1Title: The Boxer

Chapter 3

Author: Azure K Mello

Verse: The first of two stories in the 90 days 'verse.

Spoilers/Timeline: Set in Year Seven but ignores all of book six. So it could be called AU/Future fic/ Pre-canon , I don't mind what you call it.

Summery/Warnings: Blackmail, shame, hatred, disgust, degradation, and true love.

Pairings: H/D non-con, there's a relationship between two characters later but that will develop.

Date: February 1998

Beta by the awesome D. Gray. Any mistakes remaining are mine alone.

He was on his knees in a cold classroom. And, one of the knees he was on was bleeding onto the stone floor. The blond had pulled him into the room saying, "It's time."

Harry had fought saying, "No, this is over." But the words didn't make a difference and he knew that if he struggled Malfoy might knee him in the jaw and it would bruise and hurt. So, as he had felt himself shoved to the floor, he had remained silent, even when the skin broke from the force.

Malfoy said, "It's over when I decide. And I decided it's not over. Unless you'd like me to tell-" before he could finish the sentence Harry was pulling at the boy's clothes. If he could get this over quickly he wouldn't be late for class. He focused on nothing, emptying his mind, but his mouth was too full, his jaw hurt, and so did his knee.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he was at Malfoy's feet he would have cried over the situation, but he wasn't going to cry in front of that bastard. Plus if he cried he wouldn't be able to breathe, and breathing was generally a good thing, except for right now when he thought that maybe not breathing would be alright too. As if Fate was listening to his thoughts, Harry's mouth was suddenly so filled with come that he couldn't breathe. It poured down his throat, over flowed the edges of his mouth, went up his nose, and dribbled from his nostrils.

And just as he thought, "At least it can't be worse,"the door swung open and a figured walked in. The guy looked at them both. Malfoy's fingers in Harry's hair wouldn't release him even though the guy Harry loved was standing in the door. The object of Harry's affection stood looking at him for a moment, shook his head, and left.

Malfoy said, "Clean me up."

Finally managing to get out of the blond's grip Harry shouted, "Did you see that?"

With a sneer Malfoy said, "Potter, you've gotten confused somewhere down the line, let me explain: I don't care about you in any way, shape, or form. The only thing I care about is that you make sure to cover your teeth. So the fact that he just walked in doesn't disturb me at all. Here's what I think: you'd better finish this and lick me clean if you don't want me to go out there and tell him exactly why you're doing this."

Thinking for only a moment about the expression the figure in the door had been wearing he said, "Yeah." He then set about licking Malfoy clean. He should have choked on the come because then at least it would be over. He stood slowly and looked at the blood that was seeping through his robes. The sight made him feel queasy.

And as he woke up he vomited all over Neville who said, "Could have been worse," at the distressed look he saw on Harry's face he added, "could have had seafood for tea."

Harry said, "Damn it, I'm so sorry. My God."

"Harry," said Neville as the other boy cast cleaning spells, "honestly? I think everyone vomits on a friend at one point or another. It's fine." Now completely clean from Harry's wand work he said, "All better. Are you okay?"

"I. . . yeah. I'm fine." But so horribly embarrassed, he added, "I'm going to go, I'll see you tomorrow." And before Neville could reply Harry was gone.

"Night then," said Neville softly. Being friends with Harry was an exhausting affair and he just hoped that Harry would end up alright. He tried to go back to sleep but couldn't for ages. For a while he considered going to Hermione but he knew she was asleep. Besides, the girl's stairway turned into a slide the moment a boy stepped foot on it and Neville was too tired to pull himself up by the banister.

Harry went quickly through the halls and then turned at a squeaky noise. He looked at the apparently empty hallway and the cast a spell that made dust settle on the floor. One patch was still clean. Moving forward he reached out and grabbed at the air over the clean spot. Lifting an invisibility cloak off three first years, two boys and a girl, he said, "These cloaks are very rare and valuable, you should respect it and use it well. So what did you get from the house-elves?" They showed the objects they'd been hiding behind their backs, little cakes and fruit and Harry said, "Good job. You're Ravenclaws, right?" They nodded afraid of the punishment they were about to receive and Harry sighed as said, "That's two points each for getting caught, be quiet under there, stealth is something you need to learn. Filtch is a floor up at the north end so take one of the southern stairwells and be silent." Again, they nodded, this time shocked at the light punishment and reprimand.

