Hogsmeade, Circa 1826

“Well then, lets see what we’re getting ourselves into.” Harry cleared his throat and began to read aloud.


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“Just for fun tasks. Between each of the main tests will be one or more smaller games, which are meant for entertainment and fun for all. The contestants will be scored as with the main tests.” Harry stopped and skimmed over some of the rules they had already heard about.

“Friday starts out with a formal supper. Slaves will set their own table for themselves and their Masters, as well as the head table for the judges. Slaves will be judged on table settings and manners.”

Harry looked down at Severus. “That sounds simple enough. I’m sure you can handle setting a table and using proper manners.”

“Yes, for me it won’t be a problem, but most of these slaves have probably never sat at a formal table. For many, this would be considered quite a challenge.”

Harry nodded, then continued reading. “Following the supper will be a … fashion show?!” Harry laughed while Severus rolled his eyes. “I guess I’ll get to see you in that red shirt after all!”

Harry laughed again as Severus glared at him. He turned back to the scroll after his chuckles had subsided. “Slaves will also be judged on Sex Appeal. Each slave will attempt to seduce their judges in anyway they choose. No magic will be allowed to aid the slaves and Veela’s will be automatically disqualified from this round. Slaves will be judged on appearance, enthusiasm, skill, and overall sexiness.

“Well, that should be interesting,” Harry stated with a smirk. “You shouldn’t have too much trouble there.”

“I’m hardly ‘sexy’, Master.” Severus nearly blushed as Harry raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “It will not be as easy as you think. Besides,” he said somewhat shyly, “I’m a little out of practice.”

“Oh, well… um…” Harry, also rather shy about suggesting they practice, chose to move on. “Saturday is Stamina. It will begin with a slave/Master piggy-back race at 9am. Masters will carry their slaves. Masters must cross the finish line WITH their slave ON their shoulders.”

Harry laughed and looked down at Severus’ slim form. “I can probably carry you. You couldn’t weigh any more than 150lbs.” Severus nodded, but remained quiet. He knew he was probably less than that even.

“The race will be followed by an… eating contest? Cool! Slaves will be given a selection of food that they must eat. The last slave eating wins.

That doesn’t sound too bad, but can you eat much? I’ve hardly seen you eat anything,” Harry said skeptically.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in an eating contest,” Severus said with a raised eyebrow.

“If a slave vomits,” Harry continued reading, “they are disqualified. This also applies to the final contestant. They must not vomit for a minimum of 10 minutes after the second last contestant drops out.”

“That doesn’t sound very promising! What are they going to feed you that would make you throw up?”

“It’s not so much ‘what’ as ‘how much’. Even something like cherry pie will make you sick if you eat too much,” Severus pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Harry agreed.

“Starting at 3pm will be the tug-o-war games. First off will be Masters vs. slaves.”

“That at least sounds like fun!” Harry grinned at Severus, who merely shrugged indifferently.

“Saturday evening is the Stamina main contest. Slaves will be sexually stimulated by their Masters and must maintain a full erection for the duration of the test.” Harry blushed profusely and noticed out of the corner of his eye a bright pink hue on Severus’ pale cheeks as well.

“No magic or potions will be permitted. Masters may use any non-magical technique they wish. A slave may ejaculate but must remain hard at all times. If a slave looses their erection for any reason, they will be disqualified.”

“That one may be more difficult,” Severus informed Harry quietly, not meeting Harry’s questioning eyes. “I’m well out of practice with that. We…” Severus hesitated and blushed bright red. “We may need to… practice a little.”

“Yeah,” Harry concurred, trying not to sound overly excited by the prospect of having sex with his Potions Professor. “That would probably be a good idea. We need to look like we’ve done all this before.” He swallowed the lump building his throat and continued reading.

“Sunday is the Pain Endurance Test. It will start out with the Hot Potato Toss…” Harry snickered, but kept reading. “Slaves will pass a heated potato amongst themselves. Slaves will be eliminated as they drop the spuds.

