Title: Harry Potter and a Slytherin Love
Author: Yih
Author's Note: This is a SLASH HP/SS story with a very good friendship story for HP/DM. That's your warning, if you don't like slash then go read my other stories! I happen to be a very open minded individual and can see the beauty of both types of relationships. Isn't that fun?! I think it is ^_^;;. R+R for more! Reviewer thanks below!
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling ^-~ I wished I owned something, but I don't more the pity.
Website: foolish.home.att.net
3: Remembered Horror (May 21, 2003 to May 25, 2003)
(3 years ago)
"I will not let you do this. If he gets his hands on you, he will kill you," Severus growled out his concern for Harry. "You don't have to go along with everyone of Albus's hair brained schemes you know, especially if you're going to be in that much danger. Use you as bait for Lord Voldemort, is he insane? What's wrong with him?"
If it had been five years prior, Harry would have bet anything that Severus would not have minded trading him to the Dark Lord if it meant that the world might be saved from the evil of Tom Riddle. What a difference a few years made, not only was Severus no longer the greasy git anymore--- he was the most important person in Harry's life. If he was to make a bold gander, he'd guess that he was equally important to Severus. Not that his lover would dare admit anything that made him vulnerable. No, he'd deny it vehemently.
Which was why Harry raised his eyebrow up at this rather flagrant disregard to the 'I may shag Harry Potter every damn night but far be it to expect me to treat him differently in public' rule that was unwritten yet understood. "Nothing," Harry answered lightly, earning him another glare. "It wasn't his idea, it was mine." That gave him a rare look of shock from Severus. "Albus had a reaction not so different from your own. But Voldemort has become suspicious of you and Draco, what better way to inspire confidence by handing me over to him?"
"If we let him have you, he will destroy you as soon as he gets his hands on you! He won't make the same mistake he made all those years ago. Do you think that he's going to toy with you after he's tried so hard so many times to kidnap you and kill you? Do you have a death wish, Harry? Because you know Voldemort will kill you when he lays eyes on you again."
"You are letting your worry cloud your judgment," Harry responded calmly. "Voldemort won't kill me immediately because that will spoil his pleasure. He will want to torture me as long and as excruciatingly as he can for the years that he has waited for his revenge. That is Voldemort's way. We will use it against him."
As much as Severus didn't want to admit it, Harry had Voldemort's way of dealing with hated enemies precisely right. Death was too merciful. Torture was much more painful and satisfying. But still how could Harry expect him to sacrifice him to the cruelty of Voldemort willingly? He knew when Voldemort was done with Harry, Harry would beg for death. He was afraid that if things when wrong that Harry would be broken beyond repair.
What took Severus by surprise entirely was that Albus was allowing his golden boy to do this. Everything they'd done had been for Harry's protection--- so why the change of mind? Then again, he had underestimated how many Slytherin qualities that Harry had. True, he was a parseltongue, but what was more was that Harry had cunning and the drive coveted by Salazar Slytherin.
"Imperius doesn't work on me," Harry remarked to Severus's silence by deciding to further state his case. "Cruciatus I can throw off. Albus hasn't made me practice against the Unforgivable Curses all these years to let those skills sit and rust. It was to prepare me for the confrontation with Voldemort and what better time than now? He's weaker than he has been in years and when he's weak, he's even madder than he normally is."
Severus sighed. Harry also knew how to twist words in a way to his best advantage, one of the many personality quirks that he must have picked up from himself if not Dumbledore. There was no bloody way he'd gotten it from his mutt of a godfather, Sirius nor that Weasley prat. Hardly from Remus either since Moony tended to be more of the actions speak louder than words type. And Hermione was too much of a know it all to be able to hide that too telling trait. Nope, it had to be him or the Headmaster and he suspected it was him.
"It's too dangerous, Harry," he emphasized since this was the only argument that he had. Besides, it was a damn good one. It was a huge understatement how perilous this plan was. "You can't do..."
