Left hand
At a quarter to nine they went down to the Common Room to have breakfast with the family. Sev let everyone precede them and taking Hippolyta's hand, he bonded with Deborah.
She snapped at him, "What a nerve you had yesterday!" scandalized. "The whole house found out!"
"And?" Sev responded, dry and blunt.
"Nothing," already calm. "You've gone from not wanting anyone to find out to not caring about anything in less than a week."
"Well yes. This chit is turning me inside out and you don't know how good it is doing me. Did anyone comment on the subject?"
"Nothing. Absolute discretion," she responded.
"Well, that's it. What we do or don't do is up to us. Whoever itches, let them scratch it."
"Very well said."
Sev laughed. "Yours is worrying, Deborah. You do change your mind instantly."
"There is something you haven't thought about."
"What?"
"That the slut is going to find out as soon as she reads anyone," she responded. "It was the equivalent of Lily's blunder when the malefics saw her with us."
"Well no, I hadn't thought about it. But what do you want me to tell you? Everyone at home and the Raves also knew about our Patronus. It is beyond our control, there is no time for so many people to learn Occlumency. It is a risk that must be taken, we are going to teach Red Magic to their parents, there is no other choice. How's Paul doing with Legilimency?"
"Great. He will be able to take care of it."
"And Remus with the Obliviate? Did he do any harm to Jack?" Sev asked.
They laughed.
"No, he didn't leave him worse than he already was."
They laughed again.
Hippolyta told him, "Prince, Prince, you are laughing without speaking, are you talking with your mind?"
"Yes honey."
"Have you already told her?" Deborah asked out loud.
"Of course I told her, she's already an occlumant."
"Great, are you going to bond?"
"Yes, as soon as she finish her interview with Slughorn."
"Let her do it tonight with all the occlumants and she will also have a summer escort."
"Sure…"
"And if Black is ready for the night, the same thing, let him join in too."
"Great."
"What is this about bonding, Prince?" asked Hippolyta.
"What I have explained to you before about the spell that must be chanted to be able to communicate with the mind, honey."
"Are you going to do it as a Couple?" Deborah asked him, bonded.
"No, not yet, it's too early," he responded also bonded.
"I think you should do it. In the end you did it with those you shouldn't have, with Lily, with Valerie and me, and not with those you should have, with Lauren and Hippolyta."
"Well, do you know what I'm telling you? Sorry for your part. I'm glad it was like that, because it's precisely those two that I don't want to mess up with right now."
"I understand perfectly," she accepted. "And speaking of Black, Cecile asked me for the clearing last night for an indefinite period."
"That seems very good to me. Now we'll talk to her about his results and calculate how much it will cost him. And with Remus, what's the plan?"
"The same, with Jack in your bedroom indefinitely."
"Oh…"
"Emergencies, Prince."
"Yes, Black is also an emergency, he has guessed about Lauren. He calls her 'the other spy'."
"Ugh… it was to be expected. They have many things in common."
"That is."
"Does she know it?" Deborah asked.
"She knows it, and she didn't even suggest that I teach him Occlumency. She already imagines that Black knows how to preserve himself, as she does. By the way, Black is very, very knowledgeable. He knows everything Lauren knows."
"Wonderful. They would have formed a great dumbbell."
"They will form it differently," said Sev.
"Will you act as a matchmaker for them?"
"Of course, I have already talked about it with both of them."
"Gossip, gossip, I love it," she said.
"And me. By the way, who booked the Room of Requirement last night? We left after the curfew and those who should have been waiting were Disillusioned."
"Alice and Frank, for the first time."
"Oh… well I'm very happy," he said.
"Of course, that's why I didn't allow anyone else to go. Only for them. In addition, they planned to reuse the bedroom that Lily and Black had used, so that it would not be unused."
"Well, they only slept one night, nothing happens."
"Yes, but apparently they left the bed unmade. A disaster," she complained.
"Well… Deborah, look how intolerant you are, huh? Have you never had to hurry because the sheets are sticking to you because you were so comfortable at night?"
"No, Prince, obligation comes first and then fun."
"You are still too rigid, Deborah."
"It suits you very well that it is like this to be your second, so don't complain."
"You're right."
They sat at the Great Hall table.
