Harry Potter and The Bound Prince (BP1)

Chapter Number/Total: 36/37

Chapter Title: Tender Trap

Beta(s): Nefernat, Nomeci, TheBostonDyke, Godmoma

Words: 2755 Words







"We're dressed, Severus," Draco said quietly. The older man sat up then, taking a deep breath and bringing his hands up to rub his face before standing. He walked over to the food area and used his wand to start the teapot.



Harry's eyes never left Snape, and he followed him with his body as well, turning as Snape walked about the room. "Where's my wand?" he spat.



"Safe," Snape said as he prepared a tray with the tea and three cups. He pulled out some tinned foods and set them on the tray as well. When he was finished, he carried the tray over to the table. He pulled his own chair up and gestured for the others to sit.



Harry hesitated and looked at Draco. Now that Draco was okay, Harry wasn't so ready to go along with the man who had murdered Albus Dumbledore.



Draco stood, glancing at Harry. He held out his hand to the other boy.



Harry took Draco's hand after staring at him for a moment.



Draco walked over to the table, gently pulling Harry with him, using his free hand to pull out chairs for the two of them. Snape was pouring tea. Now that he was closer, Draco's breath hitched when he saw the telltale red eyes and tearstained cheeks of the man's face.



Harry was very shocked to see that Snape had been crying. He sat in the chair and said nothing, squeezing Draco's hand.



Snape automatically added milk and sugar to Draco's tea before pushing it toward him. He pushed unaltered tea at Harry and then set the sugar and milk where the boy could reach it. He put some bread and cheese in front of them as well.



Draco took his seat and sipped at his tea, still holding Harry's hand.



This was probably the strangest situation Harry had ever been in. He'd just shagged Draco Malfoy with an obviously crying Severus Snape in the room; Snape had just killed Dumbledore and now they were all going to have tea together?!



Draco was quietly nibbling on a piece of cheese, contemplating the situation. "So," he said at last, "I guess the two of you decided to keep me alive anyway. Do you have a plan?"



Harry looked at Snape. "I have no idea what's going on," he said. "Just a second ago I found out that damn serpent is still on your arm, Draco."



Snape huffed, shaking his head. "It would have made matters much less... difficult ... if either of you had told us about that serpent before last night."



Harry looked at Draco pointedly. Harry had wanted to tell about the serpent, but Draco hadn't.



Draco shrugged. "The serpent was placed there last summer and the spell included an injunction against telling the identity of the target."



"You still didn't tell anyone about the serpent, even if you couldn't tell them who it was you had to kill," Harry muttered.



"I told you," Draco said.



"Yes, and then you didn't want anyone else to know. Ron and Hermione were the only others," Harry said quietly. "You had given up."



"Enough," Snape snapped. "What else do you know about its commands? How was it placed there?"



Draco sighed and shook his head. "It was put on last year on my birthday. I was told it would release me if the target died. That it would kill me, painfully, on my next birthday if not. He put it on me himself."



Harry's hands shook a little at that, and hatred flared up inside him. He didn't say anything though, waiting for Snape's next words.



"Could you understand the words of the spell?" Snape asked, studying Draco.



"No, it was said in Parseltongue," Draco said. "The snake was curled in His hand. He told me to reach out my arm. When I did, He spoke to it and it slithered up my arm, coiling about me. Then it bit me." Draco shuddered and stared into the empty cup, food forgotten.



Harry scooted closer to Draco and squeezed his hand. "I wish I would have been there," he said, eyes closed. "I understand Parseltongue."



Both Snape and Draco snorted in unison at that. Draco half smiled. "Noble sentiment, but useless," Snape said with a sneer.



Harry glared at Snape. "Well, what do we do then?" he spat angrily.



Snape ignored Harry for the moment, turning his attention to Draco. "Let me see it again," he said.



Draco frowned but laid his left arm on the table and pulled the sleeve up, exposing the serpent. He seemed to pale again, just looking at it.



Harry scowled at it, once again finding himself wishing that he could just pull it off.



Snape learned forward, picking up Draco's wrist and turning the arm over and back again, examining it. It seemed to coil tighter, squeezing Draco's arm. Snape nodded. "So it is responsive," he said quietly. Draco gritted his teeth and nodded.



Harry grimaced and squeezed Draco's hand tighter, trying to comfort him. "What difference does that make?" he asked.