He was cut off when Harry covered his mouth with his hand. The steady seriousness in Harry's piercing green eyes stopped his protest as he stated in a firm and resolute voice, "I must do this Severus. The more this war goes on, the more people that die. If my life will save the rest of the lives that could be lost, you know I would gladly do it."
"What if it is for naught? What if it is a foolish sacrifice?" Severus snapped out impatiently when Harry lowered his hand. "What happens if we lose you and Voldemort still lives?"
Harry smiled poignantly and reached out to caress Severus's cheek. "Then you move on," he responded simply. "If you lose me the war isn't over. I'm not so invaluable to the Cause nor the Order. There are others that are far more valuable." Before Harry could say anything more, Severus pulled his lover roughly against him to assault him with a kiss to shut him up. He didn't want to hear Harry say those words because somewhere in this tormenting times, Harry had become so important to him.
Severus should have known that as soon as he drew away from the kiss that Harry would only continue where he left off. "Albus is the center of the resistance against Voldemort. Then there's the Weasleys that helped turned the Ministry to our Cause. Of course, there's you and Draco who provide us all the hope that we have of stopping him. I am not special; I just have good luck on my side."
"You are special," Severus insisted, turning his face to brush a kiss on Harry's fingertips. "If it were not for you, people would have no hope against Voldemort. Do you know how much faith you give to them by standing still against him when he's tried for the past 5 years to bring you down? No one has resisted him as long as you have."
Harry's lips curved into a mockingly amused smile instead of the touching smile that had graced his lips. "What happened to the Professor Snape that used to say that the only great about me was that Voldemort hadn't found a way to kill me? Since when did you become my staunch supporter?" He was trying to joke to alleviate the unbearable seriousness of the circumstance, but he saw from the pain that flashed briefly in Severus's dark eyes that he was going in the wrong direction. "Severus?"
It's because I care about you! Severus thought volatilely but he didn't speak the words aloud. He knew there was no way he was going to change Harry's mind. He'd known when Harry had begun to speak that there was no getting around it. In that, Harry was unquestionably Gryffindor. "I can't stop you," he replied severely. "So I will just have to make sure that you're not killed."
The smile wavered a bit before Harry pulled Severus's face down to his and gave him a soft, lingering kiss that was gentle enough to make it seem innocent, but Severus knew better. After all, he'd taught the dratted prat to kiss like this. The kiss deluded the senses into relaxing and when it happened, the melting fall was impossible to stop. This time Severus didn't want to stop the descent, if anything he pushed it into a more frightening and fantastic speed. He had no idea when he'd be falling in Harry's embrace again.
~
"I had questioned your loyalty, Severus," began Voldemort in his harsh voice before shifting his gaze to the one that stood beside him, "and yours, Draco. But now that you've brought me, Harry Potter, I understand why you had to get close enough to the boy to draw him to me." The insanely pleased smile that stretched the Dark Lord's thin lips hinted at the viciousness underneath. "I expected no less from a Snape nor the Malfoy heir." Turning his focus to Lucius, he pointedly suggested, "You should learn from your son, Lucius of persuasion."
If it was anyone but Draco, Lucius would have fixated a venomous glare at the fellow Death Eater, but since it was his son he gave Draco a somewhat pleased expression. After all, Lucius had no reason to think that Draco was anything but the loyal and faithful son he'd always been. Besides, if Draco rose in the ranks and stood by his father's side in the Inner Circle, that would only make the Malfoy name rise in more prominence and power. No this was a very good thing. He almost smiled at his son.
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius responded in a properly submissive voice.
"Now, we will need to wake Potter up so that I can begin to inflict my revenge on the boy that somehow has managed to allude me for so long," Voldemort snarled out sadistically. "Ennervate!" he exclaimed with a cruel glee as he removed the Stupefy spell that had been placed on Harry.
While Voldemort was busy thinking of all the terrible torture he'd put the boy through, Severus caught Draco's eye for the briefest instance. Both of them had thought it'd been a bad, no horrible idea to bring Harry here. Even Dumbledore had, in the end, tried to persuade Harry of another plan. There was a good chance that Harry could die and that they were going to have to witness it.
