Madame Scarlet's

Author's note: Thanks to Laurel for her beta-reading of this chapter. Despite my lack of posting lately, I have quite a bit to post this week as Laurel has plowed through the pile of chapters I made for her last week.

Chapter 14 Betrayed

The scream that rattled in their minds was nothing short of blood curdling. Snape removed himself from Harry’s body and his bed as if the boy had burned him and he fell to the floor clutching his head as if that might dampen the sound of Draco’s anguish. Harry knew it wouldn’t.

Draco had been shut off from them, his mind snapped closed like a steel trap, and Harry had forgotten that Draco could still listen in whenever he liked. Conflicting emotions tore through him in quick succession as he tried to process what damage had been done. He was livid with Draco for forcing him into this mess, he was hurt that Draco had shut himself down so tightly to escape him, and he was angry that the blond had the audacity to listen into his private life and react so jealously.

On the other hand he was riddled with despair that he had hurt Draco, however inadvertently, because that was never Harry’s intention. Draco’s pain was his pain and he felt his heart shattering into pieces just as surely as Draco’s did.

Summoning a deep breath, Harry clamped his eyes shut and tried to think at the boy he loved and hated all at once. “Draco,” he whispered silently through their shared connection. He could feel Snape there, lingering on the edge of his consciousness, his own mind battered by the recent exchange. He could feel his confusion like a palpable force and he knew then that Snape had no idea the three of them were magically joined. Well, he did now.

“Draco, I’m so sorry,” he tried again, but the only answer he received was the refastening of all the defenses around Draco’s mind. He locked Harry out again Harry was left staring at a naked Snape leaning back against the mattress. He looked thoughtful, perhaps even intrigued, and just as surely as Draco had shut Harry out, Snape did the same. He should have known earlier by the fact that he could so readily read Snape’s mind that he hadn’t know they were all connected. Snape suspected that something was off, surely, but he hadn’t deciphered the puzzle as Hermione had, probably because he didn’t have all the pieces until now – until he stole them from Harry and Draco’s head.

“Severus,” Harry whispered, aloud this time, but he didn’t look up. His old charm had settled into place again. He was radiating discomfort, but Harry had a feeling it had less to do with the fact that he was still nude and more to do with the fact that lowly students had solved a mystery he hadn’t even known existed within his own consciousness. “Look at me, please.”

“I can’t,” he said at last. “These last few days have left me feeling conflicted. I loathed you, Harry. I loathed what you stood for, what you took from me,” he whispered. Harry didn’t have to ask what he meant, he opened a tiny hole in his defenses and let him see that he had always blamed the boy for the actions of his parents; for his father wooing his mother away from him, and for Lily’s death. She died to save him after all, and some days he felt just as responsible as Snape thought him to be.

Harry pulled the sheets up around him to hide his own naked body, as if that would make him feel more secure. “But you-” he began, but the words wouldn’t leave his throat. Snape had professed love and devotion only moments ago, and now Harry could see that those sentiments were not born from his own heart, but planted there by his connection with Draco. The love he spewed from his mouth was Draco’s, not his own…not completely.

“Now that the seed has been sewn, I feel it,” he told Harry, mirroring the analogy that Harry had used in his own thoughts. “I feel his love for you as my own and it’s terribly…unsettling,” he added, unsure of how exactly to put his feelings into words now that Draco was missing from his mind. “Who knew Lucius could raise such a sentimental sap.”

“He’s clever and beautiful and had more heart than you ever will,” Harry spat. He couldn’t believe he’d just had this man inside of him, this traitor, this thief. He stole Draco’s love and unknowingly wielded it as his own in order to bed Harry again, and, of course, he was ignorant enough to fall for it. He wanted to be furious, wanted to be indignant and rude, but he knew that all three of them were simply a product of a spell gone awry.

“He’s as mushy as a Hufflepuff and that’s your fault as well. He was a pride to the Malfoy name before he slept with you,” Snape scoffed, finally standing and pulling his clothes into place.

“So, just to be clear, you don’t love me,” Harry announced harshly through narrowed eyes, but Snape merely stared back at him, seemingly deep in thought.

“I do love you, Harry,” he replied at last. “Draco’s love for you is so pure and engulfing that it has washed away my own loathing and replaced it with his adoration of you. How you managed to make a Malfoy fall to his knees so completely is beyond me, Harry, but you did.”

