The Lion and the Serpent

Heading to his quarters, Harry walked fast, incredibly fast. Draco found that he almost had to run to keep up with him.



He could feel everyone\'s eyes on him, he could hear the surprised whispers, and he felt a familiar knot in his stomach tightening. All he could do was hasten his pace and avert his eyes. Some teenagers laughed, but Harry whirled around and silenced them with a single look. They turned away, sulking.



At the door to his quarters, Harry spat out his password. Draco wasn\'t surprised to know what it was, he could have easily guessed, if asked.



They entered in, and Harry slammed the door shut behind them. Draco could swear that he could feel the impact with his whole body, and the familiar wave of nausea hit again. After months of endless abuse, he should have become immune to someone else\'s anger. Instead, his entire body was in a permanent state of hyper-vigilance, reacting to a slightest sign of danger with near panic.



Draco looked around, surveying a modest, barely furnished living room of Harry\'s quarters. A simple table with three chairs, bookshelves along each wall, and nothing else. Harry sat on one of the chairs and nodded to Draco, with just one word,



"Sit."



Without hesitation, Draco sat, right on the floor where he had been standing. Harry laughed at that, but there was no warmth in his laughter.



"So," Harry mused. "You think if you just act humble enough, you can win me over? Make me feel sorry for you?"



"No," Draco said honestly. "I just don\'t want you to hit me."



Harry nodded absently, and regarded Draco with a distant curiosity.



"Tell me something," Harry asked finally, "Do you actually understand what you are about to do? Does your little ferret brain have the ability to process all the repercussions of your decision?"



"Probably not," Draco agreed. "But what choice do I have?"



"You have plenty of choices. You can drop out of school."



"And go where?" Draco almost cried. "The entire wizard world knows. You should have seen their faces at Hogsmeade when I went there last summer."



Harry shrugged. "Well, I am absolutely broken-hearted that you are not enjoying this formative year of your young adult life. However, am sure you can find some filthy little ferret-hole to burrow into, while praying for Voldemort\'s return."



Draco sat silently, not knowing what to say. Finally, when he found his voice, he whispered:



"I\'d rather that you took me."



"Yes, I gathered that. My question is why?"



"Because with you, I will always know where I stand," Draco said quietly.



If Harry was mollifed by his response, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he stood up and stared at his bookshelf, scanning for something. Eventually, he found the volume he was looking for, and muttered,



"Accio." A heavy leather-bound book ripped through the air, and rested in Harry\'s hand. Harry paged through it, quickly finding the section he was looking for.



"Gieldan", he said. "You will read it out, from the page, word for word."



Hastily, as if afraid that Harry would change his mind, Draco read the words, peldging his absolute surrender and obedience, until the day he should die. When the last of the oath\'s words fell off his lips, a blue glow emanaged from the letters on the page. The glow intensified, and finally, left the page, a shining sphere of energy hanging between Draco and Harry. Harry reached out and took it in his hand.



"Acceptaro", Harry said. The sphere shimmered, and vanished in a flash, absorbed into his skin. Draco stared at it mesmerized, as an terrifying memory sufraced in his mind. Quickly, Draco banished it, and lowered his eyes again.



"It\'s done," Harry said, flexing his fingers. "You are mine."



Draco froze, allowing the words to sink in. By the laws of the wizard world, he had just ceased being human. He became Harry\'s property, possession. Harry could enter his mind at any time, compel him to do anything he wanted. Harry coudl punish him, torture him, sell him, give him away, or end his life. Draco was reasonably sure that Harry wouldn\'t torture him, or kill him. He was Harry Potter, after all. The savior. The noble one. Always the noble one. But as Draco watched Harry\'s impassive face, his certainty began to fade.



"Harry?" he asked cautiously.



"Yes?" The savior asked. His voice was devoid of any emotion - kindness, pity, or even disdain.



"Will you be hurting me?" Draco asked, dreading the answer.



"Yes," Harry said.



"Will you kill me?" Draco asked, panic surging through him.



"I don\'t know yet," Harry said absently, paging through the book that still lay on the table.



Draco bowed his head. That was it then, he thought. He would die by Harry Potter\'s hand, after all.



"Can I ask you a favor," Draco asked suddenly.



Harry glanced at him, looking away from the book for a moment.



"I am tired of always having to see the blow fall. When you finally do it, let me close my eyes."



"We\'ll see," Harry said noncommittally, and turned away from Draco.



Silently, Draco crouched on the floor, hugging his knees and burying his face. There was nothing else left to say.





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Author\'s Note:I love the fact that people are reading and reviewing (yes I\'m an attention slut :)