Chapter 64: What Lies Within

Last Time...

There was silence until Mrs. Weasley nearly sobbed, "Oh you poor dear." Then she enveloped him in a very maternal hug, during which Sage was absolutely as stiff as a board, looking fairly mortified.

What Lies Within

When she released Sage, the look on his face was absolutely stunned. His blue eyes were wide, and his dark eyelashes made it look as if his eyes were actually bugging out. Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, looked completely proud of herself.

"As much as this is heart rendering," Snape said, snarkily, "They are coming out of it."

Sage plopped back down, hard, his black hair falling in his face. Slowly he massaged his temples. Now that the adrenaline of the situation was wanning, he felt his blood pressure dropping, which made him feel light-headed.

He was only vaguely aware of Dumbledore suggesting to a hazy Fudge that he had other business to attend to and that he should leave if there was such a difference of opinion. He also completely missed Poppy getting Harry back to sleep.

But when Hermione touched him on the shoulder hesitantly, he startled and looked at her. His face relaxed when he met her honey-brown eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him gently.

He shrugged and then shuddered as another wave went down his body. "Loads of things," he whispered, pursing his lips after.

"I'm worried about what this is going to do to Harry...Ron and I didn't see any of that stuff that the Headmaster saw-."

"Thank Merlin you did not," he interrupted abruptly.

"Was it that bad?"

"Yes," he said, his voice shaking a little. "He does not have the mental strength to deal with this. It haunts him already."

Hermione frowned, retreating back into her thoughts a bit.

Sage put his head between his hands and cradled it, noticing for the first time that he was very clammy.

Severus was staring at him hotly, his mind running at top speed as he tried to rationalize with himself that he should let Sage's showing of his Mark go and not be so angry about it, after all the boy had done that day he clearly wasn't in his right mind. He uncrossed his arms and released his breath.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "I believe our Magi has had an epiphany, Severus."

The sneer the man received was well-earned, "My nephew, Headmaster, is coming into powers that are incredibly dangerous to himself and the rest of us. You, clearly, have done nothing to help him on his path. You neglect to remember that he will not forget so easily, and neither will I. Sage was right, and you did not listen to him, you threatened him."

Dumbledore did not reply right away, "That as it may be." He turned to Sage, "I will not make the same mistake again, and he will be sure to know it when the time is right. That time is not now, there are more pressing matters at the moment."

"As if I am not aware," Severus snapped back.

"You are not aware, Severus. It is time that two of our number recognize each other for what they are and make amends so that we may all work toward a common good."

Severus growled, uncertain of what was coming, but sure he would not like it.

"Sirius, if you would resume your human form."

Severus blood went to boiling within milliseconds. So fast, that it seemed as if his head, and his temper, were about to erupt. His upper lip pinched in disgust as the large black dog lying by Potter's bed morphed back into the form of his nemesis, Sirius Black.

Dumbledore stood between them, and Severus could barely make out the sounds that were coming out of the man's mouth. He forced himself to quell his anger, even if he only marginally succeeded. Moments passed and he finally understood that the Headmaster wanted him to shake the mutt's hand.

He growled and barely touched Black's hand before he withdrew it so that he couldn't be infected with fleas.

"Severus, you know what it is you must do. If you are ready. If you are prepared."

'If I am prepared,' Severus thought, 'Ha!'

"I am," he said, before he turned on his heel and left, unwilling to hear anything that came out of Black's mouth.

As the night wore on, Harry's face grew more disturbed as Sage watched it. A part of him wanted to be spiteful, wanted to not care what Harry went through because Harry had done nothing but antagonize him. Through deep breaths, he pushed those thoughts down as best he could.

Hermione was still sitting next to him leaning on his shoulder, trying to stay awake. Ron was already sleeping.

"Dreamless sleep will do him no good," Sage said, more to himself than to Hermione.

"His face looks so, so horrible," she whispered.

Strangely, Sage felt drawn to touch him, sensing something that he could not explain.

Slowly, he reached out a thin, pale hand and touched Harry's shoulder. He could feel the pain coming from Harry.

He wasn't really sure what he was doing or why he was doing it, but he closed his eyes and concentrated in a way similar to how he had to concentrate in order to do Transference. He focused in on the pain coming from Harry, and soon the feeling became images in his mind. Images that he had seen before in his vision. He felt it within him.

Hermione stared at Sage, her eyes wide with wonder. When Sage closed his eyes, she saw an almost immediate shift. The tension in Harry's face began to fade, the color returning to it slightly. On the other hand, beads of sweat were beginning to form on Sage's face and his was even paler than it had been the last few hours. His lip was twitching upwards strangely.

She was unsure whether she should do something or just watch. Whatever it was, it was something that she had never seen before. It was not healing Harry, because Madame Pomfrey had already seen to that. It was distinctly different, and it worried Hermione.

A/N Sorry it took so long for me to update. I AM SOOO SORRY! Please forgive me. Summer hols from Graduate School and my Ph.D program and I will be able to write more. Please let me know that you are still there and still reading!