The Lion and the Serpent

Draco woke up with a start, as Harry's voice sounded high above him.

“Get up.”

Draco opened his eyes, realizing that he had fallen asleep right where he was sitting last night – on the floor of Harry's living room. The simple wonder of it made Draco's head spin – he slept! He slept last night. He hadn't slept in weeks, and last time he had a full night of sleep was probably about 6 months ago, when he stayed overnight in the school infirmary.

“Get up,” Harry said again, and moved him with his foot, as if he was reluctant to touch him with his hand.

“Yes, Sir,” Draco said, and sat up instantly. He stood up, and looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry sat on one of the chairs, and beckoned for Draco to step forward. Draco stood before him obediently, barely daring to breathe, as Harry's cold, dark eyes scrutinized him.

“The bond is now set,” Harry said. “There are some features to it that you will discover shortly. One such feature is that you will not be able to use any magic against me – the bond will not permit it. The bond will require that I punish you each time you disobey me, or each time I am angry with you. If I don't, the bond will deliver the punishment. Finally, the bond will provide me with access to your mind any time I want to look at your thoughts or access your memories. You will not be able to fight it. You will disclose everything, as soon as I require it of you. Any questions, so far?”

Draco shook his head, dazed.

“Good. Now strip off your clothes. I need to see if you have the Mark.”

His hands shaking slightly, Draco unbuttoned his shirt, and took it off. He folded it neatly, and placed it on the back of the chair. He then pulled out his belt, and allowed his trousers to drop the floor. He stood in front of Harry, in nothing but his boxer shorts.

“I knew it! You did take the Dark Mark, after all,” Harry laughed, bemused. “And some Mark this is!”

Draco trembled, as Harry stared at the detailed image of a snake, tattooed in green and silver, across Draco's lean, pale body. The snake's head was just below Draco's left nipple, suggesting that it was resting against his heart. The snake's spiraling body formed a path down Draco's abdomen, its tail disappearing below the elastic of his boxer shorts. Carefully, as if not wanting to taint his fingers with the touch of Draco's flesh, Harry took the elastic and pulled Draco's underwear down, exposing him completely. There was a ringing in Draco's ears, and he sobbed involuntarily, both terrified and humiliated, as Harry stared at the rest if the Mark: the serpent's tail coiled around the base of Draco's cock.

Harry traced the image of the snake with his fingers, making Draco sob some more.

“Does it speak to you?” Harry demanded.

“Yes. Yes, Sir,” Draco whimpered.

“When was last time it spoke to you?”

“Not in a while,” Draco whispered. “Not since... you know."

Harry laughed a bit. “You may not believe it right now, but this pleases me a great deal. I think there will be some use for you, after all, Malfoy... What the hell!?!”

Startled by Harry's exclamation, Draco instinctively followed Harry's gaze, and blood rushed to his face. Somehow, when Harry pulled down Draco's underwear and touched his Mark, he had become completely erect.

“That's revolting,” Harry said, with a disgusted grimace. “Cover yourself up.”

“Yes, Sir,” Draco sobbed, completely mortified, and pulled up his shorts and his trousers.

“And stop sniveling,” Harry snapped. “What are you, five years old?”

Desperately, Draco summoned all of his resolve and calmed his sobbing.

“Now,” Harry said, “I have something for you. Accio.”

A moment later, in Harry's hand lay what looked like a metal collar, with the words Personal Property of Harry Potter inscribed around it.

“This goes around your neck,” Harry said. “It locks, and it will unlock only by my order. I have placed some basic charms and wards around it that will repel anyone trying to hurt you. This should keep you safe from physical harassment. As for verbal abuse... well – you will just have to learn to live with it.”

Draco struggled to find the words to thank Harry, but Harry waved him off impatiently. Quickly and skilfully, he placed the collar around Draco's neck. The collar shifted, adjusted itself, and then locked itself with a loud clicking sound. Draco smiled gratefully, but Harry shot him down with a hostile look.

“So tell me one thing, Malfoy – how does it feel?” Harry asked, his voice calm, but a clear undercurrent of hatred there.

“Very good, Sir,” Draco said hesitantly.

“Not the collar. How does it feel to be a murderer?” Harry asked. Draco found the sudden surge of anger in Harry's voice was disconcerting and frightening. He bowed his head, suddenly wishing he could disappear. But the bond compelled him to answer, and he did, with complete honesty:

“It feels like something has gone wrong, and nothing will ever be right again. There are nightmares, of course – but that's not the bad part. Every morning, I wake up, and for the first few seconds, life seems normal. And then I remember what happened – what I did, and there's that sickening feeling again. And I wish I could go back, and undo everything, but I can't, of course. Eventually, I stopped sleeping. It wasn't the nightmares. I just didn't want to keep waking up.”

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, Harry hit Draco in the face with the heel of his hand. Draco's head jerked backwards under the blow, but he didn't make a sound. Without being told, Draco steadied himself quickly, and then presented his face for another blow, his eyes wide open. For a moment, Harry looked like he was going to strike Draco again, but then he just shook his head disdainfully and walked away.

When the door slammed shut behind Harry, Draco felt a weakness in his legs. Harry's brief angry outburst had drained him completely. Cautiously, using the chair in front of him for support, he lowered himself down to the floor. Draco's entire body trembled violently, and a moment later, he mercifully blacked out.

---------to be continued---------------

A/N: *blush* thanks for the reviews... !!! I'm so honored that people are reading the story.