Warnings: Mentions of rape, abuse, and some language
Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait, I got distracted with one of my other stories and I wanted to write what I had been thinking before I forgot it. Also, I've already been experiencing writers block for this story. I have a general outline, but sometimes it's hard filling all the insides. If anybody has any suggestions of what they'd like to see in the story, let me know. I take everybody's opinions into consideration.
Clipped Wings Chapter Three
58532 groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His body was sore all over, but it wasn't the sharp stabbing pains he used to feel, just a dull throbbing everywhere. He opened his eyes all the way and looked down at his body, the bruises he had seemed to have faded overnight and he bit his lip. Slaves weren't supposed to do magic and sometimes if somebody did too much the slave handlers would put on a special collar that would absorb all the magic until the slave turned into a squib.
The only reason they didn't do it to all of the slaves was because some Masters like their slaves to do magic, for various reasons. Some just thought it was inhumane to take something like that, even if it was just a slave. Most of the use of collars was used quite illegally, behind closed doors until the process was finished, then the slave would be obliviated so they wouldn't tell. The slave handlers then, change the slave's number and tell everybody the other slave died and the one without any magic was either a muggle, or a squib.
58532 frowned again when he moved his arms and legs, when he wiggled his finger and toes. They didn't hurt so much and he wondered if his Master would see, and sap all his magic. Even if he wasn't allowed to use magic, he didn't want to lose it, what if he needed it for something important some day? Of course, he did have the occasional bout of accidental magic, but all kids did. His accidental magic had been mostly when nobody was around. At first the slave handlers had thought he was a squib, but then one day 58532 had accidentally zapped another slave. He was beaten something fierce that day and he hadn't had another bout of accidental magic (in the presence of anybody else) since.
58532 sighed as he stood, he didn't want to think about such things anymore; he'd worry about it when it came, he told himself. As he stretched, his joints popped and groaned angrily in protest. Suddenly he wondered what time it was, it felt like he'd been asleep for a really long time, he slept really well though, surprisingly. Since he was five he'd been dreading the day he got a Master, he had always heard such horrible things from the other slaves.
He was only six when he'd learned about sex slaves. Another slave, 74289, had explained that there were supposed to slaves trained and sold for that specifically, but the poorer people would buy regular slaves and rape them. At the time 58532 had no idea what 'sex' was, or 'rape', but 74289 made them both sound extremely horrible. It was explained to him, but he still hadn't understood.
When he was seven he witness rape first hand. All the slaves had been in a dark, damp, room with almost no light when the door suddenly opened. Most of the slaves flinched away from the light, but 58532 hadn't. He'd been out in the light a lot, since he was still being trained; he looked around at everybody and then looked at the door in wonder.
A man was standing there looking positively mad, there was an evil grin on his face that 58532 was sure he'd never forget. The man stepped forward and looked around, then strode up to where 58532 had been sitting next to 74289. The man knelt down to his level and grinned at him, 58532 felt really uncomfortable, but knew not to move away.
The man had said that 58532 looked like such a nice 'fuck toy', but he hadn't understood what that was, so he hadn't been scared. 74289 on the other hand, had known exactly what it was and was furious. The old muggle had taken 58532's arm and pulled him back gently and snarled at the other man, earning him a kick in the face.
The other man then turned away from 58532 and grabbed another slave that he'd not known the name of. He hit the boy and threw him onto the floor. Both their clothes had been removed with magic and the scream that had filled the room for the next twenty minutes sent shivers up 58532's spine and it haunted his nightmares.
That day he'd learned what 'rape' and 'sex' was, but to him they both sounded like the same thing.
58532 shook his head as if to clean his mind, it was never good for him to think about things, it just made him scared. He sighed and put his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything, but there were no sounds. As quietly as he could he opened the door a crack and looked out, it was still almost completely dark out; 58532 figured it was early morning, probably around two or three. Hoping with all his heart that his Master wouldn't wake, he opened the door all the way out and left.
He remembered when he was in training that slaves were supposed to do all the house chores; such as the cooking, cleaning, gardening, and anything else Master wanted. The house seemed incredibly huge when he first arrived, he figured it would take all day to clean; he had to start right away if he was to finish on time.
