Chapter Forty-Five- The Carrow's Perception
Clara's restless footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the circular Headmaster's office. She absent-mindedly smoothed out the wrinkles from the satin dress she had squeezed herself into in a vain attempt to make the monstrosity look more presentable. No matter how much she tugged, pulled and yanked the dress still did not seem to cover up what she considered a descent amount of décolletage. Putting a hold on her nervous pacing, she stopped long enough to gaze at her reflection in the candle lit window. She let out a small gasp as she stared at the woman looking back at her. Dressed from head to toe in flimsy red silk she hardly recognized herself.
"Humm, for a moment there I thought I was looking at a young Bellatrix Black," chuckled a mischievous voice.
"That is quite enough out of you, Albus," she snarled, rolling her eyes at the portrait of the grinning old man.
"I meant no offense, child. I was merely pointing out that this is not your usual style of dress."
"Yes, and I would prefer to be in pair of jeans, but unfortunately that is not going to work for this evening. Is it horrible, Albus?" she asked hesitantly, once again trying to pull up the front to cover more.
"It will do perfectly, don't worry yourself. Just think of it as playing a role, Clara. Just as Severus has had to play his part, so must you," he said gently, his smile faltering as he noticed just how uncomfortable she looked.
"Yards of fabric and I still feel naked. But you are right, Albus, I am playing a part and if it means that it will keep Severus safe then I will do whatever it takes," she said with renewed determination.
Three weeks had passed since her arrival back at Hogwarts but tonight would be the first time she had left the Headmaster's dwellings. Severus had been adamant about keeping her away from the faculty, especially the newly appointed ones. Unfortunately this arrangement could not last forever. They both know that people would start asking about her and the longer Severus kept her hidden the more the newly arrived Carrow siblings kept asking questions. This particular evening was the Welcome Feast and Severus had finally conceded to in letting her make an appearance.
After digging through the trunk of dresses Narcissa Malfoy had sent with them, Clara finally chose a long red, silk corset dress. It was by far the most uncomfortable and scandalously low dress out of the bunch. She figured when the Dark Lord told Narcissa to make her look more appealing as Severus' servant, this was what he had in mind.
"Act well your part, Clara," she mumbled to herself.
"Clara are you ready…."
Severus' voice broke off from the doorway as his eyes raked over Clara's body. "Sweet Merlin, what are you wearing?"
"I…I thought it would be…well…do I look horrible?" she fumbled, crossing her arms across her chest.
"You could never look horrible, Clara. I just don't know if I want to share you with anyone looking so tempting, that's all," he said softly, gently pulling her arms down by her side.
"I thought it would be best if I dressed the way Narcissa planned. It wouldn't do for me to go down in my normal Muggle clothing."
"She is correct, Severus. In fact it would probably be best if she…."
Severus quickly silenced Albus' portrait with the palm of his hand. "I am quite sure I can handle this, Albus. I will not ask her to do more than this."
Turning his attention back to Clara he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Do you remember what we discussed?"
"Yes, Severus. We've only gone over this a thousand times. I'm not afraid," she said, giving him an encouraging smile.
"What are the three rules?"
"Severus…"
"The three rules, Clara, what are they?" he hissed, giving her his less than pleased look.
"Fine, fine, the three rules are…1. Don't speak to anyone unless you give me permission. 2. Keep my head down and my eyes lowered at all times and 3. Never leave your sight for any reason…ever. I've got it, Headmaster. I do exactly what you say at all times," she mumbled, giving him a playful smirk. "I promise I was listening the first fifty times you told me this. Everything will be fine, Severus. Everyone is too afraid of you to try anything."
"I'm just concerned about Amycus. Ever since he laid eyes on you at the Malfoy Manor, you are all he can talk about. He's been sniffing around the outside of this office like a dog in heat all week thinking that I am going to share you with him. Perhaps it would just be better for you to stay up…"
"Severus, we have been over this. I have to make an appearance. It would be more dangerous for us both if you don't show everyone the authority you have over me. "
"You are right," he said quietly, running his long fingers through his tussled hair.
"And you need a hair cut," she laughed, doing her best to lighten the mood. "Your hair is going to be longer than mine if you don't let me trim it."
Severus gave her a dramatic eye roll and then began to usher her out of the room. Before they reached the door he stopped and held out his hand.
