Disclaimer: I own only the storyline. Anything you recognize probably belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Fourteen: Marked
Harry was pleased. He had finally unlocked the key to Marking and binding others to himself, and he wrote to Lucius, trying to arrange individual meetings with each of the ex-Death Eaters that might wish to join him as opposed to Bellatrix. Lucius had kept in contact with those people, and had approached them cautiously with Harry's offer, returning mostly with favorable results. Harry's protection spells, added to Lucius' own skills as a wizard, kept those who were too afraid of the Dark Lady to join her, but who still hated Harry, from killing Lucius.
Of course, he hadn't informed anyone else about his actions, and he wouldn't either, until after it was too late. He knew that everyone would try to stop him if they knew he was indulging in such reckless behavior. It was hardest to hide things from Severus though. Not just because he loved the man more than life itself, but because the bond they shared made it nearly impossible for him to keep secrets from his mate. It was hard with Remus and Draco, too, but not nearly as difficult as it was to keep Severus in the dark.
Harry and Albus had met at least once a day to discuss various goings on. It had been decided that Sirius would not know of the Dark Lady's activities until they could no longer hide them from him. If he knew, they had no doubt that he'd rant and rave and try to take on his cousin by himself, which neither wizard found to be an acceptable solution.
What confused—and worried—Harry the most was Bellatrix's obsession with his godfather. He knew that Sirius had 'shamed' the Blacks by being a Gryffindor and working for the Light, but there had to be more to it than that. Didn't there? Or maybe Bella was just insane enough that the only person she could focus all her rage and hatred on was Sirius, who represented everything that she stood against.
Sighing, Harry sat up in bed, resigned to the fact that he'd be getting no more sleep that night. Figuring that he might as well be doing something useful, Harry slid out of bed, grinning when Severus whimpered lightly at the loss of contact and rolled over, burrowing under the covers on Harry's side of the bed and sighing contentedly. His lover was just too cute sometimes.
Still grinning, Harry went into the living room and sat down, pulling out a quill, ink, and parchment. Sitting down, he began drawing. He went through several designs before finally deciding on one that he liked. Proud of himself, Harry sat back and admired his craftsmanship.
The Mark he had drawn wasn't anything that he had consciously chosen, but it felt right, somehow. It was as if the Mark had been tailor made to suit his personality and his needs. The drawing would be placed in the small of the back, where it could be very easily hidden. There were three creatures on it, forming his Mark. A griffin, intricately detailed with wings spread and head held proudly, pranced along the bottom of the Mark.
A silver serpent, fast and deadly, held and was held by the griffin, its tail in the creature's mouth while it returned the favor, creating an unending circle. Neither griffin nor serpent posed any threat to the other, showing instead the unity of both of Harry's Houses—Gryffindor and Slytherin.
In the very center of a circle was a phoenix, wings spread and a silent cry of battle issuing forth from it, challenging those who would threaten it. The phoenix was, unlike Fawkes, all black with silver beginning at its tips and following the curves of each feather like molten metal.
Harry was so absorbed in admiring his own work that he jumped, startled, when a voice hissed by his ear Very nice. I'm impressssed, young ssssnake-child. You have ssshown your persssonality in thisss drawing. What isss it for?
Recovering somewhat from the fright he had just received, Harry answered Salazar. It issss my Mark. I do not know what type of Mark, though. When Sal inquired further, he elaborated, The other, evil sssserpent-ssspeaker called hissss symbol the Dark Mark, and this new lady callsssss hersss the Talisssman Mark. I do not yet know what to call mine, other than sssimply 'the Mark'. Any suggestions? he asked.
Salazar seemed to contemplate his words for a few minutes before replying, If you sssaw that desssign somewhere elsssse, what would you call it?
Harry answered automatically, not thinking about it. I'd name it the Mark of Unity, since that issss what it represssentsss to me.
Blinking, Harry realized that he had just unwittingly answered his own question. Damn. That wasn't so hard after all. Maybe he'd call it the Unity Mark for short. It's not like anybody else needed to know where the name had come from.
Harry thanked Salazar and summoned a House Elf to get him some living mice for breakfast. He was just glad it wasn't Dobby. The House Elf would have woken Severus up with his loud cries of praise, and then the man would have been grumpy for the rest of the day, and Harry wished to avoid a grumpy Potions Master at all costs.
