Warnings: Contains sadistic and cold Harry, a confused and useless Severus, and a Lord Voldemort that rules over Great Britain.
Disclaimer: I own none of this except whatever original stuff I can imbue into it.
Beta'd by Blackumbrage
{} is parseltongue
Stockholm Syndrome: A phenomenon in which a hostage begins to identify with and grow sympathetic to his or her captor.
THE
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME
by Nenya Entwhistle
Chapter 6
Living is Learning
Things were difficult after the profound mental intrusion. Harry was rarely around, and Severus was too overwhelmed by all that he now knew to do anything but sit down and reflect on it. Dear god, how had Harry survived what Dumbledore had done to him? Severus had known that Dumbledore did have a rather harsh and unforgiving side to him, but for Dumbledore to do that to his favored Gryffindor was unthinkable.
But it wasn't like it wasn't possible for Dumbledore to do that. Hadn't Dumbledore done something quite similar to him on a smaller scale when he hadn't punished Sirius Black for nearly killing him in the Shrieking Shack incident? Yes, Severus knew rather well how unfair the Headmaster could be. Still, he didn't want to believe that Dumbledore would do that to someone that had done nothing wrong but be everything that Dumbledore ever wanted.
And it wasn't like Harry had been turning to the wrong side. True, there were some aspects about Harry that were eerily similar to Lord Voldemort. They were both orphans. They were both gifted parselmouths. They were both raised in the muggle world. They both had an unbelievable amount of raw power. But Harry had never tampered in the Dark Arts like Voldemort and there was no reason to suspect he would ever have turned dark.
Severus felt sicker the more he pondered on it. Dumbledore had turned Harry dark. Dumbledore was the reason why the world was faltering in its footsteps. Dumbledore was the reason he was here captured and trapped. Dragging his dark eyes around the dimmed library filled with the books he loved to read and study, he wasn't upset. No, he liked it here as much as he liked it anywhere else. He was almost happy.
"It's not good to read in the dark." Severus froze. He knew that voice and he thought he would never hear that voice again. "Then again, who would have thought a pet would be so indulged?" the voice sneered. "It is rather a pity that my Lord let Potter have you, I would have liked to keep you in my dungeons and paint your skin a beautiful crimson." Severus narrowed his eyes, but lowered his head submissively. He knew better than to push his dignity when he was in dangerous circumstances.
"Whatever would my Lord say if he knew that Potter was almost pampering you?" Lucius always did like to stir up trouble, didn't he? Severus did not like that Lucius wanted to cause Harry difficulty. There had been enough turmoil in Harry's life, but he had no power. All he could do was to make sure that he didn't give Lucius anything else to complain about. "And my Lord is not pleased how Potter keeps you secluded away instead of taking you out and torturing you in public displays.
"If he doesn't torture you," Lucius murmured darkly, his finger tracing Severus's face with cruel precision, "then why does he keep you? He can't fuck you, you should know that," his other hand descended downwards to maliciously grab Severus's crotch, "he's my Lord's whore. And if my Lord suspected that he was fucking your ass," Lucius's grip tightened, "you would be tortured until you would beg for death but not given it and Potter would simply die in front of your eyes because my Lord doesn't like to be cuckolded. So tell me," he whispered threateningly, "does Potter fuck you?"
"Why would I fuck anyone but our Lord?" Potter declared, leaning against the doorway with a casual ease. "There is no one," he whispered fervently, his green eyes shining with something akin to insanity, "that could make me feel the way he makes me feel. You have no idea of the power that is within him, Malfoy. You will never know, will you?" he inquired softy. "He doesn't want you and your ice beauty."
A momentary scowl appeared on Lucius's face before it was quickly erased with the typical Malfoy composure. "Awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?"
The grin on Potter's face was positively perverted. "He's calling," Potter stated. "Shouldn't you be going?"
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "And shouldn't you?"
"After you, of course," Potter murmured. "You are the guest."
Lucius scowled and he apparated
out of Potter mansion with a burst of blinding power. When he had gone, Severus's
body sagged against the wall with sweet relief as the blood was allowed to
reach his brutalized groin. "I
apologize," Potter said. "He should not
have been able to get through the wards."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
The look in Harry's eyes was indiscernible. "Sleep well Snape. I won't be home until late."
Severus closed his eyes. He knew what that meant. Harry was going to get bathed in blood. It should have been his blood, but instead it would be Harry's. Why was it always the innocents that were getting corrupted and used by the evil of the world when the sinners ought to pay for the transgressions? How cruel this world was. How utterly cruel.
-
Severus didn't see Harry again until several days later and when he did, he found Harry sitting down in his favorite chair in the library reading an obscure dark tome that was most likely obtained from Lord Voldemort's personal library. When Harry lifted up his face, there was something different about those green eyes. For some reason, they didn't seem as dead to Severus as they usually were.
"Good afternoon," Potter greeted him amicably, closing the book and setting it aside.
"Good afternoon," Severus repeated, moving over toward his Master and bowing his head reverently before shifting over to grab the potions theory book he had been reading last night. He could feel Harry's eyes on him when he opened the book to the page that he had been on. He felt his entire body stiffen and he looked up from what he hadn't been reading and shifted his gaze toward Harry. "Thank you for the other night."