Wandering down the hall a bit he peeked in all the rooms as he went except one at the end with the door closed, he figured that's where his Master slept, so he turned around started walking the other way. He passed a guest room, a library, a bathroom, and a study on the way, and then the last one was the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen he shut the door behind him and looked around. There really wasn't much in it. There was a dining table and a stove, a couple of cupboard and a sink. Under the sink was another cupboard, 58532 quickly went to it and opened the door. He knew from living at the Dursley's for the first five years of his life that some people kept cleaning supplies under sink, sure enough there was some down there. There were a couple of different bottles and then a bucket of rags next to them.
58532 picked up a bottle and looked at it, there was label but he couldn't really read that well, slaves weren't allowed to know how to read, or do math, or anything really. He didn't know why, he just knew that that's how it was. He'd gotten punished for knowing too much once when he was eight, he had been counting the stones on the wall when a slave handler came in and saw him. He never let on that he could count and read some.
58532 eyed the label on the bottle and squinted, glass cleaner. He put it down and picked up another one, that one he couldn't read so he opened it and smelled it. The one in his hands smelled an awful lot like the cleaner the Dursley's had him clean the tables and counter tops with. The last one he could tell what it was right away, bleach. 58532 put it back down and picked up the one for cleaning counter tops with and set to work on the table, it was surprisingly dusty, didn't Master ever use it? The dust was so thick that he had to switch rags half way through.
Once the surface was finished 58532 went to do the counters when he noticed cobwebs hanging from underneath. Frowning he crouched down and began removing them, it was quite obvious that the table was almost never used. When the table was finally clean he got up and looked around, spotting a closet that he hadn't noticed before he went to it. Inside was a lot more cleaning supplies, buckets of rags, lots of cleaner, even a broom and a mop.
58532 grabbed another handful of rags and some more cleaner and went to work on the counter tops, that seemed to have somehow collected even more dust than the table had, if that was even possible.
When he had finished the counter tops be went back to the closet to get the broom. Out of all the chores he had to do, sweeping and moping had to be his favorite, though he couldn't tell you why. He just found it to be rather relaxing, that's all. It didn't take long for the sweeping to be done, he got a bucket and a mop. The bucket was filled with hot water and bleach. Knowing that bleach was bad for clothes and not wanting to destroy his Master's shirt, 58532 took it off while he cleaned, making himself completely naked.
58532 moped as fast as he could, he didn't want his Master to come in and find him cleaning naked. He didn't know if he'd get into trouble for it or not, and he didn't want to take any chances.
Soon the whole kitchen was clean, but the sun was already coming up. Noises could be heard from down the hall so he quickly put the cleaning supplies away and went back to his closet. The slave handlers had told him that he's supposed to greet his Master every morning with coffee, or tea, and breakfast; but some of the more experienced slaves had told him that for the first day you're supposed to wait for your Master to tell you what he expects of you.
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Severus woke with a start, breathing hard and sweating. He's had a horrible nightmare, in it the Dark Lord had found out his slave was Harry Potter and killed him, then Lily's ghost came to haunt him. She had said some terrible things to him that made his heart feel as if it was being squeezed painfully.
Severus then realized that he'd have to reapply the glamour on Potter to try to hide him from the Dark Lord. He knew it was impossible for a death eater to have a slave without the Dark Lord wanting to meet them, and sometimes make use of them. He shuddered as he remembered the various slaves he'd witnessed giving service to the Dark Lord, he prayed that he wouldn't want Potter like that.
Severus shuddered again and quickly got out of bed, he needed to check on the brat. His wards haven't gone off, so that meant that Potter was still in his closet. He briefly wondered why Potter hadn't tried to clean everything, normally the slaves he brought home tried, not that he was complaining. He didn't really want Potter to clean the house, he didn't want to make any child clean the place.
He opened his bedroom door and crossed the hall to the bathroom. After relieving himself and washing his face, he left to go check on Potter. When he opened the door he saw Potter flinch away slightly and back up into the corner. He swallowed past a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, why was it so hard? Usually he had no problems snapping at the slaves he got, as long as they eventually got into a decent home. But he couldn't bring himself to be mean to Potter.
"Come along, 58532." Severus said, trying to sound harsh, but not really succeeding. Potter immediately stood up and went up to Severus, his head was bowed and his body stiff. Severus quickly turned and walked down the hall to the kitchen, Potter trailing behind him. When he opened the door however, he had to stop, causing Potter to bump into him.
"I'm sorry Master!" Potter cried.
"It's alright, Po-58532." Severus said, mentally cursing himself for the slip up. "Did you clean this kitchen?" He turned around to look at the boy, who had shrunken back.
"Yes, Master." Potter said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.
