Miscalculations

Miscalculations





By JanusEris



Translated by Lex



A/N: Thank you
for all your reviews!



Chapter
4



Where Dragons
dwell



Severus’ POV



Draco was sleeping. Laying beside him Potter
absent-mindedly stroked
through his hair. A small though sad smile graced his lips and he
appeared to
be completely immersed into the vision of his lover. The sight of the
both of
them was so peaceful, almost romantic … so perfect and at
the same time so
incredibly far from reality.



Only due to a sleeping potion, Draco was able
to sleep. The blanket
Potter had wrapped him into couldn’t cover all of the red
welts that only
slowly disappeared even with the healing potion. As asked by both of
them
Severus had developed a potion that eased the pain but left the marks
visible.
It took a while until it worked. That was why Draco usually slept after
more
serious punishments.



When Potter raised his head to look at him
Severus saw the mix of
desperation and sorrow on his face. Time and again he was surprised how
open
Potter had become in showing emotions in his presence. That might have
been
because he felt it was easier to lower his defences in front of someone
with
less power. But maybe it was just the fact that he couldn’t
be himself anywhere
else. It was hardly because he saw Severus as a friend, because they
weren’t.
Severus’ feelings towards Potter lay somewhere between what
he’d felt for
Voldemort and for Dumbledore – to him both had been some kind
of master and
he’d resented both of them for it – even if he had
idolized the Dark Lord at
first and hated him later, while Dumbledore had earned his respect over
time.
He respected Potter too, for truly caring for Draco, but with Potter
you never
knew what kind of care that could become. Potter was a fool if he still
hadn’t
realized how much a part of Severus still despised him. No, that
wasn’t exactly
true. In the past, he had despised Potter because he took him for a
copy of his
father. Now he despised him for himself.



“I hate the surveillance.”
Potter suddenly said. “I hate the Ministry
for blindly following Percy Weasley. But most of all I hate Percy. If I
could
do something about it without jeopardizing everything I care about,
I’d destroy
them in the blink of an eye.”



His tone sent shivers down Severus’
spine. He swallowed. “And how …
would you do it?”



Potter stared at him then his gaze became
distant and cold. His hand
didn’t stop stroking Draco’s hair the whole time.
“Once … at the grave of my
friends  ... at the
grave of my family …
I vowed that I would never abuse the power given to me, not like
… others did.
I swore to defeat Voldemort and than lead a normal life, not to
interfere any
longer, but …”



“It was the right
decision.” Severus hastily said. All of a sudden, he
feared Potter finishing that sentence.



“Yes. Yes, of course it
was.” Potter looked down at Draco. His words
lacked conviction. He sounded as if tried to persuade himself from
something he
didn’t really believe. “Anyway, it
doesn’t matter,” he then said. “I took a
wizard oath. If I break it, I’ll be condemned for eternity. I
could just as
well kill a unicorn.” He laughed harshly.



Severus suppressed the urge to edge away from
Potter. He should have
known that Potter wasn’t just a common wizard. Despite
Dumbledore’s ramblings
about the power of love and hope, it was obvious that a normal wizard
never
could have defeated the Dark Lord. No, Potter had to be powerful, at
least as
much as Voldemort had been. Though, so much power in the hands of the
person
Potter had become … Even if it would free him from his fate,
Severus still
prayed to every deity known to him, that Potter would never break the
oath.



“You could still exert some influence
without using your special
abilities.” he said reluctantly. “Your oath
didn’t involve the influence your
fame would give you, did it? Aside from that, you are still head of the
Order
…”



Potter slowly shook his head. “Sure,
that’s true, but I can’t oppose the
Ministry openly. There’s too much at stake. About the Order
… The Ministry
knows about it. In the last battle, all disguises were revealed, on
both sides.
They would have to be stupid and a lot less paranoid than they are to
not
monitor my actions in that direction. I might have gained their trust
to some
extent, but they still see me as a possible threat.”



“There have to be ways.”
Severus said angrily. “To them, Dumbledore has
always been a threat, too, but he still persevered.”



“Did you know that Minerva and Albus
were a couple?” Potter asked out of
the blue.



Severus was a little thrown by the sudden
change of topic. “Of course.
All members of the teaching staff knew that.”