Harry’s heart gave a sharp stab at the comment and he momentarily felt like an idiot for giving Draco up. However, he quickly reminded himself that it was Draco who did the leaving, not him, and it was Draco who had taken liberties with his mind and his heart that were not his to take. But now, hearing the words fall from Snape’s lips that Draco loved him so much he could turn the Potion Master’s hatred into affection, it made him want to forget their problems and move into the stage where they made up…vigorously. His Incubus was fine with that plan as well since it had been denied release and still crawled uncomfortably under his skin.

“Just leave,” Harry groaned, unsure of how he would ever explain this to Draco, how he could ever make it up to him.

“I don’t think that’s wise. He’s fetched his father and they are both on their way up here to capture you,” Snape replied, as if he were reading a passage from their potions textbooks.

“How do you know?” Harry asked, but Snape didn’t say another word, he just let Harry see the snapshots he’d stolen from Draco’s mind. “I was worried about what he’d do, so I broke through his guard,” the older man explained. “I hadn’t expected this, however. He’s betrayed us both to his father.”

“How?” Harry asked, panicking in spite of not knowing the reason. He feared Lucius for the simple fact that the man was intimidating, but he had no idea why the man should be of any concern to him now that Voldemort was dead. The look of sheer disdain on Snape’s face let him know he had plenty of cause to worry.

“Lucius and I gather your kind and we exploit their…talents for profit,” he explained quickly as he built upon the silent wards on the dorm entrance.

“You do what?” Harry balked. He’d been expecting an answer he wouldn’t like, but not this.

“We prostitute them out to the magical community,” he elaborated. “Since finding out about you, Lucius has tasked Draco and I with your capture.”

“You and…Draco?” Harry whispered, his heart seizing at the idea of his lover betraying him so thoroughly.

“Don’t be dim, Boy,” Snape hissed. “If Draco had wanted you taken, you would have been taken by now.”

“But he does,” Harry corrected. “He’s sending Lucius here now.”

Snape’s shoulders sagged and he nodded. “We hurt him and he’s retaliating. But I’ll protect you.”

“Protect me?” Harry scoffed, harsh laughter tingling his lips. “You want to sell me to the highest bidder just like Lucius. Why should I trust you?”

“For one, I already told you that my feelings have changed, and two, you have little other choice at the moment,” he hissed and the loving smile that had been lingering on his face turned into a more familiar sneer. “Get under the bed and stay there.”

Harry was reluctant at first, but quickly obeyed when he heard a commotion downstairs. From underneath his bed, his gaze followed Snape’s feet as he walked over to the large window by his bed and he listened closely as the man threw it open. Harry worried for a moment that Snape was trying to escape and leave Harry alone to fend for himself, but he could clearly see the man’s black patent shoes walk back to the center of the room where he stood ready to fight.

A warbling blast echoed through the room as the first spell attempted from outside was thwarted. The next few proved more potent, and before long the door was splintered in two and Harry could see two new pairs of feet enter the room followed by a cluster of appalled Gryffindors. Harry could only hope that someone was going to flag down the Headmistress before it was too late.

“Severus,” Lucius sneered as he entered the room with an elegant stride. Harry wiggled himself into place so that he could see as much of the angry Slytherin trio as possible without revealing his position. “I hear you’ve been having dalliances with the boy you’ve been requested to bring to me.”

“I fucked him, if that’s what you mean,” Snape replied with a haughty smirk, and Harry heard a murmur of shock through the crowd of his housemates.

Lucius narrowed his eyes and scanned the room. “And where would our little Gryffindor slut be now?”

“He flew out the window when he heard your approach. He’s probably halfway across the Black Lake by now,” Snape muttered as if disinterested.

“Liar,” Draco seethed and his eyes flicked over to Harry’s corner of the room. “He’s there,” the boy pointed and with a deafening crash the bed that had been concealing Harry’s body was magically hefted to the other side of the room and into three other beds. The sound was deafening as the beds crashed together and Harry flinched, wondering what he should do now.

It was Lucius who cast the spell, a satisfied smirk on his face, while his son looked both triumphant and scared. In the next moment a scream erupted from the center of the room so terrifying that most of the gathered crowd fled from the corridor, scrambling over each other as they went, as far away from the melee as possible. When Harry looked up he saw Snape crumpled in a pile at Lucius’ feet, clutching at bleeding gashes all over his flesh before losing consciousness altogether.

“Betraying a Malfoy is not a good habit to start, Severus. Surely you would have learned that by now?” he addressed the whimpering lump that had once been a proud – if insufferable – man. “Trying to keep Potter all to yourself,” he added, clicking his tongue in disappointment. “Very naughty indeed.”

Harry stood pressed against the wall where his bed once stood and tried not to tremble at the thoroughness with which Lucius dispatched his only defense. His eyes flicked back to Draco’s, pleading with him not to let his father take him, but Draco had found a particularly interesting floorboard to capture his attention and he stared at it unwaveringly.