It made Severus's stomach crawl with horror and disgust to have to see his lover being brutalized at the hands of Voldemort. But there was nothing he could do anymore. He only had to hope that Voldemort wouldn't begin the worse of his revenge with the rest of the Death Eaters surrounding them. If it was only a select few of the Inner Circle, he had no doubt he and Draco could handle it well enough for them to Draco and Harry to escape and alert the others of where Voldemort was.
Once the location was discover, they would strike. All of them were betting that Voldemort would be too insane with his rage at Harry escaping and the betrayal of his most loyal Death Eaters to be able to think properly of escaping. As the years had passed, Voldemort had grown more and more susceptible to actions that made no logical sense. It was only the maniac terror that he struck into people and his lust for cruelty that kept him where he was, at the seat of power.
Harry's bright green eyes blinked open as he started to move toward Voldemort when he was struck with the Cruciatus Curse. "Crucio!" Voldemort cried out with a deranged sort of joy as Harry's face twisted in the tormenting pain that Severus knew he had to feel for a few seconds before he was able to fling it off of him. Even though Harry was able to avoid the pain, it didn't stop the Unforgivable Curse from paralyzing Harry into a statue.
"Accio whip!" Voldemort exclaimed and before Severus could blink it was tossed to him. "My loyal Death Eater, you will apply the physical punishment while I continue with the mental one. I know he won't be able to feel much through the Cruciatus, but I want him to feel the whip. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lord," Severus stated smoothly while his inner nerves were violently shaking. He thought he'd just have to watch Voldemort torture Harry, that was already excruciating. But he had never thought that he would have to apply some of the affliction as well. What was worse was that he knew Harry was going to feel this, feel this horribly well.
"I know how much you despise Potter, consider this your reward all these years for having to put up with the boy," Voldemort said graciously tainted with the undertones of malice. "Just be careful not to kill him quite yet. I have many plans for this one before I allow him to depart into death."
Severus had to give Harry this, Harry was right that Voldemort would want him to suffer immensely before having the mercy of death. And as much as he wanted to throw the whip away or better yet let it crack onto Voldemort's revolting form, he could not have a hope of winning against the Death Eaters that were still in the room. All he could do was crack the whip menacing in the air as if testing the strength of the vengeance tool.
"Thank you, my Lord," Severus responded in a properly grateful and let a note of long held delight creep into his voice. He knew and was a master of how to react to every situation. How could he not? If he hadn't perfected it, he would not have been able to have lived in his shadowy place as a spy for the side of light for the years that he had been. No, if he hadn't mastered deception he would have been dead years ago. "You honor me."
That was the last thing he said before he cocked the whip up and sliced through the dreadful silence with the hum of pain that was inflicted upon Harry's thinly clothed back. It wasn't long, not even ten slashes before the robe on his lover's shoulders had been ripped apart by the vicious whip. The only one that possibly could understand what Severus was going through was Draco.
It was all Draco could do not to stop Severus; after all, somehow through the years they'd been working exclusively together Draco and Harry had become good mates. If he wanted to flinch at what Severus was doing to Harry, he only could imagine what his godfather was going through. He was the only one that saw the firmly pressed lips that gave a telling sign of how torturous this was for Severus.
"Finite Incantatem!" Voldemort shouted out at the same time that Severus's whip crashed wickedly into Harry's bleeding wounds. "Severus..." the Dark Lord commented, which gave Severus the gratifying excuse to stop the physical abuse, "the rumors of your hatred of Harry Potter have understated them."
Feeling sick to his stomach, Severus surveyed the terrible damage that he'd wreaked on his Harry. His Harry? His inner conscious taunted. Yes, Harry was his, he admitted. Through his sheer power of mind, he erased whatever twinge of emotion that might have surfaced as he had studied his lover. Smoothing away any of those feelings, he let the customary mask of detached indifference settle on his pale features.
"Now the real fun begins," Voldemort declared with barely concealed delight that sent a tingle of dread down both Severus's and Draco's spine. If that dreadful whipping hadn't even been the beginning, how was Harry going to get through this? How were they going to get through this?
