The Black Prince

Chapter 12

The Prince entered the study, Severus following close behind him and shutting the door behind them. Lucius looked at Dorian, taking in the obvious glow and hid a smile. It seemed that the two were good for each other. Severus was able to calm the Prince down almost immediately and the Prince was evidently good for his friend as well. He had never seen him as happy as he had been since the Prince had joined their side.

Tom smirked up at him from his position in his armchair near the fire. \"Feeling better?\"

Dorian smirked. \"Much. Now, what do we have next on the agenda?\"

Lucius cleared his throat nervously. He was at least grateful that the Prince had just fed before the interview with his son. Hopefully it would put him in a more forgiving mood. \"You have an interview with Draco Malfoy.\"

The Prince nodded thoughtfully. \"Very well. Leave us,\" he said to Severus and Lucius. The two men murmured obedient farewells and backed out of the room, leaving Dorian and Voldemort alone. Sorry about that, Dorian said in Parseltongue, nodding toward the meeting room with a grin.

It happens. Severus was able to please you?

\"Of course,\" Dorian purred, slipping out of Parseltongue. \"He always does.\"

You don’t want anyone else? Voldemort asked, curious at the thought that the handsome young man was content with only one man in his bed. He could have anyone—hell, he could have everyone if he only said the word. For some reason though he was content with just Severus. Severus was certainly attractive but well, hell! He could have anyone!

You know he is my mate, Dorian hissed a warning.

I meant no harm or any offense to your mate, I am just curious. From what I know of your Father he certainly spread his affections far and wide. Why do you not do so as well?

My Father never found his mate. A large part of his intensely high libido was due to that. It is not possible for a part Incubus to be truly sated by anyone other than his mate. Without one my Father needed to feed about twice as much as I.

He never found his mate? Voldemort asked incredulously. How is that possible? I thought that all magical creatures had a destined mate.

They do, that was the problem. If it was just sex or affection or even love that he was looking for he could have dealt with it while he was still young. That wasn’t it though. He never found his mate or any hint of her. Well, I assume it was a woman since he tended to prefer women. That was a large part of the reason behind his affair with my mother. For some reason he found her calming and he could feed better from her than from others although it was clear that she was not his mate. Regardless, he couldn’t find his mate. We assume that his mate either died before he could discover her or else hadn’t yet been born.

That would have created an enormous age gap.

Look at my mate and I. We have nineteen years between us.

That’s true. I guess in the long run it was lucky, really. If he had found her before going to Azkaban he would have lost his mind, wouldn’t he, being separated from her for so long?

Dorian nodded sadly. In the end he was starting to lose it anyhow. He was visibly struggling in that last year. I don’t think he could have made it much longer.

Tom reached over and patted his friend’s clenched hand lightly before standing up at the loud knock on the door. \"It appears that the boy is here for his audience,\" he said, slipping into his own role as Lord Voldemort.

Dorian rearranged himself in the chair to sit up a bit more although he was learning idly on the arm with his legs splayed out. Voldemort’s eyes nearly rolled back as his ally’s sensuality rolled unconsciously off of him in thick waves, making even him hard. Reign it in a bit he hissed, warning him.

Dorian nodded and did so, having been unaware that he had lost control as much as he had. Merlin, he needed his Master to help him get back in control again. That month had done more damage to him than he had thought. Going without feeding was always dangerous for an Incubus but going for an entire month without any physical contact with anyone he loved and trusted was what had really damaged him. Usually if he couldn’t have Severus he could be near someone else to at least take the edge off.

He nodded again, showing that he was ready. Voldemort walked out of a side door to their private sanctum that was visible only to the two of them. Dorian slipped his mask fully on, wiping any trace of emotion from his face. \"Enter,\" he ordered coldly.

Draco entered hesitantly, took a few steps into the room allowing the door to be closed and then immediately sank to his knees, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. \"Forgive me Prince for my inexcusable comments. I offer no excuse and welcome my just punishment.\"

Dorian looked down at him indifferently, idly noting his nearly violent trembling. \"Come closer,\" he ordered. Draco shuffled closer so that he was only a few feet away. Dorian reached out his hand and pulled his school rival’s chin up to look him in the eyes. \"You disappointed me,\" he said coldly.

Draco flinched but didn’t say anything.

\"Out of everyone in that school I expected you to be our most competent soldier.\"

Draco flinched again. He had really fucked up. He was a Malfoy for Merlin’s sake! He should have known better. Now he had disappointed his Prince and his Lord. He would never rise above this. His Father would undoubtedly feel the humiliation as well, once Draco was officially relegated to the role of common soldier with no hopes of rising. The disappointment was especially acute given his promising start with his Prince’s request that he be sent on the mission to his muggle relatives’ home.

