing like what the manuals Severus had read described as an 'intact soul'. It wasn't 'extinguished' like Noah's, nor exactly 'corrupted' like those he'd seen during his years as a Death Eater. It was bright and powerful, almost blinding, but at the same time it was... broken. As if a great crack had split it in two, not exactly visible, but perceptible, almost tangible. It was as if a part of it didn't belong to her. It emitted a deafening sound, a kind of high-pitched hiss that made both onlookers instinctively cover their ears.
"What the hell—" Sylvia exclaimed, shouting over the roar of Omegas' soul. She immediately pulled out her wand and pointed it at her, quickly and decisively. "Expecto Patronum!"
Severus lingered for a moment, realising that part of what he was witnessing would, sooner or later, become part of him.
He only reacted when he saw a large silvery dog, undoubtedly the animal form of Sirius Black, sprinting frantically towards the ceiling. He grabbed his wand, pointed it at her, and a moment later a silvery snake came to assist her. They reached the woman, but instead of heading for her soul, they began to circle her body, pirouetting around and around until she suddenly opened her eyes. She took a deep breath, and the blinding light that had been inches from her face quickly returned to her lips. A moment later, Omegas had fallen to the ground with a thud, her arms limp at her sides and her knees on the floor.
Severus and Sylvia reached her, stopped a step away and, instead of helping her to her feet, stared into her pained face with identical murderous glares.
"You're a bloody idiot!" Sylvia blurted out before the other could.
Severus nodded firmly. "A stupid, irresponsible, bloody idiot," he confirmed.
Omegas chuckled. "Nice to see you've made up."
She held out her arms and they both grabbed them, she on the right, he on the left. They pulled her up, not without a good dose of irritation and another deadly stare, then they looked at each other, vaguely embarrassed.
"Well, it's done," Omegas noted. "It was a little different from the other times I took it, but I can't say exactly how or why."
"Times?" Severus interjected, gravely. "
Times?
Plural?"
She dismissed the observation with a lazy wave of her hand. "Tomorrow is Sunday. The perfect day to evacuate Hogwarts, don't you think?"
"Evacuate?" Sylvia repeated. She looked from her to him, clearly annoyed. "Can someone kindly explain to me what the hell—"
"There's a bleeding Dementor, frightened and hidden within the castle walls," Omegas interrupted.
The other visibly darkened and looked at them in turn. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Severus replied.
“Will you notify McGonagall? She'll definitely listen to you more willingly than to us," Omegas said.
Sylvia, her gaze once again icy but now with a veil of stern determination, nodded, turned on her heels and reached the exit in a few quick steps.
Omegas waited for her to leave, then slowly lost the smile she had maintained even while her soul hovered outside her body. She let out a long sigh, which Severus couldn't quite describe as relief, and slowly sank into the chair behind the table. He approached her cautiously and looked down at her for a few moments. Finally, he decided to lean in so that their faces were level.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"No, I'm not alright, Severus," she replied calmly. "Not in the slightest."
She remained silent for a moment, doing nothing but meeting his gaze before looking away vaguely.
"It's been a busy week," she stated.
"More like a busy month," he corrected her.
"Indeed."
There was a long pause, then Severus spoke again.
"Do you want me to hug you?" he asked.
She looked at him, confused. She pondered, eyes narrowed, head tilted to one side. She started to answer, reconsidered and pondered again. Finally, almost imperceptibly, she nodded. Severus gestured for her to stand, approached her and embraced her for what he realised was the second time in his entire life.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"It doesn't make sense," said Omegas, frustrated.
Severus, beside her, shook his head. "It doesn't."
"Yet that's it," Sylvia added breathlessly. "There is nothing in the whole castle. If there had been, by this time—Stewart!" she cried, angrily. "Stewart, if you don't get back inside the castle within five seconds, I guarantee you..." she left the sentence hanging and began to run across the park after a pale-faced first-year boy with red hair.
"Are we sure we've checked everything?" asked Omegas.
"I've just been up to the Astronomy Tower, it was the last one," replied Professor McGonagall, joining them with her usual busy air. A silver tabby cat pirouetted over her head for a moment, then disappeared. "Nothing."
"How in the name of Salazar is that possible?" asked the other, half annoyed, half intrigued, looking at the castle.
"It isn't," Severus said.
"Perhaps it's in the Chamber of Secrets," whispered a faint, mechanical voice.
Nodens floated his chair until it stopped beside the Headmistress. All four of them, including Sylvia, who was now holding Stewart's wrist in a far too tight grip, turned towards him.
"How do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Severus asked, slightly accusing.
"Harry told me, sir," the other replied calmly.
"It can't be in the Chamber," Omegas interjected. "I checked it thoroughly."
Professor McGonagall turned to her and fixed her with a very stern look. "You entered the Chamber of Secrets?"
The other swallowed, then looked around vaguely. "Just to check," she lied.
Severus made a mental note to tell her to clear it out when they were done.
"Grant, you too!" Sylvia shouted suddenly. "Get back inside immediately. Did you hear Professor Flitwick?"
"But ma'am, why does he get to stay and I don't?" asked a chubby boy with blond hair and a nose reddened by the cold.
Sylvia followed his gaze and saw Nodens sitting motionless in his chair, staring at the castle in front of him.
"What other students are or are not permitted to do, Grant, is none of your concern," Professor McGonagall reprimanded him.
"Nothing in the secret passages either," Sirius declared, joining them with long strides.
"Are you sure?" asked Sylvia.
"Sure," he nodded. He reached her and stood next to her.
"Perhaps there are passages you don't know about," Nodens observed.
"Believe me, Gad," he replied with a grin, "there aren't."
The boy giggled and Severus rolled his eyes. He turned to Omegas, hoping to share his frustration, but found her too busy keeping her eyes fixed on the school, clearly deep in thought. He approached her and whispered.
"Maybe it's not in the castle," he suggested. "Maybe it really has managed to get out."
"That's impossible, Severus," she replied with a bitterness she wasn't used to directing at him. She realised it and apologised with her next glance. "Someone would have noticed if a Dementor had passed through the Hogwarts grounds," she continued, slightly calmer. "They freeze everything for miles around. They weigh down the air just by being nearby, you know that. The castle is never completely asleep. Hagrid, Filch, a student out of bed, someone would have noticed. No, it must be inside, somewhere. Enclosed, safe... hidden."
"You said it's a bleeding Dementor," Sylvia intervened. "That's odd, isn't it? It means it's somehow... alive. Could it be immune to Patronuses?"
"If it were, the blood wouldn't react to Patronuses either," Severus observed.
“Does it?” Nodens asked, suddenly interested.
The Professor turned and recognised himself in that unhealthy curiosity, in a way he couldn't quite admit to himself.
"Yes," he replied icily.
"Ah..." the other whispered, transfixed.
There was a long pensive pause, during which none of the pairs of eyes present dared to look away from the sky, as if expecting to see a grim, hooded figure hovering above their heads at any moment.
"I must go back inside," Professor McGonagall said a few minutes later. "Potter and Beaumont should have finished their round by now. Gad?"
"In a moment, Professor," he replied.
He floated slightly forward, unable to take his eyes off the scene, and stopped in front of Omegas. She turned to the Headmistress.
"I'll bring him in."
The other gave her a slightly doubtful look. "Good," she nodded finally. "But hurry. It's almost bedtime, and Gad has classes in the morning."
"So do we, for that matter," she observed.
Professor McGonagall gave her one last stern look, and another at Severus that he interpreted as 'If anything happens to him, you'll be responsible'; then turned on her heels and walked with quick, determined steps towards the castle doors.
"I should go too," Sirius said. "Harry asked me to check the passage to the Shrieking Shack, although I doubt it's hiding there. That passage is public knowledge now, some students must have learned how to use it... I hope."
"Oh, is it the one under the Whomping Willow?" asked Sylvia, suddenly losing all her coldness.
"Yes," he nodded.
"Can I come?" she asked, as excited as a schoolgirl.
"Sure," he replied with a broad smile.
"Showing a professor the secret passages of Hogwarts, Black?" Severus interjected sarcastically. "If your friends could see you now..."
Sirius gave him a displeased look, then turned to Sylvia and slowly studied her from head to toe.
"I'm sure they'd understand," he murmured with a smirk.
Sylvia giggled, took his arm and walked with him to the other side of the park.
Severus rolled his eyes for, if he hadn't lost count, the fifteenth time since Sirius had crossed the threshold of Hogwarts. He turned towards Omegas and found her standing right behind Nodens, a hand resting on his chair, still deep in thought. He coughed to get her attention and waited for her violet eyes to settle on him. He motioned for her to come closer, and she followed him to a distance where the boy would not overhear, but where they could still keep an eye on him.
"We have to consider the possibility that it isn't a Dementor," he said in a low voice. "That it's something that reacts to Patronus magic, but is somehow able to go unnoticed and bleed."
"I know," she replied in the same whisper. "And don't forget, it must have enough power over the human soul to be able to separate it cleanly from the body and then... extinguish it."
"Yes," he said. "Not even a Dementor should be capable of that."
"No, indeed."
Severus studied her face for a moment without saying a word. He found in those eyes a well-hidden pain he had come to know very well, and had promised himself he would do all he could to keep away from her. It must be a side effect of the potion, he told himself, hastily trying to distract her.
"You were telling me yesterday, before Sylvia interrupted, that you knew the author of the
Forbidden Bestiary.
"
"Oh, yes, I was," she said, a strange light suddenly illuminating her face. "I could write to him and ask him to send me the other volumes in the series, I'm sure he would reply within a week."
He frowned. "You know him well?" he asked, careful not to betray more than a mild curiosity.
"Of course I know him well," Omegas replied with some pride. "He's Professor Zakoten."
Severus rolled his eyes for the sixteenth time. "He's an expert on magical creatures too, now?"
"He's an expert on almost everything," she stated.
He looked away with an irritated grimace. "Nobody's an expert on everything."
"I said almost everything," she pointed out.
Severus was about to reply, and with a great deal of bitterness, when he was interrupted by a voice from the castle doors.
"Oi, Nodens!" it called. "How come you get to stay outside? Isn't McGonagall afraid that the Dementor will get you?"
It was Clarke, a fourth year Hufflepuff boy, apparently unaware that two of his professors were lurking in the shadows just behind the boy.
"Leave him alone, Richie," Sinclair, a girl from his year, commented. "He's probably allowed to because they know he won't be attacked. What joy would it take from him anyway?"
Clarke chuckled. "Not bad, Liz."
Nodens lowered his head. He kept it down for about five seconds, then turned his chair, seemingly uninterested in being dragged into the feud, and looked back up. Omegas, outraged as if she had received the insult herself, adjusted her bag on her shoulder and took the first step towards the students, only to be intercepted and preceded by Severus. The Professor emerged from the shadows, his black cloak billowing behind him, and strode towards the entrance of Hogwarts. He did nothing but fix his eyes on the two of them, stern and piercing, and watch them shrink. He stood to his full height and watched them sweat, then swallow. He didn't speak until he was sure that night would haunt their nightmares.
"Clarke, Sinclair," he stated, shifting his gaze from one to the other. "Congratulations. You've just lost ten points each and earned a week's detention. You play Quidditch, don't you, Sinclair?" he asked.
"Y-yes, sir," she stammered.
Severus grinned. "Not this week, I'm afraid."
The girl lowered her head. Omegas joined them and looked them over in turn.
"I think it's fair to deduct another ten points each for being outside the castle without permission or teacher supervision, don't you, Professor Snape?"
He nodded. "An excellent observation, Professor Grindelwald."
"But sir," Clarke protested, "we're not outside. We're on the doorstep—"
"I saw you walk out," Omegas interrupted. "You, Professor?"
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Undoubtedly. Not to mention their persistence in staying out of their beds."
"Maybe they're trying to get fifty points deducted in one night and establish some sort of record," she said sarcastically.
"They'd have to lose at least sixty each to do that," he replied. "A goal they are dangerously close to achieving."
He gave them a second threatening look, to which the girl responded by paling and lowering her head again, while the boy seemed on the verge of retorting. Sinclair gave him a not-so-light slap on the arm and gestured for him to shut up. Clarke reluctantly conceded to a silent retreat, turned and walked with his classmate towards the stairs.
Omegas waited for them to round the corner, then turned to Severus. She gave him a look that he struggled to interpret. It was soft, gentle, almost tender.
"What?" he asked, irritated.
She smiled. "Nothing," she said. She turned to the boy. "Come on, Gad, let's go back inside. We need to have a chat about dealing with bullies."
Nodens floated in her direction, reached her and passed through the Hogwarts doors at her side. Severus took one last searching look at the clear sky above him before following them, leaving that long day behind.
The days that followed were no less unpleasant. With the exception of Professor Sprout and his wife, who occasionally left their son's bedside to spend time at Hogwarts, the castle seemed to have put the matter aside and returned to its usual calm, with its routine of classes, Quidditch matches and corridor chatter. But not for Severus, not for Omegas and, since quite some time now, not for Sylvia. Since the two friends had reconciled, the newly appointed Transfiguration Professor seemed to have taken the cause to heart and had begun spending most of her free time with them in Omegas' office, making conjectures, re-examining evidence and searching for clues. One Friday afternoon, after classes had ended, Omegas decided that she would spend the rest of the day studying yet another blood sample she had obtained from the Auror Department, and she did so with the grim look that hadn't left her since she had taken the potion, at least two weeks earlier. Severus, for his part, was sitting next to her, holding a red-covered book, part of a collection he had every intention of immersing himself in. Professor Zakoten had replied to Omegas in less than five days, informing her that he had already contacted his publisher and that shipment was scheduled for the following Monday, with the entire Forbidden Bestiary series arriving by the end of the week.
Severus had offered to read those books, much to Omegas' surprise, only partly due to his growing need for answers regarding Noah's case. His curiosity about Professor Zakoten had been ignited years before, from the very first time she had mentioned him during one of their first real conversations, and since then, aided by having a woman beside him who spoke of Zakoten as a legend, it had never waned. He approached the volumes as if they were a glimpse into the Professor's personality, convinced that he could read some fragment of his identity between the lines of those academic texts.
He drew several conclusions by the time he reached the fourth book in the series, dedicated to magical creatures associated with Japanese mythology: Professor Zakoten was undoubtedly intelligent. He was methodical in the way he presented his thoughts and discoveries, leaving out no detail about how he had obtained the information. He was clearly a man dedicated to his work, passionate, one who had immersed himself in the study of mythology not only out of curiosity, but out of a deep desire, almost a need, to believe. Despite this, he managed to maintain his clarity of thought throughout the process of writing the books, never succumbing to blind faith, but rather to a constant search for tangible evidence. He also concluded that the Professor must have travelled extensively, judging by the breadth of the information and the fact that it seemed to come from all over the world, and that he must be old, much older than he appeared, given that the first chronologically sorted Bestiary was published in 1927. By the time he reached the fifth volume, the one on Norse mythology, Severus had resigned himself to the idea that he would find nothing in those pages to arouse the antipathy he had so fervently wished to feel towards him. He... actually liked the man.
He kept the thought to himself and turned a page with his usual cold indifference, while Omegas, on the other side of her wooden table, finally gave up the chance that there was anything more to be discovered about that blood and slammed a vial onto the desk, miraculously not shattering it. Severus looked up, put the book down and watched her as she bent over, palms to her face. He waited a few moments in silence before standing and joining her. He said nothing until she found the strength to lower her hands and meet his gaze.
"Is this still about the potion?" he asked.
She lowered her head, frowning and slightly embarrassed. "I don't know, maybe," she murmured. "I'm just tired. How long has it been since we found anything useful, anything important? Months. We can't find the creature, we don't even know what it is, the boy is still stuck in a hospital bed with his soul outside his body, and you and I are light years away from doing what we need to do because we're too busy with everything else."
She sighed, exhausted, and dropped back into the chair. She massaged her temples, then ran a hand through her black curls.
"I don't know, Severus..." she added after a few moments. "I just need to pause everything for a while."
He approached her. He waved his wand, summoned another chair and placed it next to hers. He thought long and hard about what to say, what to do, but nothing came to mind. So he just stood there, watching her tired, vacant eyes, pretending not to notice that the pain they expressed was much deeper than the frustration at the unsatisfactory outcome of their investigations could justify.
They sat still in their sombre silence until Sylvia, as usual, opened the door without knocking. She approached them, her cold expression slightly tinged with dismay, and dropped a large pile of notebooks on the table.
"Well, that was awful," she declared. "You owe me a bottle of Liquid Ecstasy at least."
Severus and Omegas, who had recognised Noah's diaries, looked at each other, equally confused, then turned to scrutinise Sylvia.
"Why was it awful?" asked Omegas.
The other let out a bitter laugh. "Why?" she asked sarcastically. "Did you read them?"
"Of course I read them," she said, frowning. "There was nothing strange in them."
Sylvia looked at her in confusion; then shook her head with a vaguely mocking smile. "Have you tried to reveal them?" she asked.
Omegas narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Because he cast a Dispario on them," Sylvia explained.
"A what?"
"A Dispario, Om. The diary spell."
She turned again, looking for help in Severus' eyes, who couldn't offer any. The other, increasingly confused, blinked and tilted her head to one side.
"You've never... never heard of the Dispario?"
They both shook their heads in unison.
"You've never kept a diary?" Sylvia asked with a chuckle.
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"I kept one when I was a boy," Severus told them, "where I listed every curse I could cast and who I would have liked to use them on."
The other two looked at him, and he, lost in the memory, took a moment to realise that he had felt comfortable enough to share the information.
Omegas smiled. "I had a notebook in which I calculated antidotes for complex poisons according to Golpalott's Third Law, but I wouldn't call it a diary. I should still have it somewhere..."
With that, she reached into her bag and pulled out a leather-bound notebook, well preserved considering its age. Severus looked at it with a grin.
"Can I mark it?" he asked.
She giggled. "Sure, Professor," she said, tossing it into his hands.
Sylvia, half perplexed and half astonished, continued to look between them, then sighed in exasperation.
"Will you two stop it?" she asked icily.
The two exchanged a final glance, turned to her and fell silent.
Sylvia picked up one of Noah's diaries, opened it and slammed it down on the table in a gesture that was strangely both violent and graceful. She pointed her wand at it and muttered a “Revelio” with an exasperated air. Severus and Omegas leaned forward and watched, captivated, as the words written on the first page of the diary, which had previously read:
1st September, first day at Hogwarts. It's a beautiful day. I've met some boys on the train; they seem nice.
Turned into a far darker:
New year, new school, new life. But the feeling of having no purpose is still the same.
Omegas stepped back slightly, as if wanting to distance herself from it.
"How did you do that?" she asked in disbelief.
"It's the Dispario," Sylvia explained. "It turns an otherwise disturbing text into one that, if found by a parent or teacher, wouldn't get you into St Mungo's mental health ward. All the kids know it. Well, almost all..." she rectified, looking at them sardonically. "Anyway, a simple Revelio uncovers the hidden text. It's not very useful, but usually no one thinks about it."
Omegas continued to stare at those words, and everything the brief light conversation from earlier had erased resurfaced on her face. Severus snapped the diary shut, making the other two jump.
"Did you find anything in there?" he asked Sylvia.
She shook her head. "No. Just a lot of sadness, a lot of loneliness. Noah was... he was looking for someone. He believed that finding someone to share with would make everything better. But he also believed that no one would ever be able to accept him for who he was, and so he wasn't—"
"
Isn't,
" Omegas interrupted.
Sylvia lifted her head and met her serious gaze. "What?"
"He
isn't,
" she said. "He's not dead."
The other frowned in surprise and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Of course," she murmured then. "He isn’t."
Omegas swallowed. She lowered her head, clenched her fists slightly, then grabbed her wand and, in one swift motion, levitated each of the diaries into her bag.
"There's no need for you to read them, really," Sylvia said. "There's nothing in them that—"
"Thank you," she said absently. A moment later she was out of the office.
From that day on, for the whole of the following week, it was just Severus and Sylvia meeting in that office. Omegas gave up on the idea of finding anything by endlessly re-analysing the evidence and from then on spent every free moment locked in their quarters reading the diaries, or at St Mungo's, in Noah's room, doing nothing but sitting in a corner and watching him in silence. Sylvia didn't comment on the sudden change for a while, although it was obvious that she was making a great effort not to. She managed to hold back until the following Monday, when she had obviously woken up in a bad mood and decided to let everyone around her know. She walked into Severus' office as he returned from his final afternoon class and sighed loudly before the other had even had a chance to open his mouth.
"Where is she?" she asked bluntly.
"At St Mungo's," he replied. "She only had classes until lunchtime today."
"Of course," Sylvia muttered, annoyed.
She crossed her arms and looked at him impatiently. He, buried up to his neck in reading the second to last of the Bestiaries, slowly looked up at her, hoping that she would understand, without forcing him to express the thought, that he preferred to be left alone. It didn't happen.
"I suppose it's pointless asking you to come to the Valentine's Day party at the Black Cat, isn't it?"
Severus looked at her with a mixture of severity and genuine disgust.
"Of course," she mumbled irritably. "Well, it would have been nice if she had at least had the decency to decline the invitation in person," she spat.
She raised her arms and let them fall to her sides, clearly waiting for an answer that didn't come.
"Why is she being like this now? She didn't care before, Noah could have died and she wouldn't have lost a night's sleep. And now all of a sudden—"
"I'll let her know you'd prefer to be refused in person," he interrupted. "When she returns."
Sylvia fell silent. By then, the invitation to leave the office had become too direct for her to pretend not to notice. She sighed a second time and left the room, muttering and slamming the door behind her.
Left alone, Severus stopped pretending that he hadn't lost interest in the book he was holding the moment Sylvia had made that observation. Why had Noah suddenly become so important? It was no longer the cold obsession it had been for the past few weeks. It had suddenly become a desperate mania, a persistent and painful thought. The only other time he had seen her like this was before she had revealed to him that she had spoken to Nagini. Even then, her unexpected empathy for Lord Voldemort's snake had taken him by surprise. Severus thought and thought. Then, tired of speculating, he closed the book for good, placed it back in one of his bookshelves, grabbed his cloak and headed for St Mungo's with an idea in his head and a firm look in his eyes.
When he reached the glass walls of Noah's room, he saw a scene he had seen dozens of times in the past few days. The boy lay covered by a white sheet, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. His soul lay motionless in the lower left corner of the room, huddled, extinguished. Omegas was equally still, squeezed into the opposite corner in an almost identical position to the shadow, doing nothing but watching, knees to her chest and chin resting on the back of her hands. Severus took a few more seconds to study her in silence; then he raised his head, took a slightly deeper breath than before and entered the room.
Omegas didn't get up, nor did she give any sign of noticing him, and he wasn't surprised. He reached for his wand, waved it and closed the blinds in the room. He approached her and took a closer look at the book she was holding. It wasn't one of Noah's diaries. It was the small black leather-bound book that contained her memories. Without further hesitation, he sat down on the floor next to her.
"I've been thinking," he announced, not before another five minutes of silence had passed.
She turned and smiled at him. "Have you?"
He nodded.
"About what?" she asked.
"About you," he replied.
He felt, without actually having to turn to see it, an intense gaze settled on his face.
"Well, not exactly you, to be fair," he clarified. "I've been thinking about the people in your life."
Omegas laughed lightly. "That must have been a very brief reflection."
Severus allowed himself a half-smile at the joke.
"It's a thought I've been having for some time," he continued.
"Really?" she asked in surprise.
"Really," he confirmed. "Ever since the day you killed Nagini. I wondered why someone who prides herself on the number of Death Eaters she's taken down would cry over the death of a woman who lived a century before her and with whom she had no connection whatsoever. I thought about asking you," he added, "but I also thought I'd only get unsatisfactory answers.
She gave him a sincere smile. "You know me well."
"Yes, I do," he said. "And that's why I came to a conclusion almost immediately."
"And that is?"
"I thought it was sad people," he explained.
He looked into her eyes and received a penetrating look in return.
"It fits. It fits with me, with Sylvia, with Nagini. With him," he murmured, nodding to the book she was holding. "Even with Noah."
Omegas nodded weakly. "You have your answer then."
"No," he said.
"No?" she asked.
Severus shook his head. "No. I
had
my answer, before reading Professor Zakoten's books."
She studied him, suddenly intrigued. He paused before continuing.
"Professor Zakoten isn't a sad man, is he? You can tell by the way he writes. He's a man who loves his work. Who loves his life. Yet he's one of the people you feel closest to."
"Yes," she confirmed, lost in a distant memory.
"So I thought again," he continued. "I didn't find an answer, not immediately. I realised it when Sylvia brought us the diaries."
"What did you realise?"
"I realised what all the people you've felt something for have in common."
"What is it?" she asked, as if she herself longed for the answer.
"They're lonely," Severus stated.
Omegas lost her smile. She parted her lips and looked away, to a distant point, lost.
"All the people in your life are lonely," he pressed. "Your father was lonely, imprisoned in an impenetrable castle. Professor Zakoten, a solitary researcher, locked up in his dark office. Sylvia, the woman incapable of forming relationships beyond the surface. The phrase you said when talking about Nagini. 'When someone dies, at least one person should suffer'. You didn't mourn her loss. You were hurt because she was lonely to the point that no one would cry for her."
Omegas' eyes grew teary. She continued to stare at the wall, paralysed, unable to speak.
"Then there's Noah. You didn't care when you thought he was dead, or when you found out he was in that state," Severus observed, nodding at the boy's shadow. "You didn't care that he was suffering. You only began to care when Sylvia spoke of loneliness."
He remained silent for a moment, sensing that she needed it.
"And then, of course, there's me," he concluded.
Omegas suddenly found the strength to turn and meet his eyes. Severus saw her desperate face and tried to meet it with an impassive one.
"You're not lonely," she said firmly, though her voice was broken.
He smiled. "No, I'm not."
He slowly reached out a hand to the book in hers, now gripped so tightly that the pages were beginning to crumple. He took it and placed it between them, running his palm over the cover.
"Was he lonely?"
She lowered her head, disappearing between her knees. She nodded.
No one spoke for a while. Severus had said what he needed to and got the answers he wanted, and impatience had left him once more. It wasn't a problem waiting for her to lift her head. A few minutes passed, and when she finally did, two large tears ran down her face.
"He's fading," she whispered.
He frowned. "Who's fading?"
"Jay," she explained. "When... when I took the potion, I..." she swallowed and was cut off by a sob. She wiped her face and forced herself to speak again. "When I took it the first time, I relived his memory as if I were watching it. I've tried to get it back after Diamara, believe me, but it's not... it's not like it used to be. But the first time I took the potion, it..."
She cried again, and it took a few more minutes for her to stop.
"I took it again and again, and then... then something changed. And it wasn't..." She turned to him. "All I can see now when I take it, is me telling you I need time and slamming the door to Spinner's End," she said. "That's not my worst memory, Severus. How can it be? It shouldn't... it can't be..."
The sentence was never finished. Omegas cried again, this time uncontrollably, and Severus, who wished he could share her pain instead of reveling in the joy those words had just caused him, held her, feeling very much like a hypocrite. Some time later, she had stopped crying and her head had somehow come to rest on his knees.
"Does it ever happen to you?" she asked in a whisper.
"Hm?" he asked.
"To feel her fading."
Severus thought about it, but not for long. He had felt it the moment he saw his Patronus change, and had lived with the guilt for years.
"Yes," he replied.
Omegas suddenly sat up. "Really?"
He nodded. "It's been twenty years," he murmured. "Twenty-five, since she last spoke to me. Yes, Omegas. Sometimes it feels like she's fading. But she never really does."
She looked down. "What if he really does?"
He shook his head. "He won't."
She accepted that promise with a weak nod.
Severus waited what he deemed to be an appropriate amount of time, then stood and held out a hand to her. She took it, letting him pull her up.
"Control yourself," he ordered with a newfound severity. "We're in a hospital."
Omegas gave a soft laugh. She wiped her face with a glove and a moment later was standing at attention. She bent down, picked up her book and put it back in her bag.
"Talk to Sylvia," he continued. "You're not going to be here this weekend. She'll be upset if you don't give her some notice."
She frowned. "Why, where will I be this weekend?"
Severus turned his back on her. "At Durmstrang," he explained. "I want to meet Professor Zakoten."
He couldn't see it, but he could still sense Omegas' face lighting up. He had it confirmed when she circled the room and stood in front of him.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
He nodded slowly. Omegas seemed on the verge of exploding.
"I only have one of his books left to read," he explained, trying to convince himself that there was a rational reason behind his willingness to go, not just a need to make her happy. "There are a few questions I'd like to ask him. Since I'm lucky enough to have first hand contact with the author, I thought—"
"Yes," she interrupted. "Absolutely, it's a great idea. A brilliant idea. When do we leave?"
Severus allowed himself a satisfied smirk. "Friday, after classes."
"Perfect," she said. Turning on her heel, she quickly reached the door. "Shall we go?"
He approached her with measured steps. "There's no rush, you know? We're not leaving now."
"I know," she nodded, "but I really need to kiss you now and we're in a hospital. I'd like to hurry out."
Severus paused for a moment. He processed the sentence he'd just heard and pretended all too convincingly that it hadn't affected him in the least. When he resumed walking, however, he did so at a slightly faster pace.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Severus had never actually been to Durmstrang. He had heard many stories about the school, only some of which had been told by Omegas; the others belonged to a period of his life that he had fought to keep out of his thoughts. Partly for that reason, and partly because he had been busy, to say the least, over the past twenty years, he had never felt the need or the curiosity to make a trip to Northern Europe. The problem with entering the school as a guest was that the rules regarding the secrecy of its location were extremely strict, much more so than at Hogwarts. Even the students, Omegas had revealed to him during one of their early conversations, did not have access to that information, and the journey to and from the castle was undertaken by ship, mostly underwater, so that no one could memorize the surrounding environment.Severus and Omegas wouldn't be travelling by ship, however. She told him the night before they left, returning to their quarters with a satisfied smile."Where have you been?" he asked.He had waited for her in the Great Hall for dinner, but she hadn't shown up. Usually, when that happened, it meant she had spent her time either at St Mungo's or locked in her office, immersed in a now-dead investigation, but there was neither pain nor frustration on her face."At the Ministry," she replied calmly. "In the Auror Department. I spoke to Astrid."Severus frowned. "Why did you speak to Astrid?""I told her we intend to go to Durmstrang to continue the investigation," she replied, taking off her cloak and placing it on the wardrobe. "Technically, since we are investigating for her, we are entitled to a direct line, as well as a refund of all our expenses."He stood up. He looked down at her, perplexed, curious. "And you managed to convince her?"Omegas gave one of her best sly smiles. "Of course I managed to convince her, who do you think you're talking to?"He watched in amazement as she poured herself a drink and sat down in an armchair with nonchalance. He joined her, sitting opposite her and taking the glass she offered him."So how are we going?" he asked, trying to find his manners."By Floo Powder. The Ministry contacted the current headmistress, who agreed to connect one of Durmstrang's fireplaces to one in the Ministry," she explained. "Normally those passages are reserved for professors, but... I guess it helped that I'm a former student. And anyway, the new headmistress seems slightly more tolerant of foreigners than Karkaroff."That sentence suddenly made him realise two things he had never thought of before. First, the fact that Omegas had known Igor Karkaroff, albeit only as the headmaster of the school she had attended, and therefore another person besides Sylvia, McGonagall and Dumbledore had been part of both their lives before they met. The second concerned the word 'foreigners'. For the first time since he had met her, as he watched her sip with elegant indifference, he realised that in her eyes, he and everyone within the walls of Hogwarts were foreigners. He stared at her, perhaps a little more insistently than usual, and she didn't fail to notice. She looked over her shoulder in confusion, then narrowed her eyes."What?"He tilted his head slightly to one side. "You're not British," he murmured.She ran her eyes over his face. "No, I'm not," she confirmed. "I'm Austrian."They looked at each other, both equally confused. The pensive and vaguely awkward pause lasted for a while until Severus accepted the reality as undeniable and filed it away. He settled back in his chair and resumed his indifferent sipping."You speak excellent English," he remarked.Omegas, more astonished by that compliment than the entire previous conversation, raised her eyebrows and looked at him with wide violet eyes. She cleared her throat and regained her composure a moment later."Fery kind of you," she replied in a thick German accent.He let out a laugh and she soon followed."Have you never realised that I'm not from here?""No, I know that you were born in Nurmengard, and I know that Nurmengard is in Austria," he explained. "But I never made the connection."Omegas smiled. "Well, I'm glad to be a surprise while I still can," she chuckled. "I doubt I'll be able to once you've got a piece of my soul in your head."Severus fell silent for a moment. It was the first time she had brought up the subject so directly since the day they had discussed it, and with a joke no less. He decided to approach the exchange with the same nonchalance she was showing him."Do you think I will be able to speak all the languages you know?"She made a contemplative grimace. "I don't know, you might. You'll certainly speak Parseltongue.""Right," he said, betraying a great deal of excitement."Do you think I'll be able to fly?" she asked.He shrugged. "You don't need Horcruxes; I can teach you."Omegas blushed noticeably. "Y-you... can?" she stammered.Severus, almost certain he had inadvertently flirted, stared at her impassively for a few moments before nodding slowly. He spent the rest of the night reproaching himself for not suggesting it sooner.The next day, Saturday, Severus and Omegas made their way to Hogsmeade together with Sylvia, who insisted on accompanying them. She made sure to let them know, with a pout, that she and Sirius would appreciate being informed and even invited the next time the two decided to go on a trip. Omegas spent the next five minutes vividly listing everything she'd rather do than be forced to travel with Sirius Black, and Severus, behind her, occasionally added items to the list. This exchange made the following farewells much quicker and less affectionate than expected, much to their relief. They disapparated, entered the Ministry, and were escorted by Astrid to the Department of Magical Transportation, where a short, grey-haired man with round glasses was waiting by a fireplace. The Head Auror asked for an update on the case, and showed great dissatisfaction when she was told there was none; however, when Severus replied with an oily "Does the Auror Department have any developments on the case?", Astrid got defensive and hurriedly excused herself. The two watched her leave the office, exchanged knowing glances, approached the fireplace and nodded quietly to the man guarding it. Then, one by one, they stepped in, clenched their fists around a handful of Floo Powder, dropped it, clearly declared "Durmstrang" and vanished into the flames.It was the most intense journey he had ever experienced. It took no more than a minute, but in those few moments he saw more fireplaces flash by than he had ever seen before. When the right one finally arrived, he recognised it because he caught a glimpse of purple fabric slipping into it. He let the powder guide him, eventually emerging in a large black-bricked hearth. He stepped out and found Omegas on the other side, shaking off the ash and adjusting her bag on her shoulder. He glanced around and soon his eyes met those of a tall, stocky woman with bright red hair tied tightly at the back of her neck and an air that suggested she was not one to be antagonised."Ah, Guten Abend, Frau Professorin Tamm," Omegas said.She approached her with long strides and shook her hand warmly. That was the only sentence Severus could understand, mostly out of context; from then on there was a back and forth in German that was a mystery to him. He deduced, however, again from the context, that the two had moved on to introductions, as Omegas beckoned him to approach and Professor Tamm offered him a cordial hand. He took it and stood still, staring into the Headmistress' stern blue eyes as she spoke incomprehensible words to him. He looked to the woman beside him for help, and she returned his gaze with a puzzled expression. There was a moment of silence, which Omegas used to interpret the confused expression on Severus's face, realise something and raise a hand to her forehead.“Ach ja, richtig! Verzeihung, Frau Professorin, ich habe den Trank vergessen.”The other shook her head, showing the first hint of a smile since they had met. Omegas pointed her wand at her bag, waved it and caught a small glass bottle filled with a yellowish liquid which Severus recognised as the one he had seen at Malfoy Manor. She handed it to him and gestured for him to drink it.Severus was not, nor would he ever be, the type to drink vials of dubious and unknown contents simply because he was asked to. He hesitated, glancing at one woman, then the other, and sensing those two pairs of eyes watching him with growing impatience. He swallowed and finally surrendered, setting aside his principles and survival instincts in what he hoped would be recognised as an act of faith by his partner. He drank the potion, not quite knowing what to expect, and waited. Absolutely nothing happened, or so he thought. He was proven wrong by Professor Tamm's next sentence, which, besides being understandable, was spoken without a hint of an accent."Can you understand me, Professor?" she asked, her tone austere yet somehow reassuring.He looked at her, puzzled. He thought of answering 'yes', opened his mouth to say 'yes', and that was undoubtedly the word he uttered. But as it left his lips and reached her ears, Severus was almost certain he had just said "Ja." The Headmistress nodded and gave him a calm smile, glancing back and forth between him and her."It's a pleasure to have you with us," she said."It's a pleasure to be welcomed," Omegas replied.The other looked up at her. "You have learned your manners," she observed.She smiled. "I've grown up."The Professor nodded, turned and pointed at the door in front of them."I imagine you'd like to have your meeting as soon as possible," she said. "Professor Zakoten is expecting you."Omegas' face lit up at the mere mention of that name, and Severus' eyes rolled involuntarily."Do you know the way, Sylith?" the Headmistress asked.She looked at her. "Oh, yes," she replied with great satisfaction.She gestured for Severus to follow, and he greeted Professor Tamm with a cordial "Good evening, Headmistress" before following her down the adjacent corridor.Severus had more than one question in mind, and intended to ask them on the way to Professor Zakoten's office; but for the first few minutes of the walk, he couldn't open his mouth. Durmstrang was huge, much bigger than Hogwarts. Not just in terms of the number of classrooms, students or professors; the ceilings seemed to go on for miles; the walls, made of dark, rough stone, gave the impression of being in a long, vast, dimly lit cave, and the damp, cold air added an even darker tone to the already gloomy atmosphere. Severus was transfixed. It was like being in the dungeons of Hogwarts, endless and dark, and he soon began to wonder, if that was one of the main corridors of the school, what the actual dungeons of the castle must be like. When they arrived in front of the staircases, he automatically headed towards the one descending to the lower floor, but Omegas, with a broad smile on her face, motioned for him to stop."No, it's upstairs," she explained, pointing to the other staircase.Surprised, but still unable to utter a word, he changed direction and followed her.They climbed. They climbed for what seemed like hours, traversing shadowy corridors and weaving between dozens of students dressed in gold, silver, dark red, white or black uniforms, heavy cloaks and dark furs. Severus followed her, ascending step by step, until suddenly, as weariness clouded his wonder, he remembered each of the questions he had put aside."What was that potion?" he asked, trying to hide his breathlessness behind a steady tone."Oh, that!" she said enthusiastically, showing no signs of fatigue. "It's an invention of Professor Zakoten. He's travelled a lot, you know. Interesting, isn't it?"He maintained a facade of calm indifference. "Why were you using it at Malfoy Manor?"Omegas stopped abruptly. She turned to him with narrowed eyes and scrutinised him. "You've been rummaging through my stuff, Severus?"He raised an eyebrow. "It was on the table, in the middle of the cellar. I didn't have to rummage for it," he explained.She grimaced and looked at him sternly for a moment. Then she seemed convinced and continued walking."I did rummage after," he added with a grin.Omegas chuckled and shook her head. "I was reading a book, it was written in Arabic. It's not a language I speak and you still have my glasses. I want them back, by the way."Severus looked away vaguely. "How much further do we have to climb?" he asked, clearly trying to change the subject."That's the last one," she said, pointing to a small wooden spiral staircase at the end of a narrow, dark corridor.He nodded and followed her once more. At the end of the stairs, at the top of what must have been one of the highest towers in the castle, judging by their route, was a grey stone door that looked more like the entrance to a crypt than an office. Omegas looked at it with a wistful smile and ran his palm over its surface as if to caress it. Then she clenched her fist and knocked rhythmically nine times. She stepped back and watched as the stone door slowly opened.The office beyond was small, lit only by the yellow glow of a lamp on a long black marble desk, and as chaotic as few places Severus had ever seen. There were cauldrons, vials, bottles, containers, trunks, ingredients strewn all over the table, then books, scraps of cloth, quill feathers, and even, unless he was very much mistaken, a few leftovers here and there. Omegas stepped decisively inside, and he followed her with just a hint of hesitation. Once they were both inside, the stone door closed behind them, fitting perfectly into the passage they had entered and sealing the room. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but feel a pang of unease. Turning back to the desk, he did so carefully, swallowing softly.A black shadow rose from the darkest corner of the table and stretched until its distorted end reached the high, dark ceiling. It moved slowly to the centre of the room, revealing the man who had cast it. Professor Zakoten, tall and imposing with his greyish skin and long robe, towered over Omegas, doubling her height, and scrutinised her from above with intense dark eyes. They gazed at each other for a moment; then, almost in unison, they exchanged huge smiles."Wundergirl!" the Professor exclaimed.She chuckled, then stood at attention. "Sir, I formally request permission to hug you," she said in a forced tone of deference."Permission granted," he replied with a seriousness that clearly didn't belong to him.The Professor bowed and Omegas, rather than hugging him, threw herself around his neck and hung there until he placed his pale, frighteningly long fingers on her back. Severus would have felt uncomfortable under the circumstances if he hadn't been too busy being stunned. He watched the scene as if he were witnessing a pair of Dementors exchanging affection: mouths agape, brows furrowed, and not a word uttered. A few moments later, they broke the embrace and Professor Zakoten, his hands still on her shoulders, took a moment to observe her."Welcome back," he said in his deep voice.She smiled at him again, without a trace of her usual cunning. The Professor shifted his gaze from her to Severus."Ah, you must be Professor Snape, correct?" he asked, pointing a finger at him. He approached and the other resisted the urge to step back. "It's a pleasure, an immense pleasure, Professor," he declared.He held out a hand and Severus, not without swallowing a second time, took it and shook it."The pleasure is mine," he replied, more uncertain than he intended.As he recovered from the initial shock, thanks partly to the warmth with which his hand had been shaken, Severus studied him. Professor Zakoten was no different from how he had seen him in Omegas' memories: twice the height of an average man, even with his hunch, bald, with two long pointed ears and a row of sharp teeth that clashed with the smile that made them visible. What he hadn't been able to perceive in the memories, however, was the feeling that the Professor's presence occupied every inch of his small office."Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly, causing the other two to jump. "Please forgive my manners. I'm not used to receiving visitors, not anymore, am I?"He turned to the table and rummaged through the mess for a while before emerging with a wand in his hand. He waved it and placed two identical chairs in front of the desk."Sit, please, sit!" he invited them. "May I offer you something to drink, perhaps some wine? Is it wine time yet?" he asked, turning to Omegas."It's more like tea time," she said. "But if you ask me, well... it's always wine time."The Professor chuckled. With a second flick of his wand he opened a cupboard, with a third he piled all the things on the table into a corner, and with a fourth he placed a bottle and glasses in front of him. He sat down in his chair and folded his hands."Don't stand on ceremony, Professor," he said to Severus, gesturing for him to take a seat.Severus glanced at Omegas for confirmation, but she was too busy wandering around the room with curious eyes, so he decided to do as he was told. Professor Zakoten poured the wine into two glasses and handed him one of them. Severus took it and drank, then looked at the glass in amazement. It was the finest wine he had ever tasted. The Professor seemed to notice the change in his expression, and the odd smile on his face widened."This place hasn't changed a bit," Omegas remarked, running her fingers over the pile of vials in front of her. She picked up a glass and sipped at it with satisfaction. "How long has it been since you tidied up, Professor?"For a moment, Professor Zakoten showed a hint of embarrassment. "Well, I thought about doing it before I received you, dear, but why deprive you of such delight?"An intense light flashed in her eyes. "May I?"He nodded. "You may."He waved his wand again and a gramophone not far away began to play. A cheerful song that Severus, from what little he knew of Muggle music, placed in the 1950s echoed through the room. Without saying a word, Omegas pulled out her wand and began to float each of the objects scattered on the table onto the shelves behind the Professor."Well then," he began, shifting his gaze from her to Severus. "Part of your visit, I'm told, is motivated by an interest in my work with magical creatures."Professor Zakoten's eyes lit up with an almost obsessive passion as he said those words. Severus raised the glass to his lips again, took a sip and then put on his best, most solemn academic manners."I have studied your work extensively, Professor—""Oh, Gregorius, please," the other interrupted. "There's no need for formality. Having leafed through my books, you know me better than most of my colleagues. I doubt anyone else has bothered to do so.""That's not true, Professor!" Omegas interjected, now balanced on a ladder, arranging a stack of books."Have you read them?" he asked.She paused with one of the volumes in mid-air. "Well..." she whispered.He frowned at her."Only because he offered to," Omegas justified. "He was so interested, it would have been rude to stop him. Wouldn't it, Severus?"Embarrassed, he gave her a glare that she didn't notice, and tried to hide behind a stern demeanour. Professor Zakoten, however, was unperturbed; he bowed his head, smiled and, had his complexion allowed, Severus was certain he would have blushed."You're very kind, Professor Snape," he murmured.It was the first time in his life that anyone had called him that without being sarcastic.Shaken, but certainly not enough to betray his reputation, Severus cleared his throat and did not relent in his apparent rejection of formality."Your work on the origin and provenance of magical creatures is remarkable," he stated.Professor Zakoten did not betray a hint of bitterness towards that detachment. "I detect a note of scepticism," he observed.Severus nodded slowly. He took another sip and emptied his glass, the other immediately offering to refill it."In all my years of study and career, I have never come across such thorough information on the subject.""Ah," Professor Zakoten murmured, pleased. "Is that a compliment, Professor?"Severus started to speak, but fell silent a moment later.Omegas chuckled. "It's the closest thing to flattery you'll get, sir.""I'd better accept it then," he said.He turned his deep dark eyes back to him, clasped his long pale fingers and leaned forward slightly."Have you travelled, Professor Snape?"Severus returned his penetrating gaze, then turned to Omegas, whose impassive face offered no help."No," he finally replied. "Not as much as I could have. Not as much as I would have liked.""Hm," said the other. "I see. It's an experience I recommend you have while you're young. You see, I've always been a great enthusiast for academia, for research... that feeling you get when you turn a page, among the shelves of a library, knowing that what you hold in your hands is new, unknown. Something to learn, to make your own..."He paused briefly, dreamily, lost in a thought that seemed too intense to put into words."But academia has its limits, Professor Snape, and these coincide with what those who participate in it are willing to do to enrich it," he continued. "There is knowledge, in places far removed from the academic. In dark corners of lands of long forgotten names, far more than can be found within the walls of this castle. Or yours."He gave him a warm smile, the first that Severus didn't find unsettling."It's our duty to ensure that as many curious minds as possible have the chance to learn about it, don't you think? Even if it's just one man..." he added, casting a meaningful glance at Omegas.She stopped dusting a shelf with a cloth and returned his gaze with a cheeky smile. "Oh, come on, I've read all your books except the ones about magical creatures. They're not for me and you know it.""Hm..." the other muttered and turned back to the man in front of him.Severus wished to retort with a sharp remark, one that would be incisive enough to regain control of the conversation and steer it back on the path he intended, but as hard as he tried, he could not find anything to say that expressed even a hint of disagreement. Instead, he remained silent for a while, watching the man before him with new, curious, almost awed eyes. The only objection he could finally muster was: "I'm not young."Professor Zakoten leaned back slightly, making a face. "Nonsense. You have your whole life ahead of you," he said.Severus got the impression that there was some sort of implication behind that statement; one he found himself agreeing with, assuming his immediate plans went well. He would indeed have the rest of his life to travel, to discover, to experiment, without the fear that had kept him from doing so all his life: the fear of death. He would have the rest of eternity. He lingered on that thought for so long that when Professor Zakoten spoke again, it felt as if he had been absent."So tell me," he said, turning to Omegas. "What makes a mind so extraordinarily disinterested in the subject suddenly interested in my work on magical creatures?"She smiled and began to descend the ladder she had climbed."There's a boy," she explained."A boy?" he repeated.She nodded. "A boy, yes. His soul has been torn from his body, extinguished, but not of his consciousness. Only of his light. Have you ever seen such a thing, in any of your lands of long forgotten names?"Professor Zakoten suddenly averted his gaze. He shifted it to an undefined point in the room, pensive, immersed in a reflection that seemed almost dense in its intensity."Twice," he whispered at last.Severus and Omegas frowned in unison. They looked at each other, then turned their eyes back to the Professor."Twice?" she asked in shock."Yes..." he murmured. "Twice."The cloth Omegas was holding fell to the floor, and she didn't bother to pick it up. She moved the only empty chair, sat down and folded her hands in her lap."What is it? The creature, I mean. The one capable of doing such a thing," she asked in a whisper.The Professor looked at her and gave her a cryptic smile so similar to hers it was almost disturbing. He didn't answer, turning slowly to Severus."How many of my books have you read, Professor?""Nineteen," he replied. "All but one.""In chronological order?" the other asked.Severus frowned. "Yes," he admitted, nodding. "How—""Read the last one," he suggested. He turned to her. "Read it together. I assume you'll be sharing a room tonight."Omegas flushed. "H-how on earth..." she stammered."You brought him here," he replied with a smile. "You've never brought anyone here before."She seemed slightly irritated. "Well, you never leave here except to teach, and he wanted to meet you, what was I supposed to do?"He shrugged. "What did you do with anyone else who showed the same curiosity?""I called them names," she replied."Something you chose not to do with him because..."He gave her a penetrating look, which she returned with narrowed, suspicious eyes. After a moment, a slow smile appeared on both of their faces."I've missed you, Professor, you know that?"He chuckled softly. "I'm sure you have, dear."He stood up and the other two followed, almost involuntarily. He stopped in front of Omegas again and looked up at her."What have you done with your hair?""I cut it, sir," she replied with a grin. "What have you done with your hair?"Severus' eyes widened as he observed the Professor's bald head, half immersed in shadow. He felt an urgent need to either advise Omegas to run, or to run himself. Surprisingly, however, Professor Zakoten chuckled."A menace as always, Wundergirl," he murmured affectionately.Omegas lowered her head in what resembled a small bow.Professor Zakoten moved to the centre of the room and looked at them in turn."You must be hungry, I won't keep you any longer. You strike me as the type who would appreciate the fourth table, Professor Snape."Severus, who had absolutely no idea what the other was referring to, decided to voice only part of his confusion."You're not coming?" he asked, frowning.Professor Zakoten smiled again and lowered his head. "How very kind."Severus, now totally bewildered, looked at Omegas and noticed that she was giving him a very different look from her usual one. He watched as she cleared her throat and gave her professor an unflinching smile."I suspect we'll want to talk to you again once we've read the book," she said.He nodded. "I'd be unpleasantly surprised if you didn't.""Any time?" she asked."You know where to find me," he replied."Always."She turned to Severus and gestured for him to leave. He turned and looked again at Professor Zakoten, holding out a hand."Good evening, Professor," he said, as stern and solemn as ever."Good evening to you, Professor," the other replied warmly.Omegas gave nine more rhythmic knocks on the stone door, and a moment later it began to open slowly. Severus cast one last glance at the room behind him; Professor Zakoten, huddled in a dark corner of his office, seemed to have almost vanished. Finally, he turned and followed Omegas down the spiral staircase.They had reached the bottom of the first of many long staircases that would take them back to the ground floor when Severus regained the mental stability to catch up with her and extend an arm to signal her to stop. She obeyed and looked up at him with a broad smile, waiting. Only then did it occur to him that he hadn't mentally prepared himself for the possibility of asking a question, and he thought for a moment."What exactly happened in there?" he asked.The smile on Omegas' face took on its usual cunning traits. "Hard to say." she replied. "It's always like that with him. He likes to be mysterious. Annoying, isn't it?"Severus raised an eyebrow, and in the moments that followed he silently called her a hypocrite in every non-verbal way he managed. She didn't seem to notice, lost in her thoughts, and moments later he found himself joining her."He called me... kind, " he whispered.Omegas chuckled. "Yeah, don't overthink it," she said casually. "You'll end up believing it.""And what on earth was that wine?""Hm?" she said."The wine," he repeated. "It was... delicious.""Yes," she nodded. "I know. Don't ask him where he got it, you won't get a satisfactory answer.""And what's the fourth table?""Oh, that!" she exclaimed. "Yes, the houses at Durmstrang are divided by nationality. Each table serves the food of the house that it hosts. The fourth is mine, which means Professor Zakoten thinks you're the type who appreciates either Austrian, Greek, Cypriot, Macedonian or Hungarian food," she explained. She shrugged. "Shall we find out if he's right?" she finally asked, resuming her descent down the stairs.Severus hesitated for a moment, but then followed her, weaving between the students as he struggled to keep up."I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we really do have to go back there," she said after a while, in a falsely relaxed tone that he had come to know well. "If he says we'll need some clarification after reading the book, it's because he knows what he's talking about. I'll try to be brief, we won't stay long."He frowned in surprise. "Why not?"She laughed softly. "Well, you didn't come here to stay and chat, did you?"Partly because of the surreal atmosphere around him, partly because of the disorientating events, Severus realised that he had let the next sentence slip out only after it had already happened."It's not a problem," he said firmly. "I like him."Omegas stopped so abruptly that the other continued to descend a few steps before realising it. He turned and climbed back up to reach her. If the creature they were hunting had suddenly appeared in front of her, she would have looked less startled. Severus waited, motionless, for her to find her voice."You... you like him?" she murmured, as if afraid that saying the words would make them less true.Severus met her astonishment with a rigid stare. "That's what I said, yes," he said inflexibly.The astonishment didn't leave Omegas' face. She moved closer and studied him closely, as if looking for the obvious confirmation that would allow her to declare the statement a lie. She didn't find it. She narrowed her eyes and didn't speak for the next two minutes."Are you deliberately trying to make me happy, Severus?" she asked accusingly.He allowed himself a half-smile. "Yes," he admitted. "But not now.""You like him?" she repeated incredulously.Severus shrugged. "He's odd," he explained simply.Omegas finally surrendered to the honesty of his words. She found her sincere, broad smile and took his hand. He might have been pleased by that, if she hadn't made him walk down the stairs at twice the speed of an average human being.They went for dinner some time later, and Severus discovered a love for Greek cuisine. He spent most of that evening wondering how it was possible for Professor Zakoten to have information about him that he himself was unaware of. He was irritated, but only for a moment, and soon found himself drawn in by the fascination. He looked around, letting his eyes rest on each of the cold, long marble tables, on each of the high chandeliers, imposing but not quite enough to light the room as one would expect. He watched Omegas eat happily and converse cheerfully with the Headmistress, in the area of the table reserved for teachers. Then he looked out the windows, where a thick layer of snow almost reached the windowsill, and a strong winter wind bent the trees in the dark park. Severus knew they wouldn't sleep that night, absorbed in the reading of a mysterious book, searching for the solution to an investigation that had become frustrating. He also knew that they had more than one situation to deal with, and that it wouldn't be easy. It was only then that he realised the true gravity of the actions he was about to take and their possible consequences. Once again he felt like a lonely man with a secret, at odds with the rest of the world, only this time he wouldn't be quite so lonely. He turned again and saw Omegas give him a sly, somewhat conspiratorial smile, as if she had read his mind. He returned it with one he hoped conveyed the same sentiment and resumed eating, for the first time in months feeling that, somehow, everything was going to be alright.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once they reached the quarters that Professor Tamm had provided for them, Severus and Omegas almost immediately plunged into reading the twentieth and final volume of the series, the one dedicated to Egyptian mythology, and they didn't speak for several hours. The only thing she gave him, when halfway through the reading the effects of the Translation Potion began to wear off and he was forced to wear Professor Zakoten's glasses to continue, was a particularly intense, surprisingly eloquent look and a low, slightly suggestive, "You know what? Keep them."Severus opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, swallowed, and finally fell silent with a sheepish air that he was not at all proud of.The two had made an error of judgement, which they only realised after finishing the last chapter and agreeing that they had found nothing of interest in those pages. They had started with the last part of the text, the third, assuming that if the solution was indeed there, it had to be hidden among the pages listing the creatures whose existence had only been hypothesised, given the nature of the attack. They were wrong. Having reached that conclusion, they turned the pages back to the beginning of the second part, convinced that among the list of extinct creatures they would find a name, a description of characteristics that would explain Noah's mystery. They were wrong again. They exchanged a questioning look, narrowed their half-closed eyelids and silently agreed to concentrate on reading the first part. Severus deduced from the woman's furrowed brow that she must have been sharing his perplexity. The first part should have been about well-known creatures, the less interesting ones; he himself, when reading the other volumes in the series, often found himself skipping over some of those chapters. Not this time, though, as Omegas didn't give him the chance. They read about Griffins, Sphinxes and even the Basilisk, which seemed to be a descendant of an ancient creature known as Apep. Then, on reaching the last page of the chapter, which contained an extraordinarily detailed drawing of a gigantic snake, Severus turned it over and suddenly everything became clear.Dementors, read the title. The two stopped. Severus, the book resting on his legs, slowly turned towards the woman lying on the bed beside him and found a pair of wide eyes and an excited smile that fully conveyed the feeling she was experiencing."Did you know that Dementors are of Egyptian origin?" she asked.He shook his head, confused. "No one knows the Dementors' true origins," he muttered.She grinned. "Well, someone obviously does."Severus shifted his incredulous gaze from her to the book. Dementors had been a personal obsession of his. He had studied them, researched them, observed them closely. He'd researched, read every text he could find on the subject, not that there were many, and had taken the liberty of declaring himself one of the foremost experts on the matter long before he'd even finished his studies at Hogwarts. Now, with that page in front of him, the irritation he should have felt at the thought of someone knowing more about it than he did was overshadowed by an overwhelming, invasive wave of trepidation he hadn't felt in a long time. He tried not to show it, but his hand trembled slightly as he raised the book again for them to read.He didn't stop trembling as he turned the pages, and that feeling, that spark that he thought had been extinguished at the age of eighteen, rekindled. He read more quickly and with more interest than he had even when holding a text that promised to reveal Omegas' origins. He read of ancient roots, much older than anyone had assumed; of the Egyptian view of death as noble, admirable, a goal to be achieved rather than an enemy to be fought or avoided. Then he read about a punishment. An eternal punishment, the worst, the most terrible that a soul could be condemned to, reserved for those who had dared to try to escape it. He read about a ritual, a hypothetical one, the details, methods and ingredients of which even the author did not know, whose purpose would have been to extinguish the soul of a wizard or a witch, condemning them to wander forever, consuming the light of others, ultimately escaping death forever, but paying the price for their audacity. A practice, according to Professor Zakoten's research, lost for millennia; banned in more recent, yet still ancient times, because deemed worse than death itself, and with the individuals once condemned serving as a warning to future civilisations. The moral of such a tale varied according to the people and times in which it was told; from those who saw it as a warning for anyone daring to defy death, to those who interpreted it as a caution against pursuing justice too far, thus turning the persecutors themselves into executioners. On one thing, however, all seemed to agree: the dead and silent warning, the legacy of that ancient legend, still present in Asia, Africa and some areas of the Americas, were known as Dementors.When Severus finished reading, he emerged from his trance-like state and realised that Omegas had already been done for a while. She had gotten up and was pacing at the foot of the bed, hands clasped behind her back, the absorbed expression of someone barely aware of her surroundings. She continued for a while and he, still quite dazed, could only follow her with his eyes. Finally she stopped. She planted her feet firmly on the floor in the middle of the room, turned to him, fixed her unusually serious violet eyes on him, and spoke in a casual tone that was completely inappropriate to the magnitude of the discovery."Am I mad, or does it make sense?"Severus blinked a few times, swallowed, then looked back down at the book in his hands."Yes," he murmured.She walked around the bed, hopped onto the mattress and sat cross-legged in front of him."It can't make sense," she said. "If it were true, everyone would be talking about it. It would be a sensational discovery, there would be dozens if not hundreds of academic papers written about it.""Yes," he repeated, suddenly unable to utter another syllable."Then why does it make sense?" she went on. "It fits with everything we know about Dementors. Their age, their abilities, their functioning, the fact that they can't die, it even fits with the fact that they're always the same individuals, counted and monitored."Severus nodded, in an effort to avoid muttering a third 'yes'; then he looked up at her again and found her watching him with some concern."You have to tell me honestly if you think it makes sense or if that man has gotten into my head."He swallowed a second time and had to work hard to get out of his thoughts and actively participate in the discussion."It makes sense," he confirmed. "Hypothetically... it's practically impossible to confirm the theory without knowing the alleged ritual, but it's..." he hesitated for a moment before pronouncing the next word. He discarded 'exceptional' and 'extraordinary', then 'incredible' and even 'astounding'. "Plausible," he concluded.Omegas stared at him for a few more moments, then turned to look at the wall to her right."Maybe he got into your head too," she murmured.The sentence brought him back to earth, if only partially. He looked at her gravely."Nobody gets inside my head," he spat.She turned abruptly and flashed one of her usual cunning smiles."No, they don't," she whispered dreamily, moving her eyes up and down his face.Severus shifted quickly, almost dizzily, from irritation to confusion to flattery to something he didn't have time to explore. Omegas got up from the bed, reached into her bag, pulled out the same yellowish potion she had given him a few hours earlier and tossed it to him. He turned it over in his hands."Why?" he asked."We're going to see Professor Zakoten."Severus frowned. He glanced furtively at the clock to his left, then back at her."It's three in the morning," he observed."We need answers," she continued, not acknowledging his remark. "What is he suggesting? That someone tried to perform the ritual on a student? Why would they do that? And why the blood? Why didn't the soul just extinguish itself, but separate from the body? And we haven't even asked him about the Horcruxes yet..."She went on for a while until Severus, convinced there was no other way to stop her, got up from the bed and stood in her way. Omegas suddenly found a pair of deep black eyes focused on her and started slightly."What?" she asked.He studied her face in silence. "You're nervous," he observed.She made an irritated grimace. "I'm not nervous," she said, in a tone that conveyed far more nervousness than she intended.Severus continued to stare at her with that silent, penetrating gaze until she huffed in resignation and sat down at the foot of the bed with her head down."Fine, maybe I am nervous," she confessed.He approached her with measured steps and continued to study her reaction."I'm just a little..." she continued in a barely audible whisper. She took a deep breath. "Worried. About the case, about Noah, about Astrid constantly asking for updates, about the... damn responsibility. And of course about... well..." she gestured vaguely towards him.Severus watched the woman who had never shown him anything but calm since the day they met in an abandoned shack in the middle of a battlefield. He'd seen her bleed, fight, even die, yet that calm had only ever left her when she couldn't hold it in. Now, sitting before him, elbows on knees, curled up in a position that made her look as small as he had ever seen her, was a woman who was consciously giving herself permission to lose her calm in his presence. Severus deemed the sight more exceptional, more extraordinary, more incredible and more astounding than any possible solution to the mysterious origins of any dark creature, and in a gesture that was only partially involuntary, he hinted at a smile. She lifted her head and looked at him as if she had lost the ability to recognise him. She stood up, quickly taking on his same inquisitive manner."You're not nervous," she observed.The smile on his face widened slightly. "No."Omegas narrowed her eyes. "Why aren't you nervous?"He considered his next words and the tone in which he wanted to say them very carefully."It's going to be all right," he said firmly.Now completely taken aback, she tried to take a step back, almost tripping over the mattress behind her. She continued to carefully analyse his face; a few moments later she spoke again, carefully, softly, almost trembling."Are you... happy?"For the first time without being prompted, Severus gave her a genuine smile."I'm grateful."Omegas lingered for a few more moments, considering the possibility that the scene she was witnessing was some sort of vivid hallucination. Then, slowly, inexorably, an equally sincere smile spread across her face. There was silence for the better part of a minute."Is it alright with you if we talk to Professor Zakoten tomorrow?" he asked calmly."Yes," she replied, happy but still rather incredulous.Professor Zakoten didn't receive any visitors until the afternoon of the next day.When they finally stood before the stone door, Omegas clenched her fist and Severus once again counted nine knocks given at precise intervals. This time they found the owner of the small office not huddled in a dark corner, but standing behind the long, dark marble table, his long, pale fingers moving quickly over the cauldron. The room had returned to its previous chaos, at least as disorderly as it had been the day before, if not more so; there seemed to be no trace of Omegas' intervention. The gramophone was playing the same notes that had accompanied their departure less than twenty-four hours earlier, and in the meantime the Professor, lost in contemplation, was humming in his deep voice."We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again..."He didn't seem to notice their presence in the room.Severus turned to Omegas with a frown. "Isolation Charm?""No, he's just like that," she said.She approached him and waved her arms a few times before she was noticed."Wundergirl!"She smiled at him. "Professor.""Professor Snape," he greeted him, showing almost the same warmth."Professor Zakoten," Severus replied, perhaps betraying just a hint of comfort.He approached the table and observed the contents of his cauldron for a moment, taking care to do so in an unobtrusive manner. Judging by the chaotically scattered ingredients and the purplish colour of the liquid inside, it had to be a complex poison; so complex, in fact, that learning its antidote at Hogwarts was not even contemplated."I call it 'Fatuous Serum'," he explained before the question was asked. "I use it to assess students' understanding of the composition of poisons and their antidotes. It's made up of a long series of specific venoms, so the antidote is complex to produce, but their properties cancel each other out. That way, the exam is reasonably difficult, but if there were an accident..." He grabbed a ladle, filled it and drank the entire contents in one gulp. Nothing happened.Severus privately conceded that it was ingenious, but confined himself to a cordial nod to signal his understanding. Omegas, busy organising the other end of the table, spoke in a vague tone."My record?""Fourteen minutes," the other replied, "still undefeated."She flashed a satisfied grin. "Good," she murmured.Professor Zakoten set the ladle down, extinguished the flame beneath his cauldron, clasped his fingers on the table and gave them a meaningful look."So," he said calmly. "Questions?""A deluge," Omegas replied, now arranging a series of vials in chromatic order. "But I prefer to let my colleague speak. After all, this isn't technically my area of expertise." He smiled at Severus, inviting him to continue. He, for his part, had as many questions as she did. He observed Professor Zakoten, who now seemed to be giving him his full attention, and quickly considered which was the right one to start the conversation with. He took a few cautious steps towards the table, stood in front of him and made sure to look him in the eye, an effort that required him to raise his head considerably. He adopted the probing look he reserved for situations where it was imperative that he assessed the sincerity of the words directed at him; then he spoke."Is it true?"The Professor gave him a broad smile. "Ah," he said, pleased. "Straight to the point. I like it."He sat down in his chair and invited the other to do the same. Severus complied."I cannot prove the veracity of my sources," he explained, floating a glass of wine towards Severus, "mainly because it is impossible for me to reveal their exact involvement in the matter. What I can do, however, is give you my word, in the hope that it will be of value to you."Severus studied the kind expression on the other's face. It wasn't cryptic like Omegas', nor impassive like his own. It wasn't the face of someone trying to hide information behind vague answers. It was the face of someone playing with an open hand as long as he could. Unwittingly, perhaps guided by a sudden desire to believe, perhaps aided by his good humour, he trusted him. Anyway, he decided not to show it and resumed his questions."If the tale really has a solid foundation," he said, swallowing a sip of wine, "why have I never heard of it? Your book should be well known. It should be educational material."Professor Zakoten lowered his gaze and curved his lips in a smile that was part flattered and part embarrassed."Professor Snape..." he murmured. "You are extraordinarily kind."He took a brief pause, using it to regain the ability to maintain eye contact, and which served to make Severus realise that he had indeed, undeniably, been kind."The information isn't well known because the book hasn't been published yet," the Professor explained. "You are the first to read it."Omegas stopped arranging a series of cauldrons by size. She approached the desk and sat down in the chair next to Severus'."We're the first to read it?"The other nodded."Does that mean no one..." she continued, her tone lower than usual. "No one but us and you knows about this?""You, me and the people from whom I got the information," he confirmed.Omegas remained silent for a moment. She tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes."Why?" she asked. "Why give us such valuable information before it's made public?"Professor Zakoten suddenly grew serious, as he was rarely seen."There is a boy who is suffering," he said firmly."You don't even know the boy," she noted."I don't need to know the boy," the other replied. "We've talked about it, Omegas. Empathy. Remember?"She rolled her eyes. "Empathy, of course," she muttered.She stood up and resumed her task. The Professor gave her a reproachful look. It wasn't like the one Severus had found himself giving her over time, nor the one any teacher would reserve for a student. It was more like the loving scolding of a father who didn't have the heart to reprimand his daughter. He decided to wait until the other's eyes rested on him again before continuing."You mentioned two occasions when you witnessed something similar to the boy's condition," he said, maintaining his usual coldness.The other nodded. "I did.""I assume it was on those occasions that you learned your information.""That's a good assumption."Severus ignored the compliment. "In those circumstances, did anyone attempt to perform the hypothetical ritual on the victims?"Professor Zakoten was silent for a few moments. He gave him a slow, broad smile and turned to Omegas."He's asking the right questions!" he remarked, pleased.She didn't stop polishing the cauldron in her hand, but allowed herself a small smile. "I know, right?"The other turned his full attention back to Severus. "No, Professor Snape, the ritual was not performed on the victims," he said now with a confidential air. "The victims were collateral damage."Severus frowned. "Collateral damage?"The Professor nodded. He waved his wand and poured himself a glass of what looked more like pumpkin juice than wine. Then he leaned forward slightly with a clear, perhaps unexpected, amount of interest in the conversation. Severus felt somewhat pleased, though he tried to hide it from himself."The ritual we're discussing is not magic as we know it today," he murmured. "It is ancient magic. Much older than any practice described in an ordinary Dark Arts or Defence Against the Dark Arts manual. We're talking about magic that can have repercussions on those who perform it, those who suffer it, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around."Severus leaned forward as well. "Is that what you think happened to Noah?" he asked. "That he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?"Professor Zakoten hesitated for a moment. "Yes," he said then. "That's what I think happened to Noah."A long silence followed the statement. Severus couldn't put his finger on why he felt the phrase was so laden with unspoken meaning, given that it was perhaps the most explicit that had been directed at him, but he could sense it."So," Omegas interjected, displaying her usual untimely calmness. She had returned to sit beside them, but the two, deep in conversation, had not noticed her. "What you're saying is that an unknown subject A tried to perform an unknown ritual on an unknown subject B, and that Noah... what, witnessed it?"The Professor looked at her and settled back into his chair. "No, that's not what I'm saying," he replied with the same calm. "It is unlikely that anyone would even think of doing such a thing within the walls of a school, let alone succeed without attracting attention. We're not talking about something that can be done in secret, not like that."She frowned. "Then what are you saying?"He shook his head. "Nothing. I don't have enough data to say anything," he explained. "All I can tell you is that on the two occasions I have come across something like this, at least one of the people involved had something to do with the ritual."There was silence as they each pondered their thoughts. Professor Zakoten's seemed to recall a distant memory; Omegas and Severus', however, drifted inevitably and simultaneously in the same direction. They looked at each other, communicating with a telling look that they had something to discuss. The Professor in front of them glanced between them a couple of times, then offered a smile that, sharp teeth aside, seemed almost tender."Is there anything else I can do for you?"The two turned to him."Yes, actually," Omegas said. She stood and began to walk slowly, in the way she usually did when she was trying to attach little importance to something she believed would be perceived the opposite way. "Do you know how to create a Horcrux, Professor?"Severus betrayed a flash of surprise. He hadn't expected her to ask so casually, but more importantly, so directly. He quickly turned to Professor Zakoten, expecting to find disapproval, disappointment or even anger on his face, but found none of the above."Yes," he replied calmly. "It requires splitting your soul and putting a part of it into something.""Hm," she murmured, her hands clasped behind her back. "And do you know how to do that? Put it into something, I mean."Professor Zakoten was silent for a moment."Do I want to know the reason behind this question, Wundergirl? " he asked.She smiled slightly. "In theory, it's to find a way to help the boy," she explained. "In practice, no."Severus, increasingly astonished, swallowed and looked back at the Professor. He was still smiling."I see," he said quietly. "I'll see what I can do."Omegas stopped in front of the desk, looked him in the eye and gave him a smile almost identical to his own. "Thank you."The other nodded.A moment passed before the Professor stood and first gave each of them an affectionate glance."I imagine you'll be returning to Hogwarts soon."Severus stood as well. "We are indeed."He paused, considering for a moment whether or not to ask the next question. This time he was fully aware that it would make him sound kind, but he decided to ask it anyway."If you'd like to come and take a closer look at the case, perhaps to gather more data for your research, I can speak to the Headmistress and arrange your stay."He ignored the astonished look from Omegas and made every effort to remain impassive at the sight of Professor Zakoten's large, grateful dark eyes."At the risk of sounding redundant, Professor Snape, you truly are... exceptionally kind." He turned to Omegas. "You could learn something from him, dear."She raised her arms with a bewildered look on her face, then dropped them to her sides and huffed. The Professor turned back to Severus."Nothing would please me more than to accept your offer, but unfortunately I would risk arrest if I attempted to cross the border into the United Kingdom, at least for the next... what year is it?" he asked, turning to Omegas."Two thousand and one.""Oh, really? Just over a year left!" he exclaimed excitedly.Severus frowned and shifted his gaze from her to him. He considered asking why, but realised he didn't want to sound pushy.The Professor approached Omegas in the middle of the room."Well then..." he said vaguely. "We'll meet again, dear."She smiled and nodded slowly. She was silent for a moment, as if pondering, then she started slightly."Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot..."She fumbled in her bag and pulled out a bottle filled with a greyish liquid. She handed it to him. He took it and held it up to the light for a moment, almost hitting his head on the ceiling."What is it?" he asked."The potion. Your potion," she replied.Professor Zakoten froze. He turned to her with the bottle still in the air and a pair of dark eyes larger than ever."My..." he whispered. "My... potion? The... the one that can..." but he couldn't go on.Omegas, confused and now slightly uncomfortable, looked around briefly."Separate soul and body for a short time, yes. It's not perfect though. It has the side effect of a feeling of despair that can last anywhere from three hours to two—"She didn't have time to finish the sentence. Professor Zakoten, with his over two metres in height, had lunged at her and more than hugged her, practically enveloped her."Wundergirl..." he murmured.He didn't let go for at least a full minute, and Severus was almost certain he heard him sniffle. That moment of vulnerability didn't seem to embarrass him, though, for when he offered his hand to say goodbye, he did so with his head held high and a new-found broad smile.As they descended the stairs that would take them back to the ground floor, Severus overheard some students addressing a certain Professor Salim in rather unflattering terms; a conversation that not only triggered his natural instinct to deduct points from their house, even though he didn't even know which one it was, but also made him realise that the potion was beginning to wear off, as he could only understand half of the insults. He caught up with Omegas, who as usual seemed to float down the stairs rather than walk, and decided that they might as well have the conversation along the corridors, since it was likely that no one would understand them. She waited for him to catch up and offered him the unflappable smile she always wore in public. He returned it with his usual impassive look and got straight to the point."Someone has performed the ritual, but not on Noah," he explained. "It's the creature, the one that attacked him. It's a Dementor, but not entirely a Dementor. A living Dementor, one capable of bleeding. It makes sense."She nodded. "Yes, it does make sense," she confirmed. "If something went wrong, or if the ritual wasn't done properly, it could have created... something. Something unknown. But it doesn't explain why this hypothetical something would be hiding at Hogwarts, it doesn't explain how it's hiding, where it's hiding, or why it's doing what it's doing.""No, indeed," he said thoughtfully.He turned to find her equally lost in her thoughts, traversing the corridor in an automatism."Do you think we should warn Astrid?" she asked after a while. "About the ritual, I mean. About the creature."He considered for a moment. "No," he said, shaking his head. "We should let her read the book. Reveal unpublished information to her. We can't do that, Professor Zakoten—"He was forced to stop. Omegas had halted in the middle of the corridor and was giving him a perplexed look. Severus turned and took a few steps back, standing in front of her."What is it?""What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked in astonishment.He blinked a few times in confusion. "What do you mean?"She gestured around them with sardonic flair. "You offer to host him, tell him his research should be study material, and then worry about keeping his unpublished work safe. You're being kind," she said as if it were the most serious accusation.She walked slowly towards him, stopping a hair's breadth from his nose."You are not kind. You remember that, don't you?"Severus, caught between irritation and embarrassment, tried not to meet her gaze."It's... being away from Hogwarts, I suppose," he murmured vaguely.She raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"He avoided her eyes more resolutely. Omegas continued to scrutinise him for a moment, then resumed walking decisively down the corridor."We'd better hurry back then."He, still confused, frowned and quickened his pace to catch up. "Does it bother you?""It obviously does," she spat.He grinned. "Why? Do you prefer me bitter as usual?""Yes," she replied firmly.Severus, who had asked the previous question with a good dose of irony, turned to face her, so distracted by her answer that he almost bumped into a student."Really?" he asked, stopping again.Omegas looked up at him. "Of course."He studied her for a moment. "You don't want me to be kind," he said, this time more as a statement than a question."No, I don't," she confirmed. "It's weird. Not in a fun way. Please, can we go now?"Severus continued to study her impatient face, finding nothing but the usual unknowing honesty that accompanied her when they had such discussions. He allowed a small smile to escape, then quickly suppressed it. He regained his severe gaze and stood upright."Stop telling me how to behave," he ordered sternly.Omegas' expression quickly turned into a smirk."And wipe that smug grin off your face," he added. "Go."Her smirk didn't falter. She held out an arm, took his hand, and walked down the corridor again. He made sure to find at least three different topics to bicker about by the time they reached the fireplace that would take them back to Hogwarts.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Back at Hogwarts, it didn't take long for him to lose any desire to try to be kind. One Wednesday morning, while Severus was teaching a fifth-year class of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, a third-year student entered the room without knocking, earning himself a murderous stare; interrupted the lesson without raising his hand, costing Ravenclaw five points; and finally had the nerve to protest, earning himself a clearly longed-for week of detention. He informed Severus, with an impertinent manner that almost cost him another five points, that a student named Hallow was wanted in Professor Barbosa's office. Severus pointed out that Professor Barbosa could have waited until the end of his lesson, as it would soon be lunchtime, and the other replied that he had been sent to call the boy as a matter of urgency. The Professor, not without an irritated scowl, was finally forced to let him go. He spent the rest of the lesson, which he had originally planned to devote to a theoretical explanation, interrogating the remaining students for the sole purpose of seeing them turn pale, and was only satisfied when Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had lost an even number of points, which by then had reached around twenty.
The bell had barely finished ringing before Severus, determined to vent the frustration he hadn't been able to take out on the students, hurriedly and somewhat melodramatically left the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and made his way to the first floor. He descended the stairs with a scowl even more severe than usual and, upon reaching the right floor, spotted Omegas ascending the steps below, her unflappable smile slightly less unflappable than usual. She reached him in less than ten seconds, paused before him, glanced vaguely at the corridor behind him, then studied the frown on his face.
"Has she stolen a student from you too?" she asked, hiding a note of bitterness.
"Yes," he replied, not making the same effort. "I think it has something to do with the case."
She frowned. "Why?"
"She took Hallow. I heard a girl say a few months ago that he's a friend of Noah's."
"Ah."
Omegas walked down the corridor, and Severus followed her.
"Who did she take from you?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't know."
He frowned. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"A sixth year girl... Gryffindor, the one obsessed with Arithmancy, what's her name? Po... Pa... something."
"Paddon?" he suggested.
She pointed at him. "That one."
Severus had to suppress the first hint of a smile in hours. "How can you remember her favourite subject but not her name?"
"Do you remember the names?"
"No," he replied with a shrug, "I can't remember either."
Omegas chuckled. "I don't know, I've always been like that. For the better part of my first year, you were 'Murder Glare'."
He put on a theatrical, only partially exaggerated look of offence.
"Didn't I deserve the privilege of being associated with a passion?"
She shook her head. "And how was I supposed to decide which one? You were good at everything."
Severus gave her a look somewhere between indignant and indulgent and decided to drop the matter, especially since they had reached Sylvia's office.
They didn't have to wait more than a few seconds before a pale blond boy with a round face and a tall girl with dark skin and a thick mane of black hair left the office without bothering to close the door behind them. Hallow and Paddon gave the two professors a curious look, but they were too busy leaning over their heads to observe the inside of the room to notice. Beyond the desk, covered with stones and gems, photographs and assorted items, hovered a whiteboard and a red marker, occasionally adding or crossing out something from what was undoubtedly a list. Facing it, with their backs to the two at the door, were Sylvia's long silver hair and the short, almost blindingly blonde hair of the Head Auror. Severus and Omegas exchanged a glance, both confused; then she entered without bothering to knock.
"Astrid?" she called.
The two turned. "Professor Grindelwald, Professor Snape," she greeted them cordially.
"Hi, Om," the other said. "Sev."
Severus stopped abruptly in his tracks towards the whiteboard and gave her a look worthy of the nickname Omegas had given him during her first year. The other didn't notice, though, as she had her back to him again.
"What are you doing?" Omegas asked.
"Professor Barbosa has offered to help me track down Noah's closest friends. The students he spent the most time with before..." she left the sentence unfinished.
Omegas frowned. "Why? It wasn't a student, we know that for sure," she observed.
The Head Auror gave her a vague look, as if trying to deflect. "The boy, it seems, had the unwise habit of revealing the prefects' bathroom password in exchange for help with his homework," she explained.
"Yes, I know," Omegas nodded, "I read the diaries. So?"
"So, we need to consider all possibilities. Someone among the people who had access to that bathroom could be involved. They may have helped this... creature, whatever it is, get in, or perhaps witnessed something."
She turned and resumed studying the names on the whiteboard.
"We had already spoken to the other prefects, but Professor Barbosa was kind enough to notify me when she read that particular passage in his diaries. I had missed it."
She gave Sylvia a warm smile, which she returned. Then the girl turned to the other two and found two identical reproachful looks directed at her, to which she responded with a shrug.
"And I suppose this remarkable display of diligence couldn't wait until the end of our lesson?" Severus interrupted, taking a step forward.
Astrid turned again, without losing a hint of her politeness, and bowed her head slightly.
"My apologies, Professor Snape. Unfortunately, the Auror Department is overwhelmed with work these days. My absence from the Ministry will only be tolerated for a few hours at a time."
Severus didn't like the answer. He judged it to be the barely credible excuse of someone far too full of themselves. The other, however, had been polite enough to prevent him from voicing his opinion, which only added to his irritation.
He shifted his gaze, finding it difficult to maintain it without betraying his irritation, and finally turned his attention to the whiteboard in front of him. The names written on it were not names at all; they were nicknames, almost titles. He managed to read 'The Number Girl' and 'The Flying Boy', both crossed out. Then there were 'The Charming Girl', 'The Little Potioneer', 'Almost Harry Potter' and at least half a dozen other names. Severus approached the list and studied it with ostentatious meticulousness.
"Yes, the boy didn't like to call his friends by their names," Astrid explained before he could ask any questions. "He seemed to make friends with the best in each subject so that they could help him, and gave each of them a nickname. Which makes things quite complicated."
"He was like you, Om," Sylvia observed, lost in thought.
The other, with a hint of an irritated scowl breaking her smile, circled the desk and sat beside her on the edge.
"He's not like me. His is a flattery; I do it because there's no room in my head for your names, Free Drinks Girl."
Sylvia chuckled and shook her head. "Well, 'Almost Harry Potter' must be Novak, right?" she said then, thinking aloud. "She's the best in the whole school at Defence Against the Dark Arts, everyone talks about her."
Severus wrinkled his nose. He hated the girl almost as much as he hated Harry Potter.
"Any idea about 'The Little Potioneer'?" Sylvia asked.
"There's a second year boy, Slytherin," Omegas explained. "Little. Very little, the smallest in his year. He's not bad. His name is... something with a G."
"Griffiths," Sylvia suggested.
"That one," Omegas confirmed.
"Hmm..." the other murmured. "You know, the only one I don't get is this 'Spaceboy'," she explained, pointing to the name on the whiteboard. "He's mentioned the most, but according to Aurora, there's no one particularly brilliant in Astronomy except Noah himself. It was the only subject he excelled at, why would he need help?"
Severus joined them, standing by their side. "Maybe it's him."
Omegas let out a small laugh. "He gave himself a title? Who would do that?"
He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, realising that the Half-Blood Prince had never come up in any of their conversations.
"Anyway," the Head Auror interrupted their thoughts. She had reached the wardrobe by the door and was pulling on a long leather cloak. "I'm afraid I have to leave you. I have to organise the expeditions into the forest."
Omegas frowned and joined her swiftly. "The forest?"
"Yes, the forest," Astrid repeated. "In case the creature is hiding there."
"But that doesn't make sense," the other objected. "The entire investigation is based on the assumption that if a Dementor had started wandering around the castle grounds, someone would have noticed. Besides, if it had managed to escape, it would be far away by now, not hiding in the Forbidden Forest."
"I know," the Auror nodded. "Unfortunately, the wizarding public didn't share this valid objection when I raised it. The entire magical community is after me."
The perplexity on Omegas' face increased. "So you're organising a pointless expedition into the forest because the magical community is mostly made up of idiots?"
Astrid stopped adjusting her cloak. With measured steps, she approached the woman in the middle of the room, letting her gaze linger on her face and gave a small smile.
"I'm the Head of the Auror Department, Professor Grindelwald," she declared in a lower tone than usual. "My job is to serve each and every one of you. Including the idiots."
With that, she gave her a particularly intense look that lasted much longer than the cordial ones she offered the other two, before taking her leave.
They stood in silence, all three of them, watching the door that Astrid had closed behind her, each with an equally astonished expression on their faces, but conveying very different feelings. Omegas, standing in the middle of the office, seemed confused. Severus, his arms crossed, kept his eyes fixed on the spot where Astrid had spoken a moment before, unable to hide the deep, visceral hatred that the interaction had provoked in him. Finally, Sylvia, with a meaningful smile, looked back and forth between the two of them.
"So..." she murmured, visibly suppressing a giggle. "Someone fancies Omegas."
"Indeed," Severus hissed through clenched teeth.
Omegas spun around. "She doesn't 'fancy' me," she spat.
Sylvia chuckled. "Believe me, I know that look. It's usually aimed at me."
The other huffed, moved to the desk and crossed her arms in a gesture almost identical to the man's. She was silent for a moment, then her expression changed from irritation to fear.
"How do I get her to stop?"
"I don't know," Sylvia replied. "Try telling her that you love her. It's worked with all the girls I've been with."
Omegas laughed, completely ignoring the hint of bitterness with which that sentence was pronounced, and the other seemed pleased. Severus, however, whose jealousy had at least partly dissipated after sensing the panic in Omegas' tone, turned his eyes to Sylvia in astonishment and stared at her until she noticed his gaze and returned it.
"What?" she asked.
The question sounded defensive and combative at the same time, almost as if she were challenging him to speak his mind, but the Professor was able to detect a hint of anxiety behind it. He quickly considered how to respond. In the blink of an eye, he regained his impassive gaze and looked up at her.
"You had the entire human population to choose from," he remarked in disgust, "and you chose Sirius Black."
Omegas laughed again and Sylvia, not before throwing him a glare, finally allowed him a tiny, barely visible smile.
It was Omegas who interrupted that exchange, and Severus was grateful for it; he was starting to get deeply uncomfortable.
"Who on earth is 'Professor Perfect'?" she asked, pointing at the whiteboard.
Sylvia turned around with a smug grin. "I'm afraid that's me."
The other rolled her eyes. "And why are you on the board? Planning to interrogate yourself?"
She started to answer, then looked away vaguely. "None of your business."
She waved her wand, and both the whiteboard and the marker disappeared, revealing a white frame on the wall behind them, with a smiling Garnet in the centre, his long golden hair flowing over the edge. The portrait winked at Sylvia, and she returned it with a melancholy smile.
