Chapter Text
OMNIUS OCTOBER
TEAM DRAGON
Trick or Treat PROMPTS
Day 1.“Ashwinder dust, occamy eggs, smoky quartz ground fine; someone has tampered with this ritual’s instructions.” “How do you know?” “It used to list freshly drawn blood.”
Word count: 1060
Dedicated to bestie. :)) communication is key. You can say no
Harriette didn't know why she followed him. He'd warned her not too to follow him in moments like these, when he was so angry he nearly forgot himself.
Of course in her mind she knew he couldn't really. He was a spy, he couldn't afford to lose it, but he could indeed hurt her.
Nevertheless, the Order meeting had rattled him in a way she'd never seen before. She'd joined the order over a year ago, after she'd turned seventeen… She'd attended enough meetings to know he was absolutely furious.
For some reason, at Sirius and Remus specifically. The men had even tried to stop her but to no avail.
"Severus," she called gently, "what's happened?"
He turned on her, anger in his eyes that softened just a bit seeing that it was her who dared.
"Harriette, I am not in the mood. Go."
She narrowed her eyes. "I just wanted to check on you."
He turned away, his right hand making a dismissing motion. "No need. Leave."
His left hand was still clutching a paper he'd gotten from the meeting probably. Unfortunately she didn't know what had happened, she'd been delayed at the meeting due to a really bad headache, which hadn't really gone away. But she'd wanted to at least catch a part of the meeting.
"No, Severus. I've never seen you like this-"
"You've not seen many things, girl. Please, leave," he murmured and while the first sentence had been snapped the second was almost pleading.
She looked at him and then she went to sit down on his sofa, head in hands.
In an instant she could feel that his mood had changed. In a flash, he was next to her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, kneeling down next to her. "Do you need to lay down?"
"Just in pain. Bad headache. I thought you wanted me to leave," she added with a pointed look.
His eyes shone with regret but then she could see was thinking of words to shun her away again. She reached out and touched his hand, sliding off the sofa next to him on the floor.
"Severus, whatever it is, whatever happened at the meeting, you can talk with me about it. And if you don't want to, that's fine, but don't push me away when you're clearly not feeling well."
"You say that now." He looked down at the piece of parchment in his hands.
"What's this?"
Severus tried to stand up and leave, but she stopped him, nearly falling onto his lap. "You can tell me."
"It's a dark ritual for Halloween. It… takes powers from innocents and binds them … It's a spell for abuse."
"Okay and why has it gotten you so rattled?"
He wouldn't meet her eyes. Harriette snatched the paper, and surprisingly he let her.
"Ashwinder dust, occamy eggs, smoky quartz ground fine…" she read. "It looks a bit innocent," she said, scanning the page.
"Because this ritual’s instructions has been tampered with."
“How do you know?”
“It used to list freshly drawn blood.”
She gaped at him. "And how do you know that?" she asked, but looking in his eyes, Harriette knew the answer.
"I created it. Black and Lupin found the modified version while they were doing a search at Regulus' old house."
"And Regulus had it because…"
"Because I gave it to him when I was a loyal Death Eater. He said we should keep the blood as a secret ingredient and edited it a bit. …It hasn't stopped the Dark Lord from finding it out and knowing about it. They confronted me tonight."
Harriette gasped. "The recent bodies… Your spell…"
"Yes, my spell. Do you see now why you had to go?"
She narrowed her eyes. "No."
"No? Harriette I'm responsible for those deaths! My spell, even modified…I …."
She shook her head. "If it wasn't yours, it would have been another and you know it and I know it."
"It's a reminder of how dark I am, how tainted my soul is."
Harriette hissed. "I told them to drop it."
Severus smiled sadly at her. "They are right, you know."
She shook her head again, before gripping it with pain. "Don't make me shake my head again, Severus. You're being really silly. You know I love you." Harriette looked in his eyes and traced her hand over his left arm. "Dark spots and all."
She pretended not to notice tears at the corners of his eyes, instead she kissed him softly and laid her head against his chest.
"I'm expecting several apologies for how you spoke with me tonight."
"Eternity wouldn't be enough. I'm so sorry, I'm just…I keep expecting you to run away or listen to them that I'm not good for you."
She looked up at him. "Never going to happen. Promise me you'll talk with me about these concerns first if you ever have any more regarding us."
"I promise," he whispered, but she knew the conversation wasn't finished.
"How about I lay down and you bring me tea and we talk about us and the meeting I missed thanks to the headache."
Severus nodded. He helped her up and she laid on the couch and then turned to prepare some tea.
Harriette was beyond annoyed that it seemed his old insecurities were back, but at the same time she feared that he would leave her too.
But as she watched him prepare tea and be normal with her, she knew it was worth it to fight for them, no matter the insecurities, fears and uncomfortable discussions that awaited them; for this was happiness for her.
Unknown to her, Severus thought the same he'd viewed as he'd stood to make tea that he'd never doubt her again and promised he'd never lash out at her when it was himself he was angry with. In the past months since she'd chosen him somehow, he'd tried to keep that part of him hidden, but it was clearly not working and had it been different, if she hadn't known that the meeting perhaps had upset him…he could have really hurt her with his words, far deeper than when she had been a student. She hadn't cared then about what he thought. And he hadn't cared either.
But now it was all different. Better. And worth fighting for and changing for.