Chapter 20 – Alchemist's Thistle

Harry slept fitfully that night, waking up more then once feeling restless, as if he hadn't slept at all and remembering only fragments of what appeared to be a couple of dreams he seemed to have one after the other. The only one of these he still remembered when he finally woke up at a half decent hour in the morning was about a ballroom dance competition that was happening at Durmstrang. It had not been a particularly good dream.

As Harry was having a shower it seemed as if Blackpool was such a long time ago now, it may as well have been another lifetime. Trying to take his mind off what was coming up that evening he had an unsatisfying wank and then quickly got out and dressed in the first clothes that he pulled out the wardrobe, which actually happened to be some nice fitting blue jeans and top Severus had bought him.

Severus was already sitting eating breakfast when Harry came in, his head buried in the Daily Prophet. As Harry walked past he squinted down to have a look at the title of the front page, something about a muggle bridge collapsing that may have been done magically. Harry decided he didn't want to see any more.

Severus grunted a good morning at Harry as he sat down, without removing his head from the newspaper. Harry just ignored it and helped himself to some tea and toast. He watched as every so often Severus's teacup would disappear into the folds of the newspaper and then be set back down again.

When Harry had finished his breakfast he took his stuff into the kitchen to wash and then returned to his bedroom without having seen Severus's face at all. Maybe it was for the best, as he had nothing he wanted to say to him anyway.

Harry didn't see Severus again until later in the evening as he had decided to skip lunch. He felt too sick to eat anything at the moment as he was fretting too much about this party.

He felt like he was being stupid really. In the last two weeks he had moved in with Severus and spent time with both Draco and Lucius Malfoy. Been to a death-eater dinner party, a Slytherin nightclub, and a meeting with the Dark Lord in an underground cave in the middle of nowhere. So how could this party make him feel this nervous all over again?

The other thing that was making him feel sick was how he had started calling Voldemort by the name of The Dark Lord in his head now, like the other death eaters do. That was not good; he was becoming more like his father.

Harry tried to take his mind off it all by engrossing himself in Hogwarts: An Interesting History but could only manage half a page of it. He decided then to go and try and find Severus, purely for lack of anything better to do.

Predictably he was in his potions laboratory, with three different cauldrons on the go, all of them were steaming away and all were a different colour. Harry knocked tentatively on the door and peered round it gingerly. Severus did not look up from the cauldron he was studiously stirring but did acknowledge that Harry was there with a raised eyebrow.

'Um…do you want any help?' Harry stuttered nervously.

Again Severus did not say anything or even look up but he did point to a chopping board and knife with something that looked like pink rose petals scattered over it.

'Crush them. Finely. And don't spill any, they're not cheap. Think you can manage that?'

'Yes.' Harry said sullenly. It's not like Harry had done anything wrong yet so why did he have to speak to him like he did.

Harry got to work crushing the petals which on closer inspection were a lot more solid then normal petals were and were actually a bright orange with hints of purple flecked through them.

'You must be bored out of your brain to voluntarily want to help me with potions.'

Harry shrugged. 'I just had nothing better to do, that's all.'

'Are you still stressing?' Severus asked, glancing at Harry quickly while vigorously stirring a foul smelling purple substance clockwise … or was it anti-clockwise. This was why Harry would never be any good at potions.

'No.' Harry replied as if it were obvious. Then he sighed heavily. 'Yes.' He amended.

Harry heard Severus chuckle slightly even though he had tried to smother it.

'You'll be fine once you're there.' He replied. 'Well…at least if you follow my rules you will be.'

'Thanks.' Harry said sarcastically. 'I feel loads better.'

'Remember.' Severus said sternly. 'It might be difficult for you but try to mingle. Those two friends of yours are all well and good but the Dark Lord will expect you to get to know the other bonded children and he will want you to at least appear as if you're friends with your soon to be dorm mates.'

Harry couldn't help but make a face at that. 'You mean to say I have to be civilised with Nott?'

'Well, for now just try not to rip his face off … or sleep with his girlfriend.'

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at that thought.' Does he even have a girlfriend? I mean who would want to sleep with him?'

'Anyone who would like a piece of his parents considerable wealth.' Severus replied.

'Oh, of course.' Harry said, nodding his head solemnly. 'A very noble reason indeed.'

The way Harry was dressed was very much like the way he was dressed for Invincible, only a bit more … slutty. He didn't know if that was the right word for it but it was all he could come up with. He felt like he was going to a whorehouse, but was the one to be paid rather than doing the paying.

