Oh my god we did it! This is the end of the first part of the story! Fred is just around the corner!
Welcome TwinsOfAquila, FlowerPrincessoftheUniverse, Mara21, Crickett5, screaming-motorcycles, KatieTroj and MusicIsMyStyle1! Thanks for following and adding this story to your favorites!
And from the bottom of my heart, thank you Amarenima Redwood, SPARKELS77 and vampirela69 for reviewing! And to answer your question vampirela69, Juliana and Severus didn't have any more children because they knew that Voldemort's return was unstoppable, and it scared them to bring another child into a world where another war was inminent.
*Spoiler alert!*
But that doesn't mean that they can't consider it in the future...
XXV
Obscure
As the first raindrops sounded against the glass windows, Juliana and Cassie stood in the living room of their house.
"It's worse for you, isn't it?" Cassandra said with a dry laugh before moving to sit on the couch, holding her head with both of her hands.
"What do you mean?" Juliana asked as she turned away from the window, looking at her daughter from the corner of her eye.
"This sensation… just─ knowing that something terrible is about to happen to him. It's worse for you, right? Your wedding rings make it worse." Cassie said with a sigh and turned to face the wall. "Does it hurt too much? The ring, I mean. Or how does it work, really?"
"It's not that it hurts... it's more like a strong sense of dread that increases or decreases according to the situation." Juliana sighed and walked to the couch, where she sat next to Cassie. "Your father created the spell that binds the rings together. His ring has a part of me, and mine has a part of him. That's essentially how we're connected by it, and why I can sense what he's feeling. It's been getting stronger and stronger these past few months, but today it's the worst it has been since the first time I put it on." Cassie nodded in understanding and bit her thumbnail.
"Today's the Third Task, and his mark is getting darker." She added, looking down.
"I know Cass… I haven't forgotten." Juliana replied before standing up and walking to the kitchen.
Of course she hadn't forgotten. She had been talking about it with Severus religiously about it every night. They all knew it could only mean one thing, but Severus still wasn't willing to talk about it as if it really was the immediate future. He kept telling them that they didn't know what was going to happen, and that maybe it didn't mean anything.
But that wasn't the case, because this really meant everything. It meant Voldemort was coming back, and soon. And that meant that Severus was most likely going to be resuming his duties as a double spy. Juliana couldn't blame him for not wanting to fully believe what was happening. If it was her in this situation, she didn't believe she could handle it as well as he did. She felt a hole in her chest because of the sole thought of him doing that work again─ and he had to do it.
Looking outside, her mind wandered to the first night he discovered the mark was getting darker again.
Juliana was lying on her bed reading a book while patiently waiting for Severus' daily call when said man materialized in front of her. He was soaked from head to toe as if he had been standing on the pouring rain─ which she soon realized he most likely had been. She got up in an instant, and just a moment later she was holding him in her arms while he clung to her like she was going to disappear any minute.
He was shivering so she placed her warm lips on his cold ones for just a second before taking his hand and leading him to the bathroom. He just stood there without saying a word while she filled the bathtub with warm water, and remained still when she started taking his clothes off, save for the slight trembling of his body.
Something was very, very wrong.
Juliana placed his hand on hers again and led him to the bathtub where he got in by himself, sighing at the relaxing feeling of the warm water on his muscles. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.
She then began to take her own clothes off, leaving them on a messy pile on the floor but far enough from Severus' wet ones. She instructed him to move forward so she could place herself behind him, his back now resting on her chest. His eyes were closed still, but this time he leaned back his head on her shoulder and intertwined his fingers with the ones that hugged his middle.
Juliana knew tonight was not going to be only about pleasure, it was going to be about comfort and reassurance. She had lived circumstances like this one with Severus one too many times, which now made her be perfectly able to decide what was the best course of action.
For some reason she didn't know yet but already imagined, Severus was having a very hard time. If he had come to her he definitely wanted to talk about it, but she knew she had to give him time.
They spent quite some time like that─ caressing each other, kissing languidly for long periods of time. When their arousal became too much to handle they made love slowly, only to come back to their original position once they were done and the water was changed.
