Bonds of Affection

Harry was standing in front of Severus in blissful revery. He was dizzy from elation, and he might have stumbled, but Severus wrapped his arms around him and steadied him on his feet. Harry bowed his head and pressed his face into his Master\'s robe.



They stood for a long time, locked in embrace, until Harry\'s elated trembling subsided, and until he lifted his head once more.



Severus released him, with a kiss to his forehead. Harry\'s eyes fell on the wall filled with instruments and he winced slightly, but found himself unable to look away.



“May I... see?” he asked softly.



Severus nodded, and they stepped to the wall together. Harry surveyed them, one by one, his eyes finally stopping at a metal rod, with a pattern engraved into the end of it. He looked at the image: a Snargaluff, its thorny vines coiled into a resemblance of a letter S.



“It\'s a branding iron,” Severus told him quietly. “It inflicts a permanent symbol of ownership.”



Harry ran his fingers over the cold metal, his gaze fixed on it. “Go on,” he said.



“There are two ways to impress a brand. By the ordinary method, heating the metal, and pressing it against the flesh; or by means of magic. The first method is ... rather painful, as you can imagine.”



Harry nodded a little, briefly hesitating before asking. Finally he managed to force the words out:



“What... would someone need to do, to earn the right... to...” he stumbled as he spoke, and fell silent when Severus pressed a single finger against his mouth, stopping him. Impulsively, Harry wrapped his lips against that finger and caressed it with his tongue. He felt the finger mapping out his mouth, returning the caresses, soothing and teasing at once.



After that, Harry waited in silence as Severus began to undress him. Harry found that his entire body was shaking slightly from anticipation, but as Severus ran his hands over Harry\'s back, the trembling subsided once again in response to the comforting touch. Harry barely noticed that he was fully disrobed, wearing nothing but his boots, standing in front of Severus.



Severus placed a hand on his shoulder, stroking Harry\'s abdomen with the other hand, his palm brushing slightly against Harry\'s arousal that Harry hadn\'t even been aware of until it had been touched.



“Do you have any requests before I begin?” Severus asked seriously.



“No,” Harry shook his head. “Just...”



“Just what?” Severus prodded gently.



Harry swallowed hard and said, “Just that you do anything you like. That\'s all.”



Severus nodded thoughtfully. “No more talking, then” Severus told him. “You may speak if you feel something is wrong, or if you need to end this. Otherwise, not another word.”



Harry nodded, and shut his eyes. He heard footsteps around him, and then, a strip of fabric covered his eyes, and was tied behind his head. Fingers traced Harry\'s arms, and lifted them up with gentleness. Restraints encircled his wrists, and he was immobilized, standing with his arms raised above him. Not long after, a thick, heavy line of leather stroked his skin, and even with his vision obscured, his body recognized one of the whips he had seen only minutes ago.



Suddenly, panic surged through him. This went beyond anything he had ever envisioned or fantasized about. This even went beyond anything he had ever dreaded or feared. The whip could cut his body open. The brand could burn right through his skin. He opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound followed, just as he realized that he still wanted to go through with anything and everything. He really did want to be owned, for the lack of a better word. For a brief moment, an image entered his mind: a tree, on a cliff above an ocean, dark waves raging underneath. He was just a raindrop on one of the leaves of that tree, sliding down, slowly, but with absolute certainty, ready any moment to plunge into the depths of the abyss that was its eternal and unfamiliar home.



Harry moved his hands, and reached with his fingers to grasp the chains that were holding his restraints, using them to brace himself against what came next.



When he heard the sound of the whip traveling through the air, he tensed involuntarily, expecting screaming agony to overtake his body; but the kiss of the lash that descended on his back was no more than a gentle whisper, as far as pain was concerned. Another followed, and then another; warmth covering his back and buttocks evenly, working its way into the depths of his body. The intensity of the blows rose slowly and gradually, until the pain finally overtook him; but the pain was not the kind that he was used to. Relentless, yet somehow nurturing, it swayed him and rocked him, driving him into a state where he could no longer tell the difference between freedom and helplessness.



At one point, it seemed that Severus was done with him. Blissfully dazed, Harry hung limp in his restraints, until his wrists were released. His sore arms falling at his sides, still blindfolded, he knelt without prompting, and waited. When the metal touched his shoulder, he only felt his skin part briefly and painlessly, and he issued a barely audible gasp when he felt a pattern bind to his flesh. And then, he bowed his head to the floor, intending to kiss the Master\'s feet, but Severus lifted him in his arms before he had a chance to do that, and carried him off.



He was not sure how much time he spent resting, feeling as if he was floating – or flying. Harry only knew that when he opened his eyes, he was in Severus\' bedroom, on his bed, covered with his robe, head laying against his lap. Severus was watching him with a smile, stroking his hair.



Harry moved slowly, and touched his bare shoulder. There was no pain, just a faint rising of the flesh, where the image had been imprinted on it.



“I thought...” Harry started saying, but then stopped himself.



“What?” Severus asked, a little sadly, stroking his hair. “You thought I would damage you? You thought I would burn you, or make you bleed?”



Harry shut his eyes, feeling a slight twinge of sadness himself.



“Well... You don\'t need to hold back,” Harry said quietly. “I really do want to give you everything. Anything you want. You know?”



Severus wrapped his arms around him, and pulled him to sit up. Harry did, leaning against him.



“I know,” Severus said softly. His lips pressed against Harry\'s head. “But you must know that I was not holding back; not at all.”



Harry settled against his chest, and listened, as Severus spoke kindly and gently:



“I have known love. And I have known ownership. But never before, two together. Being with you changed what I want. I can never want to harm you.”



... to be continued...