Title: The Art of Necromancy
Author: Artemis Luna Diana
E-Mail: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Pairing: Harry/Severus
Time: begins right after GoF
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts to spend the summer. Out of sheer boredom, he scours the library for books to read and stumbles across a book that will change his life…
Disclaimer: I own not a thing
WARNING!!!! THIS IS A SLASH STORY!!!! IF YOU DON'T LIKE SLASH OR THIS PARTICULAR PAIRING… LEAVE NOW!!!!
Chapter Sixteen: Bond-mate
Snape entered Dumbledore's office with some trepidation. The letter he'd received during breakfast had bid him come with all due haste. Obviously, something had happened last night. Albus was sitting behind his desk, as usual, and Harry stood by the fireplace, clearly too unnerved to sit. This was not a good sign.
"You sent for me?" he asked, betraying none of his thoughts to the men in the room.
"Yes," Albus said. "It appears we have a problem. Lemon drop?"
"No."
Albus flicked his gaze to Harry before settling back on Snape. "Understandably, Harry has been keeping some things to himself about his abilities. Unfortunately, Voldemort has uncovered them, and now we must protect Harry from him."
"Protect Harry? Aren't you suppose to be all-powerful?" Snape sneered. Inside he was wondering what Voldemort could have discovered that posed such a threat to the Necromancer.
"No one is all-powerful, Severus," Harry said quietly.
"Why do you need protecting?" Snape demanded.
"Because everything has weaknesses, and Voldemort now knows what Harry's are," Albus replied.
"And they are?" Snape prompted.
"The inability to heal my own wounds, the compulsion to heal the innocent and dying that overrides the need to protect myself, and the frailty of my body."
Snape stared at Harry. "Do you expect me to come up with some potion to counter your weaknesses? Because if you do, I can tell you right now that it is hopeless."
"No, Severus. That is not what Harry needs."
Harry's gaze dropped to the floor. He couldn't meet Snape's eyes.
"Harry needs a bond-mate."
Snape was stunned. "A bond-mate?"
"Yes. From what Harry has said, most Necromancers don't bond because the weaknesses a bond-mate creates are usually worse than the weaknesses that they began with. However, in Harry's case, a bond-mate is the best option."
"Who will bond with you?" Snape asked Harry, ignoring Albus for the moment.
Harry looked up briefly before dropping his gaze back to the floor. "I was hoping that you would agree to bond with me, Severus."
Snape was shocked into silence.
"I think I'll leave you two alone to talk this over," Albus said and retreated to his private quarters. His leaving went unnoticed by the two men.
Snape stared at Harry. He knew that Harry was attracted to him, but a bond-mate? "There must be someone else," Snape said firmly. There was no way that Harry truly wanted to bond with him; he was much too old for him. It was only suppose to be a fling.
"Don't think that you are a last resort, Severus," Harry said quietly. "I wanted to bond with you the moment I knew I could, but my guides stopped me. They said I was too young to bond." Harry looked up. "They're right too. I am too young to bond, but the consequence of doing so is not so bad."
"What is the consequence?"
"That I will not live my full life. Necromancers are suppose to live three hundred years exactly. It wouldn't matter who I bonded with, I still wouldn't live my full life." Harry gave a hesitant smile. "You are the only one I want to bond with, Severus, and we Necromancers are funny about who we bond with. A Necromancer only forms one bond and has only one person that they want to bond with. That person is their true bond-mate. A Necromancer can bond with someone else, but the bond won't be as strong, and the two bonded will end up ripping each other apart instead of joining once a certain amount of time has passed." Harry straightened. "If I bonded with someone else, I would likely only live another ten or so years. Enough time, I suppose, to rid the world of Voldemort, but, not enough time to live." Harry walked over and sat down in the chair beside Snape's. "I don't want to pressure you. If you say no, I will not bond at all. As long as I keep my head and minimize my contact with Voldemort, he won't be able to exploit the weaknesses he knows. Severus, you can say no," Harry stressed.
"Why?" Snape asked after a moment's silence. "Why do you want to bond with me?"
Harry blushed. "I thought that was obvious. I love you."
"You couldn't possibly…"
"But I do." Harry looked down at his hands. "You don't have to say you love me back."
Snape didn't know what to say. "I do have feelings for you," he said slowly. "But I don't know what exactly they are, or how deep they go. I won't lie to you and say that I love you when I don't know how I feel."
Harry looked up and met his gaze once more. "It was more than I expected, Severus, and it was more than enough."
Snape nodded slowly. "Then I will bond with you."
"Thank you." Harry leaned in and pressed his lips to Severus's. The kiss was gentle but passionate. When he pulled away, he whispered, "Love you."
***
Harry and Severus stood in the center of a very empty Great Hall. Just off to the side of them stood Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. The tables were gone from the room and six shoulder-high candlestick holders formed a circle around the pair. Their observers stood just outside of the circle.
"Are you ready?" Albus asked.
Harry and Severus exchanged glances before Harry turned to Albus, "Yes, we're ready."
"Then we will cast the protective spells and you can begin."
