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

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 9
Fate is Malicious

A lot had been bothering Severus recently.  The fact that Harry had begun toying with his sexual desires was only one of them.  What was really bothering Severus was that Harry had begun to come back from his sessions from Voldemort looking far more brutalized than any lover had any right to be.  And what haunted Severus was how tender Harry was with him after cleaning off the violence from his body.  In the weeks that followed, they had become friends.

They never did anything more than kiss and caress each other.  Well, Harry did the caressing and the kissing and he just leaned back and enjoyed the affectionate ministrations like a spoiled child.  What got to him was that Harry was even gentler after being terrorized from Voldemort than he normally was.  Severus wanted to know why.  If anything Harry should be less gentle and more violent toward Severus in his frustration, but the opposite was the case.  Harry never could be a normal boy, could he? 

"You look terrible," Severus stated.  He had gotten more comfortable with Harry, enough that he didn't feel like he had to hide his brutal honesty any longer.  He was still aware that he was still the pet and that Harry was the Master, but it wasn't a difference that Harry seemed to lord over him as long as there were no other Death Eaters present.  They were almost like friends, companions… and he might daresay… flirting with disaster?  "Why do you let him do that to you?" 

Harry gave him a look that said to shut his mouth.  Severus wanted to keep pressing on until Harry answered him, but he knew better than to keep pushing.  Despite their tenuous friendship, he knew that Harry would be all too willing to cast the Cruciatus curse on him if Severus irritated him too much.  Severus was rather fond of the fact he hadn't received that painful Unforgivable on his person for several weeks.  He would like to keep it that way. 

Harry gestured for Severus to get him something to wipe away the bloody mess that Voldemort had made him.  Severus was quick to comply and when Harry tried to take the towel away from him to sponge up the blood himself, Severus growled and pushed aside Harry's feeble attempts to clean away the crimson chaos.  "Let me do it, you stubborn brat." 

Green eyes that were none too pleased with the name calling flashed at him but then toned down to the lifelessness that Severus usually associated with Harry.  Severus sighed and washed away the blood with the same kind of tenderness that Harry showed him when he lavished his affections on him.  God, had it only been a few weeks ago that they were just Master and pet?  Well, not quite just Master and pet since he'd been a pet that related to his Master all too well and couldn't seem to separate Potter and Harry from his consciousness… 

"Come here, Severus," Harry whispered, a whisper that drew Severus like a flame drew a moth.  He knew it was dangerous and that he would burn but he couldn't help but go to it.  He was helpless in the face of such temptation.  "You know, you remind me of me." 

Severus stiffened just a bit before relaxing.  He did, did he?  He guessed it wasn't so far fetched.  He never would have associated Harry with himself before Harry had turned to Voldemort.  He never would have thought the Golden Boy would have turned to the dark side like he had in his youth.  But Harry had, and well… the similarities were there.  "I do?" 

"You do," Harry confirmed.  As Severus drew closer, Harry reached out with his fingers to caress Severus's cheek gently--- so gently it made Severus want to cry.  "You are in the same hell hole as I am.  Trapped.  Captured.  Enslaved." 

"You are not the Master that the Dark Lord is," Severus murmured. 

Harry laughed, softly and sadly.  "Are you not lucky, Severus?" 

"I am." 

"Are you happy?" 

"I am not… unhappy," Severus answered carefully. 

"I am glad you are honest with me," Harry remarked frankly, his green eyes shining with some emotion that wasn't indifference or coldness or vindictiveness.  "You are one of the only ones.  I think you are the only one that hasn't betrayed me." 

And that was a sad thing.  "Bad things have happened to you that have made you do things that you shouldn't have," Severus whispered even as Harry was shaking his head.  "You are not a bad man." 

"I think you underestimate me."  The softness disappeared into hardness.  "I was not forced to do the bad things that I have done.  I wanted to do them.  You must understand, Snape, I want my revenge." 

And Harry had it.  Severus rubbed away the last of the visible blood from Harry's face and throat.  His fingers then went to unbutton Harry's shirt and he made sure that he had no physical reaction to the interesting carvings that Voldemort had clawed into Harry's back as he removed the shirt.  Why did Harry stay with Voldemort now that his revenge was through?  It had been more than a few months since Dumbledore had died and the Light side had been totally devastated.  Harry had all the vengeance that Voldemort could give, so why did he not leave?  Leave with him and run far away from all the troubles of the world?

"Do you still hate me, Severus?" 

"No." 

"Do you like me?" 

Severus bit his lip.  "I do." 

Harry smiled.  "Who would have thought, Severus Snape would actually like Harry Potter?" 

"Certainly not I," Severus snapped, "not that I have much choice in the matter.  There are few that are left that are likable." 

"There is Draco." 

"I hate the Malfoys." 

"I do believe Draco is rather fond of you," Harry murmured nonchalantly.  "He has mentioned to me several times that you were his most tolerated professor, a high praise coming from him when he had such delightful fun torturing McGongall when she was captured.  I think he had her screaming for hours on end before he did her the mercy of killing her.  He even toyed with Flitwick a bit before the end, but he has never mentioned torture and you in the same sentence.  He must quite like you for Draco is quite the sadist." 

"Like father like son." 

"Lucius is not quite as sadistic as Draco." 

