Ok so this chapter is not as long as some of them i acknowledge that so Me Culpa eh? If it is of any consolation I will be posting the next chapter rather soon, Tuesday- I think, i don't recall what i wrote on my profile but I believe it was Tuesday so I'm going with Tuesday. This chapter is more of a way to explain how Lucius and Severus believe Harry/Ares came to be, I'm sorry if it makes you feel like the story is dragging but i thought it needed to be mentioned some how. The next chapter will be a bit longer and will have a bit more drama than even this chapter so I'm looking forward to everyone's reaction (hehe i'm evil) any way I'll leave you now bye!
NOT FOR THE EYES OF CHILDREN
MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS
TORTURE
NOT MY CHARACTERS
Mistress Slytherin
-LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
-4-
Harry sighed in slight exasperation as he stood on the stool. Lucius was a terrible horrible awful person he decided as the measuring tape zipped along his person, the manicurist buffed his nails, the cobbler sat in the corner taking notes and the skin therapist stood with the masseuse and the hair stylist by the bathroom. A truly horrible person. Snape however was grinning evilly from where he sat flipping through a book. "You're terrible." Harry said petulantly. The man in question looked up and smirked.
"You're skinny and melodramatic." Harry sneered.
"Your shirt sir?" The man asked catching the measuring tape in his hand. Harry huffed but pulled it off anyway. A gasp behind him had him blinking in confusion.
"What?" He looked back towards the mirror and his face fell. He had assumed that since the scar on his forehead was gone, that all the others would be gone as well, he hadn't bothered to look. "Oh." He said his face an expressionless mask.
"Fuck." Harry startled at Severus' shocked response and quickly moved to put his shirt back on only to have it snatched away from him. The man was looking at the long ragged scars with burning eyes terrible furiously burning eyes. "The people who did this to you, where are they." Harry looked away the man's dangerous tone causing the hair on his arms to prickle. "WHERE ARE THEY!" Severus roared. Harry flinched back his eyes down cast mouth pursed into a thin line.
"Severus what the devil-" Harry glanced up just in time to see Severus bodily push Lucius against the wall.
"Did you know!" Something hot and angry filled Harry at the sight of Severus shaking Lucius. "Did you fucking let it happen!" Something inside of Harry snapped, something primal. Severus was threatening that small bit of hope he'd built while spending time with Lucius the past few days. Suddenly he was striding across the room his magic crackling dangerously around him as he grabbed hold of the back of Severus' robes and with inhuman strength pulled the man away tossing him across the room. Severus landed sprawled across the floor and snarled but froze upon seeing Harry. A glance in the mirror told him why. His eyes were glowing and where his lips were pulled back into a snarl he could see that his teeth were sharper than they should have been. He froze as a finger slowly traced the long raised scar that started at the base of his collar bone crossed his spine and trailed off just before reaching his thigh. Harry's breath hitched as the nail grew sharper though it only slid across his skin non-threateningly. Lucius let out a small helpless sound and Harry couldn't help but accept the strong arms that surrounded him.
"I'm sorry." Lucius said his voice thick. Harry shook his head.
"It was never your fault to begin with and the people that did this paid dearly, painfully before their torment ended, it is but a bad memory now." He said smoothly his magic settling around him as he took Lucius' offered comfort feeling greedy while he did so.
"Who hurt you?" Severus asked calm now. Harry shook his head.
"It doesn't matter, they're dead." He said softly but firmly. The man frowned but nodded.
"As you wish-" He hesitated briefly. "Would you like me to make a salve to erase those marks?" He asked softly. Harry hesitated. Did he? A thrill of fear raced up his spine. Could he? Erase them? Erase all his pain and sorrow and loneliness with a simple salve?
"Not yet." He said his voice rough. "Some day perhaps, but not yet." Dark eyes bore into his for a moment before with a jerky nod he turned away. Lucius settled his hand on Harry's shoulder before addressing the others in the room who had wisely kept quiet.
"I trust that not a word of what has happened here today will travel outside these walls? He said imperiously. The others paled and nodded quickly. Lucius smirked and squeezed Harry's shoulder. "Very well then, I believe Ares was having his measurements taken?" Harry gave the man a half-hearted glare but the man merely smirked and moved towards where Snape was sitting. Harry sighed as he was told to climb the stool and hold out his arms.
"Have you found anything?" Lucius said softly his eyes gazing at his son in slight worry. Severus frowned.
"Which project?" He asked slightly annoyed still.
"Ares." Lucius almost snapped back. Severus sighed.
"Nothing, who ever did this was good at covering their tracks." Lucius pursed his lips.
"Tell me Severus." He said uneasily. The man glanced at him eyes glittering. "Who do you think would have the resources for such a project? The ability to draw blood from not only one but two pureblood families is not a feat to be looked down upon. Then you must consider the powerful spells and complex potions involved in keeping it a secret, not to mention the base in which to operate." Severus nodded.
"And the intelligence to get away with it." He added under his breath. "I can only think of a few who would have been capable of this." Lucius nodded.
"Severus." Lucius' voice shook something that Severus hadn't seen in years. "The time frame fits." Severus frowned.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Lucius took a deep breath.
"Do you remember- after the first miscarriage?" Severus breathed in sharply.
"How could I forget Lucius? How could I possibly forget?" Lucius regarded his long time friend with a soft look.
