Fearn't Ever Further

.~*~.Fearn't Ever Further.~*~.

Chapter Three

Waves of Fear and Relief

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This part of the chapter is not from any particular first-person POV.

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Sirius found Severus sitting on a chair, doing something with his cell phone. The Slytherin was wearing trousers and a long-sleeved shirt -- anything else could have been unimaginable -- but at least his clothes were in light colours and thin materials now on their vacation. He'd also protected his eyes from the sunlight with a pair of sunglasses that suited him amazingly well. "What are you doing, love?" asked Sirius, sitting down on another chair next to him. "Trying to order a pizza from America?"

"Just sending a message to Lucius," Severus replied, pushing his sunglasses up to look his husband in the eye. "I'm telling him how great time we are having here. After all, what's the point of being on vacation if I can't even brag about it to my best friend?" He smirked.

"You're right," laughed Sirius. "There wouldn't be any point in doing that. It's really nice here, that's true," he then agreed. "Especially with all the warmth and sun!"

"Well, depends on what you like," Severus said, shrugging. "I, personally, would much prefer being at home at the sauna at the moment." He settled his sunglasses better on his nose.

"At the sauna? Why on Earth?" asked Sirius, laughing. "It'd be just as hot there! Even hotter, as you know."

"Most probably, yes," his husband replied with a smirk. "But there are two things that speak for the sauna. One, there wouldn't be anybody else there but you and me. And two, we'd both be naked."

Now, Sirius smirked, too. "I think I see your point," he said, chuckling a bit. "Anyway, what about a walk on the beach before we get too horny?" he then suggested with a mischievous grin.

Severus rolled his eyes towards the sky, and pulled the sunglasses back to his nose. "Let's go."

As they walked along the beach, however, they noticed that something was wrong. The water seemed to have moved further from the beach, and many people were now walking in the sand that had previosly been under water, curious to see what it was about. Then, however, something came to view.

Sirius stared in horror at the thing approaching them. "Merlin's balls," he breathed. "Is that really a wave?"

Severus's eyes widened as he saw the wall of water coming towards them. "Disapparate!" he snapped, turning away and starting to run. "Disapparate, now! It'll catch you otherwise!"

"What about you?" yelled Sirius back. "Do you really think I'd just Disapparate and leave you here?"

"Do you really think I'd have a wand on me?" hissed Severus. "Now, get away! I don't want it to get you!"

However, Sirius just grasped his wrist, starting to run even faster. Still, he knew that the water was catching up with them. Running as fast as he could, he was practically dragging his husband, who wasn't in as good condition as he was. It would have been amusing if the situation hadn't been so serious. Just half a year ago he'd been sitting in a wheelchair and Severus had been telling him that he couldn't walk yet!

Then, however, all thoughts fled his mind as the water hit him on the back. The last thing he heard was Severus's voice calling for him, the most unusual twist of fear tainting his husband's tone. Then the sound was away, and the feeling was away, too, as Severus's hand slid away from his grip.

And then, there was only water.

*

Sirius didn't know how long a time he had spent unconscious. When he at last regained consciousness, he fought himself up to slightly trembling legs, inspecting the damage. He'd most probably hit his head on something, but had miraculously been saved from any further damage. His clothes were a bit torn and his cell phone was useless because it was soaking wet, but, like he later noticed for sure, nothing else was missing. Nothing, but three things -- the most important ones.

One, the Soul Potion he always carried on his neck had gone somewhere with the water. That did not worry him too much, as it couldn't be broken by anybody or anything but himself. He'd find it later. Two, his wand had disappeared from its hiding place on a loop inside his sleeve. It was probably broken by now.

Three, he couldn't find Severus anywhere. He'd spent a long time walking around, trying to look for his husband, but found nothing, not a single trace of him. None of the people he had already asked for help had seen him. It was like the Slytherin had been wiped off by the wind -- or by a wave.

Finally he managed to get back to where they had been staying. The small bungalow they had rented was in ruins now. Walking over the beach towards the bungalow, looking over what had been a cheerful place full of people just some time ago, Sirius frantically tried to find something that had survived the destruction.

