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Severus Snape (ensnared_senses) wrote in snark_n_bark, @ 2008-05-05 19:14:00

Marked Anew
Characters: Remus, Severus
Summary: Severus finds he's a Marked man again. Follows this scene.


Although the children were adapting to their papa's new gender well, Severus knew it hadn't been quite as easy for Remus, and he wanted to do something to help. Thus he decided to surprise Remus with chocolate and perhaps a chaste cuddle, since those two things were ostensibly the household cure-alls.

Dressed in a high-collared jacket, a long skirt, and boots with sensible heels, he walked to the village to buy a chocolate cake from the bakery, and when he returned home, he assembled a tray with a generous slice of cake and a glass of milk and set off for Remus' office. Once there, he knocked briefly before entering, approaching Remus' desk slowly.

"Is this a good time for an interruption?" he asked, holding out the tray. "I brought cake."

Remus looked up from the draft he'd been revising, smiling when he saw Severus standing in the doorway. "You're welcome to interrupt anytime. Cake is just a bonus," he replied as he took off his reading glasses and stood. He motioned to the sofa and table grouping on the other side of his office. "Let's go over there, shall we? If you will join me, that is. Cake is even better when it's shared."

Things had been a tiny bit stressful - well, more than a tiny bit, perhaps - since Severus had been stuck with a female body, but Remus was striving hard for normality in their lives. Thus he always responded just as he would before Severus' unwelcome change, focusing on Severus' face and reminding himself that Severus was still the same man he loved in every way that counted. It was a little difficult to ignore the female clothing, perhaps, since now it was actually filled out by real female curves instead of illusory ones, but he was managing.

"Of course." Severus detoured to the sofa and placed the tray on the table before taking a seat, pleased by the warm welcome. "I brought a large piece and two forks, just in case."

"Excellent!" Remus grinned and followed in Severus' wake, settling down on the sofa next to Severus and picking up the plate of cake and a fork. "I think we only need the one, though," he said, cutting off a morsel of the rich chocolate cake with the fork and then scooping it up. He lifted it toward Severus' lips. "Open wide, here comes the flying carpet!"

Severus raised one eyebrow, giving Remus A Look. "I think you have been spending too much time with the children lately," he said tartly. But he parted his lips to accept the bite of cake nonetheless, more interested in Remus' proximity than in the cake.

Remus chuckled at that, his cheeks coloring. "Yes, well, perhaps," he said, watching Severus' lips on the fork and swallowing in reaction. He looked back to the cake, then cut off a bite for himself. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Severus. I've probably been spending too much time in here writing, though. What have you been up to? Is potion brewing any better, or is it still a no go?"

"Still nothing," Severus replied, frowning. "It's worse, actually. At least I managed to brew something right once in a while a few days ago. Now, it all turns to muck." He watched Remus eat the cake with avid interest, and he cleared his throat. "At any rate, I have given up for now. How is your manuscript going?"

Remus could feel Severus' eyes on him, and he sighed, trying not to be too depressed about the lack of progress in returning Severus to his correct gender. Not wanting Severus to think that his sigh was about the current state of affairs, however, he smiled ruefully. "Sounds like my writing is going no better than your potion brewing. Maybe you ought to write and I ought to brew the potions; we couldn't do any worse than we are now, right?"

Repressing a sigh of his own, Severus smiled wanly. "Perhaps so. I can't imagine things getting any worse-"

But his words were cut off, and he gasped as a sudden, sharp pain burned his left arm, flaring hot and all too familiar - and unwelcome. He grabbed his forearm, bending over, hissing, but as suddenly as the pain came, it disappeared, but he didn't release his arm, fearful the dreaded pain would return.

"Severus? Severus, what happened?" The gasp of pain his mate gave cut through Remus like a knife, sending a flare of panic down his spine. Cake and fork fell to the floor unheeded as he wrapped his arms around Severus and held him tightly. "Are you all right? Talk to me!"

Scrabbling at his cuff, Severus yanked up his sleeve and stared in horror at the fading Mark on his skin. "It's back," he whispered, glancing up at Remus, wide-eyed. "How is this possible? It shouldn't be..."

"What?" Remus' eyes were wide as he looked at the terrible, impossible shape marring Severus' pale forearm. "It can't be! It can't! He's dead, really dead. Harry killed him!" His arm tightened around Severus as he tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. One thing, however, he knew beyond any question, and he made sure Severus knew it, too. "No matter what, no one is going to hurt you. I swear it."

The Mark faded, and Severus pushed down his sleeve, hiding the revolting thing from sight. He shook his head, bewildered and sickened. "I cannot understand it. This should not be happening." He clutched Remus' arm. "Could it be that he is behind everything happening of late? That the problems have stemmed from his attempts to revive his own power?"

"I... I don't know!" Remus was horrified at the thought, and he stared at Severus in disbelief. "No, no... I mean... how? It's impossible! Maybe... maybe it's some reaction to your change? Some reaction to you being female now?"

