Love Potion HP

Chapter Twelve: Shadows On the Horizon

Sirius returned to Hogwarts January twenty-fifth. He met immediately with Dumbledore.

"September twenty-seventh to October first, October sixteenth to October nineteenth, the week of Halloween, November twenty-fifth, and now January ninth," Sirius recited. "These are all the dates Severus has felt the Mark burn this school year, but according to your informants, Voldemort did not conduct a mass summoning on any of these days. In fact, the last summoning was his confrontation with Harry. Unless the Dark Lord is trying to call Severus individually, I have no explanation."

Dumbledore's brow furrowed as he gazed off into empty space and murmured, half to himself and half to Sirius, "I wonder... Voldemort knows Severus was my spy... but just what of that does he know?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius inquired.

"I wonder if he knows the nature of the information Severus revealed. There is a certain something that would give him a special motive for revenge."

"You aren't going to tell me what that certain something is, are you?" he stated flatly.

"No, afraid not," Dumbledore agreed.

"Headmaster," Sirius said, "do you think Voldemort would actively try...?"

"I do," he affirmed earnestly.

Silence hung over the air for several moments.

"Don't mention any of this to Severus," he said.

Sirius nodded. "I understand."

* * *

Sirius tapped a knob near the bottom of the door. It swung open. He entered the cabin, kicked it shut behind him, and transformed from his canine form.

"Severus?" he called.

There was no answer. He stepped a few paces further into the room and called out again.

"Severus?"

Suddenly a black blur zoomed from nowhere and crashed into him, nearly knocking him onto the sofa. Severus' mouth clamped firmly over his and his nails scratched desperately into his back.

"Mumph!" Sirius exclaimed, gently pushing Severus to arm's length. "Slow down! I just got in the door!"

"Do I have to wait?" he demanded petulantly and proceeded to cover Sirius's face in kisses.

"Yes!" Sirius shouted back, trying vainly to hold him at bay. "Don't I get a chance to talk?"

"Oh, I hate the sound of your voice anyway," he replied.

It was as if all Severus's emotions bottled over the past weeks were suddenly exploding. He clawed at Sirius with such passion that it forced them towards the floor.

"But here?" Sirius asked. "In the living room?"

"Why not? We've done it before."

He spun Severus around and pinned him against the wall, then snatched him in his arms. He began to walk towards stairs.

"Where are we going?" Severus demanded, kicking his legs in a feeble attempt to escape. "Put me down!"

"The bedroom. Where else?"

"Oh, I hate you," Severus sang all the way up the stairs. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you..."

"Yeah, I bet you do," Sirius muttered and unceremoniously dumped him onto the bed.

That decided their activities for the evening.

* * *

Frustration fueled Severus. Determined to make up for lost nights, he was as savage with Sirius as their first time together in October. Sirius waited until Severus had exhausted himself, then, ignoring the bites and scratches all over his body, slept.

Severus was much more complacent when he awoke the next morning.

"I don't feel like getting up," he muttered. "You make breakfast. Try not to blow too much stuff up."

Sirius thought a moment, then asked, "Don't you have a class?"

"Oh, damn it," Severus groaned. "Bloody useless Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Why do they need my supervision if they're going to poison themselves anyway? I wish they would just do it already."

"Not exactly a morning-person, are you?"

"I'm not an any-time of day person."

Sirius moved his face close to Severus's for a kiss.

"If you even think of biting my nose, I'll smack you," Severus warned.

"What if I just kissed it?"

"I don't trust you."

Sirius yawned. "What got into you last night? You were an animal."

"I don't know," he confessed. "I didn't it plan it that way, but you were away for so long that when I heard your voice I just went crazy."

"Yeah, well next time cut your nails first."

Severus rearranged himself among the pillows. "How did it go?"

"What go?"

"Your journey. Did you figure anything out?"

Sirius paused. Dumbledore did not want him to tell Severus anything, but he had to say at least a little.

"No," he answered. "No one else felt the Mark burn on the dates that you did. Severus, I'm not at liberty to tell you much, but I am worried."