The Lion and the Serpent

In Harry\'s quarters, a long, uncomfortable silence hung.



“How long have you known?” Harry asked finally.



Hermione sighed despondently: “I\'ve suspected for a long time. But I never really knew. Not for a fact. Whose mark is this, anyways? I can tell it\'s not Voldemort\'s.”



“Mine,” he said flatly. “I conjured it myself. I own it; no-one else does.”



“Figures,” Hermione murmured. “And of course you would choose the Gryffindor design. But, why, Harry – why? Of all the reckless, needless, outrageous....” there was a desperate note in her voice, and she couldn\'t complete the sentence.



“There is great power in Dark Magic,” Harry said softly. “I needed a way to access it, focus it. Come on, don\'t look at me like that, Hermione. Having the mark doesn\'t automatically turn me into the next Dark Lord. Think about Snape! He wore his mark for years, and he came through for us in the end.”



Hermione grimaced involuntarily at the mention of Snape\'s name, and Harry grinned.



“I bet it was his memories that gave you the idea,” she said with a pained look on her face. “You know, you\'ve become a lot more like him than I ever imagined you would.”



“Carrying the greasy bat\'s memories in my mind is bound to do some damage,” Harry laughed..



Hermione glared at Harry. “Stop treating all of this like some kind of colossal joke,” she said tersely. “What you are contemplating is despicable. You can\'t use his body as a weapon.”



Harry stood up suddenly, towering over still seated Hermione.



“His body is a weapon,” Harry said bluntly. “So is mine. And so is yours. And I will use either, or all, as needed, in order to put an end to ... what\'s going on around us. You should go home now, Hermione. You\'ve been most helpful.”



His glance then fell on Draco, who was sitting on his chair motionlessly, wishing he could spell himself invisible. “Go to my bedroom, Draco, and wait for me,” Harry ordered. Hastily, Draco complied.



In Harry\'s bedroom, Draco sat on the bed, hugging his knees, violent sobs raking his body. It was too much, just too much. Over the years, he\'d had a sneaking suspicion that his Mark had some deeper meaning than those of others – but managed to banish that thought every time it crossed his mind. To finally find out the full meaning of his mark, to find out what his father always intended him to become was heart-wrenching. To be forced to confirm the finding through Harry and Hermione entering his mind was devastating. And Harry – planning to rape him? The mere thought of it was intolerable.



It appeared that Hermione thought so, too. “I\'ll be making a formal complaint to the Headmistress,” Draco heard her say icily.



Harry laughed bitterly. “With the bond in place, the law is on my side. As for sympathy.... Minerva turned a blind eye to him being beaten into a bloody pulp every day, for the last, oh, year and a half? I wouldn\'t count on her help.”



A long pause ensued. “You are gloating,” she said, a cautious question in her voice..



“I thought I told you to go home,” Harry said coldly.. “So do yourself a favor, and get the hell out.”



Draco was still crying, almost hysterically, when Harry entered the bedroom, and towered over him. Painfully aware of Harry\'s presence, Draco nonetheless couldn\'t bring himself to look up. His thoughts were racing, and his body, convulsing involuntarily.



Suddenly, Harry\'s calm voice broke through his delirium.



“Draco,” Harry called to him. Draco shuddered, realizing that Harry must have been saying his name for a while now.



Harry sat down on the bed next to Draco. His hand cupped Draco\'s chin and lifted it, making Draco face him. Draco\'s crying continued, unabated, his tears falling on Harry\'s hand.



“Stop,” Harry said firmly. “You are just upsetting yourself needlessly.”



Compelled by Harry\'s commanding voice, Draco\'s sobbing subsided slowly, his face held securely in Harry\'s hand.



“Look at me,” Harry demanded. Draco stared at him numbly.



“Do you still want to survive?”



Slowly, reluctantly, Draco nodded. In spite of everything, he did.



“Have I ever lied to you?” Harry asked.



Draco shook his head slowly, remembering Harry\'s warnings.





\'Do you actually understand what you are about to do? Does your little ferret brain have the ability to process all the repercussions of your decision?\'



\'Will you be hurting me?\' \'Yes\'

\'Will you kill me?\' \'I don\'t know yet.\'





“I am going to tell you exactly what will happen,” Harry said. “There will be no lies, no surprises. Do you understand?”



Draco nodded again.



“You will calm yourself. You will remove your clothes, and you will lie on the bed, face down. You will relax yourself as much as possible. It will be violent, painful, there will be damage, but I will make it quick. When it\'s over, I will heal you. Do you believe me?”



Still unable to find his voice, Draco nodded once more.



Continuing to sniffle just a little, Draco pulled off his jeans and shirt, and stretched himself on Harry\'s bed, his arms at his sides. He parted his legs a little, and breathed deeply, allowing himself to relax.



Harry\'s hand rested on his lower back, and Draco found his body responding to his owner. And suddenly, there was another kind of yearning as well – deep, lonely and needy. Draco groaned, shut his eyes, and buried his face in the pillow, ashamed.



When he felt Harry\'s cock press against his opening, he was stunned at its hardness.



“Harry,” Draco whispered in terror, unspoken question in his voice.



“The mark,” Harry said. He thrust into Draco violently, making him gasp. The pain was blinding, surreal, threatening to tear him in half.



With each brutal thrust, Harry spoke, confessing the unthinkable:



“Power... pain... cruelty.... it feeds on them... demands them... it excites...and focuses...”



Draco felt a burning along his chest, abdomen and groin. His own dark mark had come alive, and he could feel the serpent move along his body, yearning to touch its new owner.



Harry climaxed violently inside him, and Draco\'s fists clenched as Harry withdrew from him. His eyes still shut, Draco heard Harry zip up his jeans.



The agonizing throbbing inside him beginning to subside, Draco moved and felt a trickle of blood running down his thigh.



“Stay put,” Harry said. His hand was laid across Draco\'s buttocks, fingers probing carefully as if trying to estimate the damage done.



“Asklepio,” Harry said, and Draco felt the pain vanish without a trace. It was over.



Slowly, Draco reached out for his clothes. In silence, he dressed while Harry looked away.



“Will there be anything else?” Draco asked uncomfortably.



“Yes,” Harry said. His fingers touched Draco\'s chin, and he lifted Draco\'s face to look into his eyes. “What can you do to take care of yourself?”



Draco shrugged indifferently.



“Come on, Draco,” Harry sighed. “We both know you\'ve had your share of stress and anguish. What would you normally do to deal with it? Other than torturing other students, or plotting to take over the world?”



In spite of himself, Draco smiled cautiously. “I\'d ... hang out with friends,” he muttered. “We\'d talk. I know you think Crabbe and Goyle were just two giant pieces of lard, but there was really some depth to Goyle. And Crabbe had a funny side.”



“Then perhaps it would help to spend some time with a friend,” Harry said calmly, his face unreadable again.



Draco stared at him, stunned. “Sir?”



“I will be out for most of the day. You have my permission to invite Miss Cain over.”



Once again, Draco didn\'t know what to say.



............................................. TO BE CONTINUED ..................................



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Author\'s Note: I would appreciate feedback. It was difficult to write this chapter. I was hoping to make Harry at least somewhat ambiguous................ not a one-dimentional gleeful sadist.