Something caught his eye near where their bedroom had resided before it had joined the rest of the tiny house in a heap of disorganized rumble. With a trembling hand he pulled forward a photo that had miraculously remained whole, not having been torn or flown away by the wave. From the unmoving Muggle photograph Severus's face looked up at him, the black eyes unreadable, a smirk adorning the thin lips.

Swallowing, Sirius looked around. He only managed to find a couple of coins; any other Muggle money they'd had was now unusable, wet and torn. Everything else had been ruined. That didn't worry him much; those were just things that could be easily replaced. With the heaps of gold in their Gringotts vaults he could have bought ten times what had been destroyed and not even noticed the difference.

However, Severus couldn't be replaced. And, at the moment, he was unable to find his husband anywhere.

After still some time of searching, he came across a group of people.

"Hey!" he said, trying to get their attention. "Do you speak English by any chance?"

"Yes, we do," said one of them with a foreign accent. "Do you need any help?"

Sirius thought desperately for a moment. Then he asked, "Do any of you have a cell phone with you?" As another man nodded, he sighed deep in relief. "Great. See, could I please use it? Just for one call?" As the man seemed to hesitate, Sirius immediately pulled off one of his rings, not even stopping to consider. It was just jewelry. If it'd been one given to him by Severus, he might have reconsidered, but it wasn't. So, it was just fine to use it as some emergency currency. "Please. You'll get this. It's pure silver, with a sapphire. You'll get a fine amount of money for it. I just need to call my family, to tell them that I'm still alive."

The man watched him seriously for a moment. Then, he just shook his head, handing him the phone. "I don't need your ring," he said. "Just call your family."

Sirius flashed him a grateful, if not a bit desperate smile. Then, with only slightly trembling hands, he dialed a number. Raising the cell phone to his ear, he desperately prayed that Lucius would answer his call.

*

The people collected into the Malfoy Manor were all very anxious. Olivia was curled up in the corner of the couch she and Malcolm were sitting on, hugging herself for some comfort. The dark-haired boy showed almost no emotion at all, but he kept fingering his sleeve nervously. Harry and Draco were both sitting in an armchair, Draco in Harry's lap, the bespectacled man's arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Remus and Lilian were trying to keep up a conversation, but after a few lines they always trailed off, silently listening to the WNN and the catastrophe news there. Lucius was pacing around, looking very gloomy.

Suddenly, Lucius's phone rang. They all watched attentively as he quickly took the cell phone from his pocket. Frowning at the number on the screen of the phone, he then answered the call anyway.

His family and friends saw as the confused expression on his face turned in mere seconds into one of relief and joy. "It's Sirius!" he announced, eyeing the others in the room. "He is safe and well!"

Everybody sighed in relief. Then, however, they again became worried as Lucius's expression turned serious and he asked, "But what about Severus? How is he?" After a moment of silence, his face turned into a mask of horror. "You're kidding," he whispered. "Please, tell me that you're kidding."

Now, everybody's eyes widened in shock. What had happened? They listened with strained ears as Lucius continued the conversation for some time, and then finally ended his call. As he turned towards his extended family, they all noticed just how pale he was -- not white, rather grey.

"Severus has disappeared," he said very quietly. "The last time Sirius saw him was just before the wave washed him away. After that, he hasn't found a single trace."

"What about his Soul Potion?" asked Olivia, sounding desperate. "Can't that help him?"

Lucius sighed and shook his head. "The wave tore it from his neck," he said. "As it can't get broken, he would find it -- if he just had his wand. However, he has lost his wand also. So, he'll try to find some local wizard who would lend him a wand so he can get it back." After a moment of silence, he finished, "Then, he'll try to call us and tell whether Severus is still alive somewhere."

Now, tears started to roll down Olivia's cheeks, although she bit her lip, trying to stop them from falling. Malcolm dared to put his arms around her shoulders, and at the next second, he found the girl sobbing against his chest, and murmured to his friend as comfortingly as he could. The adults just exchanged desperate glances. Then, Lilian stood up. "I'll go firecall Narcissa," she said, and left the room.