He dropped the cloak on their heads and heard one of the boys say, "He's the coolest HB ever."

Laughing emptily he said, "You fail at being stealthy, but I won't take points, just the compliment. Now up to your dorm before we all get caught because I'll be in more trouble than you, for not reporting you." He felt them leave but they were at least trying to be quiet and he didn't think they'd be caught.

As he continued down to the second floor toilet he moved silently, not really wanting to meet anyone. In the toilet he hissed, "Open up," and then added, "Don't let anyone in, not even if they're on that list I gave you." Once he had made the Chamber his home he had talked to the snakes about letting people in. He had told them that Hermione, Neville, and Snape were to be allowed entrance and the snakes had complied but he wanted to be alone now. He hovered his way downstairs, brushed his teeth, and whispered, "Goodnight," to the snakes as the torches extinguished themselves.

He emptied his mind slowly, pulling everything apart and shoving thoughts into little compartments. And finally he drifted off and dreamt of Greece. He was brought back into consciousness by a dull thudding that he recognized as someone rapping on the sink. He sat up and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Severus Snape," said one of the snakes on his headboard.

Harry stood quickly, pulled on pajama trousers and moved through the bedroom, to the corridor, out of Salazar's mouth and up to the entrance as quickly as possible. He murmured the command for the sink to move and as he saw Snape's put out expression he said, "I over slept. We were supposed to train before breakfast."

Still glaring the man said, "At least you can remember a schedule even if you can't keep it. Mr. Longbottom said you had a rough night."

Nodding Harry said, "I'm so sorry, come in, may we train now? I don't have a first period on Mondays and you don't start until after dinner, right?"

"Was it a vision last night?"

"No," Harry looked away from the man, downwards into the pipe, "it was just a nightmare." He looked up and said, "I'm really sorry, I know you're taking time out of your schedule but can we do it now?"

Snape nodded and stepped into the pipe, floating slowly towards the floor. Harry didn't ask for time to change, just dueled the man in his PJs. It was hard and fast and Harry was so tired that Snape broke him quickly. He saw the thoughts that Harry had been putting out of his head all night. He saw Draco who had cornered Harry and saying softly, "I know your sick secret. You're disgusting. Now, if you don't want anyone to find out you're going work for it."

"Okay," Harry agreed, shaking with nerves and fear he said, "what do I have to do?"

"A blowjob a day for three months. And you have to swallow," Draco laughed evilly.

"Ninety consecutive days and you seek me out. We do this privately and you cannot tell anyone about any of it," Harry said, not really able to negotiate but thinking it was better than the vague "three months" because three months could be ninety-three nonconsecutive days.

Draco smirked at the demands, clearly expecting more of a fight, "You have a deal."

"It's not a deal, it's extortion."

"Extortion has to be for gains of a fiscal value," Draco corrected.

"So it's common garden variety blackmail," Harry said tiredly.

"With a garnish of degradation, yes," Draco agreed.

Harry almost laughed, "I'm being blackmailed."

"Welcome to the real world," said Draco. Harry turned to leave and Draco called, "Where are you going? This is day one."

"This is a hallway, I was going to a room to get this done." Harry turned knowing the blond would follow.

Snape felt his presence being pushed out of the youth's mind, but it was weak. He could have fought and stayed there to watch but he allowed the tired boy to shut him out. Potter's eyes were on the floor, the shame he was projecting was tangible in the air. The snakes on the wall all started to hiss and writhe. Harry hissed back and all the movement and noise stopped. His bare chest heaved and Snape thought he was very, very thin for a seventeen year old boy. And looking at the downcast face he realized that it had been a long time since he'd seen any real mirth there. At one point he had believed Potter was on drugs because of his constant good humor but that was years ago.

"Could this secret affect the war?" Snape finally asked.