“This will be followed by a walk over hot coals. Slaves will walk bare-foot over red hot coals. Again, for both of these, no magic or potions permitted. A healer will be on hand to take care of all burns.”

Harry shuddered at the thought of walking on hot coals. “I really wish we could just skip that whole day,” he said with a slight quiver in his voice.

“Don’t worry about those ones,” Severus assured him. “My hands are perfectly capable of handling hot items; comes from years of potion making. As for my feet, well, there’s plenty of tricks to prevent serious burns. Various salves, not potions or in any way magical in nature, will work without pushing the limits of the rules.”

Harry smiled at the smirk on Severus’ face and glint in his dark eyes. His smile faded as his eyes shifted back to the scroll. “Sunday evening will be the main Pain Endurance test. Masters and slaves will trade off. Masters will NOT work with their own slaves for this test. Masters will begin with whips for 10 strikes, then switch to chains for 15 strikes, ending with a cat-o-nine-tails until all slaves have been eliminated.”

Harry shuddered visibly and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply, trying to control his fear and disgust.

“Master?” Severus called when Harry stopped. “Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted,” Harry said sullenly.

“I can handle this. I’ve been under the crustaceous curse many times. Whips and chains are far easier to deal with.”

“Okay, fine!” Harry shouted as he stood and threw the scroll onto the bed. He began pacing the small room restlessly. “So you’re going to be fine and dandy, yeah right!, but what about ME?! I have to hurt some poor kid and for what?! To entertain a bunch of sadomasochists??!!”

Severus sighed and closed his eyes. Harry was right, he was only considering himself. This is what set Harry apart from every other Master he’d encountered, the inability to hurt others for sport. Even Albus Dumbledore would do what he felt was necessary without batting an eye. Harry simply didn’t have it in him to hurt someone needlessly.

“We will find another way home,” Severus said softly, knowing that the Time Turner was their only hope. He resigned himself to the fact that he may very well remain the slave of Harry Potter for the rest of his life, however long that may be in 19th century Hogsmeade.

Harry looked down on the strongest man he’d ever known and saw the drooped shoulders and bent back. He could see the lost hope that he was feeling as well. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

“No, we’ll do it. You’re right, it is our only real hope. I’ll do it,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

“No, I can’t ask you to go through it. We’ll find another way.”

“You’re not asking, I’m telling. I’ll deal with it.”

Severus sighed again. “It will backfire on us, Master,” he said looking up at Harry and meeting his gaze. “If you can not be convincing, and I don’t believe that you can, then everyone will know that you are not a true Master. They will take us both as frauds and at the very least, lock us up. They will, however, most likely, sell us both as slaves.”

“Then I’ll have to be convincing, won’t I?” Harry said with a small smirk, his confidence gaining as he thought about the consequences of failure. “You’ll just have to teach me everything you can.”

“Very well,” Severus whispered, his voice lacking enthusiasm.

Harry sat on the bed and picked up the discarded scroll. He cleared his throat before reading the games for the final day.

“Monday morning will begin the Loyalty tests. The first task is an obstacle course riddled with various dangers, such as a walk through fire, crossing a pond full of unknown wildlife, and leaping from the water tower. Slaves will be judged on speed, ingenuity, and ability. Any slave failing to complete the course will be disqualified.

“That sounds kinda fun… Well, except for the fire and pond… And jumping from a tower,” Harry said weakly. He heard Severus snicker quietly and looked down. Harry suddenly noticed that Severus hadn’t moved at all since they returned to their room.

“You can get up, you know. You don’t have to sit there all the time. Your legs must be getting uncomfortable from sitting like that for so long.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Severus said, touched by the concern. That was yet another thing that set Harry apart from his past Masters. Harry may have begun falling into the role of a Master very well, but he would never be a true Master to anyone but himself.

“Okay,” Harry said, somewhat unconvinced. He returned his attention to the scroll. “Following the obstacle course, it will be the Masters turn to show their loyalty to their slaves. Masters will bathe and cleanse their slave, pampering them to the fullest. Then the Masters will feed their slaves a light lunch.