Then she turned. "Lunch?"
"Yes," Omegas replied, without showing a hint of the emotion Severus knew that image had provoked in her.
Sylvia nodded, then turned to him. "Are you coming?"
"Yes," he replied.
Only when they had closed the office door behind them and reached the stairs that would take them to the Great Hall did Severus realise that he had accepted an invitation to lunch without the slightest hesitation.
He ate with a newfound satisfaction that had never left him since the day he dined at one of Durmstrang's tables. Omegas, on the other hand, played with the food on her plate and only occasionally took a bite or two. Sylvia, sitting next to her, looked at them in turn with a puzzled expression as she gracefully raised her fork to her mouth as usual, ignoring any food on the table that was an animal or derived from one.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, gesturing towards Omegas' plate.
She looked at her absentmindedly, as if snapped out of a trance.
"Hmm? Oh..." she murmured. "I have this sort of constant mild nausea."
Sylvia furrowed her brow. "Mmh..." she replied, unconvinced. Then she shifted her gaze to Severus. "What's wrong with you then?"
He swallowed a bite. "I have a sort of constant mild nausea too."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're eating three times as much as you usually do?"
"Yes," he said ironically, "usually it’s not mild."
The other two chuckled, and the sound of their good humour gave him a strange sense of gratification.
A couple of minutes later, Professor Sinistra entered the hall and Sylvia, excited, gestured for her to join them. Omegas rolled her eyes and moved her chair closer to Severus' so that she wouldn't have to join in the conversation between the other two; it was completely unnecessary, for the moment she sat down, the chatter began so densely that no one could have joined in even if they had wanted to. Omegas turned to him, smiled and for a few moments they simply looked at each other, enjoying one of their usual pleasant shared silences. Then Severus glanced at the other two and, seeing that they were too busy to pay him any attention, decided to discuss something that had been on his mind since their meeting with Astrid. He looked back into Omegas' eyes and gave a sly grin.
"Do you know what I've been thinking?" he asked.
The other returned his gaze with an equally penetrating look. She narrowed her eyes and was silent for a moment.
"You've been thinking that if the creature we're dealing with isn't entirely a Dementor, there's actually a possibility that it might have managed to cross the grounds unnoticed and might even be hiding in the Forbidden Forest."
Severus lost his grin and couldn't say anything for a few moments. He was used to receiving answers that showed a keen, almost telepathic perception, but not to this extent. He hesitated, and in those brief, astonished seconds, he even considered the possibility that she had read his mind, only to remind himself that if Lord Voldemort couldn't do it, neither could she.
"How..." he whispered, "how the hell..."
"I’ve been thinking the same thing," she said absently.
She took another bite, swallowed with a slightly disgusted look on her face, then abandoned her plate altogether and leaned towards him.
"We should investigate," she said. "We can't reveal the information Professor Zakoten gave us, which means that if the Auror Department organises their expeditions and the creature escapes because they're too busy searching for an actual Dementor, it will be our responsibility. We have to try."
Severus thought for a moment. It wasn't the concept itself that occupied his mind, but rather the sense of responsibility and duty he had expected to feel. He waited for it, prepared to face it, to deal with it, to hide it, but it didn't come. For forty long years it had caused a constant undercurrent of fear, and now, for some reason, it seemed to have suddenly decided to leave him alone. He knew that finding the creature responsible for the attack would allow them to study it, giving them a better chance of helping a boy in critical condition; Noah's well-being was in their hands. And yet, the thought of venturing into the forest in search of an unknown and certainly dangerous creature made him feel... alive. For the first time in his life, a stupidly dangerous, senseless and potentially fatal idea didn't worry him. It fascinated him.
"Tonight," he announced firmly.
Omegas gave him a satisfied smirk. She nodded with equal certainty, and only then did she resume eating with a hint of more contentment.
The rest of the day passed quietly, as usual. There were no further interruptions during his afternoon lessons, and when dinnertime arrived, Severus went to Omegas' office, as he did every evening, to go down to the Great Hall with her. She told him she wasn't hungry, however, which brought out at least a small part of the worry that had refused to surface for the rest of the day. He decided to express it, failing to find a good reason not to, with a cold, impassive, "Are you feeling well?" to which she replied with a sarcastic, "Yes, I'm fine, Severus. I'm not a bloody dog, I'm a snake," which should have irritated him but instead made him unexpectedly smile. They reached their quarters, waited for the clock to strike an hour that would allow them to leave the castle unobserved, and set off for the Forbidden Forest.
It was an early March night, cold but not unpleasantly so. The bitter wind that had accompanied the previous months was slowly giving way to a less intrusive chill, and February's snowflakes lingered as sparse traces here and there along the stubbornly bare branches of the trees above. Severus, wand in hand to illuminate the path before him, soon found himself retracing steps that now held a place of honour in his memory, losing himself in them as if he were walking along the uneven paths for their own sake rather than in search of some dark, frightened and dangerous creature. He looked up more often than usual, watching the silvery light of the moon filtering through the branches as if he were walking beneath it for the first time. Then, aided by the silence that, for whatever reason, had always accompanied them on this specific walk, he found himself watching the woman ahead of him. There was a veil of melancholy in her features, lit by the tip of her wand, but her mysterious smile had returned to its usual self, as had the lost air that Severus found himself sharing. He quickened his pace and walked beside her for a while, once again unsure of what to say, when to say it, but most of all how to start a conversation. He found himself casting a few furtive glances in her direction, just as he had years ago, suddenly forgetting everything they had shared since that distant moment. It didn't take long for her to notice and bring him back to reality.
She returned one of those looks with a puzzled expression. She looked up at him and burst into a small laugh.
"You're so damn awkward sometimes," she murmured.
She said it with such fondness in her tone that it was especially difficult to fake the irritation and offence he tried to counter with.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"We're out looking for a violent half-Dementor," she observed with a chuckle, "we've lived together for over two years and have literally agreed to exchange a piece of our souls, and yet somehow you still manage to feel embarrassed walking next to me."
Severus blushed visibly, if only for a second, before covering the awkwardness with an irritated scowl.
"Quiet," he ordered.
Omegas shook her head, amused.
It took him a while to return to his usual unyielding impassivity. When he did, he spoke as if the previous exchange had never happened.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"I don't know," she replied absently. "Let's walk and see what happens."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is this what I'm in for when we do it? Will I become the kind of man who 'walks and sees what happens'?"
Omegas laughed. "No amount of magic, however powerful and dark, could make you that kind of man, Severus," she said. "Anyway, you have time to enjoy your rigidity. Unless Professor Zakoten miraculously discovers how to create a Horcrux... we're nowhere near it, light years away. It'll take months. Years, more likely."
Those words, spoken with such frustration, not only brought him firmly back down to earth, but also reawakened a twinge of apprehension that had been lurking in a corner of his busy mind. He walked in silence for a while longer, searching for the guts to ask the question he had avoided for the past two months.
"Are you still convinced?" he finally asked in an uncertain whisper.
She stopped abruptly. She looked around for a moment, puzzled, then turned back to him with a frown.
"Of course I'm convinced. It's not whether we do it or not that worries me, it's how long it will take, assuming we succeed."
"Of course we'll succeed," he interjected, hiding the satisfaction her answer had given him behind a look of reproach.
There was a long pause, during which they walked in silence again, she with her usual unflappable air, and he with a newfound ease. The relaxed atmosphere was so pronounced that as the last words she had spoken echoed in his mind for the umpteenth time, Severus found no good reason to stifle the small laugh that escaped his lips.
She looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"How did you go from needing time just to admit you wanted to do it to impatience in just over two months?"
Omegas seemed to reflect on it for a moment; then she made a face and shrugged her shoulders. "I've come to terms with the idea."
He chuckled again. "You were quick."
"Yes, well... I adapt easily," she murmured. "It's not the worst thing I've agreed to, anyway."
He raised an eyebrow. "It isn't?"
She stopped. "Yes, it is," she whispered.
She stepped closer, as if to share a secret, her violet eyes shining in the dense darkness of the forest.
"It's a bit exciting, isn't it?"
Severus remained silent. He let his gaze sweep over her face with deliberate slowness and swallowed. A whole range of possible replies went through his mind, from a sincere 'You're completely mad' to a cold 'We're doing this out of necessity, not for the thrill of performing one of the darkest and oldest magics in history'. All he actually heard himself utter, though, was a barely audible, "A bit, yes."
Omegas gave him a smile that sent shivers down his spine for more than one reason, to which he responded with a colourless look he knew she wouldn't buy.
A distant noise interrupted their exchange. They both heard it, though it was still quite faint, and they turned in unison. When they looked back at each other a moment later, it had become recognisable. It was the sound of galloping hooves.
"Centaurs," Severus stated.
Omegas strained her ears in the direction of the nearby path. "Just one."
She wasn't wrong. Moments later, a single centaur with thick black hair, a long beard and a dark coat galloped swiftly in their direction, stopping a short distance away. For a few tense, static moments, no one spoke. Severus had never got on well with the creatures of the forest, especially the Centaurs; partly because his past identity as a Death Eater and the disdain magical society had for those considered 'hybrids' went hand in hand, and he had never bothered to correct those assumptions; partly because the creatures were notoriously reluctant to interact with humans, and his pride had always prevented him from considering their reasons. So, wand lit and clenched in his hand, he prepared himself for the possibility of having to fight, as did the woman beside him, though without losing her smile. Omegas took a step forward, to which the Centaur reacted with a snort that was anything but encouraging. Severus grabbed her arm and made her stop.
"Good evening," she tried, with a politeness that clearly wasn't being taken as such. "We are—"
"Professor Grindelwald and Professor Snape," he interrupted.
She was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. And you are..."
"Bane," he replied coldly.
"Bane," she repeated. She took another tiny step forward, which was again met with a threatening glare. "We're not here to cause any trouble, Bane. We're just—"
"You shouldn't be here," he interrupted again.
Omegas frowned. "Why not?"
Bane lifted his head and took a long, intense look at the patch of starry sky visible through the treetops.
"Access to the forest is forbidden, especially at night."
"Access to the forest is forbidden to students," Severus interjected, taking a step forward himself. "We are not students."
The Centaur looked up at him with such a mix of rancour and disgust that Omegas, standing beside him, felt the need to take another step forward and place herself between them.
"We're not looking for trouble," she repeated firmly. "In fact, we'd prefer to avoid it if possible."
Bane took a few steps towards her. "Then you shouldn't be on this side of the forest. It's not human territory."
Severus was about to intervene again, with twice the hostility that had been directed at him a moment before, to point out that this part of the forest, like every other inch of it, was neither human nor non-human territory; it was neutral ground, and anyone, regardless of species, had the right to tread its soil. He didn't have time to raise this legitimate objection, however, as she was quicker. She gave him a mischievous grin and came close enough to stop a hair's breadth from his nose.
"There's been a misunderstanding, I'm afraid," she whispered. "I'm not human."
Bane remained silent. He gave her a long, searching look, seeming to study every wrinkle of her face, every imperfection, every shade of violet in her eyes, illuminated by the light of her wand.
"Aren't you?" he asked.
"No," she replied calmly.
The Centaur seemed convinced. He stared for a few more moments, then took a step back, casting another malevolent glance at the man behind her.
"He is."
"He's with me."
Bane grinned contemptuously. "Your kind mingles with humans?"
"My kind would have disappeared millennia ago if it hadn't," she replied.
The Centaur hesitated for a moment, betraying a hint of what Severus read as heartfelt pity.
"You're a friend of Hagrid's," he said. It didn't sound like a question.
"'Friend' is a strong word," she muttered to herself.
"You're here for the boy who loves the stars?" the other asked.
Omegas' eyes darted to him. "Yes," she replied. "Do you know him?"
Bane nodded. "I've seen the way he looks at them. He understands them. He's not like most of you."
She nodded in return. "We're here to help him."
She took another step towards him, and this time he did not protest.
"You and your..." she hesitated for a moment.
"You and your family," she said, "know everything that happens between these trees, don't you?"
Bane nodded slowly.
"Any cryptic information to share?" she asked in a provocative way that Severus didn't like at all.
Bane looked down at her in a warning silence.
"This is no place for you," he finally declared solemnly. "I advise you to return to one that is."
With that, he gave her one last piercing look, him one last hostile glare, then turned and galloped away, soon swallowed up by the dense darkness of the forest.
Omegas turned to Severus with a satisfied smirk that would have irritated him if curiosity hadn't long since overtaken every other emotion. She approached him and gestured towards the nearest path.
"Shall we go?" she murmured.
"Where?"
The grin on her face took on its usual slyness. "To the place that is for us," she explained.
Severus turned to look at the path to their left. He knew that path; he had walked that uneven ground before. He understood and widened his eyes slightly.
"The tree?" he asked.
"The tree," she nodded.
He hesitated for a moment. He looked around, lingering a little longer at the spot where Bane had disappeared a moment before. He swallowed.
"He knows... do you think he saw us..." he couldn't finish the sentence.
"Probably," she said with obviously forced nonchalance. She turned and took the first step down the path. "Coming?"
Severus made one last disgusted grimace, his discomfort compounded by the thought of being spied on by Bane, or whoever it was for him, in one of his rare moments of vulnerability; then he forced himself to put the thought aside and follow her.
"How does he know the boy?" he asked.
They were almost at their destination and the surroundings were beginning to look familiar.
"I don't know," she replied, deep in thought. "Noah probably snuck into the forest. He wouldn't be the first or last student to do so."
"Hmm," he mused, unconvinced. "Do you think it has anything to do with the attack?"
She thought for a moment. "If a mysterious, unknown creature was hiding somewhere, it's more likely to be in the forest than in the castle," she observed. "Perhaps he stumbled upon it. Maybe he was followed."
"It doesn't fit with the theory that the creature was just frightened," he noted. "It would have been a deliberate attack. But for what purpose?"
"I don't know," she repeated, seeming pleased to say the words.
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you having fun?"
She grinned. "Oh, yes," she confessed.
Severus turned to her, looked her up and down, and let out a chuckle. "It must be pleasant living inside your head."
Omegas chuckled in return. "Wait and see."
He shook his head and didn't stop grinning until they reached the place they were heading for and a sight forced them both to stop.
The trunk was where it had always been. The first time they saw it, it was just a dead stump with a hollow in the middle; the second time, eerie and surrounded by a mystical aura, it was a real tree, tall, lush and yet bare. Undead. Then, when the Resurrection Stone had been removed from its roots, the trunk had collapsed and returned to the usual dark stump with the hole in the middle. Severus had carefully preserved this memory over the years, and he remembered in detail the position of the fallen trunk, every branch attached to it, every inch of ground that had trembled as it fell. The sight before him did not match the memory he had kept.
The stump in the centre of the scene was definitely just a dark trunk, and the hollow in the middle was undoubtedly the same as always. However, next to it, in addition to the trunk that had fallen to the right when he was holding the Resurrection Stone, was another. It had fallen to the left and crashed into a nearby oak, wedging itself between the now bare branches. Omegas lingered for no more than a couple of seconds before approaching decisively and placing the palm of her hand on the dark bark. She slid it along the entire surface of the rough wood until she reached the dead trunk in the centre. She knelt down and began to move a few handfuls of damp earth around the base of the stump. Severus joined her and looked down at an intricate tangle of roots, leaves and mud, but there was no sign of the black, perfectly smooth stone. Omegas raised her head and looked him in the eye.
"What do you think happened here?" she asked.
Severus swept his eyes over the scene. "What happened last time," he said.
She stood and wiped her hands on the dark green fabric of her dress.
"It means someone stole the Resurrection Stone," she observed. "It means it had been returned to its place."
She paused, looking at the space between two roots, as if expecting the stone to appear at any moment.
"It means that..."
"It means we need to speak to Harry Potter," Severus concluded.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
There were many reasons why the mere thought of meeting Harry Potter in the late afternoon of the following Saturday made Severus wake up in a foul mood. The first, and most obvious, was that it was Harry Potter, and that alone would have been enough to ruin any day for him. The second was that he had every reason to believe that the conversation he and Omegas were about to have with the boy would not be to his liking, and that he would therefore return to Hogwarts in a worse mood than he had been before he left. Last, but by no means least, was the bizarre relationship that Omegas and the boy had formed during the months when she had been away, which made him deeply uncomfortable. He was used to sharing that kind of opinion with her. If he didn't like someone, she usually didn't like them either; it had been that way with Sirius Black, with Lupin before their relationship became complicated, and with most people they'd met since they'd known each other. On the other hand, if someone was lucky enough to win her favour, which was rare in itself, Severus would eventually find a way to tolerate them. In time, of course, perhaps not with the same passion with which she shared his loathing, but those people eventually became part of his life, and that was far more than he was accustomed to allowing. It had happened with Sylvia, with Nodens, although he made sure not to show it, and with Professor Zakoten he had even gone so far as to declare, "I like him". Harry Potter, however, was an exception. Severus didn't like him. He never would. He would never be able to feel anything for the boy other than resentment, hostility and a deep sense of awkwardness, should the first two ever fade enough to make room for what they concealed. She, on the other hand, despite the fact that they had undoubtedly got off on the wrong foot, not only liked the boy, but there was an undertone of affection in the complexity of their relationship that made Severus nauseous. There was a discrepancy in the pleasant harmony that had been their approach to people, which had been nagging at him since Christmas, the last time he had shared a room with both of them at the same time, and he knew it would only get worse after the meeting scheduled for that afternoon.So when Severus reached his office to give Nodens one of his extra lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he did so reluctantly and with an even more irritated scowl than usual. The boy, as always, noticed but pretended not to. He sat on the other side of the desk and listened to him for the next half hour without saying a word. He didn't ask why the Professor had decided to explain Dementors despite them being well beyond the O.W.L. curriculum, nor did he dare ask where Omegas was and why she wasn't attending the lesson that Saturday. He just sat quietly, except for the occasional notes he scribbled in his notebook, and listened. Only when Severus walked around the desk, stood beside him and summoned his Patronus did the boy show any kind of reaction. He watched, fascinated as he rarely was, and kept his distance, almost as if he feared to be in the presence of something so extraordinary. The Professor was eerily reminded of himself when he first saw a silver doe soar above his head. He quickly dismissed the thought, gave the boy a colourless look and spoke in his usual cold tone."Out with your wand," he commanded.Nodens obeyed without the slightest protest. Severus told himself that his sudden desire to teach a fifteen-year-old how to cast a Patronus was a mixture of healthy concern over the supposed presence of an aggressive Half-Dementor within the walls of Hogwarts and a good dose of sadistic will to challenge him at least once before the end of the school year. What he did not tell himself, however, was that Nodens was exactly the same age as he had been when he first summoned his Patronus, and that his projection was at an all-time high, bordering on the disturbing.Nodens couldn't do it. He wasn't surprised; no one had ever managed to cast their Patronus on the first try. He enjoyed the satisfaction of finally seeing him fail, then ordered him to try again. He did, five times in all, and as the boy tried, his smugness gave way to growing perplexity. It was not strange that a boy of his age could not master such complex magic; it was strange that this particular boy could not. Severus soon realised that he had expectations of a student; a rare thing that had happened to him very rarely, if at all, in his twenty-year career. He watched him try and fail again, and it was only on the seventh attempt that the thought he was trying to suppress began to protest and he was forced to admit a reality that only added to the discomfort he had woken up with that morning. He wanted him to succeed. He cared about it. He would have given anything to be rid of that thought, and he was granted his wish, except that what replaced it made things worse. Nodens floated in his direction, stopped in front of him, looked up with an embarrassed expression and spoke in a whisper."I don't think I have a good enough memory for something like this, Professor."Severus was at a loss for words. He looked down at him, trying with every ounce of rationality he had left to find something appropriate to say, but he didn't believe such a thing existed. He opened and closed his mouth, thanking a number of deities he didn't believe in, when he heard the office door open behind him.Omegas entered without a word, closed the door behind her, took a few steps into the room and stopped in front of the Professor with her eyes narrowed to slits."Bad mood?" she asked after a moment.He shot her a glare. "Yes.""Excellent," she said in a sarcastic tone that didn't sound like it was sarcasm at all. "It's about to get worse."She pulled a white envelope from the pocket of her dark grey dress and threw it on the desk. She gave Severus a serious look, then her violet eyes met the boy just behind him."Ah, Gad," she greeted him.The boy floated forward. "Good morning, Professor.""Have I interrupted your lesson?""No, we're finished," Severus interjected.He gestured to the boy, who immediately got the message and hurried to the desk to collect his things. Severus sat down in his chair and took the envelope, turning it over a few times in his hand."It's Potter's reply, I presume.""Yes," she replied, sitting on the edge of the desk. "He's expecting us for tea."He pulled a visibly annoyed face. "You were right, it did get worse."She chuckled. "That's not the worst of it, Severus.""Isn't it?" he said sarcastically."No.""So?"Omegas started to reply, then changed her mind. She turned to Nodens, who, after gathering his things, was slowly floating towards the office door. He felt the two pairs of eyes on him, stopped and turned to them. He looked at them in turn, a palpable discomfort in his dark eyes."I'm going," he announced."Yes," she nodded.The boy nodded back. "My regards to Harry and Ginny."She smiled at him. "Do you know them well?""Oh, yes, ma'am. They visit the Black Cat often. They're nice. She loves Quidditch, and he's... kind."Omegas nodded again. "I'll tell them you said hello."Nodens thanked her with a nod. He glanced at Severus, who now had a scowl on his face ten times more resentful than before."Goodbye, Professor," he said."Goodbye, Gad."The boy betrayed a tiny hint of surprise before turning his wheelchair one last time and leaving the room.The door closed and a moment of silence fell over the office. Then, with a furrowed brow, Omegas turned to him."'Gad'?" she asked.Severus gave her the second death glare of the day."Since when—""Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?" he interrupted curtly.She remained silent. She rose from the edge of the table, waved her wand and summoned a chair. She sat down opposite him on the other side of the desk and carefully avoided his gaze for the next few moments. She reached out and gently took the white envelope from his hands. She placed it on the wooden surface, clasped her fingers, straightened in her seat and finally met his eyes with one of the most intense looks in her repertoire. Severus didn't recognise that particular body language, but he was sure he would soon pay a high price for his curiosity. He wasn't wrong."Harry and Ginny are currently living in Potter's House, Severus," she explained.Her tone was both so discreet and so firm that it took him a moment to process the content of the statement. Eventually, he did. He kept his eyes on hers, fighting not to let anything show. After the first silent minute, that shade of purple became familiar, and Severus remembered that he had no reason to prove his stoicism. Not in front of those eyes. He stood up without much ceremony, letting a grimace of anger and disgust take over his face. He had his back to her for a long moment, then turned and placed his palm on the desk."Why?" he spat.Omegas didn't immediately react. She fumbled in her bag, pulled out a bottle and a couple of glass tumblers, and filled them with what was clearly Firewhisky. She floated one between his hands and sipped from hers."They're about to get married and have a child. I suppose they thought they'd—""The boy has a bloody Order of Merlin," he interrupted, "his father's entire inheritance, and he already has a steady job. Couldn't he find another house?""I suppose he chose not to," she replied calmly."Why?" he repeated, even more irritated than before."I don't know," she said. She stood up and moved to his side of the desk. "This is the situation. I thought about asking Harry to come to Hogwarts, but he's already invited us. Turning him down would mean having to explain why. I don't think the boy even considered—""Of course he hasn't!" the other blurted out.Omegas fell silent again. She returned his venomous glare with an impassive look, save for a note of discreet understanding. She placed a hand on the one he had clenched around the glass, now gripping it tightly enough to risk shattering it. She took it from his hand and placed it on the table."I would offer to go alone, but you seem quite angry already, and I fear that condescension would make things worse."He gave her a third glare, one that was completely undeserved, but he couldn't help it. She responded with a weak smile.Unlike despair, which usually required a calm, silent presence, anger was a feeling Severus preferred to manage on his own. It was an emotion he had never really learned to tame, and knowing it was exposed to another's gaze, including hers, only made it worse. He needed time and solitude to let it dissipate and allow him to deal with what lay beneath. Omegas knew it well and she proved it once more by emptying her glass, putting it back in the bag, slinging it over her shoulder and heading for the door. But something changed that day. He couldn't say exactly what, when or why; all he knew was that the moment he heard the door handle lower and the door creak open, the words slipped from his lips, uncontrolled."I don't want to go back to that house," he muttered.Omegas closed the door. She turned and walked towards him with cautious, curious, almost timorous steps."I know," she replied."I know you know," he retorted, avoiding her gaze.She reached him and stood before him again. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked calmly."No."He kept his eyes on the wall to his right for a while, until her gaze became too insistent. Finally he met it, and another quiet word escaped his lips."Stay."She didn't move. She betrayed her astonishment for only a split second, then regained her calm, unflappable smile. She walked around the desk again, sat down, put the white envelope aside, took out her glass and refilled it. She sipped for a while in silence."Did I ever tell you about the boy in that small Swiss village who poured an entire bottle of Invisibility Potion down the local well as a prank?"Severus turned. He met her cunning eyes and for a moment felt the urge to give her a faint smile. He decided not to suppress it."No," he lied. He sat down across from her and picked up his glass."An incredible story. The mayor was an old acquaintance of Dumbledore's, you know, and he contacted me to administer an antidote to the villagers that would take effect immediately. The problem was finding the people to administer it to..."It was one of his favourite stories. Omegas always told it the same way, with the same words and inflection. He relaxed in his chair, drank, and neither of them moved until late afternoon.Severus had never returned to Potter's house after that night. For the first few years, he had meticulously avoided every inch of ground she had walked on for thirty miles, with the exception of Hogwarts and Spinner's End. Over time, in small steps, he had tried to counter that instinct. He remembered painfully well the first time he managed to return to the Three Broomsticks; he remembered every moment he spent standing with a full glass in his hand, doing nothing but staring at the far table where he had last seen her. He remembered the first time he had to enter Black's house out of necessity, knowing that sooner or later he would find something that would bring it all back. He remembered the torn photograph in his hands, and everything he had to endure in the hours that followed. He remembered the first time he had finally managed to approach her grave, mostly because it hadn't been long before. It had been after the war. He had promised himself that when the day came, he would go in person to tell her it was over, and Severus always kept his promises. That day, all he did was cast a furtive glance at the door of Potter's house, and the feeling that brief look evoked convinced him that it wasn't the right time to take another step forward. He turned away and kept that door out of his mind for the best part of three years.Now the door was in front of him and he was about to step through it. The very first feeling he had was that nothing around him was real. He had replayed that scene so many times in his mind, a scene where he had seen that very door forced open and thrown to the floor, that to see it intact, in its place, unblemished, was surreal. He didn't know exactly how long he had been standing in silence in front of that dark wood, but he knew it must have been a long time, for they had arrived at least half an hour early, and now the bells in the distance signalled to Godric's Hollow that five o'clock had finally arrived. He turned to Omegas with a furrowed brow, intending to ask her why she had waited until five o'clock instead of announcing herself ten minutes earlier as she always did, but he found himself facing such a deeply sympathetic gaze that he couldn't open his mouth."Is it okay if I ring the bell?" she asked.Severus nodded and she smiled at him. She raised her arm and reached for the bell in a motion that seemed to take hours. In those long seconds, all he could think of was that the woman beside him not only knew exactly what he was facing, but had long since managed to enter her version of Potter's house, to explore it, to sleep there, even to live there, last summer. He wondered what she must have been thinking of him at the moment. Probably that he was weak. Pathetic.The door opened, and the pair of green eyes he found in front of him when he turned around did not help."Professor," he greeted, much more warmly than he was able to handle at that moment. "Omegas."Neither replied and the boy, glancing from one to the other, frowned slightly."Is everything all right?"Once again, Severus felt a surge of both panic and irritation caused by Harry Potter's idiocy. He would have gladly pointed it out to him, but he couldn't. His vocal chords didn't seem inclined to cooperate."No, Harry," Omegas intervened, "you've forced us to come to Godric's Hollow. Don't you know that Slytherins risk combustion just by walking through the area?"Harry chuckled. "That must be why Draco refuses to visit us.""No doubt," she nodded.The other shook his head and invited them in with a cordial, if not affectionate, "Please". Omegas went in first and turned around, waiting for him to join her. What made Severus take the first step into the house was the deep discomfort at the thought of being caught hesitating by the boy.When both his feet were on the other side and he heard the door close behind him, everything became real. Time flowed coherently again, the warmth of the house made him realise that he had been cold just a moment before, and the welcoming, almost familiar atmosphere of the smiling photographs on the walls made him feel the usual urge to be elsewhere. He walked down the corridor, and the voices of the other two seemed distant, as if coming from the bottom of a well. He passed the stairs leading to the upper floor and decided to allow himself a rare kindness. He avoided looking at them. Reaching the kitchen, which was perhaps the only room in the house he hadn't had the chance to associate with the horror he was experiencing, Severus entered, sat down at the table beside Omegas and had the clear, distinct feeling that he was standing on a tiny, dry island in the middle of a stormy sea. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to catch his breath, putting aside the uncomfortable awareness that he would have to face those waves again sooner or later in order to return to solid ground."Ginny will be joining us later; she's out with Hermione," Harry announced, snapping him out of his thoughts.The statement was met with a shared, cold indifference. The boy hesitated for a moment, obviously uncomfortable, then turned and put a kettle on the stove. He returned to the table, sat down opposite them and folded his fingers."Thank you for coming," he said, his tone low but firm. "It's getting harder and harder to get into Hogwarts. Even Astrid has forbidden me to set foot there; I attract too much attention."Severus was so undecided between rolling his eyes and shooting him a murderous glare that he tried to do both and gave himself a headache.Omegas chuckled. "You really don't realise how full of yourself you sound when you say things like that, do you?" she asked. She leaned in slightly, seeming to study him. "It's not that you do it on purpose, it's just that you've never heard yourself from the outside."Harry scolded her with a look. "Can I please not be analysed in my own house?""No," she replied, leaning back in her chair, "considering who you've invited."The other seemed exasperated. "You were the one who wrote to me!" he objected."I didn't ask you to invite me to tea," she countered."That's what people do when they have something to discuss," he observed.She scoffed. "Thank you, dad. I'll keep that in mind."The boy raised a hand to his forehead and seemed to struggle internally. There was a silent pause, then Omegas turned to Severus with a smirk on her face."What do you think? Are we done with the pleasantries?""Yes, please," Harry begged.Severus watched the woman next to him and realised, in light of the expected disaster he'd thought this visit would be, that he wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he'd expected. He was actually rather amused. He returned her grin with one of his own and turned his deep, penetrating black eyes back to the boy."So, Potter..." he said, suddenly feeling like himself again. Leaning forward slightly, he waited until he was sure his gaze had sufficiently unnerved him. "Where is the Resurrection Stone?"The question was followed by a silence so long that the whistle of the kettle, which broke it shortly afterwards, seemed to tear through the air around them. Harry, his anxious eyes alternating between the two of them, couldn't move to take it off the stove until the whistle became almost unbearable and seemed to snap him out of the trance he had fallen into. He rose abruptly, went to the stove and turned off the heat. Then he turned cautiously back to them, head down but eyes steady, as if torn between not daring to look them in the eye and challenging their accusations. He swallowed."Why?" he asked in a whisper.Severus gave him a grin that was halfway between malevolent and satisfied. He stood and walked towards him with cautious steps."Questions must be answered before one is asked in return, Potter. Didn't we teach you that?"The boy, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was no longer eleven and not in class, swallowed again. He kept his eyes fixed on the Professor for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Omegas, who sat relaxed in her chair with an overly amused air. He closed his eyes, took a breath and returned to the table. He sat down and ran his hand over his face."After the war..." he began, a slight tremor in his voice. "After I became the Master of Death, I... well, I didn't want to be. I just... I just wanted to live a normal life. Leave it all behind."Severus walked slowly around him, returning to his seat and stepping into the path of his guilty gaze."What have you done?" he asked in a dangerous whisper."I... I put them back," he swallowed a third time. "I put them back where they belonged."There was a brief pause."You put them... you put them back where they belonged?" the Professor repeated.Harry dropped his head again and nodded.Severus, who had never missed an opportunity to remind him how idiotic he was, was suddenly at a loss for words. So many possible epithets came to mind that he couldn't utter any of them, at least not verbally. He was pretty sure that he was conveying at least a few of them with the sparks his eyes shot in his direction."A-all of them?" Omegas stammered.They both turned to find her, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, staring at Harry with a look of disbelief she rarely displayed."Yes," the boy confirmed."Even the... even the Elder Wand?"The other nodded again. "In Dumbledore's tomb, yes."Omegas' jaw nearly dropped off her face. "You... you..." she tried, but the words died in her throat.She closed her eyes, sighed and seemed to try to compose herself, a task in which she only partially succeeded, for when she leaned forward and clasped her fingers on the table, her hands shook slightly. She opened her eyes, fixed them on the boy, and uttered four cathartic words that gave voice to the frustration Severus had accumulated for nearly ten long years."Why are you stupid?"There was no anger, no hint of reproach. It was an honest, sincere, desperate question."I didn't..." Harry tried, but the stern looks of the other two prevented him from continuing.Finding a hint of his determination, which Severus quickly interpreted as insubordination, he stood up and paced the kitchen."I didn't want to be the Master of Death," he declared. "I still don't. I gave up the Hallows; it was the only way.""Gave up?" Severus broke in, standing up as well. "You gave up the Deathly Hallows? Brilliant, Potter. Did you at least try to consider the consequences of your actions before leaving three of the most powerful magical objects in the world unsupervised because you felt the need to 'live a normal life'?""Of course I considered the consequences," he replied. "No one can gather the Hallows; I still have the Cloak. I've always had the Cloak. I didn't—""Oh, wonderful, you have the Cloak!" the Professor exclaimed. He turned to Omegas. "Did you hear that? He has the Cloak, we can go home. Everything is under control..." He approached the boy and pointed to the door on his right, "If it weren't for the fact that out there is the most powerful wand in the history of magic, locked in a tomb, at the mercy of anyone who wants to acquire it. A wand that you are the owner of and that the entire wizarding world believes must be won by killing its—""No one knows I put it back there, it's not—""DON'T YOU DARE INTERRUPT ME, POTTER!" he roared.The boy seemed about to reply with equally stubborn anger, but there wasn't time."All right, enough. Enough!" Omegas intervened.They both turned to her with the clear intention of ignoring her and getting back to shouting at each other. She quickly joined them and stood between them."You're a bloody idiot," she declared, pointing a finger at Harry, "and you're understandably angry," she added, turning to Severus, "but now is not the time. Yelling at him won't help; we have a much more pressing problem.""His bloody idiocy is our problem," he observed through gritted teeth."No, Severus," she whispered, "his bloody idiocy has caused our problem. Our problem is that an unknown creature, currently hiding within the walls of Hogwarts, has wandered through the Forbidden Forest with the obvious intention of stealing the Resurrection Stone, and has succeeded.""What..." Harry cut in weakly. "You think... you think...""We don't think," Severus spat. "We know. The Stone has been stolen. It's not in its place. Did you think about that before you left it unguarded in the middle of the forest, Potter? Hm?" he continued, standing in front of him once more. "Did you consider that Dumbledore's spell had been broken?"The boy swallowed again and started to sweat. "How... how did—""I tricked it," Omegas intervened. "Technically, I managed to take the stone to use it, albeit indirectly. I bypassed the spell. It's the only way to break it.""I-I..." he stammered. "I didn't know. I couldn't have known—""Of course you didn't know!" Severus hissed. "You never know anything. And your deliberate ignorance is never a good enough reason for you to stop, is it?"Harry was silent. He averted his gaze and walked uncertainly back to his seat. He sat down slowly, with a heavy gesture, and brought a hand back to his face."All I wanted was a normal life," he murmured.In saying so, he revealed a trembling knot in his throat that, for a fleeting moment, cracked the Professor's blind and insensitive fury. He approached him, but said nothing. He towered over him with nothing more than his usual fierce, stern frown. The boy raised his head and met his gaze with renewed determination."We can't tell Astrid," he declared.Severus gave a sardonic snort of irritation, "No, we can't. You'd risk losing your job, wouldn't you?""It's not about the job," the other spat. "It's about her. I don't trust her enough to let her know the Deathly Hallows are still out there. Officially, I said I destroyed them. All of them.""And why didn't you?" Omegas asked. "If you wanted a normal life. If you didn't want to be the Master of Death, why didn't you really renounce the title?"Harry looked at her and stayed silent for a moment."I don't know," he said, a disarming honesty in his tone.She nodded. "Get the Elder Wand," she said firmly. "Find someone. Someone you trust enough, don't tell anyone who, and get yourself disarmed. That way there will be no Master of Death and the wand will be safe.""I can't do that," he objected. "I would be endangering whoever—""Yes, Harry," she interrupted, "you will endanger them. You better keep the secret well hidden."She paused for a moment, and a quick grimace revealed that she too was holding back a good deal of contempt."Or you can always take responsibility and accept your role," she added.The boy bowed his head again and seemed to be pondering."What are we going to do about the stone?" he asked."Nothing," Severus replied promptly. "You will do nothing, Potter. Is that clear?" He stepped closer, giving him an icy stare that left no room for argument. "You will let us handle this and wait for news. Live your... normal life," he ordered, adding an extra dose of venom to the last two words.Harry opened his mouth and Severus was ready for another clash, but it didn't happen. The sound of the front door caught the attention of all three and they turned simultaneously.Harry stood up abruptly. "Ginny," he said, obvious concern in his tone. "She doesn't know about any of this. She doesn't know about the Hallows; I'm trying to keep her out of it... out of everything, until—""Understood," Omegas interrupted. She gave him one last grave look, then turned with her usual calm, unflappable, faint smile."Professor Grindelwald!" Ginny greeted cheerfully as she entered the kitchen."Weasley," she replied cordially."Professor Snape," the girl added.Severus greeted her with a nod and a newly found, entirely believable impassive air. Ginny walked around the table and kissed Harry on the cheek, which he returned with a slight smile."Where's Will?" she asked."Oh, he's... still in his spot," he replied. "I tried calling him, but I think he only answers to you."The girl huffed. "Will!" she exclaimed.A moment later, an unmistakable pop, the sound of the Apparition, was heard in the room; but instead of a person, a mannequin appeared beside the girl. Barely taller than a first year student, it looked antique, as if it had been built and then forgotten for a long time, and the pieces of its light wooden body were held together by a number of metal joints. It had no mouth or nose, and instead of eyes, a dark cloth with a pair of buttons sewn on was tied over the top of its face. The girl untied her cloak, removed it from her shoulders and handed it to the mannequin with the ease of someone who had repeated the same action countless times. It stepped forward with surprisingly quiet strides, offering its arm in a gesture of devotional detachment. Ginny clasped her hands to her stomach and Severus, as he always did in similar circumstances, found himself torn between the impulse to conform to social norms and offer his congratulations, and the far more instinctive urge to remain in his silent unease at the thought that a new life was about to be brought into the world. Omegas, however, hardly seemed to notice. She approached the mannequin with her large, fascinated violet eyes and studied it as it shouldered the cloak, turned and walked into the next room."What is it?" she asked curiously."Oh, that... it's a gift from Fred and George," Ginny replied. "You know, for the twins' arrival... they thought I'd need a hand, and frankly, I couldn't bring myself to argue, especially if they end up being like their uncles...""Which they most certainly will," Harry cut in."Yes, indeed," she laughed."And couldn't you just get a house-el— wait..." Omegas said, suddenly alert. "Twins?"She turned to them, who returned her gaze with two pairs of big, proud, joyful eyes.At that point, Omegas swallowed. Severus read a series of decidedly inappropriate emotions in her gaze that, had they been expressed, would have added to the discomfort he knew they were sharing. She opened her mouth, no doubt to give them a voice, and Severus turned to her with an abrupt gesture and an icy stare that communicated 'QUIET' so efficiently that she was indeed quiet. Then her expression changed from a previous mixture of disgust and pity to one of incredulity, which he could not attribute to any valid reason and which caused him great confusion. The exchange of glances, in the silent room and under the eyes of the hosts, continued in its awkwardness until Harry, growing uncomfortable, cleared his throat. Omegas turned, swallowed again and murmured a very unconvincing "Congratulations...""Thank you," Ginny replied with the sardonic grin of someone who wasn't buying it.Omegas lowered her gaze and cleared her throat. "Couldn't you just get a house-elf?""We couldn't, no," the girl said."Why not?"Harry chuckled. "Because we don't want to be killed by Hermione," he said.Ginny laughed, and for a moment the previous tension dissipated. Then the girl spoke again."So..." she said, finding her serene smile again. "What brings you to Potter's House, Professors?"That sentence alone was enough to bring the other three back to an uncomfortable, complex and rather embarrassing reality. They looked at each other and silently agreed that it would be best for everyone if it ended there."Work," Severus explained icily. "We've come to give Potter an update so we can avoid dealing with his boss.""Oh," said Ginny. "You don't get on? She speaks very highly of you, though. Especially of you, Professor Grindelwald. Isn't that right, Harry?"That was the last straw. Severus, who had retreated to that kitchen as if it were a safe island in a stormy sea, told himself that if he didn't get out of there within five minutes, he would surely drown, or end up drowning one of the hosts."We're done," he declared.He turned, mostly to hide his uncontrollable surge of resentment from the eyes of the others, and walked to the front door, not caring about appearing impolite.He sensed Omegas bidding farewell in a practical manner, though decidedly less brusque than his own, but he couldn't truly hear her words. As he retraced his steps, the anger he had accumulated prevented him from allowing himself the same kindness he had indulged in on the way in, and he hesitated for a moment before the stairs leading to the upper floor. He saw James Potter's body lying on the floor as if he were still there, and for a brief, horrible instant he felt the urge to approach and climb the steps.A firm but gentle touch, one he knew only too well, brought him back to reality. He turned and met Omegas' eyes; curiously enough, instead of the great understanding he had seen at the door of Potter's house, he was confronted with her usual slyness, a deal of intrigue and perhaps just a hint of enthusiasm. He frowned, curious and slightly disoriented, and finally decided to take the steps that would take him out of the house. They gave their hosts, who were now standing on the threshold of the front door, a final nod before parting completely and turning their backs on them.The moment they apparated back into Hogsmeade, a grip on his shoulder halted Severus' march towards the castle."What on earth are you—""How did you do that?" Omegas exclaimed, now distinctly excited.He frowned. "How did I do what?"She let out an incredulous laugh. "You know exactly what!"Severus' frown took on irritated features. "No, I don't," he spat, making it clear that he was in no mood for her vague answers. "Care to enlighten me?""You talked to me!" she shouted, loud enough to make a few passers-by turn to look at her.She didn't seem to notice. She continued to stare at him, incredulous and fascinated. On the verge of losing his patience, he forced himself to take a deep breath, unsure if he could handle any further arguments that day. He remained silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to ask the next question in a way that would force her to give a clear answer."Why is the fact that I talked to you suddenly a cause for such agitation, Omegas?"She chuckled in disbelief. "Are you kidding? You..." She glanced around briefly and leaned closer to his ear. "You told me to be quiet."He froze. The slow movement he made to face her was to process the words she had just uttered."I didn't tell you to be quiet," he murmured. "I thought 'quiet'."Omegas returned his stare with a look bordering on wonder. "Inside my head, though."Severus was silent for a long time. He blinked, tried to speak, couldn't, and just stared at her."You didn't..." she whispered, "you didn't do it on purpose, did you?"He opened his mouth again, but could only shake his head in response. She continued to move her eyes over his face, now sharing his silence. Another long moment passed before Severus managed to stammer out something."It... it was..." he tried, but the next word just wouldn't come out."Telepathy?" she suggested, so quietly that he could barely hear her.He kept staring at her and swallowed. They remained in that exact position until a group of passing witches burst into loud laughter, making them aware of their surroundings once more. They shot two separate irritated glances at the group, then returned to staring at each other."Shall we discuss it at the castle?" suggested Omegas."Yes," Severus replied.He adjusted his cloak on his shoulder; not out of necessity, but more to regain some semblance of control. He turned and walked beside her towards the doors of Hogwarts.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Telepathy.
