Author's note: The story is set at the beginning of the 6th Year and deviates from canon after OOTP.
Warning: The story features scenes of corporal punishment, so if it's something that makes you uncomfortable, it's probably not a story for you.
EDIT: The story is going through a sort of a facelift since my writing changed (improved, hopefully;)) and I do intend to finish it. I'm slowly editing chapters so if you notice a drop in "readability", it means I didn't make it there yet=)
#-&-HP-&-#
Harry was on the way to the dungeons, stomping down the stairs in frustration. Dumbledore wanted him to continue those bloody Occlumency lessons with Snape, ignoring Harry's protests that they were achieving nothing, that Snape only used the time to torture and belittle him, that there was no point anymore because Sirius… A single tear fell on Harry's cheek and he wiped it away with his fist as his mind lingered on the memory of his beloved Godfather.
What's the point now? Sirius is gone because Snape couldn't be bothered enough to actually teach me to resist Voldemort. Because I was stupid enough to fall for the trap. Because Sirius cared enough to go and rescue me. Because Bellatrix was… His anger flared anew at the thought of the wicked Death Eater that took away the only parental figure Harry has had in his life. He reached dungeons in a worked-up state and wondered how was he going to endure the hated Potions Professor (or rather DADA Professor now).
"Don't just stand there! Get in Potter, before I take points for stalling," came Snape's voice from inside the office and Harry clenched his fists as he opened the door. Snape was sitting at his desk, a pile of summer assignments to grade in front of him. The red ink from his quill covered about as much space on the paper he was grading as the student's answers themselves. Harry knew those sarcastic remarks in red ink from his own tests all too well and felt sympathy for the unlucky student to be on the receiving end of Snape's notorious "comment-lashing".
The man raised his head to look at Harry, his face a perfect mix of cold disapproval and condescension. "Take a seat, Potter, and be quiet. I need to finish my work. The headmaster might think that I have nothing better to do than to waste my time with you, but I assure you, Potter, it is not so! I'm not one of your fans anxious to get a glimpse of the famous scar and spend some time with our hero!"
Harry almost smiled at that. Ever since he arrived at Hogwarts a couple of days ago, everyone was tip-toeing around him. He was permanently on edge, lashing out at Ron and Hermione with alarming regularity, just to be treated to pitiful understanding looks from them. And those were the worst. Instead of feeling guilty about losing his temper, he felt even angrier and ended up avoiding his friends altogether.
The professors treated him no differently, summoning him after class to extend the time for his work to be delivered, offering "to talk" and giving him sad smiles. And even Dumbledore completely ignored his disrespect, when Harry said, that him resuming Occlumency lessons with Snape was "not fucking happening".
And here he was - scolded by the man himself before their lesson even started, simply for his mere existence. It felt oddly refreshing that at least one person remained completely unaffected by Harry's loss and treated him the same as always. Horribly, but the same. Harry sat down on the nearby chair and waited for Snape to finish grading.
"Potter, don't just sit there!" Snape barked without looking at him. "Start clearing your mind, get into mindset! Perhaps this year you can show more effort in occluding YOUR mind rather than snooping around mine."
"Perhaps this year you can actually TEACH me how, instead of just yelling at me all the time! Not like I want to be here either!" Harry replied hotly, his temper flaring at the mildest spark. These days it took almost nothing to set him off.
Snape stood up sharply smashing the paper he was grading on the desk with a loud thump. "Potter, your insolence won't be tolerated! One would think that after what happened in the Department of Mysteries, you would understand the importance of shielding your mind!" Severus watched Harry's face change from defiant to defeated and was stunned to realize that he actually preferred the former. Everyone kept telling him to be "gentle" with Potter because the boy just lost his Godfather but Snape didn't feel the need to pamper the brat, because the Dark Lord won't take a break and wait for Potter to pull himself together either. That being said, he didn't like the uncharacteristic broken look that appeared on Potter's face.
