Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it.
Sorry to those of you who thought it was sad, but there's not much I can do about that! Snape's hardly likely to be happy at being enslaved is he? It will most likely improve as the story progresses, but right now they're still figuring out all about the bond and what it means so he's going to be depressed for a while yet…
In response to one review about doing some of the story in Snape's POV - well, I've never liked stories that suddenly switch to first person, unless there's a reason for it like a letter or diary entry. But although I've been writing in 3rd person, I have actually been keeping mainly to Snape's perspective during the scenes where he's present, giving his thoughts and feelings. After all, an 'objective' narration would never describe a class of 17 and 18 year olds as 'annoying teenagers' like I do in this chapter…
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It was finally quiet in the potions lab, and Snape had a chance to prepare before his next class. The lesson before had not been too intolerable - the second-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were easily subdued from their curiosity and wide-eyed looks with a few harsh words, patented glares and assigned detentions – but the next would not be so easy.
Seventh-year students from all houses... and that meant two very large problems. Firstly, he was uncertain how the members of his own house would react to his presence. He had betrayed the Lord that many of their parents had served, and he was now bound in slavery to someone they detested. He thought Draco Malfoy, at the very least, would most likely refuse to respect the authority of a traitor and a slave.
And the second problem… his master was in that class.
He straightened as a noise alerted him to the arrival of Hermione Granger, and then bowed low as his master entered behind her. Good, Potter had kept his word by arriving early, thus allowing Severus to complete his subservient act without the mocking eyes of the Slytherins. Of course, they had already seen it at dinner the night before, and breakfast this morning, but there was little that he could do about that. He hoped that Potter and Granger had not left their previous class before it finished in order to get here so quickly; but then, they always seemed to know the fastest routes around the castle.
Granger murmured a quiet greeting to him as the two of them sat down at a table and began pulling their things out of their bags. The door opened to admit a pair of chatting Ravenclaws, who hushed immediately at his glare. Apparently being a slave didn't alter his ability to terrify teenage (and adult) witches and wizards, something that pleased him immensely.
As the rest of the NEWT-level class arrived, it dawned on him that they were acting very differently to the children that he had taught in the previous hour. The looks they were given him seemed, on the whole, almost respectful – and respect was something he had rarely seen directed at him before. Fear, yes. Respect… perhaps not. Of course, these were as close to mature as the idiots would probably ever get; some of them had fought in the war, with far greater knowledge of what he had done, and far better understanding of the situation that he now found himself in, than the younger and less experienced second-years.
The final people to arrive were the group of four Slytherins, among them Draco Malfoy. To his surprise, Draco was not glaring fiercely at him… instead, he seemed almost upset as he looked at his Head of House. Was it possible that he didn't take pleasure in what had happened to his former mentor?
Once everyone was seated, he began his instructions for the potion they were to make – but he could not be his usual self, sniping orders at the gathered students. No, he could not give any kind of order to a group that included his master, could not speak in a disrespectful tone. Instead, he was forced to phrase all his instructions as requests – 'Will you…', 'If you will…' and even the much hated 'please' that had to be forced out every time he used it. It was not in the nature of Severus Snape to say please to anyone, let alone a crowd of annoying teenagers.
About half of the group began to get up to fetch potions supplies, and without comment he joined them, collecting the various ingredients that were not included among the students' personal supplies, and placing them in front of his master. Harry accepted them with a quiet 'thank you', ignoring the looks from his classmates.
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"How was your day?" asked Harry as his girlfriend collapsed onto the sofa next to him. The Gryffindor common room was still fairly empty, few people having returned yet from their last lesson of the day.
"Tiring. And… potions was kind of strange."
"Strange?"
"Yeah, Snape was acting kind of weird towards me. He was exactly the same as usual when speaking to the class as a whole, or to any of the others, but when I got something wrong and nearly blew my potion up, he just helped me correct it. Didn't yell at me or take away house points or anything. And you never explained why he bowed to me at dinner last night."
Harry sighed. "It's self-preservation Ginny. He is a slave now."