Before he had time to react, Lucius was upon him, smoothing away a lock of pitch-black hair from his forehead. “My, my, you are a beauty aren’t you,” Lucius mused, his fingers caressing the boy’s jaw in a detached way. “I can see why my son fell ignorantly for your charms.”

“You’ve seen me before,” Harry replied defiantly, trying to quell the stirring Incubus inside of him. “You saw plenty of me as you tried to murder me over the years.”

“All in the past, my boy,” Lucius replied as if speaking of spilled milk. “I had no idea then that you would prove to be so valuable to me.”

“I’m not going to be your pet whore,” Harry spat, his eyes narrowing as the power built in his gut and coursed through his fingers, itching for release. He felt it rise just as quickly as it had when Snape attempted to befoul his lover, and now it was his power to control, his power to shove down Lucius’ throat and make him choke to death on his fury.

“Ah, but that’s exactly what you’ll be. Don’t worry over it too much, Potter. You’ll come to enjoy the pleasures I offer you,” he purred. His fingers were still trailing along Harry’s body, but not as a lover’s would. Instead, Lucius seemed to be simply studying his newest investment and looking for defects in the product. “I think you’ll find my skills far more experienced than what my son has shown you thus far.”

The words drove Harry to abandon his indignant mask and replace it with the rage he felt bubbling to the surface. Lucius didn’t notice it, as intent as he was in groping his prize, but Draco did and his gaze met Harry’s for the first time since entering his room.

“No!” Draco shouted, and Harry could feel the blond’s concern for his father’s life seeping through the cracks in the defensive wall he’d erected. Harry stared back at him incredulously but the boy maintained his silent plea.

‘Don’t hurt him, Harry. He’s my father, please don’t kill him,’ Draco whispered through Harry’s brain and the panic in Draco’s voice melted away his rage. He couldn’t bear to hurt Draco any more than he already had. He’d already betrayed the boy’s trust; Harry couldn’t murder his father right in front of him too.

“This is what you want?” Harry asked Draco since Lucius’ thoughts were clear even without a mental bridge connecting them together. “You want me to go with your father?”

Draco didn’t answer; he just bit into his bottom lip, tearing his gaze from Harry to his father and back again. “Of course this is what he wants,” Lucius answered for him. “Draco will always want what is best for the Malfoy family, and once you have made me the profit I require, I’ll hand you over to him to do as he pleases.”

“And if I refuse?” Harry asked, his boldness slinking away as he resolved himself to his fate.

“Then I’ll do the same to Draco that I’ve done to your beloved Potions Master,” Lucius replied, a twisted smile on his face.

Harry’s eyes flicked to the bloody form of Snape on the floor. He knew he was still alive, but it was a fine edge he balanced on and if he wasn’t helped soon, Snape would perish right there in the Gryffindor dormitory. It would be an ironic death for the Slytherin professor, for sure, but Harry would wish the confused man no harm. When his gaze left Snape’s prone form, his emerald eyes stared over at Draco who looked back at him defiantly. “I’ll be your father’s whore to spare you this.” Harry gestured toward the dying man and saw Draco flinch before settling into a cold mask once more.

“You were already a whore, Potter,” Draco hissed and Harry saw the image of him shagging Snape just moments before flood into his mind, projected there from Draco’s own memory of the event. “The very least you could do is profit from it.”

“I’m sorry for hurting you, Draco, but I think this makes us even,” Harry replied sadly. He couldn’t imagine the ache Draco felt at witnessing his moment of weakness with Snape, nor could he imagine the rage he must feel to willingly submit the man he claimed to love to this new brand of hell.

Draco gave a curt nod and left the room, not looking back even when he heard the yelp of surprise from Harry’s lips as Lucius claimed his mouth. His Mate lingered in the doorway for an instant and Harry would have heard the conflict in the boy’s mind had he not been otherwise occupied, but in the end, Draco continued on his path to flee the scene, intent on getting help for his godfather.

Lucius released Harry’s mouth and tugged the boy roughly to the landing and down in the common room where the other students looked on. Harry noted Ron and Hermione’s absence and hoped they were getting help, but it would be too late for him. Lucius pulled a handful of powder from his pocket and cast it into the fireplace and as the green flames erupted, he threw Harry into them before following close behind.

Author's Note: Laurel posed an excellent question at the end of her edits to this chapter, simple asking 'Why does Lucius think he can get away with this?' to which my only reply is 'Because he's a Malfoy.' but we'll see if he's right in due time.