"Severus, I don't think it would be appropriate to be seen hand in hand," she said, looking at his hand in confusion.
With a flick of his hand a thick, silver cuff appeared on her right wrist, followed closely by one on her left. A thin, but heavy chain linked the two and then wormed its way into a long leash that ended in Severus' outturned palm.
"Oh, I see," murmured Clara, giving the rather tight cuffs a tug.
Giving no look of apology, Severus bent down low until he was almost at eye level with her. "I'm going to have to do and say things that I don't mean this evening. Just remember that it is only an act. You must react accordingly. No looks, no touches, nothing that would give us away," he said directly, caressing her cheek lightly with his thumb.
"Don't touch me, you traitor," she spat, giving him her best glare.
"Good girl," he murmured, giving her backside a sharp swat. "And you'll pay for that comment later tonight.
The night started out uneventful. Severus had set up a small stool for Clara to sit in off to the side of the head table where he could keep an eye on her. After securing her chains to a clamp in the wall behind her, he left to observe the arrival of the faculty and students. The staff members had obviously been instructed by their new Headmaster not to speak to Clara, since each of them that walked by merely glanced uncomfortably in her direction with looks of pity. Clara did her best to ignore everyone, although all she wanted to do was run to each of them and give them a hug. It was torturous being that close to her family without being able to say a word to them.
Clara had been doing her best to keep her eyes lowered, but chanced a quick glance up just in time to see Severus storm out of the Great Hall to deal with some disturbance at the gate. Clara was left with only a handful of faculty members, all in which still looked too frightened to speak to her, all except for one.
"Well, there's the slut. I was beginning to fear that we would not have a chance to be formally and…intimately introduced," purred an oily voice.
Clara did her best to hold in a gasp as a cold and clammy hand gripped her chin to yank her face upwards.
"Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Amycus Carrow, but I'm sure we could come up all sorts of delicious names for you to call me," he said with a sickening smirk, doing absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he was staring directly at her half exposed breasts.
I'm sure I could think of a few names for you, sicko, she thought to herself.
Remembering Severus' demand of silence she merely tilted her head back down to stare at her chained hands that were resting demurely on her lap. She sent out a silent prayer that the practically panting Death Eater would get the hint and move on. Unfortunately she had no such luck.
His hand moved so quickly she didn't even have time to react. The slap was hard and connected right into the center of her cheek. It took what felt like a full minute for her breath to come back. Had it not been for the chains connecting her to the stone wall behind her, she would have certainly fallen off of her stool.
"You will look at me when I speak to you, Muggle. Do you understand?" he yelled, one again yanking her chin back up.
Her head still reeling she managed to stammer a response. "I…I am sorry, sir. I was only doing what the Headmaster asked me to do. He doesn't want me to speak to anyone."
"You may be the Headmaster's little whore, but you will also crawl for me if that is what I ask. You will be wise to remember that. "
Letting his hand slide down her neck, he roughly pushed her hair aside to reveal her shoulders. "Such lovely, unblemished skin. Doesn't look like the Headmaster has had very much fun with you." The Death Eater continued to tilt her head from side to side, letting his gaze run over every inch of her flesh. "Tell me, Muggle, is he gentle with you? Is he a real man for you? I don't think I would leave your skin so pure if I had my way with you." Bending forward until his lips were a few inches away from her ear he began to whisper.
Bile immediately began making its way up Clara's throat as his words washed over her. She mentally kicked herself for not having her dagger with her, but then again what could she actually do? Anything she did against this man may back fire on Severus. For now she just had to endure it.
"I could pull you into that storage closet right now and have my way with you. I can assure you that you would not come out looking so neat and put together as you do now. Oh the things I would do to you. First I would…"
"You would do what, Professor? Surely you are not planning on skipping out of your duties right as the students enter the doors," boomed a deep voice.
"Oh…of course not, Headmaster. I was just reminding this one of her place," said Amycus, shifting nervously to put a little space between himself and Clara.
"Do you need to be treated like one of the students and be reminded not to touch what isn't yours, Professor Carrow? Surely you remember that I don't like to share. Beside, the Dark Lord gifted her to me. You will be wise not to forget this," he hissed as he locked eyes with Amycus.