He was wearing leather boots that came up halfway towards his knee, black trousers that were split right down the sides and an almost see-through gold shirt that was only done up half way, exposing most of his chest. His hair was again spiky, with gold highlights on the tips matching his shirt.

Severus had to reassure Harry five or six times already that he would not look out of place and that a lot of people would be exposing even more flesh then him. Harry was still not sure if he believed it.

However when Severus came out of the bathroom after having changed, Harry was in two minds on whether he should breathe a sigh of relief that Severus was dressed the same way or burst out laughing at the sight of his ex-potions master wearing a net as a shirt.

Fortunately Harry managed to curb his laughter.

'I don't feel so exposed now.' He said through his sigh of relief.

'Good.' Severus replied but even Harry could see the slight embarrassment Severus could feel, being seen by Harry looking as he did.

Severus handed Harry a black cloak to put around him and Harry hurriedly did so, feeling so much better as he covered himself up. He could see Severus was doing the same.

'I much preferred the way I was dressed for the dinner party.' Harry mumbled.

'As do I, Harry.' Severus said as he turned for the door, beckoning Harry to follow.

They apparated from the end of the road and appeared in the middle of what looked to be a dense forest, no castle in sight. Harry looked at Severus questioningly but he didn't appear to be forthcoming with any answers so Harry knew better then to ask.

He followed Severus through the forest for what seemed to be almost a mile, tripping on exposed roots and bits of wood every couple of minutes in his nervousness.

'Do I need to give you lessons on how to put one foot in front of the other now as well?' Severus said scathingly.

Harry decided the best course of action was none and bit his lip to keep from answering back. This was not the time to get into an argument with his father.

It was the eighth or ninth time that Harry tripped that he steadied himself on a tree and looked up to see a magnificent white stone castle with turrets on each corner. It obviously was not as impressive as Hogwarts but also not far off.

It had definitely not been there the last time he looked.

Severus noticed Harry's confused look. 'It is charmed to only reveal itself when you step through the wards. And of course you have to be allowed to be let through the wards first and most people are not so they never see it.'

Harry couldn't help but be impressed but soon his trepidation took over and he started stumbling again as he walked even though there was nothing to stumble over any more.

It took about a minute to walk up the winding cobbled driveway, no thestral drawn carriages, Harry thought spitefully really only to try and make himself feel better. They were met by a house elf who was already at the door waiting for them. She was very well dressed and well spoken for an elf and introduced herself as Kookie.

Harry had a bit of a wrestle for his coat with her though as she insisted she take it from him but Harry didn't want to be exposed without it. In the end Snape grabbed the coat off him with a growl and handed it to Kookie himself. If Harry thought house elves could smirk then that was what Kookie was doing. He wanted to stick his tongue out at her but refrained himself.

Severus had to half push Harry from the entrance hall into the main ballroom- apparently there were three of them in this magnificent castle. Harry only then realised he actually had no idea who it was who owned this place. He turned round to ask Severus but never got the chance to as he had just taken in the sight that awaited him in the room that was bigger then the great hall at Hogwarts.

His first thought was that it was not as bad as he had thought it would look- meaning it was a lot more civilised than Invincible was. There was still loud music and people wearing very little clothes dancing erotically but there was also quite a posh looking buffet leading all around the outside of the hall. There were also two magnificent looking chandeliers that drew the eye the moment you stepped into the room.

Severus continued to push Harry forwards and was immediately intercepted by Narcissa Malfoy who hugged Severus like there was no tomorrow. Harry was surprised the Malfoys were even here but he supposed they had to be welcomed back sometime.

'Severus.' Narcissa gushed. 'I'm so glad you're here. Come, I'll get you a drink. Draco has been asking for you since we got here.'

Narcissa started ushering Severus away towards the bar without even a look at Harry the whole time. He may as well have been invisible- which was fine with him.

Fortunately Harry spotted Steven and Martin lazing on the couch over by a large stained-glass window that seemed to depict some kind of bloody war on it. Harry gratefully headed over there, careful to keep his eyes averted from the window.

'Harry.' Steven shouted over enthusiastically as he got up from the couch to say hello.

Harry couldn't help but smile. 'Hey Steven, hi Martin.'

'Hey Harry.' Martin replied. 'Lets get you a drink- Firewhiskey?'

'Sure.'

Martin wandered off to the bar to get Harry's drink and as Harry followed his direction he caught sight of Severus still at the bar, literally surrounded by people. Narcissa was still hanging off his arm as if she thought she might lose him while Mrs Nott was simpering at him from under her eyelashes on the other side of him.