"They thought Narcissa was barren, and- I never told you this Severus because father made me swear not to but- he forced me into accepting Narcissa as my bride." Severus' eyes snapped towards him.
"What?" He breathed. Lucius sighed tiredly.
"He had your mother Severus, he had her under his thumb and the only way I could keep her safe was to marry Narcissa. I couldn't let him hurt her because I saw how precious she was to you, but I swore to him that if something should happen to Narcissa there wouldn't be a thing that he could do to stop me from going back to you." Lucius swallowed thickly and Severus stared at him numbly unable to form a single sentence for a moment before with a painful force understanding hit him.
"Your father…of course…With Narcissa declared unable to birth another child your father would have been desperate for an heir." Lucius nodded slowly.
"And now he torments me from beyond the grave." Lucius said looking at his son. "I have missed seventeen years of my son's life Severus. How can I make up for that? How can I heal these wounds? Severus I want him to be happy, more than anything I want him to be happy!" Severus unconsciously reached out settling his arm across Lucius' shoulders. "I swore Severus, I swore that day when I spat on my father's grave that I would raise my son differently- that any children I might have would have the love and care they deserve." Small tremors were making their way through Lucius' normally proud stature and Severus felt helpless to stop them.
"Eh? I have to choose them?" Ares said his expression exasperated as the tailor pulled out a large leather bound book. Lucius let out a shaky laugh and Severus looked down in time to catch a glimpse of a helpless smile before the man stood leaving him to help his son. Severus sighed. As always Lucius was the one being tormented. Why? Why was the world so determined to destroy this beautiful creature? Lucius had done nothing to deserve this! Oh he knew that the man was cruel and cold, he knew that Lucius had come to enjoy the sick stench of warfare over the years. But it had been an acquired taste, one bred on years living with a father who was born to enjoy it. Severus had heard stories late in the night when Lucius had been most vulnerable to him, stories of Lucius being forced to watch as his father tortured and killed servants simply for the sake of it. In fact the first spell Lucius had ever learned was a rather nasty torture curse that turned one's insides inside out. Lucius had wanted nothing more than to spare his own son such a fate despite the dark lord's schemes.
"Ug! Dear Ares you wound me!" He glanced up to see the two smirking at each other true joy in both their gazes. Truthfully it amazed Severus to see that the boy could joke around after what he'd been through. Ares never laughed at least not really but Lucius seemed to bring something out in the boy. Something Severus could tell had been long hidden- a safety mechanism he understood all too well. Something protective filled him then as he looked over the two, Lucius with his angelic features who seemed to smile more since Ares had come and Ares, his younger half-brother an abused child whose wants seemed so simple and whose strength was admirable. He knew deep inside of him that he'd be willing to die for either of them.
"You must be joking! Professor Snape I beg of you! You must put an end to this madness!" Ares called out to him looking exasperated. Severus tilted his head to the side.
"Lucius what are you doing to the poor boy?" He asked enjoying the boy's melodrama far more than he should. Lucius looked affronted.
"Me? I've done nothing but offer my opinion!" Ares looked panicked.
"Tis a lie! Tis a lie! Yellow Mister Snape, he wants me to try yellow robes!" Severus sneered looking disgusted and Lucius huffed crossing his arms.
"It is not yellow its considered 'French crème!'" He defended. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Lucius, while the color may look stunning on you it doesn't fit Ares' complexion." He said setting down his book. Lucius frowned the look almost like a pout before turning to the cloth he was holding and considering.
"What do you have in mind?" Ares asked. Severus quirked an eyebrow.
"Black." He said simply causing Lucius to snort.
"I told you." Ares said crossing his arms. Lucius glared balefully at his son.
"My dear Ares it appears that you have inherited the Prince blood lines abhorrent habit of dressing like one is in constant mourning." He snarked. Ares lifted his chin stubbornly.
"Black is a practical color!" Severus had to snort; he remembered saying the same thing to Lucius at one point. Lucius sighed and turned to the tailor who had been watching the entire thing with wide eyes.
"What do you think?" Lucius demanded his cold veneer in place where it had softened in the face of Ares. The man winced.
"Black is certainly a flattering color on the boy Mister Malfoy, though it isn't the only color that would look flattering on him. Darker colors add to his somewhat mysterious aura but there are some lighter colors that I believe would look striking on him." Ares rose a fine eyebrow.
"Like what?" He asked curiously. The man stumbled for a moment before reaching into his bag and pulling out a booklet of sample fabric.
"This silver color for example, the idea is not to make the entire set of robes one particular color but to accent them with the color. Black robes would look dashing if paired with a vest or if lined in this color." Lucius seemed satisfied with that idea and Ares thoughtful.
"Do you remember that Asian style ensemble you made for me a few years back?" Lucius said curiously as he looked through the new bits of fabric. The man nodded.
"I want you to make him some like that." Severus watched the boy roll his eyes.
"Compromise Ares, compromise." Severus said picking up his book. The boy shot a glare at him and had he been any younger Severus was certain that the boy would have stuck his tongue out at him. He chuckled lightly.
"Why are you laughing Severus?" Lucius asked quirking an eyebrow. "You're next." Severus looked up at the sly man and his eyebrow twitched. Ares sniggered.
"Compromise mister Snape, compromise." Severus leveled the boy with a glare only to be treated with a satisfied smirk.