Albus and Minerva began casting spells while Harry and Severus watched. After about the fourth spell, the bubble that was forming around them began to go opaque. When they could no longer see the two spell-casters, Harry and Severus turned to each other and clasped hands.
The light from the six candles cast strange shadows on the bubble and the two men. Harry took a deep breath and began pulling apart his magical barriers. The first blast of raw magic caused the bubble to shudder before it bounced back and struck the two men, smashing them together. Severus clenched his teeth and began to pull his own barriers apart.
***
Albus and Minerva stood about ten feet away from the bubble, watching as raw magic began to assault their protective magic. "Are you sure we cast enough?" Minerva asked, worried.
"Harry said that this was enough," Albus said, a slight frown marring his usual happy features.
"But what if Harry was wrong?"
"Then when Hogwarts is destroyed, we will not know it." Albus never moved his gaze from the bubble. "We will be the first to die."
Minerva shivered.
***
The magic let loose in the bubble was reaching fever pitch as the last barriers holding in the magic of the two men was removed. They were both sweating freely and panting. To remove the barriers holding in one's magic requires the conscious decision to release a very destructive power. Even with the conscious acceptance, the subconscious must be bent to the will of the wizard.
The magic continued to bounce inside of the bubble, sometimes hitting the two men directly, other times grazing them or missing completely. Each time they were hit, the need to release each other and escape the bubble was intensified. However, if they were to release each other, the magic that was currently not affecting them would kill them instantly. This was a test for those seeking to bond. To bond without control could cause much destruction. It is better to lose two wizards or witches than to lose the two attempting to bond and a great number of bystanders.
Once the barriers were down, they began to jointly rebuild them, weaving their magic together to form one source. As their magic began to mesh, the magic bouncing around in the bubble began to be absorbed into their skin. Their bodies glowed each time the magic hit and was then absorbed.
As more of the magic began to vanish into them, a loud humming sound began. The last piece of magic was absorbed with a loud cracking sound, and the humming intensified. The humming became a pressure that forced them down to their knees.
***
Albus and Minerva stared at the bubble as the humming intensified. Harry and Severus had been in there for six hours. In two hours the first of the students would arrive for breakfast. There was no way the bonding would be finished by then.
***
The pressure became so great that they felt that soon they would be crushed. With a cry of agony, Harry sagged up against Severus. Severus wrapped his arms around Harry, and his head dropped to Harry's shoulder. He tasted the coppery tang of blood as he bit through his lip to keep from screaming. He felt himself being wrenched from his body and thrust towards something else. He nearly recoiled from it before he realized the something was Harry.
***
Ron and Hermione walked down the last flight of steps to the Great Hall. They were rather surprised to see a large gathering of students clustered around the open doors. "Why is everyone standing around here?" Ron asked.
"Dumbledore and McGonagall are in there with some giant bubble," a Ravenclaw second-year replied. "No one wants to go in."
Hermione shouldered her way through the crowd, followed by Ron. They looked into the hall. They understood instantly why no one wanted to go in. Dumbledore and McGonagall were concentrating solely on the bubble, wands drawn. Hermione stared at the bubble.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Ron breathed.
Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh my God." The students around her, turned to her, knowing she must know what it was. "It's a bonding ceremony."
The students swiftly looked back at the bubble and began recognizing the signs for what they were. "Merlin," Ron gasped.
"They are having a bonding in the middle of the school," a Hufflepuff fourth-year squeaked. "If anything goes wrong, we're all dead!"
"Who's in the bubble?" a Gryffindor first-year asked.
Ron and Hermione glanced at each other in horror. They knew that Harry was one of the people in the bubble.
***
"Where are we?"
"The Necromancer's Haven… but there's no one here." Harry frowned. "This must be a recreation of some place that I think of as safe."
They heard what sounded like the crackle of lightning and turned. The white mist of the Haven was solidifying into a wall of sorts. Flashes of light shot across it, and any Muggle-born would have compared what was forming with a theater-screen.
A picture began to form. It was easy to recognize the Great Hall at a welcoming feast. As the picture began to clear, they saw a young Harry Potter sitting at the Gryffindor table. He looked sleepy. He glanced up at the High Table. His gaze roamed from Hagrid to McGonagall to Dumbledore to Quirrell to …a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. Snape looked up and straight into Harry's eyes. "Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his forehead as a sharp, hot pain shot across his scar.
"This was first year. I had nearly forgotten…" Harry whispered. He smiled. "This was the first time I ever saw you."
***
They could feel themselves returning to their bodies. Before they were completely returned, they already had begun to move. Their lips met in a hungry kiss.
(now don't you wish that FF.Net allowed NC-17 fics??? Do you want to read it? Go to my Yahoo!Group to read it. The link is in my profile)
***
Harry opened his eyes slowly and glanced around. He was laying naked beside Severus on their clothes. The bubble was still around them. He snuggled closer to his lover, his bond-mate. "Severus," he whispered huskily. Severus grunted and pulled him closer. "Love you."
"Harry," Severus sighed.
***
TBC…