Ashes of Armageddon

Author\'s Note: The contents of this chapter are disturbing, and should not be read by anyone.



Warnings: Abuse, torture, graphic torture, graphic violence, blood, bondage, N/C.



Rebel Angel





It did not take long at all to be delivered back to Godric\'s Hollow. Harry opened the door and the Aurors marched Severus inside.



“Just seat him at the table,” Harry said indifferently, indicating to the dining room table with the quick shake of his head.



The Aurors departed promptly, and Harry stood over Severus, who was now restrained to a chair.



Harry reached to Severus\' chin with a single finger, lifting it, looking into his eyes.



“So much for making deals,” Harry smirked. “I suppose you have decided to let your godson fend for himself, after all.”



Severus glanced at Harry bitterly. “I came back, didn\'t I?” He challenged. “I could have killed myself back at Granger\'s place. But I did not. I came back, so you would leave Draco out of it. It\'s me you want. We both know it.”



That much of it was true. Severus would have quite gladly overdosed on the Ocean Poppy Pod extract and put himself out of his misery, but the only factors stopping him at this point were the knowledge that he was one of the only four people in the entire world, immune to “Horcrux Dust”, and the dreadful thought at the back of his mind, that Harry might simply switch his attention to another victim, upon losing him as a source of entertainment.



“We will see,” Harry murmured, smiling, and then, without a warning, delivered a brutal punch to Severus\' face. Something cracked, blood trickled from his nose, but Severus barely felt the blow. There was no pain, just the sensation of impact.



“I see the Poppy extract is still holding,” Harry murmured. “Do you even realize how much you\'ve screwed yourself over with it? Once it wears off, your pain tolerance will be reduced to nothing.” Harry\'s eyes narrowed dangerously. “And I assure you, I have no intention of taking it easy on you this time.”



“I know,” Severus said simply. Blood was dripping copiously. Breathing through the nose became impossible, and he breathed through his mouth, staring vacantly ahead.



He waited, while Harry stared at him thoughtfully, as if trying to decide just what exactly to do with him. Finally, Harry simply walked away, leaving him alone.



Severus spent the rest of the night bound to the chair.



Dawn came. The effect of the Ocean Poppy Pod extract had worn off; and waves of anguish began to roll in. His broken nose – he was quite certain it was broken, began to smart, and throb. Knots of agony from being in the same position for too long, and even old aches, long forgotten, reawakened and reasserted themselves, now that his body\'s natural analgesic agents had been drained.



Amazingly, he was still awake, and not even drowsy, fully alert to the anguish his body was enduring. When the first rays of sunlight shone through the window, and fell on the table-surface, Harry finally re-emerged and towered over him.



“Are you in pain yet?” Harry asked, smirking.



Severus did not deign him with a response.



“Well,” Harry mused quietly. “Time to move on.”



Using a series of spells that kept Severus bound, and barely able to move, Harry led him into the bedroom. Severus watched indifferently while Harry cast a series of spells, removing the furniture from the room, leaving it completely bare. Even Severus\' books, the books he had brought from Spinner\'s End were incinerated, and their ashes, Evanescoed with a quick flick of the wand.



“So much for your priceless library, Prince,” Harry said, amused.



Severus stared at Harry impassively. His books had been as an extension of his soul for decades, and two weeks ago, he might have gone mad with rage from losing all of his treasured books in such a brutal, casual manner; but now, it meant less than nothing.



Even though helpless in the magical bonds, and giving an appearance of resignation, Severus held himself mentally braced for a fight. All deals were off, he had reminded himself, and given half a chance, he was resolved to fight a losing fight, and perhaps, if he were lucky enough, to goad Harry into killing him.



Another spell was uttered. He felt his arms being lifted. Restraints descended from the ceiling, encircling his wrists. His ankles were restrained a moment later, and Harry surveyed him with grim satisfaction.



“You will be happy to know that I have saved one treasured possession of yours,” Harry said with a smile, bringing his open palm to Severus\' face. The long nail was lying on it.



Severus smiled bitterly. Nothing was real: everything was twisted; absolutely everything. Friendships, submission, love, attachments, the world itself, and even the old childhood artifact was about to become an instrument of torture.



He suppressd a shudder when Harry circled around him, and commenced running the sharp tip of the nail along his back, leaving faint scratches that somehow felt sharper than they should have. The tip slid down, rested at the small of his back, and then, slid down further, into his private area, pressing against his entrance.



“Just out of curiosity,” Harry mused, “Where did Hermione go?”



“I wouldn\'t know,” Severus said with satisfaction.



“They told me that there was a manual on port-key configuration in her place,” Harry mused. “Randomized locations, I take it?”



Severus did not bother suppressing a very smug smirk.



The nail moved along his body again, running up his back, then his neck, his face, and finally rested against his eye.



“It doesn\'t matter, you know,” Harry said softly. “Sooner or later, we\'ll catch up with her. It really is too bad you had to drag her into this. But you just couldn\'t leave her out of it, could you? You just had to wallow in sympathy and get someone to pity you and take care of you. Naturally, at the end of the day, you really are only loyal to yourself.”



