Willing

Chapter 34

Finding Out The Secret To Voldemort

Severus watched the aristocratic wizard get up, finding amusement at how slow he was walking; it certainly wasn't Lucius' normal dramatic exit from wherever he was. The only exception was when he was in the Dark Lord's company, of course. He did wonder if the wizard would break down and tell him what he was so desperate that Snape should hear. There was little doubt Lucius WAS desperate, but Severus wasn't curious enough to bind himself to the slippery blonde. Just then someone else was knocking on the door; Severus simply waved his wand, allowing the door to open. He wasn't as surprised he should have been at the fact that Narcissa and Draco were there. It made sense; the family was attempting to flee, first giving him information to help win the war, for fear of being found by the Dark Lord. Severus internally snorted; he had to admit it was a smart move.

"Father…what are you doing here?" Draco asked, looking at him with terrified blue eyes. Everyone noticed how he put himself bodily in front of his mother, as if to keep her safe from her own husband. He should have known his withdrawal from the bank wouldn't go unnoticed, yet he'd hoped in vain for a reprieve. He hadn't even gotten the chance to look for properties in other countries yet like his godfather had suggested. He had no way of getting her to safety now.

"Calm down, Draco," Lucius said, his heart aching for his son. Had he given him the impression he would ever hurt them? It seemed to be the case, with the way Draco was guarding his mum.

"Why are you here?" Draco demanded again.

"Draco, go and gather your things at once; Narcissa, go with him. I will meet you both in the entrance hall as soon as possible. There is something I need to discuss with Severus. No, Draco, I mean it; both of you go," Lucius insisted; he wasn't going to let his son try and demand answers from him, not this time.

"Why?" Draco stiffly asked, he didn't want to leave Hogwarts.

"Go," Lucius ordered, his eyes flashing angrily. Damn it, if there was a time he ever wanted to hit his son, it was right now. He had to stop himself from whacking Draco across the head, to get him to concentrate on him just for one minute.

"Let's go, son," Narcissa said, seeing her husband losing more control than normal, especially when it came to dealing with their son. With strength that she didn't look like she had, she physically moved her son out of the room. That was a sight indeed, since her son now towered over her, and she was tall as well. She was still stewing over what on earth her husband could be up to.

Severus watched the entire scene impassively, a little irritated that they were all here in his rooms. He had other things he must get done; his world didn't revolve around them, at least not anymore. No, it was Harry that was his world, and had been for a long time without him realizing it. He himself had only realized how much he cared when one day Harry just didn't return. Stupid brat that he had been, it seemed as if he'd at least learned that particular lesson.

"I have things I need to do, Lucius," Severus told the blond, wanting him to leave without saying anything; he was sure Lucius would get the picture. Lucius turned to face him looking even more defeated and desperate if possible.

Severus began to realize that this information could actually be potentially capable of tipping the balance from the Dark to the light. Lucius must think it was really important at least, otherwise he wouldn't be so desperate to share it, but cautious enough to make sure it didn't get spread around. If it was so important, why was the man so adamant that he take an oath to ensure it didn't get passed beyond him? If it had just been him, he might have given the oath, working around it where he could. It wasn't just him now; he and Harry were bound on the deepest level, magically, and emotionally. He would never forgive himself if he did this and it affected Harry in some way.

"Alright," Lucius growled, his bluish/silver eyes flashing furiously at Snape; he just knew Severus knew he had him by the balls. What was making this even more infuriating, Severus didn't even twitch, he just continued watching the wizard coolly. "Fine. Here, I'm pretty sure you can work out what this is on your own." Lucius handed over a battered, ink splattered, singed book, looking almost as if someone had rammed it with a hot poker, causing a hole in the middle then poured ink all over it.

"What am I looking at?" Severus asked as an eyebrow rose in curiosity and derision; this was what Lucius had come here to give him? It was pathetic, but even he knew that just because it looked disgusting, didn't mean it was. Magic could be deceptive, it was one of the first things he'd learned.

"Do you remember what happened during my son's second year?" Lucius enquired.

Suspicious black eyes met silver; "Indeed," was all the Potions Master had to say. It had been one hell of a year; he still didn't have the full picture of events, either. The 'Chamber of Secrets' had been opened again; roosters been killed. Dumbledore had been suspended, which admittedly hadn't bothered him much. Ginny Weasley had been possessed by the Dark Lord, which admittedly did confuse him; there had been no indication that the dark wizard had been there. He had felt him when he had been on the back of Quirrell, who had been swiftly dealt with. It was only afterwards they found the Philosopher stone within his possessions. It had been Quirrell who had taken the stone; no doubt he'd planned on creating a potion with the stone as its main ingredient to restore the Dark Lord to his former glory.