While Salazar ate, Harry headed for the bathroom and a long shower, enjoying the feelings of hot water running through his waist-length hair and over his toned body, relaxing muscles that he hadn't even realized were tensed. Groaning in pleasure, Harry tilted his hair back and just cherished the warmth while it lasted.
When the water finally began to cool, Harry climbed out of the shower and toweled himself dry, using a spell on his hair so that it lay in shining waves down his back, caressing his bare skin. He smirked wickedly, wondering how Severus would react to seeing him completely undressed, covered only by his hair, first thing in the morning. Deciding that there was no time like the present to find out, Harry walked out of the bathroom and moved to the kitchen, starting the coffee.
Pouring two cups for himself and Severus, Harry walked into the bedroom, calling out cheerily, "Rise and shine, Sev! It's a beautiful morning, and we should do something fun today. Maybe we can go Christmas shopping in Hogsmeade?" he asked hopefully.
Severus just groaned and buried his face into the pillow, snuggling further under the covers as he muttered, "G'way."
Harry grinned. "All right, I guess you don't want this cup of coffee, then," he teased, wafting the scent of the coffee tantalizingly close to Severus, who rose quickly and snatched the cup out of Harry's hand, not bothering to thank him, glaring instead and stating, "Damn you. It should be illegal to be this cheerful first thing in the morning."
Grinning, Harry gave his lover a quick kiss and wandered back into the kitchen to finish his own cup, knowing that Severus would follow him when he was ready for another cup. He couldn't wait to see his mate's reaction when he realized that Harry wasn't wearing any clothes. It might take him a few cups of coffee first, but that would make it all the more fun when Severus then proceeded to spit out the hot drink upon noticing his surroundings.
Sure enough, five minutes later Severus was stumbling into the kitchen, wearing his bathrobe and reaching for the cup of coffee that Harry was holding out to him. Two cups later, and the man had finally reached some semblance of awareness. Harry looked at him expectantly as he poured yet another cup of the warm beverage for his lover.
This time, when he handed the cup to him, Harry made sure to lean over the table, letting his hair fall forward. As Severus sipped his coffee, his beautiful black eyes followed Harry's raven tresses downwards, until they framed his bare chest, which Severus eyed appreciatively. This in itself was nothing new, as Harry often wandered around without a shirt.
Harry waited until Severus had taken a large sip of coffee and straightened up, letting his hair continue to slide down his naked body. He grinned as his love's eyes followed the hair, then burst out laughing when Severus choked and spit his coffee across the table and his own lap. "Nice to see you're awake now, love. I was wondering how long it was going to take."
Severus glared at Harry as he waved his wand and cleaned up the spilled coffee. Growling, he set the cup gently on the table before leaping from his seat and tackling Harry, pressing him hard against the cabinets behind him and kissing the younger man senseless.
Harry, pleased with this reaction, responded eagerly, already becoming aroused as Severus' hands traveled across his torso. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Severus groaned as he leaned his head against Harry's chest. "Go away! I'm busy!" he yelled at the closed door, praying to every deity he knew that whoever was knocking would just go away and leave him alone to satisfy himself with his younger lover.
"You had better not be busy with my godson, Snape!" Sirius cried from outside, banging hard on the door. Severus groaned in dismay as Harry laughed. "It's okay, Sirius. I'm coming." Severus groaned again at this and Harry looked at him, puzzled, until he realized what he had just said. Chuckling, he whispered sensually in his mate's ear, "Later, love. We'll continue this later."
Severus shivered and nodded, heading for the bedroom to get dressed as Harry moved towards the door, using his Jachyra senses to 'see' who all was out there. It was just Sirius and Remus. He briefly contemplated answering the door in the nude, but that would likely set Sirius off and result in his godfather trying to kill his lover, which would be bad.
Well, there were always other things he could wear to amuse himself. Sighing, he waved carelessly and clothes appeared on his body—a tight pair of leather pants that fit like a second skin and caressed his body as he moved, a dark lavender shirt, almost black, that emphasized the brilliant violet of his eyes, and a pair of black suede boots that fit comfortable and were far more supple and pliable than they appeared.
