Hogsmeade, Circa 1826

~*~

Harry paused at the bottom of the stairs and gathered his wits before entering the small, dim dining room. He was pleasantly surprised to find only two other tables occupied.

At a table near the bar sat a portly gentleman of what Harry guessed to be about 40yrs of age. He had reddish brown hair, a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and kindly blue eyes. He was dressed in expensive looking robes of various shades of purple. He reminded Harry of Albus Dumbledore. At his side sat a young man not much older than Harry. He also had reddish brown hair. The slave was dressed much like Severus, though his footwear was better suited to the cool autumn temperatures than Severus’ sandals.

As he chose a table in the middle of the little room, Harry glanced at the table in the farthest corner. There sat a tall man that Harry, at first look, thought was Lucius Malfoy. He had long blonde hair and piecing gray eyes. The only thing that set him apart from Malfoy was his cleft chin.

At the man’s side was a boy of about 13 years. The boy was exceptionally thin, his skin was pale, his eyes deeply sunk into his face and his shoulder length mouse-brown hair was tangled and uneven. Harry thought the boy looked very unhealthy and noticed him tremble with fear when the man pulled his chain to get his attention.

Harry turned away in disgust at the slave’s treatment and told Severus to sit, pointing at the spot on the floor next to his chair. When the serving girl came over, he ordered his breakfast and tea, then stopped her as she started to turn away.

“A slave plate and water for him,” he said with barely a nod towards Severus.

“Yes, sir,” she said politely before turning to put in his order.

Harry looked around the little tavern as he waited. It really wasn’t much different than the Hog’s Head in Harry’s own time. It was dark, dingy and dirty, it smelled of stale ale and old clothes, and had an atmosphere of bad things.

Harry nodded his thanks as the serving girl set his food and tea in front of him. He took a sip of his tea and thought about what Severus had said about sharing it. He looked over at the fat man and was surprised to see him do exactly as Severus had said. He took a swig of his tea, then tilted his slave’s head and spit it into the younger man’s open mouth. The slave smiled happily up at his Master as he thanked the man.

He was about to do the same when the girl returned with a shallow dish and a glass of what looked like dirty water. She set it down on the floor in front of Severus, then ruffled his hair like she was petting a dog. Harry swallowed a growl at the inhumane gesture and barely managed to refrain from glaring as she walked away.

Looking at the plate of food she had left, Harry’s stomach turned. The steaming dish looked like nothing more than warmed dog food. It was brown, lumpy, and smelled like burnt roast beef. He leaned over slightly and spoke softly to Severus.

“You don’t have to eat that. I’ll order something later and have it brought to our room.”

“It would be extremely rude for me not to eat that which my Master has so generously ordered for me,” Severus whispered back. His stomach was churning as well, but he knew he had to eat it. “Now, make it look like you’re telling me to eat. The blonde is watching us.”

Harry surreptitiously looked around. Sure enough, the Malfoy look-a-like was watching them closely. Harry closed his eyes and preyed to the Gods that Severus would forgive him for what he was about to do. He grabbed Severus by the back of the neck and pushed his face into the dish of food.

“Eat or starve, slave,” he said louder than necessary, making sure he was heard by everyone in the room. He heard Severus sputtering but ignored him and began eating his own meal. He could hear snickering from the blonde, but carefully kept his eyes on his plate, his anger simmering.

Severus pulled his face out of the muck, but kept his head bowed as he struggled to keep from laughing. The irony of the situation didn’t pass his notice. For six and a half years he had been giving Harry Potter orders which were pointedly ignored. Now, when he had expected, and hoped, Harry would ignore him, Harry had done the exact thing he had asked him to do, only with much more zest than he had thought Harry capable of in the given situation.

He licked his lips and discovered that the gruel he had been given didn’t taste all that bad. It was basically an over-cooked stew. He used his fingers to clean off his face as best he could, licking his fingers as he went, then picked up the dish and began eating. He knew that slave plates often contained plenty of protein and nutrients to help keep the slaves in good health. After all, a Master wouldn’t spend extravagant amounts of money to purchase a slave just to have him become sickly, or die of malnutrition.

Harry picked at his meal without interest. He felt awful for treating Severus so inhumanely. The very idea of being someone’s master was enough to ruin his appetite. He took a sip of his tea and remembered that Severus hadn’t had any yet.

He lightly touched Severus’ head and cringed internally at the sight of his proud Professor’s dirty face.

“You look dreadful,” Harry said, trying sound stern and angry. He took his napkin and roughly wiped the drying food from Severus’ face. He noticed how calm his ‘slave’ was, his face turned up to be cleaned, his eyes closed. Harry was surprised to find himself thinking how handsome Severus was like that. He had never really seen Severus so relaxed.