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you what really happened?" Lucius sneered, mocking Severus for his allegiance to the Muggle-loving fool. He'd been furious that Dumbledore had been reinstated as Headmaster. Dumbledore had known he did it, giving him the diary back had been a sure indicator. As always, he didn't do anything about it, since he didn't have definitive proof of Lucius' guilt.

"I received a cursory version," Severus said impassively, barely able to stop himself from hexing the wizard.

"I spent years trying to figure out what it was; I finally realized what it was five months ago," Lucius explained, his blue eyes filled with what could only be described as fear. Lucius didn't worry about being overheard. If Snape had his quarters locked down tighter than Gringotts, there was little doubt he had it soundproofed as well.

Severus stiffened, what was this that made smug, superior, stoic Lucius Malfoy so fearful? Staring down at the black book, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Whatever it was, it was surely broken by the look of things; he was admittedly curious now. Staring back up at the blonde, he understood that this didn't bode well for the light side, especially now of all times. Lucius certainly picked his moments, that was for sure. "Alright, Lucius, you have my attention; what is it?" Severus demanded; he truly wasn't in the mood for games tonight.

"This book will tell you better than I," Lucius admitted, handing over another book, a large faded Slytherin bookmark wedged between the pages. He took a seat again, looking tired.

"What is it?" Harry asked, unable to stay within the confines of the bedroom any longer, not even with Lucius Malfoy out there, whom his Dom apparently didn't trust within sighting distance. If he got in trouble, so be it; he was just too curious about the conversation and how worried his Dom was.

Severus gave Harry a ferocious glare when he came out, completely exasperated by his submissive's actions. Sitting down, he was made extremely irritated and jealous by Lucius' blatant stare at his Harry. Severus could do nothing since he hadn't told Harry to stay in there. Normally only Minerva, Poppy, or recently Lupin visited his quarters. He knew Harry was beginning to feel claustrophobic at being cooped up in one place; it was little wonder, when he was used to going wherever he wanted. It hadn't been so bad today, since he'd been able to get out and see Hogwarts and Diagon Alley for a while. Even when Dumbledore was locked up, he was going to be extremely wary of Harry being out their rooms. With the collar, though, he could relax a little, since he would know if anything happened.

Harry didn't flinch at the look, merely coming closer and sitting himself next to Severus, not even giving Lucius a glance. This did much to mollify Severus after his outburst of jealousy. Harry stared at the open book, able to read it, something he wouldn't have been able to do just a few weeks prior. His eyebrows rose in shock at what he was reading; so far all the magic he'd been exposed to had been light fun, maybe a little vindictive like the plague-mimicking spell, but this… this was dark stuff indeed. Sure, he'd beaten the hell out of people, but only because it was a matter of fight or be beaten unconscious. He'd had his share of being hurt; he'd learned to fight and made sure everyone knew better than to mess with him. His Metamorphmagus abilities stopped people from seeing how small he'd truly been, thankfully; otherwise they'd have continued thinking he was a pushover, easy to defeat. Cocking his head to the side, he read the book's title: Secret to the Darkest Art; well, it was appropriately named. Killing people and splitting your soul into pieces; while immortality had its seductive allure, he certainly wouldn't want to do that. What's the point of living forever completely insane? It fucked with your sanity, and not to mention how you looked. He'd never been vain, but he would rather not be disfigured. It didn't even specify how you were disfigured either; apparently this had been written by some man who'd done the deed himself.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Severus?" Lucius asked, his eyes flashing in indignation when the young boy didn't even spare him a look. Yes, most people who knew him did look at him with distrust, but it wasn't always that way. He was one of the best looking purebloods around; most of the others looked like the back end of a dog... or the front.

"It's destroyed now though, right? Which means he's no longer immortal?" Harry asked, completely ignoring Lucius.

"Maybe," Severus replied cautiously, closing the book with a snap. His gut told him there was more to this than met the eye. If anyone knew, it had to be Dumbledore; if he knew and had kept this a secret... well, he would have to find out. Tonight he would go up to the Hospital wing and find out for sure. The Headmaster had always been secretive, but with all this new information they'd found out, showing how far he was willing to go… it wouldn't surprise him in the least if he knew about the Horcrux. "How did you get this back, Lucius?" Severus asked, looking up at the wizard, his left eye twitching at the fact the blonde was still staring at Harry.

"Introductions?" Lucius enquired, in turn ignoring their question.

"It's none of your fucking business," Harry snapped, his green eyes glaring at the smug blonde.

