The memories didn't trickle in slowly… they actually bombarded his mind fast and furiously causing Harry to pass out. When he awoke it was to Snape shaking his shoulders and hissing out for him him to wake up.

Harry tried to comprehend all that had happened to him but he needed a minute to take it all in. He pushed the potion master's hands off him and sat back, leaning against the stone wall as he sat on his bed. He brought his knees up and pressed his forehead to them.

"Just a minute, give me a minute!" Harry said in a strangled voice. He breathed in deeply as he tried to come to terms with where he was and how he'd been acting towards Malfoy … fucking Lucius Malfoy! He grabbed handfuls of hair as he remembered groveling at that man's feet and then … the way he'd hexed that poor house elf! He growled out in frustration for having put himself in another predicament … fucking Voldemort and … what about Mulciber! He needed to get out of here!

He reached out and grabbed Snape's arm, "We gotta get out of here, Snape! Voldemort is going to hand me over to Mulciber and they're trying to get me to hand over another prophecy at the Department of Mysteries! Bloody hell, what the hell did I do? "

Snape grabbed the boy's arms and pulled him to the edge of the bed. "Potter, get ahold of yourself! We don't have much time and I need you to listen to me." He gave the boy a final shake.

Harry suddenly remembered what had got him into this predicament to begin with. "Sirius! Where is Sirius? Did they get him?" His owl flew to him and landed on his shoulder. He reached up and stroked her head.

"Yes, he has been captured," Snape said, not bothering to soften his words. "We have not heard any further news regarding his whereabouts."

"Oh Merlin," Harry said, standing up and beginning to pace. "We gotta find him! How can I leave with this,…" He grabbed his stomach, "with this thing in my stomach?"

"I have a plan but it is extremely dangerous, and only to be used as a last resort," Snape said, standing then walking towards his makeshift lab. He waited until the boy looked at him before saying, "We do not have the luxury of waiting much longer. I know how the Dark Lord works and he seems to be running out of patience. I wouldn't put it past him to force Lucius to hand you over to Mulciber sooner than planned for."

"No!" Harry adamantly replied, shaking his head, "No! You don't know what he's going to do to me." Harry said in a fear laden voice.

"We won't let that happen," Snape said. "In the meantime you must not let Lucius know that you are no longer under the potion."

"What the hell is that potion? I tried to fight it and then, I don't know … I just forgot everything and did everything that bastard told me to do!"

"It is called the Potion of Domination. It is basically a liquid Imperius Curse that could last a lifetime. It is shocking that you remember so much. Most people do not recover from that potion fully," Snape said,

Harry eyed him suspiciously before asking, "Did you invent it? "

Snape simply closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Fuck, Snape! I can't believe I did all that stuff and all because of some potion that you invented!" Harry was so mad. His hands were balled up into fists.

""Enough!," Snape growled out, as he continued to cut up ingredients. "We don't have time for this. We need to start strengthening your stomach lining." He used his knife to point to a vial on the table. "Take that, Potter."

Harry looked at the purple liquid in the vial then reached out and grabbed it. He started to drink it before a thought occurred to him. "Wait," Harry said, his eyes wide with fear, "What do you plan to do?"

"If all else fails, I am going to apparate you to Hogwarts," the potion master said, continuing to brew.

"I'll die! The bullet will explode and I'll die … right?" Harry asked, then quickly finished drinking the potion.

"Not necessarily," Snape replied, "I believe we will have a few moments to heal you, … that is if I have enough time to finish brewing this potion."

"Not necessarily? That makes me feel loads better," Harry replied, rubbing his hair back off his face. "but honestly, … I'd rather die than be given to Mulciber, so okay … at least we have a plan."

Snape shook his head. "I said as a last resort. I'd rather not put your life in jeopardy if we have another chance for you to escape. However, your owl will be part of our plan and we need to keep her hidden until we need her."

The owl seemed to understand exactly what Severus said and jumped off Harry's shoulder, then hid under the bed.

Just then there was a noise out in the hallway. Harry's eyes flew open as he looked to Snape. Snape used his knife to point to the bed. Harry got back on the bed and tried to make his face look calm.

"Remember, you must act as if you are still under the potion," Severus whispered. He stowed away the empty vial and hid the caldron on the shelf under the table just as the door opened.