Lucius sighed. He had to do something to release some of the tension packed up in his body. So, he again looked at his cell phone and chose a number from the list. After some time, he heard the greeting from the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, Christopher," he said quietly, "but there will be no New Year party."

"Why so?" asked his friend's voice from the phone. "Has something bad happened?"

Lucius bit his lip. Then, he forced himself to answer. "Sirius and Severus were on the tsunami area," he said quietly. "You do remember me telling you about them, don't you? Well, anyway, Sirius just got a message through. He is safe and almost unscratched. However, there's no hint of Severus anywhere to be found."

"Oh." For a moment, there was no sound from the other end of the line. Then Christopher said quietly, "I truly hope your friend will be found, Lucius. Don't worry. He'll turn up eventually, I'm sure."

And so, Lucius ended the call.

*

Unfortunately, the next day had not saw Christopher's prediction come true. They hadn't heard anything from Sirius, good or bad. Olivia had started to burst into tears at random times, Remus wandered around like a ghost, Draco paced nervously any room he happened to end up in, Malcolm and Lilian were quiet and gloomy, and Lucius was just grim. Nobody wanted to eat, and the house-elves sadly collected away a meal after meal, seeing that all plates had been untouched even when somebody had been at the table.

Harry looked at the people around him, feeling horrible. This shouldn't have been happening. It wasn't like he wasn't worried for Severus, too, anything but; he loved that man almost like a father, and would have never wished anything bad to him. However, he seemed to be the only one in the Manor with some common sense. He knew that if there were no news, the others would probably starve.

Then, however, he noticed his opportunity. Lucius had left his cell phone on a table in the master sitting room, having then left the room. Harry was alone in the room, and found the phone oddly tempting him. Taking it, he then looked for a particular phone number in the list.

Selecting the number, he then called it. After a moment, he heard a voice from the other end of the line saying, "Christopher Bay. ...Is it you, Lucius? Has something happened?"

"No, it is not Lucius, and no, nothing has happened," Harry said. "This is Harry Potter. I called you as I think you could help me -- no, help us." The other man didn't say anything, but Harry could sense his confusement even over the phone lines. "You see, everyone around here is getting really anxious about Severus's fate. I think it would do them some good to have somebody around who wasn't completely stunned by grief. Could it be in any way possible that you might visit the Manor?"

For some time, it was completely silent. Then he heard, "If you really think it would help the situation in any way, I would be more than delighted to arrive to the Manor."

"Excellent." Harry smiled in relief. "When will you be able to come? I'll send a car to get you."

"Do send it right away," was the response. "I will call off any previous engagements I might have. This is certainly more important now." And then, he ended the call.

Harry nodded, satisfied. He was still very worried, but now at a bit better mood. Maybe an outsider's point of view might manage to make the others at least eat something.

*

Olivia hurried through the corridors of the Malfoy Manor. "There's a Muggle coming for a visit here," she said to every portrait, ghost, or other magical creature she passed. "Whenever he is present, you must look as Muggle as possible. I don't want to see any ghosts around, nor any moving portraits or anything of the kind. Am I making myself understood?" She glared at a portrait of a particularly stubborn ancestor of hers.

"Yes, yes," the ancestor in question said grumpily. "I'll just vacate my frames until that scum has left, right?"

"He's not scum," hissed the young Lady of Malfoy. "He's Father's friend. Keep that in your mind, if you know what's best for you!" Then, she continued on her way to warn yet more magical creatures.

Harry had succeeded in turning her hysterical mood into frustrated action. She couldn't find out anything about Sirius and Severus's whereabouts, nor could she help either of her godfathers. However, she could indeed ensure that Christopher's visit managed to drag her Father out of the cold shell he had quickly grown around himself. Lucius didn't even talk to anyone anymore, just walked around, looking grim. Needless to say, this certainly didn't improve Remus's mood at all, and he became even more depressed.

