Bonds of Affection

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. At night, Harry stretched himself out on the floor and reached to the collar attached to the foot of the bed, but Severus just shook his head, pointed his wand at the bed, and spelled it to twice its size. Harry climbed under the covers with him, and they fell asleep, holding each other, limbs intertwined, their lips pressing together. The only light in the room was coming from the embers glowing in the fireplace across from the bed.



The next morning, Severus was summoned away, and Harry was left alone, in the locked room, without a wand, and with nothing to do. He roamed the room aimlessly, looking for anything that might be useful or helpful – but the austere, minimalistic set up spoke for itself. Eventually, Harry curled into the corner of the room and sat there, hugging his knees in absolute misery.



When the door opened, his head shot up – he was hoping to see Severus, but instead, he saw Lucius and Draco, standing together. Draco\'s grin was wider than he had ever seen it – even wider than when he was a part of the Inquisitorial Squad, assisting Umbridge.



“Come,” Lucius said in a tone of voice that left no room for objections. His wand was pointing at Harry, demanding obedience.



Harry stood up and left with them.



“Where do you want him?” Lucius asked softly. Draco snickered. “Someplace with chains,” he said meaningfully.



Lucius chuckled indulgently. “That\'s a given.”



True to his words, soon they entered a large room, that had chains and restraints attached to the wall – and nothing else. Lucius grabbed Harry by the throat and pushed him against the wall. The restraints moved of their own accord, and encircled his wrists. Harry struggled furiously – to no avail.



“Well now,” Lucius murmured. “Have fun. Try not to... cause too much damage. I doubt Voldemort will be pleased if Severus ends up having to spend the night brewing healing potions.”



Draco nodded seriously. “I suppose not.”



Lucius winked at his son, and left. Draco stood in front of Harry, hands crossed on his chest, smiling smugly.



“Dream come true,” Draco told him with a sneer. “You have no idea, Potter.”



Harry glared at him. “Really Malfoy. All this time, I had no idea that you were a bully, and a coward. Yes, what a shock.”



Draco lifted his hand and stuck him hard across the face. Harry held himself still, not willing to give his rival the satisfaction of seeing him flinch. He tasted blood, and his lip throbbed violently at the blow.



“Well,” Harry muttered. “I think you\'ve just made my point.”



Draco shrugged and pointed his wand at him and uttered a spell. Harry felt the chains lengthen and adjust, as an invisible force propelled him to fall on his knees. Kneeling on the hard, uneven stone floor, Harry stared at Draco with loathing. He saw Draco unzipping his trousers, and understood his intent instantly.



“Very nice, Malfoy,” Harry taunted. He felt surprisingly unconcerned. He had known Draco for years, and he knew exactly what buttons to push. “Is this how your daddy treats mommy at home? Or maybe the other way around? That\'s where you\'ve learned it all?”



Smile slowly vanished from Draco\'s face. “Be quiet and open your mouth,” he ordered.



Harry just shook his head. “I hope you know some good penis reattachment spells,” he said with feigned sympathy. “Because the moment that useless thing goes in my mouth, I\'ll bite it off.”



Draco hesitated momentarily. “Good point,” he murmured. “Maybe I should remove your teeth first.”



“Yeah,” Harry snickered. “Voldemort will be just thrilled to have a toothless Horcrux that he\'ll have to feed through a straw for seventy years.”



Draco laughed without humor, and zipped up his trousers. He then took a step back and regarded Harry with cold curiosity. “You seem to be operating under the impression that we are still where we used to be. I got news for you Potter – you are a long way from Hogwarts.”



Draco\'s voice sent a chill down Harry\'s spine. He could sense that something had changed – but he was not sure what. Draco\'s wand pointed him again, and Draco said, with icy cruelty:



“Crucio.”



Harry\'s entire body shuddered in agony. Icy fire was flowing through his blood, his nerves, his bones. He would have screamed – but he had no breath left. Waves of torment flooded him. His entire body fell backwards as much as the chains allowed, and the back of his head struck against the wall behind him. He felt blood trickling from the gush, and the pain of it was almost nonexistent, in comparison with the agony coursing through his entire body.



But in addition to the pure anguish of the curse, there was something else, entering his body, and destroying him from within – an undercurrent of complete darkness, the kind he had never experienced before. It was almost as if this wasn\'t your ordinary Curcio spell ... This was something else. Not even when Voldemort himself used the Cruciatus on him – had this curse felt so horrible.



The agony continued to grow and spread, unabated. He felt his mind beginning to slip away, as if unable to continue inhabiting the hellish torment that his entire body had become. Had he been able to speak, he would have begged for it to stop, to tell Draco he would do anything – absolutely anything – but words were no longer possible.



He was going to end up like Neville\'s parents, Harry thought. Or worse.



Help! He cried out in silence, to no-one in particular, not believing that anyone could hear him.



To his surprise, a voice echoed in his mind. Hermione\'s. We will always be with you.



He held on to that voice, and allowed it to anchor his mind back to his body. Slowly, the anguish receded. Vision returned, first blurred, then sharper. He looked up and saw Draco, standing in front of him, paler than ever, appearing as if he was fighting a wave of nausea.



“Malfoy,” Harry whispered. “Listen to me. This isn\'t normal.”



Draco looked at him with loathing. “That\'s what Cruciatus is like, idiot.”



“No,” Harry said with certainty. “This is something else. What is it?”



“Scared, Potter?” Draco taunted, having regained his composure, at least in part.



“Yeah,” Harry told him honestly. “You should be, too.”



Draco\'s wand pointed at him, and for a moment, it looked like he was about to repeat the curse. But then, it looked like another wave of nausea struck him. He spat in Harry\'s face, and left, slamming the door shut behind him.



Harry hung limp in his restraints, his entire body feeling numb and spent. He barely felt anything when Lucius came and released him, and dragged him into Severus\' quarters, throwing him on the floor. The last thing he saw was Severus push himself past Lucius and kneel next to him, placing a hand on his cheek. With the remnants of his strength, Harry turned his face slightly and kissed that hand, before oblivion finally claimed him.



... to be continued ...