"Well, then if the clearing and my room are occupied, I'll take Hippolyta to the Room of Requirement to Bond with her," said Sev. "I want privacy."
"Impossible. It is booked all morning."
"Can't you cancel it?"
"No, it's about obligation, not fun," she explained.
"Who and for what?" very serious.
"You don't care, Prince."
"Deborah, tell me," authoritarian.
"Take Hippolyta to the hidden bedroom and that's it."
"Don't go off on a tangent, Deborah," threatening. "Who and for what?"
"I'm not going to tell you," blunt.
"You don't need to tell me, I already know," vehement. "I'm not stupid, she already told me that too. Deborah, who is the Commander?" exasperated. "For the third time, who and for what?"
"Lauren, to practice the Fiendfire," scared.
"That, from the beginning, Deborah. You owe your loyalty to me. Is it clear to you? I am the one who puts and takes away, if you don't obey, I have alternatives."
"It is clear to me, Prince."
"Very well, I change my morning plan. I'm going with her."
"You are going to upset Hippolyta."
"Hippolyta will understand," he said. "Then save it for me for the afternoon. Was it booked for the afternoon?"
"It wasn't."
"Incredible, people go as they go, no one wants them for a walk, look how silly they are."
"Indeed," she agreed.
"Deborah, take note," threatening again. "First notice of dismissal. To the third, to the street. You are not hiding anything essential from me, and even less so if it is a danger that someone I love is in. Is it clear to you?"
"It is clear to me, Prince."
"We are unbonding until Cecile arrives. I'm going to chat with Hippolyta."
They unbonded.
"Hippolyta, honey. I won't be able to be with you in the morning."
"Why, Prince?" asked the girl.
"Because I have something more urgent to do. Caring for someone else who is not you."
"The girl you love and I can't know who she is?" lowering her voice a lot.
"Yes, my love, that one," Sev confirmed.
"Have you tried making her Patronus?"
"I haven't, honey, but I don't care whether I can make her Patronus or not. She needs me and I have to be with her."
"Okay, Prince, I understand. I also love more people than you."
"Very well, we will Bond in the afternoon. And then, if Cecile can come, we'll try out the instruments. I've reserved the Room of Requirement for us for the entire afternoon, until the others come to make dinner."
"Brilliant."
"Take the opportunity to be with your friends in the morning when you finish your interview with Slughorn," he recommended. "Yesterday they were playing catch by the Lake and you missed it."
"Oh... what a shame, because I do like playing catch."
"But don't get too tired either, huh? You have to hold out until night. And if you get tired, after lunch, before going to the Hall, you take a nap."
"Can I in your room?" asked Hippolyta.
"I don't know, honey, my room is going to be busy. It is reserved for Remus to learn to Obliviate."
"It does not matter. If I'm tired I'll take it on mine."
"Tonight we'll also slept together when we returned from the party," Sev proposed. "Three nights in a row, very good luck."
"Okay!"
"Come on, have breakfast in peace."
They had breakfast in peace until the Gryffs arrived, a little after nine. Sev saw them enter, Lauren had not arrived. He immediately bonded with Deborah and Cecile.
"Deborah, bond with Cecile."
"That's it, Prince," she said.
"Sirius results, Cecile?"
"Three quarters for an hour, Sev," she responded. "Today he gets it."
"It's okay, Cecile, I'll continue chatting with you later or at lunch."
"Great, Sev."
"Deborah, unbond from Cecile."
"That's it, Prince," she said.
"Deborah. Where is Lauren?"
"I don't know, Prince."
"Deborah, second notice of dismissal."
"No, Prince, no, make no mistake," bluntly. "She didn't tell me she was going to skip breakfast. Track her."
Sev unbonded and Tracked Lauren. She was in the Room of Requirement, in danger. He spoke out loud, "Deborah, see you at lunch."
Sev ran out of the Hall, up the stairs to the third floor, up the passage to the seventh, and into the Room of Requirement. He claimed the outdoor space they had used to practice Fiendfire. As soon as he entered, he saw Lauren from afar practicing, she no longer dominated it like she had managed to do.
"Lauren!"
Lauren put out the fire.