The evil smile that spread across the Dark Lord's deathly pale face was a horror to behold as he glared at the Death Eaters that stood nearby and with a flick of his wand, he threw them against the wall near the door. The action quickly told them that they weren't wanted there. Severus and Draco both mentally sighed with relief, there was no one left in the room except Lucius and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. It was better than they had thought possible.
"So who would like the honor of stripping Harry Potter of his virginity?" the Dark Lord queried with an unmistakable glee. He carefully looked over each of the five occupants in the room, as if considering the merits of each of them carefully. Crabbe and Goyle were vile men but they had no brains to make their methods of brutality particularly pleasing to Voldemort.
Lucius, however, was sadistic and cunning. If given the chance, he'd break the Potter boy into a shadow of his former self. An interesting option, and then there was Severus of course. The violent treatment Severus had dealt the hated boy was the more emotion that Voldemort had ever witnessed from the Potions Master, very intriguing. Lastly, there was Draco. He really ought to give the Malfoy a reward and it was a well known fact that Harry Potter was his arch nemesis. Yet at the same time he didn't think that Draco could deal out the cruelty like Lucius or Severus.
Both Draco and Severus saw that Harry was still conscious, still holding on. If they waited too much longer, they weren't sure if Harry would be able to apparate away into the safety spot. With a quick shared glance while Voldemort was distracted as he planned out his torture, they withdrew their wands and they quickly stupefied Crabbe and Goyle. Lucius proved more of a challenge as he managed to disarm his son, but was quickly writhing under the Cruciatus Curse that Severus cried out.
While Lucius was impeded by the agonizing pain, Draco picked his wand up and swiftly apparated to where the rest of the Order was awaiting their signal. Severus knew, knew that it wouldn't be long now before Voldemort was defeated. Things had gone too well, the followers knew better than to disturb their Master in his torturing sessions and the only ones that knew what had happened were knocked out of play.
It had taken far less than a minute to disarm all those that threatened them, but that was quite enough time for Voldemort to spring into action. Since Harry seemed barely conscious, he wasn't considered a threat as he called out the killing curse with atrocious power behind the words at Severus, "Avada Kedavra!"
Severus was fully expecting the hideous green killing curse to hit him for an excruciating moment before he died. What he hadn't thought was that Harry even had the strength to stand up, much less dive quickly to cover his body over his prone lover and take the killing curse that was meant for Severus. It was as the ghastly curse ripped through Harry that the Order portkeyed by the masses into the room and it was fitting that Dumbledore was the one that once and for all got rid of the Dark Lord.
The twist was that it was light magic that defeated Voldemort forever, a simple Justice Spell that made Voldemort live through all the pain of the suffering and misery that he'd caused as it destroyed his soul. Severus had always thought that he'd take great pleasure in seeing the end of the miserable evil that had inflicted him because a stupid and uninformed choice he'd made as a teen. But he wasn't. All he felt was this sickening feeling as he felt how fragile and still Harry was.
~
THANKS to ALL my REVIEWERS! Just let me know do you want more of the past or the present? I've decided that this story won't be too long. I hope not over 20,000 words. My other HP/SS story will be longer: Harry Potter and the Mirror of Paradox (watch for it! It'll be released sometime this week). Also, leaving an email gets you a chapter alert!
Minerva-Severus-Dumbledor: More as requested, hope this meets up with expectations.
Kateri: Hehe, thanks for encouraging Harry (he needs it).
Litine: Thanks!
BELOVEDbyWAR: Thanks for being a loyal reviewer! I'm more worried about Harry and Severus's characterization than anything else. How am I doing there?
ChristinaLupin01442: I'm glad it's cool, hope your dad doesn't spoil your reading fun heir of Ravenclaw!
Melfwain: I'm glad you like this story. Then again, you might like my writing style more than anything! But anyway I promise I'll work on In Times Like These and I am!
Xikum: Shagging will alleviate their sexual frustration, possible request for chapter 4?