“She loved him very much,
didn’t she?” Potter said with a slightly
sardonic undertone. “So much so, that she isn’t
able to make a decision. ‘I’m
not Albus.’ seems to be her favourite sentence. To be
specific, that’s what she
answered me when I approached her for her support. That, and that it
wasn’t any
of her business as long as it didn’t concern the school. To
her the well-being
of the children is her main concern, after all. And she
couldn’t rush into
reckless actions that could endanger her position at the
school.”



“We don’t need
Minerva!” he huffed. “If she wants to hole herself
up in
Hogwarts, then by Merlin, she should do as she pleases. Minerva might
have been
Albus’ right hand, but you are not Albus. The Order has many
reliable members.”



Potter regarded him thoughtfully.
“There is Hermione … But she is so
absorbed into her grief since Ron died …”



“Well. Give her something to distract
her from her grief,” he snapped.
Potter’s excuses started to grate on his nerves. Since his
imprisonment, he’d
mellowed, but sometimes he still felt his old temper.



“You may be right
…” Potter said. “But I cannot really
talk to her with
the surveillance still active.”



“You seem to have spend a lot of time
convincing yourself that there’s
nothing you can do,“ he snarled. “Impressive,
really. Not fitting a Gryffindor
but I always knew that you are only circling around yourself.”



Potter slapped him. Hard.



Severus wasn’t really surprised.
Contrary to Draco he’d never had
illusions about Potter’s true nature.



“Oh yes!” he hissed.
“That’s right. Deny the truth.” With
angry
movements, he pulled his robe over his head and dropped on all fours in
front
of the bed. “Just, if you’re going to punish me,
you should do it properly. To
shut me up, like it’s supposed to be for a SLAVE.”



Potter closes his eyes and buried his face in
his hands. “Get up and put
your clothes back on, Severus.”



“Why? So you can keep on living in
your comfortable little illusion?”



“I’m sorry.”
Potter quietly replied. “You are right, in everything and
…
I’m sorry.”



Severus slowly rose and put his robe back on.
“And? What are you going
to do?”



Potter lowered his hands and looked at him.
“You tell me. You’ve been
the spy. You’ve got the experience in that area. Tell me. I
promise I’ll
listen.”



Severus regarded the green-eyed man and was
surprised to realize that he
was honest. He started to pace in front of the bed.



“It’s not that easy. I
don’t know enough about the situation …”



“Who is looking for excuses
now?” Potter asked dryly.



“I’m not looking for
excuses!” he snapped. “I’m just saying I
need more
information.”



“There’s no
time.” Potter shot back. “Draco’ll soon
wake up and I can’t
mess him up that way all the time just so we can talk.”



“I know that.” Severus
stroked his hand over his scalp, an annoying
habit since he didn’t have hair to stroke back.
“The surveillance is priority.
What would it take to get them to withdraw it?”



Potter shrugged. “A lot. I
don’t know exactly. You do realize that they
are not only watching you but me, too, even if they don’t
admit it. That’s why
it was so easy to acquire slaves – they were thrilled to have
the means to
easily keep their eyes on me. Aside from that, the supervising Aurors
– not to
forget Percy – enjoy to see you suffer. They wont give that
up easily.”



Severus grimaced. Though he’d known
that, it still repulsed him to hear
it. “What do we have to do to give them no choice? The
surveillance is meant to
protect you. What if it proves to be useless? If you can protect
yourself
better than the surveillance can? It’s a breach of privacy,
if it’s useless,
how could they keep it up?” He was just thinking out loud.



“What would keep them from sending
you back to Azkaban and to claim that
they are working on improving the surveillance? What keeps them from
simply
ignoring my arguments?”



“We need a leverage … the
biggest problem is Percy Weasley. As long as
he is set against it …”



“But if Percy would help us
…” Potter mused. “If there was a reason
to
drop the surveillance and Percy was supporting it
…”



“You just said Percy enjoys to watch.
What could make him change his
mind?”



“An incentive …”
Suddenly Potter smiled. “Something he wouldn’t want
the
Aurors to know. Something that could ruin him if it became public
knowledge,
even if it’s just one person.”



“You’ve got something to
blackmail the Minister with?” he asked,
shocked.



Potter’s smile turned vicious.
“Oh no, not blackmail … It would be
foolish to blackmail the Minister. An advice on the other hand, between
friends
…”



Severus looked at him, confused. “I
don’t understand, what you mean.”



“You don’t have to,
Severus. A small hint at the side under the eyes of
the surveillance that Lucius Malfoy protected his heir from certain
magic … say
Obliviate … will do nicely. But what about a reason to end
the surveillance?”