Dorian let go of his chin, pushing him aside so that he could stand. Draco looked up at him warily from his heap on the ground, not daring to right himself or to move at all. \"How are the new recruits to know how to behave if they see you acting like this? How are they ever to learn if even you cannot? Is it a mistake to allow such young soldiers to join my forces?\" he pondered, pacing restlessly.

Draco looked up at this, wondering if he were expected to answer. At his Prince’s impatient gesture he spoke up. \"Please do not blame the other recruits for my mistakes. I was stupid and acting like a child. I was upset that my godfather hadn’t told me about his relationship, particularly one with…you\" he finished lamely.

\"Does your godfather make it a habit to treat you as his confidant?\" Dorian asked glacially, knowing full well that Severus did not. Severus was close with his godson but they were by no means confidants in any definition of the word.

Draco shook his head. \"No sir. I have no excuse for my behavior, or at least no good one. It was rude and inappropriate and I succeeded in insulting my godfather as well as my Prince.\"

\"Yes you did,\" Dorian snapped. \"The nature of our relationship is none of your business soldier, and you would do well to remember that. You will respect Severus Snape or you will not live to regret it, do I make myself clear?\"

Draco stared up at his incredulously, his entire world shaken by his Prince’s words. Everything that he had thought to be true about his godfather—about his relationship with the Prince—about the Prince as a person was completely wrong. \"You’re upset with me because I disrespected my godfather and not because I disrespected you?\"

\"How on earth could your comment have hurt me, boy? By stating that I enjoy your godfather’s affections? I don’t give a damn. Half the Death Eaters already know and the rest suspect. The man sleeps in my bed every night. The soldiers would be idiots not to know by now. Your words had absolutely no effect on my own life. You hurt him immeasurably with your childish insults and your crude remarks. He expected better of you. He expected and deserved your respect, as both your godfather and your superior. I will not see my mate disrespected.\"

Draco looked up in wonder before looking down at the carpet again, utterly humiliated. In his petty rivalry he has hurt his godfather, and it took his childhood rival to point it out to him. He was an idiot. \"Forgive me, Prince, I did not understand. I did not know he was your mate and I thought you upset because I had offended you and not because I had hurt Severus. I…I didn’t understand that you truly cared about him,\" he ended quietly, still seemingly shocked that this was the case. He had gotten worked up in the first place because he had been convinced that his godfather was being forced to act as a sexual slave for their new Prince and he felt certain that Severus would never willingly do such a thing. He had never stopped to think about the fact that the relationship might be consensual.

Dorian took a few quick steps over to him, making Draco start to back away anxiously before recalling his situation and stilling, ready to accept any punishment his Prince doled out. The Prince grabbed a handful of the silky blond hair and pulled him roughly to his knees to look him in the eyes. \"I don’t give a damn if you like me or not boy but you will remember that the man that you disparaged is my love, my mate. I will protect him at all costs. I bought him from Voldemort to protect him. Saving him from the likes of you is hardly worth my effort. Do not make this mistake again,\" he said, pushing Draco away from him again.

\"Forgive me sir,\" Draco whispered again.

Dorian stood at the fireplace for a while, not speaking. Draco looked anxiously around the room wondering if he was to leave now but not wanting to since he hadn’t been given the order to go yet. Finally, after fifteen minutes of silence Dorian spoke again. \"I think I like you.\"

Draco started at the non-sequiter. \"Sir?\"

\"Yes, I believe I do,\" he announced, this time with certainty. \"You will correct your behavior and then you will assist me in training the new recruits. I might bring you with me to work in Hogsmeade a bit. Not much but enough to amuse a wealthy playboy looking for something to fill his hours with. Yes, I think that will do nicely.\"

Draco was completely thrown by this entire conversation. \"Prince, are you certain? You…I thought that you hated me,\" he finished lamely.

\"Why in hell would you think that?\" Dorian snapped before settling down again. \"I apologize, Draco. Believe it or not, I’m told I can be a bit irritable at times. Really though, you need to learn that appearances can be deceiving.\"

\"Yes sir,\" Draco stuttered out. \"Is there anything you wish from me?\"

Dorian paced for a moment. \"I have a task I wish for you to fulfill. It sounds like something unimportant—servant’s work—but I need to give it to someone I can trust to do it.\" Draco nodded. Hell, he would become his Prince’s private toilet cleaner if that were what was needed to get into his good graces again. \"I need you to keep a watch out for my owl, a white snowy owl. She will come bearing an important missive which must be given directly to me. All owls are currently directed to house elves who check for curses and jinxes and then deliver them on to the person in question. You must do this for me because no one else may touch it, including giving it to a house elf to deliver to me or to Voldemort. I will need it immediately whenever it arrives.\"

\"Of course, sir,\" Draco said, the entire time wondering what the letter could contain that was so important.