It was a word that held both great and no meaning for Severus. Of the many interests that had become obsessions over time, the ability to read minds and all things related to human thought was one that he had delved into the most. He had always been interested in the way the people around him thought, but not in a romantic sense. He had paid almost morbid attention to the subject, not because he was particularly fascinated by it, but because he had never understood it. He had never fully grasped the reasoning behind his parents' actions as a child, or those of his schoolmates as a boy, or even those of his colleagues as an adult. For a lifetime, the human mind had been an object of reflection, of study, of the kind of inquiry one makes into something unknown, something distant from one's own nature. Severus had had to study it from an early age, to imitate it, to learn not to seem as strange as he secretly knew he was. He certainly couldn't risk revealing details of his own mind; they would have revealed his complete, utter alienation from 'normal' functioning, which he had ultimately judged to be limited, biased and too often influenced by irrational suggestions. In short, Severus had become passionate about the workings of the human mind in an attempt to find an answer to the question 'Why is everyone so stupid?'
He had thus learned to read faces, expressions and body language. He had learned to associate every nuance of human behaviour with a probable logical mechanism, and to consider the weight of emotions and feelings on the actions of others. He had read books, Muggle and otherwise, kept abreast of new discoveries in the field and even attended a few conferences on the subject. Then he had discovered Legilimency, and everything had become simple. He became able to see with his eyes, touch with his hands, the object of so much thought. It was a relief, almost a liberation. From that moment on, he found, analysed and tested any kind of magic that even remotely had to do with understanding or reading minds. The conclusion he came to was that with the right means, knowledge and skill, one could do almost anything. It was possible to read thoughts, of course; to communicate with someone in their mind, as well as to close one's mind to intruders; to connect two minds through spells or potions; to implant thoughts into a human brain without the victim knowing; to cause pain, pleasure, to navigate through dreams and memories stored in the deepest recesses of the mind. Everything was possible. Except telepathy. Natural, spontaneous telepathy, not induced by external methods, had been hypothesised and then dismissed as impossible by the greatest researchers who had studied the subject, and by Severus himself, after all due consideration.
Now, sitting in his armchair with a glass in his hand and the receiver of the first ever telepathic communication sitting opposite him, Severus found himself staring at his Firewhisky, reflecting on the notion that the very first word two minds had naturally shared had been 'quiet'.
He chuckled. By then the shock had passed and the irony of the thought, no doubt heightened by the amount of alcohol he had consumed, made it impossible for him to hold back.
Omegas looked up at him and gave a broad smile. "Having fun?"
"The first telepathic conversation in the history of magic will forever be me commanding you to be quiet," he remarked, stifling a second laugh.
She stared at him motionless for a moment, then burst out laughing, and he couldn't help but join her. They continued for a while until Omegas, wiping away a tear, downed her glass in one gulp and pointed a finger at him.
"You don't know it was the first one," she slurred, a sign that they had both lost track of time and had probably been sitting there drinking for hours.
"I do know," he countered. "There's no mention of it anywhere. There are no writings, testimonies or any evidence that anyone has ever managed to have a truly natural telepathic conversation."
She refilled her glass with a wave of her wand and leaned forward. "Do you intend to write it down, testify or provide evidence?" she asked.
"No," he replied.
"Then how do you know it didn't happen to someone else?"
He started to argue, but found himself staring at her defiant face, unable to utter a word. God, he loved that defiant face when it silenced him with sheer logic.
Severus took a breath, settled into his armchair and put the whiskey down.
"If it were a common thing, Omegas," he whispered, drawing on every hint of control he had left, "someone would certainly have talked about it."
"I didn't say it was a common thing. But if it were a rare, impossibly rare occurrence, say..." she waved her hand lazily in the air, "one in a million. It would be plausible, wouldn't it? That, given the legends surrounding it, that one in a million decided to keep it to themselves, just as we are doing, and then the next, and the one after that..."
"What could you and I possibly have that is so extraordinary?"
She shrugged. "Well, you're an excellent Legilimens, and I have a mind that's a little... a little different. Organised."
He raised an eyebrow. "You mean 'maniacal'?"
"Oh, quiet," she shot back, and Severus chuckled again. "Maybe that's why it happened," she continued. "You're particularly used to getting into other people's minds, and I have enough space to let you in. We've done it before, haven't we?"
"That was completely different," he objected. "In that case I read your mind and you gave me something to read. This was a spontaneous exchange. A conversation."
"Perhaps it's just a different kind of reading."
Severus thought for a moment, then gave her a puzzled grimace.
"Does that explanation satisfy you?" he asked.
"Not in the least," she replied, falling back into her contemplative silence.
She remained so until, after another drink, she placed her glass on the table with a sharp, determined and rather violent gesture and gave him a long, penetrating look.
"Do you want to try until it happens again?" she asked in a quick whisper.
"Yes," he replied immediately.
And so they did. They tried and tried, and not once did they succeed. But the feeling of having something to do, something to try that wouldn't necessarily cause frustration, pain or irritation, something that was all their own and didn't involve Aurors, Healers or dying students, was so pleasant that for a while they forgot about everything. They didn't investigate the case, they didn't think about Professor Zakoten's books, the Horcruxes or even the Resurrection Stone. They knew they would have to deal with each of those issues sooner or later, so they chose not to worry about them. For that brief suspended time, Severus and Omegas taught their lessons, met in one of their offices, shared meals in the Great Hall and then returned to their quarters, just as they should have. As they had before Noah, before she left, before Garnet, before Sylvia. They didn't stop discussing the matters at hand, they didn't pretend they didn't exist; they talked about them, from time to time, but with a lightness that didn't allow them to interfere with their lives.
Yet that time, as all things, came to an end, on a Saturday afternoon like any other. Severus had given his lesson to Nodens, and Omegas had not attended. She had stopped doing so some time before, and he had the distinct feeling that her aim was to get him to the point where he could share a room with the boy without either of them feeling uncomfortable. Severus didn't mention it, because that would have meant having to admit that it had actually worked. Nodens, who was now well beyond the O.W.L. curriculum, attended the lesson not out of duty but for pleasure, and the Professor, who was perfectly aware of it, pretended not to be. He gave a long and detailed lecture on Necromancy, which was supposed to be a sixth year subject, and he listened without saying a word. Then the two exchanged their customary goodbyes, "Goodbye, Professor" and "Goodbye, Gad", and Severus made his way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Omegas was sitting at the far left end of the High Table, and she seemed to be losing herself in her thoughts more than eating. He walked up to her, sat down and, as was now customary, didn't even bother with pleasantries.
"Sylvia?" he asked.
"Black Cat," she replied.
Two words. If he knew her, which he undoubtedly did, it meant that she was deep in complex thought and he would have to wait for her to initiate any eventual exchange. He signalled his understanding with a nod and began to eat in silence. The exchange came no more than five minutes later.
"I've been thinking about the old bastard," she announced.
"Which one?" he replied.
She turned, frowning. "What do you mean?"
"You call both Grindelwald and Dumbledore that," he observed.
"I only call Dumbledore that when I'm angry," she replied with a grimace.
"Are you angry?"
"No."
"Then why were you thinking about Grindelwald?"
Omegas smirked. "Because of the Resurrection Stone. I thought there might be something in Nurmengard that could help us track it down."
Severus considered for a moment. "No, I don't think so," he said. "The Stone is the Hallow he sought most passionately; if he had a way of finding it, he would have done so. Or he would have given you the task."
"Yes, I agree," she nodded.
"Then why—"
"It made me think of the years I spent in Nurmengard," she explained.
She said it, as she always did, as if discussing a simple childhood anecdote, rather than with the horror such a memory should carry.
"I was thinking that, all things considered..." she continued, "assuming he knew who my mother was, or rather what she was... and he must have known. No one could enter or leave Nurmengard by normal means. Lamiae can technically be summoned, I think he had her reach him that way..." she murmured absently.
"Where are you going with this?"
"I don't think he wanted to kill time, nor did he want to give me a mission. I think those were justifications he was trying to give himself." She turned to him with a steady, serious look. "I believe he was trying to understand me. He wanted to discover the limits of my nature," she said, her tone low and a crooked smile on her face. "The old bastard was experimenting, Severus."
Severus remained silent, thinking. Yes, the reasoning was sound. A lonely man, locked in a massive prison with a girl who was half a creature whose abilities he didn't know; a demon whose nature he ignored. He too would have felt the need to examine her had he been in that situation. As he snapped back to reality, he finally realised that he had just shown a shred of understanding to the man who had mercilessly tortured the woman he loved for over a decade. He gave her a look that was half reproach and half disgust.
"What does this have to do with the stone?"
"Nothing," she replied. "Just making conversation."
He fell silent again. Omegas never 'just made conversation', not about herself. She only gave information when explicitly asked.
He frowned. "'Just making conversation'?" he repeated.
She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I've been thinking about it and thought I'd share," she explained with a smile.
Severus blinked a few times. He didn't even try to open his mouth to reply, knowing that no sound would come out. Instead, he watched her, making sure that the exchange would become a memory he would cherish, and waited for the moment to pass naturally.
This was abruptly interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. Just as had happened the previous year, an unexpected owl swooped into the Great Hall and dropped an envelope into Omegas' hands. This time, however, it wasn't Sylvia's grey owl, but a tawny one, the kind generally used for official communications—a hunch confirmed by the St Mungo's seal Severus caught a glimpse of before she broke it. The hall was almost empty by then, given the lateness of the hour and the visit to Hogsmeade that had been organised for the weekend, but the few pairs of eyes that were still present were fixed on her for the few seconds it took her to read the contents of the letter. Things certainly didn't improve when Omegas stood up abruptly, eyes wide and lips parted, nearly knocking over the chair behind her. Severus stood up as well, about to demand an explanation, but he was preempted.
"What is it?" the Headmistress interrupted.
She had risen from her chair in the middle of the table and joined the other two. Omegas looked up at her and swallowed. She glanced around for a moment and lingered on Severus' face. He could sense her indignation as if he felt it himself.
"We need to talk, Headmistress," she announced.
Professor McGonagall, who had most likely never seen that woman without a sly smile on her face, stiffened. She gave her a serious look, adjusted her glasses on her nose and nodded firmly.
"My office," she said, shifting her gaze between the two of them.
They reached the seventh floor quickly and without a word. Arriving in front of the stone gargoyle, the Headmistress said clearly "Bertie Bott's Beans" and watched as the spiral staircase appeared behind it. The circular office wasn't much different from when Dumbledore had occupied it. The large desk remained the same, as did the shiny silver objects on it. The only real difference was that instead of being scattered haphazardly across its surface, they were organised, the scrolls neatly arranged in a long pile, the ancient tomes in the bookshelves no longer dusty as they had been in the past. The many portraits on the walls, however, were the same, except for Dumbledore's and an empty one to his left. Severus, distracted by that detail, forgot that they had more pressing matters to discuss and frowned.
"Whose is this?" he asked, pointing to the frame.
McGonagall turned, glanced at it, then looked back at him. "It's yours," she explained. "Technically, you were Headmaster. It appeared when you died, but the portrait disappeared when you came back."
"It will return when you join us, Severus," Dumbledore's portrait chimed in.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Reassuring, Headmaster."
"We don't have time for this," Omegas declared. She slammed the letter down on the desk, then looked up at the former Headmaster's portrait for a moment. "Albus," she greeted.
He nodded and gave her a piercing look from behind his half-moon glasses.
"Well then," Professor McGonagall said, taking her seat. She waved her wand and two more chairs appeared on the other side of the desk. "What's this all about?"
Severus sat down and waited for the others to do the same, but they didn't. Omegas planted her palms on the table and gave the Headmistress a grave look.
"They're planning to kill the boy," she hissed.
Professor McGonagall looked up at her and frowned. "I doubt murder is considered a treatment at St Mungo's, Omegas."
The other tried not to react to the words, but Severus could still sense her immense irritation.
"Not literally," she hastened to clarify. "They want to remove his soul completely. They've given up trying to find a way to restore it and are looking for a way to get rid of it." She began to walk briskly around the office. "It will be like a Dementor's Kiss. It will be worse than death; it will be—"
"It surely wasn't a decision taken lightly," the Headmistress interrupted. She said it in a firm, stern tone, but the note of concern in her voice didn't go unnoticed. "It was obviously taken with his mother's consent. I imagine the Healers have done everything—"
"To hell with that!" Omegas exclaimed, slamming her fist on the desk. She met the other's gaze, a mixture of concern and disbelief. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and regained a hint of her former composure. "They're giving up,' she said. "They can't give up. Noah is sixteen years old. He's going to spend the rest of his life, a long life, without a soul. They might as well just kill him."
"That's not your decision to take," the Headmistress observed.
"Well, obviously the person who is supposed to take it isn't thinking clearly."
"Is she the one who isn't thinking clearly, Omegas?" Dumbledore interrupted.
The other three turned to him. He didn't express the reproach one might have expected to accompany those words. He gave the woman a broad smile. Omegas didn't respond but looked away quickly.
"You're worried about a student?" he insisted incredulously.
She made an irritated grimace. "Yes, I'm worried."
"Isn't he just another fallen soldier?" Dumbledore asked, clearly alluding to something the other two were unaware of.
"He's not a bloody soldier, he's just a boy!" she shouted.
Then she seemed to realise what she had said. She froze and quickly lowered her head from the kind eyes of the former Headmaster. She gave Severus a furtive look that was half apology and half plea for help.
It was at this point that Severus made a decision. He wasn't quite sure what courage he was drawing on to do it, or where he was finding the hint of impertinence needed to suggest such a thing, but the time he would normally have used to think twice was instead spent rising from his chair and waiting for all eyes to focus on him.
"There is another way, Headmistress," he announced.
Professor McGonagall tilted her head slightly and looked at him from behind her glasses. "A way to do what?"
"To help the boy," he explained. "A way to ensure that at least a fragment of his soul returns to where it should be. Extinguished, yes, and not in its entirety, but it would undoubtedly be better than the alternative."
The Headmistress gestured for him to continue, and before he managed to do so, Severus met Omegas' eyes, which now seemed to be a mix of incredulity and pride. It was that look, and that look alone, that gave him the strength to speak the next words without losing a shred of his composure.
"With Horcrux magic."
The words were met with the stunned silence the man who spoke them had expected. Curiously, however, instead of the expected disapproval and subsequent judgement, all he received were measured steps and a pair of intense, penetrating eyes the likes of which he had rarely seen.
"Care to elaborate, Severus?" Professor McGonagall asked in a whisper.
Severus had the urge to swallow, but something stopped him. He stepped slightly away from the Headmistress and began to walk cautiously around the office, his hands clasped behind his back and his gaze fixed elsewhere.
"Technically..." he began, his voice steady but barely above a whisper, "Horcrux magic allows a fragment of a soul to be inserted into something or, as we now know for a fact, someone."
He paused briefly, mostly to give himself the time to maintain his newfound calm.
"If we can find a way to apply it to the boy's soul, directed back to the boy himself, it would be possible to ensure that part of his soul returns to inhabit his body. Obviously, this would lead us to seek information regarding the ritual required to create a Horcrux, as well as finding a way to fragment what remains of his soul without resorting to the Killing Curse," he concluded.
He stopped in the centre of the office and met each of the gazes directed at him, all except Omegas'. He only managed to catch a glimpse of hers because he wasn't sure if he could handle the combination of awe and wonder she was expressing without losing control.
For a long time, Professor McGonagall remained unable to speak. She kept looking at him, as if expecting him to change his mind at any moment and withdraw his proposal, but he showed no sign of considering such a thing. So the Headmistress turned to Dumbledore's portrait and they exchanged an eloquent look, a silent exchange of opinion. The former Headmaster directed his intense blue eyes at Severus, then glanced from him to Omegas.
"Are you proposing to use the darkest practice in the history of magic for healing purposes?" he asked calmly.
The two looked at each other, nodded and then turned back to the portrait.
"Yes," they said in unison.
The other was silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly. "Which one of you had the idea?"
Omegas grinned. "Why, does it make any difference?"
Dumbledore gave her a curious look. "I don't know, my dear girl. Does it?"
She fell silent. Her expression grew heavy with a gravity she was very consciously trying to keep to herself.
"What sort of... what sort of consequences would that have on the boy?" the Headmistress intervened.
Severus and Omegas turned to her and found her sitting in her chair, her elbows resting on the desk and her eyes lost in thought. They approached her and returned to their seats.
"We don't know, Headmistress," Severus said firmly. "Nothing like this has ever been done before. We have no data from which to make assumptions."
"But it would be a better alternative," Omegas continued. "Whatever the price, it will be better than the state he is in now, or what they intend to do."
"How can you say that?" the other intervened sternly. "If we have no data to—"
"We should let the boy choose, Minerva," Dumbledore interrupted.
The Headmistress turned. She rose from her chair and walked briskly to the portrait.
"Albus, he's just a boy. He doesn't have the maturity to make such a decision about his future, not even legally. He's in the care of his mother and stepmother."
"And yet, Minerva, it is his future we are discussing," he observed. "If you were in his position, at his age, what would you prefer? To live with the weight of your decision, knowing that you made it? Or to spend the rest of your life knowing that you had no choice at all?"
Professor McGonagall remained silent and seemed to dedicate meticulous reflection to the question, which, however, was interrupted a moment later by Omegas' voice.
"Do not waste your intellect on matters that have no practical meaning, Headmistress," she said, giving the portrait a smile that was half devious, half malevolent. "This is not about giving the boy the chance to live with one consciousness or the other. In one of the options, he won't have any consciousness at all. To strip a body of its soul is to strip it of everything that makes us conscious. If there is a soul, there is consciousness. If not..."
"Nevertheless, there is consciousness at the present moment," Dumbledore interjected with a stern look. "Isn't that right?"
Omegas looked away and crossed her arms. "There is, yes," she confirmed reluctantly.
Severus watched her angry grimace and suddenly felt the need to intervene. To be honest, he agreed with Dumbledore's point of view, but that didn't stop him from quickly finding an objection to raise.
"We have no way of communicating with him," he pointed out. "Omegas tried. For months she tried to speak to the boy's soul, using every means available. Nothing worked."
Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "Hmm..." he murmured. "Then I believe it is time to try means that have not yet been available. Wouldn't you agree, Severus?"
Severus felt an urgent need to roll his eyes, but refrained from doing so; partly out of respect, and partly because the soft hiss from Omegas distracted him.
"Bloody old bastard..." she muttered.
It seemed too much. Not the words themselves; in the privacy of their quarters he had heard her hurl far less flattering epithets at him. But in public, and especially in front of the man himself…
He swallowed and cast a few furtive, vaguely alarmed glances at the other two, but none of them seemed to have noticed. Then he looked at Omegas, brows furrowed and a clear question in his eyes, which was met with an equally puzzled look.
"What do you suggest we do?" the Headmistress asked, interrupting the silent exchange.
Severus thought for a moment. "You must be the one to suggest it to the Healers, Headmistress," he declared.
The other raised her eyebrows and chuckled in disbelief. "Me?"
He nodded.
"And why should I be the one to do it?" she insisted.
Severus rose and walked towards her with measured steps. "If I were to suggest such a thing, it would be seen as the dark intent of a former Death Eater. If it were Omegas, it would be the unhealthy musings of a madman's daughter," he explained in a whisper, "but if you were to do it... it would be the ingenious idea of a Headmistress who cares enough about her students to reconsider the Dark Arts."
The Headmistress held his gaze for as long as she could; then her lower lip trembled slightly and she bowed her head.
"We will find a way to communicate with the boy's soul, and if it exists, we will ask for his consent before proceeding," he pressed, "but in the meantime, we need to involve the Healers. We need to contact the Aurors in case anyone knows anything about the ritual."
He moved closer and tried to meet her eyes again, but they refused to meet his. So his gaze landed on Omegas' violet eyes, now standing behind her, determined to keep her back to the portrait of the former Headmaster. She smiled at him, and Severus fought not to return it. He stood before Professor McGonagall, and suddenly knew what words to speak.
"Dark magic is only dark when it is used for dark purposes," he said firmly. "Saving the boy's soul is not a dark purpose."
The Headmistress finally looked up at him and held his gaze in silence for long seconds. She spent a bit less time on Omegas' gaze; then she turned to Dumbledore's portrait. They didn't speak a word, not out loud. Dumbledore nodded, once, slowly. He gave her a calm, encouraging smile and one of his usual penetrating looks. Professor McGonagall, tired and resigned, nodded quickly in response.
"Very well," she said, turning back to them. "I'd better talk to Pomona. She's the only one who can convince his mother to stop this insanity."
Omegas smiled, approached her and looked her in the eyes. "Thank you, Headmistress."
She said it with a respect she had never shown before. The other, surprised, frowned for a moment, but finally relented with a slightly less stern look than usual. She nodded again, gave them both a serious look and walked across the office.
Left alone in the office, Severus and Omegas looked at each other, both with a clear desire to share their opinions about the conversation that had just taken place within those walls, but they soon remembered that they had dozens of eyes fixed on them. They glanced around, giving surprisingly similar glares to each of the portraits hanging on the walls, and when they turned back to face the former Headmaster, they found him with an eloquent smile that made them equally uncomfortable.
"Stop it," Omegas ordered.
"Stop what?" he replied.
"You know what," she shot back.
Severus observed that brief interaction in silence and updated the list of what had undoubtedly been father figures in Omegas' life, which now numbered three. Dumbledore shifted his deep blue eyes from her to him.
"How are you, Severus?" he asked calmly.
He grimaced in irritation. "Fine," he replied.
"Ah," the other said. He paused for a moment and took on a thoughtful expression. "That's a first," he observed. "What about you, girl?"
"I'm not a 'girl'," she said irritably.
Dumbledore nodded. "No, you're not. You're a woman now. But I won't hide the fact that in the place in my heart reserved for you, you are still the girl I knew many years ago."
She visibly held back a second insult. "You have no heart. You're a portrait," she spat.
The other chuckled. "I'm very true to the original."
Omegas closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and didn't open them again until she had turned and given her back to the portrait.
"I want to leave, Severus," she announced.
Severus felt a sudden urge to laugh. He had never seen her so shaken, not even with Sirius Black. He stifled a smile, nodded and gestured towards the door.
"After you."
Omegas made her way briskly to the door without bothering to say goodbye, and he, right behind her, was about to do the same but was stopped.
"Severus?"
He turned and waited in silence. Dumbledore bowed his head and gave him a broad smile.
"Thank you."
Severus hesitated for a moment, but finally responded with a nod and perhaps the hint of a wry smile.
He walked down the seventh floor corridor beside her, her irritated expression showing no sign of leaving her. He glanced around for a moment, making sure no one was around, before letting out the sardonic laugh he had been holding back a few minutes earlier. Omegas stopped and looked up at him.
"Having fun?" she asked, annoyed.
"When you said you had a 'very complex' relationship," he teased, "I didn't think you meant you were some sort of adopted daughter of his."
"I am not an adopted daughter of his," she retorted immediately, raising her voice considerably.
He barely held back a second laugh.
"Will you stop it?" she protested.
"Merlin," he murmured, pretending to be struck by a sudden realisation, "I ended up with the daughter of the man I killed."
Omegas hesitated for a moment, then burst into one of her laughs. "I swear, if your humour got any darker, even I would fail to see it," she commented.
Severus lowered his head, shook it and let out another laugh. "I'm not the one who goes around calling people 'bloody old bastards' to their faces."
She snorted. "Yeah, well, I—"
She stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened suddenly, she looked at him and went pale.
"What..." he murmured, "what is it?"
Omegas swallowed. She glanced around, opened her mouth, closed it and swallowed again. Severus, his impatience turning dangerously into fear, took a step closer, trying to study her face, finding nothing but... panic. Pure, utter, crippling panic.
"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or not?" he hissed.
She turned. "Follow me," she whispered.
Severus, now feeling a shared sense of terror, obeyed.
He reached Omegas' office with his heart in his throat and a good dose of bile due to her usual lack of clear explanations, something he would certainly make her pay for once he understood what was on her mind. He entered the familiar room and waited for her to close the door behind him before turning and giving her a grave look.
"Will you tell me what the hell—"
"Sit down, Severus," she cut him off, turning her back.
Severus was so nervous by now that he hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sitting down," he said icily. "Tell me what—"
"Please," she begged, turning suddenly.
She fixed him with a pair of huge violet eyes that it was becoming increasingly difficult to say no to. He took a deep breath, fighting not to shout at her. He reached the nearest chair and slowly sat down, waiting. Omegas turned again, walked to one of the many cupboards, took out a couple of glasses and filled them. She handed him one, which he took automatically, noticing that her hand was shaking slightly. He looked up at her and was met with a hesitant, decidedly nervous smile.
"So..." she began, taking a few steps back. "How... how are you feeling?"
Severus was so taken aback by the question that he couldn't answer, at least not right away. He narrowed his eyes, tilted his head slightly and looked at her as if she were mad. Then he looked down at his glass, let out a sardonic laugh and downed the entire contents.
"How the hell do you think I feel?" he thundered, suddenly rising from his chair. "You're scaring me to death. Are you doing it on purpose, Omegas? Because if you're mocking me for some reason..."
He left the sentence unfinished, but her reaction convinced him to take her seriously.
The glass slipped from her hand, her eyes widening again, and she took a few quick steps back. Severus was on the verge of a breakdown, and he was losing the ability to hide it.
"Please," he tried, "please tell me—"
“We’re speaking Parseltongue.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She was mocking him; he was absolutely certain of it. Severus had a peculiar way of dealing with his feelings when he felt mocked, which actually involved not dealing with them at all. For too long he had allowed too many people to do so without repercussions, and at the very moment he had finally found himself in a position to react, he did so consciously with all the resentment he had accumulated over time. It made him feel good, and although he knew deep down that the feeling, bordering on sadism, was far from healthy, he eventually decided to indulge it and had never regretted it.Hence, the temptation to open his mouth and vent his frustration on Omegas until he felt better was almost overwhelming. He lowered his head, looked at the glass in his hands, then at the shattered one on the floor, and was about to let his meet the same fate. This time, however, he made an extra effort: he breathed. He grabbed his wand, waved it, restored the broken glass and made it float onto the desk. He tried to calm himself by drawing on long-forgotten reserves of strength, but still, when he finally spoke, his tone was dangerous enough to betray all his anger."Why are you being an idiot, Omegas?"Still wearing a panicked expression, she hesitated for a moment, swallowed and mimicked him. She breathed and seemed to think for a long time about her next move. Finally, regaining a shred of self-control, she cautiously approached him, taking the glass from his hand and placing it next to hers."Severus..." she whispered. Pausing in front of him, she looked into his eyes and took his hands. "I know it's complicated. Please, calm down—""Don't—" he cut her off. He realised he had shouted, closed his eyes and forced himself to lower his voice. "Don't tell me to calm down."Omegas nodded. "All right. Don't calm down," she replied.He shot back with a look that bordered on sheer rage."Do me a favour, will you?" she continued, now with a condescending tone that did nothing to improve her position. "Focus on my lips for a second. Just for a moment, please. Look at them."Far from calming down, he forced himself to comply. He slowly moved his gaze from her eyes to her mouth."Look at the way they move," Omegas insisted in the same whisper, "then listen to the sounds reaching your ears. Do they sound like words?"Severus concentrated on nothing but the movement of her lips, then the sounds reaching his ears, and the more she spoke, the more the undeniable reality sank in. Those weren't words. They were hisses.He let go of her hands and took a step back."Yes," she murmured, nodding slowly. "Now speak to me. Answer me."Severus tried to obey, but couldn't. He took another step back, bumped into the chair and fell onto it. He swallowed and tried again."We..." he said, in no more than a murmur. That wasn't a word either. It was another hiss. "We're... I'm...""Yes," she repeated, "you are speaking Parseltongue, Severus."She approached and crouched before him. She smiled."Congratulations. You're officially a Parselmouth."He didn't say another word for a long time, neither in Parseltongue nor in English. Too many thoughts, too many possibilities, too many things to say crowded his mind. He remained silent, and so did she. She conjured another chair, placed it in front of his and waited, doing nothing but watching him. Severus only opened his mouth again when one of the many thoughts echoing through his mind finally overtook all the others in volume and intensity."There is only one logical explanation," he declared.After the previous interaction and the silence that followed, it was almost strange to hear the familiar sound of those words.She nodded. "Yes, I know.""But it's not possible," he said, essentially raising the objection to himself.She shook her head. "No, it isn't.""But it explains everything," he continued, now speaking more to himself than to her. "Our telepathy. My appetite. Your lack of appetite.""The 'mild nausea', yes," she confirmed."The things... the things I've been feeling these past few months," he murmured.He rose from his chair and walked slowly around the office, his gaze distant. Omegas stood as well and joined him in the centre of the room."What?" she asked, the usual, old light shining in her violet eyes. "What did you feel?"He met her gaze and found, as he tried to answer, that it was almost impossible to find a word to describe such a deep and yet persistent state of mind, like an undertone that hadn't left him for months."I felt..." He pondered and finally decided to use the only one that could even begin to describe it. "Calm."He pronounced the word as if it were foreign to him. As if for the first time in his life he fully grasped its meaning; as if every time he had used it before he had done so improperly.Omegas frowned slightly. "Calm?" she repeated.Severus realised then that he had been silent for almost two whole minutes just to make a rather inconsequential statement."Well, calmer than usual," he hastened to clarify."Ah," she said in a tone halfway between disbelief and fascination.Then, as if to prove his newfound calm to both her and himself, he asked the next question, showing no fear of the answer."What did you feel?"She turned, met his eyes again, then shifted her gaze to an undefined point in the room and pondered."I felt... as if..." she murmured, "as if I cared about everything."That was not the answer he had expected, and he couldn't say for sure if it was better or worse.Omegas chuckled softly. "Well, as if I cared more than usual," she added.Severus decided to turn his attention to other matters, realising that he was not ready to deal with this one."We need to understand what happened," he said, resuming his walk.She followed. "Why, isn't it obvious?""No, it's not obvious, Omegas," he objected. "It's impossible.""It's the only logical explanation," she observed. "You said so yourself.""I did, yes," he said, quickening his pace.She paused briefly. "Severus, this would be an ideal time to find that famous calm."He let out a sardonic laugh. "How?""I don't know, but you must find a way."Rarely in his life had it annoyed him so much to be told what to do."And why the hell should I?" he spat."Because if you get nervous, I'll get nervous too!" she shouted.Severus stopped, turned and fixed his gaze on her annoyed grimace. He considered her words for a moment, and they seemed both so truthful and so ironic, given the situation, that he found himself laughing. He lowered his head, shook it and gave a wry smile. Omegas approached, smiled in turn and leaned down to meet his gaze."Let's take a moment to think, shall we?" she murmured. "Let's try to understand."He looked at her face in silence for a moment, then nodded. He raised an arm and gestured for her to come to the desk. She walked past him and sat down in her chair, waiting for him to take a seat across from her.Severus soon found himself holding a glass, and the whole situation took on a familiar air—just another mystery to solve, almost distant, as if they weren't the protagonists of it."We need to find out when and how it happened," he announced."Yes," she confirmed, taking a sip. "When shouldn't be too hard to work out, should it? When did we start feeling... odd?" she asked. "Odder than usual, I mean."He thought. When had it been? At Durmstrang, perhaps, sitting at the fourth long table in the school's Great Hall, with surprisingly inviting food before him and an unexpected sense of well-being accompanying every bite? No, it wasn't then. Even earlier, in Professor Zakoten's office, he had felt strangely at home, although he had never set foot in that room before. It certainly couldn't have been his own feeling. He continued to think."Before we left," she tried, "while we were investigating. For a while, I felt so... so frustrated. Like I was... angry, but at nobody and nothing in particular." She looked at him. "I don't think that feeling was mine."He brought the glass to his lips, slightly embarrassed, hoping to hide part of his face behind it. "No, I don't think so," he confirmed.Omegas didn't seem to be particularly affected by the matter. She sipped as well, thinking in silence until an idea took shape on her face."Oh..." she murmured, her lips parted, "the memory, Severus..."He frowned. "The memory?""My worst memory," she insisted, "when I took the potion. Every time I took it before Christmas, I saw Jay die. But when I took it afterwards..."She left the sentence unfinished, staring into space for a moment, then turned back to him."It hasn't changed because he's fading..." she whispered. "I saw what I saw because it's our worst memory, yours and mine. The worst that our souls share."Severus took a moment to consider. "Yes..." he murmured then. "It makes sense."He looked back at her, cleared his throat and spoke in a practical tone, far removed from his emotions."Nothing significant happened between the time we decided to do it and the time you took the potion."Omegas nodded. "Which means...""That it happened the moment we decided to do it," he concluded.There were a few minutes of silence during which the two took the time to cross 'when' off their list of unanswered questions. Then they moved on to the next one."How?" Severus asked, his tone filled with great perplexity.Omegas looked at him and gave him a slow, familiar, inopportune, sly smile."I have a theory," she announced.She stood up, leaving the glass on the desk, and walked deliberately and slowly across the office, aware of the pair of eyes staring at her, hungry for answers."Professor Zakoten," she began, her hands clasped behind her back, "has taught me a bit of everything over the years, not just Venoms, including things that don't get the attention at Durmstrang that he feels they deserve. Among them... the soul. The soul is mostly studied in the Dark Arts curriculum in reference to how it can be manipulated, rather than its actual functioning, but Professor Zakoten has never agreed with that. He always felt it was important to understand how it worked, regardless of how useful that might be in using it. So he explained it to me."Severus frowned slightly. "He explained it to you?""Yes," she confirmed. "He explained it to me.""Nobody knows the exact working of a soul, Omegas," he said, standing up and joining her in the centre of the office. "No one knows its exact nature. Not even Professor Zakoten."She held his gaze and gave him another mischievous smile. "No, indeed. But he explained it to me anyway."He raised an eyebrow. "And what did he explain to you?"Omegas lifted her head slightly and pronounced the next sentence with some pride."The soul is consciousness."There was a brief pause after that statement. It was a phrase he had heard her say many times over the years, but he had never taken it literally. He had always interpreted it as 'consciousness exists as long as the soul exists' or 'one cannot be without the other'. It had never occurred to him that the two might literally be the same thing."He kept repeating it like a mantra," she continued. "'The soul is consciousness, my dear, always remember that,'" she mimicked, lowering her voice two octaves. "'The soul can only be manipulated to the extent that we allow it.'"She approached him and fixed him with a gaze that was now both fascinated and excited."What if that were true?" she asked in a whisper. "What if the soul were really just another part of an individual, and that part was their intention? Their free will?"Severus held her conspiratorial gaze and thought again, in silence. That explanation was not only fascinating... it managed to explain the mysticism surrounding the concept of the soul while satisfying his cynicism. It was so brilliant in its simplicity, so sensible, that he was sure he was betraying at least some of the wonder it caused him. However, he chose not to give it voice."What are you suggesting?" he asked instead, forcing a note of scepticism. "That we somehow exchanged a part of our souls the moment we decided to do it, just because we wanted to, without realising it?"She smiled at him. "Yes," she said calmly.He let out a small laugh in disbelief. "And what about the ritual then, hmm?" he insisted, as if trying to convince himself more than her. "There is a ritual. There has to be. All the texts on the legend of the Horcruxes mention a ritual. It's well known, an established fact."Omegas' expression darkened. She suddenly lost her smile, lowered her head and turned away. She walked forward and gave him her back for a few moments before speaking again, her voice still low but a little firmer."I must ask you a question now," she said, "not a pleasant one, Severus."He frowned. "All right," he murmured."I'm sorry," she added, in a tone that was far from reassuring.Severus, increasingly perplexed, began to take cautious steps in her direction, only to freeze when the question was finally asked."How long had she been dead when you entered that house?"It was a long time before he could even move a muscle; so long that by the time he had regained the ability to at least open his mouth, she had already spoken again."You were the first to arrive at the scene. The first to enter after the murder and, as we know, the subsequent creation of a Horcrux," she said, walking towards him again. "How much time do you think passed between the moment Riddle did it and the moment you arrived? Enough to perform a ritual? And if so, how exactly did he manage to accidentally put a piece of his soul into the boy?"Severus thought once more. He forced himself to relive the moment and did so, perhaps for the first time, analytically. He watched the door of the Potter house knocked off its hinges and thrown to the ground, but overcame his panic and focused on the wall that had once supported it. It was damaged, on the verge of collapsing, as if it hadn't had time to settle after the attack. He looked into the open, lifeless eyes of James Potter at the bottom of the stairs, lingering a moment longer this time on the crooked glasses that still rested on his nose. They were cracked, as if they had been stepped on; as if someone had rushed down the stairs so quickly that they didn't bother to avoid him, instead stepping over him. He walked up every step that led to the upper floor and finally saw her. He collapsed to the floor beside her and took her in his arms, but this time, instead of concentrating on her hair in his fingers or his own tears, he forced himself to focus on another detail. Her body was warm. He looked up and, for a moment, met the crying eyes of Harry before him, a large pulsing scar on his forehead. If there was a ritual, a deliberate one, one that involved choosing an object or a person to make it the container of one's soul, how had that boy become one by mistake? He heard Dumbledore's words.
A part of Lord Voldemort's soul attached itself to the only living thing nearby.
The only living thing. Then he heard Omegas' words.
Souls seek souls, Severus. A soul is not meant to remain attached to something cold, something dead.