At some point Juliana felt herself beginning to fall asleep, so she pulled Severus a little tighter against her. After making sure the water never stopped being warm, she leaned her head back against the wall and relaxed. Just when she was going to lose consciousness, Severus spoke.
"Juli?" He whispered softly and she opened her eyes, now completely awake. He used that nickname only when something was horribly wrong.
"Yes, love? I'm here." She answered and buried her head on his neck, placing a small kiss there for further reassurance.
"I─ I discovered something today."
"Yeah? What is it?" She said as her hands began to rub his arms comfortingly.
"The Mark is getting darker." Severus confessed without any noticeable emotion in his voice. Juliana's movements stopped immediately.
The Mark getting darker could only mean one thing, and she didn't want to believe it. She wasn't ready for that. She took a deep breath and composed herself before moving her hand slowly down his left arm, caressing it softly again. When she reached his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his.
"Show me." She whispered against his ear, making him shiver. He slowly turned his arm around and she guided it closer to her face.
It was true. The mark was darker.
Not much, maybe, but it definitely was not as pale as she had seen it the last time she paid enough attention to it to remember. She gently brought it closer to her lips, but when she was about to kiss it, Severus pulled away.
"Please, don't. I don't want your lips touching it." He said but did not remove his arm from her grasp.
"Severus, this is a part of you. A part of what made you who you are today, a part of what was necessary for us both to be together right now, right here. I love you, and I refuse to love any part of you less than any other." Severus leaned into her even more as a sigh escaped his lips, and she took her chance to leave a small kiss on top of his skin. His breath hitched and he closed his eyes involuntarily.
"I love you, Severus. Every part of you. For better and for worse." She whispered and he quickly turned to the side to join their lips in a hungry kiss. She didn't waste any time, and before he could even begin to touch her they appeared on their bed, already dry and still naked.
They resumed kissing and made love once again. When they were done they just held each other close, not speaking.
"You were drenched." Juliana said softly as she moved a strand of hair away from his eye and behind his ear.
"Yes, it was raining." Severus replied simply.
"And why were you in the rain?" She countered.
"Because the Forbidden Forest is outdoors." He answered vaguely and she gave him an unamused look before rolling her eyes.
"Okay. Why where you in the Forbidden Forest on a rainy night, then?"
"Because I didn't want to destroy anything valuable from my chambers by accident." Juliana frowned slightly at his answer.
"You went to the forest to… blow up stuff?" She asked with an eyebrow raised and Severus nodded before burying his face on her shoulder. She scratched his scalp with her nails and bit her lip. "Well? Did you do too much damage?"
"Not really." Severus answered with a tired sigh. "I mostly wanted to see you, and the rain was cold enough to help ease the anger."
"Good, then. You should've come here first, anyway. I know of a very good thing that helps you forget about the anger quickly." He laughed and she resisted the urge to scream "YES!"─ instead opting for just grinning widely.
"Yes, darling. You do indeed."
That ended up being a very good night considering the fact that they now knew that danger was looming over them, and soon everything was going to change for the worse. After that one they had a couple of other good nights─ but after Harry's name was chosen by the goblet, arguments about the nature of that situation became a very common occurrence between them. Juliana was absolutely sure that Harry was incapable of doing something as advanced and complicated as that─ but Severus wasn't.
"You are defending him." Severus spat with narrowed eyes.
"Severus, you're being irrational! He's just a kid! There is no way he did that by himself!" She nearly yelled, exasperated.
"I never said he did it alone, he could have gotten help." He retorted with crossed arms, seeming completely sure of the legitimacy of his argument.
"And from whom, exactly? Who could have helped him do something like that? This very advanced magic, Severus. Who do you think it was? Ron Weasley, his best friend? Or Hermione Granger? She's definitely bright, isn't she? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, darling, but THEY ARE NOT CAPABLE OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT EITHER. This was made by a very experienced wizard, and you know it very well." She countered, jaw set.
"What I know very well is that Potter loves getting attention..." He said with a certain disdain on his voice that took her back more than 15 years into the past.