Oof… Sev grabbed the fireproof suit from the watertight container and ran to where she was. "Are you crazy?" threatening. "Why have you come alone?"
She did not respond or bond, she waited until he was close to her to speak, very calm, "The one who is crazy is you. You scared me to death, I could have gotten out of control."
"You're right."
"And I already told you why I was going to come alone. You don't matter, you couldn't do anything for me but die too."
"You're right," he agreed.
"So go back the way you came. If I don't show up for lunch, you're coming to get what's left of me. I always wanted to be cremated once I was dead, I don't like graves."
They laughed. She's fantastic, I love her.
"Lauren, I love you with all my being."
"I do not belive anything."
"Believe it. Let's try something, let's make our Patronus."
They recalled, Severus, the last corporeal he had had with her, from the last night they had slept together, after she had told him her plan. The panthers emerged and played.
"What I'm telling you, Lauren, I love you."
"Explain it to me, I don't understand anything, but quickly, I was on the job."
He did it.
"What a wonderful thing..." she said. "I'm glad to have you since Lily has failed us."
"Have you bonded with her lately?"
"Yeah. She no longer feels for me what she felt. Some appreciation, nothing more."
"I can't explain it," said Sev.
"I do. She loved me through you, not for myself."
"Oh... And you, what do you feel?"
"Right now, disappointment," Lauren responded.
"I understand you, you have been working for us all year, protecting us."
"That is... but hey, let's forget about Lily."
"Okay. I let you continue practicing, but I'm going to stay here," he said. "If you die, you won't die alone. Don't worry about me, I'd spend the whole morning suffering just as well anywhere else."
"It was a mistake to tell you that I was going to come to practice."
"No, Lauren, it wasn't. I leave you, wait until I got far enough away." He strode away from her a good distance and put on his fireproof suit.
Lauren continued practicing for more than two hours, achieving little by little, with great effort, at the end of that time, a much greater control than she had obtained at the end of her first session. When she was satisfied she bonded with him.
"I can't take it anymore, what time is it?" she asked.
"Half past eleven." He approached with long strides.
"Well... still time to take a bath. You wouldn't have thought to bring the gillyweed, would you?"
"No, Lauren. I haven't even finished breakfast, I came running from the Great Hall as soon as I Tracked you and knew you were in danger."
"Well, very badly done, Severus, suspicious of the old man. You've already seen that I didn't wait to come for you to start having breakfast, he may has seen me on the Map."
"What time did you come?"
"Before eight."
"Ugh, Lauren... I mean, you've spent more than an hour alone."
"Of course, Severus. If you had seen how I started you would have suffered much, but much more."
"You played me, Lauren. Are you coming back tomorrow?"
"No, that's fine."
"Look, if you come I'm going to find out, huh? Deborah is going to tell me, I have already threatened to fire her."
He had reached where she was, they headed together towards the entrance.
"You have too much power, Severus, it is going to your head. But the worst thing is not that, but that you don't know how to control your emotions and you are going to screw it up at any moment. Had the old man arrived at the Great Hall?"
"I haven't noticed, but I suppose so, because it was already after nine."
"Ugh, Severus... when will you learn? You have left me without a bath. He may be watching his Map carefully to see you leave here, and if he sees both of us leaving, the whole plan is ruined."
"I already know what I can do. I'll leave, go to her office and distract him. You'll wait a reasonable amount of time and come out."
"Do you know the password? How long has it been since you went to see him?"
"Since the week before the exams," he answered.
"He must have changed it."
"Completely surely."
"Sure. Now there is no longer the urgency of the malefics and you have the opportunity to talk three times a day," Lauren deduced.
"Also, since last week we haven't spoken. I want to avoid him as much as possible, Deborah already told you how he played tricks on me."
"Yes, she told me that. But you have to be above that, Severus, remember, politics. Otherwise, he will replace you, you will no longer be his right hand. You had earned him, don't lose him."
"Booff…"
"You have to trick him, Severus, play along with him. And before you go on holidays, don't let him have all summer to reconsider. Has he congratulated you on your Defense practical exam?"
"No, he hasn't."
