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Defeating the Dark Lord: an 11 part chronicle.

9) Saving Severus Part I

As soon as they arrived, Snape's hand dropped from Harry's shoulder, and he strode off toward his private laboratory. Harry trailed behind him uncertainly.

"Severus?"

"H'm?" Snape waved him forward. "Come through, Harry, I'll need your help with this."

"Er... What exactly is 'this'?" Harry watched as Snape strode to the most heavily warded cabinet, dismantled the wards, and opened it. He added, "You're not doing anything - rash - are you?"

Severus plucked three potions from the recesses of the cupboard. "Necessary, painful, and potentially embarrassing, yes, but rash? no. I'm getting rid of the remnants of magic from the Dark Mark before it kills me."

Harry blinked. "Can you do that? I mean - " he floundered as Severus looked at him impatiently, "obviously you just said you could - but - how?"

Severus eyed him for a moment before straightening up and slipping into full Professorial mode.

"Name the three most significant things the Dark Lord makes his Death Eaters experience, Mr Potter."

The first one was easy. "Pain."

Severus selected a dark grey-green potion and set it on the workbench. "Correct. This is a rather more mild form of the Cruciatus. Continue."

"Command? Control? Well, he controls them, so they'd experience - submission?"

"Obedience." Snape nodded, adding an orange potion to the bench. "That one makes the drinker yield to any whim of select persons."

The last potion he held was a deep crimson. "Based on the colour, I'd say..." Harry reddened slightly, "lust?"

"Near enough. Pleasure, whether physical or otherwise. This particular potion stimulates the senses, which generally classes it as an aphrodisiac."

He placed it on the table.

"And now I drink them, one by one, to simulate the effect of the Dark Lord, and focus on expelling all traces of magic from the area around the Mark."

"So - you'll feel pain, and - and pleasure, and obedience?"

"Not necessarily in that order, but yes. Actually - " Severus turned his head and raised his voice slightly, "Headmaster, might I suggest you impose an age line? They might benefit from the visual experience, but perhaps only those of-age should have access to sound... This is liable to get messy."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So what do you need me to do?"

"I need you to keep me on track. It's highly likely that I shall become distracted from my task - you'll need to persuade me to continue."

Harry shuddered, and, at Snape's concerned look, explained, "It's fine - it just - just reminded me of the cave, and the lake, and having to watch Dumbledore drink that stuff..."

Severus shook his head slightly. "It won't get quite that bad. Well - " a slight glance toward the Pain Potion, " - not yet, anyway."

Harry nodded.

"Shall we get started, then? Which potion would you like to start with?"

"Obedience? It'll be the easiest..."

Severus nodded and, in one swift movement, uncorked the orange potion and downed it. A shudder ran through his body.

"Severus? You alright?"

Snape nodded. "Yes. You'll need to order me directly for it to have full effect."

"Okay - um - I need you to - how'd you put it - expel the traces of the Mark from your arm."

Severus gazed intently at his arm, eyes half-shut in concentration; his magic flared, filling the room with a sort of buzzing tingle. His mouth opened, and a low, musical croon emerged. At last he placed his right hand over the space where the Mark used to be - and to Harry it looked like he curled his fingers down and through the skin, deep into the arm, and wrenched - and the hand emerged holding a ball of orange light, which dissipated as soon as Severus opened his fingers.

"That's that done. The potion will take a minute or two to wear off; which shall we do next? Pleasure or pain?" There was a wry twist to his lip.

Harry swallowed nervously, "Pleasure, I think. Save the worst for last."

Snape nodded, drawing a stool out from under the bench and sitting. Harry copied the movement, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Severus drew the potion toward him, but hesitated before uncorking it. He eyed Harry soberly. "This potion and the next will be rather more... uninhibiting. You might need to... distract me, from anything - unwelcome..."

"Unwelcome?"

"It's an aphrodisiac, Potter, do you really have to ask?"

"Oh." Harry blushed.

Severus regarded him impatiently. "I may be a selfish, soul-less ex-Death Eater, but I'm only human. I will, of course, try to control my - impulses, but I cannot promise anything."

Harry forced back his embarrassment enough to notice that Severus, too, was looking uncomfortable. He swallowed his pride and nodded. "'course. It's - it's alright. I mean - it's worse for you, really."

"Indeed it is." He added, under his breath, "My reputation will be shot to pieces..."

And then he uncorked the deep red potion and quaffed it. Harry could see the potion take effect: Severus' eyes focused intently on him, a strange, dark look in them. He slid a hand across the table to lift one of Harry's hands, and stroked a finger across the palm.

"Harry..." his voice was low, silky, "Your hands are so soft."

Harry shivered, "Severus - "

"Oh, yessss..." Snape's eyes slid shut, "sounds so good... keep talking..."

"Severus!"

The raised voice was enough to jolt him back to some semblance of normality: his eyes opened, slightly less glazed than before.

"You need to focus, remember? Get rid of the traces left in your arm." He drew his hand away from Snape's, and at the bereft look on his face, added, "Your magic will feel good too, I promise. Just... tap into it, and focus on your arm."

Snape looked rebellious, but did as he was told, and as his magic flared once more, the pout on his face was replaced by a look of rapture, and a murmur of, "Oh, that's good - exhilarating - intoxicating..."

And as before, the steady croon left his lips, and the hand seemed to plunge into his arm, and withdrew holding a ball of red flame. Severus studied it for a moment, the scholar in him winning out over the effects of the potion, and then he opened his fingers and the fire faded.

As Harry opened his mouth to speak, Severus held up a hand. "Just - give it a minute, Harry. Please." His gaze was carefully directed at the floor on the other side of the room.

When it became clear that whatever thoughts Snape was having would take longer than a minute to think, Harry slipped quietly through into the main room and ordered pumpkin juice and coffee from the kitchens. The man hadn't moved an eyelash when he returned with a tray. Harry slid the steaming mug of coffee across the table: Snape took it with a murmured "thank you", and they sat in contemplative silence for a full five minutes - Snape staring at the floor with that thoughtful frown between his brows, and Harry with his elbows propped on the table, sipping his juice and occasionally scrubbing a weary hand over his face.

Snape straightened up with a sigh. "Alright - say something."

"Are you okay?"

Severus mulled the question over for a long moment before answering. "I'm not intoxicated with the sound of your voice, I have no sudden desire to feel the softness of your skin, nor craving to stare deeply into your eyes... I do believe the potion has run its course."

"That's good... but it still doesn't answer my question."

Snape blinked. "I am well, Harry, thank you. The effects were not as - strenuous - as I had feared they would be." He drank a mouthful of coffee before continuing, "This last potion, however, will be worse - much worse - for the both of us."

There was an odd, shadowed look in his eyes, as if reliving a painful memory... and then he shook his head slightly, and asked, in a seemingly unrelated topic "Have you ever imagined me screaming?"

Harry frowned. "No. I would've though it was physically impossible."

Severus smiled grimly, "Oh, it's possible. Not easy, mind you - in fact it's incredibly difficult; but certainly possible. I only mention it because in about - oh, ten, maybe fifteen minutes - "

He fixed Harry with a sober gaze, and said softly, "you won't have to imagine it."

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