\"There is no need to stand outside waiting for her at all hours of the day. She will arrive in the evening or early night hours sometime in the next few days.\"

Draco nodded eagerly. \"Yes Prince. Thank you Prince.\"

Dorian waved him away, beginning to get bored with him. \"You may go now. Send in Severus on your way out. If he is not waiting outside the room then please either fetch him yourself or send someone trustworthy to do so.\"

Draco finally stood up and bowed again before backing out of the room, unable to believe his good luck. His Father and Severus were waiting outside, both looking distinctly anxious and both apparently shocked speechless by his curse-free appearance. \"He wishes to see you godfather,\" he murmured to Severus before turning to his Father.

Lucius motioned him to remain silent before leading him to a side room and placing up privacy spells. \"What happened?\"

\"It was unbelievable. I made my apology and then he told me that he wasn’t mad at me for disrespecting him he was mad at me for disrespecting Severus. And he told me that they are mates. Did you know that?\"

\"I had assumed as much but he hadn’t officially told me. What else happened?\"

\"He ripped my hair damn near out of my head and then pushed me to the ground when he was done yelling at me. I apologized again and then he stood there in silence forever. Then he suddenly said that he liked me and that he wanted me to help train the new recruits. And then he announced that he wants me to come assist him in his Hogsmeade shop! What the hell is going on?\"

Lucius thought silently for a moment. \"Our Prince is a very unusual young man and he seems to be very moody. All I can guess is that something about your cheek appealed to his sense of humor and he has decided to keep you close to him. Be careful though. What amuses him today may infuriate him another day. The Prince can be more mercurial than Voldemort himself from what I have seen.\"

\"I will be. I can’t believe my good fortune. You don’t think that he…wants me…do you?\" he asked nervously. If forced to submit to his Prince he would do his duty as a loyal and obedient soldier but he had never been attracted to men and he shuddered to think of sharing a lover with his godfather—or worse, engaging in a threesome with him.

Lucius shook his head. \"I doubt it. He is incredibly territorial about Severus—he won’t even let me sit next to him—and I can’t imagine him letting anyone else near him. He doesn’t seem to want to stray either. I think he just genuinely likes you. I need to go to another meeting with the Prince and our Lord. We need to discuss new recruits. Stay outside the door in case he wishes for you to be present but don’t count on him admitting you to the meeting.\"

Draco nodded. \"Yes sir. Thank you for arranging my interview with him.\"

\"Thank your godfather for letting him feed just before the meeting,\" Lucius said with a wink, making his son turn a bit green.

BP BP BP BP BP BP BP BP BP

Dorian had pulled his robes off the moment that the door was firmly closed behind Severus and he knelt down, waiting for him.

\"How did your meeting go, pet?\" Severus asked, fighting to hide his apprehension. He knew that Dorian was moody at the best of times and that he had a vicious temper yet, surprisingly enough, neither trait seemed to rear itself during the interview with Draco. Severus had expected his godson to be removed on a stretcher, especially after their years of bickering at Hogwarts. Granted, the bickering had nearly stopped in the later years but it had been pretty bad in their first few years there.

Dorian scooted in closer to his Master and leaned against his leg. \"It went well, Master. He apologized for his rudeness toward you and promised to never disrespect you again. Believe it or not, he was trying to defend your honor in some sort of twisted way. It was rather endearing. I think I may bring him to my shop in Hogsmeade for a few hours a week to amuse me.\"

\"How will you cover the fact that you have one of the wealthiest young men in the world working as a common shopkeeper?\"

\"The absurdly wealthy always have little jobs like that that they do for amusement. I don’t see why he can’t imply the same should anyone question it.\"

Severus tugged lightly on his hair, making him look up at him. \"I am pleased that you kept your temper so well, pet.\"

Dorian smiled and rested his head on his Master’s knee again, purring quietly in contentment.

Tom knocked on the door to enter again, having waited during the meeting in an adjacent room that was only accessible to the two leaders while reading some recent reports from their spies. The sanctum allowed them a safe haven in which to hide or to get away from the world as well as a convenient place to go to when one or the other needed to use the study for a private meeting. It stored their most valuable texts and plans and no one but the two of them, Lucius, and Severus even knew it existed.

