After returning home, he was met by a mildly anxious Nagini, whom he had chosen to leave behind during the negotiations, expecting that the organization would want to apply the mark on the spot, since there was no good way to conceal a snake. Ordinarily, the Maledictus coiled around his neck and tucked herself beneath his cloak or robes, out of sight.
The mark itself was considerably simpler than the one imposed on Death Eaters. It did not reduce a person to a slave; rather, it allowed the organization to track a "Black Star" member's location with ease and listen in on their conversations at will. Functionally, it bore more resemblance to the seal Severus had placed on Bellatrix.
There was, however, a killing mechanism built into it, which they had naturally neglected to mention, and which the other members almost certainly knew nothing about. He could tell as much from Lavr and Nestor, neither of whom had any inkling, despite being far from the lowest ranks, one of them even holding the position of deputy commander of the Gold division.
Killing from thousands of kilometers away was impossible, of course. The mechanism had its limitations. If the organization's leader were to take the life of any mark-bearer at any distance, the volume of runes required for such an "action" would need to increase fivefold, which would make discovery a certainty, and few would willingly wear something that amounted to a collar around their neck. So the kill function had been cut back severely and hidden deep beneath the other runes.
The leader could only kill within a certain proximity to the target, and that distance did not exceed a hundred meters. Severus had to admit that whoever had crafted this seal was a genuine genius, someone who could have commanded a very high price in his own world, for very few were capable of packing so many functions into something so small. Even he might have needed a couple of days, perhaps a week or two, for work of that kind.
As for Severus personally, unpicking it had not been particularly difficult. Unlike his own world, there was no practice of encrypting the runes to stop others from reading them, and if one were to borrow the language of Muggle computing, which he had encountered while reading the memories of one of his employees, the code was entirely open and could be studied by anyone. So during that earlier meeting with Nestor, a few seconds had been enough to understand how the mark operated and to rebuild it entirely for his own purposes.
The thought had crossed his mind to simply force his way in during Vitold's meeting with the organization's leader, determine the man's location, and dispense with all the tedious business of infiltrating the organization. But Lavr's memories had argued against it, and the Assassins' Guild artifact had played no small part in that decision either.
After all, it was not guaranteed that he could locate the masked figure so easily, and the worst-case outcome would be creating a very dangerous enemy, which Severus was clearly intent on avoiding.
At the moment, he was in no particular hurry. Selling certain potions through the organization promised to bring him considerable profit, and he remained deeply interested in the books, or more precisely, the vast library he had seen in Nestor's memory, along with all of the Copper division's research spanning the past several centuries.
For all those reasons, he had chosen this approach to resolving the problem: the one most likely to yield maximum benefit and fewest unnecessary complications.
As for the date with Bella, he had not lied about that either. They had not spent time together in a very long while. The past two weeks had buried him in work, and they had not managed so much as a brief conversation through the mirror, let alone an actual meeting.
Bella herself had no shortage of business, particularly of late, as the Death Eaters had begun pressing Black Star steadily and seizing the initiative across Magical Britain.
The dark mages had not suddenly grown stronger, of course. The Ministry of Magic had simply decided to lend them a quiet hand in dealing with the organization that had dared set its sights on their country. Though the two sides had not discussed it directly, both understood that a third party wanted to watch them tear out each other's throats, which neither could afford to allow.
So almost every day, somewhere in England, three-way clashes broke out between the major powers, in which Bellatrix took an active part. She had recovered her clarity of mind, but she had not lost a single grain of her appetite for battle.
Severus observed this in turn, though only occasionally. He had every confidence in the aristocrat's strength and skill, and the artifact he had given her that day not only protected her mind but was capable of raising a barrier around its mistress that even Avada Kedavra could not breach. Beyond that, he would know the instant anyone attacked her and could step in to help if it came to it.
By the time evening was approaching and this strange day was drawing to a close, as they walked toward Grimmauld Place, Severus received reports from Tobby, José, and Shafiq that the surveillance had lifted and the Black Star wizards had fallen back. He had already sensed it himself when the gazes boring into their backs finally ceased.
"Who was it?" Bella's voice came from beside him, flat. At that moment, he was holding her against him, and she had stopped resisting with any real conviction. It was more for appearances' sake; she understood there was little point. She had relaxed, and now her head rested on his shoulder as they walked towards her house.
