Three days after I had left Hogwarts, there was a small ceremony for Sarah and Niko's son, named Ivan Severus, in which I was named godfather. I still couldn't get over the fact that they were willing to have me as godfather or that I had a namesake, even if it was the middle name and not first. Then again, Severus was an unusual name, and I wouldn't wish it as a first name on anybody.
At the end of July I took the exam for my Potions Mastery. The first day I spent three hours answering numerous questions about potions and potion ingredients, followed with brewing a Forgetfulness Potion from memory. The second day I had to brew two more potions, a Strengthening Solution and the Draught of Peace, from memory. A week later, the results were announced. I had actually managed to get a perfect score, one of seven people to have ever done so in the history of the exam, and so achieved my Potions Mastery.
I went back to Spinner's End with the money Mrs. Petrov had given me for helping in the apothecary to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Some fellow ex-Slytherins had contacted me the past month whenever they saw me in Diagon Alley, and had not-so-subtly hinted that my talents could be useful to the Dark Lord. I had managed to avoid giving them a stright answer by telling them I was preparing for my Potions Mastery, but they had made it clear that once I obtained it, they would contact me again. I had no doubt that my Potions skill would be useful to the Dark Lord, and so could avoid participating in many of the more evil things he and his Death Eaters did, but joining him wasn't something I really wanted to do. I really had nothing against Muggleborns, and except for my father and others like him, had no hatred for Muggles, though I didn't really think much about them either. Still, the Dark Lord was powerful, and he could give me some measure of protection.
A few days later, I agreed to accompany some of former housemates, Lucius Malfoy among them, to a meeting where the Dark Lord was present. At the conclusion, I found myself agreeing to become a Death Eater, and the Dark Mark was branded on my arm. After that, I bowed low, swore fealty to the Dark Lord, kissed the hem of his robes, and was allowed to leave.
As soon as I had Apparated back to Spinner's End, I realized the enormity of what I had done. I was plagued with guilt for my actions, and the arm with the Dark Mark on it started flaring with pain. I began feeling rather feverish, and I knew I needed to seek some form of help. Since the Petrovs and Romanovs had made it clear that I was free to come to them for anything, they were the only ones I could turn to, though after what I had just done, I wouldn't blame them if they turned me away and refused to have nothing more to do with me. In a haze of pain, guilt, and fever, I staggered over to the fireplace, threw in a pinch of Floo powder, and weakly called out, "Petrov's Potions!"
Second later, I fell out of the fireplace in the room used as the brewing laboratory. Ana was in the middle of bottling up a potion and Mrs. Petrov was cleaning up. Both looked up in surprise. "Severus!" exclaimed Mrs. Petrov, a look of concern on her face. "What happened to you?"
"I-help-made-mistake!" I gasped out. Before I passed out, I dimly saw Ana and Mrs. Petrov rush over to me.
(Third-person POV)
Mrs. Petrov managed to catch Severus before he hit the ground. "Oh dear, he's burning up!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on his face. "Ana, fetch me some Fever Reducer at once."
Ana Summoned a bottle of Fever Reducer and poured some of it down his throat. After a moment, his temperature noticeably lowered. Mrs. Petrov conured a basin of water and a sponge and gently began bathing his face, while Ana removed his robes so that he only had on trousers and a short-sleeved shirt. As soon as she had done so, she saw the Dark Mark on his arm, radiating heat and causing the skin to turn red around it. "Dear sweet Merlin!" she exclaimed, dropping the robes in shock. "That must be the mistake he said he made!"
"Firecall Lise and tell her to come here at once," ordered Mrs. Petrov, pausing long enough to silently and wandlessly summon a bottle of Pain Reliever and a jar of burn salve. "And Firecall Maria and tell her to bring dinner over here, since we can't go over to her home for it. And tell her to notify Sarah and Niko about it."
As Ana went to do as ordered, Mrs. Petrov managed to get some Pain Reliever into Severus's stomach and then proceeded to gently rub some burn salve on the Mark and surrounding area, a grim look on her face. "If I could get my hands on Voldemort and those idiot Death Eaters that convinced Severus that it was a good idea to join them..." she muttered savagely.