Who would have thought that Professor Snape was such a hit with the ladies? Harry couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

'What's so funny?' Steven asked as he sat back down next to Harry.

'Oh, nothing.' Harry said vaguely. He also noticed Avery and Macnair surrounding Severus plus a couple of others Harry didn't know, although he could have sworn one of them was Pansy's father. He had the same pug face.

'That's my father next to yours.' Steven said. 'The sandy haired one laughing his head off to something that is obviously not funny.' Harry noticed a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Martin was back within a minute with a firewhiskey for Harry. Just as he was about to take a sip he heard an excited shout from across the room.

'Sev!' Draco Malfoy almost launched himself across the room towards the bar where Severus was. No dignity there, Harry thought snidely.

Severus opened his arms to embrace Draco and Harry felt a familiar stab of jealousy that he tried very hard to crush. He had finally accepted the fact that he was jealous of Severus and Draco's close relationship although he would never admit that to anyone. At least now he understood how Draco had always felt about him.

Harry continued to watch as Draco started talking non-stop to Severus in an excited manner, arms waving as he talked. Severus seemed to be listening interestedly and smiled a couple of times. It was obvious to Harry that this wasn't just a one sided thing. Severus cared for Draco a great deal and Harry decided there and then that he would make an effort to get along with Draco better- for Severus's sake.

'Ass-licker.' Martin muttered, glaring at Draco who seemed to be finally winding up his conversation as Narcissa tried to shoo him back to his friends. Obviously wanting Severus to herself.

Finally Draco grudgingly went and Harry saw him meet up again with Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy who were all over in the far corner with enough alcohol between them to start up their own bar had they wanted. So obviously the man Harry had seen had been Pansy's father.

Harry watched them for a full minute while letting Steven and Martins conversation wash around him, and then came to a difficult decision.

'Guys.' He said, interrupting their conversation on the best and worst curses to use on an enemy.

'What is it Harry?' Steven asked. 'You seemed all zoned out there for a minute.'

'Yeah, I was thinking. Listen I think I'm going to go over there.' He said pointing towards Draco and his little group.

He noticed the two shocked and dismayed expressions from the boys but carried on before they could argue. 'Don't get me wrong, I don't want to but I feel like I should try to make an effort. They are in my year at school and as I'm most probably going to be a Slytherin I will be sharing a dorm room with them. Plus I know the Dark Lord wants me to befriend them so I really should.'

Steven and Martin just looked at each other sadly but then Martin shrugged. 'You're right, you do need to do this. What the Dark Lord wants the Dark Lord gets.' Was there bitterness there again? Harry hoped so.

'Plus this is probably the best time to break the ice.' Steven carried on. 'When they're all drunk and stoned!' The three of them had a little chuckle between them.

Harry sighed and, giving a slight half-wave to the other two he started to walk off but then got a slight idea. Turning back to Martin he took his firewhiskey, downed it in one and then asked for something he thought he would never do again.

'Hey, can I have a fag?'

'Sure.' Martin said with some surprise. 'He started digging in his pockets and came up with a pack of Dragons Breath. He took one out and gave it to Harry.

'Thanks Harry replied, putting it in his mouth and lighting it with his wand while trying not to breath any of it in. He still got a load of it and tried his best not to cough.

'Um, I don't mean to sound dumb or anything but is this how you hold it?' He asked, showing the hand holding the cigarette up to the other two boys. He could tell that they were both trying to hold in their laughter at him but just ignored it.

'You may want to act less like it's a bomb that's about to go off but otherwise you're okay.' Martin said.

'Hmph. It may as well be a bomb that's about to go off.' Harry said as he walked away.

Draco was leaning back on a long soft looking couch with Pansy sitting between his legs. She had one hand on his upper thigh and the other expertly holding a glass of alcohol and a cigarette. Crabbe and Goyle were both perched on one of the arms of the couch, their fat bulge spilling over the side, and Nott was sitting on the floor leaning back onto the couch just below where Pansy was sitting, he was smoking as well and looked very bored.

Harry chose his moment well, he came to sit on the other end of the couch from where Crabbe and Goyle was but close to Pansy and blew smoke out of his mouth at the exact moment they all turned to look at him.

All of them looked shocked to see him except for Draco who just smirked at him and eyed his cigarette with a raised eyebrow. Harry belatedly remembered that he had already told Draco that he didn't like smoking when he was staying with them not long ago. So Draco knew that Harry was actually trying to fit in with them but didn't seem to mind. He was just glad that Draco didn't say anything about it.

'What are you doing here?' Nott asked, not hiding the malice from his voice.