Snape would probably have more to say on the topic, but he was interrupted by a high-pitched sound of an alarm that rang through his office. The map of Hogwarts that hung on the wall behind the desk had a small red light blinking above the Quidditch pitch. Harry didn't know what was going on but Snape's expression told him that something was very wrong.
"What's that?" he asked, jumping up from his seat.
"Security breach," Snape muttered more to himself than to Harry. He looked at the map, noting the location of the breach.
"Death Eaters?"
Snape looked at him as if he temporarily forgot that he was there. "Probably," he answered, and then his face grew deadly serious. "Stay here, Potter, and I mean it! Don't you dare set foot out of this office!" With that he walked out the door, the black robes billowing with their usual menace.
It took Harry the whole 30 seconds to make up his mind and follow him. After all, if Death Eaters were attacking Hogwarts, then he was not going to just sit there and hide. He will fight! There will be no more deaths on his account!
Severus rushed outside propelled by the sound of spells and telltale screams coming from the stadium. There was a scheduled Ravenclaw Quidditch practice and when he got close enough to the field he saw a terrible scene of students lying on the ground (hopefully just stunned) and one of them yelling in agony under the Cruciatus Curse. The wicked laugh of Bellatrix Lestrange was ringing through the arena as the remaining Ravenclaw players tried to flee in horror. Bellatrix was accompanied by two low-ranked Death Eaters Severus vaguely remembered from the last meeting.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, approaching the trio, his expression carefully masked as a mild annoyance, as opposed to the utter horror he was actually feeling when he saw the unmoving bodies on the ground.
"Oh Sev, we were just having a bit of fun," Bellatrix intoned with a teasing smile, then she noticed that her pray used the disturbance to run away and cast another Crucio on him. The 15-year-old Ravenclaw seeker fell to the ground with a heart-wrenching scream. Lestrange was smiling with satisfaction as she watched the boy's body convulse in agony. Snape looked at the scene with faked amusement. He could not contradict Bellatrix openly, so he focused his attention on the two Death Eaters that accompanied her.
"This is all very amusing, but you are jeopardizing my position here. You set off the alarm, the old fool will be here any minute accompanied by other teachers. I can't be seen with you here, why did you come?" he inquired, trying to appear unaffected by the screaming boy.
"We were just testing the wards," one of the Death Eaters replied. The Ravenclaw seeker lost his consciousness from the pain of Crucio and Bellatrix snorted in annoyance at having her fun ruined prematurely by the boy's weak body.
"Idiots!" Snape hissed, making sure he was addressing the men and not Bellatrix, "You tested it and now Dumbledore will make sure to strengthen them. The Dark Lord will be very displeased when he hears about it!" he scolded the men using one of his best glares reserved for disobedient students. He knew that Bellatrix held a special position in Voldemort's ranks. In her utter insanity, she even enjoyed her punishments, much to her Master's delight, therefore there was no use threatening her with anything. "Get the hell out of here, and I will try to clean up the mess you have created." He waved a hand in dismissal, his tone leaving no room for discussion. He outranked them greatly and knew that he will be obeyed. The two men cast him a sheepish look and apparated right away.
Bellatrix smiled at Snape. "Oh Severus you are so uptight, you need to loosen up a bit," she said, letting out another one of her wicked laughs which sent chills down his spine. Her gaze slid off his face, focusing on something behind him and her lips twisted in an evil grin.
"Bellatrix!" Harry yelled as he entered the Quidditch pitch.
Snape turned to see, who was stupid enough to call attention to himself and couldn't mask the rage he felt from being so blatantly disobeyed. Leave it to the Gryffindor idiot to rush headless into action without any regard for the consequences. And the timing couldn't be worse! Just as he almost managed to get rid of the Death Eaters without any casualties and without endangering his position as a spy, Potter joined the game to ruin it all. And how was he supposed to save Potter from Bellatrix without making his true allegiances known? They were two experienced Death Eaters against one 16-year-old Potter, by all means, they should capture him and bring him to the Dark Lord, anything else would be deemed unacceptable.