Opening the door and welcoming his godfathers, Harry led them into the living room, where they seated themselves, waiting for Severus to arrive. Sirius asked about Harry's plans for the day, and Harry admitted that he had been thinking about going into Hogsmeade to do his Christmas shopping. Sirius and Remus decided to go along, which Harry welcomed.
Suddenly, Remus reached forward and picked up a piece of parchment. Harry winced as he realized that the werewolf had just picked up his drawing of the Unity Mark. Remus looked up at him, wide-eyed, and asked, "Harry, what is this?" Harry sighed, knowing that the man expected an answer and also knowing that there was no way he could lie about this. "Let's wait until Sev gets here, since I'm sure he'll want to hear this explanation as well." Remus nodded in acceptance, and they waited in a comfortable silence until the aforementioned man arrived, dressed and ready for the day's excursions.
Harry gestured for him to be seated, and Severus did so, eyeing Harry warily and wondering why he looked so guilty and embarrassed. Remus handed a piece of parchment to him, and he looked at the beautiful design embedded on it. Looking up quickly and catching Harry's gaze, he asked, "Is this what I think it is?"
Harry nodded, "It is. I drew it early this morning, which is why you haven't seen it before. That is the Unity Mark, although it's not quite complete yet. Well, it's as complete as it's going to get, I think, but not totally. I'm not making any sense, am I?" he babbled. Severus smirked and delivered a snarky comment about Harry's skills of observation and his normal pattern of speech, while Remus and Sirius tried to muffle their smiles behind their hands.
Harry sighed, and explained. "If it was complete, then there would be a wolf running rampant in the picture as well. These three symbols are here because they represent me, but they could also represent both Severus and Draco. Do you understand now?"
It was Sirius who figured it out first, much to everyone's surprise. "It's not complete because you aren't marking your bonded. If you marked them, the link would be different since you're already bonded." Harry nodded, stating, "Exactly. Also, the bond would go two ways. I could Mark all of my bonded, and the bonded would then work together to Mark me. The link would go two ways."
Severus blinked. "And is there a particular reason that you don't want to Mark us?" he asked, his tone mildly curious.
Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. "No, actually, I want to Mark all of you, and my Jachyra is pushing me into staking yet another claim on you, Remus, and Draco. I'd Mark Sirius and Lucius, as well, since they're connected to me through two of the bonded. I've been fighting it for a while now, but I don't want to Mark you if you don't want that, so I haven't allowed myself to think of it as a possibility."
Silence descended on the room as the wizards contemplated Harry's words. Severus was the first to break the silence. "The bond would go both ways?" Harry nodded. "Are there other benefits to being Marked?"
Harry nodded again and started talking. "If you all were Marked, you could communicate with each other without my interference in opening the mind-link. Also, you would gain not only added strength and endurance, but also my immunity from various curses such as the Imperious and the Killing Curse."
Sirius stared at him in incredulity. "You really are immune to the Killing Curse?"
Harry nodded, shrugging lightly. "It was in the Prophecy, that only Voldemort could kill me, if I didn't defeat him first. I killed Voldemort, and gave birth again to Tom Riddle. I remain immune to the Killing Curse now."
Remus nodded, and asked, "What do you gain from this?" It was a valid question, and Harry sighed.
"The same things Voldemort gained, only a little stronger. You won't be able to lie to me, much less betray me. I will be able to draw power from everyone who bares my Unity Mark, but with you three, Draco, and Lucius, you'll be able to draw power from me as well. I'll be able to pull off more complicated and intense spells, and you will be able to do something similar."
Severus asked, "What do you mean by similar, Harry?" The others voiced their curiosity as well.
The teenage wizard shrugged. "It changes for each of you. For you, I expect that you will gain knowledge about potions and such that you don't even have now, whether because the information has been lost or has not yet been discovered. For Remus, his transformations would become easier, and I believe that he'll end up more like I am, able to change at will except for on the nights of the full moon."
"For Sirius, I'm not really sure. Since he was an Auror, his defensive and offensive spells will probably increase significantly in power, and he might gain another animagus form. Actually, Severus, Draco, and Lucius would probably all gain animagus forms as well. I don't know what Draco or Lucius would get from the bond, either, since I don't know the elder Malfoy too well, and I'm not sure where the younger one's interests lie, since he's still too young to have a firm idea of what he wants to do for the rest of his life."