And so, it was no longer only Severus and Sirius they were worried about. They made sure that Remus was never alone anywhere, as that would have been risking too much. He hadn't done anything to himself yet, but he might, especially if Lucius didn't come out of his shell and talk with him soon.

All the more reason to try to make sure that Christopher's visit would be successful.

*

"This is not a manor," breathed Christopher as he rose from the car. "This is a bloody palace!"

"Well, it's been the Malfoy Manor for centuries," said a voice behind him. "Wouldn't do to call it the Malfoy Palace now, would it?" As Christopher turned around, he saw Harry Potter standing in front of him. "Welcome to the Malfoy Manor," the young man said. "The others are inside."

Christopher nodded and started to follow him towards the enormous manor. "Tell me, how exactly are they?" he asked. "From what you told me earlier, I don't think they are faring very well."

Now, Harry turned grim. "They are most definitely not well," he sighed. "Olivia was before just crying all the time; now I have managed to make her actually do something useful with her time. The others, however, are all more or less depressed. They haven't even eaten anything ever since we heard of the tsunami."

Christopher frowned. "I truly can see why you would need help," he said. "They'll starve if some news doesn't arrive soon." By now, they had arrived to the doors of the manor. Before they could even knock, however, the doors were opened from inside. In the doorway, they saw Olivia.

"Welcome to the Malfoy Manor, Christopher," the girl said. She looked and sounded tired, and she was rather pale, but there was still a faint smile on her lips. "Most of the others are currently in the master sitting room. If you would be so kind and follow me there..." She then started to lead their way.

Christopher followed her, examining his surroundings curiously. He was stunned to see all the wealth of the Malfoys; luxurious decorations, velvet carpets all around, and portraits in golden frames looking as if they were watching him coolly. The only thing he didn't see were servants, which confused him. It wasn't possible to run this big a manor without servants, and yet the only one he had seen was the man who had driven the car bringing him there. Even the chauffeur hadn't said a word, despite his attempts at some conversation during the long car drive. Well, maybe they tried to keep out of sight or something.

"You'll notice that everything is a bit, well, ancient around here," Olivia mentioned. "It's typical to our religion to avoid modern influence. We do use cell phones, yes, and Dad and I go shopping in the modern shops and all that, but we don't even have electricity here in the Manor. Father is so old-fashioned it's ridiculous. It took us a whole week to convince -- well, blackmail, really -- him to simply step into a car."

"Really?" asked Christopher, amused. "Just how stubbornly can he cling to his old ways?"

"The only writing device allowed in this household is a quill," said Harry. "That's how stubborn he can be."

At last, the girl stopped in front of a door and opened it. She hadn't even stepped inside before a voice called out from the room.

"Came to join us in our misery, o mighty Mistress of Malfoy Manor?"

"Shut it, Malcolm," she said tiredly. "Or should I say, Master of Snape Manor?"

"Not yet," the boy's voice replied. "I'm only the Young Master of Snape Manor. We aren't as frantic about the name as you Malfoys, so Severus will remain as the Master until I turn 21. Assuming that he is still alive, of course," he added dryly. "If he isn't, I truly am the Master of Snape Manor, and Lord Snape."

"Why wouldn't he be alive?" asked Olivia, sounding hurt. "Now, you all, try to improve your mood. We have a guest, you see." Now, she stepped aside, letting Christopher in to the room.

Christopher glanced around, seeing Malcolm, Draco, and Remus all there, as well as a woman he didn't recognize. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "It is a pleasure to see you."

The men all managed to give him faint smiles. The woman, however, scowled. "What is he doing here?" she asked, sounding annoyed. "He has absolutely no business to be here!"

However, Olivia would not take this calmly. "He is Christopher Bay, Father's friend," she said. "Harry invited him, with my permission, if I may add. I am the Mistress of the Manor, not you. Therefore, you have no say in who are to be guests here." With a bit softer tone, she added, "I understand you're worried, but do try to be civil, okay?" Turning towards Christopher, she said, "I apologize for her. She is Lilian Snape, Severus's sister and Malcolm's mother. As you can guess, she is not at her best at the moment."

