Ashes of Armageddon

Substitute



The following morning, Severus came downstairs, only to find Harry, ready for work and waiting for him.



“You are not working at St. Mungo's today,” Harry said evenly. “You are coming with me.”



“You are taking me to work?” Severus asked with just the faintest smirk.



“In a manner of speaking,” Harry said, a thin, unpleasant smile playing on his lips.



They used the Floo to arrive to the Ministry Headquarters, and then, Harry used a Portkey to take them to Azkaban.



They arrived to a large room. Harry cast several spells, and Severus found his hands restrained behind his back, and even his ankles placed in a set of shackles that limited his ability to walk to very small steps, slowing him down to a crawl.



“Is it really necessary?” Severus asked derisively. “What could I possibly do, claw my way out of here?”



Harry patted his shoulder, smirking. “It's for your own good. You might become upset by what you see, and we all know how impulsive you are. Best that you don't have the opportunity to overreact, and do something foolish... something I'd need to punish you for.” Dark green eyes regarded Severus with playful cruelty. “Aren't you thankful, Severus?”



“Deliriously,” Severus said sardonically.



There was a dreadful chill coursing through his body, even through his very bones, but Severus ignored it, and followed Harry through the dim hallways of Azkaban in absolute silence. Eventually, they stopped by a massive door. Several guards were standing outside. They opened the door for the two of them; Harry shoved Severus inside, and followed him in.



The large, dimly lit cell had no furniture of any kind in it, not even a cot, or a chair.



A human being, dressed in a thin prison robe, stood still, chained to one of the walls. His face was obscured by a hood. Even so, the person's form was unmistakably familiar, and Severus stared at the victim with dread, hoping against all hope that it wasn't him.



Harry walked up to the prisoner and with one swift motion, ripped the hood off his face.



“Draco,” Severus whispered.



Draco lifted his head and glanced at Severus tiredly. Severus saw that his pale face was covered with bruises and cuts.



“Godfather,” he muttered. “Hi.”



“What happened?” Severus asked numbly.



Harry smiled with satisfaction. “What happened, Severus, was that your godson was apprehended engaged in an assassination attempt. I was the target. Unfortunately,” Harry continued, “Draco made a few miscalculations.”



Severus was shaking his head incredulously, unable to believe that his godson was involved in an assassination attempt. The boy, in his darkest days, couldn't even bring himself to kill Dumbledore, for crying out loud...



“It's true,” Draco told him with resignation in his voice. “I made full confession, too. The wonders of Veritaserum, you know.”



Harry laughed very softly. “Yes. I rather enjoyed your confession, by the way. It was very entertaining. Now the real question is: what to do with you? Perhaps I should give you a choice. Draco, what do you prefer – the Dementor's Kiss, or Cruciatus until you go insane?”



Draco's pale face grew even whiter, making the bruises and cuts look even more pronounced. “Potter – please...”



Harry laughed again. “You know, you've always been a very funny boy. Remember our third year at Hogwarts? You were making fun of me for being afraid of Dementors?” Harry patted his cheek gently. “Who's afraid of Dementors now?”



Draco was shaking his head furiously. Severus almost trembled physically himself, seeing the look of absolute, primal terror on his godson's face. The young man sniffled quietly, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.



“Not wanting to choose?” Harry taunted. “We could always do both. First, Cruciatus, until you go quite mad. Then have the Dementors suck out the rest of your soul. Then... see if Cruciatus still works on your soulless shell. What do you think, Draco?”



Draco opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out; only a stifled whimper left his lips. He shuddered violently when Harry's hand traveled along his torso and rested on his abdomen.



“You don't want to die,” Harry said, smirking.



Draco shook his head. His breathing was labored and uneven.



“I can change that, you know,” Harry told him coldly. “We could start with other methods of punishment first, and work up our way to Cruciatus. At the end of it all, I am sure you'll be begging to die.”



“Don't,” Draco cried out unashamedly. “Please, don't...”



Severus winced in spite of himself. He was not surprised to see his godson terrified, begging and pleading for his life – Draco was never the stoic type. He was, however, utterly astonished by the fact that Draco had attempted an assassination – he was never the political type either. Severus understood Draco well enough to know that the boy could not care less who ruled the wizarding world, as long as he himself, and his family, were left alone. And yet, here they were...



Harry's hand moved between Draco's legs and grasped. Draco groaned loudly, shutting his eyes.



“You know, there is a simple enough procedure that helps reduce aggression in dangerous animals,” Harry smirked, moving his fingers around Draco's private area. “That's what you are, aren't you, Malfoy? Just a pathetic little bitch, who bites, and then whimpers to avoid being punished.”



Draco shook his head furiously, not opening his eyes. “Please, no... ”



“Yes,” Harry said flatly. “And I do not think we will need any numbing potion for this, will we?”



Severus struggled to keep himself from retching, as a wave of nausea rose up, and reached his throat. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to regain his composure.



“Mr. Potter,” he said very gently. “May I speak to my godson alone, please?”



Harry nodded, not looking surprised by the request in the slightest. “Sure,” he told him easily. “Take your time.”



Harry's hand lingered on Draco's belly for just a moment, and then, he walked out of the cell,the massive door slamming shut behind him.



Left alone with his godson, Severus did not know what to ask. He was confident the cell had surveillance spells, and he did not want to get his godson to confess anything that would make his situation even worse.



Draco tugged against his restraints and smiled pitifully.



“You can ask me anything,” Draco whispered, as if reading his mind. “You won't make things worse for me. They already know everything. To the last detail.”



“Why?” Severus whispered in disbelief. “Why would you do such a thing?”



