Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe belongs to JKR and anyone she legally lets use them. Not me.

A/N: Don't kill me! I'm sorry I've left you guys for so long, my muse was just out of reach and school is crazy. But I think I may be getting my inspiration back :) Thank you for the lovely reviews, and all the alert/fave adds. You guys keep spurring me on to write more :) Thank you, and enjoy!

Chapter 24

Severus stared in shock at the now empty air where Vela and Harry had stood only moments before. Narrowing his eyes and cursing, Severus rose and crossed his arms, awaiting the arrival of the Aurors.

When Kingsley Shacklebolt finally arrived, Severus was prepared.

"What exactly was that Shacklebolt? You tell Potter you want Vela alive, not dead, even though her dying is the only way to free him from that curse that has him repeatedly bleeding to near death. You put us in a clearing, where she can come from any side. And when, at long last, she appears, you are conspicuously absent?"

"I can explain Severus," Kingsley sighed, sighing.

"Please do."

"You'll have to come to the office with me."

"Ah, I am afraid that is not going to happen."

Kingsley stared at Severus blankly.

The Slytherin clenched his jaw, "Considering the fact that your Minister wanted to send me into this without a wand, regardless of the fact that I can use nonverbal magic, and the fact that my husband is now in the clutches of the very woman who claims that torturing him is loving him, I am very unenthusiastic of entering the Auror office. No, we shall return to Grimmauld Place and have this discussion there."

Harry awoke feeling sticky and a little dizzy. His glasses were gone and he couldn't see a thing, all he could tell was that he was lying on a bed, and the sunshine was flowing in. Moving his limbs, Harry realized he had been strapped to the bed, naked as the day he was born. He clenched his teeth as he vaguely made out the odd scratch marks that littered his forearms and chest, just beginning to scab over.

"Oh my lovely, you are awake!" Harry cringed at the high pitched voice, even as his glasses were shoved roughly onto his face. Vela was smiling with childish glee, clapping her hands as she looked at him, her eyes still a bit wild.

Swallowing deeply, Harry murmured, "Vela."

The woman smiled and called, "Justin, come in!"

Harry blanched as he watched the Healer walk in, his heart sinking.

"Ah, Harry, you're awake," Justin smirked, standing above Harry and twirling his wand.

"Justin? What…"

A condescending laugh filled the room as Justin gave Harry a demeaning look, "Well well well, Harry Potter. Not so powerful are you now? I always knew the media just hyped you up. " Harry stared at the Healer in astonishment, betrayal clear on his face. "Did you really believe you could outsmart us? We knew where you were going to be, it was a simple matter of warding the area so only the two of us, you, and Snape. Bloody inefficient Aurors, not checking the area eh? I guess it was helpful that Vela made it a blood ward, untraceable and irremovable." Justin smiled down at the seated woman, "Isn't she just a genius?"

Harry gaped at the Hufflepuff, incapable of processing what was going on here. His eyes caught his wand lying on the vanity not too far away. If he could just summon his darned magic.

Keen on distracting Justin while he recovered, Harry adopted a crushed expression, murmuring, "Why Justin? Why?"

"You rejected me Potter. I don't take well to that. When I found out Vela was after you, I made a deal with her. Besides, she's not all that bad in bed," Justin smiled lightly, leering at the girl.

Harry gagged internally at the thought. Bad mental images.

Justin raised his hand to run the pads of his fingers along Harry's face, his smile still tinged with cruelty. "She's agreed to share you with me. Won't this be exciting?" Leaning forward, he murmured in Harry's ear, his hot breath flowing over Harry's ear, the Gryffindor barely holding back a shudder, "Harry Potter, whore to Justin Finch-Fletchley and Vela Lestrange." Moving back, Justin's fingers fell slightly to pinch one of his nipples. "You do have such a lovely body. I will enjoy it thoroughly." He reached out to twist the other nipple, and Harry clneched his teeth once more. He would not give either of them the satisfaction of him cryng out.

"Me first!" Vela pitched in her eyes hungrily taking in Harry's body. However, she seemed less interested in sex and more in his scars. She frowned as she ran her fingers over the scars, "Why are mine not as visible Justin?"

Justin smiled, petting Vela's hair, "Because, my gorgeous Dark Queen, that evil Healer Draco Malfoy took them away."

Vela nodded, a sad smile on her face, "Well, I will have to kill him as well." Batting her eyelashes at Harry, she swooped down to bite him harshly at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, leaving a bruise Harry did not want to see.

Harry's stomached clenched in fear. This woman was serious. And Justin was encouraging her!

"You're disgusting Justin," he said defiantly, flexing his fingers as he felt his magic awaken a little.

"Shut up!" Justin yelled, slapping Harry. "You're my slave now Potter. You rejected me, but I will have you yet."

Harry clenched his teeth waving his fingers next to him. Vela moaned at the sight of Justin's handprint on Harry's face and grabbed Justin to kiss him. Taking the moment as an advantage, Harry silently casted a Petrificus and binding charm, watching in amusement as Vela and Justin froze mid-snog. Sighing, Harry summoned his wand and conjured his Patronus.

"Hey Prongs, tell Kings everything's fine." His stag gave him a small nod and galloped away.