To anyone else Severus looked his usual calm, yet foreboding self, but Clara could see past that. Severus was furious. His eyes were wide and darkened over to the point that you could hardly see the whites of his eyes. His right hand had disappeared under his robe, no doubt to grip his wand. Clara held her breath, praying that he remained calm.
"It looks like you've barely touched the girl. Sure you'll let me have a go later tonight? I mean these brats have to sleep sometime."
"I am sure that will not be necessary," Severus said quietly but with an obvious warning to his voice. "Do take your seat, Amycus. I believe I hear the children coming."
"Muggle, don't let me catch you speaking out of turn again. Do I make myself clear?" he snapped, grabbing a handful of Clara's hair.
"Yes, my Lord," murmured Clara, suddenly afraid to look him the eyes.
Giving her hair a little tug he finally stalked off to take his position at the podium.
The rest of the evening was absolutely miserable. The atmosphere of the school was nearly suffocating with a mixture of hostility and fear. The Carrow's joyfully handed out punishments to student after student who ran over to try to speak with her. Severus had to finally intervene after Laura Hutchinson refused to move from her side. It wasn't until Clara finally grabbed her hand and whispered that she was fine that she would take her seat. To Clara's relief Severus told the Carrow's that he would deal with the little Ravenclaw's punishment himself.
Once the students had finally been sent to their Common Room and all of the faculty had cleared out of the Great Hall, Severus finally led Clara silently back to his office. Clara could tell by his tense shoulders and silent glare that he was not happy and she couldn't blame him. The Welcome Feast had been nothing short of tortuous.
As soon as the heavy oak doors of the Headmaster's office closed behind them Severus roughly grabbed Clara's arm.
"What the heck, Sev?" she yelled, shooting him a nasty glare. "What is your problem?"
"Training room...NOW!' he countered, barely controlling the rage that was bubbling deep inside him.
"What? The training room! Does that even exist anymore? Severus, we haven't been in there in over a year."
As if the castle seemed to be listening in on their conversation a new door appeared right beside the fireplace. "Really?" mumbled Clara, rolling her eyes. "Nosy castle, why don't you mind your own business for a change."
"Get. Inside. Now," he murmured, punctuating each syllable through his clenched teeth.
Not in the mood to deal with his temper she silently pushed her way into the all too familiar self-defense training room. The large space looked exactly like it did the last time they had been in there. The obstacle course still had scorch marks from where Severus had cast a fire spell for her to maneuver around. Half empty water bottles lined the walls reminding her of times Severus had made her so mad she was ready to toss them at him. She couldn't help but giggle as memories of the hours they had been forced to share together came flooding back. Severus however, did not seem to share the same sentiment.
"Put these on," he snapped as he tossed her usual pair of boxing gloves.
"You cannot be serious? What's the purpose of this? Severus, I am in the castle, I'm not going anywhere. I am safe, Sev, I promise."
Grabbing her wrists, Severus shoved her hands into the boxing gloves himself, making certain they were secured snuggly. "Now…strike," he said firmly.
"I WILL NOT!" she yelled, stomping her foot like a disgruntled five year old. "I am tired, hungry and I can't breathe in this damn dress. I know you are upset about what idiot said to me but it was only words, Severus. Nothing happened, so there is no reason to be freaking out like this."
"Nothing happened because I intervened. What if I had not been there, Clara? What if he…"
"STOP…stop right there. We will never make it through this year if you stress out over every move I make. We've learned to be careful around him so let's just take this knowledge and move on." Taking another step closer, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "If we are going to do this, then at least change my clothes please," she whispered, giving him a more teasing kiss on his bottom lip.
"You can't ever take things serious can you?" asked Severus, trying his best to hide the smirk that was threatening to emerge on his now tingling lip.
"Of course I can, darling," she said in a melodramatic voice. "I'm serious about kicking your ass. Now change my clothing so I can get started."
With a wave of his wand Clara's confining dress was dressed transfigured into the usual black outfit she was use to wearing in the training room. Before Severus could even place his wand back into his robe pocket Clara struck him hard with a right hook straight to his shoulder. She knew immediately that she had completely caught him off guard when hiss of pain escaped his lips.
"Oh…Oh, I'm sorry, Sev! I was just trying to…"
"No, no, you did exactly what you should do. I had forgotten how strong you'd gotten. My mistake," he said through gritted teeth.
"I really didn't mean to do that. I think I just have a lot of aggression to get out," she stammered.
