Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.


Chapter Eight
"Pine Cone, Pie, and String"


The next few days went by excruciatingly slowly for Severus. They all seemed to be endless replicas of each other.

Every morning, Mering would unlock him from his shackles and have Severus follow him to the kitchen, though thankfully on his feet and not crawling. Whilst making breakfast, out of a meagre amount of food items that appeared on the kitchen table each morning, Mering would continue to insult Severus by making fun of his appearance or position, by taunting him with how 'no suitable owner would want a Death Eater', or by flat-out referring to Severus as "filth", "scum", or "worthless". Not that the insults bothered Severus much, as he knew he was an unattractive person, that being a slave was sure to be a temporary position, that being a Death Eater was far better than being a slave owner, and as for the other insults... he had heard better insults from Hufflepuffs, and that was saying something, as Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the loyal ones.

Perhaps growing up as a Slytherin, and after raising quite a few of them as House head, he had grown accustomed to more clever insults.

After breakfast (in which he was indulged if he had behaved thus far), he would be sent to do various chores. The living room had taken an extra day to finish, and he had fixed the stairway in the hall the Muggle way (and had a very badly bruised thumb to show for it). The downstairs hallway and bathroom (both disgustingly dirty) were eventually cleaned in non-magical ways as well. He still hadn't yet had a chance to venture upstairs, but he hadn't given up hope. Surely there was some clue to his location up there, and perhaps an owl, though he hadn't heard one. There was also the matter of finding Floo powder and a fireplace connected to the network. He was not dense enough to assume that the downstairs fireplace was connected to it, but perhaps an upstairs one was.

The time after supper was his least favourite of the day. After supper was when he was expected to submit to whatever punishment Mering felt he had deserved. Every night it involved some sort of flogging with different materials. Severus had discovered that Mering was well-equipped with different sorts of whips and rods, and also that he knew every spell in the world that could possibly hurt another. Severus had knowledge of those same spells – he was not a self-titled Dark Arts expert for nothing- but he had not actually expected to have such spells used on him before. He knew many a spell to defend himself against such attacks, but now could do nothing. Without a wand, such spells were pointless. As far as wandless magic went, he could not perform those spells without a wand. And even if he could, he could not perform any type of spell against Mering; Mering ruthlessly reminded him of that every chance he got.

He was at Mering's mercy, a thought that did not comfort him.

But unlike the first night, the beatings no longer took place in the confines of the basement, nor was Severus released to go to bed afterwards. No, he would still have to complete tasks that he could hardly stomach. He had no qualms in cleaning the atrociously dirty house, in making meals, but the other tasks he was given, akin to foot massages and licking shoes clean? Mering seemed to enjoy coming up with those sorts of tasks when he got bored, tasks that no one in their right mind would relish.

Severus found himself getting into the habit of Occluding, simply so he would not have to think. It was relaxing, in its own way. Not when someone was trying to penetrate your mind, of course, but when you were not blocking anything but your own thoughts, it was. He was yet again very glad he had had the idea and abilities to learn Occlumency at the young age he had. He hadn't had a clue at the time how much he would need the skill.

"After cleaning up breakfast, you are to go upstairs, to the third door on the left-hand side, to clean and organise the room," Mering stated as he shovelled food into his mouth one morning.

Severus could only imagine what was in the room. It would likely be a wreck as the downstairs had been until Severus had cleaned. "Yes, Master." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply after speaking those words. He would not react.

His plan involved taking Mering by surprise, and in order to do that, he needed Mering to trust him. If he fought every chance he got, Mering would only be more cautious around him, making escape more impossible. Escape already would be hard enough, what with the wards Mering cast to make sure Severus only stayed in designated rooms at designated times; without a wand, he could never escape. Therefore, his goal was to either find his own wand or take Mering's. He could likely tear down the wards easily.

Merlin knew he had had enough practice.

As he hadn't a clue where his own wand was kept, Mering's wand was his best option. A wizard could make any wand work for him, just some not as easily as others. But Mering, like every adult wizard, kept his wand on his person at all times. One had to keep in mind that Mering might be capable of wandless magic as well. Whatever attack Severus planned had to take little time.

He had to take Mering by surprise whilst Mering had his wand out. That alone would be tricky, for whenever Mering had his wand out, he was usually torturing Severus with it. The matter of how to take him by surprise without having the Cruciatus or another form of punishment put on him was also tricky.

He could not harm Mering in any way possible. The most obvious choice to take him by surprise was a swift and sudden kick in the groin, but would the enslavement curse see that as harm? Likely so. But any sudden movement, and Mering would likely curse him... Severus knew he was not the first slave Mering had attempted to break. He knew Mering, for years, had successfully trained many slaves before him. Mering would be prepared for any sort of stunt Severus tried to pull.

That was discouraging, but he had to at least try.