\"Enter,\" Dorian said without thinking.

Voldemort walked in, raising an eyebrow when he saw the situation. His ally sat naked on the ground while Severus sat fully clothed in one of the two matching armchairs intended for the leaders. Severus looked a bit uncomfortable but Dorian shrugged it aside.

\"I see,\" Tom said before sitting down and acting as if there was nothing unusual about the situation. He had long known that something was different about their relationship but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Guess he knew now. He wasn’t quite certain how they managed the dynamics of it but they were evidently doing well regardless of the difficulties. \"How did your meeting with young Malfoy go?\"

\"Well enough. I’ve asked him to assist me in training the new recruits and he might assist me a bit in Hogsmeade next year.\"

\"Really? I expected you to teach the boy a few lessons.\"

\"I thought about it but the truth is, he amuses me. He’s got to have iron balls with the sheer number of times he has bucked tradition and spoken his mind. Not to mention all of the Slytherins respond well to him and a large number of our recruits are from Slytherin house. He’s also a complete bastard, although I suppose he is kinder than I am. Since you and I are far too busy to deal with the recruits on a daily basis, he should prove helpful in getting the soldiers into shape. I think that a large part of his problem is completely wasted talent. He has been allowed to laze around for far too long.\"

Voldemort looked thoughtful. \"I believe you were right to give him the positions you did. I think that just might be the thing to get him to his potential. Drink?\" he asked, looking to Severus for confirmation.

Severus nodded for the both of them and Voldemort poured three whiskeys, passing two over to Severus. Severus set both on the table at his side and took a small sip of one before combining the two drinks into one glass and passing it on to Dorian to take a sip.

\"How goes the potion?\" Voldemort asked.

\"It will be finished tomorrow, my Lord,\" Severus said, hesitantly placing his hand on Dorian’s head once more, although he did not run his fingers through the curls as he usually did. \"I believe that Dorian will possess the talent. He revealed to me last night that his Father had some select metamorphmagus abilities. What all was he able to do?\" he asked, prodding Dorian lightly.

Dorian quickly handed back the glass as he answered. \"He could change his eye color and his hair color and he could alter the length of his hair and beard at will. He couldn’t manage any skin color changes, height or weight changes or a sex change. It was enough to avoid detection which was all he was concerned about.\"

\"You will need to cover your scar though,\" Voldemort said thoughtfully, swirling his drink around for a moment before downing it. \"I wonder if it will be possible even if you have the full ability. No one has ever tried to alter a curse scar before, have they?\"

\"I doubt I can remove it but I hope to be able to move it to a different location,\" Dorian said.

\"We believe that will be easier,\" Severus said, his hand finally returning to it’s prior occupation of carding through his pet’s hair as he grew more comfortable with the situation. Because they had kept their relationship a secret for so long they had only been open about their relationship in front of a very select group of people.

Voldemort smirked when Dorian started purring contentedly.

They heard a knock on the door that led to the hallway, meaning that either Lucius was returning for their recruitment meeting or else another soldier wanted entrance. Dorian growled low in his throat but stood up at his Master’s silent demand and allowed Severus to assist him in dressing again. He flopped back down in the chair that Severus had occupied at his Master’s motion and glared petulantly at the door. \"Enter,\" he yelled, not bothering to hide his irritation.

Voldemort stifled a laugh. Severus turned his back to the door to hide his own smile from whoever entered.

Lucius walked in hesitantly, sensing the strange atmosphere in the room. \"Is our meeting still scheduled?\" he asked hesitantly, bracing himself for a punishment.

Dorian’s anger evaporated into a blinding smile when he saw that it was Lucius. \"Charming son you have, Luc. I’ve decided to promote him. You will ensure that he is capable of his new position,\" he declared imperiously.

\"Of course my Prince,\" Lucius said, all the time wondering what exactly he was preparing Draco for. \"He told me that you like him.\"

\"Yes. He amuses me. He has lovely hair.\"

Lucius winced, remembering his son’s words about the Prince nearly tearing it out of his head. He hoped the amusement didn’t come from that or else his son would be bald in no time.

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A/N: Please note I do not, in any way, wish to imply that the soldiers of any country are required or expected to serve the sexual whims of their superiors. I use the term ‘soldier’ incredibly loosely in this fic but do not wish to demean the work of any member of a military for any country. I’m talking about Death Eaters, who obviously run on slightly different rules and morals than the average people. Just a note to anyone who might have taken offense. People who offend easily tend to stay away from my fics though. At least they have done in the past, since I have yet to get a true flame *knock on wood*

Thanks for the lovely reviews to date. Let me know what you’re thinking!