Fire & Ice: War Games

‘In nature there’s no blemish but the mind;
None can be called deformed but the unkind.’

William Shakespeare
Twelfth Night, or, What You Will (Antonio at III, iv)

December was heralded in with an unusually heavy fall of snow, forcing the cancellation of care of Magical Creatures and qudditch, the latter a bitter disappointment to the Gryffindor house as they were currently ahead and confident of keeping the Slytherins from the cup that year. But Mother Nature intervened and postponed the season, no living soul was immune to her wrath.

With little to no food growing inside the forest, many of the creatures residing in the densely populated vegetation were eventually forced to seek sanctuary at the wizarding school. As a result of the sudden surge of residents, the headmaster was forced to add to the castle’s already vast stock of rooms with the aid of his staff. With more mouths to feed, Hogwarts’ house elf population exploded, tripling in size almost over night.

Not being one to squander an opportunity when it presented itself, Severus spent much of his free time secluded in the castle’s dungeons. A healthy supply of parchment and ink was his constant companion as he slowly built trust with these refugees who possessed the ability of speech. Utilizing the more prominent traits of his house, the most overlooked being patience, Severus slowly gained their trusts. Though he spent a great deal of time learning and listening to anyone who would speak to him, his personal favorites were the centaurs.

When the Slytherin had earned their trust, the centaurs slowly began to allow the raven haired boy small glimpses into their world. They told him of the vast resources that could be found inside the forest, past the points where wizards before had turned back, that could be used in various potions. As time wore on and their trust grew, Severus was schooled in the geometric landscape of the forest and the secrets it held.

While most of the centaurs treated his innocent and scholarly curiosity with a kind patience that could only come from a long life, one wasn’t. An elder remained skeptical of trusting any outsiders and had only agreed to shelter inside the castle walls for the survival of his herd. Life had taught Bane that the world was full of those who would take advantage of the more trusting members of his herd, after all, wasn’t his sire’s death a result of trust?

Grudgingly, Bane had to admit that the Slytherin was one of a small handful members of the wizarding world that even made an attempt to respect the forest and those who dwelled there. For the time being he decided to watch the young Slytherin, but if he stepped so much as a toe out of bounds or committed the smallest of transgressions, he would not hesitate to exact punishment.

All too soon the Christmas holiday was upon them and the castle was filled with the sound of students readying for the ride back to platform nine and three quarters. As the last day before the holiday break arrived, the sounds of excited students filled the halls of the wizarding school. As much as he was looking foward to being once again in the protective walls of his ancestral home, Severus was also looking foward to the end of the holidays, when he would be expected to returned to the one place he had grown to love to hate.



The compartment door opened and revealed a pair of Gryffindors in the train’s aisle, Severus sneered at the pair of boys. “What do I owe for the opportunity to be basked in the glory of Dumbledore’s lap dogs?”

“I was just thinking that a little payback was in order, you did seem to enjoy the hospital wing so much before.” Black said leaning against the door frame. His wand was out and pointing at the Slytherin before Severus could react. The Gryffindor mumbled a curse and smiled as the Slytherin shrank back into the corner of his seat, opal eyes wide with surprise as the curse took hold of him.

“Isn’t much of a threat now, is he?” Potter sniggered, elbowing his friend in the ribs. His companion joined in the amusement as they watched the Slytherin curl into a ball. A sudden, sharp push on Potter’s side resulted in both Gryffindors stumbling and falling to the carpeted floor of the aisle.

“Do us all a favor and grow up.” Growling, the new arrival closed the compartment door on the stunned Gryffindors. Sitting next to the trembling Slytherin, “I don’t know the counter curse.” Snorting, “I should really pay attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, huh.” Rubbing the Slytherin’s back in small circles, “you’re going to have to let it run its course.”

A sob escaped Severus’ lips as a tear slid down his sallow cheek. “Go ahead, no one’ll see. I promise.” Severus fought the assault of memories that Black’s curse brought to the front of his mind, he absently registered the familiar voice whispering comforting words in his ears.




A chill swept through him as he felt the wizard’s swift approach. Fear crawled through his gut as the robe was ripped from him and his trousers were pushed eagerly to the cold floor, exposing his nude body to the wizard’s hungry gaze. His body trembled as a warm hand rubbed his backside. Warm breath tickled his neck as adrenaline pumped through his lean frame, his heart pounded against the broken ribs beneath his chest as he heard clothing being discarded behind him.

Instinctively his muscles contracted as the invading hardness penetrated him from behind. Biting his lip, he felt the sticky liquid trickle down his chin and neck before pooling at his collarbone. He whimpered with each intrusive thrust of the harden appendage, a sharp burning sensation slowly worked its way from behind and up into his back where it settled.

He winced as teeth sank into his neck, bruising the flesh around them. Biting his tongue, he swallowed the plaintive whimper quickly, not wanting to give the wizard the pleasure of hearing that he had caused his son pain as a result of his perverse punishment. The boy strained against the biting chains restraining him and leaving him vulnerable to the whims of the wizard behind him. The metal bar, cuffed between the ankles, kept his legs spread and gave the wizard unrestricted access to the raven haired boy.

Reciting potion ingredients used in the healing, he blocked out the moans coming from behind him as the wizard slowly reached his climax. Calloused hands rubbed him as the thrusts deepened, tearing the tender flesh around it. Closing his eyes, the boy imagined life at the wizarding school, a life free of being a slave to his father’s temper and life where it was safe to fall asleep at night.

As the spent wizard collapsed against the smaller boy, his sweat was sponged by the boy’s trembling form. Pent up anger bubbled beneath the boy’s surface as images of the wizard’s gruesome deaths flashed in his mind. “My good little Severus.” The husky voice of his father whispered in his ear as he caressed Severus.


A/N

Starting to get darker, but we\'re not quite there yet. Promise.

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