"Such foul language; you should control your little conquest, Severus," Lucius said, looking at him with his nose in the air as if Harry was completely inferior to him.

"Don't you have a Muggle-born to bow down to?" Harry asked in retaliation, a feral smirk on his face.

Lucius puffed up indignantly, but there was a lingering confusion within his eyes.

"Don't," Severus said in warning, placing his hand possessively on Harry's leg, although his lips were twitching in supreme satisfaction. Since he'd found out about the Dark Lord's true blood status he'd been dying to let the others know. He'd always wondered what the expressions on their faces would be, when the pure-bloods learned they were bowing to what they commonly referred to as 'Mud-bloods', a term he refused to utter since that devastating day. He prodded his submissive off his lap, causing the teen to stand up and stare down at Severus in confusion. Harry could feel his merriment through the bond; Severus wasn't staring at him but at Lucius, so Harry did as well.

"Lucius, I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter," Severus said; the look on Lucius' face was one Severus would savour for many days to come.

"Mr. Potter, we meet at last," Lucius said, regaining control of himself. Standing up, he extended his hand out for the teenager to shake. Inwardly he was completely astonished; this was Harry Potter? Severus was dating a schoolboy, the son of his worst enemy?

Harry stared at the manicured hand, still smirking, but reluctantly he shook his hand. And then to his fury, Lucius pulled him forward, and with his cane, swept his hair aside, to see the faded scar upon his forehead. "Your scar is legend. As is, of course, the wizard who gave it to you."

Harry's green eyes flashed in anger before he kicked the older man viciously in a place no man wishes to be hit. The wizard fell to his knees groaning, not used to being assaulted in such a contemptuous Muggle manner. Harry stepped back only to be embraced by Severus who had his wand out, just as full of rage as Harry was. "The wizard that gave me this scar, as you eloquently put it, has a Muggle father; to a pure-blood like you the thought must be intolerable," Harry said mockingly. He really did sound like Severus, only now he actually understood what the words meant instead of trying to discern them.

Severus knew his submissive could take care of himself; otherwise he wouldn't have survived the streets. Although it was becoming glaringly obvious that he would have to make sure Harry thought to use MAGIC first, otherwise he wouldn't win here. Yes, sure, he had been surprised, but it was only because of his presence, that Lucius hadn't already retaliated against Harry's rather…crude Muggle method of defence.

"What are you up to Lucius?" Severus mused, "You gave me this information only as a last resort."

"I did," Lucius said in agreement, getting himself shakily to his feet, still glaring furiously at Harry. His heart wasn't in it though, since his mind couldn't help but replay everything Harry had said. Was the Dark Lord Muggle-born? He was the heir of Salazar Slytherin to be sure; he was a Parselmouth and only Salazar's descendants had that ability, so he'd never thought to investigate further. With his new focus…he wasn't quite so eager to throw down the gauntlet so to speak, although the thought of him bowing to a Mud-blood was horrifying.

"I am to assume you are turning tail and running?" Severus sneered, staring at the wizard in disgust for his cowardice.

"I'm getting my family away from the war, Snape," Lucius snarled, not liking being judged by Snape of all people.

"And they are just going to leave?" Harry asked, his eyes going to Severus. He knew he'd never leave him, not even if he demanded it; nothing would budge him from Severus' side, unless the wizard got sick of him and no longer wanted him as a Sub. The fact Malfoy's family were actually going to leave told Harry a lot of what family meant to the wizarding world. Maybe it was because he'd never had a family, but he believed they should stick with each other through thick or thin.

"Madam Malkin's will be here momentarily. Go and look at the catalogue; find some things you like," Severus said.

Harry nodded reluctantly, knowing it was Severus' way of getting rid of him ― he obviously had something he wanted to say to the in-the-closet (or so Harry believed) wizard. He lingered for as long as possible without being obvious about it.

"If you leave, you will condemn all future generations to bear the Malfoy name with embarrassment and shame. For once in your life, Lucius, do the right thing; do not stand behind someone with more power deluding yourself that you are more powerful because of it. Doesn't it infuriate you knowing that you've been consorting with a Muggle-born? Merlin, Lucius, you've seen what lengths he was prepared to go to stay alive and in power," Severus said to him, gesturing to the book as he did so, where the information pertaining to Horcruxes lay innocently enough in print.

Lucius just stared at Severus with contempt before turning around and leaving, his back stiff, seemingly resolute in his actions.

