The Domino Effect

Title: The Domino Effect
Author: Dr. Jeckell & Mrs. Hyde (aka Taran & Magdelena)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape, Ron Weasley/Draco Malfoy (secondary pairing)
Warnings: Non-consensual sex, Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, MPreg
Summary: HP/SS – Slash – Chapter 3 of ?. Harry discovers that when he kills Voldemort, all of the Death Eaters will die as well because of the bond that they share with the Dark Lord through their Marks. Harry vows to do anything it takes to allow Severus Snape to escape that fate.
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters herein (only the plot). All the characters in the Harry Potter universe belong exclusively to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and anyone else JKR chooses to allow to play with them. We are publishing our fanfiction writings only for our own selfish desire to be a part of their world.
Authors\' Note: Thanks to the incredibly wonderful beta job that Sev1970 did for this story. If Harry’s friends’ reactions seem a bit OOC this chapter, please consider that this is now mid seventh year, and a great deal of maturing has occurred for all involved; the war has escalated, and they have been forced to put aside petty adolescent issues that we all have the time and luxury to endure.

~*~


Chapter Three – Co-Conspirators

Severus yawned and stretched his aching muscles. He had slept in his chair for the third night in a row, and was deeply regretting it. He had spent the weekend avoiding as many people as he could, only surfacing for the occasional meal to keep Albus happy. At lunch on Saturday, he had noticed Potter and his cohorts giving him odd, calculating looks and had wondered what they were up to. That wonder turned to dread as on Sunday Potter and his friends were out-right staring at him, and Potter even smiled at him several times.

Severus took a deep breath and prepared himself for his first class of the week. Just his luck, it was seventh year Slytherins and Gryffindors. He didn\'t know what the Gryffindors had planned for him, but he was certain it was going to be a very long day.
A low growl escaped as the first students began to wander in. It wasn\'t that he hated children per say, it was more that he hated the students who refused to pay attention and had no respect for what he had to teach, and that was nearly every student at Hogwarts. He waited impatiently until they were all seated, and the door closed behind the last student, Neville Longbottom as usual, before rising stiffly, but gracefully, from his desk.

\"Your assignment is on the board. I expect you to do it quickly, silently, efficiently and without aid from myself or fellow students. Get to work!\"

Harry tried to suppress his anxiety as he watched all the players move into place. In the end, they had discussed sketchy version of the ‘plan’ with the entirety of the Gryffindor seventh year, as well as one of the sixth years. The others had been only informed that a prank was being planned on the Potions Master. The students had been instructed to get in as close physical proximity of their professor as possible, and to prolong any contact.

Harry hated the idea of blackmailing Severus, cognizant of the fact that every step to dominating Severus was a step closer to saving the man’s life, but also to breaking his will. Harry panicked whenever he thought of how utterly fucked up things would be after the bond had been ripped away from Voldemort, and focused instead on the simple knowledge that there was no other way to save Severus’ life.

Shaking off his concerns for the moment, Harry nodded to Hermione, and the bushy-haired girl put the first stage of the plan into action. She waited until Severus was just about to pass her desk and then screeched. She scrambled up onto her workstation, her feet dangling over the edge. Just as Severus turned to question her, Seamus ‘accidentally’ knocked Severus forward, pushing the Potions Master between Hermione’s parted legs.

Severus gave a mild grunt as he was knocked into Granger\'s desk, bruising his thighs and instinctively putting his hands around her slim body to keep from falling over. Before he could fully steady himself, he felt Granger\'s arms wrap around him and hold his face to her bosom. He shuddered almost violently at the close contact and tried to pull away.

\"Ms. Granger, let me go!\" he nearly yelled into her chest.

Before Severus could argue further, Ron’s voice called out as a couple of muffled, indistinct clicking noises were heard. “It’s all right, Hermione. I’ve got him.”

Hermione loosened her hold on the Potions Master, with a sigh of relief. “My apologies, sir. I absolutely detest snakes. Ever since that incident in second year with the Basilisk, I’m absolutely petrified by the sight of them.”

“Herman!” Harry cried, taking the small snake from Ron’s hand. “I had wondered where he had gotten off to!”

\"Twenty points from each of you,\" Severus growled as he straightened his robes. \"Herman, Mr. Potter?\" he asked softly, giving an incredulous look at the snake with the odd name.

Harry flashed Severus an evil smirk. “Herman was the father of the Munsters, a Muggle television program. I thought the name was quite fitting as my Herman is quite green and has a rather square head, just like his namesake. Herman Munster was known for causing destruction wherever he went, and since my lovely little Herman is also quite deadly...” Harry trailed off, meeting Severus’ eyes with a calculating look. “Isn’t it amazing how dangerous the most innocuous-looking creature can be?”