Lucius came into the room looking rather flustered, his face still showing signs of the burn. The man stood in the room and waited.

It occurred to Harry that he hadn't rushed to kneel in front of the man. It took every bit of self control Harry had to force himself to drop to his knees.

"We'll need to work on that, Harry. I do hate to wait," Lucius said, then used his cane to give Harry a sharp smack on the head.

Harry felt a trickle of blood drip down the side of his face. "I'm sorry, Lucius. Please forgive me," he said, as he felt a white hot pain on the side of his head.

Lucius wiped his cane off with his robe, looking down now at Harry with such a disgusted look that it made Harry's heart speed up with fear. "You are filthy, and you are not in any condition to present to the Dark Lord. Our plans have changed, Harry and we will be meeting with him late tonight."

Harry felt all the blood rush out of his face and he had to use a hand to the stone floor to steady himself. Oh Merlin, it was happening tonight!

Lucius seemed to see his fear and dropped a hand to his head. "Relax, Harry. As long as you do everything I say you will be fine. You want become my son, do you not?"

Harry forced himself to nod. "Yes, Lucius. I do want to be your son."

"Good boy," Lucius said, then directed his gaze to Severus. "Is the boy's back healed Severus?"

Severus splayed his hands out, "Would it matter, Lucius? It sounds as if the Dark Lord is not giving you anymore time. Are you certain you cannot ask for more time?"

Lucius shook his head. "He is adamant that we move the date up to this evening. The search for Potter is only gaining momentum and there isn't an Auror out there that is not searching for the boy." When he saw Harry looking up at him he snapped his fingers and pointed to the door. "Get upstairs Harry and take a shower and change clothes. The house elf is waiting for you."

Harry looked to Snape with wide eyes and then looked at Lucius. He didn't know if he'd see Snape again and didn't know if he should leave. His hesitation earned him another hard stroke of the cane to his head, causing him to fall to his side.

"Lucius," Severus said, "perhaps beating the boy on the night he is to be presented to the Dark Lord is counter productive?" He walked around the table and looked down at the boy on the floor. "Perhaps, I should give him another dose of the healing potion and heal the wounds on his scalp before he showers?"

Lucius huffed out in exasperation. "Yes, yes, for Merlin's sake, I need to rein in my temper. It's just so imperative that the boy follow through with these plans. Just do what you need to, then send him upstairs. Hurry though, we haven't much time before Mulciber arrives."

He used the toe of his boot to poke Harry on the leg. "You better not fail me, Harry."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, clearly shaken up. He watched the man walk out of the room, leaving the heavy iron door open behind him.

Harry immediately stood up on shaky legs and looked to the professor. "Tonight … I'm going to be given to Mulciber tonight!" He stood frozen in terror as he watched the professor.

Severus rushed to his potion table and ripped a page from his potion book. He wrote a message out then rolled it up. "Hedwig," he called out. The bird flew up on his table. Severus tied the note to the bird's leg.

"Take this to Dumbledore immediately. Do not let anyone see you."

They watched the owl fly out the dungeon door.

"Potter, get over here," Severus snapped, rifling through his potions before choosing one. "Drink this."

Harry took the vial with a shaking hand. As soon as he was done, his teacher spelled his head wounds closed.

Harry looked up into the Potion Master's eyes. "I'm scared," he admitted.

Severus put a hand to the boy's shoulder. "You must be ready, Harry. I can't get you out of the house but as soon as you are outside, I will be waiting. The potion I gave you will buy us a little time once the bullet explodes."

Harry nodded. "Will it hurt?" He asked in a quiet voice.

The professor gave him a look that was almost sorrowful. That look was answer enough and Harry gulped down a cry that wanted to escape. He was probably going to die tonight.

"You must go upstairs and act as if you are still drugged. Your life depends on this. It will become exceedingly harder once Mulciber arrives," Severus cautioned, squeezing Harry's shoulder as if he was trying to pass his strength to him. "But just remember, you are not alone. I will be right outside the front door and I will get you home. I promise."

Harry breathed out a strained breath and nodded. "Okay, I can do it."

Severus gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Of course you can," the Potion Master said. "You are a Gryffindor through and through."

Harry nodded, bolstered now by the professor's words. "I'll be going home."

XX

If anyone is still reading this, please let me know. 12/2020