"I find that hard to believe." 

"Yes," Harry said softly, "but it is true." 

"May I ask you something?" 

"You may." 

"Do you like me?" 

Harry lifted his hand and kissed his palm, his tongue lingering to swirl in such a way that it sent a shiver down Severus's spine.  He looked up and his eyes said all that Severus needed to hear.  Harry did like him. 

Severus wanted to ask Harry to come away with him.  It was peaceful living with him, and it had only gotten that much better in the last few weeks.  He didn't know why Harry was opening up to him, but it was incredible what he was finally feeling in his life.  He had never known he would be capable of feeling strongly for anyone in a way that wasn't hate or apathy, but he did and while it wasn't quite love--- he didn't even think he was capable of love--- and well, he didn't think Harry was either.  Whatever it was, it was a strong feeling of harmonious liking and that was enough for him when he had felt too much hatred for far too long. 

Harry was kissing him, on the neck on the cheeks on the hands.  Harry liked his hands.  When Harry had been in a good mood, rare as finding a diamond in sand, he had whispered that, "Your hands are you." 

"What do you mean?" Severus had asked. 

"Your hands are not pretty," Harry whispered, "but they are strong and capable.  They are sensitive too, especially to potions.  You may have seemed to be broken," he remarked, "but you have not really broken, have you Severus?" 

"In many ways, I have." 

"And yet in others, you haven't." 

"No," Severus agreed.  "I haven't." 

"You are not a beautiful man." 

Severus felt his body tense slightly as Harry wrapped his arms more tightly around him.  He knew he wasn't a very attractive man, but he didn't feel like he was that unattractive either.  Especially when Harry was caressing him and kissing him like this, he felt like he was almost sexy.  He certainly felt desirable.  Who wouldn't feel wanted when a dark beauty like Harry was making his bones melt? 

"But I wouldn't have you any other way." 

"You wouldn't?"

"No." 

He wanted to ask Harry, but he was afraid to ask Harry.  He didn't want to hear Harry say no to him.  If Harry said no to him that meant his hopes would be forever crushed.  If he never asked, then he would never know.  Sometimes, not knowing was better than to know.  If he knew then he would have to face the facts of reality.  He wasn't the type to be wary of reality, but everything was so skewed now that sometimes it was better to live in the make believe land of the imagination… where reality was what one made up. 

"That's enough," Harry murmured.  "That's enough, Severus." 

Severus bit his tongue and lifted the cloth from where it was gently stroking the area that was quite clean.  He hadn't meant to keep cleaning an area that was obviously already clean, but he had gotten distracted like he tended to do when he was lost in his pleasant thoughts of Harry.  This was madness, he knew it, but it certainly wasn't an unpleasant madness.  Of course, it would have been sickening to think of Harry in the way he was thinking of Harry right now--- but what a few months did and what several months had started. 

"You can stop." 

"Sorry," Severus whispered. 

Harry didn't smile, but he didn't look displeased.  Severus could tell Harry wasn't going to be in one of his nice moods, but then again he never was in a nice mood after getting his body tortured into a bloody mess from Voldemort.  Severus was only too glad that Harry was never in a bad mood after being made into a crimson doll.  He could only imagine what Harry would want to do to get the edge of the mood off.  Everything he didn't want. 

"You're thinking of something." 

Severus hated that Harry could read his mind.  "Yes."

"Would you like to tell me?" 

"No." 

Harry licked his lips.  "I know what you're thinking." 

"I know." 

"Then why not tell me?" 

"Why don't you tell me if you bloody well know?!" Severus exploded.

"Because," Harry murmured, "you are always honest with me." 

Severus bit his tongue.  Harry already knew, so… what harm would it do?  But to vocalize it would change everything.  It wasn't quite the same to not say it.  But--- what did he have to lose?  Everything.  And what did he have to gain?  Everything.  "Come away with me." 

"You want me," Harry stated.  "Don't you?" 

"Yes," Severus admitted ragged.  "Yes." 

"What makes you think I would ever leave Voldemort?  My Master?" 

"He isn't good for you.  He is terrible to you.  And…" 

"And?"  Harry prodded.

"You want me?" 

Harry laughed hoarsely.  "Perhaps." 

"You've been toying with me." 

Harry reached out with his hand to brush his fingers against Severus's thin lips.  "Isn't that what Masters do with their pets?  Toy with them?  Isn't that what you wanted?  In your questions?  To be toyed with?" 

Severus shuddered involuntarily.  He had wanted that.  He had wanted to be toyed with.  He didn't want to be ignored any longer.  He hadn't realized that when he was a Professor that all he had wanted was to be left alone, but now that he was ignored--- he found it a hellish existence.  Humanity wasn't meant to be alone… forever.  It would destroy them.  It had nearly driven him insane, and it had broken him. 

"And that is what I did." 

Author's Note: The next chapter will be the conclusion for the story.  Thanks for all your reviews!  I'm having a bit of a writer's block right now so I won't be able to get the last chapter as quickly as I got this one out.  I hope you guys understand.  The reviews have been inspirational in helping me get this far!  Thanks. 

I'm a bit crunched for time, so I don't have time to respond to all the wonderful reviews but they were wonderful!  Thank you. 

GO REVIEW…

[]

[]

[]

/