"Malfoy," Potter stated sharply, "had no right to touch what was mine."
"Still…"
"You may have been a bastard," he continued, "but you were no worse than the other Death Eaters."
There was something about Harry's tone that made Severus feel cold and sick all over. Despite all that he had done, did Harry only see that he was no worse than the rest of those bastards? He had tried so hard to be better and had he failed so miserably? The voice at the back of his head was screaming why did he even care what Harry thought when Harry was one of them now. But another voice was whispering softly that it did matter what Harry thought because… Harry was the only one left that could judge him.
Potter gestured for Severus to come to him. Severus hesitated before moving over to where Harry wanted him to. He shuddered when Potter's hand traced the curve of his groin and it took all his mental control not to grind against the tempting hand. And it took what was left of that stripped control to not move away. How he managed to just stand there and do nothing with such enticement was mysterious.
"You were much better than I."
That Severus could not believe. That he was better than Harry bloody Potter? That was a laugh. "You saw my memories," Potter whispered softly. "You saw what I have done, and what you saw was only a part of what I have done. You know what I am capable of." His lingering hand left Severus's crotch. "You know very well that I am not a nice wizard. I am Voldemort's own."
"What I know," Severus found himself responding, "is that you are no where near as bad as the Death Eaters that you align yourself with. You are capable of kindness, something none of them are. You are not nearly as bad as you think."
Harry laughed and it was a blood chilling laugh. "You are a fool, Snape."
"Am I?"
"You are," Potter stated, raising his wand and pointing it at Severus. "If you were not a fool, you would have kept your mouth shut. If you were not a fool, you would have found a way to escape by now. You are a fool Snape."
Severus braced himself, prepared to feel the pain of Cruciatus on his form, but instead Harry merely stood up and apparated out of the room. What was Harry doing? Playing with him, his inner voice taunted. Harry had decided that ignoring him was no longer good enough. What better way to get at him than to drive him mad trying to guess what Harry was up to? Oh god, he almost preferred to be ignored.
-
He was never summoned, so he knew something was wrong when one of the few house elves at the Potter residence popped into his potions laboratory and told him that the Master requested his presence. Harry having house elves was another reminder of the old Harry for the house elf that had been called to get him was none other than Dobby, Lucius Malfoy's old house elf. If Harry hadn't taken Dobby underneath his protection, Severus had no doubt that Dobby would have died a most excruciating death.
When Severus entered into Harry's private study, he knew immediately why he'd been called when he heard Potter's voice cry out, "Crucio!" Voldemort had decided to visit.
The pain was agonizing. Whenever he was under one of Harry's Unforgivables, Severus always felt that the most powerful wizard in the world wasn't Voldemort but a young man by the name of Harry Potter. It was that power which Severus believed that Dumbledore had tried to control and failed, and it was that same power that had marked Harry Potter as Voldemort's enemy. It was that power that now had Voldemort keeping Harry as his lover.
For whom else would Voldemort bed but the most powerful wizard in existence?
"Are you trying to prove something?" Severus heard Voldemort's sibilant whisper into Harry's ear when Harry released him from the Unforgivable. "Are you?"
"I have nothing to prove," Potter responded, his green eyes hollow.
Voldemort's thin fingers snaked through Harry's raven locks and dragged his head down, forcing Harry onto his knees. "I think you do."
"I don't."
Severus in his wildest dreams had never thought he would hear the day when this Harry Potter would stand up to Voldemort. What was Harry doing? Why had Harry called on him? Was this some kind of terrible nightmare?
"Kill him," Voldemort commanded. "He's a traitor. Lucius is right, I should never have allowed you to let him live. It undermines me."
"It undermines you," Harry sneered, "to listen to what Malfoy says."
Voldemort's crimson eyes were burning dangerous as they bore down on Harry's lifeless eyes. {It would do you well not to speak back to me, pet,} he hissed warningly. Severus did not like the direction this was going, but he couldn't summon the strength to move from his prone position. {If you won't do it, then I will.}
Oh god, this was the end, Severus thought when he saw Voldemort's wand pointed toward him. "Avada…" Severus closed his eyes, prepared to finally feel death upon him, "Kedavra."
He expected blackness and death, but none of that was forthcoming. All he felt was the aching pain from the Cruciatus Curse. Severus opened his eyes and saw that his Master had knocked away Voldemort's wand. For the first time ever, Harry's eyes were not green, they were a midnight black. What had Voldemort done?
{You gave him to me,} Potter hissed. {He is mine. He is mine to do what I will. He is mine to kill if I want to kill him. He is mine to treat as I would like to treat him. He is mine to do what I want regardless of Malfoy. He is mine.}
Author's Note: Well, Lucius makes his "sneering" appearance. I just like how dark and cruel Lucius is. He's not redeemable in any sense of the word. It doesn't matter, if he was… well he wouldn't be Lucius Malfoy, would he? If you're reading, do me a favor and review. Thanks!
Riantlykalopsic: Yes, I was going for the skin
crawling feeling.
Savage Damsel: Don't know the link, but the NC-17 will be up on Inkstain Fingers when I'm done writing the whole thing,
which should be up by the end of May.
Winnie2: Well, Harry is under the Stockholm Syndrome
himself.
lillinfields: That's a
though to ponder, eh?
GO REVIEW…
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