“If I tried to kill you without being
noticed …” he said coolly.



Potter met his eyes. “Do you know
what that means, Severus? They’d
possibly send you back to Azkaban, even against my wishes. Even if not,
I would
have to punish you. It will take some time to get the surveillance
down. In any
case, an attempted murder would destroy every hope you have to be
officially
pardonned.”



Severus involuntarily trembled. “I
know. But Draco’s chances are better
than mine, anyway. If it works, at least Draco is safe. All
I’m asking of you
is that you kill me if … something goes wrong. You wont be
prosecuted for it
and I will die in Azkaban anyway … just more
slowly.”



“You do realize that Draco never
would agree to that. Not only that, he
would hate me the rest of my life if I would agree.”



“Then he must not know,” he
retorted impatiently.



Potter regarded Draco sadly. “I hate
lying to him.”



“Why?” he snapped.
“You do it every day. You tell him he isn’t a
slave,
that you don’t enjoy hurting him …”



Potter glared at him, shocked and angry.



“What?” Severus mocked.
“Surprised that I noticed? I don’t doubt you
worry about him. You might even despise your own feelings but
don’t tell me
they are not there. I’ve seen them in your eyes. I was a
Death Eater. I know
that look well enough.”



Potter stared down at Draco and abruptly turned
his face away. “Yes.” he
hissed. “Part of me enjoys when he submits to me. The way he
bites his lips to
keep from screaming. The way he flinches when the lash hits him. I
can’t fight
it. Sometimes I wonder if your bloody master left a part of himself in
me when
he went to hell. His last triumph … turning me into the same
pervert
abomination he was. If I could rip it out, I would do it. I hate it
… and
still, at these moments … I enjoy it. Happy now?”
Agonised, Potter buried his
face in the pillows as if he could keep out the world that way.



For a second Severus had the weird urge to
console him but he suppressed
it instantly. “Far from it.” he said instead.
“Though I’m glad to hear you
admit the truth to yourself, finally.”



“Which one?” Potter asked
barely audible. “That I’m a freak?”



“That you are sadistic,” he
replied unblinking. “Which doesn’t make you
a freak, but is a trait you should control. You can’t control
it if you deny
it.”



Potter took a deep breath and sat up again. He
appeared exhausted.
“Thank you, Severus. Considering your hate for me you always
had a remarkable
tendency towards helping me. So, how do you plan to kill me?”



Severus smirked. “Finally. I started
thinking we’d never get there …”



***



Over the next few days, Draco was busy in the
garden. So, Severus was
brewing alone most of the time. Now, that he was healthier and stronger
than
when he arrived, he’d found back to his old efficiency. He
didn’t have to label
the bowls with the ingredients to know what they contained, even if
they were
cut and grinded already. It wasn’t really that difficult to
“accidentally” mix
up some of the ingredients while he was brewing several potions at the
same
time. Just as easy was it to stumble, drop a cauldron with a potion,
and ruin
it. He was punished for it but that wasn’t important. What
counted was that he
still had some of the healing potion.



Potter had the habit to drink fresh orange
juice every morning. Draco and
Severus of course never got oranges to eat, unless it was fed from
Potter’s
hand.



It also wasn’t out of the ordinary
that Severus, after his punishment,
was clumsy enough to stumble again in the pantry when he was about to
collect
some ingredients for his potions.



Healing potions, absorbed over skin, naturally
became part of a fruit if
they came in contact with its peel. In that case, they usually lost
their
effect, though. A slightly different, if similar looking compound,
combined
with the acid of oranges, became an odourless poison. It tasted very
unpleasant, but when you could taste it was already too late. The
victim died
slowly but inevitably, because the antidote had to be fresh and could
be brewed
only on one certain day of the year.



***



Potter reached for his glass and hesitated
barely noticeable when he
brought it to his mouth. Then he turned to Severus.



“Do you want some orange juice,
Severus?”



He shook his head. “No, thank you,
Sir.” Even though Potter asked him
time and again, this was his usual answer.



Potter turned to his godson. “What
about you, Draco?”



“Yes, I’d like some,
Sir.” Draco opened his mouth so Potter could hold
the glass at his lips.



“No!” Severus shouted just
before Draco could drink.



Draco looked at him, baffled. Potter put the
glass slowly back down on
the table.



“No, Severus?”



“I mean, I’d like to have
some first,“ he explained hastily.