Sela: Thanks, glad you like it!
Author: Yih
Author's Note: This is a SLASH HP/SS story with a very good friendship story for HP/DM. That's your warning, if you don't like slash then go read my other stories! I happen to be a very open minded individual and can see the beauty of both types of relationships. Isn't that fun?! I think it is ^_^;;. R+R for more! Reviewer thanks below!
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling ^-~ I wished I owned something, but I don't more the pity.
Website: foolish.home.att.net
3: Remembered Horror (May 21, 2003 to May 25, 2003)
(3 years ago)
"I will not let you do this. If he gets his hands on you, he will kill you," Severus growled out his concern for Harry. "You don't have to go along with everyone of Albus's hair brained schemes you know, especially if you're going to be in that much danger. Use you as bait for Lord Voldemort, is he insane? What's wrong with him?"
If it had been five years prior, Harry would have bet anything that Severus would not have minded trading him to the Dark Lord if it meant that the world might be saved from the evil of Tom Riddle. What a difference a few years made, not only was Severus no longer the greasy git anymore--- he was the most important person in Harry's life. If he was to make a bold gander, he'd guess that he was equally important to Severus. Not that his lover would dare admit anything that made him vulnerable. No, he'd deny it vehemently.
Which was why Harry raised his eyebrow up at this rather flagrant disregard to the 'I may shag Harry Potter every damn night but far be it to expect me to treat him differently in public' rule that was unwritten yet understood. "Nothing," Harry answered lightly, earning him another glare. "It wasn't his idea, it was mine." That gave him a rare look of shock from Severus. "Albus had a reaction not so different from your own. But Voldemort has become suspicious of you and Draco, what better way to inspire confidence by handing me over to him?"
"If we let him have you, he will destroy you as soon as he gets his hands on you! He won't make the same mistake he made all those years ago. Do you think that he's going to toy with you after he's tried so hard so many times to kidnap you and kill you? Do you have a death wish, Harry? Because you know Voldemort will kill you when he lays eyes on you again."
"You are letting your worry cloud your judgment," Harry responded calmly. "Voldemort won't kill me immediately because that will spoil his pleasure. He will want to torture me as long and as excruciatingly as he can for the years that he has waited for his revenge. That is Voldemort's way. We will use it against him."
As much as Severus didn't want to admit it, Harry had Voldemort's way of dealing with hated enemies precisely right. Death was too merciful. Torture was much more painful and satisfying. But still how could Harry expect him to sacrifice him to the cruelty of Voldemort willingly? He knew when Voldemort was done with Harry, Harry would beg for death. He was afraid that if things when wrong that Harry would be broken beyond repair.
What took Severus by surprise entirely was that Albus was allowing his golden boy to do this. Everything they'd done had been for Harry's protection--- so why the change of mind? Then again, he had underestimated how many Slytherin qualities that Harry had. True, he was a parseltongue, but what was more was that Harry had cunning and the drive coveted by Salazar Slytherin.
"Imperius doesn't work on me," Harry remarked to Severus's silence by deciding to further state his case. "Cruciatus I can throw off. Albus hasn't made me practice against the Unforgivable Curses all these years to let those skills sit and rust. It was to prepare me for the confrontation with Voldemort and what better time than now? He's weaker than he has been in years and when he's weak, he's even madder than he normally is."
Severus sighed. Harry also knew how to twist words in a way to his best advantage, one of the many personality quirks that he must have picked up from himself if not Dumbledore. There was no bloody way he'd gotten it from his mutt of a godfather, Sirius nor that Weasley prat. Hardly from Remus either since Moony tended to be more of the actions speak louder than words type. And Hermione was too much of a know it all to be able to hide that too telling trait. Nope, it had to be him or the Headmaster and he suspected it was him.
"It's too dangerous, Harry," he emphasized since this was the only argument that he had. Besides, it was a damn good one. It was a huge understatement how perilous this plan was. "You can't do..."
