The Bonds That Tie
Three days had gone by since it was revealed that in a bloodlust haze cause by Severus's Snape's blood going to Harry's head, the two slept together and unintentionally, nor by any choice of their own, formed a bond between them consistent with what could be called marriage. Only it was similar to animals or other creatures; Harry mated Severus and now that bond was unbreakable by anything except the death of one of them. Severus had been angry at the idea, lashing out at Harry, which left the boy inadvertently heartbroken. But Harry clapped right back at Severus and told him that if he'd stayed clear or left when told; Harry would have been able to stay in control. When Harry scolded Severus, it made the potions master realize that it truly wasn't Harry's fault what happened between them. However, before anything else could be said; Harry vanished from sight with his vampire apparition, or at least that's why everyone called it because it wasn't normal apparition. Harry was able to just disappear, no apparition sounds or naval tug into the whirl before popping away. It was now January 4th, 1997, and nobody knew where Harry was. Of course, the Malfoy's, and the Death Eaters had been out searching on a low profile, but Harry was nowhere to be found. Severus had left the manor just after Draco told him that what he'd said to Harry was mean and cold, and returned to his home at Spinner's End in Cokeworth. The man needed time to process everything because if this bond truly occurred; he and Harry were going to be in each other's lives until Severus died or Harry got killed.
"Any luck from your death eaters, my lord?" Narcissa asked Voldemort.
"I'm afraid not, Narcissa," The dark lord replied.
"I'm sure he'll turn up, Cissy," Bellatrix consoled her little sister.
"What about school?" Draco inquired. "We go back tomorrow…"
"I'm sure he won't miss school," Lucius stated.
"He might, Lucius," Narcissa sighed. "Harry is very proficient in his magic ability as a vampire; he doesn't even need a wand. If he feels that school is only hindering him, or that it's going to cause problems between him and Severus; he may just not return."
The train left King's Cross at 11 am tomorrow. Harry hadn't been seen, nor sent word, and all his school things were up in his room. Lucius and Draco spent the last four days researching automatic bonds forming, and vampire mating. Well, as much of it as they could find on the matter. What Lucius had said occurred is what happened; Severus and Harry were mated.
"I'm summoning Severus…" Voldemort remarked as Bellatrix offered her arm with the dark mark on it and Voldemort pressed his wand tip to the tattoo. "If they're truly mated as we believe, Severus should be able to find him through their bond."
Severus appeared via floo, stepping out the green flames. "You've summoned me, my lord?"
"I've allowed you your time to sit with the events of three days ago, now it's time to accept it and move on. Nothing can be done to change what is. We're unable to find Harry, but you should be able to through the bond." Voldemort informed.
"Bond or not, we can continue as we have in years prior." Severus replied.
"And you can drop the act because no matter how strong or high you erect those occlumency shields, Severus, you cannot hide the guilt you feel that is in your eyes." Voldemort told him. "Now stop being difficult and find your mate. I'm quite sure you'd like to stop feeling the pain of a rejected bond."
"If the bond is rejected, then it no longer exists and I'm free of the brat." Severus scoffed, but then his winced and put a hand to his heart.
"That right there is why you shouldn't reject the bond," Lucius remarked calmly. "Magically formed bonds between people are not like marriage bonding, Severus. Those bonds are formed by calling on the magic two people in marriage, someone acting as the bonder to bind hands and then the couple taking vows, exchanging rings…Those bonds are ones where magic is asked to bond the couple. The bond you have with Harry was not one that formed out of ask; that was magic acting on its own to bind you."
"Which means magic has chosen for you to bond for whatever reason. Power match, compatibility…There's no way to know why it happened. But the bond formed when Harry drank your blood and it was solidified when you two, lack of a better word, consummated it." Narcissa informed. "What you're feeling every time you deny the bond, rejecting it…You're feeling Harry's pain. The bond allows you to feel each other's magic, and emotions. While you're ignoring and rejecting it out of whatever reason; it goes to Harry and hurts him because he accepted that it happened. What you're feeling is his pain that you're rejecting him when it wasn't his fault this happened."
