The Law of Unintended Consequences
Chapter 21
Prelude to An Escalation
The first step to an apocalypse...
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I own the Harry Potter Series.
Four Weeks Later Friday April 5th, 1975
"AHHHHHHH!"
Lily Evans woke up in a cold sweat, screaming, for the third night in the past two weeks; at first, she had thought that it was nothing, but it seemed that, more and more, her dreams were prophetic rather than otherwise, but she didn't understand what it meant, except for the end, and even that was strange. First she would see a pair of crossed swords, then a talking star, claiming impossible things, a wolf in chains, a scroll of many names, Mulciber's anguished face, a symbol of a pair of flaming wings with a two words in blue: aduro terrarum above them, all on a green background. More and more things would appear at speeds too fast to see until finally she would see herself, standing by James Potter on a grassy island in front of a black bog.
Severus was out of reach of her, a fair distance from the edge of the island in the black, slimy water and she stood at the very edge of the bog, pleading desperately in many words and phrases for Severus to join her on the island; after what seemed like ages, she saw Severus walking slowly closer to her, and her face break into a smile, but just as Severus was about to get within reach, they all heard a voice coming from deep within the bog. They both turned to look and saw Mary standing on the water somehow, inside of a flaming circle; she was crying out "Help me! Please!", and was clearly in great pain.
Severus took one look back at Lily, then followed Mary deep into the bog, even as Lily cried out for him to return desperately, until finally, he reached her inside of the flaming circle and hugged her. Mary clutched Severus to her as if he were the water of life himself, and then the flaming circle seemed to be absorbed by the pair of them. Soon afterward, lines of black and red energy seemed to shoot from the pair in all directions, then those lines would shoot lines, creating a massive spiderweb that looked as if it were made of lava. Suddenly, all the areas that those lines went through were filled with people, such as Voldemort, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Remus, Sabrina, Sirius, James, etc., thousands of them, and then those people started screaming as they were slowly immolated. Meanwhile, Severus and Mary only looked into each other's eyes and gave each other a single, passionate kiss as it seemed the world died around them...
"Argh! What could it all possibly mean!?"
Lily walked over to the window, knowing that she was far too awake to fall asleep again, and looked out at the cloudless, star-strewn night sky, before thinking about some of the events that had occured in the past month. 'After Sev's letter last month...it seemed like I had entered my perfect heaven...'
Flashback Four Weeks Ago Friday March 8th, 1975:
Lily read the letter, heart pounding in a state of rapture with every single line:
Dear Lily,
I would have hated it if I had to admit that you were right aloud, but right you were nonetheless; I have to admit that, indeed, the Death Eaters themselves are just as prejudiced as their Knight of Walpurgis sons and daughters.
As such, I have decided to leave the organization come this summer; that way I figure that the fallout from leaving should be lessened by the passage of time.
Severus Snape
P.S. Burn this letter...Seriously
Lily grinned brilliantly, as she had finally managed to complete one of her original three objectives, and one of the two she had actually cared alot about. She now had Severus safe and secure on the side of the light. 'Yes, Yes! YES! There is no way that this can possibly go wrong now! My Severus will be my friend forever, I have time to decide about my feelings for him, what could possibly ruin this now!?'
Then suddenly Mary burst into tears after reading her own letter, and she said, sobbing, "Great, just great. I decided to join the Knights of Walpurgis because of what you said, so that I could protect myself from the prejudiced members of Slytherin, only for you to admit that you were wrong. Yeah that's just PERFECT!"
Lily, Sabrina and Severus all moved to comfort her, but the look in Severus' eyes had Lily very worried indeed; it was a look of guilt, and Lily knew that, when Severus felt guilty, he always moved heaven and earth in his efforts to redeem himself. That could lead to very dangerous possibilities sometimes, and this time felt like one of those instances, as Severus had the same look on his face as the time he called her...that word, a look that said that he was about to do something really stupid indeed. The last time that she had seen it, she had made a decision which she had ended up regretting for the rest of her life, so seeing it again seemed to make the classroom appear darker than it had a moment ago...
End Flashback:
Lily watched some clouds appear and slowly roll past the stars, while feeling a great sense of foreboding at what was going on around her. It seemed that her plan to have Severus and Mary become friends had backfired greatly; over the past several weeks, although she didn't see anything directly, she could tell that Severus and Mary were becoming more and more enmeshed in the Knights of Walpurgis, although Lily couldn't quite understand why. 'OK, maybe I do know why Mary is getting deeper and deeper into those arrogant bigots' band. Severus alone would have had a rough time leaving, especially considering just what kind of group he is in, but for Mary to do that would turn her into even more of a pariah than she already is...'
She sighed and looked straight up at the full moon, thinking to herself. 'I never thought I'd say this, but I am starting to wish that Sev had just let Mulciber put Mary in the hospital wing back in October and they had never become friends. At least Severus would be preparing to leave the Knights and Mary would be safe in Gryffindor...'