"There you have it, Severus. He is envious of the prominence you are going to acquire. You're going to be the one to defeat Voldemort, not him, after all the trouble he's gone to all these years. He is in his twilight, you in your dawn. His good times have passed, yours have arrived. And you are not guaranteed the Dueling Chair until Black is of age. You have to handle him, be smarter than him. Putting yourself below him even knowing that you are far above him, like Minerva does."
"Sure…"
"And even more so after what happened on Saturday in the Great Hall, the tribute that everyone dedicated to you. You are already more important than him at school."
"True."
"Did you notice the look on his face?" she asked.
"No, I didn't, I looked at Minerva."
"I did. He didn't find it funny, he didn't smile, or applaud, or anything at all."
"That's why Minerva didn't smile either, but she looked at me with admiration," he explained.
"Not him, jealousy makes him sick. He is a very bad person, we must eliminate him."
"We will plan it well when we no longer need him."
"Of course we will," she agreed.
"And how do I suck up to him, Lauren?"
"Very easy. Let's see, think for yourself. Things that he has done for you and only you that you wouldn't have been able to do for yourself."
"Many things. Eliminate my traces from the Ministry, the hidden bedroom, Lily's position as a Potions teacher, the cave ritual, the Map, process the Dueling Chair, teach me to become invisible, the email with my mother, the talent for Transfiguration…"
"Well there you have it. Have a talk with him thanking him for everything. Start with the most recent one, the Transfiguration practical exam, so you don't give yourself away too much," she suggested.
"Sure…"
"Manage people, Severus, with the left hand, it is said. Not to command, but to obey, pretending to obey."
"Sure…"
"And if possible be face to face, before you go on holidays."
"Of course, maybe on Wednesday, before returning home via Floo," he decided.
"And without Lily."
"Of course without Lily."
Sev stayed chatting with Lauren in the Room of Requirement until twelve, carefully planning the talk he would have with the Headmaster on Wednesday and also how he should approach him to request it.
They also talked about Sirius.
"Lauren, I want to talk to Sirius about his cousins and Lucius's as soon as he learns to occlude, I'm going to make him very happy," Sev said.
"And how are you going to explain to him how you found out?"
"I won't explain it to him."
"He's going to guess, without my parents' permission yet," she objected.
"Look, you told Jack, who is much less trustworthy than him, and we also told Lily without your parents' permission because she guessed about you, and maybe she isn't trustworthy either."
"Booff… you're right, mistakes are made. Okay, tell him, I trust him."
"Thank you, Lauren. I swear to you that he is not going to fail you, I put my hand in the fire for him."
Later Sev went home, Lauren would still wait until lunchtime to leave so Dumbledore couldn't see her on his Map.
Sev bonded with Deborah again on the way to the Hall. "Deborah, I am very angry with you. If I had known that Lauren had reserved the Room today, I would have Tracked her since I woke up, and thus I have put her in danger, thus disappearing from the Great Hall at the same time as her."
"You are absolutely right, Prince. I have made a very serious mistake, it will not happen again."
"You gang up behind my back, you make plans without counting on me and you make me go out of my way. You should all know by now that I don't control my emotions when it comes to the people I love."
"I know it very well, Prince."
"You already have two warnings, one for not telling me immediately and another for not telling me when I asked you directly. Next time, out on the street."
"It is clear to me, Prince."
"How is Remus doing?"
"Ready. He is not coming this afternoon."
"Great. How about Paul?" he asked.
"Well also. In addition, Paul can continue practicing outside of school as well. Don't worry about him anymore, I'll take care of it."
"Brilliant. Let's see what Cecile tells us when we arrive. After chatting with her I'm going to chat with the old man. According to Lauren, I have to suck up to him or he will replace me, he is dying of jealousy of the prominence I am going to acquire."
"I already smelled it," she agreed.
"Well, another thing you should have warned me about. Ugh, Deborah… I don't know if it's going to be the third one yet."
"No, Prince, please…"
"Deborah, you are afraid of losing your position, do not become submissive, supplicant, that is not how I need you. You have to know how to face me, but only when it's due."
"We all make mistakes, Prince."
"Of course, me more than anyone else, but I have to pay for them. I have spent my entire life paying for mistakes, mine and those of others."
"You're right."
"I'll leave you until we bond with Cecile in the Great Hall. I'm going to dedicate myself to my girl, I need joy."