"Avada Kedavra!" Harry roared pointing his wand at the witch, but not a single spark escaped from it. He looked at his wand in confusion. Why didn't it work? I did mean it! I want her dead! I will avenge Sirius!
His failed attempt was met with a burst of laughter. "Naughty, naughty Potter!" Bellatrix sneered. "Casting Unforgivables without even knowing how. Now that's just embarrassing!" She glanced at Severus for support, but Snape was too busy glaring Potter to death to join in her mockery. "But don't worry, the Dark Lord might teach you! And I know just the spell to make you compliant." She raised her wand at Harry and hissed, "Servitium Incusabantur!"
Snape felt his blood turn cold as he recognized the vicious incantation. There was no time to think, no time to plan, he did the only thing that he could at that point.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Severus watched Bellatrix's lifeless body fall to the ground, a look of surprise at his betrayal forever imprinted on her face. Snape wasted no time examining her body, he had no doubt that his killing curse was successful. Instead, he rushed to Potter, who was knocked to the ground unconscious. There were voices of McGonagall and Flitwick yelling something at the distance, but Severus kept his attention on the boy grabbing him by the shoulders with a forceful shake, "Potter! Potter! Can you hear me?!"
The boy opened his eyes with a groan, squinting at Severus in confusion, "Yes, Master."
Snape closed his eyes fighting a groan of his own as the realization of what happened washed over him. "We have a problem, Potter!"
"Out of all the stupid stunts you have pulled over the years, Potter, this one takes the cake!" Severus paced back and forth in Dumbledore's office, his anger peaking at an all-time high.
Harry sunk in his chair and wisely kept his mouth shut, his head was hurting badly and he was unable to think of anything to say in his defense. He found it hard to meet Snape's gaze, so he kept his eyes on his lap.
"Severus, perhaps you could explain, what actually happened?" Dumbledore asked, his calm voice in stark contrast to Snape's fury.
"What happened? Exactly, what I told you will happen if you keep letting the boy run around as he pleases without consequences!" Snape raged, pointing a finger at Dumbledore, "He blatantly disobeyed my order to remain in my office and flung himself at the mercy of the Death Eaters, compromising MY position in the process! The imbecile-" he leveled Harry with an angry glare, "-attempted to cast the killing curse at Lestrange and got hit by her enslavement spell!"
Harry watched Dumbledore's expression change to a very alarmed one, which was not at all reassuring. The enslavement spell? Was that what Servitium Incu-something stood for?
"She cast Servitium Incusabantur and I cast the killing curse," Snape explained, "the spells hit their targets at the same time, therefore..." there was a moment of hesitation, "I think her spell had reattached to me."
"Severus, are you saying-"
"I don't know Headmaster," Snape interrupted him. "Let's see if my assumption is correct." He turned to Harry. "Potter, jump on your left leg and sing a Christmas carol!" The order was firm and authoritative.
"Wha..?" but before Harry could finish his question he was already jumping, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…" he sang with a look of pure confusion on his face.
"Enough, Potter!" Severus barked and Harry immediately stopped, staring at him dumbfounded.
What just happened? Why did he do that? It was as if he wanted to obey Snape's ridiculous order! What the fuuuuck!
"I think this will do for a demonstration. As you can see, Headmaster, we have a serious problem. I don't know if I can keep my position in the Dark Lord's ranks anymore," Snape growled, rubbing his temples in annoyance.
"How long do you think this will last, Severus? Perhaps you could salvage the situation if you were to present Voldemort with Bellatrix's body," Dumbledore proposed. "We could make Harry be the one who officially killed her."
Severus stopped his pacing and gave the Headmaster a considering look. "That could work, he did cast the spell after all. But it's still very dangerous. If anything goes wrong, I won't be-"
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Harry yelled, unable to keep silent any longer watching the two men discuss the situation he didn't quite understand. He had a sinking feeling he knew exactly, what Snape meant when he said that Bellatrix's enslavement spell reattached to him, but Harry refused to believe it.