He was cut off when Harry covered his mouth with his hand. The steady seriousness in Harry's piercing green eyes stopped his protest as he stated in a firm and resolute voice, "I must do this Severus. The more this war goes on, the more people that die. If my life will save the rest of the lives that could be lost, you know I would gladly do it."
"What if it is for naught? What if it is a foolish sacrifice?" Severus snapped out impatiently when Harry lowered his hand. "What happens if we lose you and Voldemort still lives?"
Harry smiled poignantly and reached out to caress Severus's cheek. "Then you move on," he responded simply. "If you lose me the war isn't over. I'm not so invaluable to the Cause nor the Order. There are others that are far more valuable." Before Harry could say anything more, Severus pulled his lover roughly against him to assault him with a kiss to shut him up. He didn't want to hear Harry say those words because somewhere in this tormenting times, Harry had become so important to him.
Severus should have known that as soon as he drew away from the kiss that Harry would only continue where he left off. "Albus is the center of the resistance against Voldemort. Then there's the Weasleys that helped turned the Ministry to our Cause. Of course, there's you and Draco who provide us all the hope that we have of stopping him. I am not special; I just have good luck on my side."
"You are special," Severus insisted, turning his face to brush a kiss on Harry's fingertips. "If it were not for you, people would have no hope against Voldemort. Do you know how much faith you give to them by standing still against him when he's tried for the past 5 years to bring you down? No one has resisted him as long as you have."
Harry's lips curved into a mockingly amused smile instead of the touching smile that had graced his lips. "What happened to the Professor Snape that used to say that the only great about me was that Voldemort hadn't found a way to kill me? Since when did you become my staunch supporter?" He was trying to joke to alleviate the unbearable seriousness of the circumstance, but he saw from the pain that flashed briefly in Severus's dark eyes that he was going in the wrong direction. "Severus?"
It's because I care about you! Severus thought volatilely but he didn't speak the words aloud. He knew there was no way he was going to change Harry's mind. He'd known when Harry had begun to speak that there was no getting around it. In that, Harry was unquestionably Gryffindor. "I can't stop you," he replied severely. "So I will just have to make sure that you're not killed."
The smile wavered a bit before Harry pulled Severus's face down to his and gave him a soft, lingering kiss that was gentle enough to make it seem innocent, but Severus knew better. After all, he'd taught the dratted prat to kiss like this. The kiss deluded the senses into relaxing and when it happened, the melting fall was impossible to stop. This time Severus didn't want to stop the descent, if anything he pushed it into a more frightening and fantastic speed. He had no idea when he'd be falling in Harry's embrace again.
~
"I had questioned your loyalty, Severus," began Voldemort in his harsh voice before shifting his gaze to the one that stood beside him, "and yours, Draco. But now that you've brought me, Harry Potter, I understand why you had to get close enough to the boy to draw him to me." The insanely pleased smile that stretched the Dark Lord's thin lips hinted at the viciousness underneath. "I expected no less from a Snape nor the Malfoy heir." Turning his focus to Lucius, he pointedly suggested, "You should learn from your son, Lucius of persuasion."
If it was anyone but Draco, Lucius would have fixated a venomous glare at the fellow Death Eater, but since it was his son he gave Draco a somewhat pleased expression. After all, Lucius had no reason to think that Draco was anything but the loyal and faithful son he'd always been. Besides, if Draco rose in the ranks and stood by his father's side in the Inner Circle, that would only make the Malfoy name rise in more prominence and power. No this was a very good thing. He almost smiled at his son.
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius responded in a properly submissive voice.
"Now, we will need to wake Potter up so that I can begin to inflict my revenge on the boy that somehow has managed to allude me for so long," Voldemort snarled out sadistically. "Ennervate!" he exclaimed with a cruel glee as he removed the Stupefy spell that had been placed on Harry.
While Voldemort was busy thinking of all the terrible torture he'd put the boy through, Severus caught Draco's eye for the briefest instance. Both of them had thought it'd been a bad, no horrible idea to bring Harry here. Even Dumbledore had, in the end, tried to persuade Harry of another plan. There was a good chance that Harry could die and that they were going to have to witness it.