"Trust me, Clara. I've had worse. It probably won't even leave a bruise. Let's go again. This time aim higher and I will attempt to block you."
However, Clara didn't continue. Instead she remained rooted to her stop in contemplation. "Bruises," she mumbled to herself.
"What about them? I doubt you left one on me, but if you did it will be gone in a few days."
"No…it's just something that Amycus said to me before you walked up. He made a comment about my skin and how he was surprised that you had left my skin so unblemished. I got the opinion that he didn't believe you were treating my body the way he thinks you should. What did he mean by that?"
Severus ran his fingers through his long, inky locks and began looking slightly uncomfortable. "Death Eaters are not known for their polite treatment of women, Clara, specifically Muggle women. I can only assume that he feels I am not doing my duty with regards to my treatment of you."
"Well…then he would be right," Clara said as she pulled off each of her boxing gloves.
"Excuse me?" huffed Severus, crossing his arms defensively. "You agree with him? I am not going to hit you, Clara. I would never do that to any woman, Muggle or not. Not after what I witnessed my own mother endure year after year."
"No,no,no, you are misunderstanding me. I'm not saying you need to go that far, but I do agree that we need to kick up this façade another notch. If we make your treatment of me believable, or at least fool everyone that it is truly as gruesome as Amycus thinks it should be. It may just put him off the hunt. If nothing else it will satisfy your Death Eater pals and insure that I am not taken away from you."
"I thought keeping you locked away and then parading you around in chains would be enough…"
"But you know that is not true, Severus. We are kidding ourselves if we think that will satisfy the Dark Lord and his followers. They are watching your every move. Let's not give them any reason to doubt," she said, her eyes darkening with intensity.
Severus turned from her and began pacing. "And just how are we supposed to do this, Clara. I made a vow to protect you. I will not harm you…not you…I can't…"
Clara silently slid around him until she was standing directly in front of him. Grabbing hold of his silk cravat she pulled him down until she was at eye level with him. "All you have to do is leave a few marks, Sev. All you are focusing on is the fear of hurting me. But why not think of it as…mixing a little pain with…pleasure," she breathed as she playful nipped at his earlobe until he gave a little gasp of pain. "I can take it, Severus. Besides, I'm the girlfriend of the most powerful Death Eater in the world…I can take it."
"But, Clara…I don't…I don't want to lose control and hurt you," he whispered, obviously having a hard time holding himself together as she began to rub up against him.
"What if I want you to lose control? I trust you, Severus. You will know how far to push me and you'll know when to stop. Show me your Death Eater side, Severus. Make me your slave."
Without responding Severus grabbed onto Clara with a vice like grip around the waist. The world around her darkened as they were both enveloped in what looked like a cloud of thick, oily looking black smoke. Clara tried to scream but nothing would come out and before she knew it, her body was lifted off the ground. For a split second she felt weightless as she was twisted and turned, all the while being held firmly in Severus arms. Before she knew it the smoke cleared and their entangled body had landed with a thud onto their bed.
"Well that was quite an exit," Clara giggled.
"No talking or I will be forced to silence you. You will not speak unless I tell you to. You will refer to me as my Lord and will do everything I tell you do at all times. If it becomes too much then all you have to do is tell me to stop and I will immediately. Do you understand?"
"I won't tell you to stop, my Lord," she murmured softly, barely hearing her own voice over the erratic pounding of her heart. She was completely mesmerized by his powerful presence. She was so used to being around him that she had almost forgotten how authoritative and powerful he really was.
"Don't be so sure," he snarled as he drew out his wand. "Hands above your head."
Clara spread out onto her back, making herself comfortable on the soft midnight blue comforter. Her arms seemed to move on their own volition, as she continued to be lost in his dark gaze. Severus' thin lips curled into a wicked grin.
"I didn't say anything about laying down, love." Grabbing a hold of the front of her shirt, he pulled her up with one firm tug. "On your knees," he whispered, his hot breath sending a tickle of warmth straight down her spine.
Kneeling in front of her, Severus roughly placed both of her hands behind her head. "Now stay just like that. Remember, if I do anything you don't want, just tell me to stop. Are you ready?"