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at Justin and Vela, "Do you really think we're that stupid? I had a feeling you had someone helping you. It was pointless to ask you and it was difficult enough to capture Vela. But, if you thought I was incapacitated and weak, I had a feeling the two of you wouldn't be paying as much attention, giving me ample opportunity to capture you." Harry smirked, "I defeated Voldemort, you idiots. Of course I'm bloody powerful. And clearly you forgot to cast a dampening field, because my non-verbal magic works fine. "

Rolling his eyes once more, Harry said, "Frankly,, you aren't exactly the best planners. Vela's only gotten to me because I've been distracted or magically weak. I had no doubt I'd get the two of you when I was at full strength. You really should do your homework better. "

The two frozen statues stared at him in surprise and shock.

Really did they think the Aurors were that incompetent? Harry may not like his job, but he was the Deputy Head for Merlin's sake. He would never let anything or anyone under his control become such a mess, to the point that they couldn't properly do their jobs.

Severus paced the length of the parlor, waiting for Kingsley to Floo into Grimmauld Place.

"I can't believe you two idiots actually went through with this plan!" Draco raved, waving his hands above his head in exasperation. "Did you two even think? And no one thought to tell me?"

Severus clenched his teeth as he turned, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, turn, one, two, three…

Somehow everything had changed in the last week. Draco and Severus found themselves now concerned about Potter.

Well, Draco had reason too, even if he did not know yet.

Severus scowled at the wall. He had not even gotten around to telling Potter that he knew now!

The Floo flared green, and Head Auror Kingsley stepped out, wiping away some of the soot from his shoulders.

"Gentlemen, I have someone here who would like to speak with you."

Severus and Draco glared at Kingsley, wondering who it could be that was important enough to speak with them in the middle of a crisis, when a disheveled Gryffindor fell out of the fireplace.

"Potter!" Draco exclaimed, staring in surprise as the Auror stood, brushing himself off.

"Malfoy, Snape…"

Severus gaped at Potter, his eyes taking in the haphazardly thrown on robe, open just enough to see bruised nipples and odd scratches all over his chest.

"Potter?"

Potter glanced at Kingsley who shook his head slowly. Sighing, the Gryffindor gestured for them to sit as he leaned gently against the mantle.

"We had new intelligence that Vela had been sighted with someone else. It may have been why she disappeared and reappeared constantly. And she had to have some sort of intelligence, otherwise how would she know where I was, what I was doing, etc. At first the plan was to have Snape captured and then for us to go and find Vela."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "Indeed."

Potter let out a sharp bark of a laugh, "Yea, as if. That plan changed once I got there. There was no way in hell I was letting them send you out to do that. So I changed the plan and got myself captured instead. I was sure she wouldn't be able to resist capturing me, and she did."

Snape clenched his teeth, "And you could not have informed me before? This was all just a ruse?"

Potter sighed, "Yes, I'm sorry Snape, but I needed you to react properly. We couldn't have her suspecting, now could we?"

Kingsley cleared his throat, "Well I'll just take my leave now, Harry, make sure to come in and finish the paperwork tomorrow."

Potter nodded, though his eyes hadn't left Severus's clenched fists or angry, blazing black eyes.

"Of course Kingsley."

Draco frowned, "Well, you got her then?"

Potter nodded cautiously, "She was working with Justin,"

Jaw dropping, Draco stared at Potter, "Finch-Fletchley?"

Potter nodded, "Yeah. And he was getting fringe benefits too."

Shivering in disgust, Draco twisted his mouth in expression of repulsion, "That's…revolting."

Potter shivered too and nodded, "At least you didn't have to witness any of it." Draco just stared at him once more.

Harry hadn't taken his eyes off of Snape, who looked like he was going to flip his lid right then and there. The man's eyes were blazing, his hands clenched, flexing the muscles in his hands and arms, and he sat there still as a statue, as if his anger had frozen him.

A brave Gryffindor to the end, Harry said, "Snape, I—"

Of course that was what jolted Snape back into the present and set him off, "Do not even speak Potter. I despise being lied to, despise being taken advantage of. Clearly you did not once think of my feelings in this situation. Disregarding the fact that it could have been me that was to be captured, even after the plan changed, I should have been completely informed!"

Harry sighed, "Snape, I couldn't. Logically you know that."

"Do I? I was a spy Potter, I can act with the best of them. You should have trusted me to react properly in the situation even if I had all the information."

Harry winced, "Snape, I couldn't."

"I see. Well well well Potter, you have gone Slytherin on us, keeping all these secrets."

Harry shifted nervously, "Secrets Snape? I just didn't tell you about the plan. Which went through perfectly and no one was hurt."

"Indeed, your luck I suppose. However, you have a great many other secrets, don't you?"

"What is that supposed to mean Snape?" Harry bit his lip, red flags going off in his mind, indicating it was time to escape this situation, now!

Unfortunately it was not to happen.

"Oh, do not play innocent with me Potter, I know. I know everything."

"I highly doubt that."

"Oh really. So those memories are not of the time when you were in love with Draco?"

A/N2: Well now you're all like, what, huh, how? Now now my lovelies, this story is crazy, how could I do something so predictable as to have Severus and Draco save Harry, huh? I hope you liked it.

And don't worry about Vela. We haven't seen the last of her yet ;)

Review please!