It made Severus's stomach crawl with horror and disgust to have to see his lover being brutalized at the hands of Voldemort. But there was nothing he could do anymore. He only had to hope that Voldemort wouldn't begin the worse of his revenge with the rest of the Death Eaters surrounding them. If it was only a select few of the Inner Circle, he had no doubt he and Draco could handle it well enough for them to Draco and Harry to escape and alert the others of where Voldemort was.
Once the location was discover, they would strike. All of them were betting that Voldemort would be too insane with his rage at Harry escaping and the betrayal of his most loyal Death Eaters to be able to think properly of escaping. As the years had passed, Voldemort had grown more and more susceptible to actions that made no logical sense. It was only the maniac terror that he struck into people and his lust for cruelty that kept him where he was, at the seat of power.
Harry's bright green eyes blinked open as he started to move toward Voldemort when he was struck with the Cruciatus Curse. "Crucio!" Voldemort cried out with a deranged sort of joy as Harry's face twisted in the tormenting pain that Severus knew he had to feel for a few seconds before he was able to fling it off of him. Even though Harry was able to avoid the pain, it didn't stop the Unforgivable Curse from paralyzing Harry into a statue.
"Accio whip!" Voldemort exclaimed and before Severus could blink it was tossed to him. "My loyal Death Eater, you will apply the physical punishment while I continue with the mental one. I know he won't be able to feel much through the Cruciatus, but I want him to feel the whip. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lord," Severus stated smoothly while his inner nerves were violently shaking. He thought he'd just have to watch Voldemort torture Harry, that was already excruciating. But he had never thought that he would have to apply some of the affliction as well. What was worse was that he knew Harry was going to feel this, feel this horribly well.
"I know how much you despise Potter, consider this your reward all these years for having to put up with the boy," Voldemort said graciously tainted with the undertones of malice. "Just be careful not to kill him quite yet. I have many plans for this one before I allow him to depart into death."
Severus had to give Harry this, Harry was right that Voldemort would want him to suffer immensely before having the mercy of death. And as much as he wanted to throw the whip away or better yet let it crack onto Voldemort's revolting form, he could not have a hope of winning against the Death Eaters that were still in the room. All he could do was crack the whip menacing in the air as if testing the strength of the vengeance tool.
"Thank you, my Lord," Severus responded in a properly grateful and let a note of long held delight creep into his voice. He knew and was a master of how to react to every situation. How could he not? If he hadn't perfected it, he would not have been able to have lived in his shadowy place as a spy for the side of light for the years that he had been. No, if he hadn't mastered deception he would have been dead years ago. "You honor me."
That was the last thing he said before he cocked the whip up and sliced through the dreadful silence with the hum of pain that was inflicted upon Harry's thinly clothed back. It wasn't long, not even ten slashes before the robe on his lover's shoulders had been ripped apart by the vicious whip. The only one that possibly could understand what Severus was going through was Draco.
It was all Draco could do not to stop Severus; after all, somehow through the years they'd been working exclusively together Draco and Harry had become good mates. If he wanted to flinch at what Severus was doing to Harry, he only could imagine what his godfather was going through. He was the only one that saw the firmly pressed lips that gave a telling sign of how torturous this was for Severus.
"Finite Incantatem!" Voldemort shouted out at the same time that Severus's whip crashed wickedly into Harry's bleeding wounds. "Severus..." the Dark Lord commented, which gave Severus the gratifying excuse to stop the physical abuse, "the rumors of your hatred of Harry Potter have understated them."
Feeling sick to his stomach, Severus surveyed the terrible damage that he'd wreaked on his Harry. His Harry? His inner conscious taunted. Yes, Harry was his, he admitted. Through his sheer power of mind, he erased whatever twinge of emotion that might have surfaced as he had studied his lover. Smoothing away any of those feelings, he let the customary mask of detached indifference settle on his pale features.
"Now the real fun begins," Voldemort declared with barely concealed delight that sent a tingle of dread down both Severus's and Draco's spine. If that dreadful whipping hadn't even been the beginning, how was Harry going to get through this? How were they going to get through this?