Swallowing thickly, Clara nodded for him to proceed. Once again raising his wand he began muttering a series of words she could not understand. Piece by piece her articles of clothing began disappearing until she was left with nothing but a pair of almost sheer bra and panties. Caught off guard Clara quickly moved to cover herself but her movements were halted when her wrists were suddenly locked tightly together by thin, yet unrelenting piece of rope. She tried pulling on it one more time but it wouldn't budge. This seemed to only entertain Severus who had already begun to strip out of his black teaching robe.
"You can struggle, love, but that is not going to get you anywhere," he murmured against her ear as he grabbed a hold of her hips and spun her around until her back was firmly pressed against his front
His fingers continued to bite into her skin as he held her close to him. "You look so tempting like this, my little Muggle. So defenseless and so completely…mine."
All of a sudden his mouth seemed to be everywhere. Kissing and licking against the side of her neck, all the way up to her ear. Clara let out a breathy moan as his teeth grazed the sensitive shell. "Now brace yourself, Clara, because this is going to hurt," he growled in a deep voice as he push all of her hair to off to one side and tilted her head to allow him perfect access to her neck. Before Clara could ask what he was talking about, he clamped his teeth down on the side of her neck. A sharp pain shot through her body as his teeth sunk into her skin. She tried to hold in a scream but it escaped from her lips and echoed throughout the chamber. This did little to deter Severus from his mission. He continued to suck and lick over the already reddening mark. Although the pain still lingered, the feeling of his wicked tongue working its way down to her shoulders was one of the most erotic things she had ever experienced.
Severus listened to the reactions of her body. As soon as her breathing would slow and little moans of pleasure would begin to seep from her lips he would once again bite down hard onto her flesh. Teeth marks, bruises and whelps immediately began to spring up all over her skin, flushing her normally creamy complexion to a rosy pink. "Tell me if I need to stop," he groaned as he began undoing her bra.
"No…no…I want more, please," she whimpered as his hands cupped her now exposed breast.
Yanking her hair to the other side he repeated the same assault on the other side of her body, this time adding groping pinches to her breasts.
"Severus, please, I want to touch you. Please untie my hands," Clara pleaded as he once again latched on to her neck.
Severus responded to her plea with a hearty swat to her thigh with the palm of his hand. "I told you how to address me. Don't make me punish you again," he hissed, pinching both of her nipples to drive home his point.
"Forgive me, my Lord," she whispered.
"On your stomach…now."
Severus pushed her body down until she was flat on the bed. He let his finger nails rank across her back as he worked his way down to her bottom. With a caress of hand, her panties disappeared leaving her bottom exposed her hand. She began to wiggle a little bit in obvious discomfort at having her body so open and exposed to him. Once again he let his hand smack hard on her backside to remind her to stay still.
Once she had quieted, he continued his oral assault up and down each of her legs, biting and sucking until she was once again crying out. He let his hands slip up her thighs until he was met with a feeling that quite frankly surprised him. She was soaking wet for him and suddenly all he could think about was possessing her completely. Forgetting his mission he quickly unzipped his trousers, not even bothering with undressing himself. After pushing her legs up until she was resting on her knees and aligned himself so he could drive into her welcoming heat. He was just about to trust forward when he happened to glance down at her bound hands. He suddenly froze leaving the room silent and still.
"My…my Lord?" Clara whispered, suddenly confused by his behavior. "Have I not pleased you?"
"No…no, love. Not like this…I…I will not take you like this," he said gently as he began untying her bindings. "The Dark Lord owns so much of me, but he will never control how I feel about you. When we make love it will only be us."
Keeping her on her knees, he gently entered her from behind. Using one of his hands for balance he used the other to hold her close to him as he slowly and almost reverently began to rock in and out of her. "How's this, Clara? Does it feel good?" he whispered as he steadily began picking up the pace.
"So good," she moaned as she began flexing her own hips to match his rhythm.
It didn't take long at all before they both cried out as they reached their climax together. Keeping his arms firmly wrapped around her they tumbled onto the pile of blankets, neither realizing just how exhausted they truly were.
For a long while they didn't speak. It wasn't until Severus began kissing each little mark and bruise he had created that Clara opened her mouth.
"You didn't hurt me, Severus. I promise. Look, you just left little love bites. Now when I look in the mirror I will always remember who I belong to," she said with a smile as she pointed out a bite mark on her leg.
"Mine," he countered softly as he once again pulled her close. "Always."
A/N: Don't forget to review! Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I am thankful for YOU!