"The wards are set in that room to allow certain spells from your wand," Mering continued. "You will be able to summon objects and Scourgify them, but that is it. You will not be able to Apparate or do anything else. If you try, I'll know."

"Yes, Master," Severus said, his heart lifting. He was allowed to use magic? What if he conjured a Patronus? Yes, Mering had said he would not be able to, but that was advanced magic. And it was not as if Mering expected him to use a Patronus, as Patronuses were usually used for self-defence against certain Dark creatures. It was only because of Dumbledore that the Patronus had any other purpose. He had devised a way for the Order to contact each other using their Patronuses. Certainly he could cast a few for Minerva, Shacklebolt... any other member of the Order who might wish to seek him out and help him. It would not be much, of course, but it would prove he was alive and was waiting for their help.

Severus was familiar with warding of areas, especially wards that prevented magic from being used. Those were generally complicated to cast, and normally a Patronus would not be included in the spells prohibited in the area... the Patronus was a quite random charm. Few knew how to properly cast them, so why waste time and energy making it so that one could not cast one in a certain area?

"Master, I do have an important question regarding my enslavement and self-defence." He chose his words carefully. Mering was strict about Severus never initiating conversation, but he hadn't exactly initiated this one.

"And that would be...?"

"I am not to use my wand to protect myself against my Master, I understand," Severus said. "Or any other witch or wizard, correct?"

"Unless they are trying to cause you bodily harm that your master would not approve of, no." Mering eyed Severus suspiciously. "Why?"

"I taught Defence Against the Dark Arts for a year, Master. It is only my nature to want such questions answered." Severus was not lying as that was the truth. "But if a creature, such as a troll or Dementor, were trying to harm me, I could use a spell to stop them or ward them off?"

Mering nodded. "Unless your master instructed you otherwise, but since most do not want their slaves having their souls sucked out..." he paused. "Not that any of this is normally a problem. Do you intend on crossing paths with a troll any time soon?"

Severus chuckled. It would make his asking about it more plausible. "No, Master. But after a lifetime of fighting against the Dark, one can never be too careful."

Fighting against the Dark. I did, you realise.


Mering led Severus into the room. The room, much to Severus' surprise, appeared to be a small study. There was a medium-sized bookshelf on the wall and a desk in front of a window, overlooking a side street. The room was filled with junk and other clutter. It was dusty, and had the smell of mothballs to it.

"You may use magic," Mering reminded Severus, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Severus' ebony wand. "But remember, only Accio and Scourgify. I will be able to tell if you've tried to use anything else. Once you've finished, you're to go downstairs and wait in the corner. Understood?"

"Understood, Master," Severus confirmed, reaching out and gripping his familiar ebony wand. He had gotten it at Ollivander's when he was eleven-years-old. When he had come to Hogwarts, everything had been second-hand, at best - his books, his trunk, his robes... but not his wand. His mother had scrimped and saved for years to get him a wand at Ollivander's. Severus had not known how much wands cost at the time, but he had assumed that they were very expensive. Now that he had gotten older, he realised that, as they were necessary for a wizard, they did not run too cheaply nor too expensive. They were actually somewhat reasonable.

It reminded Severus of just how poor his family had been, even if he had not realised it at the time.

He loved his wand. It had been his only constant throughout the years. No matter what, he always had it. He had had it when he was at school being taunted by James Potter and his gang, he had had it when he joined up with the Dark Lord, he had had it the moment he found out Lily had died, he had had it throughout the quiet but dark ten years where he taught as Potions master before Harry Potter came along. He had used it to rescue Potter over and over, he had used it to kill Albus Dumbledore... His wand had been there with him no matter what. And gripping it now, he realised how much he loved it. How much he needed it. Depended on it.

Mering nodded. "I will be going to meet a colleague of mine. She will likely be coming for dinner one day next week." At that, he turned on his heel and left.

Severus did not stop to ponder Mering's words. He did not care where Mering went or what he did, or who his colleagues were. He had a feeling that Mering said those kinds of things to his slaves to make him feel superior, because he had things to do, because he was going somewhere while Severus had to stay behind. Perhaps he did not realise that those sorts of things did not bother Severus in the least.

Conjure a Patronus! He told himself. You can do it easily enough - it will be a sure sign that you need help. But as much as he hated to admit it, and would never admit to another, he was afraid. If Mering caught him, it could end very badly...

He turned and looked at the titles of the dusty books on the shelves. All

(surprise, surprise)

were on slavery. Slavery in History was one, Laws and Orders of Slavery in the Wizarding World, Punishing Slaves: The Art, and more. It was rather sickening to read the titles, let alone...

Severus glanced cautiously behind him. Mering had gone, had he not? He hadn't heard a door slam or the familiar crack of someone Apparating, but it did not mean Mering hadn't left. There were probably sound wards from downstairs to upstairs.

