Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.
Originally, Marvolo had intended to take the Dark Mark off of his followers' arms; however, now that Severus had left, whom he trusted most apart from Artemis Nott, he dismissed the idea for the time being. 'I won't need to have them all here to take the mark off,' he thought. He also decided to forego the idea of obliviating everyone who did not believe him. 'Artemis and Severus are both lords on the Wizengamot, and with their help, I should manage to get an audience with the Minister of Magic, who will be able to question me under Veritaserum if necessary.'
Without further ado, he dismissed his followers with the invitation to come to Nott manor again at seven o'clock in the evening of the first Saturday in December.
To his surprise, not only Artemis but also Lucius remained.
"Lucius." Marvolo cast the man of his former inner cycle a questioning look.
"My Lord, may I ask what your plans are now?"
Marvolo nodded. "Due to all the questioning, I didn't have the chance to explain my goals and plans for the future. "I believe that the magical world must look better after itself, which means that we should help all kinds of magical beings, independent of their species, blood or whatever. This includes, for example, elves, giants, Squibs or muggle-borns. We cannot have any kind of witch burnings in the muggle world, like it was common in the Middle Ages, just because someone became known as a wizard or witch by chance. Nor can I tolerate abuse of magical children by their muggle guardians just because they have magic. I wish to establish the magical world as a fixed and known part within the muggle world. We are a part of Great Britain just as the muggles are."
Artemis and Lucius nodded in apparent understanding.
The blonde wizard seemed to hesitate, but finally asked, "My Lord, would you be willing to take Veritaserum?"
"Provided that Severus will attend and, if necessary, provide the antidote."
"In that case, I can introduce you to Millicent Bagnold, the current Minister of Magic. Considering that you don't have any other proof of the Imperius curse, she might want to question you."
Marvolo nodded. "Please make an appointment with her if she is willing to see me."
"I shall accompany you as well. I can, to a certain extent, vouch for you, Marvolo."
Marvolo cast his old friend Artemis a grateful smile, before he profusely thanked him for allowing him to hold the meeting at Nott manor. Finally, he excused himself and swiftly returned home.
"You are late, and I hate meetingssss. They are full of emotionsss," Nagini hissed, as she sleepily curled up next to him in his bed.
"Ssssorry Nagini, my dear," Marvolo replied, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. 'It's not surprising that she can sense my emotions, considering that she harbours a part of my soul, but why can Harry feel everything as well? He even knew to come to my help earlier. How strange.'
Deciding to find out more about the connection between him and the boy, he quickly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Dark Marks that took off from his former followers' arms, changed their colours to bright orange and the snakes on them to grimaces that were laughing and shouting at him.
HP
After tucking Harry and Lucy into bed, Severus stepped out into the living room, where to his surprise Minerva and Regina were having tea together.
Apparently noticing his questioning look, Minerva explained that Harry had telepathically asked her to keep Regina company.
"He's such a sweet boy. He came and kept me company for a while, before I sent him back to bed." Regina smiled, seeming very happy.
Severus let out a deep sigh. "Thank you, Minerva, for keeping Regina company. Harry is much too nice for his own good though. You did not realise that he popped himself and Lucy right to our Death Eater meeting, when he noticed that Marvolo was in distress with some dubious individuals, did you?"
"He what?" Regina jumped from her chair in clear agitation. "I'm sorry. I didn't notice that he left his room at all."
"Nor did I," Minerva added in apparent shock.
Severus nodded. "Please calm down," he said in a soft voice, gently pulling his wife down to sit on the sofa with him. "Everything went well, and after a few minutes, he popped us back, which gave me an excuse to leave the meeting early."
Minerva shook her head in disbelief. "Are you going to punish him?"
Severus stared at his colleague. "Oh, believe me, I'm going to have one or the other word with him in the morning. I am not sure about punishing him considering his upbringing; however, he'll have to learn to not endanger himself, when he feels that he needs to help someone with something."
Regina cast him a concerned look. "Be careful to not hurt him dear."
"Otherwise, he'll simply run off to the elves' quarters again." Severus let out a deep sigh. "Regina, would you be willing to speak with him? I believe that you're much more competent to lead conversations with abused children than me. In spite of my own experiences," he added as an afterthought.
Regina nodded, smiling. "If you believe that he'll listen to me, I will."
"Did he get around to call you Mum and Dad by now, by the way?"
Regina smiled, sadly. "No, he still calls us by our given names, but we hope that this will change once his little brother will properly address us."
"In two years' time or such," Severus added, rolling his eyes.
Minerva cast him a look of pure bewilderment. "If he's going to be born in two months, he'll be ready to say his first words in about a year. He's magical after all, and magical children talk much sooner than muggles."
"Oh no, that's going to be the end of my peace and quiet at home, too," Severus quipped, causing Regina to lightly kick his side.
"Oh well, I am not going to intrude any longer." Minerva rose from her chair. "Good night, Regina and Severus."
"Good night, Minerva, and thank you so much for keeping me company." Regina bet him to a response, and Severus could only echo his own thanks.
"Did Marvolo say anything about freeing his followers from Azkaban?" Regina cast him a frightened look, once Minerva had left.
"No. He mainly had to justify himself in front of his former followers. Just like this morning, the topic did not even come up. I don't think he's going to do such a thing though. If he claims that he only did what he did because of the Imperius curse, he must absolutely abide by the rules this time. Otherwise, he's going to end up in Azkaban very quickly. I shall address the matter the next time I meet him though."
"Thank you, dear. That's all I can ask for," Regina replied, smiling.
'I'm a horrible husband,' Severus berated himself, as he stretched out in bed and pulled his wife into strong arms. 'It was the first thing I should have asked about, but it completely slipped my mind, as I was too concerned about Harry in the first place.'
HP
Before breakfast on Sunday morning, Harry received a scolding from Regina. While his adoptive mother was very gentle and emphasized how much they loved him and that they wanted nothing more than to keep him safe and happy, he still felt thoroughly chastised.
To his surprise, the twins noticed soon that he was not his usual happy self, when they sat together at the Slytherin table for breakfast.
"Harry…"
"… what do you think of spending our free morning…"
"… in the Potions classroom brewing a prank potion?"
"Sure," Harry immediately agreed, his spirits lifting up quickly. "What are we going to brew?"
"Ahh but Harry…"
"… leave that to us…"
"… as we've got just the right recipe…"
"… to prank the teachers."
"All right, I'm in," Harry agreed, grinning.
HP
"Harry's mood seems to improve," Severus whispered to his wife.
"Thank Merlin," Regina replied, who had been observing their son in concern.
tbc tomorrow...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much, and my muse really needs the feedback. Thank you.