"I understand," Christopher replied quietly. "Where is Lucius, anyway?"

Olivia cast a questioning glance at her Dad, who shrugged. "I don't know," Remus said, sounding miserable. "I haven't said a word to me since yesterday. I don't think he slept any last night."

"What about yourself?" asked Harry quietly, eyeing the elder man carefully.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "I couldn't sleep a wink."

"Have you asked the... servants?" asked Olivia. Christopher noticed her hesitation before the last word, but didn't ponder on that further. Right now, he was rather worried about Lucius.

Again, Remus shook his head. "They won't tell me anything the Master of the Manor has told them to hide," he said, sounding bitter for some reason. "I have looked everywhere, but couldn't find him."

Suddenly, Draco snapped his fingers. "Philip and Joyce," he said. "That's where Father is. I'm sure of it."

Now, Olivia looked relieved, although no less worried. "Could you please talk with him, Christopher?" she pleaded, turning towards the guest now. "He won't listen to any of us. Try to make him stop brooding."

Christopher nodded slowly. "Show me where he is, and I promise I will try," he said. "But I don't know if I will have any luck. For the little I know him, he won't listen to me at all."

" At least try, okay?" the girl asked. "If you don't succeed, I will have to do something extreme."

"And what would that be?" asked Lilian Snape. She was still glaring at Christopher.

"You'll see." And now, there was a very Lucius-like glint in Olivia's silver eyes.

*

Christopher glanced around in the little room, stunned. There was no furniture around. It was completely empty -- except for one thing. On the opposite end of the room he saw a gravestone, made of white marble. A statue of an angel had spread its wings to protect the gravestone, on which he saw three names and dates. Lucius and Remus's dead children -- although he still hadn't heard the story of Kathleen.

Lucius was standing in front of the gravestone, leaning onto his cane. He was staring blindly ahead, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. When Christopher took a step to approach him, however, he turned instantly around. "Christopher," he said flatly. "What are you doing here?"

"Your family asked me to come here," Christopher replied. "They are worried about you."

"They shouldn't be," the blond replied briefly. "Severus is who they should worry about."

"And they do," Christopher said. "You're not the only one who cares for your friend. However, you are just making this worse to everyone. You have a family, Lucius! You should be there for them! You've a son and a daughter who need you to tell them everything will be okay. You've a husband who needs you to be with him. And all you're doing is making them feel even more worried!"

That one statement before the last one seemed to wake Lucius. "Remus?" he asked. "You've seen him? How was he?" Then, sounding rather worried, he asked, "He didn't seem self-destructive... did he?"

Christopher was stunned. Judging by Lucius's expression, the blond had, or at least he thought he had, heavy reasons to suspect that. Had Remus hurt himself before? Deciding that he should try to shock Lucius well enough to make him interact with the rest of his family, he said, "I wouldn't know. He hasn't hurt himself, at least not yet. However, without anybody to talk to him out of it, he might."

Now, Lucius's expression turned pained. "Maybe I should talk with him," he said. "I know I shouldn't have left him alone... But I'm so worried for Severus, I wanted to be alone for a while."

There was such despair and pain in his voice that Christopher decided to take pity on him. "Calm down," he sighed. "I didn't see any signs of self-destructive behaviour in Remus. You needn't worry."

"But that is just the problem," said the blond quietly. "I do need to worry."

"What do you mean?" asked Christopher, genuinely confused. Why was Lucius so worried about his husband? Was he just generally depressed because of the uncertainty or what?

"Do you see these?" asked Lucius, pointing at a row of dark rings going around his cane. As Christopher nodded, he continued, "There are twelve marks here. One for each time Remus has tried to kill himself. I keep these as remainders about the fact that no amount of money can guarantee happiness." At Christopher's horrified look, he sighed. "It's chronic depression," he explained. "It comes and goes. Lately, he's been on the good side for a long time, being almost absolutely normal. I do fear, however, that if this worrying and not knowing goes on for long, it will again push him over the edge."