“After lunch will be the main, and final test of the games. The Loyalty test is quite simple. Masters will be given an unknown potion, which they will then give to their slave. Potions may be poisonous or may not. Worry not, Masters! We will not kill your slave! All slaves will be given counter-potions immediately and any poisons given will not be fast acting or leave lasting effects. Slaves will be judged on hesitancy, fear, and/or doubt. Any slave refusing to drink will be disqualified. Any Master forcing their slave to drink will be disqualified. Any slave thought to be under a spell to compel them to follow orders will be disqualified.

“Spells? Like the imperius curse?” Harry asked.

“Yes, the imperius is one possible spell. There are others as well, though. They’re much less effective, but achieve the same goal, obedience.”

“As with all other tests and games, no magic or potions are allowed,” Harry continued. “Slaves will be given several hours to recuperate before the awards supper. Slaves will sit with their Masters during the supper. Awards will be given out throughout the meal. Immediately following the supper will be the Slave Auction. ALL slaves must be registered by Saturday evening! NO EXCEPTIONS!”

“I guess that’s it. Most of it sounds kind of fun,” Harry said softly.

“Most of it will be, I’m sure, at least for some,” Severus informed him. “None of it, however, will be as easy as it sounds. These games were designed with the Masters in mind, not the slaves. Even the somewhat easier games are for the Masters’ benefit. It keeps them entertained.

“However, Hogsmeade’s games are much kinder toward the slaves than many others in this part of the world. Hogsmeade had very few slave deaths, much lower than any others, and even fewer towards the end. I believe that the final Hogsmeade Games, I can’t recall the year it ended, had one death, which is what finally ended it for good. The men running the games were furious about it and called an end to the games forever. A few years later, slavery was abolished altogether.”

“Even one death is too many,” Harry said sullenly.

“I agree, but the times were different here,” Severus reminded him. “The slaves in this time were more than willing to die for their Master, even in a game.”

“Yes, yes, the times! I get it!” Harry said angrily. “I just can’t believe the Wizarding world could ever have done this! How wizards, who were supposed to be ‘so much better than Muggles’ could treat anyone like that!”

“Master, it wasn’t only wizards that held slaves,” Severus countered. “Besides, things really haven’t changed all that much in the Wizarding world. Wizards still hold slaves, only now it’s just House Elves and not human slaves.”

“Yeah, I know. I definitely understand Hermione’s S.P.E.W. campaign now.” Harry stood up and started pacing again. “You know,” he said thoughtfully. “I don’t recall seeing any house elves around here. Did they have house elves in the 1800’s?”

Severus raised a brow questioningly. “How do you think it’s possible to have a running shower in 1826 Hogsmeade?”

“I…” Harry stopped to think. Their first night here he had helped Severus into the shower. He hadn’t given it a thought, but really, showers certainly shouldn’t have been invented yet, nor would Muggles have had any sort of running water other than pumps from water wells.

“I hadn’t thought about it.”

“In the basement of this inn there’s likely 4 or 5 house elves. They heat the water as well as pump it through the pipes. Ms. Granger isn’t the first person to attempt to free them. When slavery was abolished, they tried to free the elves at the same time, however, the elves wanted nothing to do with it. They flat-out refused to be freed.”

“They chose to be slaves?!” Harry asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Severus said with a nod.

“But why?! Why would they knowingly choose to be used and abused?”

“They didn’t choose the abuse, but they did choose to be needed. They didn’t know any different. Their parents, grandparents, and, well, all their ancestors were slaves. It was in their nature to be useful and being a slave made them valuable to their Masters.”

Harry sat back down on the bed while he thought.

“It was the same with many older slaves. When they were freed, many of them chose to stay with their masters, mostly because they didn’t have anywhere else to go and wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of themselves. They didn’t know how to live any other way.”

“Yeah, I understand,” Harry said softly. He felt sorry for the freed slaves, almost as much as the captive ones.

~*~*~*~