"But that didn't stop him from snapping at me when I nearly ran into him in the hallway this afternoon!" objected Ron, who was seated in an armchair nearby. "If he just wanted to get on your good side, wouldn't he be careful around me and Hermione as well?"
"It's not me he's worried about Ron," explained Harry. "He knows that I'm not going to do anything harmful to him that I can avoid. He's cautious around Ginny because the bond is telling him to be. Because she's my girlfriend and back when that spell was created, courting a woman meant marrying her. And that would give her authority over him too."
Ginny blinked. "So if we got married, I'd um…" she frowned, in distaste at the words she was saying, "…get joint ownership of him? Like he was a house or something?"
"Essentially. I think I'd still be the primary owner, but you could give him any orders that didn't contradict mine. And he might have to serve you too, I'm not too sure." He gave an annoyed gesture at the book sticking out of his bag, one of the many that he had been using to research the slave bond and what it might mean for him and for Snape.
The youngest Weasley gave a violent shudder. "I hate talking about this. I hate even thinking about it. Slavery… it just makes me feel…"
"Dirty?" offered Hermione, coming to sit down on the arms of Ron's chair and shoving her bag onto the floor. "It's despicable. It's… evil. And with all the research I've done, I still can't find any way to break it! At least, not within the next thirty years."
"Why thirty?" asked Ron with a frown.
"Slave law," explained Harry, grimacing. "Well, back when it was legal anyway. A slave couldn't be freed until it had endured at least three decades of servitude, and that was written into most of the spells. And we're not even sure that's the case in this instance. Voldemort's more likely to have used one of the few spells that can't be broken."
"Lovely," said Ginny, summing up with her sarcasm the feelings of all four Gryffindors.
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"You wanted to see me?"
Snape stood in the Headmaster's office, glaring at Dumbledore who had interrupted his quiet reading in the solitude of his rooms.
"Yes. I'm sorry, Severus, but this is important. As well as highly unpleasant."
He was regarded warily. "Unpleasant."
"Again, yes. Obviously, your… situation… has no actual legality in the present day, and rightly so. However, as much as I may wish it, the magic of your bond will not allow you to remain a fully-independent citizen."
Only Snape's long practice at hiding his feelings allowed him to refrain from a wince at the words. "And I assume you have a way to correct this and to remove my rights as an actual person."
Unlike Snape, Albus Dumbledore had no control over his flinching at these words. "The Ministry of Magic has sent over a number of forms for you to sign Severus. Some of them are fairly simple, for instance signing over ownership of your property and finances to Harry. Legalities only; I doubt that he would ever take anything of yours away from you."
Because of course the illusion of owning things himself was equally as good as actually owning them. Dumbledore no doubt thought that it was the lack of ownership that would be the illusion, but then he had never experienced being so totally controlled by the slave bond. Snape would not be allowed to think of his possessions as being his own, no matter how Harry and the rest of the world might see it.
"And the less simple forms?"
"One will give Harry legal guardianship over you." He spoke quietly. "Just as when adults who through physical or mental disabilities cannot make decisions for themselves, can have their guardianship assigned to a relative -"
"Great," Snape interrupted bitterly. "And the other? Or others?"
"One other. Designed to protect Harry. Severus, you must be aware that if certain people learned of some of the things he has been forced to do to you, he could be arrested and tried in a criminal court – and that would be as bad for you as for him, since you would still be required through your bond to serve him. No jury would be likely to convict him – his actions have merely been to save you further pain, it is Voldemort who bears the blame – but we would prefer to avoid it ever getting so far as a trial."
"So I suppose I have to sign something saying he's perfectly free to torture me whenever he feels like it?"
"You know he wouldn't do that, Severus. But basically, yes. The Minister has already signed a pardon for anything Harry may be forced to do to you, but your signature will help immensely."
"Fine. It's not like I have any other choice. But this bond will not allow me to sign anything without my master's approval, as you well know."
"It will allow you to sign these, I am sure. It will probably require it. And if not, I can always send for Harry and ask for his permission."
Snape grunted, took the quill Dumbledore offered him, and began working his way through the stack of legal documents. Thankfully, his master's presence was not required.