Severus gave Harry a questioning look. He wondered if that was a veiled threat or something else. The young wizard didn\'t seem to be threatening him… Perhaps it was a warning… He would have to be on his guard for danger, just in case.

Before Severus could even complete his thought, however, Harry’s plan had an unexpected side effect. While Hermione had been playing her part, Neville had continued with preparing their joint potion. Severus whipped around just in time to see Hermione scuttle out of the way as milky white liquid boiled over from Neville’s cauldron.

Neville tried to back away from the hissing cauldron, but only managed to step into some of the slippery substance. He flailed around, attempting to catch onto something to steady himself, and wound up on his knees in front of the Potions Master, clinging to Severus’ robes just as a couple more of the odd clicking sounds occurred.

Severus never heard the clicks or snickers from the class, as he was too busy growling at Neville. The cauldron sputtered a few more times, continuing to spit its contents. By the time it had settled, Neville had the sticky goop sliding down his chin and a small puddle between his knees. Severus\' robes were remarkably clean for a change.

\"Longbottom!!\" he growled loudly, his voice echoing off the stone walls. The inept student only held his robes tighter and stared up at him in shock, his mouth hanging open with milky fluid still dripping down his chin. Severus growled again and stepped away, causing Neville to fall into him as his hands were still clenching his robes. Severus jumped as Neville\'s forehead came into contact with his pelvis.

\"Longbottom!!\" he yelled again. \"Let go of me and clean this up at once!\"

Neville scurried to comply, Hermione assisting him. He mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’ to Harry, but Harry waved off the apology. Harry couldn’t have been more pleased with the way that the morning was going. Count on Neville to screw up in reverse. Neville was only supposed to detain Snape and ask him several questions, visibly cringing at the man’s reaction, but this interaction had been priceless!

The rest of the Potions class was spent with several more students having rather odd interactions with the Potions Master. One of the oddest being when Draco walked up to Severus’ desk to check the original list of ingredients against the one in his book. He bent over Severus’ desk to compare the parchments, repeatedly asking questions as the Potions Master stood nearby.

Severus was becoming jumpy and nervous at all the close physical contact. He was unaccustomed to it and didn\'t quite know how to react to it. He saw Draco\'s hand reaching out to him and panicked. He grabbed Draco\'s hand and held it down with his own against his desk. He then leaned in close so their faces were just inches apart.

\"Mr. Malfoy,\" he whispered, his panic turning to anger, \"return to your seat and stay there. I don\'t know what game you are all playing, but it ends now!\"

\"Game?\" Draco asked, fluttering his eyelashes and giving an innocent look. \"Whatever do you mean, sir?\" Draco gave him a mildly seductive smile as Severus\' eyes narrowed suspiciously.

\"Sit down!\"

The rest of the class continued without another incident. Harry had already obtained more than sufficient material, and knew when to stop pressing the Potions Master. Later that evening, Harry and Ron met with Colin Creevey to see the results of the pictures Colin had been snapping quietly, under the cover of Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, during the Potions class.

“These are going to be perfect,” Harry commented to a beaming Colin.

“I don’t know, mate,” said Ron. “I’m not sure if they’ll be enough though. I mean he can still make excuses that they aren’t real.”

Harry nodded in agreement, and sighed, knowing that they’d have to take the final step. Harry flashed a questioning look at Ron. “Are you sure you’re both okay with this?” he asked cryptically.

Ron hastened to reassure Harry. “We wouldn’t have volunteered if we weren’t. He wants to help. I want to help.”

With a resigned sigh, Harry turned back to their younger housemate. “Colin, how much do you know about manipulating pictures?”

~*~


Three hours later, a blushing Colin Creevey handed Harry the additional picture he had requested, and Harry offered him a slight smile.

“Thanks, Colin. And don’t forget, you can’t tell anyone about Ron and Draco.”

Colin nodded fiercely in agreement, his eyes snapping for a moment to the two sated-looking seventh years, who were cuddling against the wall of his small photography laboratory.

Harry thanked Colin again, and as the three left, Colin slumped down into a chair. As if anyone would believe what he had seen if he told them?

~*~


Severus shifted in his chair, pulling his robe tighter around his slim form, and yawned. He had been thinking about the day he\'d had, the odd behavior of the students and Potter\'s cryptic words, until he was exhausted. His desk was cluttered with scrolls to be graded and potions books to be read for research, but he lacked the energy and ambition to even care about them.