"It's certainly not my fault." Severus folded his arms over one another. "Perhaps my blood had the effect it did on Potter, but it was all of you who told me to go to him. I should not have to bear in the blame alone." He stated.
"We asked you to feed him, yes…But he is the one who told you that you should leave and he was fine. If you chose to stay beyond that warning, as Harry claims it was, whatever else occurred does fall on you…" Lucius enlightened calmly. "If you stayed to insist Harry feeds from you, then as you told Harry, you understood the consequences of your choice and left yourself in the position to succumb to Harry's bloodlust that your scent was causing him to fall into."
"Regardless, Harry is missing and we need to find him." Voldemort stated. "So you will find him, Severus. As we've said, the bond is very much active and opened if you can feel what Harry is feeling right now."
"In other words, the pain of a breaking heart." Draco huffed. "I can't believe you'd hurt Harry like this. The things you said to him, comparing him to his father…That's cold, even for you. Maybe the situation isn't ideal…But it's not impossible to work with either."
"I've come to see my godson before leaves for school tomorrow…It's been a couple days, I miss him. Where is he?" Asked Sirius's voice as he appeared in his frame of the main room to Malfoy Manor.
"I'm afraid, Sirius, that we don't know where he currently is…" Bellatrix stated.
"What? Why ever not?" Sirius asked.
Narcissa sighed and gave Sirius a small explanation of what happened. "And then Harry just vanished. We've had no luck finding him…Is he by chance at Grimmauld?"
"No, I just came from there and talking to Remus." Sirius stated. "Severus…I know you don't like me, Pettigrew, or James for how we bullied you in the past…But don't take that hate out on Harry. He might look like James, but he's not him."
"When I want your opinion, Black, I'll ask for it. I know Potter isn't James, despite the uncanny resemblance…The boy is ever so similar to his mother." Severus said,
"Then take that love for Lily and accept Harry with it. We're not saying you have to love Harry because I'm sure that he doesn't love you either. We're not saying there has to be a romantic love at all, but you do need to stop rejecting the bond that has formed. It's hurting you both and I trust you do not desire to constantly feel the way you currently do." Narcissa told him. "You love Lily, then understand that boy is her son. Her only son. You could bond with him over Lily."
"We share enough of a bond, thank you very much…" Severus retorted.
"You just admitted to having a bond with Harry, Uncle Sev…" Draco informed.
"It's not doing me any favors to deny it." Severus mumbled.
"Good. Then accept you're bonded to Harry and use it to find him." Lucius said. "Reach out to him, call him home…"
"He obviously wants to be left alone." Severus argued.
"Severus, you will call Harry or I will punish you…" Voldemort warned, holding his wand on the table. Severus flinched. "Cru-,"
"I think not, Tom…" Harry's voice was heard as he appeared in front of Severus and had his hand out, which pulled the wand right from Voldemort's hand.
"Harry!" Draco exclaimed, quickly rushing to his brother's side and hugging him tightly. "We were so worried!"
"I was fine…Just leaving Severus be as he requested…" Harry remarked, side-glaring at Severus. "I cannot, however, allow him to be hurt…No matter what he may think of me." Harry's eyes refocused on Voldemort. "You raise your wand to him again, and you're dead, Tom. I won't even hesitate."
"My apologies, Harry…We just wanted him to reach out to you and find where you were." Voldemort said.
"It warms my cold heart to see you concerned for me, Tom. But don't worry about where I was…My mate doesn't want me around, so I'm keeping my distance. That does not mean you can torture him into doing what you want." Harry remarked.
"How'd you know he was going to do it?" Lucius questioned. "How did you know the dark lord was about to hurt Severus?"
"Severus is not the only one I have a bond with…" Harry stated. "While the one with Severus is on an intimate level, Tom and I share a connection through this scar." Harry informed. "Not only did I feel when Severus got nervous, I can see into Tom's mind as he can see into mine. I know when he's up to something nefarious," He went on. "Not to mention I knew when Severus got summoned to him. I felt it on my arm…"
"I suppose I didn't account for the fact you feel everything your mate does…" Voldemort mentioned. "I didn't know you'd be able to feel what he does through the mark."
