There are perhaps another 15 chapters to go on this fic, btw. Possibly.

Auror Safe-House Seven, June 1998

The bind that kept his soul from flaring gold to the gaze of anyone with even a hint of magic…was splintering.

Just as Miss Granger's had. And he didn't know why.

Severus stared at his left wrist. Morning light slatted through one long window, warming his pale skin and making the fierce gold of the cuneiform pattern shine. He pushed his cuff back into place, his eye on the door. It would be best for the aurors not to see another tattoo on him…just as the last one had faded to a grey stain.

He sank back into the heavy armchair set in the corner of the little library and absently picked up his half-finished book. He wondered had Miss Granger found anything new on the potion that afflicted them both. It would be like her to find something that had evaded him in over twenty years of searching…

The gold at his wrist hummed and warmed. No, he would not think of her. She already invaded his dreams -fighting past a gallon of potions- in a way that no student should.

Yet still…she turned though his thoughts…

Was it her saving him? Kingsley said it was her. Insane girl. Why would she save the life of a man she believed had murdered such a beacon for the Light…? But then she was always fair.

His mouth twisted against the word. He did not want…fairness.

Perhaps her thick streak of vindictiveness had wanted him to receive the Kiss? He huffed a laugh, and turned an unread page. That seemed more likely.

The heat of the gold increased, feeding into his veins and he cursed it.

The last time he had felt such warmth…

Severus drew in a breath. It was his past now. His debt to his old love was gone, bled out on the floor of that hated shack.

He'd made the Ut Amimam Meam potion…and fell to his knees at the swift fire that scorched through his flesh. But he'd got it right. He'd smirked at the matching golden brands on his skin. Had there been any doubt? Every potion was perfect under his touch…

And then fool that he was, he'd bragged to Lily. Because it was for her. All for her. He had no money with which to buy her a Christmas present, but he could give her this. Offer himself. To see that he was worthy of her.

She'd grinned and said she could see his soul and that it burned around him in a magnificent blaze. Her fingers teased around the delicate tattoo on his right wrist.

With his eyes closed he could still feel her long-ago touch. The slow stroke of her fingertips, before her breath, then her lips brushed his mouth.

Magic flared between them, hot and fast—

Severus stared down at his book, his gaze mindlessly following the diagram drawn there.

For his sixteenth birthday, she gave him herself.

His mouth curled, a new bitterness stirring.

Yet…it was secret, all a secret. One of the most beautiful girls in the school could not have it known that an unattractive, moody boy fucked her in numerous alcoves, classrooms...even one memorable night on Slytherin's table in the Great Hall. That she came screaming his name. Came so hard he had to invent a spell to quiet her.

He offered his soul…and all that she ever wanted was a good fuck.

Then she told Potter about the potion. Asked him to make it for the bastard who had tormented him for years.

Severus was convinced Lily had thought it was simply a sex spell. And it was her time to move on to more pleasant looking boys.

Whatever magic that held his soul secret was broken. He could only think that Lily had proven herself unworthy of his gift. Now others could…see. Sniggered and pointed at him.

He had bound his skin in obscuring charms. His anger, his loss burst out in one hated word. With it, his world tilted.

Severus never uncovered why others could see something so private, so sacred. He could only think it was a punishment for the brewer for failing to choose a worthy soul.

Miss Granger had made the exact same mistake.

There was a knock at the door and it creaked open on ancient hinges. The main auror assigned to him in the safe-house, Gina Wareine, poked her head around and gave him a short smile. "Ready to go, Headmaster?"

Severus snapped his book closed, dropped it to the table and stood. He smoothed a hand down the ornate buttons of his best coat. He was making an effort.

Today was the day of his sentence before the Wizengamot.

"That title remains to be seen, Miss Wareine."

"As I keep telling you. It's Gina."

She gave him a bright smile, her dark eyes shining. She was —he admitted —a pretty little witch. Only a few years his junior so he was thankful that she had never been one of his students.

"We should remain…professional, after all, I am not yet a free man."

She huffed a laugh. "If you're not only pardoned, but given a First Class Order of Merlin, there will be a riot."

His mouth twitched upwards. "Led by yourself?"

"Naturally."

All signs did seem favourable for his release…and then what would he do with his life?

Minerva wanted him to remain Headmaster and he wanted that too. To prove that his first year was an aberration, that he would be a good man to lead the school into the future. There would also be…free time. Personal time.

This pretty, vibrant witch was…interested in him. It was a novel experience. He glanced down at that morning's Prophet and the youngest Weasley boy grinning like a clabbart at-

Severus looked away. And why shouldn't he explore too?

"Then, Miss Wareine, if you do not lead me off to Azkaban and I do walk out a free man, will you have dinner with me?"

Her bright grin was his answer.

Severus ignored the spike of heat at his wrists.

Oh, Severus...