Just as he started to drift off, there came a soft knock upon his door. Expecting it to be Albus checking as to why he had missed yet another meal, Severus grumbled the password that would open the door. He remained where he was in the darkened room and waited for Albus to speak.

Harry was shocked when the door to Severus’ suite of rooms opened up to him at his knock. He had prepared himself for this moment for the last two hours, but now that it had finally arrived, it was nothing as he had expected.

Harry had expected to be met by a scowling, intimidating Potions Master, but instead he saw that what Draco had alluded to was very true. The Severus Snape that Harry was looking at right now was nothing like the image he portrayed. Harry had never seen the man looking this broken, this exhausted, and something within Harry gave at the sight.

It had been easy to allow himself to be somewhat lighthearted when he had been discussing the plan to dominate Snape with his friends. It had even been almost fun when they had been effectively pranking Snape in class and gathering the blackmail material that Harry now held clenched in his hand. It had been easy to forget for a few hours that a man’s life depended on Harry’s strength and his power, and his ability to force the man before him into utter submission. Although Harry’s sensibilities recoiled at the thoughts of what that might require, he also knew that saving Severus Snape’s life could go a long way to healing the part of his own soul that died a little with every death in the war.

Harry took full advantage of Snape’s closed eyes, and after closing the door quietly, he crossed the room to Snape’s side. He took a few moments to just stand and look at the man he would be bound to. Severus Snape had been bound to a master since he was eighteen years old, and he would have no choice about the fact that his ‘servitude’ would continue, or to whom he would serve.

A sad smile flitted across Harry’s face as he looked at the soft raven hair, the pale skin, and the slender body of the man…of Severus. Exactly when had the man become Severus to him, and not Snape? There had always been something about the man that attracted Harry to him, even before now. He wasn’t classically attractive, but he had a certain beauty that Harry could appreciate. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what the child they would share would look like, or if he would even be allowed to be a part of that child’s life when all of this was over and Severus knew the truth. Harry promised himself that he would see to it that Severus Snape never looked this exhausted and worn ever again; that he would provide whatever care and comfort Severus was willing to allow.

Harry schooled away his emotions, and prepared to play his role; ready to have it all said and done so the truth could be known.

“It was so kind of you to let me in so easily, Severus,” Harry murmured huskily, taking advantage of the man’s shock and possessively cupping Severus’ cheek. “Had I known you would let me in so readily, I…”

\"What the hell do you think you\'re doing?\" Severus questioned darkly, glaring up into bright green eyes, but didn\'t move away from Harry\'s touch. \"How dare you come into my private rooms uninvited! I demand that you leave at once!\"

Harry forced an evil smirk onto his face, and let his fingers run the length of Severus’ jaw, as he began to speak. “Uninvited? You opened the door for me, Severus. One would think you were expecting me.”

Harry chuckled harshly at Severus’ gobsmacked expression, and moved to the chair opposite Severus, sitting down imperiously as he forced his body to ignore how warm and perfect his hand had felt against Severus’ flesh.

Severus straightened up in his chair and aimed a death glare at the young man. He dusted off his robes, tried to smooth down his long, inky black hair with his hands, and squared his tense shoulders painfully before turning to faced Harry unswervingly.

\"I\'ll ask once more before I remove you from my suites. What are you doing here?\" he said evenly.

Harry lifted the folder in his hand, and glanced at them pointedly. “Actually, Severus,” Harry commented, emphasizing the Potions Master’s given name, “I am here to talk to you about a bit of a trade. You have something I want, and I believe that I have something you want as well…something that Albus Dumbledore and the Board of Governors will find very interesting as well, I believe.”

Harry set the folder on the small table between their chairs, and indicated for Severus to take the stack. \"Go ahead, I\'m giving you first chance to fulfill my terms. If you refuse, the Headmaster\'s office is my next stop.\"


~TBC~


Review Replies: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed: Katie, Nora Charles, curly_dodge, Angie/Les\', Anon, Eowyns elixure, Hazel, tsugumi, and Arnott\'s SHAPES - Cheese and Bacon.

Anon - *snort* That happened to me once while reading a story on ff.net. I pulled up a title search and got no less than FIVE stories with the same title. Ah, well. Suppose in time it happens to all of us.

Eowyns elixure - Yes, no worries, Harry and Severus will find love together. We are suckers for happy endings, so much angst first, happiness later.

Hazel - Harry will be forced to be VERY dominant to complete the bond. Um...I\'m not sure of many dom!Harry fics. I can refer you to another fic we wrote though, called Taking. It\'s here at AFF as well. It\'s a bit dark, so PLEASE read the warnings before reading it!