Draco and Snape both turned toward him and gave him an identical frowns. "It means," Snape began, familiar sneer in his voice, "that is may still respond to commands or to actions near it. It means it is listening to us now. It also means that Draco was right in that it would have killed him if he told the wrong person about it."



Harry's eyes widened. He turned to Draco. "You never told me that."



Draco shrugged. Snape frowned at the two boys. The older man sat back and waved a hand at Draco. "Cover it." Draco nodded, pulling the sleeve back down and buttoned the cuff. The older man got up and began pacing the room. Draco returned to staring at the empty cup.



Harry stared from Snape to Draco. "Is that it?" he asked. "We only have one day?"



"Less than that," Draco said. "I was born at half past six in the morning."



Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hand. "What do we do?" he asked. "What on earth can we possibly do?"



Snape leaned against the wall, his scowl deeper than usual. "Any use of magic that attempts to force the snake from his arm will result in it immediately injecting him," he said. "There is no treatment for the toxin as it is a combination of potion and magic that has been made to resist the usual methods. It is meant to only be removed by the Wizard who commanded it in the first place."



"Oh, yeah," said Harry sarcastically with a hysterical edge. "I'm sure Voldemort will just pop right in and do it for us."



Draco looked at him strangely for a minute. "There was no injunction against telling you. I think he never assumed I would consider that," Draco said quietly.



"Of course he wouldn't. Why would he think that you would tell me of all people?" Harry asked, dropping his head into his hand again. "What does it matter? I don't know what the hell to do."



Snape walked over to the table, looking down at Draco. "And Potter is the only other Wizard known to speak Parseltongue," he said.



Harry looked up at Snape, eyes wide. "What are you saying?" he asked, not daring to hope for anything.



"It couldn't be that simple," Draco said, eyes narrowed and watching Snape.



The older man shook his head. "Yes and no."



"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, his grip on Draco tightening again.



Draco scowled at Snape, "The answer is no. It's not an option."



Snape looked between them, and groaned, throwing up his arms and stalking to the other side of the room. He sat down on one of the cots, his face in his hands.



Harry was very confused. "What the hell's going on?" he asked angrily. "Draco, what is it?"



Draco refused to look at him, staring at the cup again. "A trap," he said quietly.



From across the room, Snape nearly growled. "Damn it, Draco," he snarled. "You have bloody well known the answer all along!"



Harry was even more confused now and it was making him angry. "Tell me what the hell's going on!" he yelled.



Draco took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "Tell him," Snape snapped. Draco looked at the wall, nowhere else.



"Tell me," Harry growled through his teeth, not caring that Draco would have no choice but to tell him.



Draco's head snapped toward Harry and there was anger in his eyes. "He knew. He knew I wanted you. He read it in my mind then and made me into a trap. Not just to kill Dumbledore, but... to kill you."



Harry's hand went limp in Draco's and his face fell. "What?" he whispered.



Draco pulled his hand away, crossing his arms across his chest and turning away from Harry. He continued in a quiet voice, "I didn't know. I swear it. I figured it out while reading those damn books you brought from the Black house."



Harry couldn't say anything for a minute. "I still don't understand. How could - how would any of what's happened lead to my death?"



Draco continued in that same voice as if he hadn't even heard Harry. "I knew last night, on the tower. I already knew that the serpent was never meant to let me go, even if I killed Dumbledore. I thought... I thought that if I did it though, you would kill me. That would solve the problem. I just couldn't do it."



Harry buried his hands in his own hair and pulled. "I still don't understand!" he cried. "Were you meant to kill me as well as Dumbledore? How could you do it if you didn't even know you were supposed to?"



Draco sat like a man in a trance, no emotion in his voice any more as he spoke, "The only way to remove the serpent is for someone who speaks Parseltongue to call it from me to them."



Harry stared long and hard at Draco. "I'll do it," he said simply. "I'll do it."



"No," Draco said, launching himself from the chair, nearly falling over as the chair crashed to the floor. He ran to the opposite side of the room, arms crossed against his chest, right hand clutching the spot on his arm where the serpent coiled. "Severus," he begged, "please, don't let him do it."



"I'm going to do it," Harry said firmly to Snape, getting to his feet.



Snape rose to his fee then and stood between him and Draco. "Shut up and sit down, Potter," he snapped. "You don't seem to understand what Draco is trying to tell you."



Harry glared at Snape. "Yes I do!" he yelled. "If I take it from him, it'll come to me and he'll be okay! That's all that matters to me!"