Harry thought, not looking up and finally said, "It's not a war secret but if it gets out I won't be able to concentrate. It will ruin the most important relationship in my life." He shook his head still looking down and said, "I've been focusing as hard as I can, I've tried my best not to let this get to me: I can only do my best. I swear, I'm trying."

The declaration and promise were so childish that Snape flinched. He'd been genuinely pleased that Potter was being blackmailed and, looking at the slumped, dejected teenager in front of him, he felt ashamed. Potter was being essentially raped and he had gloated.

Continuing his semi-apology Harry said, "It's my fault, I was foolish and believed that I could have a personal life. I'm Harry Potter, I should know by now that I don't have the time for that. And I'm tired a lot of the time so I didn't compartmentalize my thoughts well enough last night."

Nodding Snape said, "You've been extremely proficient of late. Perhaps this shows that you will need a good night's sleep before facing The Dark Lord. I'll write you a note this morning, you can sleep some more." The statement shocked them both because Snape had never so much as given Harry a soft word in the past.

But Harry simply said, "No. Please, sir. Please don't let this change anything. I can't cope if you act understanding. If you don't want to continue training this morning because I'm rubbish without sleep that's fine. But I will attend my classes and meals… I'm still James Potter's bastard of a son. Believe that I deserve this punishment. Don't let this change things. I need you to act normally, just forget about this."

Slowly studying the boy Snape said, "I knew about the blackmail." He was testing the waters, wanting to see what would make Potter scream.

Harry felt himself go cold and he looked up at the man, away from the floor, "What?"

"I don't know the secret, and I didn't know about the terms. But I heard Malfoy say he was blackmailing you. I thought it was funny."

Feeling relieved Harry said, "Of course you did. You are Severus Snape, it would be funny to you. And I'm sure you didn't think it was serious, kid's stuff right?"

"Yes," said Snape feeling cold himself. He hadn't thought Malfoy was capable of that. He had expected more from the boy.

Making a slight assenting noise Harry said, "Well then, it's exactly what I would expect from you. Look, you hating me and laughing at me is normal, and that's all I'm asking for."

With another considering look Snape finally said, "You will be useless while tired. We'll meet tomorrow morning and night to make up for this time you've wasted on your emotions. Have you mastered the killing curse?"

"No." Harry looked back down at the ground as he said it.

"Do so."

"I've tried, I can't even kill an insect. I have no desire to kill stuff. And it's all about desire, right? I'm sure if Vold-"

"'Sure' isn't good enough." Snape interrupted, "It's about desire, intent, and (for you) emotion. You need to focus. You may not desire to kill but you do desire to finish this war. Learn it by seven AM."

"Yes, sir. And, sir, please, don't tell anyone? Any move made against him could force him to show his hand. I can't risk this getting out."

"When will the ninety days be over?"

"They finished the day all the students got sent down here."

Snape said nothing but blinked, "Then I suggest you move on."

The slight sneer and cold tone seemed to actually bolster Potter up a bit, Snape realized as he watched the boy. He turned and was moving to leave the Chamber before Potter could say anything. He didn't want the Gryffindor to thank him for being a bastard. Just as he reached the mouth of the entrance he turned back and saw that Potter had collapsed on the couch. He had his head in his hands but just seemed to be breathing very slowly there was no hint of a tear. Snape believed the young man hadn't cried in a very long time. Watching too thin shoulders move with every breath, he shook his head. Such thin shoulders, considering the fact that, all the hopes of their world were resting on them.

The Potion's Master went up through the tunnel to get back to the second floor, where he started his descent down three flights of stairs to get back to his comfort zone, to his office for tea. In the Entrance Hall he looked at the house hour glasses. Rolling his eyes at his own action even before he did it, Snape pointed his wand and moved six hundred emeralds from the bottom of the Slytherin glass back into the top bulb. Only fourteen stones remained in the lower bulb. It wasn't enough but he could not make a move against young Malfoy, not yet. He then removed ten of the Gryffindors' rubies, Potter had after all wasted his morning. He expected to feel refreshed by the time he got to his rooms but the cup of milky tea went cold still untouched. A chime told him that he had ten minutes to prepare for class but he wasn't even sure who he was teaching.