At last it was clear. That was what had happened that night. Voldemort had killed with the clear intention of breaking his soul and putting it into something. His consciousness, his will, ensured that a piece of his soul left his body; but he hadn't considered that it would try to cling to something living, that there was something living in that room. Harry Potter.He turned, and this time, when he met Omegas' eyes, he made no effort to hide his state of mind."There is no ritual," he said breathlessly. "There never was."She smiled at him again. "No, there isn't," she agreed. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say... I'd say someone spread the rumour so that no one would gain the awareness necessary to do such a thing, even if they wanted to." She shrugged slightly. "Why break your own soul if you're certain you don't know how to contain it? But it was different for us.""Our souls were already broken," he went on. "And the moment we both agreed...""Yes," she nodded."And we didn't notice?" he asked in a whisper. "How did we... how is it possible that there was... nothing? No pain, no... noise, no repercussions, nothing?"Omegas averted her gaze for a moment, thought, then looked back at him."Things are rarely as you expect them to be," she observed."Yes," he nodded, "but they're usually worse."She chuckled. "Yes, well... not this time."He registered the words and suddenly everything became real. He was silent for a moment, then turned to her, not even trying to suppress the smile that threatened to spread across his face."We did it," he said, as if testing the words in his mouth.She slowly returned the smile. "We did it," she repeated.Severus let out a laugh, half incredulous, half genuine. His eyes fixed on nothing in particular, he brought a hand to his mouth, and it trembled slightly as he did so.In the moments that followed, they looked at each other and realised, with a slight shared awkwardness, that they didn't know what to say. What could they possibly say? Severus silently walked back to the desk, sat down and picked up his glass again. He brought it to his lips and watched as Omegas reached out and imitated him. When they found their words again, some time later, they did so simultaneously. They turned and both uttered a half-finished "What..."They paused, lowered their heads, then raised them again and said, "You first," one more time in unison. They studied each other for a few moments, opened their mouths but thought better of it. At that point Omegas, undoubtedly driven by the need to lighten the tension, reverted to her usual manner, gave him a sly smile and sipped with utter nonchalance."This is getting ridiculous," she stated in a mocking whisper."Quiet," he replied, feigning the same indifference.She burst out laughing and he felt happier than he had in months, years, maybe ever. He lingered on that sensation for a few moments before Omegas brought him back to reality with a practical, "We need to figure out what kind of consequences this will have. Or rather, has had... is having," she corrected herself.Severus raised an eyebrow. "You mean apart from the inability to age, the inability to die, the telepathy and the fact that I suddenly can't go six hours without eating?"She snorted. "You shouldn't go six hours without eating anyway," she pointed out."It's infuriating, really," he said in a polemical tone that was entirely believable. "You spend half your life thinking about food.""Yeah, you know what? I'd like my appetite back. And my calm, while we're at it.""Hmm, not a chance," he objected. "I'm keeping that."Omegas laughed again, and this time he joined her. For another brief moment, everything that wasn't that exchange was forgotten, so the sound of the office door disturbing them less than a minute later, forcing them to find their unreadable expressions, was particularly annoying.Gad stormed in with his wand drawn, rushed in at full speed, waved it and slammed the door behind him with a force he had never shown before."They can't do it," he said, his usually weak, mechanical tone now much stronger.Severus and Omegas, baffled by that unusual lack of manners, exchanged a puzzled look and stood up simultaneously."Can't do what?" she asked."They want to kill Noah," he blurted out, a clear lump in his throat. "Worse, they want to... they want to..." he couldn't finish the sentence."How do you know that?" Severus intervened, firmly but with a touch of rare compassion."I heard Miriam talking to Greg about it at St Mungo's, and Sirius brought me back here," he explained in one breath. "Greg doesn't agree, and neither do I. They can't do it!" he repeated.Omegas offered a faint smile and approached him cautiously. "It's not Greg's decision to make," she said calmly, "nor yours.""I don't care," he objected, his voice breaking, "I don't care, there must be something we can do. Something, an alternative, he—""Did you know him?" Severus asked, moving closer as well.Gad looked up at him, then bowed his head. "No," he murmured. "But it doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with me.""Are you sure?" Severus asked again.He stopped in front of him, meeting his lowered gaze. He held his dark eyes for a few moments, then reached for his wand and summoned a chair. He sat down in front of him and spoke in a low but determined tone."He's not you, Gad."The boy turned and stared stubbornly at the wall to his left."Finding a way to fix him won't help you," Severus continued."I know that," he said."I know you know," Severus nodded. "Rationally, you know. Your brain knows. But I don't think the rest of you know."Gad swallowed. He was silent for a long time before he could whisper the next sentence."I don't... I don't want them to do it. They're taking the easy way out. If they had done it with me..." he stopped and swallowed again. "If they had done it with me, I would have died fifteen years ago. That's not fair.""Life never is," replied the Professor."No, it never is!" cried the other. "But it's up to us. It's up to us, isn't it? To find a way to make it fair, as far as we can. Because otherwise, what's the point?"Severus fell silent. He had faced this objection many times over the years, and had always responded with speeches bordering on nihilism, about the futility of individual effort in the face of the vastness of injustice that life itself represented. But that time, in that room, in front of that boy, he couldn't. Perhaps if it had been another day, and not the one in which he had discovered that he had managed to cheat death itself in order to fight yet another injustice that life had thrown at him; if it had been another room, and not the office of the woman who was the fairest thing that had ever happened to him; if it had been another boy, and not one who had received nothing but injustice since the day he was born, but who was sitting in a wheelchair in front of him, talking about fighting and self-determination, he might have been able to raise that objection; but not there. Not then.He turned and met Omegas' eyes. He saw the same deep need to update the boy that he had seen in St Mungo's some time before, but this time he didn't scold her. He nodded, fully aware that he was putting reason aside in favour of empathy, and she returned his nod with a smile. She summoned another chair and sat down beside him, facing the boy."Gad," she murmured.He looked up at her with a pair of hopeful, dark eyes. She hesitated for a moment before continuing."You must promise us that you won't say a word, especially to McGonagall. We'd risk being fired.""I promise," he replied immediately. "I swear."Omegas turned to Severus, obviously looking for confirmation, and didn't need more than a look to get it.She turned back to the boy. "We have reason to believe that... by finding a way to break Noah's soul, it would be possible to return at least part of it to his body."Gad frowned. He didn't say a word, but his puzzled eyes darted from her to him a few times."And how..." he whispered, "how is it done... how could it be done?"She shook her head. "We don't know. But we've informed the Headmistress, who is already speaking to Professor Sprout. She will inform his mother, the Aurors and the Healers, and with a bit of luck we'll be able to delay everything until we find a way to do it."The boy looked back and forth between them in disbelief. "But how... I don't understand, how is it possible...""We can't tell you any more than that, Gad," she said firmly. Then she offered a half-smile. "In fact, we shouldn't even have told you that."Severus looked up at him and gave him a serious look. "We're telling you not to involve you any further, but for the exact opposite reason. To prove to you that we know what we're doing. The situation is under control," he stated. "Stay out of it. Is that clear?""Trust us," she added.Gad hesitated for a moment, swallowing what would otherwise have been a whimper."You won't... you won't let them..."The other two looked at each other, then back at the boy."No, Gad," he said firmly."Not if there's an alternative," she concluded.Gad nodded. "Thank you."There were a few moments of silence. A single tear ran down the boy's thin face, and the sight of it alone made Severus deeply uncomfortable. Gad, judging by the way he blushed when he realised he had let it slip, must have shared his discomfort and quickly wiped it away with a sleeve."Sorry," he murmured."For what?" Omegas asked.It didn't sound rhetorical or like an attempt to reassure him; more like genuine perplexity, which was nonetheless unintentionally comforting. Gad gave her a weak smile, sniffed and found his polite manners again."I should get back downstairs. Sirius is waiting to take me back to St Mungo's."She nodded. "I'll come with you.""Oh, there's no need, Professor—""I know," she said.She stood and walked cautiously towards the door. Pausing at the exit, she turned and waited for the boy to catch up with her; then she looked at Severus."Coming?"He nodded. He was the last to leave the office, closing the door behind him and following them to the stairs.They reached the main hall and stepped aside as Gad joined Sirius, who was waiting at the doors of Hogwarts. He greeted the boy with a smile and an affectionate pat on the shoulder; then he looked up at the two still at the top of the stairs, raised a hand and waved. Severus grimaced in annoyance and looked away. Omegas, on the other hand, forced one of her indecipherable smiles and returned the gesture almost identically."Oh, I hate him even more now," she said through clenched teeth, maintaining the smile.Severus snorted a laugh. He watched as the two walked through the doors and turned. He looked at her for a few moments in silence."We should inform the Healers and the Aurors," he observed. "Find a way to tell them there's no need for a ritual, but without explaining how we found out.""Yes," she agreed."We should also try to find a way to break a soul that doesn't involve murder," he added."Yes," she repeated."We need to find a way to get explicit consent from a boy who cannot communicate...""True.""Then we should find a way to handle the Resurrection Stone situation without involving Astrid," he continued."No doubt," Omegas nodded."And track down a Half-Dementor that could be anywhere in Hogwarts and the surrounding areas."She nodded again. "Absolutely," she said.Severus nodded in return, running his eyes over her cunning face. She gave him a small smile and moved a little closer."Hungry?"He narrowed his eyes and tried his best to give her a look that he knew instantly wasn't even close to reproach."Merlin, I hate you," he declared.She laughed heartily."It's going to be a bloody nightmare," he added with an exasperated air that didn't hold the slightest hint of bite.With that, he watched her give him a broad smile, which he returned for no more than a second, then turned and strode towards the Great Hall with Omegas at his side. The brave students who dared to meet his gaze at dinner that night were surprised to find, instead of the usual unwarranted sparks of hatred, nothing but calm.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The first of the many problems to be solved was easier than expected. What Severus hadn't considered was that, with Voldemort, Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody gone, he was now the greatest expert on the Dark Arts in the nation, and the only one who had ever dealt with Horcruxes, however indirectly. So when the time came to discuss the matter with the Aurors, all he had to do was keep a blank expression on his face and announce, "I have reason to believe that, given the unprecedented nature and condition of the boy's soul, once part of it is fragmented, it will be able to return to its owner's body without further manipulation."Astrid, much to his surprise, seemed convinced and even pleased by the idea. Harry, on the other hand, stiffened at the word 'Horcrux', but neither he nor Ron, seated beside him in the Auror Department's conference room, dared to raise any objections, at least not in front of him. Noah's Healers, on the other hand, especially Iris, definitely did raise objections; the woman called it an 'unnatural practice the consequences of which would in all likelihood be worse than the alternative and death itself'. Miriam agreed with her colleague, though only with a quiet nod and a faint bitter smile. They were forced to set aside their discontent, however, for Professor McGonagall had in the meantime spoken to Sprout, who in turn had managed to convince the boy's mother to consider the option, and the Healers thus found themselves without explicit consent to proceed with the removal.The other questions were not so easily answered. There seemed to be no hint of an alternative method to the Killing Curse for splitting a soul in any of the volumes Severus immersed himself in from the day the Easter holidays began. Omegas, who had resumed her visits to St Mungo's in search of a way to communicate with Noah and ask for his consent, was equally unsuccessful, once again prey to a frustration that Severus, for more than one obvious reason, shared."He's stopped moving," she sighed, falling back into her chair, a drink already in her hand. "His soul doesn't even get up now when the boy's eyes are open. It doesn't point, it doesn't agitate, it barely comes close when Gad plays for him.""Hmm," he commented, bringing his glass to his lips. "Have you tried to communicate by playing yourself?""No, I changed my mind.""Why?"She made a grimace of displeasure. "I think Noah is giving up. He's losing what little will to live he had, and it wasn't much to begin with. Listening to me play certainly wouldn't help."Severus frowned and watched her sip in silence for a while. He settled into his chair and leaned forward slightly."Was that self-pity, Omegas?" he whispered, half provocatively, half genuinely concerned.She froze and seemed to think for a moment. "Yes, it was, wasn't it?" she said vaguely. She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "How do you deal with it?"He snorted a bitter laugh. "The answer is in your hand."Omegas tilted her head slightly, then looked at her glass. She nodded resignedly and continued drinking in silence.Finding a way to locate the Resurrection Stone without involving Astrid was almost impossible, since the Head Auror had been at Hogwarts and nearby ever since the first expedition into the forest had been organised. Besides, the question of how to find it was another one, the answer to which could not be found in any book, no matter how rare or forbidden. In desperation, he tried to ask Dumbledore's portrait for help one day when the Headmistress was busy assisting the Aurors on a patrol, but to no avail."I don't know," the former Headmaster replied calmly."It's not possible that you don't know," he objected, much less calmly. "You found it. You gave it to Potter.""Yes," the other confirmed, "but I never told anyone how I did it."Severus frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?""I am not really Albus Dumbledore," the portrait explained. "I am an image of the man he was, created by those who remember him. I am nothing more than the sum of the memories of those who knew me, Severus."He silently studied the blue eyes of his former Headmaster, so similar to those that had stared into his face dozens, hundreds of times."You know of yourself only what the living remember of you," he said then.Dumbledore nodded. "I deliberately never told anyone how to get the Resurrection Stone. Therefore, I don't know.""Brilliant idea," Severus replied grumpily, his tone filled with sarcasm. "Thus the information is lost forever and someone has the Resurrection Stone in their hands, knowing they can't be traced."The portrait smiled. "I must have done what I thought was right at the time." He bowed his head slightly and gave him a piercing stare that retained all its effectiveness, painted or not. "Isn't that why we all do what we do, no matter how far from reason it may seem to others?"There was an obvious insinuation behind that remark, which filled Severus with a frustration that he only managed to shake off when, upon his return to their quarters, Omegas spent at least five consecutive minutes calling the former Headmaster names, of which 'bloody old bastard' was the most flattering.Anyway, the suspension of the previous days had now completely dissipated, and for the next few days Severus and Omegas did nothing but search, investigate and gather information, hoping that sooner or later the missing piece of the puzzle that would make sense of all the others would miraculously appear and provide an answer to each of their questions. Unexpectedly, on a spring Friday, one of the last days of the holidays, it finally arrived, disguised as something else entirely.The two were locked in Omegas' office on the second floor and hadn't spoken to each other for at least three hours straight. She was deep in an old Italian book on the manipulation of the soul through esoteric practices. Wearing Professor Zakoten's glasses on his nose, he was on his tenth reading of the legend of the Deathly Hallows in different languages, hoping that at least one version of the story would reveal additional details regarding the search for the Hallows. The day's forecast had them silent and focused for at least the next four hours, before a rumbling stomach finally convinced one of them to look up and suggest a vague "Hungry?" to the other.These, however, were interrupted in the middle of the afternoon by a knock at the door that was as unexpected as it was unfamiliar. Severus frowned, lifted his eyes from the book and gave Omegas a perplexed look, which she returned with an identical one."Come in," she said, lowering the volume in her hands.The door opened, and someone who had never entered that office since Omegas had become its owner stepped across the threshold."Professor Sinistra," she greeted, as cordial and detached as she was with most of her colleagues."Professor Grindelwald," the other replied. "Snape," she added, shifting her gaze to him."Sinistra."Severus didn't dislike the woman; of all the teaching staff, she was the one who annoyed him the least. They had taken up their posts around the same time, they were almost the same age, she was slightly older, and so they had all the makings of being forced to engage in conversation and small talk. Yet he had never done so, and she had always returned the favour. In almost twenty years, they had exchanged perhaps three words, and Severus had always silently appreciated it.Omegas stood up and joined her in the centre of the office. "How may I be of service?" she asked with a smile.Professor Sinistra seemed almost surprised by her courtesy. She frowned slightly and looked up at her."It's about Sylvia," she explained. "We were supposed to have lunch today, as we do every Friday, and then go to the Black Cat in the afternoon, but she didn't turn up. Do you know where she is?"Omegas returned her puzzled look, then shifted her gaze from her to him. She thought for a moment."Have you tried the pub? Maybe she forgot. It happens to her sometimes."The other woman sneered. "All the time," she corrected."Yes, all the time," Omegas agreed, chuckling. "She's probably there."Sinistra shook her head. "No, she's not. I've been there. She told Sirius she was spending the day at school."Omegas frowned further. "She lied.""Yes, she lied.""Ah," she murmured, the hint of a smile curling the corners of her lips. "Interesting."She lost herself in thought for a moment, then looked back at the other woman."Have you mentioned it to Sirius?""I haven't, no," Sinistra replied, shaking her head again."Why not?"She shrugged. "I thought she had a good reason to be lying."Omegas, eyes narrowed, seemed to study her for a while. She examined her deep brown eyes, then her slight grin. Finally, she gave her a broad smile and offered her hand."Nice to meet you, Professor Sinistra," she said.The other woman took it. "Aurora, please.""Aurora," Omegas repeated. "Wait for Sylvia at the Black Cat. I'll bring her to you in two hours."Aurora tilted her head slightly. "Do you know where she is?""Oh, yes," she nodded.Professor Sinistra released her hand, nodded in turn and asked no further questions. She left a few moments later, nodding to each of them and closing the door behind her.Omegas stood in the centre of the office and stared at the closed door in silence for a long moment."Sylvia was right, Severus. I do like her," she announced.Severus, who had risen to join her, also kept his eyes on the door, then turned to her."Do you know where she is?"She turned with a cunning grin. "Of course I know where she is.""Where?" he asked curiously.Omegas' smile didn't fade, but it did darken slightly. She walked over to the coat rack by the entrance and pulled her cloak over her shoulder."What day is it?" she asked.He had to think for a moment. The days since the start of the Easter holidays had all seemed the same."April twenty-second," he said eventually."Correct," she confirmed. "Any particular event comes to mind?"Severus mentally listed every notable event he could recall. However, April twenty-second didn't ring a bell. He looked back at Omegas, fully intending to order her to stop being cryptic and tell him clearly what she was referring to; but the expression on her face had taken on a challenging look, and he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. He thought again, and this time, instead of possible events, he tried to remember every April twenty-second he had experienced in the past. Finally, he understood, and turned sombre again."It's the anniversary of Garnet's death."She nodded slowly. "Yes.""Where is she?"Omegas looked elsewhere and smiled faintly. "Where she always goes when she doesn't want to be found."She grabbed his cloak, walked over to him and handed it to him. He took it and threw it over his shoulder with a wryly arched eyebrow."You're being deliberately vague," he accused. "You're forcing me to read your mind, Omegas."She laughed. "Nurturing telepathy."He offered a crooked smile. He focused on her face, but as had been the case every time he had tried since the visit to the Potter house, he neither received nor transmitted anything. What he did do, though, was understand once more."She's at Malfoy Manor," he stated.Omegas lost her smile and parted her lips; he savoured that reaction with a broad, mocking grin."How?" she asked."The garden," he replied arrogantly. "It was well kept. The manor has been abandoned for years, and you're not exactly the type to water plants."She chuckled in disbelief. "No, I'm not," she confirmed. She approached him and fixed him with a pair of large, enchanted purple eyes. "Not bad.""I know," he said. "Shall we?"Omegas nodded and pointed to the door. "After you."Severus resisted the sudden urge to take her hand, but gave in once they were apparated and away from prying eyes.Sylvia was just beyond the gate that separated Malfoy Manor from the surrounding countryside. She was sitting on the lawn with her back to the gate, her chin resting on the back of her hands, surrounded by a sea of Snowdrops. Severus and Omegas hadn't exchanged a word about what to do, nor had they had any telepathic conversation when they looked at each other, yet they nodded and marched determinedly towards the girl. They reached her and sat down, she to her right, he to her left. They sat without saying a word, and she looked from one to the other in confusion."What is this, some kind of ambush?" she remarked sourly.The two of them let out two distinct, quiet, muffled laughs."Aurora visited us a little while ago," Omegas explained. "It seems you stood her up for lunch.""Oh," she replied, blushing slightly. "Yes, I... I may have forgotten to tell her I wouldn't be there."The other smiled at her. "I'd say so. But she'll forgive you, I think. I told her to wait for you at the Black Cat."Sylvia's eyes darted to her. "Ah... y-you did?" she stammered."Don't worry," Severus interrupted in his usual impassive tone. "She's covered for you with Black. If you decide to lie to him again in the future, which I strongly encourage you do, make sure you tell everyone the same lie."Sylvia looked at him, her cold black eyes fixed on his; then she let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. She remained silent for a while, playing with one of the white flowers around her."Sirius, he..." she murmured after a while. "He has his own way of... dealing with things, you know?""Does he?" Omegas said, a hint of disdain betraying her smile."He... he's the type to joke," the other continued, "always. And it works, with me, I mean... you know me. Most of the time it works. But there are times, a few times... when I just need to be..."She searched for the right word for a long time, but eventually left the sentence hanging."Sad?" her friend tried.Sylvia met her eyes and nodded slowly.Omegas was silent for a while, undoubtedly to give space to the mentioned sadness, then spoke in a quiet but determined whisper."What type are you?" she asked.The other looked at her and thought for a while about what to say. "Do I have to be a specific type?""Of course," Severus interjected, looking stubbornly elsewhere. "Are you the type to dwell endlessly on the trauma?""Or the type to never mention it, as if your life depended on it?" Omegas continued.Sylvia frowned and looked back and forth between them at least half a dozen times."You..." she said in a whisper. "Did you—""Yes," he interrupted.The girl looked at him in disbelief, swallowed, then looked at the other, who nodded."Do you... do you want to talk about it?" she asked."It's not our turn," Omegas replied with a smile.Sylvia studied her face for a moment before turning away, her eyes fixed on a distant place."I think..." she murmured tentatively. "I think I'm neither. I think... I want to talk about the good things."The other two exchanged glances, mostly surprised, the rest fascinated. Omegas smiled again, stretched out her legs and lay down on the lawn."Talk about the good things," she invited.Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then imitated her. She looked at the sky for a while and played with a flower above her head."I used to go to him when I felt like this," she began. "He knew how to listen. He talked a lot too, but... he always knew when to shut up and let you speak. He always did this thing when you were down. He'd let you vent, then he'd come over to you, hug you and fix your hair. As if fixing your hair would somehow fix everything else."She smiled and brushed a platinum strand from her forehead."He was sweet. But he wasn't perfect, oh, no. He was brave. Too brave, though. He didn't care about the consequences of his bravery. He just wanted to be true to himself." She smiled again. "And he had a bad temper, the worst I've ever seen. Never went a week without causing drama at home. It was unbelievable how he could keep quiet when it was useful to me, but never when it was useful to him..."She went on for most of the next half hour, and the other two, Omegas lying beside her, eyes closed and a serene smile, and Severus sitting, eyes fixed elsewhere and a hint of unusual affection in them, didn't dare interrupt her.When she had finished, Sylvia cried for the next fifteen minutes, and the other two still did not speak. Only when her last sob had subsided did Omegas stand up, Severus following. They held out their hands to the girl, who took them and let herself be pulled up. Omegas rummaged through her bag for a moment, pulled out a grey silk handkerchief with the letters G.Z. embroidered on it, and handed it to Sylvia."I want it back when you've finished," she announced.The other snorted, wiped her eyes and looked at the cloth in her hands in confusion."It dried itself," she observed."Yes," Omegas confirmed, taking it and putting it back in her bag.She looked at her, betraying a great surge of conflicting emotions, but only for a moment. Then she regained her usual manner and gestured towards the gate behind them."Let's go. I told Aurora I'd take you to the Black Cat in two hours, and I'm always ten minutes early."Sylvia snorted again and turned icy. "Insufferable," she accused.She turned and walked towards the edge of Malfoy Manor, nose in the air and a forced look of contempt on her face. Omegas chuckled softly and turned to face Severus. He nodded and walked towards the gate, his cloak billowing like a great black stain, covering every white flower he stepped on.Upon reaching the entrance mirror, Omegas passed through without transforming, receiving a predictably suspicious look from Sylvia."Aurora came by, so I assumed you'd opened the pub to humans," she explained, with a lie so convincing that even Severus believed it.The girl accepted the explanation with a nod, turned and walked over to the only occupied table in the empty pub. Sirius and Professor Sinistra stood up, greeting the owner affectionately. He gave her a warm hug, while the other muttered, "Ah, you made it!""Sorry, Rora," she said vaguely. "You know how it is, with classes and investigations... sometimes I lose track of time.""Hm..." she murmured; then she turned to the other two. "Snape. Professor Grindelwald.""Omegas, please," she responded with a smile.Sinistra nodded. "Are you staying for dinner? That way I won't be the third wheel." "You're never the third wheel, you know that," Sirius huffed."Oh, shut up," the other retorted. "We've already talked about this. If you don't want me to feel like the third wheel, try keeping your girl next to you, not on top of you."Sirius chuckled. "I'll do my best," he said, sitting down and moving Sylvia so close that she was almost on his lap. "Well then," he murmured, turning to them. "Are you staying?"If ever there was a moment for telepathy to work again, this was it. Severus didn't want to stay, not after the previous afternoon, not with the prospect of having to feign a casualness he didn't feel in the slightest, and especially not with the flood of unanswered questions crowding his mind. He turned to Omegas and tried to convey this with every means at his disposal. He couldn't speak directly to her mind, but she understood anyway."Better not," she said calmly. "We have a lot to do before classes resume. Besides, I'm not hungry."The statement was met with two different frowns."Still nauseous?" Sylvia asked, perplexed."Yes," Omegas confirmed, but she did so with a big smile on her face.Sirius looked up at her, turned to the girl for answers, then turned back to the other two. He paled."You're not... please tell me you're not..." he whispered, his expression bordering on disgust.Omegas frowned. She didn't seem to get it, and shifted her confused eyes to Severus, who had understood perfectly and was shooting pure resentment at the other man. Then she realised and looked back at Sirius with almost as much hostility."No," she spat. "Of course not."He swallowed. "Are you sure?"She raised an eyebrow, looked him up and down, then gave him a malicious grin. "I can't have children, Black," she announced, clearly trying to make him uncomfortable.It worked wonders. Sirius, embarrassed, suddenly blushed and lowered his head under the other's impassive gaze."Oh..." he murmured, uncertain. "Oh, I didn't..."Omegas was on the verge of bursting into laughter, and Severus was sure that if she did, he'd follow suit."You can't have children?" Sylvia interrupted, in a tone that betrayed not a hint of sympathy."No," the other confirmed, pleased.The girl snorted, looked away and crossed her arms. "Lucky bastard..."Only then did Omegas give in and laugh. Sylvia followed, then Sirius, and the tension disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared."Speaking of children," Omegas remarked provocatively. "Where's Gad?"Sylvia rolled her eyes. "I told you, we didn't adopt him.""Oh, you did," the other countered.Her friend shot her a murderous look, but refrained from responding with a resigned air. Sirius, however, scolded her with a look that wasn't as disapproving as it should have been."He's at St Mungo's," he explained. "He decided to stay there after his appointment this afternoon. I'll bring him back to Hogwarts in time for your lesson in the morning," he added, making sure to say it while avoiding Severus' eyes."Good," he replied. He made sure to do so with great satisfaction, sensing a note of jealousy in the other's tone that he fully intended to fuel."Why did he stay?" Sinistra asked curiously.Sirius shrugged. "He wanted to keep Noah company," he said, hiding a hint of discomfort behind his carefree demeanour. "He really cares about the boy, you know... I think he's getting his hopes up a bit about the whole situation. I tried to talk to him, but...""Well, I'm not surprised," the other nodded grimly. "The two of them were quite close. Noxwood was a year ahead, but Nodens was quite advanced in Astronomy." She snorted a bitter laugh. "He asked me for extra lessons, you know. I told him I didn't have the time, but the boy is stubborn. I think he ended up getting those lessons from Noxwood. He was very talented..."Here, at last, was the missing piece, the one that would make sense of the whole puzzle. Severus' eyes widened, and he turned sharply towards Omegas. The moment he met her pair of violet eyes, what they had wasn't a telepathic conversation; it was a shared, simultaneous revelation.They saw Severus ask him, "Did you know him?" and Gad reply, "No. It has nothing to do with me." That had been a lie. Gad had lied. Why lie about something as understandable, as innocent, as sympathy for a friend? Then they found their answer: because it wasn't innocent at all. They saw the boy, under Omegas' curious eyes, explain the nature of his condition."Nobody knows for sure, ma'am. It seems I've been like this since before I was abandoned at St. Mungo's. Most of the Healers who have examined me believe it's something congenital, others think it was some kind of accident. Some even said it must have been done to me on purpose, but nobody knows."They saw him eating hungrily, contentedly, sitting at the long Christmas table in the Black Cat."The treatment is really working, isn't it?" they saw Omegas ask, and they saw him, his mouth full of food, look up at her with a pair of eyes as vital as they had ever been.They saw him next to Hagrid, for the first time able to hold the weight of his head, and they replayed the conversation he'd had with Omegas at the beginning of the year."You are getting passionate about magical creatures these days, aren't you?""Yes, ma’am. Hagrid has plenty of wonderful creatures in the forest."Then they remembered the words of Bane the Centaur."You're here for the boy who loves the stars? I've seen the way he looks at them. He understands them. He's not like most of you."It wasn't Noah who had wandered through the Forbidden Forest and stumbled upon the Resurrection Stone. It wasn't Noah who had free access to those paths, with the affectionate consent of his Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, who had had time to explore them undisturbed. It was Gad. Gad was the boy who loves the stars. The one who shared Noah's passion for Astronomy. The one Noah had written about most in his diaries: Spaceboy. The one who had probably been the first to know the password to the prefects' bathroom. The boy with a mysterious illness, which, according to some, was deliberately inflicted on him. The one for whom no treatment at St Mungo's had worked in fifteen years, but who suddenly, in just over six months, had made more progress than in his entire life. The only one of the students who could walk in the dark park without any fear of being attacked, because he knew there wouldn't be any. Because he had decided there wouldn't be any. Because he was the attacker."Is everything all right?" Sylvia asked.The two suddenly snapped out of their thoughts to find three pairs of eyes fixed on them. They had two possible courses of action. The first was to tell the truth, reveal the conclusion they had just come to; contact Astrid, then the Healers, fetch Gad from St Mungo's and hear his version of events at the Ministry, inside the Auror Department. The second course saw them remain impassive, answer the question with a sharp retort to divert attention from their astonished eyes, take their leave, and face the boy alone in Severus' office the next morning, without saying anything to anyone. They did not exchange further glances to confirm the decision; they might have aroused the suspicion of the others."No, Sylvia, everything is not all right," Omegas replied. "Of all the kids you could have adopted, you chose the one who is both physically and emotionally problematic. Why do you hate yourself?"The girl rolled her eyes again. "I didn't adopt him," she tried to argue."Not surprising, is it?" Severus pressed on. "You have a certain weakness for... abandoned puppies," he commented with a grin and a meaningful look at Sirius.Omegas laughed heartily and, to his surprise, so did Professor Sinistra. Sylvia responded with an indignant grimace, which Severus thought was greatly exaggerated in relation to the offence, and Sirius, sitting next to her, gave him the glare of someone about to snap."Weren't you leaving?" he spat."Yes," Severus confirmed. He turned and muttered an unfriendly "Goodbye."Omegas gave each of them an unreadable smile and bid them farewell with a cordial "Auf Wiedersehen." Sylvia replied with a "Tchau," Sinistra with an "Arrivederci," and Sirius, confused, muttered a vague "Bye...?"The two disappeared a moment later behind the white door leading to the disapparition area.They didn't speak all the way back to Hogwarts. They quickly made their way to their quarters, without stopping for dinner in the Great Hall, and once the door closed behind them, they sat down in their armchairs in silence, with a drink in hand. They barely looked each other in the eye, too deep in their reflections, which remained essentially a single, shared thought. Only after half an hour of silence did Omegas bring the whisky to her lips, her hand trembling, and find the strength to ask a quiet question."What do we do, Severus?"Severus swallowed, his glass resting on his leg and his arms suddenly too heavy to move. He uttered three words he hated, had always hated, but on that day, in that particular context, he hated them even more passionately."I don't know."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Neither of them woke up that Saturday, for neither had gone to sleep the night before. They waited for the time when Gad was due to arrive at Severus' office for his lesson, rose from their armchairs, nodded and left their quarters. They arrived the usual ten minutes early, arranged two chairs behind the desk and waited.Gad arrived, punctual as ever, and opened the door gently with a flick of his wand. The moment Severus saw his wheelchair float into the room, his heart began to race. Every macabre image he had accumulated of Noah, lying on a bed with a clear look of horror on his face; his shadow cruelly torn from his body, extinguished and tucked away in a corner; every illustration of the ritual he had read about in Professor Zakoten's book, to which he knew the boy had been subjected, piled up on top of each other, and Severus felt fear. Fear he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Not a rational, sensitive fear, like the justifiable fear of death he had felt during the war; not a violent fear, like the one he had had to tame before the Mother Veela the year before; but a dark, unsettling fear, an unease that resembled the night terrors of a child, and that he, Severus Snape, former Death Eater, once fiercely loyal to the Dark Lord, felt in the face of the innocent eyes and polite manners of a fifteen-year-old boy."Good morning, Professor," he murmured in his usual weak, mechanical voice."Good morning, Gad," Severus replied with an impassivity that took considerable effort.The boy held his gaze, then turned to Omegas, tilting his head slightly to one side. "Professor, you're here too," he remarked curiously.She nodded. "Yes, Gad, I'm here too."He was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on her. "Good morning," he said then.Omegas gave him an imperturbable smile. "Good morning."Gad moved closer to the desk until his knees touched the underside. He stopped his chair, looked at them in turn with a puzzled expression and waited. Severus and Omegas exchanged glances for no more than a split second, the idea of looking away from the boy for any longer making them both deeply uncomfortable. They silently gave each other permission to begin and settled into their respective chairs. They had discussed it in their quarters, preparing for a long conversation, anticipating the boy's likely responses and imagining every possible counter-reaction that would eventually lead him to admit the truth. They had expected confrontations, not necessarily verbal ones, and had taken their wands under the table so as not to be unprepared for any eventuality. Severus opened his mouth; he was supposed to speak first, according to the plan they had made, but when he finally tried to utter the first sound, it all proved futile."You know, don't you?"Silence. No one dared speak for at least two full minutes, three different impassive expressions looking at each other in turn, all three far too capable to hide what was stirring beneath. Severus felt Omegas clutching her wand under the desk and did the same; then he heard her murmur and swallowed in an automatic gesture."Yes, Gad. We know."The boy held her purple gaze as long as he could."I see," he murmured, and in an excruciatingly, frighteningly slow movement, he slipped his hand under his cloak, reached into the pocket of his school uniform and pulled out his wand.The only thing that prevented the two professors from revealing their own was that Gad wasn't wielding it. He carefully took it in his hands and placed it on the table. Raising his head again, he looked at each of them in turn, offering a grim smile."Are they coming for me?" he asked resignedly.Severus sighed in relief, but made sure to do so privately. Omegas loosened her grip on the wand slightly, but maintained her firm tone."Not yet."Gad frowned. "Why not?"She hesitated for a moment. "Because we've asked them to give you a chance to explain before taking you to the Auror Department," she lied."Explain, ma'am?"She nodded.He seemed even more confused. "Why? Why here and not directly to the Aurors?""Would you prefer to speak directly to the Aurors?" Severus cut in sharply.Gad lowered his head. "No, sir.""Good. Then speak," he ordered.The other swallowed, betraying for a moment a note of guilt. He looked away, and Severus, his fear now replaced by the familiarity of the situation—he and Omegas alone with the boy in an office, discussing matters that shouldn't concern a fifteen-year-old—finally let go of his wand. He put it back in its place under his cloak, turned and nodded to Omegas, who did the same. They waited, and when Gad finally spoke, it was with a clear lump in his throat."I don't know where to begin."She gave him a weak smile. "Try from the beginning," she suggested.The boy looked at her. "The beginning?"Omegas nodded. Gad hesitated for a moment. He wiped a tear with the sleeve of his uniform, leaned back in his chair and put his hands on the desk."All right," he whispered. "From the beginning."For the rest of the conversation, until the very end of Gad's tale, the boy remained in that exact position, motionless except for his head, which occasionally turned towards one of his interlocutors."I was left at St Mungo's as a newborn. If you believe Zachary's stories, I was welcomed with open arms by the Healers, but he tends to sugar-coat things a bit. Quentin is less kind. According to him, most of those who have seen me have suggested 'putting an end to my suffering'."He said it in a practical, detached tone, as if he were talking about someone else."'Putting an end to my suffering'... I wish they had done that. But they didn't. They took me in and called me Nodens. It's the surname given to abandoned children in wizarding hospitals during the war, or so Greg says. He knows a lot of things," he explained, hinting at a crooked smile. "They thought they were going to find out what was wrong with me, make me feel better. Then, after a while, they accepted that they'd never know and that one day, soon, I'd just die. But I never died. I told you that, that day in the Black Cat. At Christmas. Remember?"Severus and Omegas nodded in unison. The boy looked away, lost in deep and, from the look on his face, rather painful thought."No one ever told me directly. I overheard. I think... I think they felt sorry for me. They thought if they told me, I'd be afraid.""Weren't you afraid?" asked Omegas.He looked at her. "Oh, no, ma'am. Death didn't scare me. Nothing scared me," he added bitterly. "Nothing made me feel anything at all. Do you know what nothing is?"She frowned slightly, the worry that had previously filled her mind replaced by curiosity. Severus felt it. He sensed it."Nothing?" she repeated, in the same murmur as the boy."Nothing, ma'am. That's what I've felt most of my life. Nothing. Not just mentally, I mean physically. I didn't feel hunger or thirst or sleep. I didn't feel hot or cold, I didn't notice when the seasons changed. There was just this sort of... nothing.""You speak in the past tense," Severus noted, now infected by her curiosity.Gad's eyes snapped to him. "Yes, sir," he nodded."What have you done?" Severus asked.The boy lowered his head and stared at his clasped hands for a long moment."I tried to kill myself," he admitted in a whisper.Omegas tensed. The curiosity left as it had come, giving way to something else, something Severus was reluctantly forced to experience as well."What have you done?" she repeated in a whisper.Gad looked at her. "I tried to kill myself, Professor," he said calmly. "From the day Professor McGonagall brought me to Hogwarts, as soon as I had a moment's privacy. I tried in every way, by every means. Potions, poisons, spells, curses... Muggle methods. The more I studied, the more ways I found to try, but nothing ever worked. After a while, I understood.""What did you understand?" Severus asked, now decidedly, inappropriately intrigued."I understood that whatever they did to me, they didn't do it to kill me. It wasn't an accident, and I wasn't just 'born this way'," he hissed. "Someone wanted to punish me. Someone wanted me to live forever, suffering, and they wanted me to have no choice."It was a brilliant conclusion, Severus found himself admitting, a reality he had proof of, clearly written in Professor Zakoten's book, and which a barely teenage boy had deduced from nothing more than a few failed suicide attempts. He let out what sounded a little too much like a hint of an incredulous laugh."I got angry," Gad went on, "and then I gave up. And then you came along."He fixed his dark eyes on Omegas, who returned his gaze with a puzzled one."Me?"The boy nodded. "You, Professor. With your talk of happiness, at the end of last year. 'The only thing I could ever be proud of is if you considered yourself a happy person, Gad.' That's what you said. So I stopped trying to kill myself, stopped being angry and give up, and started looking for a way to get better."Omegas fell silent. Her unreadable smile slowly faded to that of someone who was about to cry. Gad swallowed and quickly looked elsewhere."I couldn't do it for a long time," he continued. "I tried taking other classes, not just the ones that would be useful to me. Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, even Divination... but I soon stopped," he said, as if trying to justify himself.Severus stifled a laugh."Then I asked Hagrid to give me lessons in Care of Magical Creatures. He started inviting me to tea. He was nice, he's always nice. I managed to persuade him to take me into the forest... I just wanted to see his creatures, I swear. But then I found..." he hesitated."The tree?" Omegas tried.He nodded. "Once, Hagrid was busy with a hippogriff. He told me not to go too far and I stayed... more or less nearby.""More or less?" Severus scolded with a newly reproachful look."Well, maybe... less," he admitted. "I found it. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen, and I mean, I grew up at St Mungo's, I've seen strange things. But that tree was... magical.""Yes," Omegas nodded. "It was."Gad swallowed. "There were fruits on it. Red, big... strange. I had never felt hungry, ever, in my entire life, but those fruits... I wanted to eat them. Not because I had to, just because... I wanted to. And so I did.""You did?" Severus repeated sternly."Yes, I did, I ate them," he replied, shrugging. "What could they do to me? Kill me?"Severus found himself with no logical objection to offer."What happened when you took it?" Omegas asked, now clearly fascinated.The boy looked away and was silent for a while before he spoke the next sentence."There was a blackbird."The other two frowned and looked at each other."A... blackbird?" Severus repeated."Yes, it sang. Chirped," Gad explained. "It was right next to where I had stopped. I hadn't even noticed it before I ate the fruit. But after..." He smiled, his eyes fixed elsewhere again. "It bothered me. It took me a while to understand, nothing had ever bothered me before... it drove me mad. It wouldn't stop. I took out my wand and pointed it at it and then I stopped. I looked at it and I looked at myself. And I understood." He turned to them. "I felt something," he whispered. "Whatever that fruit was, it was... healing me."He fell silent, looking at them in turn, and the two professors didn't dare speak."I went back there every day, several times a day. Whenever I could. But then you..." he hesitated. He cast a furtive glance at Omegas, then looked elsewhere. "You told Professor McGonagall that Hagrid was taking me into the forest and she got angry. She told him to stop."She swallowed. She shifted in her seat, and Severus, caught in a moment of weakness, felt deeply guilty, but said nothing."I had to find a way... to feel that way again. I didn't want to stop feeling... something. So I went back there that night, and...""How did you know about the stone?" Severus asked, partly because he wanted an answer, partly to take his mind off everything else."I didn't know, sir. Well, not really, I... you see, I spent the whole summer at the Black Cat. People came and went, and I discovered... that if I stay still and quiet enough, people forget I exist."He lowered his head and let out a chuckle."The things I heard... especially when Harry, Ron and Hermione came. I heard them talking about the Deathly Hallows. The Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak and then the Resurrection Stone. The Healers have been saying since I was born that my problem is that I'm in a 'perpetual near-death state' or something like that, and Harry mentioned a tree where he last left it," he explained. "I put two and two together."At that, Severus didn't know whether to be more amazed by the intelligence of one boy or the stupidity of the other. He shifted in his seat, sighed and decided to express only one of those thoughts."Potter's a bloody idiot.""How on earth is he still alive?" asked Omegas sarcastically."I spent seven years saving his life, that's how," the other spat.She shook her head. "Unbelievable."The boy chuckled at the exchange, and for a moment all three of them forgot the circumstances that had brought them to that office to have that conversation. Then those circumstances returned to their minds, and a brief, awkward silence followed.However, the unease that had entered the room with them was now gone, replaced by an involuntary, inescapable familiarity that made that boy, once again, just the boy they had shared their knowledge with for two years. Omegas stood up, walked around the desk and sat down on the edge facing him."What does all this have to do with Noah?" she asked in the gentle whisper she used when she knew she was asking an uncomfortable question.Gad lowered his head and moved for the first time since the conversation began. His chair floated back slightly, as if to distance himself from the words, and his hand, though hidden under a sleeve, trembled."Noah and I met last year," he said in a broken murmur. "He was looking for people... students to help him. He wasn't good at almost anything," he explained, betraying a tiny smile. "And I... not to be impertinent, ma'am, but... well...""You're good at everything," Severus interjected."Yes, I'm good at everything," the boy confirmed. He shrugged. "Noah saw an opportunity, I suppose. He could befriend one person and solve all his problems.""Did you become friends?" she asked.He shook his head. "No, definitely not," he chuckled. "It's not that I didn't want to be nice, it's just that... well, I didn't have the time. I had so many extra lessons... but he didn't give up. He talked to me, he was always around, and all I wanted was for him to leave me alone. Then, after a while, he... stopped talking about homework and classes and professors who didn't help him and started talking about... something else."Omegas narrowed her eyes. "About what?""About him. About everything, how he felt, that he wasn't happy. And I..." he trailed off."You?" she pressed.Gad swallowed. "I was fascinated, ma'am," he admitted.He avoided her gaze, and it took him a while to find the courage to continue."No one had ever talked to me... not like that. Usually I eavesdropped on other people's conversations, or talked about... practical things, lessons, books... things I could understand. But he talked about feelings, emotions. He talked about things I didn't know."She smiled. "Was it another subject, Gad?" she asked. "Another extra lesson?"The boy turned and returned her smile faintly. "In its own way."Omegas nodded and Gad took another short break."We started talking more and more," he said. "Then I found out he liked Astronomy, so we started..." he swallowed. "We would go to the Astronomy Tower sometimes. I managed to find out the password to Professor Sinistra's telescope. We'd go there and... and just... stay. Talk. He'd tell me about his father, who left him and his mother when he was little... and then about his mother, who was always worrying about him. And then about how lonely he felt, and that..."He stopped again and looked at the other two in turn."I'd rather not tell you that," he said.Severus shook his head. "No, don't tell us."Gad nodded, then continued. "He became a prefect this year. He gave me... he gave me the password to the bathroom almost immediately. We went there, often. Eventually I really started helping him with his homework, and in return he'd tell me about his year's Astronomy lessons. So when... when I took the stone, I... I needed a place. It was late, I didn't think anyone would be there, it was the first place that came to mind. I needed... silence and solitude, nothing else came to mind—""You needed a place for what?" Severus interrupted. He stood as well and walked towards him with measured steps.Gad looked up at him and swallowed again. He hesitated for a long time, but finally found the courage. He brought both his trembling hands to the first button of his uniform and unbuttoned it. He hesitated again, then did the same with the second, then the third, until his chest was completely exposed. A long, irregular, reddish scar stretched from his chest almost to his neck. Severus and Omegas' eyes widened, and for a long time they could do nothing but stand still and stare.Then, as she always did when faced with things she should have kept her distance from, Omegas moved closer. She bent down so that her eyes were level with the scar, and Severus was sure that if it hadn't been too inappropriate even for her, she would have tried to touch it. He, on the other hand, once the shock had passed, took out his wand, pointed it at him and said, "Revelio". It certainly didn't help his mood. In a slow movement, careful not to give anything away, he tucked the wand back under his cloak, raised his head and for a moment towered over the boy, stern, motionless."Gad," he said in a dangerous murmur, "is the Resurrection Stone in there?"He didn't really need the answer; he just wanted to test how far the boy would go to admit his truth.Gad lifted his head and held his gaze. "Yes," he replied.Severus took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment."Why..." he began, but realised he didn't know how to go on. He thought for a moment and finally just murmured, "Why?"The boy lingered on Omegas' eyes, still far too close, and quickly began to rebutton his uniform."Because it was the only way," he said. "I'd managed to convince the Healers that one of their treatments was working, I couldn't stop getting better. I couldn't go back to the forest, and the stone didn't work on me just by having it. It had to become... part of me, somehow."Omegas swallowed. "Did it hurt?"Gad turned to her and hesitated. "Well, yes, of course, but it was what had to be done."She gave him a smile that was half manic, half proud, and Severus, to end this now undoubtedly inappropriate interaction, turned abruptly and spoke again."Noah?" he asked brusquely.The boy winced. "Yes, right,' he murmured. "He... he came in. I was in the tub. I was almost finished, but the water was... well...""Yes, we saw it," the other commented. "Go on.""Noah got scared. He started screaming, he panicked, he almost woke up the whole castle. I tried to explain to him, I told him to shut up, to lower his voice, that I'd tell him everything, but he... he went mad."He said it as if the idea that a sixteen year old could be shaken by the discovery of his best friend with a hole in his chest, lying in a pool of blood, was beyond reason.Severus took another step forward. "What have you done?"Gad swallowed audibly. "I got... angry," he murmured. "I had never... I had never been angry before, not really, and... I don't know... I don't know what happened, Professor, you have to believe me." He turned to Omegas and looked into her eyes. "You have to believe me. There was just... this anger, and then some kind of explosion, and I... I thought I had..."The words died in his throat, and finally, after his long, stoic confession, the boy sobbed. He put his hands to his face and stifled what would have been a scream."I thought I had killed him and I ran away. I don't know why I did it, I shouldn't have. I didn't want to, but it was automatic. One moment I was there and the next I was... I was in my dormitory. And then there was all the chaos, Professor McGonagall running back and forth, Professor Sprout screaming, and Noah being taken to the infirmary, and it was driving me mad. But I didn't want to. Please, believe me, I didn't."He stayed still for long, silent minutes, his hands covering his face, trying to stifle his sobs. Omegas watched him in silence, stepping back to look at Severus. That look, he knew immediately, was a mute question. It was a quiet 'do we trust him?' that he couldn't answer immediately. He shifted his gaze from her to Gad, still lost in his despair. He shouldn't trust him. He didn't want to trust him. But he trusted him anyway. One moment he was suspicious, the next he had lifted his eyes back to her and nodded. Omegas nodded in return and moved closer to the boy."We believe you, Gad."But instead of calming him, the words only made him cry more.He cried for a while, then stopped, but it took him at least ten silent minutes to find his words again."I thought about coming to you and telling you everything, or going to Professor McGonagall," he murmured, his eyes fixed on the wall to his left. "Ever since the day after, I thought about it. But every time... every time..."He took a deep breath."The first day, after class, I came to your office," he said, nodding at Omegas, "but you weren't there. I looked for you. I went outside, to the grounds, and... it was raining. And I felt... the rain... on my face. I felt... cold."He pronounced the word as if it were unfamiliar to his lips."I stayed there, in the rain, until curfew. The next day I thought about coming back to you. I got up and went to the Great Hall. I thought about approaching you and asking to speak to you privately, but then the food arrived," he said, his eyes more alive than ever. "It had a smell. It had a taste. I ate, and I couldn't do anything. I spent all my morning classes waiting for lunch, and all my afternoon classes waiting for dinner. And I did nothing else for days."Omegas sat back down on the edge of the desk and gave him an understanding smile, but he didn't see it, his eyes were back on his hands."When I... when I stopped eating, I thought about telling you again," he went on. "One day I said to myself, 'Tomorrow I'll do it'. That evening I ate even more than usual and went out into the snow. I went to sleep, thinking I'd confess everything the next day, and... I had a dream," he said, a lump in his throat. "It wasn't nice. But I had never dreamed before, and all through the next day I could only think about when I would dream again".He sobbed again and bowed his head."Too much time had passed. If I had come then, I would have looked like a coward. It would have been worse... and then the Healers came. They told me I'd have to spend some time at St Mungo's to have more intensive treatments, and then... I saw him. And I felt..."He fell silent again. He was lost in a complex thought, too complex to articulate without prompting."What did you feel?" Omegas asked with some urgency.Gad swallowed. "Pain," he whispered.He kept his head turned towards the wall, but neither of the professor's eyes missed the tear that ran down his face."I saw his shadow, there... and his body... separated. His shadow standing up and pointing to my room..."Severus mentally called himself an idiot."Of course," said Omegas, who had clearly been having the same thought. "It was your room. He wasn't trying to point at anything in his own room. He didn't react to you playing because he liked your music, he was trying to..." she left the sentence hanging."He was trying to communicate," Severus finished. "He was trying to tell us who the attacker was."Gad gave him a furtive look and nodded weakly. "Noah was angry... but then I spoke to him. I've talked to him every day since I came back to St Mungo's. He's not angry anymore. I think... I think he's forgiven me.""Yes, I think so too," Omegas murmured, lost in thought. "That's why he doesn't point or move anymore. He's stopped trying to communicate." She looked into the boy's eyes. "He doesn't want us to find out."Gad didn't answer. He had run out of things to say and remained silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on a distant point, as if looking out of a window rather than at the bare grey dungeon wall of the office. Severus and Omegas also remained silent, but only in their voices. A complex debate was going on in her mind, as they had agreed before they received the boy."We have a decision to make, Severus," she announced, pacing around an almost perfect replica of Spinner's End.He, seated in his armchair, rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on the back of his hand."I know.""It's time," Omegas continued, quickening her pace, "either we report him to the Aurors or we don't. But we have to decide.""I know," Severus repeated gravely.She paced for a while longer, then suddenly stopped and turned to face him. "So? What do you want to do?"He held her gaze, motionless. He slowly got to his feet and joined her in the middle of the room."What do you want to do?" he asked back.He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He had already made his decision, but he didn't want to be the first to say the words.Omegas swallowed and looked away guiltily. "It is not wise to leave a boy, whose tantrums have consequences arguably worse than death, unchecked."He shook his head. "No, it's not wise," he confirmed. "We'll have to check on him."She looked at him again for a long moment, then resumed her pace. "The boy has the Resurrection Stone inside him," she observed. "Something must be done.""The boy has taken the Resurrection Stone out of circulation," he countered. "No one will ever be able to possess it again. There will never be another Master of Death. That's hardly a bad thing."Omegas stopped again and turned, this time with a clear look of bewilderment. "Severus..." she murmured, approaching with measured steps. "Are you suggesting that we..." She left the sentence hanging.There was no need to finish it. This time it was he who swallowed and looked away guiltily."Let's face the facts," he said, trying to convince himself more than her that his decision was based on nothing more than reason. "At worst, if we take him to the Aurors now, a fifteen-year-old boy will end up in Azkaban for a crime he didn't deliberately commit. At best, instead of prison, they'll break his wand and he'll be expelled. In either case, they'll try to find a way to get the Stone out of him, and he'll go back to the way he was."She let out an incredulous laugh. "It's not our responsibility what they decide—""Then whose is it?" he blurted out.Omegas fell silent.Severus raised an arm and pointed a finger at nothing in particular. "We are the only ones who know. The only ones who can decide his future, at this moment." He moved closer and met her eyes. "At the end of this conversation, we could either have one boy with no prospects and nothing but a miserable life ahead of him, or two. That's the choice we have to make. Reporting Gad won't help Noah. In fact, it will probably make things worse, if he's still capable of understanding what's going on around him.""So let me get this straight," she said sceptically. "You, of all people, are going to let a student who practically killed another go unpunished?"Severus thought long and hard about his answer. He lowered his head and didn't raise it again until he'd found the right words. Meeting her eyes again, he spoke in a whisper."You, of all people, are going to judge a boy by his worst mistake?"He received nothing but a stare and a long, thoughtful silence, a sign that his words had struck a chord. Omegas turned, reached for the cupboard to his left, bent down and pulled out a full glass.Severus frowned. "You have whisky in your head?""Yes," she replied calmly.She downed the entire contents of the glass, then turned again."We need to ask him the last question," she announced.He nodded. He waited for her to join him in the middle of the room, and they both returned to his office.Severus approached Gad, paused in front of him and stood tall, assessing how imposing he needed to be for his next question to carry the weight it should. He waited for the boy to meet his gaze, then spoke in a solemn tone."Would you do it again?""What do you mean, sir?" Gad asked in a whisper."If you could go back," Severus asked again, "would you do it again?"Gad lowered his head and seemed to think carefully. Then, in a slow but determined movement, he gripped the arms of his chair with both hands and began to stand. His legs, which hadn't had to carry the weight of his body for fifteen years, trembled as he did so, and Omegas, who was still sitting on the edge of the desk, stood up abruptly. She leaned towards him, arm outstretched in support, but Severus, his black eyes fixed on the boy, stopped her with a hand. She obeyed, and the two stood motionless, mouths agape, watching him. Gad finally got to his feet and took a few tentative steps towards them."That's an impossible question, professor," he declared.Severus opened his mouth to answer, to ask for an explanation, but he couldn't look away from the boy's unsteady movements."I can feel now. I can walk," he smiled, "though I'm still working on it. I can eat and I can dream."His foot dragged a little too long on the next step and the boy almost fell, but Omegas caught him before he hit the ground and guided him to the edge of the desk. Gad hesitated for a moment, gasping for breath, then raised his head, his gentle eyes fixed on Severus once more."Would I give all this up to save him if I could go back?" he murmured. "Yes, I would. I'd do it now because I can suffer. But I can only suffer because I've done it, so if I went back I wouldn't suffer enough to give it up. It's an impossible question," he repeated.Severus didn't answer. He'd thought of ways to counter every possible reply to his question, but this wasn't one of them."Denksportaufgabe," Omegas interjected with a new-found cheerful smile.The other two turned to her."Excuse me, ma'am?" Gad asked."Denksportaufgabe," she repeated. "A brain teaser. A dilemma posed just for the sake of thinking, not to be solved. They're Professor Zakoten's favourite pastime. He'd give me at least one a week to solve, and when I'd come back with a solution, he'd say, 'No, my dear, the solution is that there is no solution.'"She huffed, but with great affection.The boy's brow furrowed slightly. "Was he your professor?"She nodded. "He still is."Gad nodded in return. He placed both palms on the table and, in a movement that seemed to take a great deal of effort, sat down on the edge next to her."What will happen to me now?" he asked, a mixture of fear and resignation in his tone.Omegas looked at him, then shifted her eyes to Severus. She smiled, a smile that was both weak and so deeply sincere, and nodded. He nodded in return, turned and took the boy's wand. He walked decisively to the other end of the table, stopped in front of him and handed it to him. Gad, stunned, reached out a trembling hand, took it and held it still, the wand suspended in mid-air."What does it mean?" he asked."It means we have to go to St Mungo's," Severus explained, taking care to use the most detached tone he could muster. "To come to an agreement with your Healers and have your treatments stopped. It's not wise to subject you to further examinations with the Resurrection Stone in your chest. It was quite foolish of you, Gad."The boy fell silent. He quickly shifted his gaze from one to the other, incredulous, unable to answer. After a few long quiet moments, he could only stammer, "But... Sir... Ma'am, the Aurors...""There are no Aurors," Omegas interrupted. "We haven't told anyone."Gad's eyes widened. "You... You didn't—""No," Severus confirmed.The boy parted his lips, then lowered his head, staring for a moment at the wand in his hands."You... you lied to me," he observed.Omegas chuckled. "A bit hypocritical of you, all things considered, don't you think?" she retorted, now with her usual smirk.He lifted his head and returned her gaze with a faint smile. Then he swallowed, pushing down what was undoubtedly a lump in his throat."I... I don't deserve..." he murmured, "I don't deserve to be protected. I don't deserve to be helped, it's... it's not fair.""No, it isn't," Severus said earnestly, looking him in the eye. "Life never is."Gad swallowed again. "So what... what do I do? I can't—""Your orders are the same as last time," he replied. "Stay out of it. Go to your classes, take your O.W.L.s, eat, go out in the rain, dream, I don't care. But stay out of it," he ordered.The boy chuckled in disbelief. "As if nothing happened?""Yes, Gad," Omegas confirmed. "As if nothing happened. You've managed quite well so far," she observed with a smile."But Noah, he—""Stay out of it," Severus repeated, his tone now dangerously commanding.Gad lowered his head again. "All right, yes," he whispered. "I'll... stay out of it.""Good," the other said sternly."Good..." the boy echoed, hesitantly.A short, awkward pause followed."Good!" Omegas exclaimed cheerfully. She rose from the edge of the desk and guided Gad back to his chair. "I'd say your lesson is over for today, wouldn't you agree, Professor Snape?""Yes, I'd agree," he nodded."Excellent," she said. She turned the chair and pushed it towards the door. "We'll write to St Mungo's and let you know when it's time to go. In the meantime...""Stay out of it?" the boy ventured."Stay out of it," she confirmed.She stopped in front of the door and leaned against the frame. Gad hesitated for a moment and turned his chair around."T-Thank you," he stammered.Omegas smiled at him. "Go have lunch."He nodded and gave Severus one last look. "Thank you," he repeated.All the professor could offer him was a quiet nod.Omegas strode across the room and came to a stop beside Severus. They watched as the boy floated away and disappeared down the dungeon corridor."That boy is half-Dementor," she remarked after a long silence."Yes," he confirmed."Hm... we've just left a half-Dementor, prone to fits of rage and with one of the most powerful magical objects in the world embedded in his chest, free to wander around Hogwarts.""Yes," he repeated."Mmm..." Omegas hummed.Severus turned to her, lingering for a moment on her seemingly calm, but completely false, expression. He mirrored it, declaring his own cold, detached indifference."Whisky?" he suggested."Yes, please," she nodded.Neither of them could stop replaying in their minds the exchange that had taken place within those walls, on that Saturday morning in late April, for a long, long time.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Coming to terms with the idea of keeping Gad's secret was surprisingly easy. It certainly helped that, from the moment he was born, Severus had spent more time keeping other people's secrets—starting with his mother's magical origins—than he had being transparent. There was also the fact that the whole situation reminded him eerily of the time he had spent covering for Draco in his attempts to kill Dumbledore. As a matter of fact, it wasn't an unusual situation for him, and he was surprised to find that he wasn't losing a moment's sleep over it.For her part, Omegas became considerably less talkative and more reflective from that day on. However, as she rarely spoke outside the walls of their quarters and always seemed lost in a world of her own, Severus was the only one to notice. She began to spend most of her free time brewing potions without any real need for it, a habit he was well familiar with by now. He joined her in a shared silence, maintaining it even when she acknowledged his presence beside her with a broad, eloquent smile.The days passed similarly and predictably between lessons and entirely superfluous Regenerative Potions until Sylvia, entering Omegas' office unannounced and with her usual cold attitude, informed them that she and Sirius had finally made their decision. They had agreed to speak with Gad's Healers to have his treatments stopped, prompted by the boy's firm insistence and the professional opinion of Omegas and Severus, which apparently at least one of them—Sylvia, no doubt—considered more valid than that of three professionals in the field. So, with the boy in tow, the four made their way to St Mungo's for a meeting that they knew would turn into a discussion, and then probably a fight.Zachary was a stocky man in his fifties, balding, with a pair of deep, dark green eyes. He greeted them warmly and invited them into the office with a kind nod and a gentle smile. Inside the room, Quentin, a little younger than Zachary, with olive skin, brown hair and hazel eyes narrowed in a frown, sat in a chair on the other side of the desk, barely bothering to lift his head to acknowledge their presence. Finally, Greg, standing next to Quentin, was a tall, well-built man with sky-blue eyes and a thick head of salt-and-pepper hair despite being in his early thirties. He greeted them with four distinct, detached handshakes and studied each of them as if trying to diagnose them.Severus' immediate impression of the three, not as individuals but as a supposed team of professionals who were supposed to be able to work collaboratively to help their patients, was that they shouldn't be working together. Whenever one of them said something, not necessarily related to the current situation, at least one of the other two objected. When Zachary spoke, even if it was just to offer the guests something to drink or to ask them to sit down, Quentin would roll his eyes. Whenever Quentin showed his superiority by crossing his legs and looking elsewhere, Greg would give him a look that, if caught, could have easily killed him. Every time Greg stepped forward to give his professional opinion, Zachary would intervene and accuse him of 'not considering the human aspect'. The only thing the three of them seemed to agree on, ironically the one thing it would have been convenient if they'd argued about, was that Gad needed to stay at St Mungo's."It is out of the question," were Quentin's categorical words as he continued to not bother to look at any of those present."Gentlemen, I fully understand the boy's desire to live a peaceful life, one more like his peers," Zachary said, his tone calm and his hands clasped on the desk. "But this is the first treatment in fifteen years that has had any effect on Gad's condition. To stop it would be a huge mistake. The boy could regress. He could—""Why do you want to stop?" Greg interrupted, tilting his head to one side and fixing his probing blue eyes on Gad.All eyes in the room, including, surprisingly, Quentin's, shifted to the boy. He hesitated and looked at each of his Healers in turn, then at the others. When he met Severus' gaze, he received an almost imperceptible nod and finally spoke."I want to feel well," he said, his tone weak but firm. "I feel well now, and the treatments make me feel worse. I'd rather stay as I am; I don't need to heal any more.""That's not for you to judge," Quentin snapped."Ten, please," Zachary interjected. "Gad has every right to express—""No, Zack, he doesn't," the other retorted. "He's a patient, not a Healer. Do I need to remind you that I was the one who discovered the treatment we're discussing? I should have the final say on this, if only for the sake of research.""You've never complained of any discomfort before," Greg observed, completely ignoring his colleague's argument.Gad shook his head. "No, I haven't," he confirmed. "Because I knew it was necessary to get better, it would have been pointless to complain. I didn't want to be a burden."The reverent, resigned tone in which he spoke made the lie so believable that Severus, in private, was almost proud."It's still necessary," Quentin said firmly. "We're not stopping the treatments, discomfort or not."At that, Sylvia and Sirius, who had been sending sparks of shared hatred towards the Healer since they had entered, stepped forward and the debate became significantly more heated than it had begun."Gad says he's fine without the treatments, and that he feels sick with the treatments, so obviously he doesn't need them anymore," Sylvia coldly stated.Quentin looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, you're a Healer, Miss...""Professor," she interrupted. "Barbosa.""Professor," he repeated. "So not a Healer. Exactly what qualifications do you have to make such a statement?""Please, Ten," Zachary interjected again. "The Professor is trying to act in the boy's best interests.""No, I'm trying to act in the boy's best interests!" the other snapped. "But naturally, let's put the whims of a fifteen-year-old boy before the professional opinion of three experts. Not one, three!"Severus observed the outburst with an almost academic interest. Not because it was particularly interesting, but because, he found himself thinking, he would have raised the exact same objections in his situation. He spent most of those long minutes wondering if this was how he appeared to the outside world when he had one of his moments. Then he stopped thinking about it, because the other man's anger was beginning to irritate and disgust him at the same time, and it really wasn't the moment to indulge in self-loathing."The boy has the right to decide about his own body," he declared, suddenly rising from his chair.The other replied with a snort of ironic laughter. "The hell he does," he hissed. "The boy has been under St Mungo's responsibility since the day he was brought here. He's been under our control for fifteen years—""Oh, so you admit it's about control," Sirius interjected, rising as well. "You admit that it's not for Gad's wellbeing, but for the sake of your research that you want to keep him here."Quentin stiffened and took a decisive step towards him. "I will not have you questioning my commitment to the wellbeing of my patients."Sirius chuckled. "Please. Did you ever bother to ask him if it hurt him while you were testing your miracle cure?""Without the miracle cure, though, the boy wouldn't have the strength to lift his head," Greg remarked."Enough!" Zachary intervened, standing up as well. "Gad is here. Don't talk about him as if he wasn't."The other two fell silent with obvious, complete reluctance. Quentin sat with his legs crossed and his chin raised, and Greg, his icy eyes fixed on Gad, didn't say another word. Zachary cleared his throat and gestured for Severus and Sirius to sit down with a nod."Gentlemen," he said quietly. "Gad," he added, giving the boy a broad, encouraging smile. "Your well-being is our priority as your Healers, just as it is the priority of your professors and all the people who care about you. We understand your pain and your need for a normal life, but it is because we care about you that we cannot allow you to stop the treatments. Do you understand?"Gad lowered his head. "Yes, I understand," he murmured, barely audible.Zachary gave him a second tender smile and nodded. A tense silence fell over the room, filled with unspoken conflicts in all directions, mostly conveyed by glances and overly eloquent movements.Then, all of a sudden, Omegas, who had been sitting in her chair without speaking since the beginning of the meeting, cleared her throat. All eyes in the room shifted to her as she held a parchment in one hand and raised the other to ask for the floor."Yes, Professor Grindelwald," Zachary invited her to speak.She stood up, unfolded the parchment and read aloud."Mr. Sirius O. Black and Mrs. Sylvia O. Barbosa hereby agree to provide care for the Minor, Nodens, Gad, hereinafter referred to as 'the Minor', at all times when he is not under the supervision of his Healers and the Hospital. In doing so, they acknowledge and agree to assume full legal responsibility for the Minor during the time he is not undergoing medical treatment."She rolled up the parchment and put it back in her pocket. She lifted her eyes to the Healers and gave a small smirk to each of them. Then she turned to Severus."Interesting, don't you think?"He returned her smile with a grin. "Very.""Hmm..." she murmured, tapping her chin with a sardonic finger. "'Assume full legal responsibility for the Minor'... I wonder what that means. Could it possibly mean that if Gad isn't undergoing treatment, Mr Sirius O. Black and Mrs Sylvia O. Barbosa can decide not to have him undergo any further treatment if they deem it best?" She gave each of them a sly look, and a particularly mocking one at Quentin. "It doesn't seem to me that Gad is currently undergoing treatment," she concluded.Silence fell again, but this time it was short lived. Almost immediately, Quentin stood up and spat out a "You can't do that!" that reached the opposite wing of St Mungo's, to which Omegas replied with a chuckle and an "Oh, but we can," which only made things worse. Zachary intervened to try and calm his colleague and Greg, meanwhile, returned Omegas' smirk with one almost identical to hers, which greatly annoyed Severus. The situation escalated until Quentin, completely ignoring Zachary's reprimands, approached Omegas in the middle of the room and stopped a mere inch from her nose."You've been meddling in St Mungo's business a little too much lately. Rest assured, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," he hissed.She didn't even bother to reply, except with a cheeky grin, but Sirius, right behind her, didn't take it so lightly. He loomed between the two and looked down at the Healer from his considerable height advantage."Are you threatening her?" he asked gravely."Of course not, of course not!" Zachary interjected. "Nobody's threatening anybody. Absolutely not!" and he pulled Quentin away by the sleeve.Eventually, the four of them parted on anything but friendly terms, leaving the office with Gad in tow and a great deal of frustration that they didn't hesitate to take out on each other."I don't need to be defended, Black!" shouted Omegas as soon as they had closed the door behind them.He snorted in disbelief. "He threatened you!""Exactly," she confirmed. "He threatened me, not you. It's none of your business."Sirius tried to come up with an answer, but finally shook his head and muttered, "Unbelievable..."."And you," she added, pointing at Gad, "next time I ask you 'what's he like?' about someone and the answer is 'a bloody idiot', don't say 'he's difficult'. Say 'he's a bloody idiot'."The boy lowered his head. "Yes, ma'am.""Don't take it out on him!" Sylvia shouted.Omegas snorted, looked away and fell back into her silence. Sylvia leaned down and tried to give Gad a smile that was hardly sincere."Would you like to go back to school, Gad?"He shook his head. "Not yet. I want to... I want to visit Noah.""I'll come with you," Sirius said, still frowning. He reached the boy and pushed his chair towards the nearest corridor.The other three followed them, but at a deliberately slow pace."Om," Sylvia whispered as soon as Sirius was out of earshot. "Are you going to tell me the reason for all this?""What do you mean?" the other asked, knowing the answer perfectly well."You know. Why did you ask me to convince Sirius to stop the treatments?"Omegas looked at her from head to toe. "Because you're the only one with the weapon to persuade him."Sylvia scolded her with a look. "Yes, but why did you force me to use it?""I thought you enjoyed using it," she replied with a smirk."Omegas, cut it out," the other said, stopping abruptly. "What's going on?"She finally looked back, but was unable to say anything."Gad came to us," Severus interrupted. "He spoke to us about Noah." He approached the other two and held Sylvia's black eyes with conviction. "We don't think it's good for him to stay here. He's too involved. It's better for him to keep away.""Yes, Sirius agrees..." she confirmed. "But to the point of stopping treatment? What if he gets worse?""He won't get worse," he said firmly. "Trust me.""How can you know? You're not Healers," she objected, shifting her gaze from one to the other. "It's like Garnet's story all over again. You think you know, but you don't—""Sylvia, please," Omegas interrupted, passing a hand over her face. "It's done now, what's the point of discussing it? It's stupid. You could have said it before you agreed if you weren't convinced."She looked halfway between deeply offended and on the verge of tears. She was silent for a moment, then turned away."You really are mean sometimes, you know that?" she murmured, quickening her pace towards the other two.Omegas took a long breath which, once exhaled, sounded more like a sigh. Severus approached her and met her eyes with a look of curiosity that soon turned to a smirk."What?" she asked."Why didn't you tell me about the contract before the meeting?"She gave him a cunning smile. "I wanted to make a scene," she replied, taking a step closer. "Did you like it?""No," he replied with a look that said just the opposite.Omegas chuckled softly. She paused and looked at the other three."So it's done," she said. "Gad is officially our responsibility."Severus turned to see Sirius, Sylvia and Gad looking into Noah's room."Technically, he's their responsibility," he countered."Yes," she nodded. She turned back to him. "Does that make you feel less responsible?""No," he said reluctantly. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a wry expression. "Congratulations, you now have another adopted son."She laughed and shook her head. "You've adopted them too, indirectly," she argued."Only if you marry me."That last remark was met with a stunned silence and a look that was a little too long and definitely too intense for him. He quickly looked back to Noah's room."Shall we join the others?" she asked."Yes," he replied immediately and started walking.They came to stand beside Sylvia and Sirius, who still had a firm hand on Gad's chair, and for a few moments they looked together at the boy behind the glass. Noah was awake, sitting on the mattress, his eyes open, but his shadow remained still, huddled in a corner. Severus clearly heard Gad swallow, then saw Sirius' worried eyes searching his face, mistaking his guilt for sympathy. Finally, he glanced at Sylvia, who was staring at Noah with the same desperate eyes that had once gazed at Garnet, lying in an identical bed at St Mungo's. The girl sniffled slightly, then regained all her composure, turned and gave Omegas a deliberately icy look."That potion you invented," she began, still vaguely offended after the last exchange, "the one that separates the soul from the body."Omegas frowned slightly. "Yes. What about it?""Does it work like the Animagus Potion?"The other seemed even more confused. "No. It works more like Amortentia. There's a main ingredient and a series of—""I don't care how it's made," Sylvia interrupted. "I mean the effect. If used on an Animagus stuck in their animal form, or, they say, even on a Maledictus, the Animagus Potion makes them human again for a while, right? If you used the potion you created on Noah," she said, pointing at the boy, "who already has his soul outside his body. What would happen?"Omegas froze. Her eyes widened slightly and she stared at her friend as if she had never seen her before. Then she lowered her head, lost in thought for a moment. By the time she found her words and opened her mouth to reply, the other had already spoken."I think it's worth a try," she said firmly.She walked past her, head held high and nose in the air, and entered the room, followed closely by Sirius, who wore a broad, satisfied grin, and Gad, who seemed halfway between interest and panic. Omegas watched the trio and blinked a couple of times. She brought a hand to her chest and waited a moment beyond the glass."Bloody hell… what is that I'm feeling?" she asked when she was sure only Severus was within earshot.He stifled a smile. "You're feeling proud," he murmured.She swallowed. "I don't know if I like it," she whispered back. She turned and walked through the door as well.Severus entered directly behind her and watched as she pointed her wand into her bag and caught a small glass bottle containing a dark red liquid. She turned it over in her hand, examined it in the light and held it firmly."Move," she said, gesturing to the other three.Sylvia's eyes widened slightly. "You want to do it now?" she whispered.Omegas nodded. "Now. It's illegal, mostly made from forbidden ingredients. I can't ask the Healers to try it. I can't even tell them it exists.""Yes, but now—""Now the Healers are on their lunch break, and no one can predict us. It's unexpected. Officially we're here for a completely different reason, it's the perfect time.""But what if it's dangerous?" the other objected in the same worried whisper."Excuse me," Sirius interjected, now standing next to Sylvia. "What exactly are we talking about?"In an almost unconscious gesture, Severus stepped forward and stood next to Omegas, in front of him."Potions, Black," he said, a malevolent grin on his face. "Nothing you would understand."The other stiffened and shot him a dangerous look; then turned his gaze to Omegas. "You let him answer for you, Grindelwald? I thought you didn't need defending."She chuckled. "Oh, you must have misunderstood me. You're the one I don't want defending me," she replied.Sylvia sighed audibly. "When are you all going to stop? You're adults, for God's sake!""He started it," Sirius protested.Severus stifled a laugh. "What an adult thing to say.""Please stop," Gad murmured; none of the four heard him."Why are you siding with him instead of helping me?" Sylvia accused, nodding to Omegas."Oh, sorry, I thought I mentioned that," she said sarcastically, "I don't like your boyfriend.""Well, I do, so drop it," the other retorted."Please stop," Gad repeated. Again he was not heard."And why should I?" Omegas asked. "You choose to be my friend and stay with him at the same time. What do you expect?"Sylvia looked deeply offended. She shot her a murderous look and lowered her voice considerably."Are you asking me to choose between you and him?""No," Omegas replied, shaking her head. "I'm telling you to do what you want, but accept the consequences.""There wouldn't be any consequences to accept if you behaved like a bloody—""STOP!" Gad shouted, suddenly rising from his chair.There was a moment of stunned silence before Sirius rushed towards him."Gad," he murmured, half alarmed and half amazed."I'm fine," the other said, sitting back down. "I'm fine, really.""How... how..." Sylvia began, but the boy cut her off."Ma'am," he said, addressing Omegas and Severus, "Sir. Would I understand?"The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and he could clearly see the worry that had taken hold of her face. She'd obviously been distracted by the idea of testing the potion as soon as possible and hadn't considered that Gad would be present. She approached him cautiously and regained her calm tone."This potion is made with... with the blood of the creature that attacked Noah, whatever it is," she explained.The boy's eyes darted to her, curious and intrigued."It can extract the soul from the body of whoever drinks it, for a short time. And, we suspect, if given to someone whose soul has already been forced out of their body, it would be able to put it back in for the time necessary to communicate with us.""Would he be conscious?" Gad asked, now with a note of concern.Omegas didn't respond. Severus approached them and turned his gaze to the boy."He's already conscious, Gad," he said. "He always has been.""But he would be able to speak. To say..." he swallowed."That's the point," Severus replied quickly, before the boy could expose himself. "We need to know how to proceed. We need his consent. Assuming it works."Gad held his gaze and nodded firmly to signal that he understood."The Healers are always away at this time. They won't be back for half an hour. It's Sunday, so his mother won't be back until late afternoon."Omegas gave him a sly smile. "You've studied their habits?"He looked at her. "I have observed, Professor. I always do."She remained silent, bringing her hand back to her chest. She muttered a "Bloody hell..." that Severus guessed was in Parseltongue, judging by the hiss with which it was uttered and the lack of reaction from the others."If you have to do it, I'll take Gad outside," Sirius intervened."No," the other said. "I want to stay.""Gad...""Please, Sirius," he pleaded. "If... if this is the last time he... I... want to be here."Sirius didn't seem to have the strength to argue. Severus stepped forward and stood between them."Stay," he ordered, "but behind me."The boy nodded and floated to the back of the room. Severus positioned himself in front of him, completely shielding him from Noah's still vacant eyes. Just in case he hadn't forgiven him as they'd thought. He nodded to Omegas, who returned the gesture almost identically."Good," she said, a broad, inappropriate smile, her potion still in her hand. "Let's do this."She approached Noah's body, sat down on the bed beside him and gently opened his mouth."Will he suffer?" Sylvia asked. She seemed on the verge of covering her eyes with her hands.Omegas turned to her. "I don't think it's possible for him to suffer any more than he already is," she explained with her usual total lack of tact.The other swallowed and looked away. Sirius joined her, held her and gave Omegas a malevolent look, but she had already turned her attention back to the boy. She uncorked the bottle, swirled it for a moment and then poured it all into Noah's mouth.No more than a slow, tense minute passed. The boy's shadow rose from its corner and trembled for a moment. Then, instead of moving, it seemed to be ripped from the wall on which it was projected. A muffled sound echoed through the room, a kind of scratchy whisper, and Noah's shadow was pushed towards its owner. He collapsed onto the mattress and lay still for a long moment, eyes closed and hands clenched into tight fists. Everyone else in the room, some with caution, some with palpable fear, some with untimely interest, leaned forward to watch Noah's face, still contorted in a painful expression. They all jumped in unison as he suddenly sat up and opened his eyes, now a new, brilliant shade of green. No one dared speak or look away. The boy breathed heavily and gripped the sheet that covered him with both hands. For a while, he did nothing but fix his gaze on each of the intruders in his hospital room; all but Gad, who was still hiding behind Severus. When he finally met Sylvia's eyes, Noah's lips parted slightly and he let out a faint, choked hiss. He stayed like that for almost two minutes, everyone straining to hear him."Prof..." he managed to gasp, "Prof... Professor... Perfect."Sylvia smiled weakly. She freed herself from Sirius' grip and took a step closer to the bed."Hello, Noah," she murmured in the least cold tone she had ever used. "How are you feeling?"Noah didn't answer. He slowly turned his head and looked at the others one by one."Noah," Omegas called, stepping into his line of sight.The boy met her eyes."Noah, we don't have much time. We need to talk. If you need a glass of water, I can—""Anything..." Noah struggled.She was silent for a moment. She leaned closer to him, narrowing her eyes."What did you say?""Anything..." he repeated. "You have to ask... for consent... to do something." He took a deep breath, forcing the words out of his throat. "Anything... do it. Kill me... please. Please."Omegas swallowed and turned to Severus. He wanted to be part of the exchange she was undoubtedly trying to make, but he couldn't. Gad let out a soft whimper behind him, and he was too busy making sure he didn't come out of hiding.So the woman turned around and started talking to the boy again."Perhaps there's a way to save you," she continued, in an obviously forced calm tone. "To save you and your soul. But we would have to split it. Use a form of dark magic that—" "Anything," he repeated again, this time in a desperate hiss. A tear left one of his big eyes and rolled quickly down his cheek. "Please."Sylvia gave in to tears. She turned and put her hands to her face, seeking refuge in Sirius' arms as he stroked her head."We're talking about Horcrux magic, Noah," Omegas said firmly. "We don't know what consequences it might have if used in these circumstances. It has never—""Anything... is better than this," he replied."It's one of the darkest known forms of magic," Severus interrupted. "Your soul will be fragmented. Shattered. Corrupted, most likely.""But will it return... to its place?" Noah asked, panting.He nodded. "Partially. But that will probably be the only part you can feel.""Do it," he replied immediately. "Anything... anything."The others fell silent again. Omegas turned to Severus once more, and this time he nodded."All right," she said. "We'll do it.""Thank you..." he breathed. "Thank you."Omegas nodded and pulled out her wand. "I'm going to put you back the way you were. The potion's effect isn't pleasant, and the Healers might—""Wait, wait!" Sirius cut her off. He stepped between her and the boy and turned to him. "Did you see who... or what it was? Do you know who hurt you?"Omegas remained still, her wand suspended in mid air. Severus tried to keep as neutral an expression as he could, an effort made all the more challenging by the shudder he felt creeping over Gad behind him."No," Noah replied. "I don't know."Three of those present breathed a sigh of relief, all of them strictly in private. Sirius, however, frowned and seemed on the verge of asking more questions, but Omegas intercepted him."Expecto Patronum!" she shouted.The silver bat whirled around Noah, and with a second violent tear, his soul became nothing more than a black shadow projected on a wall, his body rigid, still sitting on the mattress."Why the hell did you do that?" barked Sirius.Omegas frowned with a completely false but absolutely convincing expression of bewilderment."What do you mean? The Healers might—""I was talking to him," he protested.She shrugged. "You talked to him. He doesn't know what it was, what else is he supposed to say?"He threw his arms up, then let them fall to his sides in a frustrated gesture. "Nothing, now!""Good," she replied."Good?" he repeated. "What if he was lying? You said it yourself," he pointed at Severus, "he must have seen who attacked him. How could he not know who it was?""What it was, Black," she corrected him. "Anyway, he probably doesn't remember. The shock, you know..." she chuckled and shook her head. "Why would a sixteen-year-old boy lie about something like that? Do you think he's in cahoots with a bunch of Dementors?"She laughed more heartily and walked nonchalantly towards the door."You're paranoid sometimes, you know?"She said it in such an effectively mocking tone that he had no chance to reply. Omegas opened the door of the room with a sharp gesture and headed down the corridor. Sylvia joined Sirius and looked at him worriedly for a moment."She's not entirely wrong, babe," she murmured reluctantly.She gave him a weak, affectionate smile, took his hand and led him out of the room. Severus and Gad watched them go in silence, both motionless and unable to speak, though for different reasons. The boy, with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide, showed great astonishment. The Professor feared that if he intervened, he would burst out laughing. A few moments later, however, they regained their composure and followed the rest of the group out of the room and then out of the hospital.The farewells before Severus, Omegas and Gad returned to Hogwarts were surprisingly cordial and free of friction. None of those present admitted it out loud, but after the scene they had just witnessed, they had lost any desire for further conflict. Sylvia and Sirius said their goodbyes and left, hand in hand. Gad waited until he had watched them turn the corner before he fixed his dark eyes on the woman, astonishment once again on his young face."You're an incredible liar!" he exclaimed, almost breathlessly.Omegas, as if roused from her thoughts, looked at him perplexed for a moment, then gave him a broad smile."Oh!" she said, pleased. "Thank you. You're not bad yourself.""Yes, but not like that," he replied."Just because I've had more time to learn," she said. "Don't worry, you have your whole life ahead of you to practise."Gad seemed to think for a moment. "That's true, I do..." he murmured cheerfully.Severus watched the scene with a slight frown, curious and with just a hint of something resembling affection. There was a moment of silence in which, as the words that followed confirmed, the weight of what they had just witnessed returned to weigh down the air around the three of them."What do we do now?" Gad asked in a whisper.Severus gave him a reproachful look. "Professor Grindelwald and I will find a way to help Noxwood," he declared. "As for you..."He lowered his head. "I'll stay out of it...""You'll stay out of it," the Professor confirmed.The boy swallowed and continued to stare at the floor, resigned. Omegas studied him, the usual indecipherable smile on her face. Severus, though, had learned to decipher that smile, and when she looked at him, he could read a multitude of unexpressed emotions, the most obvious of which was the enormous sense of responsibility they both shared. She conveyed to him, with nothing more than a shadow in her violet eyes, the need to do something, and he nodded so imperceptibly that he almost didn't move his head. Omegas smiled and turned to Gad."Hungry?" she asked vaguely.The boy quickly lifted his eyes to hers. "Starving."She nodded towards the nearby road. "Let's go have lunch. It's Sunday, we're in no hurry."Gad smiled and floated next to her."Say, did I ever tell you about the time I was arrested in Italy on suspicion of illegal esoteric activity?" Omegas asked."No, ma'am," he replied."Ah, that's a fascinating story..." she said.Severus watched them, motionless. In the few seconds he allowed himself to linger, he couldn't name the feeling he was experiencing, and for the first time in his life, he allowed himself to feel it without investigating it. He joined them with long strides and spent most of that afternoon listening to Omegas talk, Gad sitting beside her stuffing his mouth with food, without wishing to be anywhere else.