Deflora

Disclaimer: I own hardback copies of the Harry Potter books, a number of dogs, and a twisted imagination. If J.K. Rowling sues me for this, she will get worn out American editions of her own books, and nothing else, because I’d die before I let the courts take my dogs.
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A/N: This is an AU. Specifically, this is an AU wherein Quirrell succeeded in acquiring the Sorcerer’s Stone for his master. It is also an AU wherein ephebephilia is both commonplace and legally sanctioned. Ephebephilia, for those of you who don’t know, is the Ancient Greek practice of men taking preteen boys as lovers, educating them and giving them social status in exchange for sex. So be warned: This is chanslash.


Deflora: The deflora ritual is an old wizarding custom in which a boy, from his 12th birthday to his 14th birthday, is bound to an older man in a specific form of sexual servitude, in exchange for instruction in how to conduct himself in society, introductions to influential people and certain material goods.
- International Dictionary of Wizarding Culture, XXIV Ed.

***Part Four: Tom and Severus***

Severus Snape spent the next week in a kind of daze. On the one hand, his lover, his Tom, still wanted him. He\'d even said he had feelings for him, which Severus didn\'t know whether to believe or not. On the other hand, after his fall, he\'d agreed to spy on the remaining Death Eaters. Dumbledore had already informed him that he would be expected to spy now as well. He didn\'t particularly want to; the original agreement had only covered the Death Eaters, not the Dark Lord himself, but who would take a spy\'s part against the great Dumbledore?
And then the answer came to him. He would confess everything to Tom; Tom would understand. He might not be pleased, but he would understand the pragmatism that had led to the decision. He also would not be pleased, thought Severus with a kind of grim and vengeful pleasure, that his lover, whose perfect skin he had often praised, had had scars left all down his back and sides by the Auror interrogators. Those bastards had taken a perverse delight in seeing him writhing in pain, blood streaming from myriad lash marks. But they would get what they deserved, when his lover found out what had happened.
Now, what should he wear? Not black, certainly. At least his clothing from a decade before still fit nearly perfectly; they were slightly baggy from lost weight, but nothing he couldn\'t fix. Ah, here it was; a dark smokey blue robe, made of silk, with silver vines embroidered along the hems. It didn\'t make him look sallow, just pale, and it was plain enough that it wasn\'t hopelessly out of style, at least so far as he knew. It looked good with his dark hair, which was newly washed, as well. So, satisfied with his appearance, he walked to the gates of Hogwarts and apparated away.
He was met at the door by a house-elf, who silently led him to Tom\'s chambers.
\"Hello, Severus. Come in and have a drink.\" The Dark Lord was unusually cheerful.
\"Tom, there is something I must tell you. You won\'t be happy, and I\'ll understand if you never want me to darken your doorstep again.\"
\"What is it, Sev? Surely it can\'t be that bad, can it?\" Tom was keenly interested in whatever had upset his lover so grievously.
\"You may want to sit down. I know I do.\"
They went to the sofa that dominated the room and sat down, Severus deliberately sitting far away from Tom.
\"All right, Sev. What happened?\"
\"It\'s not a question so much of what happened but what I did. After what happened, you were gone and I had nobody to protect me. Lucius and others claimed to have been under Imperio, but I couldn\'t say that. They had put me under Veritaserum, you see. In the end, I traded names for amnesty, as well as agreeing to spy for Dumbledore on what were left of your Death Eaters. I just couldn\'t deal with Azkaban. But now Dumbledore expects me to spy on you as well, and I just can\'t do it. Curse me, kill me, even say you don\'t want to me again, I will accept it as what I deserve.\"
Voldemort was somewhat shellshocked. Not by the confession, from the look on his Sev\'s face he had expected something of the kind, but by the fact that Sev seemed to think that being banished from his presence was worse than death. If he had ever lacked proof of Sev\'s devotion, he had it now.
Severus, upon seeing the closed look and lack of feeling on Tom\'s face, assumed the worst. He could not prevent the tears in his eyes from falling, but bit back his sobs desperately. He asked brokenly, \"Are you just going to kill me, or should I leave?\"
Tom looked at Sev in surprise, and noticed the silent tears pouring down his cheeks. He was appalled that his lover had so drastically misinterpreted his silence. \"Oh, Sev... I\'m not angry, just surprised. I understand why you did it, and I don\'t blame you. I love you, for gods\' sakes.\"
He moved closer on the sofa to his Sev, and wrapped him in his arms. Sev looked up at him adoringly, and his heart melted. He kissed him gently, and ran his hands through Sev\'s hair. He gently pulled him to his side, and then just held him and stroked his hair, until he felt Sev relax and rest his head against Tom\'s neck. Sev lifted his head and he kissed him, while he wrapped one arm around Sev\'s waist and ran his other hand across his nipples, teasingly, through the thin fabric of his robes. Sev arched his back, sighing, desperate for more of his lover\'s touch after so long apart.
They sat there, completely lost in each other, just sitting and holding and touching, until a noise at the door made Severus jump and move to other end of the sofa. He quickly straightened his robes, and tried to look composed as Draco strolled in, laden down with shopping bags.
\"Hello, Draco. Did you have a good time shopping?\" Tom was as cool and composed as ever.
\"Of course; I absolutely adore shopping. I would ask if you did anything interesting while I was gone but you couldn\'t have.\"
\"Oh? And why is that?\"
\"You never do. I leave for three hours and you\'re already having a meeting.\"
Draco never could understand, nor even suspected, why Tom burst out laughing when he said that.

A/N2: I got sick of waiting for fifteen reviews, which was probably unreasonable anyway. So here\'s some angst, some fluff, and a (hopefully) funny ending. And now, some rather informative review responses... (Please read them!)

Kitsune Morgan: Severus will certainly get to have a go at Harry. I haven\'t decided if Harry will go to the Dark side or not; I could be persuaded either way, so tell me what you want in a review. As for Lucius, well, I\'ve got plans...

fakegirl23: I\'m very seriously considering putting Ron and Lucius together; I think they\'d be kind of amusing.

lacquer: Where would you like the story to go? Tell me in a review and I\'ll think about it.