Severus frowned, "But why would the bond give me more potions knowledge? I don't understand."
Harry sighed and stated, "It's complicated." When his older lover just glared at him, he sighed and tried to explain it as best as he could.
"The two-way bond works differently than normal bonds. You'd probably gain animagus forms from me, but anything else is just the benefits of added power, mostly. You can't make some potions because the magic required is more than you are capable of giving all at once."
"With increased power, you could make those potions, and you'd also have plenty of excess power to experiment with potions that haven't been created since the time of Merlin and the Four Founders of Hogwarts."
Severus nodded and silence descended once again. They all jumped, startled, when the door opened and Draco came walking in, Lucius right behind him. Both Slytherins moved in front of Harry, and Draco spoke. "I would not mind having the Unity Mark, even if it could only be one way." Lucius echoed his sentiments, and Harry nodded, touched.
Behind them, Sirius cried out, "How'd you know about this? We didn't, and he said he just created the Mark this morning."
Draco turned to the blue eyed man and replied softly, "Harry opened the mind-link so that I knew what was going on, and I informed my father as I got the information. We decided to accept the Mark before coming over here."
Harry looked at Lucius, who nodded. Standing, Harry gestured for Lucius to remove his cloak and shirt, which he did quickly, presenting Harry with his back. Harry placed his hand in the small of Lucius' back—these five would not have the Unity Mark between their shoulder blades like the others would.
Murmuring under his breath, Harry watched in fascination as a warm silver glow surrounded his hand, transferring his Mark onto the skin of the man in front of him. Lucius shivered, and then did something totally unexpected—he chuckled. The others must have been looking at him wide-eyed, because he explained, "It doesn't hurt at all. It actually tickles, more like feathers running over the small of my back than anything."
Finally, Harry was finished, and moved back to look at his handiwork. Lucius obligingly remained still under his scrutiny, and soon the others came to look as well. There they all were—the griffin and serpent intertwined, with a rising phoenix in the middle. Only now, there was an addition. A wolf was above the phoenix, within the circle made by the serpent and griffin, body arched in a graceful leap. It was beautiful, and the others said as much.
Draco was next, and Harry Marked him the same as his father. Draco outright giggled when this happened, and Harry grinned. He wondered idly if the Weasley twins would ever become a part of this odd family, and decided that he wouldn't mind it all if they did.
When he was done with those two, Severus opted to get the Mark as well. This startled Harry, and he was quick to tell Severus that he didn't have to take the Unity Mark if he didn't want it. His lover just scowled at him and pointed out that as long as it was two ways, it was different from Voldemort, and he'd be bound to an infinitely better person. Also, there was so much to be potentially gained from the bond that it seemed inevitable and right to get it.
After Severus' touching speech—well, as touching as the man ever got—both Remus and Sirius agreed to allow Harry to Mark them as well. When he was done, he shook off his own shirt and lay down on his back on the floor, offering his chest to the five wizards. He had trapped his legs under his body and placed his hands behind his back, so that he was in a very vulnerable position, like a sacrifice.
When the others stared at him, he explained, "Your own symbols will be spread throughout on my chest, each in a different position. That way I will know who is contacting me and how to reach them." The others nodded and leaned down, each of them lightly touching Harry, pressing their hands against his bare skin and repeating the incantations after him.
Their hands began to glow as well, in all different colors—green, gold, silver, red, blue—and Harry felt a tingling travel through his body, causing him to shiver. Suddenly, as the final incantation ended, Harry felt little shockwaves shoot across his body before finally stopping.
Noticing the others staring at him in amazement and something akin to pride, he climbed to his feet and moved into the bathroom, looking in the full length mirror and smiling at what he saw. He was wearing three serpents, each a different color. The one from Severus was a pure black Basilisk, curled up over his heart. The Talisman Mark was behind it, and the Basilisk seemed to be keeping it at bay, making it dull and uninteresting in the face of the sleek serpent.
Lucius' serpent was a vibrant green color, with gold gleaming along its underbelly as it reared, ready to strike, on his left shoulder. Facing it, on his right shoulder, was Draco's serpent—a brilliant silver one with glowing blue eyes that stared knowingly out at the world.
