AN: I do own Harry Potter.

Turmoil

Severus Snape was not happy.

No, that was an understatement.

Severus Snape was furious. He was furious in that the boy's mark (how dare he) had a lily on it. How dare the boy's mark for his servants, servants that had betrayed one lord for another, use the flower that was his mother's name. How dare the boy use a flower for turn coats that meant devotion.

Never mind that the mark had a phoenix on it. Never mind that the phoenix symbolized rebirth, a new life. Never mind that the boy himself had a stronger attachment to Fawkes than he had seen in another besides Albus Dumbledore.

No, his upset was because of the inadvertent use of the symbol of his mother's name. He was the one that had befriended the boy's mother. He was the one that had seen and cared as she grew older and matured. It didn't matter that her petals had turned orange. It didn't matter that she had finally turned her hate his way. All that he cared about was that the flower he had cared for had been killed in her prime for the sake of her son.

Her son. Her son, that dared to survive where she didn't. Her son, that he had kept alive, even as he showed his hared. Her son, that looked hurt as he did so. Her son, that he had apologized to. Her son, that dared to ask if he wanted to be freer.

He had refused.

He had refused to be given the lily, the symbol of his mother.

He had refused to gain a phoenix, the symbol of rebirth.

He had been offered, and he had said "no".

It was he himself he should be angry at, not her son.

Boy, he was petty, wasn't he, turning anger that deserved to be on himself onto another.

It was not the other's fault, the boy's fault, Potter's fault. It was his own. That was what he was the most upset about.

Severus Snape looked at the place he had marched to in his anger, looking at the lake and surroundings. It was peaceful at the moment, everything he wasn't. Was he willing to forgive himself? To let go of past mistakes? To be still? To go forward?

It was all his fault.

Why had he chosen not to? Survival of himself, torn as he was already between two sworn masters, with a promise of protection towards a third? However, he could have fully finished participating in that ritual that Malfoy found and only been bound to one. Was he unable to see a way out? Had he bounced so often looking for a way out that he now believed it was impossible?

Either way, he should not take it out on the ones that showed him a way. Yes, he thought, should, because he knew his weakness for grudges; it was matched well with Lily Evans' own ability to hold a grudge. It was both Lily's and his fault that they were unable to make up in the end. Yet it was the one that he had held a grudge against that had provided the way out he had refused: a Potter.

Snape sighed. Coming to terms with this might be take a while.

Hermione Granger and Sirius Black were staring at each other, red faced.

"So, you see, the house wasn't supposed to eat blood or lives, but was needing magic. The house had absorbed all of the ambient magic in the area, so was substituting the sacrificial aspect to keep going. I, and several others, reattached the house to the ley line as it was supposed to be. It no longer requires being fed blood on a regular basis."

Sirius sounded like he was forcedly trying to remain calm and get through to her.

"So, why are you okay with blood magic then!?" was her question.

"Blood magic... is mostly protective magic and it tends to be permanent. Blood adoptions, tests for potions, and wards are the most common. There are ways to make it offensive, yes, but those tend to require retribution or protection as the purpose."

"B-But that doesn't make sense! Why doesn't it bother you when it is in this context and not that one?"

"I don't want the wards to constantly require the life found in blood or souls! I get that the blood wards need blood to adjust them or recognize ownership, but that's it! That's all I want! If you kept going, what would stop it from eating us next?"

"I don't know! It's not written in the wards not to?! Argh!"

Sirius shook his head as Hermione stormed out. They both needed to cool their heads before trying to have this conversation again.

Hermione didn't get it. There were some errors in the way that she thought magic worked, but it wasn't totally her fault. It was the fault of the way that those errors, the little errors that the muggleborn tended to have because of not being taught the basics, were not corrected in the curriculum of Hogwarts unless really blatantly against the laws of magic, so she probably had a lot built onto those little errors. It also didn't help that she was an angsty teenager.

It would have to wait anyway, as tomorrow was the last day of spring break.

"Harry, did you see the letter from the Diggory's?"

"Yes, Padfoot. Do you think we could?"

"I could have... all twelve of you over for a day at the beginning of summer holidays. There's you, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, Percy, Cedric, Draco, Vince and Greg, Neville, and Theo?"

"Can I also include Marcus Flint, Augustus Prince, Antonia Rippley, Marriette Edgecomb, Cho Chang, Hannah Abbot, and Luna Lovegood? And Cho's brother."

"We can. I can't promise that they will all come, especially in this large a group, but we can put definitely invite them all. Thankfully, since the old rooms opened up when you were here in summer, we have space four all of them. We might need to double up on bedrooms, but since right now there's hardly anyone living here besides myself and Remus, we should have room."

"Also, pup, I am going to have to teach you etiquette beyond what you know. What you have works in day-to-day life, but you're going to be heading meetings with those sworn to you, and that's a whole other sword drill."

"Sword drill? What did you mean?"

"Oh, um, that's my wizarding version of saying 'whole other ball game', like tennis isn't football. We actually can use swords."

"What? You're allowed to?"

"Allowed to use swords? I'm technically a lord, even if... Anyway, are you trying to meet everyone all at once? Introduce everybody to each other? Break the ice or something?"

"Yes. I forgot three more. Ginny, Susan Bones and Colin Creevey. Colin is a muggleborn, and Hannah hardly goes anywhere without Susan. Since it's just the kids, do you think it's fine to include them?"

"Pup, you're going to have to set up two parties if you want to do this."

"I do?"

"Yes. Have the first one with the Weasley kids, Hermione, Cedric Diggory, Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Colin Creevey, and Luna Lovegood. That way the ones with persnickety Light parents or guardians will relax. The second one will be Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, Hannah, Draco, Vince, Greg, Theo, Marcus, Augustus, Antonia, Marriette, and both younger Changs. Remember the letter that Ron sent you?"