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Amidst the almost obsessive research they had to undertake to solve the many problems of the Noah case, Gad's confession and the subsequent incident at St Mungo's, Severus and Omegas had hardly had time to stop and analyse the enormity of their new condition since they had discovered it. And they still had not. For many of the weeks that followed, the search for a way to break Noah's soul without resorting to the Killing Curse proceeded as slowly, silently and fruitlessly as it always had, and the matter of mutual Horcruxes remained in a quiet corner of their minds. However, as the end of the school year and exams approached, the two professors also began to approach the inevitable end of their research possibilities. Every book on the subject of the soul in the castle library had been read. Every volume, forbidden or not, that they had managed to retrieve from Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, in every shop on every corner of every wizarding street they knew, had been consulted. Every letter had been sent to every wizard and witch they thought might have some information, every reply read and deemed inconclusive.The night before the last day of exams at Hogwarts, Severus and Omegas spent it locked in their quarters, each sitting in an armchair with a book they had already read in hand, pretending to believe they would find information that had eluded them on the first reading. There was an unpleasant, almost suffocating sense of finality in the air; the nagging feeling that with the school closing the next day, their chances of finding a way to help Noah would also be gone. It was irrational, of course: the boy had an entire hospital and the whole Auror Department trying to help him, and they certainly wouldn't stop with the arrival of summer. Still, the feeling was there, and on that hot June night was reaching a peak that made it impossible for Severus to ignore it. He read a paragraph on the nature of the soul by an ancient Japanese wizard one last time, knowing that the words would always be the same, the answers would always be missing, and he could bear it no longer. He closed the book with a sharp gesture, placed it on the low table without ceremony, removed Professor Zakoten's glasses and tossed them on top. Omegas noticed; she felt his frustration as well as his fixed gaze on her, but pretended not to.There was a long, heavy silence, laden with unspoken unease, which Severus decided to break only after waving his wand and levitating a full glass towards him and another towards her."We both know it," he stated.She didn't answer. She grabbed her glass, raised it to her lips and kept her eyes on her book."Omegas," he called out, a note of irritation in his tone."Hmm?" she replied vaguely."Look at me."Omegas slowly lifted her gaze to him."Someone has to say it," he continued, his tone low.She held his gaze for a moment, then returned her attention to the book. "I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered."You know exactly what I'm talking about," he retorted, annoyed.She refused to answer again."Omegas," he called once more.She continued to pretend not to hear him, and Severus was suddenly overcome with a frustration he hadn't felt for a long time, at least not towards her."Omegas!" he thundered."We can't give up!" she cried.Severus held her harsh, vaguely dangerous gaze and was honestly undecided whether to give in to the vehemence or take a deep breath. Eventually he chose the latter, but more out of guilt than anything else. He knew the frustration was not hers. Not entirely."I'm not suggesting we give up," he explained, struggling for a calm tone and failing miserably. "I'm saying we have to face reality. There is no other way to break a soul than the Killing Curse"."It's not true that there isn't," she countered. "We just haven't found one yet.""There isn't one, Omegas!" he yelled. "And you know it.""So what are you suggesting, hmm?" she said, suddenly rising from her chair. "You said you weren't suggesting we give up, so what? Do we pick someone at random, put a wand in Noah's hand and make him kill them? Maybe someone we particularly dislike, what do you think? Black perhaps?"Severus snorted a sarcastic laugh that quickly turned into a worried frown."Was that sarcasm?"She grimaced. "Let's say ninety percent."He lowered his head and let out a second laugh. He put the glass down on the table, stood and walked towards her with measured steps."I'm not suggesting anything," he said firmly. "I'm not saying we should give up and let them kill the boy, or worse. I'm saying that we're getting nowhere if we carry on like this. It's a waste of time. We're wasting our time and Noah's too."Omegas kept her head down and only lifted it when he reached her. She watched him tower over her for a moment, then looked away and swallowed."What if the answer is somewhere... if we missed it, if it's—""There's no answer, Omegas," he repeated.She swallowed again. "I don't know what else to do, Severus," she murmured in a low whisper.Severus could clearly hear her broken voice and the lump in her throat that caused it, and he automatically lost the ability to say anything."I'm not used to feeling like this," she continued. "Usually I either find something to do or accept the idea that there's nothing to do. Now I can do neither. I've never felt so helpless." She gave him a look that conveyed all her disgust at the feeling. "I hate it."He remained silent, watching her try to cope with that helplessness as he experienced it himself. He found himself in the position of having to be the one to convince the other that there was still hope. To be positive, even optimistic. A role far removed from his nature, one he couldn't embody. He sighed softly, returned to his chair and gestured for her to do the same. She obeyed, but kept her eyes stubbornly fixed on the floor."What would we do if we had found the creature responsible for the attack?"She looked up at him and frowned. "We have found the creature.""Yes, I know," he replied. "But what if it wasn't Gad. If it was someone else, or something else. What would we do?"Omegas thought for a moment. "We would study it. We'd try to understand how its magic works, and if there was any way we could use it to our advantage."Severus nodded. She looked at him, her eyes narrowing."Are you suggesting that we experiment on Gad?"He met her gaze, shrugged and relaxed against the back of the chair with ostentatious nonchalance."Not in an invasive way or one that could harm him, of course," he murmured. "Only as long as it helps us to better understand how he did what he did. With his consent, of course."She snorted a laugh. "With his consent... the boy is utterly insane," she said with some affection, almost admiration, in her tone, "he would give us consent to do anything.""All the better," he replied.She looked into his eyes again and gave him a slow, penetrating, mischievous grin."Are you suggesting this because you want to help Noah... or because you're curious?"Severus tried not to return her grin; unsuccessfully."Both," he admitted.Omegas chuckled and shook her head.She took a long pause, refilling both glasses and seemingly reflecting. She sipped, swallowing the amber liquid with a sound of satisfaction, and resumed speaking with a newfound, familiar calm."Gad is almost a Dementor. Probably someone, say his biological parents, made a mistake during the ritual and some of the magic lay dormant until the boy got angry for the first time. Sort of like children when they throw tantrums and start to show their first signs. You know, breaking things or making things disappear. Only more powerful."He picked up his glass and thought for a moment. "Yes, that's probably it," he confirmed, bringing it to his lips."Which raises a number of questions," she continued. "How far can Dementor magic go, for example? To what extent can they affect the human soul? Can they do it positively, and at what cost?"He nodded. "How does human magic affect them?" he added. "Why the only form of magic that works is the Patronus Charm?"She gave a half-smile. "Right, the Patronus. I suppose it's a matter of emotion, isn't it? A Patronus is the expression of human emotion in its purest form. Dementors lack it, naturally or, as we now know thanks to Professor Zakoten, artificially. It probably repels them. They must stay away from it."Severus watched her speak in enchanted silence, and an unstoppable smile found its way to replace his usual impassivity. It was only after a quiet minute and an indifferent sip of whisky that she noticed."What?" she asked.He cleared his throat. "Not bad," he whispered.Omegas smirked. "What's the point of praising me, Professor, if you don't give points to my house?" she teased.He grinned. "That would be too biased even for me, I'm afraid.""Mmm," she murmured, amused. "It's not entirely my doing, anyway. It's borne out by the fact that Gad couldn't summon his Patronus." She chuckled, swirling her glass. "'I don't think I have a good enough memory for something like this, Professor,'" she mimicked. "The boy is a great liar."Severus, who had a considerable amount of whisky in his mouth, nearly choked on it. He looked at her in amazement, the glass suspended in mid-air.Omegas looked around, confused. "What did I say?" she asked, resigned.He swallowed. "I never told you about that lesson," he said in a whisper, his gaze fixed on her face.She frowned. "Of course you did.""No, I didn't," he repeated."You must have," she objected, "otherwise how would I—" she stopped. She suddenly looked up at him, her eyes widening as well. "Oh," she murmured."Oh," he echoed, now smiling.She hesitated for a moment. "You... you mean we... we've...""Indirectly lived each other's experiences, yes," he confirmed.Omegas chuckled in disbelief. "It's... it's madness," she said breathlessly.He offered her a wry smile. "Try," he invited.She hesitated again, thinking for a moment about what question to ask."All right..." she whispered. She sat back in her chair and looked him straight in the eye. "I got a letter from Draco yesterday morning. What did it say?"Severus prepared himself for the chance to have to concentrate; to focus on her memories as if he were about to read someone's mind, but it proved unnecessary. Before he even had the chance to try, the answer was already on his lips."He argued with Sylvia, but he won't tell you why. He also argued with Quentin, and the reason seems to be 'because he's an idiot'. And... he asks when you're joining him for TV night." He frowned and tilted his head to one side. "You have a TV night?""Yes. He's getting into Muggle culture."His frown deepened. "Draco? Draco Malfoy?"She looked at him, confused. "Do we know any other Dracos?"Omegas quickly shifted from confusion to excitement. "Do you think it works with the information we had before we did it?" she asked."I don't know," he replied. He considered for a moment, then whispered, "Who is the Half-Blood Prince?"She looked at him, lost again, and seemed to be sinking into deep thoughts. Then she straightened in her chair and gave him a mischievous smile."You are the Half-Blood Prince," she said firmly.He returned her smile weakly and nodded slowly."My God, Severus..." she gasped. "That means..."She left the sentence hanging, swallowing audibly. Severus interpreted it as an anguished 'It means you know everything I've done in my life' or a grim 'It means I'll never have an experience that's mine alone again', but he was wrong."It means I now have all my knowledge and all your knowledge at my disposal," she concluded. She looked into his eyes and gave him one of her most genuine smiles. "Thank you."He had no idea how to react. Caught between relief and astonishment, he tried not to show her his feelings, but he told himself that she would know anyway when she thought back to that moment. He smiled back, as long as he could without feeling uncomfortable."You're welcome," he said, giving himself a false air of superiority.She chuckled, shook her head and emptied her glass. Then she frowned, adopting the cunning look she wore when she was about to tease him."Did you give yourself a title, Severus?" she asked.He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a deliberately, obviously exaggerated display of annoyance."I had a difficult childhood," he defended.Omegas laughed again, now tinged with a provocative note, and the two allowed themselves a night of distraction from the now perpetual, suffocating helplessness that had accompanied them for months.The next day, a Friday as sweltering as Thursday had been, Severus and Omegas joined Sylvia late in the morning and waited with her for Gad to finish his last exam. When he was done, the boy floated into the hall to find three pairs of expectant eyes fixed on him, Sylvia's the most insistent."So? How did it go?" she asked, trying to hide her impatience with detachment."How did what go?" he replied.Sylvia frowned. "The final exam, obviously.""I don't know. We get the results by owl."She rolled her eyes. "I know that. But how do you think it went?"Gad shrugged. "Yeah, fine," he said indifferently.He looked at them in turn, clearly uncomfortable."I'm hungry," he announced."We'll eat at the Black Cat, Sirius is waiting for us," she replied. "Unless you'd rather take the train."He glanced up at Sylvia, then at a group of cheerful students heading for the castle doors. Among them, Clarke and Sinclair, walking arm in arm, turned to him and gave him a couple of grins that Severus knew well and didn't like at all.Gad swallowed. "I'd rather not," he whispered.Sylvia nodded. "Very well, then. Get your trunk.""Yes, ma'am," he replied. He floated forward a little, but stopped almost immediately. "May I go to the library for a moment? Madam Pince is letting me keep some books for the summer.""Oh, I'll come with you. I have a couple of books to return... well, more like a dozen," Omegas said.Sylvia gave her a colourless look, then one of vague reproach to Gad. "All right, but hurry. You always do this when there's a library involved, you say you'll drop by and then stay there for two hours."The boy shook his head. "Really, that's not going to happen this time. Professor Grindelwald will be there."She made a face. "Very reassuring."Omegas chuckled, pirouetted around Gad's chair and began pushing it towards the stairs.Sylvia watched them go, shaking her head, but with a look that betrayed a great wave of affection. Then, suddenly, a realisation gripped her face and she stood staring at the now empty stairwell, Severus' eyes fixed on her."Sweet Salazar..." she said in a choked whisper. "I adopted him, didn't I?"Severus managed the complex task of stifling a laugh, but failed to hold back a grin. "Yes," he confirmed.She lowered her head, and it took her a moment to raise it again, declaring her usual coldness."Will you be joining us for lunch?" she asked, trying to sound casual. "Draco's coming. He's on a break today."Severus grimaced. He had no desire to see Sirius, or share a meal with him, but it had been too long since he had seen Draco, and the last time they had spoken for more than five minutes, the conversation had been far from pleasant.He looked up at the girl. "Will there be other... customers?""No, it'll just be us," she replied.He hesitated for a moment. "All right," he said, trying to sound as gruff as possible.It was a strange afternoon. Not because anything unusual or unexpected happened, but rather for the opposite reason. They arrived at the Black Cat and instead of entering through the usual mirror, they went through the back room. There, next to the large weeping willow under which Severus had once accidentally overheard a conversation between Omegas and Sylvia, was now a set table; not as long as the one he had sat at during every event he had attended in the pub. It was smaller, more inviting, more homely. He sat between Omegas and Gad and ate, while Draco and Sylvia, opposite them, seemed to compete over who could insert more words into the conversation. Sirius chuckled merrily, and it didn't bother him as much as it had every time he'd seen him laugh before. For a while, he dismissed the feeling as the strange light-heartedness he had experienced in the same pub the previous year. Sure, it was stronger, more tangible, but he blamed that on Omegas. He probably felt hers as well.Then, towards the late afternoon, just when Severus was about to silently communicate his desire to leave to Omegas, something happened. Sirius stood up and announced that he had an appointment with Lupin that evening. He said goodbye to the others with a series of farewells that ranged from a vaguely hostile nod to Severus to a kiss to Sylvia that forced at least three of those present to look away, and walked towards the brown door of the back room. It was only when the door had closed that Severus looked around and suddenly lost the desire to leave. He watched Draco and Sylvia chatting about this and that, with that veil of typical Malfoy superiority that, like it or not, he had somewhat missed since Lucius had died. He shifted his gaze to Gad, who had been holding a book and had been lost in thought for about half an hour. He observed Omegas for a while, intent on listening to the conversation between the other two, feigning disinterest that was clearly belied by the way her violet eyes bounced from one to the other. He waited for her to turn and give him one of her usual calm, sincere smiles, the kind she gave only to him and no one else in the world. He returned it, though with nothing more than an eloquent look, and took a moment to process the feeling he was experiencing. The last time he had felt like that, exactly where he was supposed to be, had been when he was eleven, the first time he had boarded the Hogwarts Express. Severus felt at home.Eventually, the sentence that brought everyone back to reality came. Draco spoke it in good faith, unaware of the weight the question carried."How's the Noah situation?"No one answered. Gad lifted his eyes from the book, making sure to hide his face behind it. Omegas looked away with a sigh and lost her smile completely. Severus, whose face didn't even show the shadow of a smile, made a half-frustrated grimace and crossed his arms. Sylvia remained silent, swallowing and hesitantly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Draco looked at them in turn, frowning."Next question?" he murmured."No need," Omegas replied, getting up from her chair. "We have to go anyway. Severus?""Yes," he confirmed.Sylvia frowned. "You have to go and do what? Lessons are over."Omegas raised an eyebrow. "We have a life, you know?"The other looked up at her and laughed vigorously. "Yeah, sure."Her friend rolled her eyes, but did so while stifling a laugh. Draco and Sylvia stood up, Gad put down his book and all five of them headed for the brown door."Professor?" Gad whispered, unsure.Omegas turned. "Yes?""May I... may I speak with you for a moment? Also with you, Professor," he added, nodding towards Severus.The two looked at each other and nodded in unison. Sylvia cleared her throat and visibly held back from hugging her friend goodbye."See you soon then," she said."Yes, see you soon," Omegas replied with a smile, "at the wedding."The other nodded."Mmm, I don't know if I'm coming," Draco cut in."You are coming," Sylvia commanded firmly. "We've already argued about this. Do you want to fight again?"He grimaced in annoyance. "You say that like it's a problem for me.""Stop it," she ordered. The two continued to bicker even after the door closed behind them.It took a few moments for Gad to speak. He looked hesitantly at Severus, then at Omegas. He lowered his head, cleared his throat and muttered."Is there any chance you won't say 'stay out of it' if I ask—""No," Omegas interrupted."Absolutely not," Severus confirmed.The boy nodded slightly. He hesitated for another moment; he took the satchel hanging from the back of his wheelchair, placed it on his lap, pulled out a book and slowly handed it to the woman.Confused, she reached out and took it. "What is it?""The book you gave me last year before Christmas, ma'am," he explained. "The one you got from the restricted section of the Durmstrang library. It took me a while to read it, you know... it's in German. But I've finished it now."Omegas turned it over in her hands and caressed the cover almost lovingly. "How did you read it?" she asked, intrigued.Gad raised his head to meet her gaze. "I learned German, Professor," he replied as if it were obvious. "Well, not all of it. Just a bit."She stared at him in surprise. She gave him a broad smile and snorted a laugh.“ Ah, du... Wunderboy, ” she whispered.The boy returned her smile, albeit weakly, and seemed to blush slightly. He closed the satchel, put it back in its place and looked back at his professors."Goodbye," he said, politely as usual."Goodbye, Gad," the others replied almost in unison, and walked off in the opposite direction.Severus and Omegas left the back room of the Black Cat, disapparated and apparated at Spinner's End a few moments later. They entered the home they would be staying in until their return to Hogwarts in September, and Severus lingered for a moment at the arrangement of the living room. He observed the large wooden table in its place against the wall; the bookshelves, fuller than they had been the previous summer; the chests, cupboards and trunks stacked in one corner, exactly where they should be. He shifted his gaze to the armchair opposite his, where Omegas, already with a book in hand, sat relaxed against the backrest, apparently unaware of his gaze. He watched as she crossed her legs, brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and gently turned a page in the book. He watched as her violet eyes quickly scanned the pages, her hands gripping the volume tightly, her chest rising and falling regularly with each calm breath. He watched her lips, parted and still at first, slowly curling into a smirk."I can feel what you're thinking, you know?" she murmured, not taking her eyes off the book.Severus quickly looked away, coughing and doing his best to remain impassive; a difficult and ultimately fruitless endeavour. Swallowing, he lifted his head to find her gaze fixed on him, the grin still in place. He cleared his throat, struggled to regain his solemnity, and raised one eyebrow haughtily."Hungry?" he asked."Not at all, no," she replied.He nodded. He watched her for another moment, then announced, "I'll go prepare dinner.""Good idea," Omegas said, her face once again hidden behind the pages of the book.Severus nodded once more, taking on an air of importance, and walked with long strides and his head held high towards the next room.He returned half an hour later. He placed the food on the low table between the armchairs, knowing that neither of them would touch it, sat down opposite her and raised the wine glass to his lips."What are you doing?" he asked, nodding casually at the book.Omegas leaned forward, grabbed her glass and took a sip."Trying to guess how many and which of these poisons Gad has tried to kill himself with since I gave him the book.""Ah, of course," he said. "You needed a break from the case and turned to lighter reading. Understandable."She laughed and turned another page. She frowned and leaned forward again, her finger resting on the title of a paragraph."Look," she invited.Severus rose from the chair, walked around the table and stood beside her. He glanced at the page she was pointing to and understood absolutely nothing. With an annoyed grimace and his wand in hand, he waved it and made Professor Zakoten's glasses float onto his nose. He bent down, his eyes once again fixed on the book, and felt Omegas' gaze move quickly over him.He grinned. "I can feel what you're thinking, you know?" he murmured.She quickly lowered her head. "Quiet," she ordered.Severus let out a mischievous and decidedly satisfied laugh before finally turning his attention to the page.It described the effects, ingredients and method of preparation of what he immediately recognised as a Confusing Concoction, but it seemed to be its more powerful and less legal version. The basic ingredients were the same—scurvy grass, lovage, sneezewort—but there were others, different ones: forbidden herbs, dark spells and just a touch of ritualism. The title was circled in red, the ingredients ticked off and the preparation steps corrected here and there."Why would he be interested in this?" Severus asked. "It's not lethal. It's not even dangerous.""Oh yes, it is," Omegas objected. "I mean, not in the classic sense. It can't hurt or kill, but it works just by inhaling it. You don't even have to make the victim drink it, and the effects are stronger and last longer. It's complicated to make, but it leaves no traces. You can do pretty much anything without getting caught. That's why it's illegal."He slowly took his eyes off the book and fixed them on her. "And you gave this to a fifteen year old boy?"She shrugged. "Technically, he was fourteen when I gave it to him."Severus scolded her with a look, but she had already turned back to the book."Why brew it, though? Why this one in particular?" she asked after a moment."I don't know," he replied earnestly. "But you shouldn't have given him this book.""Oh, please, Severus," she said evasively. "I gave it to him for purely academic purposes. You know how the boy is, he probably made it just for the sake of making it. What do you think he'll use it for? To rob Gringotts?"She snorted a laugh, earning herself a second stern look, which she paid as much attention to as the first.Severus went back to studying the book, and it wasn't until five silent minutes later that he noticed a torn piece of paper tucked between the first two pages. He pulled it out and examined it for a moment. The days of the week were written on it, along with a series of times, but it didn't seem to be a timetable. Some of the times were too late, at night, or at lunchtime. Friday was circled in red, just like the title of the page they had just read."What is it?" asked Omegas."I don't know," he murmured and handed her the paper.She took it and read it a few times. "Mmm, these are definitely not class times," she whispered thoughtfully. "See, there are times even on Sunday."He followed the path of her finger and read:
12:30 - 1:30, lunch break.
It took him a moment to understand. He looked at the potion circled in red, then at the numbers written under Friday:
10:00 pm onwards.
He swallowed, took off his glasses and placed them on the table in front of them. He stared into space for a few moments, thinking, trying to connect the dots."What is it?" asked Omegas curiously.Severus swallowed again. "These are not class times," he explained. "They're the times when Noah's Healers are away. Their movements."She frowned slightly and read the numbers on the paper again."Oh, yes. They could be, indeed. It makes sense."She flicked her eyes from the paper to the page describing the potion, then back to the paper.She understood too. Suddenly, she rose from the chair and met Severus' eyes."He... he thinks he can't die," she whispered."Yes," he agreed."And he knows... he knows that to break Noah's soul he needs to use the Killing Curse on someone," she added with horror. "He knows the Healers' schedules and has a potion that can confuse anyone without even needing to be drunk." She looked at the book again, at the paper, then at the man. "Do you think he... left us a message?"Severus returned her gaze, considering the idea of lying for a moment. He had no idea what would happen next, but he knew it wouldn't be pleasant. He took a deep breath and forced himself to speak."What day is it?" he asked.She swallowed. "Friday."He nodded. "What time is it?"Omegas turned to the clock at the back of the room. "Half past ten."She turned slowly, and the desperation in her eyes told him she knew. There was no need to speak the next sentence, but Severus decided to do it anyway."Gad is going to kill himself."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
They reached St Mungo's in less than ten minutes. Breathless, their cloaks askew and their faces frantic, they reached the reception desk and asked the usual over-friendly woman if she had seen anything suspicious. She replied with a vigorous laugh, bordering on hysterical, and fixed them with a pair of wide, empty blue eyes.
"Suspicious?" she repeated, her pitch two octaves higher than usual. "No, no, everything's fine here! Absolutely fine, yes. Everything is absolutely, perfectly fine!"
With a shaking hand, she picked up a pile of papers and began manically arranging them, humming softly. Severus and Omegas exchanged a look and silently agreed on what to do next. They looked around: the place was half deserted, except for a few waiting patients and a couple of attendants, all conspicuously minding their own business. Omegas leaned slightly over the desk, gave the woman a big smile and gestured towards the lifts a little further away.
"Do you mind if we take a look around?" she asked casually.
"Hmm?" the woman replied, looking at her with curious eyes. "Oh no, of course not! Go ahead, enjoy yourselves."
The other two exchanged another look, nodded and walked past her. As Severus did so, his eyes caught an out of place detail: a tiny broken glass vial with traces of thick black liquid around it. It lay on the floor, next to the receptionist's chair. He grabbed his wand from under his cloak, gave it a twirl and made both the vial and the liquid disappear; then he proceeded with Omegas towards the lifts.
They pressed the button that would take them to the fourth floor. She huffed slightly and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.
"Two illegal breaks into St Mungo's in two years, Severus," she remarked. "Must be some sort of record."
He agreed with a grimace. "At least last time we were protected. A Neglectus Charm would be wise now," he suggested.
She shook her head. "No, Gad needs to see us. We won't be able to convince him to stop if he can't look us in the eye. Assuming he hasn't done it already."
Despite himself, Severus could find no objection.
The doors opened a moment later, and the two cautiously stepped through. There were a couple of Healers monitoring the corridor, some of whom seemed more like they were trotting than walking. Omegas carefully observed a girl with long brown hair tied in a braid, cheerfully scribbling on her clipboard; she hesitated for a moment, then approached her.
"What the hell are you doing?" Severus admonished, half between a shout and a whisper.
"Shh," she replied.
She reached the girl and stepped into her line of sight. "Hello," she greeted her calmly.
The other smiled, delighted. "Hello," she replied.
Omegas scrutinised her for another couple of seconds. She slowly raised one arm and snapped her fingers in front of her nose. The girl flinched slightly, brought a hand to her chest and laughed heartily.
Omegas turned to Severus. "She's completely gone," she announced.
"Good," he replied. He glanced down the corridor again. "The others?"
"Probably gone too," she said. "No time to check, let's go."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him at a run towards Noah's room.
They stopped abruptly in front of the glass walls of the room. Gad was on the other side, his wheelchair on the floor, his wand lazily pointed at Noah's body. Noah, still and rigid, also held a wand, pointing it at the other boy. His shadow, projected on the wall, was more restless than ever. Gad looked up, as if woken from his thoughts, and met the Professors' gaze.
"You're here," he observed.
The other two said nothing. Omegas took a decisive step towards the room's door and placed her hand on the handle.
"No, no!" cried Gad. "Stop!"
She stopped. The boy swallowed and pointed with his eyes to a pair of broken vials on the floor, each leaking thick black liquid.
"You'll be confused if you try to get in," he explained. "It doesn't work on me, but it will on you."
Omegas let go of the handle, swallowed and returned to stand in front of the glass. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't get a word out. Severus joined her in two large strides and fixed a pair of furious black eyes on Gad.
"Get out of there," he ordered.
Gad lowered his head and shook it slightly. "I can't, sir," he murmured. "This is the only way. There's no—"
"Get out of there right now, Nodens!" he roared.
A passing Healer flinched. He turned towards them, watching the scene with vacant eyes, and burst out laughing. He shook his head and walked down the corridor with a vague, "Kids, am I right?"
Severus ignored him. He took another step forward, almost touching the glass.
"Get out," he hissed.
The boy floated back a little. He lifted his head and met his gaze. "No."
The Professor had to make a great effort not to enter the room and strangle him, potion or no potion. He tried to breathe and calm down, at least enough to have a convincing dialogue, but he failed.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" he shouted.
Gad visibly struggled to keep his eyes fixed on the Professor's raging face. He looked from him to Noah's body, to the shadow, then back to him.
"I know what I'm doing, sir," he replied, the faint mechanical tone back in place. "I've tested. The spells that work on the soul don't work on his body, but they do work on the shadow. If I put a wand in Noah's hand and Imperio the shadow, I can cast spells in his place, as if he were doing it. I tried with the Patronus. I can't summon it, but he can, or at least he can if I do it through him. It's a blackbird, you know?" he smiled weakly. "What a strange coincidence."
He paused for a moment, his expression suddenly serious.
"All I have to do is cast the Killing Curse on myself," he whispered. "The Unforgivable Curses require true will, don't they? I don't think I'll have any trouble with that..." he let out a joyless chuckle. "Before I do, I'll remove the Concoction, so you can come in afterwards. Part of Noah's soul should return to its place. I heard Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Sprout about it. Everything will be back to normal."
Severus hesitated for a moment. In the few minutes it had taken him to get there, he had made his predictions and thought about what to say to Gad. He had expected to face a confused, desperate boy, on the verge of acting on instinct; not a confident, methodical one with a well-thought-out plan.
He put aside his surprise and hurried to voice his objections.
"It's not just a practical matter," he explained, now a little calmer. At least some of the panic had been replaced by a great desire to discover how meticulously the action had been planned. "Have you considered the consequences? What will happen after you've done it?"
Gad nodded. "Yes, sir, I have. I've considered all the possibilities."
The Professor raised his head solemnly. "Go on then," he challenged.
The boy lowered his wand. He straightened in his chair, approached the glass and gave the man the look of someone accepting the challenge.
"There are four possible outcomes," he began. "The first, and most likely, is that we both survive. In that case, Noah will be fine and able to tell everything to the Aurors. I've asked him not to say anything about you, and he won't. I'll probably be investigated... they'll find out what I am, what I've done. They'll take the Resurrection Stone back. But that's fine with me, really. In that case, you'll escape before they return. None of them will remember that you were here," he said, gesturing to the Healers.
Severus quickly searched for something to counter with, something to criticise, but found nothing. That was undoubtedly the most likely outcome.
He found himself nodding, waiting for the other to continue.
"The second possible outcome is that I don't die, but it doesn't work," Gad continued. "It will be as if nothing has happened. Even in that case, you'll have to escape. I'll confess everything to the Aurors and Healers, tell them what I tried to do and that it didn't work, and they can look for another way to help Noah. Maybe they'll examine me, I don't know. It's no problem for me, I've been experimented on all my life."
Severus still had no objection. He watched as the boy, exceptionally calm, paused for a moment, and was overcome by a strange sense of protectiveness. A sudden urge to protest against his rationality, to tell him that yes, it was a problem, that he would suffer, that he would become nothing more than a guinea pig, subjected to who knows what procedures, and that none of it was right. He was surprised to discover such feelings. He himself had suggested something similar not more than twenty-four hours before, without any remorse, without any scruples. He slowly shifted his gaze to Omegas and observed her there, standing beside him, her violet eyes fixed on Gad; sombre as they had been in front of Garnet's room, in front of Tonks' body, in front of the open window of her apartment in Liverpool, and he understood. The feeling wasn't his.
He stopped looking at her and hurried to find something to say, something to distract him.
"Why did you make us come here?" he spat, once again succumbing to his old anger. It was easier to give in to that than anything else. "Why leave us the message and make us watch if we have to run away?"
"For the other two possible outcomes, sir," Gad replied.
He turned slightly and reached for the satchel hanging from his chair. He placed it on his lap, opened it and took out a roll of parchment.
"This is a written confession," he explained. "The other two possibilities are that I die and Noah heals, or that I die and Noah doesn't heal. In either case, I won't be able to give an explanation. I need you to take the confession and send it to the Aurors."
He looked the two professors in the eye, one after the other, and was met with nothing but severe stares.
"Please," he added in a whisper.
Severus and Omegas looked at each other. They both knew that if the boy were to die, that would indeed be the most sensible thing to do, but neither wanted to give Gad the impression that they approved of his plans. So, after silently agreeing on this stance, they turned and looked at him even more sternly than before.
The boy hesitated for a moment. He lowered his head and gently put the parchment back in its place.
"It doesn't matter," he murmured. "It's almost impossible that I will die."
"You don't know that," Omegas intervened.
She spoke in a tone as calm as her interlocutor's. Severus was genuinely impressed; not because it was surprising, for those were indeed her usual manners, but because for the first time since he had met her, he experienced the gulf between what she felt and what she chose to show.
Gad shifted his gaze to her. "I know, ma'am," he replied. "I can't die. I've tried. I've died many times. I've always come back."
"Not with the Killing Curse," she objected. She was silent for a moment, then raised her head in a gesture she hoped would convey the gravity of her words. "The Killing Curse works on practically anything. It kills what normally wouldn't be killed. Even Horcruxes. You know that, don't you? Professor Snape taught you."
The boy looked from one to the other. "Yes, ma'am," he nodded, "but it can't kill Dementors. They can't be killed."
"You're not exactly a Dementor," she protested, raising her voice slightly now. "You're part human. You're unique, Gad, we don't know what the consequences might be. You could die. You could really be gone forever. Is that what you want? After all you've done to get where you are?"
She walked slowly along the glass, her eyes fixed on him.
"Now that you can feel, that you can eat, that you can dream. Noah almost gave his life so that you could have a chance. And you want to throw it all away?"
Gad lowered his head and seemed to be thinking. He turned and watched Noah's body for a moment, the wand still clenched in his hand, then his shadow moving on the opposite wall. He swallowed, choking back what appeared to be a whimper.
"No, I won't die," he muttered. "I have the Resurrection Stone inside me, it will save me. It worked for Harry, it will work for me."
"Damn it, Gad!" she shouted, slamming her hand against the glass. "You don't know that! You can't know that!"
The boy jumped and floated backwards. Omegas closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.
"Please," she tried, now in a choked whisper. "Please, stop. You can't kill yourself. You have—" she trailed off, swallowing a sob. "You have no idea what you're doing to me."
Gad looked confused. "What am I doing to you, Professor?"
She looked away with great regret in her eyes. Those words had clearly escaped her control and now they hung in the air, heavy and inexplicable. But Severus, once again beside her, fully understood their meaning. He took her arm in an instinctive gesture and waited for her to raise her head. He looked into her eyes and tried with all his might to communicate, 'It's all right. I'm here. Let me do the talking'. He wasn't sure if they had just had the second telepathic conversation of their lives, or more likely of history, but the faint smile she gave him and the tears that formed in her violet eyes were certainly a sign.
He turned back to the boy, abandoning any hope of convincing him, any intention of using logic to persuade him to change his mind. There was far too much logic in Gad's plan already; pretending his motives weren't valid would get him nowhere. So he resorted to the only other means at his disposal: guilt. Over time, Severus had had an endless amount of time to think about his choices, his mistakes, his past. He had imagined every version of how his story might have turned out had he made different choices, had he been in the right place at the right time, had he had someone capable of saying the words that would have stopped him. He had often dreamed of being that person. Of looking his younger self in the eye and convincing him to take the right decision. That day, standing outside that hospital room, he looked into Gad's eyes and spoke to him as if he were speaking to himself.
He took a step towards the glass and gestured to Noah's shadow.
"Look at him," he commanded.
The boy turned and watched it move restlessly for a long, silent moment.
"You are the only one of us who has managed to communicate with him," Severus continued. "The only one to make a real connection. You believed he had forgiven you, and you were right. Now look at him," he repeated sternly. "What do you think he's trying to tell you? Is this what you think he wants, Gad? Have you considered how Noah feels about your plan?"
Gad turned, head bowed, eyes fixed on the wand in his hands.
"He said..." he murmured, showing a hint of uncertainty for the first time, "he said 'anything'."
"That's right, he did," the other confirmed, "but I don't think he considered that you would sacrifice yourself for him. Look at him, Gad," he said again.
The boy swallowed. He slightly turned his head, but didn't have the courage to do so completely. Severus, now certain that this was the winning strategy, took another step forward, positioning himself in front of him until he was forced to meet his insistent gaze.
"You said you'd considered all the possibilities," he gestured at the shadow again. "Have you considered who you'd be leaving behind? The people who would miss you if you were to die?"
Gad remained silent. He tried to turn around again, but stopped before he could see Noah's soul, still agitated in its incessant spasms. He opened his mouth, then closed it, lost in seemingly complicated thoughts. Eventually, he regained his gentle but firm manners and looked up at him again.
"Noah is missed by his mother," he announced. "He is missed by his friends, his teachers. Everyone at Hogwarts has mourned his absence for months. If I died, I wouldn't be missed by so many people."
"You'd be missed by me!" Omegas intervened. The despair was gone, replaced by deep anger. "By Black, by Sylvia, by Professor McGonagall, by Hagrid! By your Healers, by—"
"My Healers don't care about me, not really," he interrupted her, now with a note of bitterness he hadn't shown before. "Zachary's nice because he thinks he has to be. Quentin can't stand me, and for Greg I'm just an interesting subject."
"That's not true, Gad," she objected.
"Yes, it is, ma'am," he replied. He looked at her and shook his head slightly. "You don't have to lie to me just to spare my feelings. People have been doing that all my life. I like having you as a professor because you're not like that."
Those words hit Omegas hard enough to leave her speechless once again. She avoided his gaze, folded her arms and remained silent. The boy turned to look at Severus.
"People are suffering because of Noah's absence. There wouldn't be as much suffering if I died," he explained. "So it's fair. It's logical."
"It's not logical," Severus spat. The contempt was back, his calm had begun to waver. "These are feelings. Don't pretend you don't understand them, don't lie to me, Gad. It's not—"
"What are you doing?" a voice shouted from behind them.
Severus and Omegas turned to meet the displeased frown of Quentin, who clearly hadn't been among the victims of Gad's potion. They turned to the boy, who confirmed it with a pair of terrified eyes and a newly more distinct pallor.
"You," the Healer spat, pointing at the woman. "You've done something, haven't you? Greta, in the other corridor, hardly knows where she is. You're behind this, I know it."
He approached with large strides and let out a satisfied, vicious, almost sadistic laugh.
"I told you I wouldn't allow it anymore. Potter won't help you this time, rest assured. You've done something illegal here, without a doubt."
He stopped in front of her and looked at her with an almost tangible disdain. She returned it with a raised eyebrow and an indifferent look. Only after a few tense moments did Quentin finally notice the presence of the other two. He gave Severus an annoyed look, then slowly turned to Gad and frowned.
"What... what's going on here?"
Severus tried to keep his composure, at least partially; to regain some semblance of diplomacy. He quickly searched for an excuse, something that would achieve the difficult task of convincing him that everything was under control, a lie believable enough to get him to leave. He opened his mouth, ready to improvise, but he didn't have time to say anything.
"Imperio," Omegas murmured.
The curse hit the Healer squarely. His eyes emptied and his arms fell limply at his sides.
"Obliviate," the woman added with a second wave of her wand. She waited for the memory spell to take effect, then approached the man. "All is well in the corridor. Go outside and make sure no one else comes in."
He turned, nodded and obeyed without another word.
Omegas looked at Severus, who had closed his eyes in a vain attempt to remain composed, then at Gad, who had parted his lips and had his eyes wide open.
"P-Professor..." he stammered.
"Yes, Gad?" she replied, now with her familiar, untimely calm.
"You... you just used an Unforgivable Curse on my Healer?"
She shook her head. "No, Gad," she replied. "He's not your Healer anymore." She put her wand back in her pocket. "Where were we?"
The boy let out an incredulous laugh, and it took him a moment to return to the sad reality of his circumstances.
He hesitated for a moment. Gripping his wand tighter, he floated backwards and stopped in front of Noah's bed.
"What are you doing?" Severus hissed.
Gad didn't answer. With difficulty and, judging by his expression, considerable pain, he slowly placed one leg on the floor, then the other. He leaned heavily on the mattress and walked around it until he was a hand's breadth from the other boy's nose. He closed his eyes and raised his trembling hand, pointing the wand at him.
"Gad, stop," Severus ordered.
Gad didn't stop.
"STOP!" he shouted.
The boy sobbed. He gave in to tears for a few moments, then spoke again.
"You're right, Professor," he whispered, his voice breaking. "This isn't logic. These are feelings, and I can no longer pretend not to understand them."
He turned slowly towards him.
"I can't live with this guilt."
"Gad," Omegas implored. "Please."
He looked at her. He smiled weakly, turned and drew the same smile to Noah's shadow on the other side of the room.
"I'm sorry."
It all happened in less than an instant. Gad raised his wand, and Omegas cried out his name. With a quick, silent spell, he made each of the broken vials on the floor disappear. She ran for the door, Severus right behind her, but it didn't open. She grabbed her wand, pointed it at the door and shouted, "Alohomora!"
The door opened, but the time it took for her to lower the handle and enter was enough for the boy to turn towards the shadow and yell clearly, "Imperio".
There was a brief, static moment, a blink of an eye, during which all three exchanged glances. Noah's body pointed the wand at Gad. By the time Omegas lunged forward, the curse had already been cast, and Severus had to yank her back to prevent her from stepping into the spell's path. The words 'Avada Kedavra' left Gad's lips and Noah's wand emitted the unmistakable, merciless green light. It struck Gad with all its horrible, glorious power, and the boy collapsed to the floor at the foot of the bed.
Stunned, the two could do nothing but watch the scene as if it were part of a shared nightmare. Severus was the first to find the courage to take a step forward. This time, however, it was she who grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay back. Frowning, he turned to find her staring with wide eyes at a point beyond his shoulder. He followed her gaze and soon understood the reason. Noah's soul, which had been a shadow projected onto the wall, was gradually separating from it. It moved away, enveloping much of the small room in its darkness. It lost its human form and floated in the air like a huge, shapeless black hole, drawing in every ray of light in sight. Then there was a loud, eerie crack; a small part of the shadow broke away from the rest and suddenly glowed. It brightened the astonished faces of the professors and moved slowly but purposefully towards Noah's body. The moment it reached him, he opened his mouth and his soul, once again alive, once again shining, slipped between his lips. Noah was shaken violently. His lungs filled with air as if it were his first breath, and his eyes lit up bright green; then they closed, and the boy fell from the bed to the floor, next to his best friend's body.
Severus and Omegas watched as what remained of Noah's shadow regained its human form and disappeared under the bed. They swallowed in unison and, after exchanging a look of grim, desperate resignation, nodded and took the first step forward. They crossed the room tentatively, circled the bed and stopped in front of the two boys. Omegas said nothing. For a moment she seemed incapable of moving a muscle; then, in a gesture that seemed completely unconscious, her knees gave way and she collapsed before Gad's body. Severus watched as she took him in her arms and brushed a lock of hair from his face. He knelt beside her. He looked at Noah, right in front of him, and thought of reaching out to check on his condition, but he couldn't move. So he turned back to her and searched with all his might for something to say, something to do, even a thought to formulate that would distract him from that static, silent torture. He found nothing.
He remained motionless, his eyes fixed on Gad's body, until he heard Omegas' chuckle. He lifted his head and she chuckled louder. She buried a hand in the boy's hair and ran her fingers through it.
"He hasn't cut his hair since he stopped coming to St Mungo's," she murmured. "We have to keep an eye on him, or he'll end up looking too much like you."
She said it so casually, so detachedly, that for a moment Severus found it disturbing. The next moment, however, she turned and met his eyes. That single, fleeting glance was more eloquent than any tear she so stoically held back. He quickly averted his gaze, but finally managed to move again. He took a deep breath, leaned forward and slowly brought a hand to Gad's wrist. He clasped it and tried to feel his pulse, but to little avail. The only pulse he felt under the pressure of his fingertips was his own. Before he realised it, he had gripped his wrist tightly enough to leave a mark. He kept his eyes on the pale hand and watched as a few drops fell onto it. He turned to look at Omegas again but found her still, absent, petrified. It took him a while to realise that those tears were his own.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. In one single, wonderful moment, both Gad and Noah opened their eyes and sat up on the floor. Severus and Omegas started and moved back so quickly that they crashed into the wall behind them. Once again stunned, they watched with wide eyes as two different chests rose and fell under the heavy breaths of two undoubtedly alive boys. Severus glanced from one to the other at least a dozen times, while Omegas, beside him, banged her head against the wall and let out a big, liberating laugh. None of the boys seemed to notice. They looked at each other for a long moment and exchanged a couple of smiles; Noah's was big, beaming, with deep dimples marking his cheeks, while Gad's was weaker, tentative, but equally sincere. Noah sprang to his feet and held out his hand to Gad. He took it and let himself be pulled up, slowly and with considerable effort.
"Hello, Spaceboy," Noah murmured.