The tip of the nail pressing against his eyeball, Severus sucked in a sharp breath, stilling himself. Would he, really? Severus wondered, then remembered who he was dealing with, and banished the question from his mind.



“Maybe later,” Harry said indifferently.



Harry circled around Severus again, coming face to face with him. The nail slid down and rested on his chest. And then, slowly, but firmly, Harry began tracing short, straight lines on Severus\' chest with it, the tip of the nail cutting into his skin. Severus glanced down, and saw small droplets of blood gathering around the lines. He shut his eyes, and bit into his lower lip, not making a sound.



The torment continued, and then, ended abruptly. Severus opened his eyes again, and stared down on his own chest in distant fascination, as if his body had belonged to someone else, and he was merely an observer of it.



Bright lines, shallow cuts were left on his skin, clearly setting a pattern for something greater, and more painful.



The nail in Harry\'s hands was gone, replaced with a knife. The blade gleamed menacingly in the morning light.



“Shall we begin?” Harry asked gently.



Severus grasped the restraints with his fingers, bracing himself against the agony that was to follow. He felt the tip of the knife cutting into his skin, sliding underneath, beginning to lift it. His entire body convulsed furiously, and then, the unthinkable happened – a very thin vertical strip of skin, not wider than an eighth of an inch, not longer than an inch, was torn off from his chest, leaving exposed flesh underneath.



The absolute and utter agony of it was surreal, so much that he was not sure why he was still conscious, and he could not understand how human body could endure that much pain.



He would have screamed, but for now, it seemed that his body had forgotten how to, and all he could do was breathe rapidly, his teeth aching from the sharp intakes of breath. Why wasn\'t he fainting? The mere realization of being alert and awake throughout all of it was maddening, driving him to insanity, and then he understood: Hermone\'s Renalert potion.It acts as a self-perpetuating Rennervate spell, and more. It keeps you completely alert and awake for about three days.



Just bloody perfect. Not only his pain tolerance had been reduced to nothing, he was also condemned to remain completely and fully awake throughout all of it... He clenched his teeth, despair coursing through him.



The knife resumed its cutting, and another thin strip of skin was about to come off, Severus realized, a horizontal one, above the first, the two of them together forming a semblance of a letter T.



When it happened, he finally screamed, but the scream came out hoarse and muted, as if it had emerged from a creature issuing its last breath.



Harry chuckled quietly. “Yes, scream for me,” he murmured, tracing the exposed flesh with his fingertips. “Scream, until your vocal cords die, and then, scream some more...”



Dazed by the primitive cruelty of his tormentor, Severus stared at the green-eyed man, formerly known as Harry Potter.



“What...” Severus started asking, but the question died in his throat.



“I thought it would be rather obvious,” Harry told him. “I am making sure you always bear a reminder of who you are. A traitor. Though I imagine, carving the \'R\'s will be slightly more challenging.”



Severus laughed hoarsely. “Feel free to skip them then,” he gasped, sneering through the blinding agony.



Harry looked at him in amusement. “No. I know how much you despise laziness, Severus. I am afraid, you will just have to grin and bear it. For quite some time, I might add.”



The torment went on, knife sliding in, and lifting the skin. Agony blossomed, radiating from throughout his body, to his back, to his limbs, to the back of his head.



Nothing, absolutely nothing to his memory had felt so utterly and horrifyingly atrocious, not even the Cruciatus curse. Blood trickled down, falling on the floor, and he no longer knew whether he was screaming or not - he could not tell, nor did he care; he was only certain that he was not begging, or pleading, and for the moment, it was enough.



And throughout all of it, the green eyes looked up at him now and then, with loathing and contempt, and a satisfied, cold smile never left Harry\'s lips.



After what seemed like hours, and may have well been, Severus suddenly snapped out of his delirium only to realize that the pain had stopped growing.



Hanging limp in the restraints, he watched vacantly, when harry pointed the Elder Wand at him. “Let\'s cauterize them properly, shall we?” Harry said with a small triumphant grin. “I would not want this mark to be anything less than absolutely permanent.”



Without waiting for a response, Harry uttered a spell. A stream of energy flowed from the wand, binding to the raw flesh, burning into it. Severus would have screamed again, if there was still air left in his lungs. As it were, he merely gazed down on his own chest and watched the letters acquire black discoloration, the word “traitor” setting into a permanent mark on his body.



Done, Harry tucked his wand away, took a step back and regarded Severus with satisfaction. “Well, looks like we are done for now,” Harry mused, tapping the darkened lettering. “You know, it suits you so well.”



“Of course it does,” Severus hissed. “And I must say, it summarizes our relationship rather beautifully, too.”



Harry chuckled, amused. “You presume too much. We have no relationship.”



In spite of himself, Severus found himself smiling. “Of course we do,” he said with confidence. “The most ancient type of relationship. More ancient than magic, more ancient than human race, even more ancient than the world itself.”



Harry\'s eyebrows rose slightly.



“The relationship between the fallen angel and his Lord,” Severus said softly. “I am your very own rebel angel, fallen from grace. Your traitor. Yours to keep, yours to break, yours punish for all eternity... Is that not right.... Tom?”



... To Be Continued ...