"How did you get out of your closet without the wards going off?" Severus demanded, he knew for sure he had put them up.
"Wards, Master?" Potter asked.
"Yes, I put wards up to alert me if you left the closet," Severus said, eyes narrowing. "Have you taken them down?" Potter's eyes had gone wide with fear.
"No! Master I didn't, I swear!" Potter's hands came up and wrapped around his neck, as if to block something from getting to it. Severus turned without another word and strode across the kitchen, pulled open a door and went through. Potter followed close behind him and looked around the living room as if he was seeing it for the first time. Severus realized that last night must have been a blur for Potter.
"Sit." Severus commanded, then blinked as Potter immediately sat on the floor where he had been standing. He wanted to tell the boy to sit on the couch, but knew that in the business they taught slaves that they could never sit on the furniture. Severus crouched in front of the boy and looked into his eyes. He realized that the Dark Lord would know them anywhere and Potter's cover would be blown right away. He pulled out his want and pointed it at Potter, who flinched and began whimpering; Potter's eyes immediately filled with tears.
Swallowing past another lump that formed, he began altering Potter's appearance. Severus put a glamour over the scar, turned Potter's eyes blue, and his hair was turned brown. Potter had tears rolling down his face, and Severus felt the odd sensation of wanting to comfort him, but he couldn't, so he stood and went to the kitchen. Potter watched him, wondering what he was supposed to do.
"Stay there." Severus said, then went into the kitchen. "Nippy!" There was a pop.
"What can Nippy be getting for Master?" Nippy asked, her eyes going wide at how clean the room was. "Master cleaned!"
"No," Severus sighed. "I did not clean, the slave did."
"Oh, so what can Nippy get for Master?"
"Can you bring me and my slave some breakfast?" Severus asked.
"Of course, Nippy is getting it now!" She popped away, and then popped back a moment later with two plates of eggs and bacon. She set them on the table and popped away again. Severus looked at the plates, then took one and set it onto the floor, then he called Potter in. The boy came in almost immediately and stood in front of Severus, waiting for instruction.
"Sit." Severus commanded, Potter sat. "Eat that food on the floor." Potter's eyes widened when he saw it, then looked back up to Severus for permission. "Go on." Severus then went to his spot at the table and began eating. He hated eating at the table while there was a child eating on the floor, he just wanted to grab Potter and make his sit at the table. Instead, he ignored the child was even down there. After a couple of minutes Severus realized the boy wasn't making any noises anymore and looked down, the boy's food was already completely gone, licked clean and everything. Severus shook his head and finished his breakfast.
"Come back into the living room if you will." Severus said, going into the living room and sitting on the couch. Potter just stood in front of Severus, not looking up from the floor. "You may sit down." Potter sat down.
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58532 was confused to say the least. He'd just gotten an amazing breakfast, even if he hadn't known how to use the metal pointy thing that had been on his plate, and his Master hadn't punished him yet at all. Not even when he ran into him!
Sitting on the floor he waited for Master to talk, but instead he pulled out his wand. 58532 flinched away involuntarily. He hated being punished with the wand, it was worse than being hit with fists, or being whipped. But the pain never came, instead there was a slight pushing inside his head. Without really realizing it, 58532 pushed it away quickly.
When he looked up at his Master, he was sitting on the couch his mouth was hanging open, looking to be in shock. 58532 began to worry, had he done something wrong? Was he going to be punished? Suddenly the man got up, making him flinch again, and strode out of the room, telling 58532 to stay where he was.
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Severus couldn't believe it, the boy was a natural Occlumens. Even trying his best, he was unable to penetrate Potter's mind. He went to the floo called Albus and Poppy, who flooed over immediately.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Harry?" Poppy questioned right away, not even brushing the soot off her robes.
"No, I thought you might like to meet him." Severus said, "While he's awake."
"Severus, you know that's not a good idea." Poppy said, "I am unable to be as harsh as you."
"You needn't worry," Severus sneered, "He's a natural Occlumens." Both Albus and Poppy looked shocked.
"You're sure, Severus?" Albus asked.
"Yes, I haven't felt shields that strong in a long time." Severus said. "I think they may rival yours." Albus nodded.
"Alright, take us there." Severus quickly opened the door to the study and they made their way to the living room, where Potter hadn't moved an inch. The boy looked up and he looked worried.
"58532, I'd like you to meet some people I know," Severus said calmly. Before anybody could say anything, Albus flung his wand out and pointed it at Potter, the twinkle in his eye dead, and his mouth in a hard line.