"I'm sorry," the other man said quietly. Then he noticed Lucius's other hand, which was nervously fingering something that looked like a necklace with a glass bottle hanging on it. "What is that?"

"What? Oh, this," Lucius said. "We call it the Soul Potion. It's kind of a tradition in our religion. The belief is that each bottle of the potion contains a part of the soul of the person who brewed it, and the one it is given to has the power to either protect or destroy them. I have Remus's Soul Potion, and he has mine."

"That sounds really sweet." Christopher smiled weakly, and then asked jokingly, "You wouldn't accept any converts into this religion of yours by any chance, would you?"

Now, Lucius shook his head, managing even a small chuckle. "Sorry, but the answer is no," he said. "You either are born into it or marry into it. You can't just suddenly decide to be a part of it."

"A pity." Christopher then gave the other man an encouraging smile.

"Maybe you should join the world again, Lucius," he suggested. "Surely Severus wouldn't want you to waste your time moping?"

"I can't," sighed the blond. "And it's exactly because I have a family. I'm the head of this family, I'm the one supposed to stay strong, no matter what. How could I let them see that I'm about to break down?"

"Take it easy, Lucius," Christopher said. "You're only a human, after all. Nobody is expecting you to be anything more than that. Your best friend is missing, so of course you have the right to be worried. Anxious, even. Yes, I do think that even you are allowed to break down -- as long as you get up after it."

"But I --" Then, Lucius was interrupted as the door was opened. Olivia rushed inside, looking anxious.

"Father!" she exclaimed, slightly out of breath. "Have you seen Dad anywhere?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lucius, instantly alarmed. "You haven't let him leave your sight, have you?"

"He was with Lilian last thing I know," the girl said, biting her lip. "But she said he'd gone to see me -- but I haven't met him after that. Please, you have to find him before he does something stupid!"

Now, Lucius's hand was again raised to the bottle on his neck. Before neither Olivia nor Christopher could say anything, he had already run away as fast as his legs managed to carry him. As he could have little support from his cane at that speed, it must have been difficult to him to even move, but he still ran.

As soon as Lucius was out of the room, his daughter sighed in relief. "Well, at least that worked," she said. At Christopher's gaze, she said, "What? That's the extreme thing I was prepared to do. And, well, it got him moving, didn't it?" Now, she then headed towards the door herself. "Come on. Let's go after him."

Christopher followed her, wondering just how much like her father Olivia was.

*

Lucius banged open the door to the room his instincts and the Soul Potion were leading him to, fearing the worst. To his great relief, Remus was still alive, and seemingly hadn't even tried to hurt himself. However, the werewolf did certainly not look good. That, of course, worried him.

"Remus, love?" he asked quietly. "You're awfully pale. When exactly was the last time you ate?"

The lithe brunet looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he sighed. "I ate a sandwich yesterday."

Lucius's expression hardened immediately. "That will not do," he said sternly. "I'll have the house-elves prepare a dinner immediately. You need to eat, Remus -- we all do. We can't kill ourselves over this."

Now, Remus gave him a weak smile. "Olivia was right," he muttered. "She actually managed to bring you out of it." At seeing his shocked expression, he laughed weakly. "Oh, don't give me that," he said. "You're not that dumb. I haven't even considered hurting myself. Olivia merely wanted to scare you to make you live again." Now, he stood up from the chair he'd been sitting on. "Let's go to have that dinner, shall we?"

*

This time, Harry was truly grateful to have Draco's help with the Glamouring Charms they had to cast on house-elves to keep Christopher from seeing their true nature. True, he had managed to turn one of them into a chauffeur, but only by appearance. The voice had still been that of a house-elf, and thus, he had instructed the creature to stay quiet in Christopher's presence. As Draco was much better in Charms, however, they managed to create a group of rather convincing-looking servants.

More than anything, however, he was grateful about the fact that everybody had started to live again. True, they were still nervous and worried, but no longer as stunned as before. When Lucius had broken out of his grim shell, the others seemed to have woken up as well. Now they all moved around with the same quiet determination as Olivia had done before Christopher's arrival. They maybe couldn't do anything to help their friends in Thailand, but at least they could do their best to stay alive and sane until they returned.