"Indeed. Speaking of marks…" Harry turned to face Severus. "Give me your arm, the left one…" He stated.
Severus didn't argue with the irate vampire and raised his left arm and pulled back the sleeve to show the dark mark in place. Harry watched as the snake moved on his mate's arm, then Harry's fangs extended and he went to bite the exposed skin. Severus went to pull his arm away and Harry held him still. "Don't you dare bite me again, Potter."
"Stay still." Harry bit into the man's arm, his fangs piercing the inked snake. The snake writhed vigorously while Harry's sensitive hearing picked up the sound of other's bearing the mark wincing or hissing in pain, holding their left arms. Eventually, Harry released the bite and stared at the snake with glowing red eyes as it showed coiling up and lowering its head slightly in what seemed to be submission. "Remove yourself from this being; he is mine…" Harry spoke in parseltongue. The snake bowed it's head fully as the tattoo faded into nothing, leaving a bare arm. Harry licked over the bite marks and healed it before letting go of Severus's wrist and stepped back.
Severus looked at his arm, stunned. Harry had…Removed the dark mark on his arm. For the first time in years, Severus's arm was completely bare. Free of the mark that had him bound to Voldemort and it had doubled to keep him tied to Albus, who told Severus to serve him against Voldemort, or he would reveal Severus as a death eater bearing the mark and send him to prison. Without the mark on his arm; he wouldn't feel the summons of Voldemort, or the pain he inflicted on any of his followers. Albus had nothing over him.
"You…" Severus started, surprised. "Y-You removed it. The mark…You removed the dark mark."
Eyes in the room widened. "Impossible," Voldemort rose up and slipped over to them, inspecting Severus's arm and found the mark to be gone. The other death eaters, along with Narcissa and Lucius, came over to get a gaze at Severus's forearm. It was completely bare and no trace of the magic at all. Not even a scar. "How? How did you remove it? I should have been the only-,"
"Are you seriously asking me that question? Are you actually unaware when I told you moments ago that you and I have a connection?" Harry asked. "The night you gave me this…" He showed his lightning bolt scar. "You ended up transferring some of your powers and magic to me. I'm a parselmouth because of you. I can see in your mind because of you. Naturally I can remove a Parselmagic infused tattoo such as the dark mark." He remarked. "I could have done it other ways too, but I much preferred using the method that affected you. The marks are linked to you, so when it's attacked; you felt it more than the rest did."
"I've been awful to you," Severus began. "Took a grudge I had on your father and his friends out on you. You should want me to suffer after three days ago when I snapped at you for what happened…" He continued. "But you came to protect me, and just removed the mark?" He trailed off. "Why would you do that for me?"
"Contrary to popular belief from those who say there are no stupid questions…There are indeed stupid questions." Harry remarked before he faced the man, arms folded over his chest. "You are my mate, Severus. Why do you think I came? To protect you. No matter how accidental and unexpected things happened; they did. The marks are inter-linked, so when Tom hurts any of his followers; everyone ends up feeling it. You and I are bonded, I could feel when he summoned you and I saw that he was going to hurt you. Nobody hurts my mate. Nobody hurts my family…And you became my family when we bonded, Severus." Harry told him. "You can accept it or not, but it will never deter me from coming to protect you." He shrugged. "Also, I refuse to allow my mate to bear the mark of someone else…So I removed it."
"You'll mark him as yours?" Draco asked.
"Not unless he wants me to." Harry stated. "I won't mate him until he allows it."
"Aren't you two already mates?" Voldemort asked.
"We're bonded, but we're not mated." Harry informed.
"I thought we said that this was a mating bond." Severus huffed.
"It is, but we're not mated. Just bonded. It hasn't been finished." Harry remarked.
"That doesn't make any sense." Draco blinked.