Sirius' and Remus' Marks were both their canine forms, one on each hip, facing each other. The wolf was running rampant and howling. The Grim-like dog was bounding in unconstrained joy, relishing in its freedom.
In the center of all of them, playing over Harry's taut stomach, were the remaining two pieces of the Unity Mark—the griffin and the phoenix, both standing proudly, defiant.
All in all, Harry was very pleased with the new markings, and was grinning when he walked out of the bathroom, still sans shirt. When the others looked up as he entered the room, he flashed them all a genuine smile of pure, unadulterated joy, declaring, "This is so cool! I love it. It's like getting tattoos without having to worry about getting infected from the needles."
When all five wizards looked at him oddly, Harry found himself explaining Muggle tattoos. By the time he was done, a few of them looked slightly ill and agreed that this was much better. Having that taken care of, Harry insisted that they learn how to contact him and make him aware of whether or not they were in trouble without thinking about it or giving away that they were contacting him. Once they had that accomplished, he had them practice using the Unity Mark to contact each other.
Around two o'clock, they finally had everything figured out. They still needed more practice, but they all agreed that it was enough for one day. Besides, they still had to make a trip to Hogsmeade for Christmas presents. They all, with the exception of Lucius, who was needed at the Ministry, headed out of the school for the little town.
Fortunately, since this wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend at the school, they didn't run the risk of running into any of the other students. Once in Hogsmeade, they made a rough plan for the day, arranging it so that nobody would be alone, but so that each of them could get presents for everybody. Severus and Harry went together, as did Remus, Sirius and Draco.
They hadn't been sure how it was going to work out with an odd number of people, but the blonde wanted to visit Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. Naturally, this caught the interest of both Marauders, especially Sirius who knew of the twins, but had been 'out of the loop', so to speak, for the past two years, and for a good fourteen before that—twelve in Azkaban and then two more years running and hiding from the Ministry.
Harry and Severus visited the apothecary, the bookstore, the Quidditch supplies store, a clothing store, and a jewelry store before heading to The Three Broomsticks to get some butterbeer and to regroup. This time, Draco went with Severus while Harry went with Remus and Sirius. When Harry asked why they hadn't split up to get each other presents, the Marauders both smirked and told him that they had already gotten each other's gifts—they always got them early, in case one of them had to be gone over Christmas.
Harry nodded in understanding before making a beeline for the Shrieking Shack. When Sirius and Remus questioned what he was looking for there, he just smiled at them and didn't answer. Muttering a few charms, Harry soon had the door unlocked and ushered his godfathers inside. Once they were in, he moved out of the room and into another one, grinning when he found what he was looking for.
There, in the corner, was a trunk with several deep grooves along it, put there by Remus when he was still a student at Hogwarts, in the hopes that he wouldn't destroy it during the full moon. Harry enlisted the help of his godfathers to get the trunk back to looking like new, then pulled off a set of keys from around his neck and opened the trunk. Several times, in fact, each one unlocking a different compartment.
Sirius and Remus gasped as they realized that it was a magical trunk, like the one that Moody had. As he opened the final compartment, he pulled something out of it and turned to face his godfathers, licking his lips nervously. "I've been debating for a while whether or not this was a good idea. It was a gift to me for defeating Voldemort—I got quite a few of them—and I wanted your opinion."
The canine duo gasped as they realized that Harry held a pensieve in his hands. Sirius was the first to speak, "I don't know what to say, Harry. Allowing someone to see your memories is a symbol of either great love and trust or great desperation and need. I'm assuming that your reasons derive from the former. I know only that if anyone should ever offer me a look into their minds, I'd consider myself honored."
Harry nodded and smiled up at his godfather. "Thanks, Padfoot, I can't tell you how happy you just made me."
Sirius and Remus both moved forward quickly, wrapping Harry up in a three-way hug and holding on tightly. That Harry had come to them first was a great honor, as it showed that he valued their opinions.
After a few minutes, Harry laughed and rose, thanking them for being there. They promised that they'd be there whenever he needed him—and when he was ready to transport the trunk—and the three men headed back to Hogsmeade to meet up with Severus and Draco, laughing and just enjoying life in general.