Severus blinked and drew in a startled breath. It might be grasping at straws, but he clung to that idea as being far more palatable than the rest. "Perhaps so. It was quick. Definitely not a summons." He breathed out slowly. "Perhaps it was merely some residual reaction to my physical changes. I will monitor the site closely and note any other changes. If nothing else happens, perhaps we can chalk it up as a fluke."

"That makes sense," Remus agreed, drawing a deep breath as he calmed down as well. He took Severus' arm, the one which had been Marked, pushing up the sleeve so that he could kiss Severus' skin to show he wasn't afraid and that Severus shouldn't be, either. "See? Nothing. A fluke. If you're really worried, though, perhaps we could contact Regulus? I bet nothing happened to him, right? That would be proof it was nothing to do with Voldemort."

A shiver rippled down Severus' spine at the feel of Remus' lips on his skin, and he valiantly repressed it. "An excellent idea," he murmured huskily. "I will write to him straight-away and find out one way or another." Hesitantly, he reached for Remus' hand and squeezed it, drawing comfort from the contact.

Remus returned the pressure of Severus' hand, wanting to make certain that Severus knew he had Remus' unconditional love and support. "Good. That should help clear it up," he said. He leaned back on the sofa, drawing Severus back with him, wrapping his arm around Severus' shoulders and holding him close. "This has definitely been a strange and difficult week, hasn't it? But there's nothing we can't do so long as we are together, right? I'm right here for you, and I always will be."

Resting his head on Remus' shoulder, Severus curled against Remus' side, too shaken to hide his need for solace. He could bear a great deal with stoicism, but the possible return of the Dark Lord shook him to the core. He would be marked for death if it were true, and his safe, happy life would be shattered.

"Thank you," he murmured, grateful for Remus' continued presence and support, now more than ever.

Before he could grow too relaxed, however, a tap at the window captured his attention; he rose and went to open the window, admitting the unfamiliar owl. It hooted disdainfully at him as he accepted the message, and it flew off again swiftly. He opened and read the letter swiftly, his face draining of all color.

"It's from Bellatrix," he said hoarsely, holding out the letter to Remus. "She must have felt the Mark too."

Remus had risen as Severus did, not liking the coincidence of an owl arriving so swiftly after the incident, and he liked it even less when he saw who it was from. He read over the letter, then tossed it down on the table and pulled Severus into his arms.

"Well, that answers one question, I suppose," he said quietly, then sighed and shook his head, tightening his hold on Severus. "But that still doesn't mean the Dark Lord is back! Magic has been unstable lately, so it's just as likely - more likely, in fact! - to have been something else, especially since it faded so quickly. There have been odd ghosts around, remember? Your mother and her sisters... Perhaps he tried to manifest as a ghost and failed. But I'll repeat what I said, love: I'm here for you, and nothing is going to change that, nothing at all! Anyone or anything that tries to interfere with our family will be dealt with swiftly and decisively."

"Right," Severus murmured. Now that the shock was wearing off, he was growing angry. He had a good life, and he didn't want the damned Dark Lord coming back and ruining everything. He didn't want his family put in danger, and he didn't want to fight or go into hiding, which would be his only two options; returning to his role as a spy was out of the question this time around, which he didn't regret in the least. He wanted his life as it was. Or at least as it had been prior to his physical change. This time, he had something more concrete and more precious than ideals about good versus evil to motivate him. This time, it would be personal. "Right," he repeated firmly.

"That's the spirit," Remus said, glad that Severus sounded more like himself. "It might still be worth contacting Regulus, though, you know; safety in numbers, not to mention that if Bellatrix sent him something like this after what she put him through, he's probably about ready to pack his bags and head back to Egypt."

"I can hardly blame him if he is," Severus said. Drawing himself up proudly, he lifted his chin and disengaged from the embrace, determined to face the situation head-on. "I will write to him right now." He glanced at the floor where the remains of the cake lay. "Can you clean that up, or should I send in Lurch? As weak as my magic is, I doubt I could move a single crumb or I would help."

"I'll clean it up, then I'll get another piece," Remus replied, smiling at Severus with a hint of pride in his eyes. "Why don't you come back and join me when you're done? We can discuss contingency plans, perhaps. I don't think anything is going to happen, but there's no sense in not be prepared for things, just in case."

"Agreed." Severus hesitated. Under normal circumstances, he would have kissed Remus as a silent affirmation of their solidarity, but he wasn't certain the usual kind of kiss would be welcome. Instead, he bent and brushed a swift kiss to Remus' cheek. "I will be back shortly," he said, and then he turned and hurried off to write to Regulus and to Minerva as well while he was at it. The Order needed to know about this as quickly as possible, and as little as he wanted to deal with another threat from the Dark Lord, he wouldn't shirk his duties now that it was necessary for him to take them up once more.