"It makes perfect sense," Harry told him. "We're bonded, like any other couple that would have gone through the bonding ceremony. Just like a marriage ceremony, with extra steps like hand fastening, and lighting candles, calling on the elemental magics, gods, and goddesses to join and bless things. Spiritual wedding with a fancy name." He enlightened. "The difference is our bonding formed on its own. The bond was formed and consummated, but the bond isn't entirely completed to have it be a mating bond."
"What needs to be done to finish it?" Narcissa asked.
Harry glanced at Severus. "You have to mark him, right? But he has to be willing?" Bellatrix asked.
"Yes, but it's not as simple as marking him on his willingness that I do." Harry stated. "As it stands, Severus will die before me…I cannot die of old age. Being killed, sure, but not of old age and since the war is basically non-existent with Voldemort no longer trying to take over the world, rather fix it in whatever way he's going to do that, there is nothing really to kill me." He informed. "A vampire mating bond is for life, which means the chosen mate of the vampire needs to live as long as their mate does outside of being murdered. Meaning being killed is the only way the bond accepts to break under."
"What you're saying is…" Draco realized.
"What?" Severus asked.
"The only way to complete the bond is for you to be turned into a vampire…" Draco whispered. "That's the only way a vampire's mate could live as long as they do."
"The bond finishes when I turn Severus into a vampire and we mate, or we mate, I mark him, then turn him…That's the mating bond. That's a vampire mating bond. It's for life." Harry nodded. "As I said…I can't mark him until he agrees. Mating is having sex and being marked at the end. And it has to be willing."
"But if neither of us were willing to this bond in the first place…Why would it form?" Severus decided to ask, still struggling to process what he'd been told.
"That's the other thing…" Harry looked at him. "These bonds, Severus, they aren't like the regular ones that couples call on to invoke when they want to marry. This bond forms on their own under one set condition between the couple, and I know we were not a set and official one…But you gave me permission that night. You allowed it. You were willing and I was, for all intents and purposes, under the influence and more than willing because…As I told you, your blood was driving me mad. It was calling to me." He informed calmly. "So yes…Technically, we were both willing." He paused. "This bond is a very old, very powerful, and very rare magical binding. It only invokes on its own if the couple are soulmates."
"S-Soulmates?" Severus stared at Harry.
"I didn't stutter, Severus," Harry remarked.
"B-But how can that even be?" Severus asked. "I'm twice your age! You're still my student…Why the hell would we be considered soulmates?"
"Dunno. Fate, or destiny, even magic works in mysterious ways." Harry shrugged. "Also, age is just a number, Sev. And only your student for another year and a half or so. You act like this is an impossible situation."
"I dislike how calm you are about this!" Severus stated. "You are fifteen!"
"And I'll be fifteen the rest of my undead life. I'm a vampire, Severus. I don't age anymore. I look older, and yes, my birthday passed…But I was turned at fifteen. My human life ended at fifteen. What good does it do me to get angry or upset? It happened, for whatever reason. I doubt we'll ever know what force in the world decided we should be together, but what I do know is that there's no other choice, so better to accept and make the best of it. I've already done so and while I won't rush you on it, I advise you do the same because you and I are magically, legally, and physically bonded until the day you die…Unless you end up deciding to let me change and mark you as my mate. This is for life, Severus…" Harry told him firmly.
"Now," Harry handed Voldemort back his wand. "You, Tom, mind your magic against my, and this only as lack of a better term, husband or you and I will have a problem. The problem being that I'll be forced to kill you. For everything else, I only came back to protect Severus. I am going back out because I was in the middle of something important. I'll see you tonight or tomorrow morning." Harry informed before he simply vanished again.
"Wow." Draco spoke in the silence. "That's all I have to say. Wow."
"I think we all feel that way right now." Lucius agreed with his son as everyone else just nodded in agreement.
Severus stood in shock at the information Harry revealed to him and in this, while confused and trying to process it all; his eyes only drifting back to his bare arm where Harry had removed his dark mark and freed him from Albus and Voldemort.