Severus sighed as he looked gloomily around the Slytherin table in the Great Hall; although Slytherins tended to be more subtle about it than Gryffindors, they could be just as cruel. Unfortunately, among the Knights' supporters in the house, Mary was still 'persona non grata' because of the simple fact that she was a Muggleborn, and among the rest, she was rather disliked because, although she managed to humiliate Gryffindor, the aftermath of the prank that Mary had pulled had ended up costing Slytherin about a hundred points before all was said and done, putting Gryffindor within striking distance of the House Cup.
Severus knew that he had to do something to help her and protect her, but the problem was that he only had influence among the Knights, and that was relatively gone after he had bailed on their operation back in January. 'Darn it! This is all my fault! If it weren't for my blasted pride, she wouldn't be in such dire straights, but the worst part of it all is that I can't even do anything about it! I mean, I don't have the influence or power to do anything inside the Knights, and those NOT in the Knights wouldn't want to help me because I am a bloody Knight!'
Every day he had had to watch Mary getting snubbed by her housemates, and those little miserable looks that she would give him, pleading for him to do something. Severus felt so bad about how this had all been his fault, that he couldn't even bear to try asking her out on a date, because he just KNEW that she would reject him because of what he had done to her. 'Maybe Tobias was right...I must be completely worthless if I can't even protect the two girls who mean the world to me...'
Severus then growled under his breath, angered at himself because he had actually considered listening to his bloody father of all people. He channeled it into a surge of courage, like a Gryffindor in his opinion, although he would NEVER tell Lily. 'NO! I am the Half-Blood Prince! I WILL find a way, and protect Mary! Whatever it take, I MUST find a way!'
He then left the Great Hall and went down into the dungeons, thinking all the while as he opened the door to the classroom that he liked the best. Unfortunately, he had come to a conclusion that he hated, although he knew that, if he REALLY wanted to protect Mary, it was the only real way. 'The problem I have right now, is that I have no real power or influence with the Knights, but if I were to gain some, like I had back in December and January, I could make them all back down, lest they face my anger.'
He then glared down at his Shrinking Solution, and sighed. 'The problem is that, for someone of my blood status and lack of funds, there are only two real ways to gain power and influence in the Knights: by attacking and humiliating Muggleborns, or by attacking and humiliating toerags...'
While a mere half-year ago, Severus would have happily made the Marauders' lives a living hell, and smiled while doing it, the problem was that he and the Marauders had created what was, for lack of a better word, a state of cease-fire. He didn't know how she did it, but immediately after she left the hospital wing in February, Lily had somehow managed to get Black and Pettigrew to stop their attacks completely, Potter having already stopped so that he could show Lily how 'reasonable' he was. Severus then snorted. 'Of course, Potter and I both know that, while Lily may be dating him, in a pinch she would likely choose me over him if she had to, so obviously he doesn't want to go for direct attacks anymore, knowing how angry she has gotten about it lately. Still, I have to admit that I am a little impressed considering what happened with Mary's prank...'
Severus then thought about how miserable that Mary had looked back at the Slytherin table, and then said aloud, "I guess there is always a price to pay whatever action you take, and I am not about to let Mary suffer when my actions can prevent it from happening. As such, I will honor Potter for his unwitting sacrifice in the name of Mary's safety..."
Two Days Later Sunday April 7th, 1975
Mary frowned slightly, then put her finger to her lips to help her think, before finally saying aloud, "OK, let me get this straight Sev. You want me, plus some random Slytherin, to join you in attacking the Marauders in order to help you gain more influence in the Knights so that you can protect me. Is that correct?"
Severus seemed to pause for a moment, then said, nodding, "Basically, yes."
Mary then rolled her eyes, and asked, laughing at his little attempt to 'protect' her, "Severus Snape, if you wanted to create an excuse to impress me, you didn't have to try to bring the Marauders into it. If you really wanted to ask me out, you could have just done so, I wouldn't have said 'no'. And if you were actually serious about it, then you are being a tad silly. I'm fine! REALLY!"
Severus colored red for a moment, then said, embarrassed, "That's not it at all Mary! It is NOT fine how they treat you! I hate how you are being snubbed and such by the members of our house, and I want to make it so that they won't. I mean, it's my fault that you got into this, so I want to help you get out of it..."
Mary thought for a moment; she had to admit that she was awfully touched by how far he was willing to go to keep her safe and happy, but would this be worth it? Then she thought of something else. 'If Severus does actually get high up in the organization, then maybe I will be able to quit without being tormented by all of Slytherin! That way, by the time he DOES quit, they will have forgotten all about me!' Grinning, she nodded at Severus, before saying,
"That sounds like it might work, but who would we use as our third? Mulciber?"