Two minutes later, Mrs. Romanov stepped out of the fireplace, wand and medical kit in hand. She took one look at Severus, muttered something in the Romany language, then immediately cast a diagnostic spell on him. "The Fever Reducer and Pain Reducer helped, but he still has a slight fever and some pain. And there is some darkness in the area around the Mark, but his body is trying to fight it." She proceeded to conjure a stretcher, levitated Severus onto it, and then levitated the stretcher with him on it upstairs.
Mrs. Petrov installed him in the bedroom that he had previously stayed in, at which point he came to. However, he wasn't completely his normal self, as he began raving, "Go away! I'm tainted!" and other things along that vein.
"You are not tainted, Severus," said Mrs. Petrov firmly, fighting back tears. "You just made a mistake, and none of us here blame you for it."
Mrs. Romanov transfigured his clothes into a pair of pajamas and then gave him some more Fever Reducer, followed by a Dreamless Sleep Potion. As soon as he was asleep, she stood up, a look of pain on her face. "Oh, Ilsa, what are we going to do? Why didn't he tell us that Voldemort and his followers wanted him to join? With everything that has gone in his life, I'm not surprised that he gave in and took the Dark Mark. At least he came to us for help once he got away and realized the mistake he made."
The rest of the family appeared at this point. "What happened, Mother Ilsa?" demanded Sarah, holding a sleeping Ivan. "Niko said that we were having dinner here tonight, and that Ana said there was something wrong with Severus."
"Severus Flooed over here, said something about making a mistake, and then fainted," said Mrs. Petrov quietly. "When Ana and I tended to him, we found out that he had taken the Dark Mark."
There were gasps, and Stephan snapped, "May Voldemort and his loyal Death Eaters suffer for all eternity for what they did!" His outburst woke up Ivan, who began crying, but nobody scolded Stephan for it, while Sarah simply undid the buttons of her blouse and began nursing her son to keep him quiet for a bit.
"We should have realized something like this was going to happen," said Niko. "Or I should have, at least. I saw that the other Slytherins were starting to influence Severus in my final year at Hogwarts. I should have known that they would keep it up until it resulted in the Death Eaters and Voldemort convincing him that it was in his best interests to join them."
"Don't blame yourself, Niko," said Tobias Romanov. "How could you predict the future? Not that I'm blaming Severus in any way, but he could have told us what was happening. But I suppose he didn't want to get us involved in his trouble. At least he had the sense to seek our aid after he made the mistake."
"What do we do?" asked Maria, a helpless look on her face. "Severus needs our help to recover from this, and he can't just go up to You-Know-Who and say, 'It was a mistake joining you. I quit.' That would just ensure his death at You-Know-Who's or another Death Eater's hand."
"Let's take this one step at a time," said Mr. Romanov. "We first help Severus recover, and make it very clear to him that we do not blame him at all for his mistake and still support him. After that, we will go from there. We can find some way of hiding him, or if he is brave enough and willing to do so, he can become something of a spy and report on Death Eater activity to us."
"Well, if he wishes to do that, then I will have to teach him Occulemency so that Voldemort doesn't suspect that he isn't loyal," said Mr. Petrov.
"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Mrs. Romanov. "Eli, you are in no way to suggest to Severus that he become a spy on Voldemort! That is too dangerous, even if you teach him Occulemency, Vladek."
"We're not going to force him, Lise," protested Mr. Romanov. "Severus is of age and it is up to him to decide what to do."
"Do you not know him at all?" snapped Mrs. Petrov. "He truly regrets what he has done, and would instantly agree to becoming a spy for us as a way to atone for his so-called sins. We will not bring up the subject to him at all, and if he should be the one to think of this, we will do our best to dissuade him. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Ilsa," answered Mr. Romanov and Mr. Petrov.
None of them were in any mood to eat, other than Vera, who was too young to understand what was going on. Niko took his daughter downstairs to feed her, while Sarah put Ivan down for a nap once he was done nursing. Ana, Mrs. Petrov, Maria, and Stephan arranged to sit by Severus's bedside in shifts and tend to him. Mrs. Romanov would have done the same, but she currently was working the night shift at St. Mungo's. Despite having no appetite, she forced down two cups of tea and some toast and salad before leaving for work at a quarter to eight. Both families ended up staying at the apothecary for the rest of night, due to their concern for Severus. Mrs. Petrov didn't leave the room even after her shift was over, instead falling into a fitful sleep in an armchair she conjured next to the chair Maria was sitting on and waking up every so often to make sure that Severus hadn't gotten any worse.