Severus watched him leaving. Once the door closed he swiftly made his way down to his Potions lab, retrieving a potion from his personal cupboard. He stared down at it, feeling very conflicted; he didn't believe that Obliviating Dumbledore was the way to go about it. He would have no other option... unless he heavily sedated the old fool, then more than likely he wouldn't remember anything happening. Either method had its risks. Nodding determinately, he made his mind up; he removed a vial of sedative from the shelf as well, placing it in his pocket along with the Veritaserum, a grim expression on his face. He had to know if the old fool knew about the Horcruxes. Thankfully Harry wasn't completely naive or innocent; otherwise he dreaded to think what the boy would be thinking right now. Harry had seen the darker side to life, which was helping him understand the Dark Lord.

"For the duration of Madam Malkin's visit, you'll be Harrison Blake again," Severus said as he entered the bedroom. He found Harry sprawled out on the bed and flipping through the catalogue as instructed.

"Why?" Harry asked in exasperation; they'd find out sooner or later. He was opting for sooner; he hated being cooped up! Then his mind drifted to Dumbledore, Lupin, and his own 'godfather', all willing to lock him up until he agreed to fight in their war. He knew Severus was only doing this to protect him. Giving him a hard time made him feel very guilty, especially with the knowledge that they'd tried to use a potion on him to bend him to their will. "Alright, Harrison Blake it is," he added before Severus could say anything.

Severus glanced at Harry with a mixture of surprise and curiosity written across his face. If there was ever a time he wanted to read Harry's mind, it would be right now. He'd gone from feeling wound up, to thoughtful, then guilty in one second flat. Sitting down on the bed, Severus kissed Harry's forehead, soothing him. "It won't be for much longer, I promise," Severus told his submissive, and he always kept his promises.

Harry nodded his head, his guilt receding.

A chime from the fireplace alerted them to the fact the witch was here. "Let's go greet our guest," the dark wizard said, getting up. "Bring the catalogue as well," he added as afterthought.

"Madam Malkin, I'm glad you could make it," Severus said as he greeted their visitor, nodding curtly, "I'd like you to meet Harrison Blake; as I stated earlier, he needs a full wardrobe," he lied about the youth's name without blinking.

"Mr. Blake, it's nice to meet you," Malkin said, placing the tools of her trade on the floor, setting up without missing a beat. Magic washed over them, causing them all to return to their proper sizes, leaving everything much larger than previously.

"You too, ma'am," Harry responded politely, something that was almost completely foreign to him, at least since leaving the Dursleys'.

"Step up on the stool!" she said cheerfully, causing Harry to force himself to refrain from curling his lip in distain; that was how Petunia always sounded when she had her book club over, or her so-called 'friends'. Nobody had really liked Petunia; they always avoided her if they could. He'd seen a few ducking into stores to avoid her at all costs. Harry had hated going shopping with them; he'd always felt as though he was being watched, as if they were trying to catch him doing something "wrong".

Harry stepped up onto the stool, nearly jumping off again when the measuring tape began twirling around him; he glared at Severus when he felt his amusement. It wasn't funny! Honestly, he didn't see how this would get his real measurements at all, but Malkin was humming away quite happily, nodding occasionally. It didn't take long for Harry to become extremely bored, standing still and waiting for what seemed like eons.

"You can step down now," she finally said, scribbling away with a quill; Harry couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever be that practiced with one. They were extremely difficult to use; he hated them. But he would have to get used to them, they were what Wizards used. They were all very backwards in terms of buildings and writing implements; he was half convinced that if he looked hard enough, he'd find wizards in stone buildings with nothing on but animal skins. It was as if they were still stuck in the Stone Age.

"Great," Harry said sarcastically.

Malkin just smiled, oblivious of the sarcasm; either that, or she wasn't stupid enough to say anything and risk the sale.

"Do you have any idea of what you want?" she then asked, speaking to both of them.

"Nine casual black summer robes, self-ironing, self-repairing, warming charms woven in; one winter robe with only four fastenings," Severus said, aware that Harry didn't want a 'dress', as he called them. Closed robes were off the menu, so to speak. "Five pairs of black dress trousers; six pairs of casual jeans, one in each colour; five white shirts; ten t-shirts― Mr. Blake will give you the colours he'd like for those. One pair of dress shoes, a pair of black boots, two sets of underwear ―again of his choice― two sets of socks, his choice." The sets were packs of twelve; he knew Harry liked his boots, so he was going to get him his own pair stop him hogging his.

"Instead of the dress shoes, can I get a pair of green dragonhide boots?" Harry asked, his green eyes twinkling brightly.