"No, Potter," Snape's temper flared, "It means it will kill you instead of him. It means everyone who has died to protect you will have died for nothing!"



"Why should you bloody care?" Harry screamed, tears coming again. "You don't care what happens to me! You fucking killed Dumbledore!"



"I care about what you represent," Snape snapped. "Your parents died to save you, your godfather and all those in the tower last night were willing to die for you. Even my own Godson wants to die for you!"



"I can't let him die!" Harry continued screaming. "I can't, I can't I, can't." He fell, shaking, back into his chair, uncontrollable sobs wracking his body.



Draco longed to go to Harry, to take him in his arms and hold him. But he didn't trust him not to try something bloody heroic. So he stood against the wall and watched helplessly.



Snape stood watching the two boys. He sighed. "We still have tonight. We need to see if there is a way around this. He may be an evil bastard but he isn't infallible."



Harry couldn't respond. He was confused again. Why was Snape talking like this? Why if it had been him that had killed Dumbledore?



"Harry," Draco said, his voice shaky, "promise me you won't do it."



Harry couldn't look at Draco. How could he promise something like that? He stared at Draco for a while. "I can't," he said. "If we can't get it off your arm by six, then I'm not promising anything," he said firmly, wiping furiously at his face with shaking hands.



Draco's face hardened. "Then I swear here and now that if you do it, succeed or not, I will kill myself."



Snape hissed and closed his eyes, hands fisted at his side.



Harry dropped his head into his hands again. "No, Draco, please don't," Harry said desperately. "Please, don't."



"You can't order me to do anything any more if you are dead," Draco said. "And I have already made the vow."



Harry wanted to hit Draco for being so stupid. "Why would you do something like that, you idiot!" he yelled. "Why?!"



Snape groaned and sat down again, looking like a man who wanted to be anywhere else at this moment.



"Because I love you," Draco said. "I don't want to live without you any way. And they need you. You swore to me you would kill Him. Remember?"



Harry closed his eyes and sat there. "Fine," he said blankly at long last. "Fine."



"Swear it," Draco said, holding his spot against the wall.



Harry stared at him. Could he live without Draco? It didn't seem likely. But then a million images flew past his mind's eye. Ron and Hermione, all the Weasleys, all of his house mates, Dumbledore, The Order, Sirius, his parents. Snape and Draco were right. Too many people had given their lives to protect him, and he couldn't fail them, no matter how much he wanted to die if Draco did. He closed his eyes again, a single last tear escaping. "I swear it," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.



Once the words were out of his mouth, Draco strode across the room and wrapped his arms around Harry, holding him tightly. "I love you," he whispered as he buried his face in the other boy's hair.



Harry clutched Draco tightly to his body. "I love you," he whispered in response.



The boys stood there for a minute. Finally, Snape gave a snort and stood up. "This is getting us nowhere," he sneered.



Harry had to close his eyes for a moment to calm himself. "What do you think we'll be able to accomplish in less than a day in this one little room?" he asked angrily, loosening his hold on Draco, but not letting go of him fully.



Snape walked back to the table and sat down. "Draco, tell me every area you have already researched in this," Snape said, gesturing to the chair beside him.



Draco kissed Harry's forehead and then let go, setting his chair back up again and reseating himself. He began to outline the research he had done before and since he had figured out the nature of the serpent.



Snape nodded, asked questions, made comments but otherwise could find no fault in the work done so far.



Harry sat next to Draco and said nothing. He watched Snape and Draco intently; hoping that something Draco said would make sense to Snape in some way.



An hour later, they wound down, finally just sitting there, thinking. "There has to be another way," Snape frowned.



"I have tried," Draco said, "but it is essentially a time-delayed killing spell. Once created, the serpent will have its victim."



Harry was thinking as well. "There's nothing I can do with Parseltongue? Nothing at all?"



Snape considered it for a minute. "We need to find out and there is only one library I know that would have the books I need," he frowned.



"My father's," Draco nodded.



Snape stood up. "I will return as soon as I can," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to, in the time we have left, reset the wards on this place." He gestured to the room. "You will be trapped here until I return."



Harry was nervous about that, but nodded. If there was any chance of saving Draco's life, Harry would take it.



Snape gathered his things. He then reached in his robe and pulled out two wands, laying them on table. He nodded, and with a loud crack, was gone.