The way he always referred to him as Potter and never Harry...
"He─ he's not James, Severus." Juliana said with a slight frown, looking at him like she had discovered something she didn't know before. He turned to look at her with slightly opened eyes, as if he was a little kid that had been caught with his hand on the cookie jar. "Oh my God." She breathed out, rubbing her forehead as she walked a few steps back to sit on the bed. He remained still with his arms crossed and no readable expression on his face, refusing to make eye contact with her. "Severus..." She said softly and he clenched his jaw.
"Don't." He replied coldly. "Don't even try."
"Severus, he is not James." She repeated─ this time with more determination─ before getting up so she could stand directly in front of him. She was tall but he was taller, so she had to tilt her head back a little bit to look at him in the eyes. He still refused to meet her look. "You know I will never ask you to forget about what he did to you, or to forgive him because we both know he was never sorry. Neither was Sirius, or Remus, or Pettigrew. But that does not mean that Harry is your chance to try and level things up because of what James did to you. He doesn't deserve it. He never chose to be what he is now. I know he looks shockingly like his father but that does not mean he is like him. James Potter leaked arrogance─ God, I know firsthand what an asshole he was, but Harry is just a kid with a dangerous destiny he doesn't even fully understand yet. I know it's hard for you to think about that when you see him every day on his Gryffindor robes, with that hair and those round glasses. I know it takes you back to the past but please, I beg you, try to remember that he's a different person." Juliana finished with a pleading whisper and Severus finally looked at her. She was frowning slightly and her expression was sad. He stayed silent for a few more seconds before swallowing hard.
"I'm sorry." He whispered─ his tone showing how hard it was for him to say it─ and looked down. The corners of Juliana's mouth quirked upwards slightly and she moved even closer to him. She uncrossed his arms and intertwined her fingers with his. Severus still did not look up so she bent her knees a bit and moved her face under his until he met her gaze. She kissed his lips softly for a second and let go of his hands to hug his waist. He hugged her back, losing himself on the embrace. She pulled away a bit until their noses were barely brushing─ their breaths mixed together.
"I love you─ so much. I'll always love you." She said before closing the distance and kissing him with all she had. He moved one of his hands to the back of her neck, burying it on her hair, and the other to her back, pulling her closer. Hers were now clenched on the sides of his shirt above his hips.
"I love you too. More than I ever thought possible." He responded, joining their foreheads together. "I see that I might need a little help with this... situation."
"I'll be with you when you need me, love."
"I know, thank you."
Of course that it was a very slow process, especially due to the fact that even if Harry wasn't James, he still shared a many traits with his father. And the adoration he felt towards Sirius did not make it any easier, either.
Juliana grabbed her cup of tea from the counter with a sigh and walked towards Cassie. However, she froze mid step and the cup fell to the floor, shattering into dozens of pieces. Cassie turned immediately to see what had happened, only to find the unnerving image of her wide-eyed mother standing pale as a sheet in the middle of the room, trembling. Juliana swallowed and slowly turned her left arm around, carefully rolling back the sleeve of her shirt to expose her forearm, as if waiting something to suddenly appear there.
"Mom, what's going on?" Cassandra asked worriedly, walking to where her mother was.
"It's─" Juliana began but her raspy voice stopped her, so she coughed to clear her throat. "It's─ the feeling of dread─ it's─ and I feel something. It's like an itch..." She said shakily and ran her index finger through her skin, like she was trying to test something out.
"What does that mean?" Cassie asked warily, taking a step back and swallowing. Juliana didn't answer. "Mom. What does that mean?" She asked again, clearly on edge. Juliana looked up, her eyes beginning to water.
"When I can feel any trace of what he's feeling it's because... it is too strong and too powerful."
"Mom… don't say that because he would only feel something on his left forearm if he was being summoned and..." Cassandra began to say but her voice broke at the end. Tears now fell freely from her eyes. "There is only one being that is able to do that. And if he's been summoned it means that..." Juliana nodded, tears of her own running down her cheeks.
"Voldemort is back. I'm so sorry." Cassandra shook her head in denial and closed her eyes tightly. Juliana moved forward and held her tightly in her arms as they both cried.