"Add both," Severus said, not willing to compromise further; he was just glad Harry wasn't grunting and groaning through the entire thing. Perhaps it was getting through to him that he was doing this because he cared. Not that he'd fought much, but Severus had sensed Harry's reluctance at accepting an entire wizarding wardrobe.

Malkin nodded, her hand writing hastily to get everything Snape was saying down correctly.

"He may also choose a hat, scarf, and gloves set," Severus added purely as an afterthought; the colder weather would soon be coming in. "Add a pair of dragonhide gloves." Harry would be brewing potions soon, and would need protection. Which reminded him, he'd need a set of robes with protection spells. "I also need a set of blue robes with my normal protection spells woven into them for Mr. Blake."

"Yes sir," Malkin said. Her wrist was hurting now but she wasn't stopping to ease it.

"And anything else he would like," Severus said, giving Harry a look that said to get whatever he liked, no matter the price.

"I marked them off in the catalogue," Harry said with a grin; the feeling of getting whatever he wanted was infectious. He'd have rather it be paid for with his money, but he knew Severus would never go for that. He might as well just enjoy it; he could always just spoil Severus back ― all he needed to do was figure out what Severus would like. He passed the catalogue over and could see she looked slightly relieved.

"Alright, it's just the colours for…" said Malkin looking at her list to find what she was looking for. "Ten t-shirts," she finished, staring at 'Harrison' curiously. Snape had always been a loner; she was curious about him, there was no doubt about that.

"Um, black, white, green, royal blue, dark blue, grey, khaki, brown, and um…cream and dark red," Harry said thoughtfully, naming all the colours he liked.

"Underwear?" Malkin asked without blinking.

It took everything Harry had to stop himself from blushing at the thought of an old woman asking what he liked to wear. "One set of Boxers and one set of briefs, the ones with the darkest colours and no patterns."

Severus nodded his approval and to let Harry know he was doing alright.

"Socks?" she then asked.

"One set of trainer socks and one set of normal ones, again dark colours and no patterns," Harry told her.

"Add a set of thick boot socks in as well," Severus said, adding, "Black." That way Harry wouldn't end up with blisters when wearing his dragonhide boots. That was something he had learned the hard way; he hadn't been able to wear them for days afterwards. Potions were miracle workers but didn't get rid of some things immediately.

"Alright, which scarf set would you life? Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Gryffindor?" she asked.

"He didn't attend school here," Severus said quickly before Harry could drop himself in it. "It will be a normal set without the badges on it."

"Alright, what colours would you prefer, Mr. Blake? Scarlet and gold are the Gryffindor colours, black and yellow are the colours of Hufflepuff; blue and bronze are for the Ravenclaws, and of course emerald green and silver for Slytherin," Malkin said in explanation.

"That's it?" Harry gaped, "No wonder people don't grow up, but stay stuck in the mindset of a teenager if that's all the choices they get; guess house pride comes first."

Severus coughed; whether he was trying to get Harry to quit or was finding amusement in the rant, Malkin would never know.

"Alright, fine; um, emerald green and silver, then," Harry said, finding it difficult to choose between the blue and bronze or the Slytherin colours, as Malkin had termed them.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Madam Malkin asked.

"No thank you, that's it for now," Severus immediately answered.

"Very well, that will cost sixty galleons, approximately," Madam Malkin said. "I can have it sent over tomorrow... either in person or via owl order?"

"Owl order; take it from my usual account," Severus said flippantly. Money was of no consequence to him.

"Very good; it was nice to meet you, Mr. Blake," Madam Malkin said, packing up her things magically and shrinking them. Before they knew it, she was disappearing into the Floo network.

"Dinner is ready, sir," Grace said, eying Harry slightly warily; she knew he liked cooking the dinner. She had to accept it, but she thought it was wrong that her Master's partner was cooking; that was a job for a house elf, for her. Considering she could still be stuck in Prince Manor, though, this was a win whether she cooked dinner or not.

"Just this once," Severus said before Harry could say anything.

Harry conceded it with a nod of his head, too excited about his new clothes to care too much right now.

"We have much to do tonight; I am going to question Dumbledore, so if you wish to use the next spell, tonight would be a good time," Severus told his young partner.

"Great!" Harry said. Oh, this was brilliant! He felt so hyper and he didn't know why. "Wait, why are you questioning him?"

"I have to find out if he knows about the Horcrux," Severus admitted with a scowl.

"Oh, right," Harry replied, sitting himself down at the table and waiting for the food, barely able to sit still. "Is there a way to get in touch with the twins without anyone knowing?"

"Yes, write a message and I'll have either Grace deliver it or get an owl to do so," Severus explained as he also settled himself to eat.

Big thanks to Jake and Jordre for editing!