When he had gotten all but the food in Severus’ long, black hair, Harry took another sip of tea. This time, instead of swallowing it, he gently pulled Severus’ lower jaw down until his mouth was open wide, then let the warm fluid drizzle past his parted lips.

Harry ordered Severus to finish his meal and cautiously looked around the room to see if they were still being watched. They were, but by the little chubby man this time. Harry looked away quickly, but the man had caught his eye. He nervously poked at his food as the man stood and approached their table.

“Might I join you?” the man asked politely as he reached for a chair.

“Uh, yes, you may,” Harry replied as though he had a choice. The man was seated before Harry finished talking.

“My name is Wulfric. A pleasure to meet you,” the man said kindly, reaching a hand out to Harry.

“Uh, Harry.” Harry kicked himself mentally for not coming up with a different name soon enough.

“Well met, Harry!” Wulfric’s eyes glittered happily as he heartily shook Harry’s hand. “So, what brings you to Hogsmeade, my boy?”

“We’ve… been traveling. I’m doing research and I’m always looking for new libraries to explore,” Harry said slowly, trying to think quickly. It sounded rather lame to Harry, but Wulfric seemed to take it in with ease.

“Research you say! Well, you’ll be wanting to go to Hogwarts then! It’s the Wizarding school just down a ways. They have one of the finest libraries in Europe!”

“Hogwarts?” Harry questioned innocently. “If it’s a school, will they let a stranger in to use their library?”

“Certainly not! It’s very well protected. My wife is a teacher there, however, so I’m certain I can get you in.”

“Your wife?” Harry inquired dubiously as he looked down at the young slave at the man’s side.

Wulfric laughed loudly, his belly shaking like jelly. “My dear Harry! Coda is for play! My wife…” Wulfric gazed at the ceiling dreamily. “My wife is for love! She’s carrying our first child, you know!”

“Oh, congratulations,” Harry said with a forced smile. He was about to ask when Wulfric would be able to take him and Severus to Hogwarts, when he heard an awful gagging sound from the other table. He and Wulfric turned at the same time towards the blonde man.

Harry only barely managed to contain his surprise at seeing the young slave kneeling between the blonde’s spread legs. The man had a look of delight on his face, while the boy’s face was turning bright red as he choked on his Master’s cock.

“Malfoy!!” Wulfric hollered. “Must you do that in here?! Some of us eat in this room!”

“Mind your business, Dumbledore!” Malfoy yelled back, still holding the boy’s head in place.

Harry looked down at Severus in shock. He knew he had recognized the blonde man and Wulfric’s glittering eyes had seemed familiar, but to run into two ancestors of people he knew from his own time seemed remarkable to him. Severus didn’t appear the least surprised as he briefly looked up at Harry.

“If you make him vomit again, I’ll…” Wulfric muttered loudly.

“You’ll what?” Malfoy taunted.

Wulfric growled, then turned back to Harry. “That… man!” he huffed. “Why is he still hanging around, anyhow? He should have been gone weeks ago. Surely, he isn’t expecting the Potters to change their minds!”

“The Potters?” Harry asked, his heart jumping into his throat as he thought about his parents. He knew they wouldn’t be born for another hundred and some years, but the thought of meeting any of his father’s family excited him.

“Yes, that’s why Malfoy came to Hogsmeade from London. He was hoping to buy old Godric’s Hollow. No one’s currently living there, so he thought it would be an easy buy. I knew the Potters would never sell it, though. It’s been in their family for centuries!”

“Why would he want it?” Harry asked, his curiosity raised. The scene with Malfoy and his slave was quickly forgotten.

“Oh, probably just to add to his collection!” Wulfric said dismissively. He then got a thoughtful look on his round face. “Although… From what I’ve heard, he’s certainly been snooping around there a lot lately. Perhaps he’s looking for something on the property. You know, Godric’s Hollow had belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

“Really?” Harry asked, his mind immediately racing towards the future. It was far-fetched, but it was possible that whatever this Malfoy was looking for had something to do with Voldemort in the future. He would have to talk with Severus about it when they were alone.

“Well, it was wonderful meeting you, Harry, but I must be off. Have a bit of shopping to do.” Again, Wulfric’s smile was reflected in his kind blue eyes. “I’ll speak with my wife about Hogwarts library for you. Perhaps next week while school’s out.”

“Next week?” Harry asked, his disappointment clear.

“You will still be here, won’t you?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, next week would be fine,” Harry said, a weak smile on his lips. Harry stood with Wulfric and shook his hand, then turned and commanded Severus to follow as he headed back to their room. His mind was racing with questions.

~*~*~