He nods and I return to look at Severus, who nods slightly. Slowly the room is filling up, but I ignore it all. Being here again is already overwhelming and I notice that the pact is also in the room, their emotions try to reach me, but I learned to build a mental wall. Their emotions don’t overwhelm me anymore, but I can feel their closeness, the desire to lower the wall and connect with them. I know this is for my own good, the pain is still too raw and combining that with fighting the urge to reach for potions and drown out my emotions would be too much.