"The people you've been at war with lately," he answered with a faint smirk, his hand beginning to slide downward.
"Hand," the woman said, shooting him a sharp look.
"Fine, fine. Can't a man have any fun anymore?" he muttered with theatrical offense, returning his hand to her waist, though settling it marginally lower than before.
"This is your doing, I take it?"
"You know, your beloved has become a very important figure in the magical world," he said, lifting his chin with mock self-satisfaction, and the witch simply rolled her eyes.
"So they wanted to use me to draw you in, and since they've retreated, that means..."
"Yes, I joined them." He saw no point in lying; she was clever enough to work it out herself. "Only temporarily. Their research interests me. As for the potions side of things, don't concern yourself. I signed a magical contract with the Ministry."
"I see..." The conversation died at that. Then, after a moment's silence: "...be careful" The words came in a perfectly ordinary voice, utterly unguarded, and a quiet laugh escaped Severus. Hearing it, she snorted with displeasure and turned away.
"If a girl like you worries about me, then by definition I cannot let her down..."
"Hand!"
"Shh!" He raised it again, then lowered it again, only slightly this time, which Bella could hardly fail to notice. She chose to let it go for now, and was mildly surprised at herself for doing so. As strange as it was to admit, she had, over this long stretch apart, begun to miss these quiet walks and the insufferable wizard who accompanied her: the one who paid no regard whatsoever to her position, and who had freed her from a marriage she had never wanted. With him, she felt like an ordinary woman rather than a powerful witch. It was irritating, in its way, and yet there was a certain lightness to it, a sense of safety, because she had not forgotten the day she had saved him, nor what she had seen in that moment: his strength.
"I imagine you'd like me not to mention any of this to my lord?" Black smiled, a playful glint in her eye as she looked toward the dark alley they were approaching. "And I expect you intend to make sure of that..."
"Perceptive as ever," he replied with an expression to match, and the moment they stepped into the dark alley, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her, sudden and consuming, like something held at bay for far too long. She did not hesitate for an instant. She kissed him back with equal urgency, her arms finding his neck and pulling him close, but she did not simply yield to his pressure: she met it, fought back, again and again trying to wrest the upper hand in this particular contest. Each attempt met with fierce resistance. Her wild, imperious nature refused to concede, and she kept at it despite knowing it was useless. Anyone who had wandered into the alley at that moment would have gotten quite a shock, not that anyone could: Severus had already raised a barrier to ensure they would not be disturbed.
The contest lasted nearly ten minutes before they finally broke apart, though without looking away from each other. Bella was breathing hard, her hair ruined and her dress thoroughly disheveled. Severus himself was entirely composed, not a crease anywhere on his clothes, as though nothing had happened at all. This contrast kindled something competitive in her; she had half a mind to do something about his hair and those infuriatingly intact buttons.
"I missed you very much..." He ran his palm gently along her cheek, his voice warm.
"I noticed," she answered with a tired exhale, trying to reassemble her composure and smoothing her dress. Then she felt a soft breath of air, and right before her eyes, the dress was smooth again and her hair had returned to order. "Thank you, though I would have managed perfectly well on my own."
"Of course. But I chose to correct my own mistake. Next time I'll try to be more restrained..."
"Hmm!" She turned away and walked forward, then stopped after a few paces and tossed back, as if in passing: "My uncle wants to meet you."
Severus raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. It wasn't feigned. He truly hadn't known. He wasn't the type to watch her every moment; he only checked in occasionally and briefly, when he needed a distraction from work.
He caught up to her and tapped her on the forehead, which genuinely startled Bellatrix. No one had ever treated her quite so casually.
"You should have warned me beforehand. I haven't even thought about a gift." He took her arm as they set off toward the Black house. "Right, I'll think of something on the way. And please don't put me in that position again, or next time I'll spank you."
Reflexively, she reached back to cover herself, then caught what she was doing. Her pale cheeks flushed slightly as she turned on him with a furious glare and began jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow. He ignored it entirely, only drawing her closer against his side.
"Hand!"
"Shh!"
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 268
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 187
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 269
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 114
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