Severus never told Veronica what his nightmares were about, and eventually she stopped asking.

But the one that woke him up was different, this one felt far too real.

Pulling himself out of bed at three a.m., Severus splashed the usual cold water on his face and closed down at his left arm.

God, how he hated it.

He wished to God that he had the nerve to chop the damned thing off throw it into the Thames, but as much as he daydreamed about ridding himself of the hateful appendage, he just couldn't work up the guts to actually go through with it.

The Dark Mark was still a faded grey, the same as it had been for over 12 years. But in his dream, it burnt black and angry as the day he had gotten it.

The longer he stared at it, the more he hated it, until Severus fumbled through his medicine cabinet and retrieved a roll of heavy gauze which he wrapped around his forearm until the emblem was fully disguised. Taping the gauze in place, Severus sighed and swallowed the tight knot in his throat. It wasn't enough, it was never enough as long as it was there.

But there was nothing he could do about it now, He couldn't' even cut the damned thing off.

After all, that was one of the first things he had tried.

"Sev?"

He glanced behind him and saw Veronica squinting in the light of the bathroom.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" He mumbled hoarsely, haphazardly throwing the bandaged and tape back into the cabinet and closing the door. "I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to bed."

Veronica frowned and him and reached up to touch his cheek.

Severus froze for a moment before moving away, "I just had a bad dream, that's all. It's nothing."

The woman glanced down at her bed mate's arm and sighed. "Oh, Severus."

"Don't say it like that." He stopped her, "I don't want your pity, I just want-." He cut himself off.

"What?" Veronica whispered, "What do you want?"

"I just want to be able to sleep through the night, and to be able to look at myself without hating what I see."

Veronica shook her head and hugged him tightly, "Darling, I wish I could understand what you're going through." She moved her hands down to his arms and squeezed them firmly. "It was a long time ago, and you're a different person than you were before. You've learned from your mistakes, Severus."

Severus hugged her back, comforted by her words.

It was true. He told himself, he had learned from the mistakes of a stupid 17 year old boy. He knew what he did was possibly the worst kind of wrong, but that part of his life was over now.

"Come back to bed, Darling." She whispered, "You still need to sleep."

"I can't now" Severus muttered into her forehead, "You know I can't go back to sleep once I wake up."

"Then I'll stay up with you."

"No, you won't" Severus protested, pushing her back towards the bedroom, "You're still exhausted."

"I don't care." Veronica pouted and Severus chuckled in amusement.

"I care! You're no fun to be around when you're grumpy all day"

"Fine" Veronica sighed. "Just, promise me you'll nap during the day."

"Maybe" Severus shrugged and watched her climb back into bed before leaving the room and closing the door.

Setting up a fresh pot of coffee, Severus watched at the morning owl arrived with the mail, a rare sight he almost never got to enjoy. The owl clamored through the window and onto the kitchen counter, gripping a bundle of envelopes and the paper.

"Here" he tied the payment to the owl's leg and gifted it a grape from the bowl on the counter. The owl fluttered at him thankfully before bouncing out the window once again.

"Let's see." Severus sighed, leaning against the edge of the countertop. "Junk, junk, bill, bill, Malfoy." He rolled his eyes and cut open Malfoy's letter first.

Dear Severus,

I have a matter of some importance to discuss with you in private.

It must be addressed as soon as possible, so I would appreciate it if your response was a quick one.

L. Malfoy.

Severus pulled a face and sighed, it was almost never a good thing if Malfoy used the words important and private in the same sentence.

He scribbled a reply and simply sent it through the Floo network, knowing full and well the letter would simple end up on the man's study floor until he found it.

Severus burnt the junk in the fireplace and set the bills aside for later as he made for the coffee pot.

As he poured the black liquid, he jerked suddenly, nearly dropping the carafe and spilling steaming coffee all over the floor.

"Shit!" He swore and stumbled back, not letting the spill burn his feet as he tossed a hand towel on the ground and scrambled for his wand.

Muttering a quick cleaning spell, Severus turned his attention to his left arm, which had been wracked with a sudden pain that left a quickly as it came.

Uneasily, Severus picked at the tapped gauze and winced when it plucked out a few arm hairs as he unwrapped his forearm slowly.

As he bared it to the plain light, he could see no difference in it until the pain struck him again and it began to burn as if hot coals had trapped themselves under his flesh. The grey insignia darkened to pitch black for a moment until the pain faded and Severus was left sitting on his kitchen floor drenched in cold sweat with a look of horror on his face.

This couldn't be happening.

Not now.

Not to him.

Not when everything was going so well.

Severus swiftly rewrapped the arm, tighter this time as it that could keep him safe, and allowed himself some time to sit and think.

It could have been a fluke.

It wasn't just the Dark Lord that had the power to summon them in such a way, any member of his inner circle could call a meeting using their own mark as a beacon.

Someone daring to try to bring together a gathering of the Deatheaters was worrisome, surely. But it was preferable to The Dark Lord himself returning.

Severus took a breath and pulled himself up.

That must be what Lucius wanted to talk about, one of his old comrades trying to pull them back from the grave.

But it wouldn't happen.

It couldn't happen.

At least, He hoped not.

Veronica woke up a few hours later and found Severus back in bed beside her, this time huddled much closer to her side and even draping his arm over her in an unusual display of affection.

She didn't get up right away, taking a moment to enjoy the closeness between the two of them and push her back against his chest.

She really did love him.

At first, she had been afraid to move on after Vince, who for the longest time she considered to be her only love.

But Severus had changed that. He reminded her what it was like to be truly cared for, and she was almost drunk on the sensation of being someone that somebody cared about so deeply.

Severus mumbled over her and yawned, cutting her thoughts off as he turned over and blinked. "Awake again" He grumbled discontentedly.

"I'm afraid so" Veronica sighed. "I don't want to go to work."

"Hm" Severus snickered, "You only have to go into the office three times a month, it's not that bad."

"Oh yeah? Have you ever sat through one of those meetings?" Veronica challenge him. "God forbid my sales go down again, I can't take that kind of pressure."

Severus looked her over as she sat up in bed and pulled her legs into to her chest anxiously. She was always so on edge these days, as if every single piece of news she got from the company weighed on her shoulders and pushed her lowers.

If it was good news, she was always sure bad news wasn't far behind.

If it was bad news, then she was a mess.

Severus almost thought she had been happier as Lockhart's assistant, at least then she had a routine to hold her up and keep her stable.

"Hey" He grabbed her hand. "Look at me."

Veronica glanced at him blandly as he sat up.

"Now listen to me, you're doing just fine. Your stories get great reviews, you have your savings to keep you up if you need it, and you have plenty of people to help you. There is nothing to be afraid of, even if the worst happens, you're prepared for it."

Veronica sighed, not feeling much better at all, but leaning into Severus anyway.

"Thanks Severus, you always know what to say."

She kissed him swiftly before heading back to the floo to return to her own apartment, now more willing to face the day than before.

Once she was gone, Severus felt a tight grip on his stomach and laid back.

"You're in bed late, aren't you?"

Severus jumped and scrambled out of bed, only to roll his eyes when he spotted Lucius Malfoy in the threshold of his bedroom, looking spectacularly out of place in the modest house.

"You couldn't give me a warning that you were coming?" Severus reached for a wrinkled shirt to throw on over his trousers and glared at Lucius who impatiently tapped his cane on the carpet.

"Severus, we need to talk."