He grabbed Laws and Orders of Slavery in the Wizarding World and flipped it open. The dust in the book got in his nose. He resisted a sneeze as he thumbed through the pages. It seemed to be more than laws - the book was practically a how-to guide for owning a slave.

A how-to guide for owning a slave could be the how-to guide for being a slave, if one applied reverse psychology.

Slytherins were resourceful. Out of all the houses at Hogwarts, Slytherins would be the most likely to survive any circumstance, simply because they knew how to take what they had and make it work. For example, if you locked a person from each house alone in a dark room, with no windows, no door, no wand, and gave them a pine cone, a piece of pie, and a piece of string to get themselves out, it would likely be a Slytherin to get out first. What he learned from the book, combined with a Patronus or two, would have to be Severus' pine cone, pie, and string.

Severus set the book aside and looked at his wand. Think of a happy memory, he told himself. When was the happiest you have ever been? Conjuring a Patronus had never been the easiest thing for him. He did not have many happy memories to work from.

The happiest he had ever been had not changed since the beginning of his fifth year though. He had been serving detention for hexing Potter in Herbology. Of course, no one had listened to him that Potter had pulled his wand out first, and that Severus had only been acting in self-defence. So there he was working, and who but Lily Evans came up behind him. She, as a Prefect, had pulled some strings and gotten him out of detention. They had stepped out of the greenhouse into the absolute pouring rain and just stood there, getting soaked. One thing had led to another and she had kissed him... that moment stayed with Severus for the rest of his life. When he had first conjured his Patronus, he had thought of that moment, and as his life hadn't exactly gone uphill since, he hadn't had another memory to even consider changing to. He was not a depressed person by nature, but he was not a happy one either. He had few happy memories to choose from.

"Expecto Patronum!" He bellowed, pointing his wand out the window. He focused all his attention, all his energy on that memory and Kingsley Shacklebolt. And to Severus' great relief, a doe came leaping out of his wand, out the window, and disappeared out of sight.

He took a few calming deep breaths before beginning again. "Expecto Patronum!" Another doe came leaping out and went the same direction as the other, only this time to Minerva McGonagall.

Well, while you are at it... "Expecto Patronum!" He sent towards Arthur Weasley, yet another member of the Order.

The Patronuses served little purpose except as a sign, a sign that he wanted help. Surely they would understand that with one look at his Patronus... He was running out of ways to manipulate Mering. The little game Severus was playing that could be entitled "How Long I Can Control Mering Without Giving Orders" was getting old fast. It did not take an Order of Merlin to realise that any webs he tried to weave were not working, and that he was next to helpless in his current situation.

Reading Laws and Orders of Slavery in the Wizarding World did not improve his outlook much at all. The writer of the book stressed the fact that the irreversible spell would severely knock a slave out or even kill him if he attempted to harm his master, through magic or not. It also dwelt quite a bit on the slave tattoo, which interested Severus greatly:

The Mark of a slave, an elaborate tattoo shown here, serves many purposes. Not only does it alert shop-owners and others nearby that the person is a slave (slaves are forbidden by law to make purchases unless their master has given them permission – see below), but it also serves as a way to both punish and reward a slave. To punish the slave through the Mark, all the Master need do is hold his wand to the slave's head and a burning sensation will ensue. If the Master is not present and the slave disobeys, his forehead will slowly start to burn, to ensure the slave does little wrong. On the other hand, the Master's touch to the slave's forehead proves to be a very rewarding touch, akin to arousal, and many slaves are concupiscent towards simply feeling their Master's touch.

Severus unconsciously reached up and traced the blank design on his forehead. It did not hurt right then, but he knew what the book was talking about. The prickling feeling he got when he outright defied Mering, how it soon transferred into a painful burning... yet that did not bother him as much as the Master's Touch. The book made it sound like he would... enjoy getting touched on the forehead by Mering?

Severus shook his head. Hardly. He would never enjoy being anywhere near the man. He read on.

For slaves to be able to legally make purchases, they must be taken to a trained Ministry official, who will cast a spell on them. The spell, shown on page 329, renders the tattoo nearly invisible. However, the slave can and will still feel the burning and rewarding effects of the tattoo.

Severus set the book back on the shelf after applying a Scourgifying spell on it. The book had told him all he needed to know. The spell was irreversible and his only hope would be someone from the Order purchasing him. If that happened, he would be able to live a semi-normal life. Still, no matter how much freedom said Order member ever gave him, he would still have to obey all their orders, direct or indirect, or suffer the burning sensation on his forehead. He was unable to fight back. In short, he had been chicaned and there was nothing he could do about it.

Life was unfair, he had learned that long ago. However, acceptance was a different thing altogether.

Coming up next in Unwell...
Chapter Nine
: Talk of Hogsmeade