*

He was a wizard, and his name was Soma. He was currently looking around near his home, trying to look for survivors or yet more dead after the huge wave. Knowing that there were also Muggles around, he made sure to keep his wand out of sight. He just had it in his hand, however, when he heard somebody coming. Putting the wand quickly up into his sleeve, he turned around to see who it was.

The man in front of him looked exhausted, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. He might have been handsome, if his dark hair hadn't been hanging on messy tangles and his blue eyes full of despair. All in all, he looked bad. "Oh, thank Merlin," the man sighed as he turned to him. "Look, do you speak English?"

"Yes, I do," Soma replied. The word this man had used interested him greatly. Was he a wizard?

"Excellent. Now, are you a wizard?" Getting this confirmation to his own suspicions, Soma just nodded. Again, the man sighed in relief. "Wonderful. Could you please let me borrow your wand for a while?"

Frowning a bit, Soma watched him closely. "Why ever would you need it?" he asked suspiciously.

"I need it just for one summoning spell," the man said, sounding desperate now. "I've lost my husband's Soul Potion, and I need to summon it back. Please, let me use your wand. I need to get to know whether..." Swallowing, he then finished, "I need to know whether he's still alive."

For some time, Soma watched him. Then he pulled his wand out of his sleeve again and wordlessly handed it to the man, who took it into his slightly trembling hands, then raised it.

"Accio Severus's Soul Potion," he whispered, his brows furrowing in concentration. For a long time, nothing seemed to happen. At last, however, a small crystal object flew through the air, being caught by the man's quickly moving hand. The pale fingers held the object gently, careful not to break it.

"Thank all the gods," the dark-haired man said with a wavering voice, dropping down to his knees. His hands clutched desperately onto the small crystal phial. "He's alive. He's still alive somewhere."

Soma watched him for some time, considering. Then he asked, "Do you have a picture of your husband?" As the man nodded, looking questioning, he continued, at the same time taking his wand from the ground, "You see, my sister and her husband have been taking care of a man they found after the wave. He has an injury on his head, not bad enough to kill, but enough to make him unwell. They claim that he is a wizard, as he has a Soul Potion hanging on his neck. Maybe he's your husband."

In an instant, hope lit the man's grey eyes. Drawing a photo from his pocket, he showed it to Soma. "Here he is," he said quietly. "I'm sorry that it's only a Muggle photo, but it's all I have left of him."

Soma, however, just nodded. He had indeed seen enough in the Muggle photo. Smiling slightly, he said, "Come with me. I think I might be able to arrange a happy reunion for you."

The man's face turned from hopeful to joyous in the matter of seconds. As Soma then started to lead their way, he sincerely hoped the man's husband didn't have a secret twin somewhere. If it was so, and the man his sister had been caring for wasn't the right one, this other man would probably break.

*

Sirius's breath caught in his chest. A pale form lay on the bed in front of him. The raven hair was on messy tangles, eyes closed and a feverish glow on the pale cheeks, but he would still have recognized the man even with his eyes closed. "Severus," he breathed in relief. Sinking to his knees, he took one pale into his own, and was immediately startled by how hot it felt.

"He has a bad fever," Soma's sister explained. "None of our potions have helped him."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Did you find his potions bag?" he asked. As he got a positive answer, he said, "Give it to me." He was then given it, although he also got wondering glances.

Placing the potions bag onto his knees, Sirius then raised a shaking hand to the Soul Potion phial he was carrying. Having only done this once before, he was a bit nervous, but he had to try. So, he concentrated onto the potion and the essence of his husband it carried. He imagined that bit of Severus moving down his arm, then towards his other arm, his hands, fingers...'Something to help Severus,' he thought. Immediately his fingers met a small phial in the previously empty bag. Relieved, he pulled the phial out and then raised it to Severus's lips. Both he and the local wizards watched the potion slide down the sick man's throat.

After a moment of pregnant silence, Severus stirred at last. Blinking slowly, he glanced warily around in the unfamiliar room. Panic crossed briefly his face as he asked, "Sirius? Where is Sirius?"