The evil smile that spread across the Dark Lord's deathly pale face was a horror to behold as he glared at the Death Eaters that stood nearby and with a flick of his wand, he threw them against the wall near the door. The action quickly told them that they weren't wanted there. Severus and Draco both mentally sighed with relief, there was no one left in the room except Lucius and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. It was better than they had thought possible.
"So who would like the honor of stripping Harry Potter of his virginity?" the Dark Lord queried with an unmistakable glee. He carefully looked over each of the five occupants in the room, as if considering the merits of each of them carefully. Crabbe and Goyle were vile men but they had no brains to make their methods of brutality particularly pleasing to Voldemort.
Lucius, however, was sadistic and cunning. If given the chance, he'd break the Potter boy into a shadow of his former self. An interesting option, and then there was Severus of course. The violent treatment Severus had dealt the hated boy was the more emotion that Voldemort had ever witnessed from the Potions Master, very intriguing. Lastly, there was Draco. He really ought to give the Malfoy a reward and it was a well known fact that Harry Potter was his arch nemesis. Yet at the same time he didn't think that Draco could deal out the cruelty like Lucius or Severus.
Both Draco and Severus saw that Harry was still conscious, still holding on. If they waited too much longer, they weren't sure if Harry would be able to apparate away into the safety spot. With a quick shared glance while Voldemort was distracted as he planned out his torture, they withdrew their wands and they quickly stupefied Crabbe and Goyle. Lucius proved more of a challenge as he managed to disarm his son, but was quickly writhing under the Cruciatus Curse that Severus cried out.
While Lucius was impeded by the agonizing pain, Draco picked his wand up and swiftly apparated to where the rest of the Order was awaiting their signal. Severus knew, knew that it wouldn't be long now before Voldemort was defeated. Things had gone too well, the followers knew better than to disturb their Master in his torturing sessions and the only ones that knew what had happened were knocked out of play.
It had taken far less than a minute to disarm all those that threatened them, but that was quite enough time for Voldemort to spring into action. Since Harry seemed barely conscious, he wasn't considered a threat as he called out the killing curse with atrocious power behind the words at Severus, "Avada Kedavra!"
Severus was fully expecting the hideous green killing curse to hit him for an excruciating moment before he died. What he hadn't thought was that Harry even had the strength to stand up, much less dive quickly to cover his body over his prone lover and take the killing curse that was meant for Severus. It was as the ghastly curse ripped through Harry that the Order portkeyed by the masses into the room and it was fitting that Dumbledore was the one that once and for all got rid of the Dark Lord.
The twist was that it was light magic that defeated Voldemort forever, a simple Justice Spell that made Voldemort live through all the pain of the suffering and misery that he'd caused as it destroyed his soul. Severus had always thought that he'd take great pleasure in seeing the end of the miserable evil that had inflicted him because a stupid and uninformed choice he'd made as a teen. But he wasn't. All he felt was this sickening feeling as he felt how fragile and still Harry was.
~
THANKS to ALL my REVIEWERS! Just let me know do you want more of the past or the present? I've decided that this story won't be too long. I hope not over 20,000 words. My other HP/SS story will be longer: Harry Potter and the Mirror of Paradox (watch for it! It'll be released sometime this week). Also, leaving an email gets you a chapter alert!
Minerva-Severus-Dumbledor: More as requested, hope this meets up with expectations.
Kateri: Hehe, thanks for encouraging Harry (he needs it).
Litine: Thanks!
BELOVEDbyWAR: Thanks for being a loyal reviewer! I'm more worried about Harry and Severus's characterization than anything else. How am I doing there?
ChristinaLupin01442: I'm glad it's cool, hope your dad doesn't spoil your reading fun heir of Ravenclaw!
Melfwain: I'm glad you like this story. Then again, you might like my writing style more than anything! But anyway I promise I'll work on In Times Like These and I am!
Xikum: Shagging will alleviate their sexual frustration, possible request for chapter 4?
Sela: Thanks, glad you like it!