'Thought I'd get to know my new dorm mates, that's all.' Harry said, taking another pull on his cigarette and smirking in what he hoped was a confident manner. 'Got any firewhiskey?' He asked nodding towards the copious amount of alcohol that was littered all over the couch and floor.

Draco smirked again and nudged Nott with his foot who was glaring daggers at Harry and was obviously about to tell him to 'fuck off', or something close to it. Nott turned and met Draco's eyes and a look of understanding seemed to pass between them before Nott turned back to Harry with a fake friendly smile plastered on his face.

'I've got something better then that.' Nott said slyly, reaching behind him for a small bottle filled with green liquid. He grabbed a clean glass and filled it right up to the top with some of the liquid before holdingit right in front of Harry's nose.

'Go on, try it.' Nott said, holding the green drink enticingly in front of Harry. 'It's called alchemists carduus which is purely Alchemists Thistle in English and it's a very potent spirit.' He said, obviously enjoying the fearful look Harry was trying and failing to hisde.

'In fact to tell you the truth it is rarely used as a spirit as it is too potent and generally only used as a potions ingredient. Will most probably have you on the floor within minutes but lets see how well you cope.' He continued.

By now all five of them were looking at Harry with keen interest, obviously wanting to see what would happen once Harry drank it.

There was no way he could back out now and Harry knew it. So, obviously, did Nott who was smirking all over his face. Harry gingerly took the drink from Nott and wearily went to have a sip. The funny thing was though that from the moment he had put that drink to his mouth to the moment Severus wrenched him up a few hours later to go home, the whole night became a very vague blur.

What he did remember was that first taste where he felt his throat was just going to close up and die on him. It was so strong he literally couldn't pull in the breath to breath for about thirty seconds. Finally when he did exhale, some of the drink seemed to come out of his nose and he started choking because of it. The others all laughed at him as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

For some reason Harry never could fathom he had another, then a third. Then God may know what he did but he certainly didn't. He must have had quite a few cigarettes as well after the first one considering the state his throat was in the couple of times he was conscious enough to notice.

He remembered the six of them laughing uproariously about something that was obviously not funny at all.

He remembered at one point lying across the couch beside Draco with Pansy lying on top of them both, with her head on his chest and her tits digging into his belly button, arousing him no end.

He remembered Voldemort's entrance and somehow coordinating himself enough to kneel down on the ground at the same time as the others did.

He remembered having a drunken arm wrestle with Nott.

He remembered trying to find the toilet and walking into a broom closet instead so he pissed into a mop bucket.

He remembered walking past Steven and Martin and giving them the finger because Draco had told him to.

He remembered seeing Severus forcing a pretty young brunette to the floor and making her unzip his trousers with her teeth.

He remembered listing the order in which he would like to fuck each girl in the room, including the other five children's parents and Pansy herself.

He didn't remember who came out on top.

He didn't remember any form of entertainment on the stage but did have some vague recollection of naked bodies up there.

He didn't remember ever seeing Voldemort again that night after the time he first entered.

He didn't remember seeing any of the other bonded children he was supposed to meet.

And he didn't remember who won the arm wrestle, no matter how much he tried.

There was one other time that Harry had quite a vivid recollection of even though he wished he hadn't.

Harry had come out of one of his drunken dozes to find a body on top of him. At first he tried to shove it off without opening his eyes but couldn't seem to shake it. When his body finally coordinated with his brain he managed to open his eyes to slits, as the light was too bright for anything more, but it was enough to see a girls face hovering over his, looking at him as if he was the last man on earth.

As soon as the girl noticed that Harry was now looking at her she smiled dazzlingly at him and swooped over him to land a searing kiss on his lips. Once she seemed satisfied with that the girl seemed to disappear just like that. That was until Harry felt a hand at his groin and heard a zip being unfastened. He understood perfectly what was happening but would be damned if he was going to stop it- or was even able to.

The girl certainly didn't beat around the bush and the next minute he felt a searing heat around his cock and he could only moan at the suddenness of it and the jarring to his head but also had to admit that it felt pretty good. Embarrassingly it was over almost before it had began, Harry's drunken state obviously not helping with his rather premature ejaculation.

Harry had then fallen back into his drunken doze.

He was awoken for the last time by a pinch to his ear. Thinking it was the girl back for more Harry groaned and opened one eye blearily only to see that it was Severus and he didn't look very pleased at all if the scowl on his face was anything to go by.

'I see you know your limits then.' He growled. Then he hoisted Harry up by his ear and had to steady him by putting an arm around his waist to keep him from falling back to the ground.

'We're going home- Now!'