Now, Sirius was unable to respond with words. A quiet sob of relief bursting out of his chest, he flung himself at the Slytherin's neck. Tears of joy and relief rolled down his face as he hugged his husband, hardly even believing it true. The others just watched the two, smiling faintly.

"I thought you were dead," whispered Sirius, holding onto Severus as tightly as he could, as if afraid he would disappear again. "I thought I had lost you forever. That I would never see you alive again..."

"I'm here, Sirius, I'm here," muttered Severus to him. "Merlin, when the water got me, I was so scared. I was sure I had seen you for the last time ever. But now you are here..."

For a long time, they just held each other tightly, as if determined to never let go again.

*

Lucius's phone rang again. Now, everybody in the master sitting room nailed his or her eyes at him as he drew the small Muggle device from his pocket and answered the call. For some time he talked with a very low voice. When he ended the call, however, there was a tiny smile on his face.

"Severus is safe," he said quietly. "Severus is alive and safe. Some local wizard had recognized the Soul Potion on his neck for what it was, and taken him to his own family to be healed. He'd finally regained consciousness today, when Sirius went there. He's in a pretty bad shape, but he will recover from it."

"Oh, thank Merlin!" exclaimed Olivia. At the same moment, the flames on all the candles in the room flared high, turning into different colours. Suddenly the room was a lot brighter.

"What the --" Christopher looked around, bewildered. Everybody else, however, looked at first at Olivia, then at him. The girl blushed slightly, her eyes also fixed on him to see his reaction.

Then, Lucius sighed. "Sit down, Christopher," he said. "I think we can't avoid this anymore."

So, Christopher got seated, still warily eyeing the candles, which now slowly returned to their original state. Then he turned to look at Lucius, who was watching him as if trying to see into his mind.

"Do you remember," the blond then said, "how I told you that I believe in magic?"

And then began the oddest story Christopher had ever heard in his life.

*

At last, Christopher nodded slowly. "Now, let's see if I have it right," he said. "Magic exists. You and all your family and friends are witches and wizards, and even your house is magical."

Lucius nodded in response. "Well, not exactly," he then said. "As the Mistress of the Manor, Olivia can control the magic of the Manor, but outside the building, she can't do much. She's a Criddle, you see."

"Speaking of which..." The mentioned girl smiled and waved her hand, and a tray with a teapot and several cups floated in. "Would anybody like some tea?" she asked brightly.

"Yes, thank you, I do think it would be in order," Lucius said. Then he smirked. "Though I do believe you can forget putting that Samarian Solution into Christopher's drink. It isn't necessary anymore."

Christopher was, of course, confused at the odd term. Olivia seemed to understand very well, however, as she now flushed a bit. "How did you know I was thinking about that?" she asked defensively.

"I am your father, dear girl," the blond said amusedly, "and that makes you my daughter. How could I not know what you're planning, when it's the first thought that would cross my mind if I were you?" Turning to Christopher, he explained, "The Samarian Solution is a potion that wipes away all the drinker's memories from the last hour. I figured that Olivia has got at least that far in her potions studies now."

The non-magical man was torn between shock and amusement. "So I should worry about being possibly drugged if I happen to see something I'm not supposed to?" he asked. "Maybe I should close my eyes, then -- or, rather, just simply leave so that I don't accidentally run into a ghost or something."

"Sorry about that," Olivia said as she poured them tea -- without any additional potions. "It's just that the Ministry is pretty strict about telling anything to Muggles -- that means non-magical people."

"Well, I swear I will not tell anybody," Christopher promised. "You can trust me with this."

To his astonishment, everybody now turned to look at Remus. The greying brunet seemed to sniff the air a couple of times, and then he smiled. "He's telling the truth," he informed the others.

"Can you smell lies?" asked Christopher. Now, he was really confused. Was that possible?

At this, Remus and Lucius exchanged brief glances. "I hope you are comfortably seated, Christopher," he said, "I have a feeling that explaining this is going to take long..."

*