Severus shook his head sadly, then said morosely, "Unfortunately, now that he has paid his 'debts' to you, Mulciber would have no interest in helping you in any way. In fact, I can't say I would be too surprised if he was actually turning a blind eye of some sort to the teasing going on now. We'll have to think carefully, before choosing our third member for this little rivalry. One thing though, I would rather avoid getting Lupin involved if its OK with you. He may be a coward, but he never really joined in with his mates, so, since this only requires the humiliation of the toerags in general, let's try to keep him out of it."
Mary thought to herself a moment, before nodding and saying, "OK, that would make it a three-on-three. I like those odds, as Black and Potter are about evenly matched against me and you. Besides, we have the force of history on our side!"
Severus raised his eyebrows, then said, disbelievingly, "The force of...history?"
Mary grinned mischieviously, then replied, "Why of course! Haven't you heard? The knights of old killed all of those marauding barbarians! Why should the new Knights of Walpurgis be any different?"
Severus laughed uproariously, then said, "Very well then..." Mary then turned to go, before Severus suddenly continued, "...Oh, and by the way, would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade next Sunday? Like a date?"
Turning back in shock, Mary saw Severus testing a new recipe for Shrinking Solution, but could see that, although his hair was obscuring his face, it wasn't concealing his blush, which ran down his neck in a rather interesting manner. Beaming, Mary then said, "Sure Sev, its a date..."
Four Days Later Thursday April 11th, 1975
Sabrina sighed as she watched Lily Evans out of the corner of her eye, laughing as James Potter attempted to feed her some eggs; while she had nothing against Lily, after she had found out about James' little part in Sirius' plan to take her virginity in order to make Mary jealous, she had rapidly cooled on the Potter boy, much to his confusion. 'Hmmph! Serves him right! And here I thought that he had paid for my dress because he felt guilty for what Sirius did, but if he had REALLY cared, he would have stopped him in the first place! Not tried to smooth things over with me after the fact!'
Sabrina didn't feel sorry for stopping her flirtations with the leader of the Marauders cold, but she DID feel sorry that she was leaving Lily out of the loop on what James had done, or rather, not done. 'Oh well, it might not be the right thing, but its the best way I have to repay Mary for my own mistakes, which were probably part of the reason she left Gryffindor and joined those bloody Knights of Pure-blooded stupidness. This way, Mary will have time to put the moves on Severus, without Lily really interfering, something which I suspect that she will need if she really wants Severus...'
The way that Sabrina had thought about it in the hours that she had waited, as class for the Gryffindors had been canceled that day thanks to the entire Gryffindor house falling unconscious after throwing up. 'That reminds me, I really should get yesterday's Daily Prophet permenently protected and warded. "The Great, Gryffindor Spew!" must never be destroyed, as it gives me the ultimate weapon to use against Sirius if I should need to!'
She suddenly noticed Severus and Mary walking into the hall, holding hands as they did so, then she quickly turned to look at Lily. At first, Lily clearly hadn't noticed, but when she did, there was a definite change in her facial expression; her lip curled slightly and, for a moment, her eyes seemed to blaze in anger, before she managed to force herself back to the smiling face that she had been sporting before she had seen the pair. Nonetheless, Sabrina could still see the way Lily's teeth ground together every time that she looked over at the Slytherin table. 'Ha! You snooze you lose! At least, I hope you do...'
Unfortunately, as Sabrina could easily see, the signs of a relationship being in the, easily breakable, early stages were clearly visible, and Sabrina KNEW that, if Lily got off her rear to try to win Severus over to her, she would likely still win. As such, she planned on keeping what Sirius had blabbed to her confidential until Mary had managed to achieve a conclusive victory.
She was still deep in thought, when a scroll arrived in front of James by owl, bearing a scroll ornately wrapped, with a wax seal with the shape of a pair of crossed swords keeping it shut...
Author's Note: I am sure that a lot of you guys are more than a little bit shocked at Mary's sudden joining of the Knights of Walpurgis, but I hope that it is explained by her believing Severus' point of view, and by the fact that she felt that she needed a form of protection inside of Slytherin house from the situation that occured in Gryffindor repeating itself.
Sorry that this took longer than my previous Chapters to get up, but I wasn't exactly sure which way I wanted to take the coming chapters. I hope that you all enjoy!
Here are the poll results so far:
Lily and Severus end up together in the end with no-one else involved:12
Mary, Lily and Severus end up together in the end (Only answer this one if you feel that it would be reasonable for them to practice polygamy in the wizarding world):6
Lily and Severus end up together in this time-line, but there is another one where he ends up with Mary only:1
Severus and Lily end up together, but Lily dies, causing Mary to win in the long run, although that point will be after the point which I am writing:0
Just so you know, you may vote for up to two different possibilities, but you cannot vote for the same possibility twice ('cough' naruto56, Scarlette Letter 'cough')
The Poll Will be Closed Come Chapter 25...