“What else could I do?” Draco asked bitterly. “I was in Durmstrang. I followed your trial. I learned that you became his property. I have no doubt he's not playing nice with you – I recognize a Dark Lord when I see one. So what else would I do? I wasn't about to duel the Elder Wand, I'm not that stupid. I wasn't about to come to England in person either – I observed enough over the last five years to see that just about everyone near Potter ended up as his little puppet. So... I figured, a simple enough official letter, false return address, with poison activating on contact, and getting absorbed through skin...” Draco smiled abjectly. “Well, as you can see, he figured it out. Sorry.”



Severus shook his head in absolute despair. “Idiot.”



Draco glanced at him pitifully. “Look.. the bottom line is, you and Dumbledore were the only two people who really cared for me. I mean my parents do care, but ....they were always the ones pushing me into the dark. You and Dumbledore were the only ones trying to save me from the dark. I didn't really get that about Dumbledore, until it was too late. And after that... I couldn't juts let you rot as the new Dark Lord's plaything.”



“I see,” Severus said grimly. “So after all the effort we've put into keeping you from becoming a murderer, you decided to murder someone to repay us for our help. Now what do you suppose will happen to you?”



Draco shut his eyes and issued a sharp, hissing breath through his teeth. “Don't know,” he muttered. “Don't want to think about it. I've never been so fucking scared as I am right now. If I had known I'd end up like this, choosing between Cruciatus or Dementor's Kiss, I probably wouldn't have tried.... not even to save you,” Draco added bitterly. “Potter is right, you know. I really am pathetic.”



Slowly, making small steps, as much as the ankle restraints permitted, Severus walked up to Draco, and stood an inch away from him. His wrists bound behind his back, he could not even lift a hand and place it on Draco's shoulder in reassurance.



Draco pulled against the restraints, and bowed his head, his forehead pressing slightly against his godfather's cheek.



“It probably doesn't mean much coming from someone like me,” Draco whispered pitifully. “But you are family to me. Real family. That's the only reason I did it.”



Severus sighed, and resisted the urge to press a kiss to his head – in case they were watched, he did not want Harry to see the extent of his attachment to his godson, and use it against them both.



“Listen up, idiot,” Severus said gruffly, stepping back.. “You will sit tight, and not do anything to make your situation worse; and maybe, just maybe, you'll end up alive, sane, and your limbs and appendages intact, and attached to you.”



Draco shook his head in despair. “Not a chance. I'm done for. Can't you see? He wants to play with his food...”



Severus' lips twitched slightly into a contemptuous sneer. “I know. But I do not imagine you are the one he wants to eat.”



He turned around and walked away from his godson, and reaching the door, called out to Harry.



The door opened, and Severus stepped out. Harry was looking at him, smirking. “Well?”



“We need to talk,” Severus said bluntly.



Harry gave him an amused glance. “Let me guess. You are going to plead for his life? Or his appendages? Or his mind?”



“All of it,” Severus said grimly. “Let him go, and I will give you something you can never have otherwise.”



Harry looked ready to laugh. “And what would that be?”



“Submission,” Severus said firmly.



Harry laughed in his face. “You are nothing. You are barely human. Your submission is worthless. ”



Severus did not blink. “Perhaps it is. But you cannot deny that you still want it.” He stepped forward, and stared at Harry, unblinking. “I know what you want,” Severus said with calm confidence. “You want to see me crawl. You want to see me comply with my own degradation. You want me to obey instantly, no matter what the order is. You want me to accept anything and everything from you, and admit that I deserve every single bit of all the cruelty you are capable of.”



Harry shrugged with indifference, whether feigned or true, Severus could not tell.



“Well, I won't let him go,” Harry said. “We both know that. The best I am willing to do is spare him the Cruciatus and the Dementor's Kiss. Leave his physical body intact.” Harry pondered. “I suppose I could put a time limit on his imprisonment, too.” He smiled a little. “Would you like that, Severus?”



Severus nodded. “Five years.”



“Twenty,” Harry said flatly. “He'll be the age you are now when he comes out.” There was a note of finality in Harry's voice, as he said: “I will not bargain on the number of years by the way. That is not negotiable.”



“I understand,” Severus agreed grudgingly. “How will I know you have kept your word?”



“I will let you visit him once in a while.”



“Every week.”



“Once a month,” Harry said. “Don't push your luck. Your offer isn't as spectacular as you seem to think. It barely means anything.”



“Alright.”



Harry was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. “Interesting. Is that your offer, then? To admit that you deserve to be in hell for what you have done, and to remain there?”



Severus swallowed, hard. “Yes.”



Harry continued staring at him. “You will call me Master.”



“Yes,” Severus said.



“Should you attack me, or resist me, I will consider our deal to be off. Your little darling will die, and you will watch. Then, I will do as I please with you regardless of your resistance. Do you understand that?”



“I understand.”



Satisfied, Harry continued: “No more physical resistance,. No more spiteful comments. No more spitting in my face. You will obey every order I give you. Instantly. Without hesitation. No matter what it is. And make no mistake, I will hurt you, and punish you, and degrade you, beyond what you ever thought possible.”



Severus could not acknowledge that verbally, and he merely nodded, just once, feeling short of breath. Harry seemed to sense his anxiety, and lifted his hand to Severus' face, fingertips stroking his cheek.



“And, thanks to the wonders of the slave-bond, through all of that, you will love me, of course,” Harry said with amusement. “Won't you, Severus?”



There was a lump in his throat, and Severus could barely bring himself to speak. When he finally answered, his voice sounded aged and tired, as if it belonged to someone else:



“You know that I will.”



... To Be Continued...