The two men finally turned their attention to Harry. "You are my slave, Potter. You have been bound to me by Servitium Incusabantur. It's dark magic, often used by You-Know-Who to punish new Death Eaters. The spell essentially makes you submit," Snape explained, looking annoyed at being interrupted.
"Submit?" Harry asked, unsure what it meant.
"You will find it hard to disobey a direct order, you will be inclined to call me Master and will be eager to please. The bond will ensure your honesty and compliance," Snape elaborated, not bothering to keep the venom out of his voice. To think, that had the boy obeyed him, to begin with, they would not be in this mess right now.
Harry felt the ground slipping beneath his feet. Ensure compliance? "How?" he asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Snape's slave! Just what he needed in his miserable life! So what now?! Will he be unable to keep anything from the evil git? Obey all his ridiculous commands? Run around Hogwarts catering to his every wish? What will the bond do, if he didn't? Harry felt like he was going to sick up.
Snape ignored Potter's question and asked him instead, "How do you feel?"
"I feel like jumping off Astronomy Tower! Thank you for asking!"
"Physically!" Snape's tone was sharp and Harry gulped suddenly feeling a great need to apologize.
"I feel like throwing up. And my head hurts, Sir," he answered much more politely this time.
"How badly does your head hurt?"
"I have had worse." He might be a slave and his life sucked, but he won't appear weak in front of Snape and Dumbledore.
"Good. Now listen carefully. You are not to seek medical help for your headache, the pain is from the bond and it will get worse if you try to "cheat it". Your headache will be progressing with time till you are punished by me. I don't have time to deal with you now, because I need to salvage the mess you created." Snape then looked at the Headmaster, "If I fail, the Dark Lord might try to use me to lure Potter in. I have a potent poison on me for such a case. My death will free Potter from the bond," he concluded matter-of-factly.
Harry was amazed at how nonchalantly Snape talked about poisoning himself and had to admire the man for his balls. He knew that being a double agent was dangerous, but it only occurred to him now just how ready Snape was to die at any given moment if his true allegiance was revealed. He couldn't help the feeling of guilt for putting the man into further jeopardy.
"Severus, I'm sure it won't come to that. If I had any doubts about your ability to persuade Voldemort, I would not send you there now." Dumbledore put a comforting hand on the younger wizard's shoulder. Snape just nodded and turned to leave the office. He stopped at the door and cast Harry a stern look.
"Potter, you are not to breathe a word to anyone till I'm back. In fact, you will go straight to my office and wait for me there. It's an order! Perhaps you will find it easier to obey me now, than you had an hour ago!" he barked, his tone leaving no room for argument, and stormed out of the room.
Harry's eyes lingered at the door, a weird sense of loss overcoming him. He glanced at Headmaster. Dumbledore was wearing the same sad expression he had when Harry was yelling that he will not resume his Occlumency lessons. Harry felt like he screwed up and let the man down once again. First, the Order lost the capable wizard in Sirius, and now they might lose the spy, whose position was essential if they were to stand a chance against Voldemort. And it was all Harry's fault.
"I'm really sorry, Headmaster." He stood up and headed to the door, feeling the need to obey the issued order. "How long do you think this will last?" he asked, his voice a mix of hope and anxiety. "Assuming Snape will come back, that is," he added, his stomach twisting painfully at the prospect of Snape's death.
"I honestly don't know, Harry," Albus replied with a sigh. "You will have to ask Professor Snape about that when he returns. Which I am sure, he will. He is a very strong Occlumens, I dare say the very best out there. He will be back," Dumbledore said firmly, but Harry didn't feel reassured. "Anyway, if the spell is mostly used as a punishment, I don't think it's of permanent nature."
Harry gave him a weak smile and made his way to the dungeons.
TBC