"You need be there with him, mom. Go." Cassie said as she pulled away, drying her cheeks quickly and leaving no room for discussion; they both knew it was the right thing. Juliana nodded and dried her own tears.
Just a few minutes later she was ready to go, while Cassie sat on the couch, looking crestfallen.
"Are you gonna be okay on your own?" Juliana asked her daughter after kissing her forehead.
"I'll ask Rosa to come and keep an eye on me." Juliana nodded appreciatively and hugged her tightly.
"Tell him I love him, please." Cassie said as her eyes dampened again.
"I will, Cassie. I promise."
...
Juliana had been waiting for Severus' on his bedchamber for over an hour now─ and she was sure she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The feeling of dread was more powerful than ever before, and she couldn't help but cry and hope that everything was okay─ at least for now.
Severus arrived just a few minutes after the clock signaled that she had been waiting for two hours. She was lying down on his bed hugging his pillow tightly, inhaling his scent, when the door opened. She practically bolted from her place and appeared in front of him in less than a second. He was surprised to see her in front of him, but did not dare to move. She grabbed his left arm before he could do anything to stop her and lifted his sleeve.
Right there, just as she expected it to be, was a very black and very alive-looking Dark Mark.
She let out a wail and threw herself at him, hugging his neck and forcing him to take a few steps back until he felt the wall behind him. Severus hadn't said a word yet, still very surprised by her being in his room.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." Juliana repeated against his skin until he finally returned the hug. Then she moved her head too fast for him to even know what was happening and just like that she was kissing him in a way he had never been kissed before, not even by her.
Not when they reunited after Voldemort, not like any of the times they kissed while climaxing together. Severus suddenly felt all she was feeling─ her love for him, her worry, her desire, everything. He quickly came to the realization that this was the best feeling he ever had the pleasure of experience and pulled her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist─ any other worries forgotten for the time being. She was holding both sides of his face, as if she was making sure he was not going to pull away. He didn't, not until they both needed air.
"What was that?" He asked breathlessly, resting his forehead against Juliana's. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was also labored.
"That was my fault." She said apologetically. "I accidentally enhanced the power of the spell on the rings and made us feel everything the other was feeling. I wasn't even thinking about it, I just wanted to be closer to you than ever. I will remove it, don't worry."
"No!" He cried out and she opened her eyes in surprise. "Don't. Please. Well, unless you want to, of course." She smiled softly and shook her head.
"I don't want to, either. That was the best feeling in the world."
"Yes." He said with a smile before giving her a quick kiss on her swollen and red lips. "It was." He finally put her down and she fixed her rumpled clothes as best as she could without magic.
After that the silence became uncomfortable, and they avoided looking at each other.
"We need to talk about it." Juliana finally said and he sighed, clearly exhausted.
"Yes, we do. Can we lie down? I'm really tired." She nodded and they both went to the bed, taking their clothes off and covering themselves with the blankets. Juliana curled up against him and rested her head on his chest, focusing on his heartbeat. It was slightly faster than normal, but after what they'd just experienced that was to be expected.
"Something very bad happened, right?" She whispered and Severus took a deep breath before answering.
"A few very bad things happened, actually." She closed her eyes tightly and held him closer to her.
"Just tell me and let's get this over with." He nodded even if she didn't see him and began recalling the events of the past hours.
When he was done, Juliana had pulled away from him and was staring at the ceiling, her arms limp at her sides.
"A lot is gonna change now." She said, her tone showing clear resignation.
"I'm afraid so." Severus answered as he looked at her thoughtfully. She moved her head to the side and made eye contact with him.
"You're not alone this time, Severus. You've got us." Juliana said intensely and moved so she could lie completely on top of him.
"I know love, I know." He replied kissing her hair and rubbing her back. He remained silent for a few moments. "But, Juliana... there is something we will have to do."
AHHHH! Next chapter is the 100% brand new one I told you about! If you'd like to tell me what you think in a review, it would be awesome! :)
Also, bolded lines are spoken in Portuguese in case you forgot! K, bye!