Gad's smile widened. "Hello, Nox."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Severus Snape was still a practical man. Never, since the day the war ended, had he encountered situations, come across information or witnessed events that would have made anyone else question their cynicism. Yet, stubborn and persistent, that cynicism remained within him, and there was no afterlife, no ancient ritual, no notion of soul and consciousness relevant enough to make it go away. So it was until the Saturday morning after Gad's sacrifice. Everything that happened from that moment on, for lack of words to define it, Severus was forced to regard as a miracle.First, in an unspoken agreement, the two professors refused to leave the hospital room. Gad protested and Noah, embarrassed, seemed to share his friend's opinion but lacked the courage to say so. The two, however, were immovable and stayed there until the arrival of Noah's Healers, then the Aurors, then a very agitated Sylvia and a perplexed Sirius Black. By dawn, the room was filled with onlookers, all staring at Noah with incredulous eyes, some casting suspicious glances at Severus and Omegas. Noah's mother, Madeleine, threw herself around her son's neck, whimpering words in French that fell somewhere between prayer and lament. Red-faced, he tried to protest with an awkward "Maman, s'il te plaît...", but it didn't discourage her in the least. Noah was finally forced to surrender to the embrace, which was joined upon her arrival by Professor Sprout, accompanied by the Headmistress, with two big tears rolling down her round face. Everyone, from Healers to Professors, Aurors and outsiders, watched the scene in respectful silence. When Quentin came to his senses and walked in, closing the door behind him, everyone was finally present and ready to face the now inevitable elephant in the room.Astrid approached the bed, accompanied by Harry and Ron. She gave the two women a couple of polite smiles, then a series of piercing glances at the others."So," she began in a firm whisper. "Noah. Would you like to tell us exactly what happened?"The boy hesitated. He managed to hold her gaze for little more than a moment, then lowered his head and swallowed audibly. Gad floated forward slightly, ready to speak, but Severus grabbed his wheelchair and forced him to stay back. He stepped past him, stopped in front of the Head Auror, looked her straight in the eyes and prepared to have a conversation that would, in all likelihood, mark the end of his and Omegas' careers. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but didn't have time to say anything."Professor Grindelwald..." mumbled Noah, uncertain. "Professor Grindelwald came here with a potion. I don't know what... I don't know what kind of potion it was, but she gave it to me and I got better."The lie, hesitant, vague, whispered, didn't sound believable at all.Every eye in the room turned to Omegas. She returned every glance, uncomfortable, betraying a moment of genuine confusion. She looked at Noah, who swallowed again and returned to staring at his hands clasped in his lap. Then, in an instant, she found her cunning smile, her manner halfway between elegance and irreverence, and walked to the centre of the room. She pulled out her wand, pointed it into her bag and quickly grabbed the glass bottle containing the dark red liquid. She turned it over in her hand, examined it in the light and gently placed it in Astrid's hand. Astrid examined it with a furrowed brow and narrowed her eyes."What is it?" she asked suspiciously."It doesn't have a name," the other woman explained nonchalantly. "It's relatively new. I've been working on it since the attack. It can separate the soul from the body or, if the situation is reversed, do the opposite. I finished it a few days ago and came to try it out."This lie sounded much more convincing than the previous one.However, Astrid didn't seem to be buying it. She looked up at her, doubtfully, curiously, as if trying to read her mind. Omegas remained impassive, her smile fixed, her stance firm."Why haven't you told anyone?" the Auror asked.She shrugged. "Most of the ingredients are forbidden. I'd rather not get arrested if it didn't work." She approached with measured steps. "It's a rather complex potion, I'll spare you the technicalities. You can have it analysed if you wish. They'll confirm my words."Astrid studied her silently for a moment. "So it's illegal?"Omegas chuckled. "I told you my methods would be a bit unconventional," she said in a low tone.The other nodded. "And I told you I had no problem with unconventional methods," she replied, "as long as the good was greater than the price to be paid."She nodded back and gestured at Noah. "It seems that way to me, doesn't it?The Head Auror turned. She looked at the boy for a moment, then at Severus and Gad, searching for some clue, some trace that might confirm her suspicion, but found nothing. She turned back to Omegas, offered her a kind smile and slowly nodded."Yes, I agree," she declared. She stepped back and addressed Professor Sprout. "I'll need Noah to come to the Auror Department to confirm his version, as soon as he's well, of course. I'll also need your statements," she added, nodding to Severus and Gad. "You were present at the time of the administration."The pair nodded without further objection."I'll have to inform the Wizengamot of what happened, of course, but we'll probably be able to avoid a trial," she concluded.A series of smiles spread across the faces of those present. Severus heaved a great sigh of relief and thought a 'Thank God', so intense that Omegas could hear it. 'Thank Professor Zakoten, you mean,' she corrected. That was the first conversation, the first real telepathic exchange of their lives. They looked at each other and exchanged a few furtive grins before Quentin's harsh tone cut them off."That's all?" he protested fiercely. He gestured angrily towards Omegas. "She snuck into the hospital. She administered an untested and potentially dangerous substance to the boy without the consent of his mother or his Healers. She lied for months, hiding the fact that she was working on something that could cure him. She also did something to some of the Healers and to Cynthia down at the reception. I know she did it, they were confused.""Cynthia has been checked, as have all her colleagues," Astrid observed. "Nothing was found.""Then she must have used something that leaves no trace!" he objected.She looked at him, then cast an inquisitive glance at Omegas, who kept betraying nothing.Astrid smiled. "We wouldn't have any proof even if she had.""So you're just going to let her go like nothing happened?" Iris interjected. She stepped forward and stopped beside Quentin. "She's been poking her nose into St Mungo's business for months. Her and Snape."Harry stepped forward as well. "Professor Snape," he corrected.Severus, already on the verge of intervening to point out that he didn't need to be defended, especially not by him, was so surprised to find such reverence and determination in his gaze that he hesitated and the discussion continued without him having time to participate."The point here isn't who did what or how positive the outcome was," Quentin stated, not before at least another ten minutes of heated argument. "The point is that she and her colleague are clearly hiding something and you, who are supposed to represent justice, are letting them get away with it."Astrid didn't seem particularly shaken by the accusation. She maintained her warm smile and polite manners."I represent justice, Mr Blight," she replied, "not vigilantism. Professor Snape and Professor Grindelwald, according to witnesses, were let in, they didn't 'sneak' in. They simply brought in a worried boy to support his friend. They did nothing illegal, except for the potion that ended the whole matter. Considering we were contemplating the use of Horcrux magic, a few illegal ingredients are nothing in comparison.""But they lied!" he retorted. "If they lied about this for months, what makes you think they haven't lied about everything else? They could be involved in the attack, for all you know. After all, it happened at their school.""That's enough," Professor McGonagall stepped in.Initially at the back of the room, she advanced, rigid and severe, until she stopped in front of the Healer."I will not allow unfounded accusations to be made against my teachers," she declared. "Professor Snape and Professor Grindelwald did what they believed was right, and it turned out to be the right thing to do indeed. They achieved results that you and all your colleagues couldn't achieve in an entire school year. Noxwood is alive, talking, breathing, with a soul that you had proposed to get rid of in its place. None of you are in a position to judge their actions.Quentin bowed his head, defeated, embittered; a feeling no doubt exacerbated by the few satisfied smirks he received when he had the courage to meet the Professors' gaze again."You're right, we can't," Zachary admitted softly, joining his colleague.Miriam, not far away, approached Iris and tried to calm her with a hand on her shoulder, which was promptly shrugged off.The Healers, some resigned, others still decidedly hostile, finally left the room and the conversation within those four walls regained its appropriate level of civility.Astrid turned to Noah. "Can you confirm that you didn't see who or what attacked you, Mr Noxwood?" she asked calmly.He shook his head. "No, I told you. I didn't see anything."That lie wasn't particularly well delivered either. It was certainly better than the previous one, but Severus thought it was too quick, too brusque, decidedly too agitated; indeed, the Auror didn't seem entirely convinced. Still, there was nothing she could do but nod and accept it, closing the matter there and then."Very well. Rest now. We'll discuss the details of your version later."Noah swallowed nervously and Severus told himself, however reluctantly, that they would have to teach the boy how to lie in the near future. The Head Auror turned to her colleagues and gave each of them a determined look."Weasley, you may return to the Ministry. Start writing the report," she ordered.Ron nodded and turned, but waited at the door for Harry to join him before he walked through."Potter, you go home," Astrid added."Oh, ma'am, that's not necessary. I can help Ron—""No," she interrupted. "You have a wedding to organise. You're on holiday, Potter. Go and help your fiancée."He hesitated, but finally nodded weakly and murmured a reluctant, "Yes, ma'am."The two boys greeted everyone with a nod and walked through the door a moment later. Astrid turned again and glanced from Severus to Omegas a couple of times."A word, if you don't mind," she murmured. "In private."The two looked at each other in surprise. They nodded, and all three headed for the fourth floor corridor.Astrid walked until she reached one of the hospital terraces, which happened to be the same one where Severus had taken Sylvia and Draco to talk about their father the year before. Satisfied that it was empty, she motioned for them to enter and closed the door behind them. She looked at them in silence for a moment before speaking."You are officially off the case," she announced.The others frowned in confusion."Why?" Severus asked. "The case isn't closed, the attacker hasn't been found. Whatever it is, it's still out there."Astrid nodded. "The official version is that since the boy is fine and doesn't seem to have any lasting effects, there's no longer any urgency to find the culprit and study the magic that allowed them to do what they did," she explained. "Besides, given the real possibility that it was a creature, and it doesn't seem to be within Hogwarts as you thought, it's likely to be far away by now.""That was true before as well," Omegas observed. She tilted her head to the side and looked at her curiously. "We searched the castle months ago. Why come to this conclusion now?"The Auror held her gaze and for a brief, fleeting moment seemed on the verge of a grin. Omegas returned her look with an almost identical expression and took a step closer."You didn't ask us to cooperate because you wanted our help, did you?" she whispered. "You never wanted our opinion. We weren't investigating the case... you were investigating us."Astrid didn't respond, except with a now fully visible smirk. Severus joined them, shooting a venomous glare at the Auror."You thought it was us?" he snapped.She looked at him without flinching. "No, Professor Snape," she replied. "I thought it was her, to be precise. I decided to involve both of you because I knew from reading the report on the Garnet case that you often work together."She paused for a moment and then turned to the woman."You can't blame me. You were the only newcomer to the teaching staff, you have a certain reputation, a family name that carries a precise and rather dark legacy."Omegas smiled. "I don't blame you," she replied calmly.Astrid returned the smile, and Severus was so taken aback that he couldn't find an argument to intervene."How long have you known?" the Auror asked.The other shrugged. "I've suspected it for a while, to be honest. A few months.""What gave me away?""Your interest," she explained."Ah..." Astrid murmured. "Yes, I'm afraid I got a bit carried away. I was hoping to spend some time alone with you. You know, to understand you." She chuckled and shook her head. "I was so convinced you were the type... you should have seen my face when I realised you were an item."Omegas laughed heartily and shook her head in turn. "Can I relax then? You won't invite me to dinner?"The other chuckled again. "No need to worry, Professor Grindelwald. You're not my type."Omegas gave her a big smile and seemed almost flattered. She offered her hand and waited for her to take it."You can call me Omegas."Astrid nodded. "Very well."There was a brief silence, then they each withdrew their hand."Is that all?" Omegas asked."That's all," Astrid confirmed."Excellent." She turned and opened the terrace door. "Until next time, then.""Goodbye, Omegas. Professor Snape," she greeted.Stunned and relieved at the same time, he blinked a few times and looked from one woman to the other as if they were two aliens. He finally decided to call this unexpected turn of events another miracle and to be content with experiencing it without further questions. Regaining all his solemnity, he turned and muttered a "Goodbye, Mrs Beaumont" with barely a hint of lingering bitterness. He crossed the threshold and walked down the corridor with Omegas by his side.They stopped in front of Noah's room, inside which the boy, his mother, Gad, Sylvia, Sirius, Professor Sprout and the Headmistress seemed to be engaged in a pleasant conversation. They remained outside, watching the scene like audience, unable to take part in a scene so profoundly alien to their nature."So..." said Severus. "The case is closed.""So it seems," she replied."Hm..." he murmured. He tilted his head to the side, watching Noah with curious eyes. "What do you think the implications are?"She shook her head. "I have no idea." She turned to him. "Do you think he's immortal? Like us?"Severus looked around anxiously. "Lower your voice," he warned.Omegas gave him a sly smile. "What voice? Neither of us said a word."He frowned, and only after a long, pensive silence did he realise that the entire conversation had taken place in their heads."Oh," he murmured. This time he was quite sure that he had actually uttered the syllable.He would have liked to delve deeper into the matter, which was suddenly even more interesting than a boy who had effectively become his own Horcrux, but he had no opportunity to do so.The door opened and Sylvia and Sirius, she with her usual icy demeanour, he more than a little suspicious, crossed the threshold. For a long moment, the four of them exchanged meaningful glances and the air was charged with a subtle tension. Sirius was the first to speak."You owe us an explanation," he declared.Severus' first impulse was to reply with a curt 'We owe you nothing', but he had to stop himself. It would have been too blatant a lie. Judging by the irritated look Omegas gave him, she must have had the same thought."We know it wasn't the potion," Sylvia added in a sharp whisper. "It only works temporarily, we've seen that. What really happened last night?"The other two hesitated. They looked at each other, both impassive, aware of their shared inability to come up with a credible cover story in those few seconds."We have to tell them," Omegas remarked, again in his mind."No," he replied. "Not us."He took a step closer to the couple and looked into their eyes in turn. He was careful to convey his usual solemnity, but tried to ensure that the usual palpable hatred was absent from his gaze towards Sirius."Ask Gad," he said firmly.They both frowned and looked at each other."Why?" Sirius asked. "You know. You're clearly involved—""Yes, we are," Severus interrupted. He turned and gestured to the boy. "He must be the one to tell you."Sirius and Sylvia didn't seem convinced. They also looked at Gad, on the other side of the glass: motionless in his chair, listening in silence as Noah and his mothers spoke to the Headmistress.Omegas took a step forward. "You will have time to discuss it," she said calmly, "when you return to the Black Cat."Sylvia looked at her, visibly concerned. "Is it bad?"Omegas smiled at her. "It's..." she whispered, "complex."The other swallowed and was about to reply, to ask for more information, but the three women who had been around the bed began to walk purposefully towards the door, and she had to remain silent.Professor McGonagall crossed the threshold with her usual rigid grace, and gave an authoritative glance to each of those present. She announced that she would accompany Professor Sprout and her wife to speak with Noah's Healers to arrange his release and to ensure that the two women were treated with the respect they deserved. Professor Sprout and Madeleine paused in front of Omegas for a moment before continuing down the corridor. The first simply offered her hand and thanked her with a friendly warmth that was appropriate enough for the other to handle with ease. Madeleine, however, threw herself around her neck and burst into tears. She lingered in a series of plaintive thanks in French to which Omegas, caught in such acute embarrassment that Severus could perceive every nuance, refused to respond. It took her a while to regain control of herself; when she did, with heavy make-up now running down her cheeks and dishevelled hair, she didn't seem remotely shaken or uncomfortable at the thought of giving in to such emotion in front of strangers. She turned and walked away, showing such genuine carelessness that Severus almost envied her for a moment.Sylvia, Sirius, Omegas and Severus entered the room without needing to exchange any further words. They approached the two boys; Noah, back on his feet, suddenly seemed incapable of standing still or remaining silent, while Gad, seated in his chair behind the piano, lightly stroked the keys with his head bowed and a faint smile on his face."So, Gad?" Sirius called to him. "Are you ready to head back to the Black Cat?"The boy lifted his head and looked at him. From the way the question was asked, he seemed to sense that there was more to the request than just going home. He looked at Omegas, then at Severus. They confirmed his intuition with a slight nod, and he muttered resignedly, "Right now?""Yes, Gad," Sylvia replied. "Right now."The boy swallowed and bowed his head again. "All right, then," he murmured."Don't worry, Spaceboy, I'll come and see you as soon as they let me out," Noah reassured him, clearly unaware of the subtext of their exchange. "You said there's a stage, right? People can perform?""Yes," Gad confirmed. "There's a piano, too. I play it sometimes.""Cool!" exclaimed the other, showing a little too much enthusiasm. "Hey, is there a guitar by any chance? That would be awesome...""Do you play the guitar?" Omegas asked, offering one of her usual smiles.Noah looked at her and blushed slightly. "Oh, yes, ma'am," he nodded. "I used to play, actually. Then, when we moved, well... that was my dad's guitar, and during the move... I don't know exactly what happened, Mum says it got lost. Anyway, we couldn't afford a new one."Omegas nodded. "I see," she said. She was silent for a moment, clearing her throat and carefully avoiding everyone's eyes. She glanced at Sylvia and spoke in a vague whisper. "Is Draco here?"She raised an eyebrow. "Yes. He's on shift this morning. Why?"The other smiled faintly. "Would you excuse me," she murmured, in a formal tone entirely inappropriate to the context. She excused herself with a nod and disappeared through the door.Severus watched her go, confused and definitely intrigued."Well, tell her we say goodbye," Sylvia woke him up.He turned to see her, Sirius and Gad heading for the door."Of course," he replied.The girl stopped in front of him and looked at him with a pair of dangerously dark eyes."If you try to disappear again like last summer, I swear I'll..." she left the sentence hanging, but her grimace and the finger she pointed at his nose made the allusion perfectly clear.He put a hand on it, forcing her to lower it. "We're not going anywhere," he said, in a tone that would no doubt have been more reassuring if it hadn't had a hint of venom in it."You'd better not," she replied. She turned and walked through the door, her nose in the air, her long silver hair swaying down her back.Sirius, just behind her, paused for a moment and said goodbye with a cold "Snape"."Black," he returned just as grimly.The other walked past him and was about to cross the threshold with Gad following, but the latter was stopped."Gad," Severus called.The boy paused, as did Sirius. They looked at him, both waiting. He hesitated for a moment, shifting his gaze from one to the other, betraying a hint of uncertainty. Almost immediately, he composed himself, looked down at Gad and gave him a half-smile."Well done," he murmured.The boy, surprised, took a moment to respond. He smiled in return, giving the first real sign of pride that Severus had seen him express."Thank you, sir."The Professor nodded and the two, Gad with his head held high and Sirius still perplexed, left the room.Severus kept his eyes fixed on the corridor beyond the glass for a moment before turning and realising that he was alone with Noah. In the past two years, since the boy had transferred to Hogwarts, he hadn't exchanged a word with him, or if he had, he couldn't remember. He was almost certain that he had caught him cheating during a test once and had automatically sent him to detention without bothering to learn his name. He returned the green-eyed gaze, but Noah's eyes quickly darted downward, forcing Severus to stare at the back of his head. Unable to say a word, all the Professor could do in those moments was wonder if the boy had any idea how deeply he shared his discomfort.Thankfully, the torture ended quickly. Omegas re-entered, humming unperturbed, with a set of keys in one hand and a guitar case slung over her shoulder. She stopped in front of Noah, who looked up at her curiously. Without saying a word, she slid the case off her shoulder and handed it to him. The boy took it hesitantly and placed it on his lap."What is it?" he asked, confused.Omegas looked at him as if he were thick. "A guitar," she replied.Noah, experiencing one of her vague answers for the first time, seemed at a loss for words."You need to tune it," she continued. "It hasn't been played in years. Otherwise it's in perfect condition."Noah's eyes, now incredulous, shot up at her. "Excuse me, you're... you're giving it to me?" he asked in a whisper.She nodded slowly. "Yes."The boy's lips parted. He stuttered incomprehensible syllables for a while, which slowly changed into a subdued, "M-ma'am, I... I can't... I really can't accept... I don't... I wouldn't know how—""You could play something for me," she interrupted, careful not to meet his gaze.She maintained a very believable façade of indifference, which Severus was sure the boy fully bought."I... um... ma'am, really, I can't, I—""Do you like Muggle music?" Omegas asked.Noah swallowed. "Yes... yes, ma'am," he replied. "My... my father was a Muggle. He taught me to play."She nodded and paused briefly. "Do you like the Beatles?"The boy gave her a broad smile. "My favourite song is by the Beatles!" he exclaimed, apparently forgetting his earlier embarrassment."Good," she said, feigning inappropriate detachment. "Which one?""Oh, Blackbird," he replied.Omegas let out a small laugh. "Of course," she murmured. She gestured at the instrument in his hands. "Go ahead then."Noah bowed his head, looked at the case in his hands, and after a moment's hesitation decided to open it, but didn't have time to take it out.His mother hurried into the room, as incapable of staying still as her son. She seemed almost oblivious to the two professors; she began to pepper the boy with rapid-fire words that Severus, with his very limited understanding of French, couldn't begin to grasp. Omegas glanced at him, making it clear without the need for any telepathic conversation that she would have much preferred not to be there. He nodded and the two of them, with a few nods to the boy, left the hospital room for the last time.Omegas paused in front of the glass for a moment, and Severus did the same. They watched in silence as the two chatted energetically, Noah smiling, the guitar still in his hands. Severus studied Omegas' face carefully. She pretended not to notice and he turned back to the glass."That's Jay's guitar," he whispered.She shook her head. "It was Jay's guitar. It hasn't been for years."She turned to him and offered a gentle smile that hid a much deeper feeling."He'd be happy to know someone's using it."He frowned. "Really?""God, no," she laughed, "he was terribly possessive of his things. If he really is out there somewhere, he's cursing me right now."Severus watched the melancholy smile on her face, and for the first time since he'd seen it directed at Jay, it didn't hurt. He didn't judge it, didn't feel the urge to ignore it or distance himself from it. He understood it. He felt a strange sensation hearing her talk about him, like a distant remembrance, an echo of memories and feelings that belonged to a tale he'd never lived. Suddenly he found himself smiling without realising it, and she, who had learned over time to predict every one of his reactions, soon labelled it an anomaly.She frowned and looked up at him. "Something funny?"Caught off guard, he searched hastily for something to say to deflect."Yes, you," he replied ironically. "First you give Draco a house, now this... is this how you show affection? Going around giving things away?"She shot him a glare. "Stop it.""Hm..." he muttered. "You hurt me, you know? You've never given me anything like that."Omegas rolled her eyes. "I gave you a piece of my bloody soul," she retorted.Severus turned and opened his mouth, but found himself short of sarcastic remarks."Touché," he muttered.She huffed and shook her head. Meanwhile, across the glass, Madeleine had pointed to the guitar in her son's hands, and Noah, without hesitation, had pointed to the woman outside his room. His mother turned and met Omegas' gaze with the same eyes she'd had before throwing herself around her neck. Omegas swallowed and suddenly turned pale."This is a good time to leave," she suggested."Yes," Severus agreed.They both turned at once and didn't look back until the lift doors closed behind them.Returning home that afternoon, Severus and Omegas each sat in their armchairs with a great sigh of relief. Omegas cast a grim look at the book on the low table in front of her."I will never give Gad a forbidden book again," she announced quietly.Severus scoffed. "I told you so."She huffed. "Yes, you did," she agreed, annoyed.He grinned, satisfied, and relaxed back in his chair. Omegas sighed a second time and floated a couple of wine glasses into their hands. He took one and frowned slightly."It's four in the afternoon," he noted."Yes," she confirmed, sipping. "It's been quite a day."He shook his head with a hint of a laugh and took a sip as well. They remained in silence for a while, and all Severus could think of in those moments was the exchange they'd had just before leaving St Mungo's. Not because it had been particularly illuminating; it hadn't given him any new information. Rather, it was the feeling it had provoked that gave him something to think about. That strange melancholy, so deep, so sad and yet so sweet, was the same emotion he'd felt when he'd heard her sing, but more intimate, more his. It was the most intense moment of sharing he had ever experienced. More than mind-reading, more than telepathy. It was the first true connection, the first tangible proof of the magic that bound them, and despite its bittersweet nature, he couldn't help but crave for more. He lost himself in the thought, halfway between nostalgia and need, so much so that when she spoke again, he could barely pay attention."We need to keep an eye on both of them," she stated.He replied with a vague "Mmh-mmh...""I mean, Sylvia and Black will probably take care of them for the summer, but with the start of the next school year, we'll have to try and figure things out," she continued. "We'll probably have to study them. There's a chance they're both immortal, Severus. Whatever Gad is, he's always been that way, but Noah... he may have lost the ability to age, and his mother doesn't know it. That's a real problem.""Hm..." he murmured, still elsewhere."Especially since I don't think he plans to tell her," she added. "I wouldn't tell her." She huffed and took another sip. "It's almost unbelievable that Gad and Noah are free. And that we still have our jobs. It's the closest thing to a miracle I've ever witnessed. Isn't it?""Hm?"Omegas gave him a scrutinising look. "Are you listening to me?"Severus suddenly snapped out of his own head. Returning her curious gaze, he sat back in the chair and nodded weakly."Yes," he replied.She gave him one of her mischievous smiles. "You're a much better liar than that."He gave her a scowl, but it wasn't as spiteful as usual. Omegas leaned forward, crossed her legs and studied him closely."What's the matter with you?" she asked.He avoided her gaze. "What do you mean?""We're talking about two kids with a huge and fairly dangerous secret that only we know about and that we're going to have to take responsibility for in the foreseeable future, and you've got something better to think about," she observed. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly. "What is it?"Severus flashed her a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the wall to his right. He hesitated for a moment, but was finally forced to meet those violet eyes again. He hesitated, summoning all his willpower; only this time, unlike usual, it wasn't to find the courage to speak, but to stop himself from doing so. Omegas lost her sly look. Instead, she adopted the understanding expression she usually reserved for him when she knew he was struggling."It doesn't matter," she said sincerely. "Really. We'll talk about it when—""Do you think I could talk about Lily?"Silence. Omegas, mouth agape, lost the ability to speak for a long moment. She looked into his eyes, stunned and amazed."You..." she managed to murmur after a while, "you want to talk about it?"Severus swallowed. He had the urge to look away, but couldn't."Not... not about her..." he hesitated. He closed his eyes for a moment, searching for the right words. "About the good things. Do you think I could?"She, now completely taken aback, nodded with calm certainty. "You can talk about anything."He nodded in return. He remained motionless in that position, on the edge of the armchair, elbows on his knees and glass in his hands, for quite a while. He tried to speak but realised, once he had opened his mouth, that he had no idea what to say. He had never done anything like this in more than forty years of life."I don't... I don't know how," he finally admitted.Omegas smiled at him. She leaned back in a familiar motion, took a sip of wine and spoke as if they were discussing casual matters."What was she like?" she asked.Severus tried to answer, but couldn't. He tried again, then again, but felt he was more out of breath than words. Finally, he looked at the woman in front of him and mimicked her movements. He put down the glass, relaxed in the chair and closed his eyes. He concentrated on that feeling, on that connection, and the words began to flow from his mouth without him having any control over them."She was... kind," he murmured. "Kind and intelligent. A rather odd combination."A faint smile crossed his face; one he wasn't quite aware of, and which she found herself automatically imitating."She believed that... kindness was a direct result of intelligence," he went on. "That a truly intelligent person was bound to be kind." He opened his eyes and shrugged slightly. "Sometimes I took it as an insult to my intellect, but I let it pass."She laughed softly."She could be naive... too naive and stubborn. Which could be a real problem. She was determined to see the good in everyone and everything, and when I tried to point out that things weren't exactly as she made them out to be, she called me a pessimist. An argument I couldn't really counter..."Severus continued to speak, and Omegas continued to listen, until the sun began to set beyond the window of the living room at Spinner's End.
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They were strange days, the first weeks of summer vacation. Severus had longed for a utopian, legendary 'peace' that he had never known, more or less since he was born. His childhood had been turbulent, to say the least, and his father's unpredictability had denied him the carefree youth his peers enjoyed. His teenage years, of course, had been no better, and between joining the Death Eaters and his mother's death, from the moment he was legally an adult, he had never known a day that could be described as peaceful. Then came the first war, followed by the years in between—a static time, yes, but still never peaceful; a calm before the storm that he was forced to live with regret and guilt. Then came the second war, the years spent spying for the Order, the months locked in the castle, and the final battle. The year immediately following the end of the Second Wizarding War had been the closest he'd ever come to that peace, but even then, between the rebuilding of Hogwarts and Omegas moving-welcome as it was, it hadn't been easy-the period had hardly been calm. Then came Sylvia, then Omegas' departure, and finally Noah's case; as a matter of fact, that famous 'peace' that Severus had only ever heard about but never held concrete proof that it could be obtained.That was until the hot summer of 2001. The day he was informed that there would be no trial in Noah's case, everything suddenly became quiet, calm, relaxed. That morning he found himself sitting in an armchair, coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other, taking a moment to analyse his current situation. Hogwarts was closed and would remain so for the next three months: no classes, no responsibilities, no staff meetings, no corridors to patrol or students to detain. Omegas was in her usual place, behind the large wooden table against the living room wall, spending most of her time experimenting as usual. Severus woke every morning with the certainty that, even if she wasn't always by his side, he would find her somewhere in the house when he got up, and even if she wasn't, she would return sooner or later. Gad and Noah, who would undoubtedly be the protagonists of their activities the following year, were safe for the moment, enjoying the summer elsewhere. Sylvia was at the Black Cat, Draco was in what had become his flat, and Potter no longer needed constant supervision. Everything was under control, in its place, exactly as it should be. Severus realised at that moment, the newspaper suspended in mid-air and his gaze lost in space, that he was finally experiencing that longed-for, legendary peace, and he felt... bored.He quickly dismissed the insight. He called it the ravings of a tired man, deeply worn and scarred by years and years of endless torment. He was at last at peace, and he would certainly enjoy it to the full, as long as he was privileged to experience it. He just needed to get used to it. Sure now that none of the news in the Daily Prophet would be entertaining enough to distract him from that thought, he folded the newspaper, placed it on the table and rose from the armchair. He watched Omegas move swiftly behind her work table, warm orange smoke billowing from her cauldron, and approached her with measured steps. He raised the mug to his lips, took a sip of coffee and spoke in the most casual tone he could muster."What are you doing?" he asked, knowing that he would probably receive vague and inconclusive answers.He was wrong. Omegas stopped sifting what seemed to be just soil in a sieve and turned her gaze to him. She pondered for a moment, then resumed what she had been doing with declared indifference and, to his great surprise, gave him a rather concise explanation by her standards."There is a very exclusive group of vampires at the Black Cat who have practically settled in the Red Room. They've found a way to lock themselves in an area that you can't enter unless you're recognised at the door as undead. So I'm trying to find a way to be recognised as such."He frowned. "Why, has Sylvia asked you to?""God, no," she replied. "Sylvia doesn't go into the Red Room. No, I'm just curious."She returned to her work, crushing rose petals in a mortar. Severus looked up at her teasingly."Is this what you do in your spare time?" he asked with a mocking grin. "Making utterly useless potions out of sheer curiosity?"Omegas stopped again and raised her head slowly. She seemed on the verge of laughing, but decided to play along, adopting an attitude of haughtiness that clashed deeply with her nature."I will have you know that just over a year ago, out of pure curiosity, I practically cured lycanthropy."He rolled his eyes. "You didn't actually cure it, though, did you?" he clarified. "You just found a way to pause it more effectively than the alternative."She thought for a moment and shrugged. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said with a smile.Severus, who had raised the objection to tease her, not to belittle her achievement, fell silent, feeling rather guilty but not showing it.He cleared his throat, looking for something to say that would put the conversation on a more comfortable track."You never told me how you did it," he remarked."Hmm?" she mused, focusing on the cauldron."To modify the Wolfsbane Potion," he clarified."Oh!" she exclaimed, delighted. "It's actually easier than you think. Well, the logic behind it is easy. Making it work was another story."His interest now definitely piqued, he moved closer to the table, gave her a penetrating look, and motioned for her to continue. Omegas, pleased with herself, gave him a sly smile and went on."The classic Wolfsbane Potion is a well-calibrated mix of Wolfsbane and a rather strong version of a Calming Draught, enchanted so that their magics combine, and simply put, the second acts on the effects of the first.""I know that," he interjected, slightly annoyed. "I don't need a lecture.""Right, sorry," she murmured. "Anyway, I was there, and I thought: what if there are condition modifiers that act directly on the transformative magic itself, rather than on the Wolfsbane? So I started studying the process of werewolf transformation and..." she hesitated. "Well, I'll spare you the macabre details. The point is, after several attempts, I discovered that becoming a werewolf wasn't so different from any other forced magical transformation. I spent some time trying to figure out how to block it, and then I had something of an epiphany. What if, instead of blocking it, I tried to impose a second transformation on a person in the process of transforming?"She paused briefly, almost dreamily, as she recalled the memory. Then she returned to her practical manner."Basically, I recreated the same Wolfsbane Potion, but instead of using the Calming Draught, I used the Polyjuice Potion. The person taking it has to add one of their own hairs to the solution before they drink it, and it forces a werewolf on the verge of transformation to change back to their human form." She shrugged. "It's the transformation of a transformation. Simple, isn't it?"Severus lost his annoyed frown. He stood still, silently watching her work. It was only after some time that he realised he had the cup pressed to his lips, his mouth slightly open in a look of utter amazement. He swallowed and quickly put it down on the table. He moved slightly, towering over her, desperately searching for something, anything to say that wouldn't betray his true thoughts at that moment. It didn't work, and when Omegas finally met his gaze again, puzzled and curious, he was forced to give voice to his thoughts."You're a genius," he whispered in disbelief.She seemed almost in shock. She stared at him with the same expression he was giving her, and for a while they just looked at each other, equally astonished by each other's words."I..." she tried to stammer but failed.She coughed softly and, with considerable effort, finally managed to gain some composure."You've only just realised that?" she teased.He gave her a grin that all too eloquently expressed every thought he had been trying to conceal, and she returned it shamelessly. She looked up at him, then nonchalantly went back to her work."You want to help me?" she asked, her tone clearly suggestive.Severus, on the verge of responding impulsively with a heartfelt 'Please, yes', managed to stop himself in time and finally replied with a cautious "Yes, I think you could use it."He walked around the table, positioned himself beside her, and for that day boredom did not bother him further.But it was there, lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on him whenever he went through an uneventful day, whenever he found himself sitting in an armchair with his newspaper and coffee in hand, whenever he went to bed knowing that the next morning, then the afternoon, then the evening would be virtually identical to the ones before. He contemplated the idea of talking to Omegas about it, but she seemed so carefree, absorbed in her work and with her mind elsewhere, that he couldn't find the right words to do so.When the day of Harry Potter's wedding finally arrived, Severus had spent so many meaningless days that the prospect of doing something different, even an event that would most likely make him feel uncomfortable, didn't displease him. So, filled with conflicting emotions and a good dose of self-contempt, he left the house with Omegas by his side, who for the occasion wore a violet dress almost identical to her usual ones, except for the way it clung gracefully to her body. He pretended not to notice, as usual, and the two of them made their way to the Weasley house, whose large garden had been prepared for the ceremony and all the guests.They were among the first to arrive and were greeted with a great deal of pleasantries that both found overly affectionate, especially those directed at the woman. Mrs Weasley, who seemed not yet to have gotten over the tragic near-death of one of her sons in the final months of the war—an event he had survived thanks to Omegas' intervention—spent much of those first few minutes hugging her, thanking her, and reminding her that the two were as welcome as if they were part of the family. Severus and Omegas, who struggled enough with accepting that they already had a family of their own, at least an acquired one, found it difficult to remain impassive when faced with such sentiments. For the most part, they stood aside, silent, listening to the conversations of others, sometimes with complete disinterest, sometimes with detached curiosity.Sylvia and Sirius arrived half an hour later, he in a dark red tunic, she in an elaborate dark green dress with silver jewellery and a wide skirt. They were welcomed with the same affection as the first two, but managed to return it openly. They approached Severus and Omegas, who rose from their chairs and greeted them with a couple of calm nods. Sylvia fixed her dark eyes on Severus and looked up at him with a judging glare."What on earth are you wearing?"He looked down at his clothes, confused and rather annoyed, then glared back at her."What I always wear," he replied curtly."You can't wear black to a wedding!" she protested.Severus grinned. "Watch me," he retorted.She huffed and turned to Sirius. "Why can he but I can't?"He seemed to be trying hard not to roll his eyes. He shot a sideways glance at Severus, then looked lovingly at Sylvia."Because you look good in any colour, darling," he replied.She blushed slightly and lowered her head to hide her face. Severus observed the scene with a nauseated grimace, and Omegas muttered a heartfelt, "Disgusting."Sylvia looked up at her and immediately regained her attitude. She approached her and gave her a frustrated and rather aggressive pat on the shoulder, to which she responded with a raised eyebrow and total indifference."What was that for?" she asked.The other pointed a finger at her. "I asked you if it was bad and you said no," she accused.Omegas gave a half smile. "If you remember, I never said no. I just said it was complex. They're not mutually exclusive, you know."Sylvia huffed loudly. "You and your bloody vague answers!" she snapped, trying to keep her voice down. "Gad's got the... he's got the Resurrection—""I know," she interrupted. She gave her a fleeting worried glance, then looked away. "We know."The other hesitated for a moment. She looked around to make sure no one was within earshot."Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.Omegas opened her mouth but couldn't find an answer. She turned to Severus for help."Because he had to tell you," he explained. "The boy has to learn to take responsibility for his actions. He won't as long as he's protected in every situation."Sylvia lowered her head and stared at the floor, half anxious, half thoughtful."But you did protect him," Sirius interjected. He stepped forward and looked into each of their eyes in turn. "You knew for weeks. You covered for him."Severus met his gaze, serious and determined. "Yes."Sirius betrayed a microscopic, quick hint of a smile. He nodded and Severus, though no smile crossed his face, nodded in return."Speaking of the boys," Omegas said, looking around. "Where are they?""Gad's with Noah. Pomona said she would take him," Sirius replied."Good," she said vaguely.He stepped closer to them and looked at them again."We want to be involved from now on," he announced firmly. "Whatever happens, whether you like it or not, we're all in this together."Severus and Omegas exchanged irritated looks, but neither found a convincing objection to counter that reality. They turned, determined, if not to argue, at least to respond with a snarky remark, but they didn't have time. Just beyond Sirius and Sylvia's shoulders, Gad, Noah, Professor Sprout and Madeleine had arrived, and Mrs Weasley was welcoming them with her usual warmth.Gad floated towards them, calm, with his new faint smile, while Noah, instead of walking beside him, jumped up and down, excited and talking nonstop."It's Harry Potter's wedding!" he exclaimed with such enthusiasm that the others could hear him despite the distance. "The Chosen One, can you believe it? The Boy Who—”"Lived, yes, I know," Gad nodded indifferently."Man, I can't believe I'm here. Hey, do you think there will be people our age?""I don't know," the other replied."Do you think there will be girls?" Noah insisted.His friend turned to him, eyes narrowed in confusion. "What difference does it make?""Well, because..." the other murmured. "You know..."Gad, who didn't seem to know at all, kept his puzzled eyes fixed on him until Noah realised, with some embarrassment, that he was close enough to Sirius to be heard. He flushed and quickly lowered his head."Oh... oh, Mr Black, I didn't see you..."He chuckled. "Don't worry, boy, I was your age once, you know? And call me Sirius, you're making me feel old."Noah smiled. He looked at Severus and blushed even more. "Professor Snape..." he greeted.The other replied with nothing more than a stern look. Sirius glanced from one to the other and chuckled again."Don't mind him, he was never your age. He was born that way, full-grown and with that scowl. He can't help it."The boy chuckled and earned a second glare, much worse than the first. He turned pale and hurried to look elsewhere. He fixed his eyes on Omegas and lingered on her figure a bit too long. He swallowed and muttered, "Professor Grindelwald.""Noah," she greeted, as always oblivious.Then he looked at Sylvia, and this time, with his mouth half open and his eyes fixed, he couldn't say anything. She rolled her eyes and huffed loudly."Hello, Noah.""P-Professor," he stammered.Sirius chuckled a third time and gave Noah a friendly pat on the shoulder."Come on, let's find something to drink," he said affectionately.The other nodded. "Y-yes, sir. I mean, Sirius."The two moved away and Gad rolled his eyes."I think I preferred him mute," he muttered.Severus, against his better judgement, let out a small laugh, which was met by three pairs of astonished eyes. He looked at them one by one, uncomfortably. Sylvia turned, gave Gad a reproachful look and pushed her chair towards Sirius and Noah."Don't be mean to your best friend, Gad," she scolded."Never, ma'am," he replied sarcastically.Severus and Omegas watched them walk away, she with her unperturbed smile, he with a regained impassivity."Next year will definitely be busy," she observed."Hm..." he murmured. He did his best to hide from both himself and her that he was eagerly awaiting its arrival.Omegas turned and looked at him with a hint of tenderness. "I'll find something to drink, maybe I can get drunk before the ceremony starts," she announced.He huffed. "Good idea," he nodded.He gave her a quick smile and joined her in the crowd around the buffet.The day continued, predictably, with frivolity and sentimentality. Gradually, all the guests arrived, so many that they almost didn't fit in the vast grounds surrounding the house. The groom made his entrance, greeted with great enthusiasm; then the bride followed, radiant, with a broad smile on her face and the admiring eyes of all present fixed upon her. It was only when she reached the altar, placed at the far end of the garden under a large arch decorated with white flowers, that Draco arrived, tired and visibly shaken. He hurried to take a seat among the guests without bothering to apologise for being late, drawing a glare from Sylvia. The two seemed to be having some sort of telepathic spat, full of accusations and contemptuous retorts, which Severus didn't quite understand but which intrigued him more than he let on. The boy took a seat beside him and watched with blank eyes as the bride and groom stood before each other and the officiant began his opening speech. Severus looked at Omegas, who shrugged and shook her head in puzzlement. Only after studying Draco's gaze more closely, the same one he had seen at the Christmas party, did the Professor finally recognise it.He parted his lips and looked up at him with a combination of irritation and sympathy. Draco noticed and turned with a raised eyebrow."What?" he asked curtly.Severus took a deep breath. "Please tell me it's not Potter," he said earnestly. "Anyone but Potter."Draco blushed suddenly, looked away with a grimace and crossed his legs with great presumption."I don't know what you're talking about," he declared.It was a pretty believable lie, but one that Severus didn't buy at all. He looked again at Omegas, who embarrassedly pretended not to have witnessed the scene and kept her gaze fixed on the altar.The ceremony proceeded, ending with applause, cheers and a few tears, and Severus continued to fight his own boredom. By then, it had become too intrusive to allow himself to ignore. He was in a social situation that should have caused him to feel emotions; negative ones, yes, embarrassing ones, but emotions nonetheless. And yet he felt absolutely nothing. He remained seated as the event gradually turned into a party. The guests ate, laughed and chatted. There were speeches, the cutting of the cake, the first dance and all the others that followed. He watched them, one by one, with a great desire to be elsewhere, but a different one from the usual. He didn't want to be at home, in silence, with a book in his hand. He wanted to do something. He didn't know exactly what it was, or rather, he didn't dare admit it, but many of his thoughts drifted, without him being able to stop them, to circumstances for which the nostalgia he felt was completely inappropriate. He recalled the scene he had witnessed at St Mungo's shortly before, the emotion he had felt seeing Gad cast the Killing Curse on himself. He thought back to the moment when he had opened the door to the prefects' bathroom and seen Noah lying in a pool of blood. He remembered the battle against the Veela inside Diamara's house, the final battle against the Death Eaters within the gates of Hogwarts, the mission to the Ministry, him and Omegas torturing Agon Epsley together with such a depth of melancholy that he disgusted himself. He tried not to, but those thoughts had now been formulated and it would have been impossible to pretend otherwise. He missed the war. Not the despair, certainly not the death and suffering. He missed the thrill, the all-encompassing, indescribable fear, incomprehensible to those who had never felt it. That fear, that wonderful, terrible, complex feeling, had been part of his life since his first breath, and now it had left him.He sensed Omegas' eyes on him and looked up at her slowly, hesitantly, fearfully. He understood in a split second that she had guessed, or more likely felt, what he was feeling. He waited impatiently for a reaction, a statement, anything that would give him an idea of her state of mind. It came in the form of a piercing stare and a slow, enigmatic smile. She turned her eyes to the dancing crowd in front of them and murmured so softly that he could barely hear her over the laughter and music."Are you bored?" she asked.Severus' eyes snapped to hers. He swallowed and met her gaze."Yes," he admitted.Omegas' smile widened. "Me too."He continued to look at her, silently, until it became impossible not to and he was forced to return the smile.Omegas stood up and, in an automatic gesture, he did the same. She motioned for him to remain seated."Wait here," she ordered.He'd never liked taking orders, but there was a hint of cunning in her eyes, the sly look of someone who knew exactly what they were doing, that convinced him to obey."Where are you going?" he asked."To make sure I can leave without risking my life," she explained.She turned and walked towards the dance floor, his curious eyes still on her. She stopped in front of Sirius and Sylvia, who were dancing close together; she shot him a glare, then smiled calmly at her. She held out her hand and invited her to dance. Sylvia looked at her in astonishment, her black eyes wide. She shouted something Severus couldn't understand, but from the context he guessed it was, "Really?"Omegas nodded and Sylvia, now with a big smile on her face, took her hand and let herself be led into the crowd.The two women danced, attracting many glances from the other dancers as well as those who continued to feast, including Gad and the groom himself, standing apart at the buffet, chatting lightly. Severus, not quite sure why, approached and stopped beside them."Professor Snape," Harry greeted him enthusiastically."Potter," he replied with his usual detachment. "Congratulations."He said it in a tone that, though formal, sounded somewhat sarcastic."Thank you, sir," the other replied.They watched the two women dance for a few moments in silence."I didn't know Professor Grindelwald could dance," Gad observed.Severus shook his head. "Neither did I."The boy let out a small laugh, then was called by Noah, at the other end of the buffet, and rolled his eyes in a way that showed affection rather than annoyance."Sorry," he murmured and floated towards him, leaving Harry and the Professor alone.There was a long silence that lasted until the two women finished their dance and received several rounds of applause. Omegas returned her friend's affectionate hug with a good deal of discomfort, then gave her a quiet smile and moved away from the crowd. She gestured for Severus to join her, which he did without hesitation, taking the first step towards the other side of the garden."Professor," Harry stopped him.He turned and met his green eyes, and the other swallowed and stepped forward."Sir..." he whispered. "About the matter... about the Stone, how—""The matter is under control," Severus cut him off.Harry frowned. "It's under control, sir?"Severus nodded."How?" the other insisted, baffled. "The case is closed, they're no longer looking for the creature. One of the Deathly Hallows was stolen, it's—""Have you recovered the others, Potter?" he interrupted again.He swallowed, then nodded weakly. "Yes, sir.""Hmm..." the Professor murmured. He glanced at Ginny, who was chatting happily with Hermione just beyond the dance floor. "Have you told her?""Not yet," Harry replied. "I will, as soon as the babies are born."Severus raised an eyebrow and looked at him sceptically."Oi, mate!" Ron called, standing next to the two girls.Harry turned and waved at him; then he turned back to the Professor. Severus, stern and determined, gave him a grave look."Speak to your wife," he ordered.Harry looked away, unable to hold his gaze. The other gave him one last reproachful look, then turned away."Goodnight, Potter.""Goodnight, Professor."Severus lingered for a final second, before walking decisively towards Omegas.Neither of them said a word on the way back. They slipped out of the Weasley property, making sure they weren't seen, helped by the late hour and the darkness that enveloped the garden. They disapparated, reached Spinner's End in a matter of seconds and opened the front door of Number Nine. Without bothering to give an explanation for any of her actions, Omegas unfastened her cloak, left it on the coat rack and went to the wooden table. She opened one of the drawers and took out a series of letters stacked on top of each other; then she opened the second drawer and took out another pile of envelopes, and finally she opened the third and did the same. She arranged all the letters into a neat pile, moved them to the other end of the table, in front of Severus, and invited him to examine them. Curious, he approached the envelopes and examined a few of them. Most of them were written in languages he didn't know."What are these?""They're all the requests for help I've received since I got rid of the Anti-Owl Amulet," she explained.Severus looked at her with a furrowed brow. "Requests for help?"She nodded. "People in trouble, whom I've made contact with on my travels, or who know me by reputation." She approached him cautiously, hands clasped behind her back, and began to walk around him. "Dangerous situations, you know... magical objects to retrieve. Mysterious curses. Wars..."At that word, Severus immediately snapped to attention. He turned to her and looked into her eyes, seeking confirmation that he had understood her hint correctly. The cunning smile directed at him was certainly a clue, but it wasn't enough for him, and he continued to stare at her. So she decided, perhaps for the first time in her life, to be explicit. She moved closer, stopping a palm's length from his nose."Three months and nothing to do," she whispered. She glanced at the letters, then back at him. "Pick one and let's go."It seemed an eternity since Severus had last felt his heart pounding in his chest at such a rate. He hesitated, stunned, and it took him a while to react to the invitation."You said you didn't want to take me with you," he observed, muttering. "You were quite clear.""True, I did," she confirmed, her eyes still fixed on him. "I also explained why. Do you remember?"He nodded. "Because if I died, you wouldn't—" he paused.He understood, and couldn't help but return her smile with an identical one. 'Because if you died, I wouldn't survive it,' she had told him, more than three years back. Never had that statement been more true, and at the same time more irrelevant. Severus couldn't die while she was alive. Omegas would indeed survive, as long as he was alive. They could travel, explore, fight without fear of losing each other.Without another word, Severus grabbed his wand, floated Professor Zakoten's glasses onto his nose and settled into the chair behind the desk, already focused on reading the first letter. Omegas watched him for a moment, mesmerised. She summoned a chair, placed it next to his, and levitated a bottle and two glasses onto the desk. She filled them, handed one to him and sipped from hers."Oh, no, not that," she said, pointing to the envelope in his hands. "It's from Ivan, a schoolmate. I'd rather not."He raised an eyebrow at her. "This letter is from the head of a vampire family," he noted."Yes," she said, swirling her glass. "You know me, I tend to surround myself with... complex people."He huffed. "Understatement of the century," he murmured.She shrugged and laughed. "What can I say, it's the way I am.""Of course, it’s the way you are," he said sarcastically. "Unfortunately for me, though, your people also tend to be my people."Omegas smiled. "Only if you marry me," she murmured.Severus stopped reading. He placed the letter on the desk, mostly to hide the slight trembling in his hands. Slowly, as if afraid to look up and discover he was alone and had imagined everything, he turned to her. Undoubtedly, she was there, real, firm in her position. He smiled at her as he had rarely done before, if ever. Then he turned back to the letter, impassive, cleared his throat and put it aside. He took another and pulled it out of the envelope."Hmm, Greece," he read. "Interesting.""Merlin, no, it's too hot in the summer," she objected. "Find one from somewhere cold. Austria perhaps?""No, I'm tired of German..."They went on bickering for the better part of that warm summer night.There was a place, in a forest like many others, under an oak tree like many others, behind a wooden door like many others, that hid a family unlike any other. Behind a tall, gold-framed mirror, the usual Veela paced the tables of her pub, occasionally stepping out on stage to enchant the customers with one of her songs. Behind the bar, the usual man with long raven hair and grey eyes winked in her direction and got a big smile in return. Two boys, one quietly behind a grand piano, the other with a guitar in his hand and a steady stream of words, played happily as they waited for the new school year to begin. All four glanced occasionally at two chairs placed along the table at the back of the room, and only occasionally did those two chairs find their owners. They came and went, never staying for more than a night, but they always had an interesting story to tell, full of curious missing objects, mysterious curses and magical battles to the death. This unlikely group of friends, teachers, students and adopted children, over the course of the next hot, scorching summer, finally ceased to be such and took on the qualities of a real family without even realising it.