Complications // Severus Snape

• Ch 12 I'm In Love With A Death Eater •

I am so glad today is a Saturday.

Yesterday Severus pranked me (which I still don't have the full story on), and when I woke up, Lily was dead. It was not a good day. I had stayed up until the sun rose, comforting Severus, whose impenetrable walls had fallen down. He had told me all about Lily and his past, which he never opened up about. I wondered if I had taken advantage of him to obtain this information, and felt guilty at the thought.

I changed into my Muggle clothes and headed to the Potions room right away. There I brewed a Calming Draught for Severus.

When I had finished the potion, I bottled it up and went to go find Severus. In the hallways, I ran into Aura. "Good morning," I greeted. "Morning. I guess the potion effects wore off?" "Yeah, Severus had an antidote." "I can't believe he made you drink a Love Potion! I'm glad the effects wore off," she said. "Me too. I'll catch up with you later!" "Okay, see you!"

I continued the search for Severus, which I believed to be concluded when I checked his personal dormitory. "Severus?" I knocked on the door. "You can't hide in your room forever." He opened the door, but on the other side was not Severus, but Professor Cecil! I must have checked the wrong dorm! "Um... Obliviate," I said, pointing my wand to Cecil, and waited to see what would happen. She looked a bit dazed, but quickly recovered. When she spotted me, she asked, "What are you doing here, Miss Kelly?" "I...was wondering if you have any extra credit opportunities?" Smooth, I thought.

"No, I will inform you if there are." "Okay, thank you, Professor!" "Good day." I swiftly walked off. That was a close one. I was wandering around the grounds when by the side of the Black Lake I finally found-

"Severus!" I said. He had been clutching his forearm, it seemed, but when he heard my voice, he yanked his hand away and turned to look at me. "Amarina?" "I've been looking all over for you! Is something wrong with your arm?" I asked, walking towards him. "No!" he said, a bit too quickly. I raised an eyebrow. "No. It's just a scratch."

"I know how hard Lily's death must be for you, but this won't help anyone." I said, sitting down next to him. He looked thoroughly confused, and I realized that he had not self-harmed. "You didn't-? Never mind," I said, looking down so Severus wouldn't see my reddened face.

I cleared my throat and asked. "How are you?" "I've been better." he said. I handed him the draught, saying, "Drink this." He looked at it skeptically, "Are you trying to poison me?"

I laughed. "No, it's a Calming Draught. Freshly brewed this morning. Thought it might help." He downed the potion. "It's been an interesting morning." "How so?" "I brewed the potion, then when I was looking for you I accidentally knocked on Professor Cecil's door, which I thought was yours." He widened his eyes. "What did you do?" "I had to erase a bit of her memory, since I had called your name. Then I just asked for extra credit." "I ought to report you for tampering with a professor's memory." he said, somewhat teasingly. "Perhaps. Oh, did you hear about the Longbottoms?" I asked, my tone now serious.

"I did." he said somberly. "Was You-Know-Who just on a killing spree? Or did they have something in common...?" I asked. Severus said, "They were both in the Order...and had sons around the same age..." The Order? Is that some secret society? Oh yeah, Lily had a son! His name was...Henry, right? Harvey? Oh, Harry! It was Harry.

"Did Harry...die...as well?" I asked. "No, Lily managed to protect him." Lily seemed like a good person. "Wow. When's her funeral?" "I can't go to that." said Severus. "Why not? You were friends." "All her friends hate me." he said bitterly. "Oh. Well...you could visit her grave after the funeral." He nodded. Remembering the secret society, I asked, "What's the Order?" Severus smiled at my ignorance. "They're like Death Eaters, but good."

I decided it was time for a subject change. "What did I do after I drank the Love Potion?" Severus looked surprised. "How did you know it was a Love Potion?" I scoffed. "Please, I recognized it from the ingredients." "Impressive." "I know I am," I said, flipping my long blonde hair. Severus snorted. "But really, what did I do?" Severus looked like he wanted to smirk, but didn't have the energy.

"You, well, took a liking to me..." I buried my face in my hands. "And?" "Professed your undying love for me in front of the class." "And?" "Tried to kiss me." I collapsed onto my back, in the soft grass. A small smile tugged on the corners of Severus's lips. "But I gave you the antidote and a Sleeping Draught." I sighed. "You should have made Shelby demonstrate her potion." Shelby was a Gryffindor who thought that everything she did was perfect. She was bright, but Potions wasn't her best subject, and she was far too cocky. I didn't like her very much.

"I will next time," he promised. I looked over at Severus, who had laid down next to me. Why did he always wear the same black robes? He looked like an overgrown bat. One day I need to take him clothes shopping. His robes had hiked up his arms a few inches, revealing a strange mark on his arm. "Severus," I said suddenly, "What's that?" I pointed to the mark on his left arm. He saw what I was pointing at and hurriedly covered his arm with his sleeve. "Nothing, just the- just the scratch." he said. Something's up. "Really, it looked black-" "I've just realized- I need to prepare lessons for this week." he said, rushing off. What was that about? I shouldn't have said anything. But I was definitely going to research this mark.

* * *

Later, I caught up with Ava in the library. "Hey, Ava, will you help me research something?" "Sure! What is it?" she asked. "It's a mark." "Okay, could you sketch it for me?"

I did a rough sketch of the mark I saw on Severus's arm, and when I finished, I gave it to Ava. She looked at it, and gasped. "Do you know what it is?" I said excitedly. "Am, that's the Dark Mark." That didn't sound good. "What's the Dark Mark?" "It's- it's his mark. You-Know-Who's. Where did you see it?" she asked. You-Know-Who's mark? Why would Severus have that on his arm?

"Um, I don't remember. I think the newspaper?" I lied. Ava gave me a worried look, but said, "Okay...want to do some homework?" "Maybe later. I think I'm going to go for a walk." "Okay, see you later," said Ava.

I needed to think. I sat under a tree by the Lake, my thinking spot. If Severus had You-Know-Who's mark on his arm- the Dark Mark- would that make him a...supporter? A lightbulb went off in my head. Ava and I were wrong, I thought, Cecil's not a Death Eater; Severus is! I'm in love with a Death Eater. Wait. Did I just say I'm in love with Severus?

A/N: We've already been together for over 10,000 words (precisely 10,724)! I can't believe it! I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!