“Really?” Potter said and
turned the glass with his fingers.
“Interesting. No, I think not.”



The expression on Draco’s face had
turned into perfect confusion.



“I’d like to tell you
something.” Potter said, still turning the glass
in his hands. “Did you know that Ginny Weasley was like a
sister to me? Maybe
you did. Two years ago, just before the war reached its height, I was
primary
target for Voldemorts supporters. In fact, there have been several
assassination attempts at my life before I turned seventeen. That was
the
reason she gave me this ring for my birthday.” He held up his
hand, where he
wore a simple silver ring. “It may look insignificant to you,
but it’s got one
very useful feature. It gets warm in the proximity of
poison.” Potter clasped
the glass with a hard grip. “At this moment it feels like
it’s glowing white
hot.”



Severus jumped up in one fluid motion and
grasped for the knife on the
table. He never had a chance to get near Potter with it. Even before he
had
turned in his direction, he was thrown through the room. He collided
hard with
the wall and dropped the knife.



“You’re trying to kill
me.” Potter said coldly. He rose and pointed his
wand at him while his face slowly distorted into a grimace of rage.
“You …
useless … worthless … little … freak
are trying to kill ME?” He yelled now.
Potter surely had a penchant for drama.



Draco’s eyes where wide with shock
and he stared at Severus in horror.
“Why?” he finally choked out.



“Why?” Severus replied. The
spell still kept his hands locked to the
wall and he struggled in vain to get free. “How can you ask
that after all he
did to you? How many healing potions do I have to brew before
it’s too late one
day? Should I watch him killing you slowly, just for his own sadistic
pleasure
and do nothing?”



“But …” Draco
started, helplessly.



“Go into the bedroom and chain
yourself, Draco!” Potter interrupted him
harshly.



“But …” Draco
said again, this time to Potter.



“Are you defying me?”
Potter shouted angrily. “Do I have to remind you
who the master is?”



Draco winced and looked at him, wide-eyed.
“No, of course not, Sir.”



“Well, what are you waiting
for?”



Draco cast him a last, uncomprehending glance
then he stumbled hastily
from the room.



Potter listened to something inaudible for a
moment und finally nodded,
satisfied. Severus assumed the surveillance spells had showed him that
Draco
was indeed in the bedroom. Then Potter directed his gaze back to him
and
twirled the wand with his fingers. “Let’s find out
how sadistic I really am,
Severus.”



The expression on Potter’s face
mercilessly recalled memories in
Severus. He suddenly had the feeling that this plan was a big mistake.
Not
because he’d miscalculated the reaction of the Ministry, but
because he’d given
Potter free reign to do with him as he pleased. When he saw into
Potter’s eyes,
those enraged, pitiless and still oddly leering emeralds, Severus
couldn’t
remember the difference between green and red.



***



Potter motioned with his wand and Severus was
again thrown through the
room. He felt some bones brake when he hit the floor. Potter followed
him and
waved his wand another time. He pushed Severus in front of him, so he
collided
with several walls and fell down the stairs until they’d
reached the lab.



“I deem it only fitting if
you’ll die here, don’t you?” Potter asked.



Severus couldn’t reply. During his
fall down the stairs, he’d broken his
jaw, not to mention several ribs, his left arm and his shin.



Potter looked down on him and mumbled
something. Warmth spread in
Severus’ chest and the pain lessened somewhat.



Potter waved his wand and Severus’
robe disappeared. Then, out of
nowhere, chains locked around his wrists and jerked him upwards.
Severus
screamed in pain when his whole weight dragged on his broken arm.



“Hurt, Severus?” Potter
mocked. He kicked into his stomach, causing
another yell from Severus. He swung in the chains that had fastened
themselves
to the ceiling. “That’s only the start.
You’ll have to be patient, though. I
have to talk to someone first.”



Potter left, shutting the door behind himself.



Alone in the dark, while pain ran in tremors
through his body, memories
assaulted Severus like starving predators. It was too similar to
another
dungeon, only this time there was no hope that Dumbledore would come to
his
rescue. Dumbledore had saved him ... still he’d never truly
escaped. He’d
returned every night in his nightmares. And now they’d become
reality. He
closed his eyes and still thought he could hear the voice of Lucius
Malfoy,
mocking him. Of course, Draco never knew that it was his father that
had
tortured him after the Dark Lord discovered his betrayal. He
is dead, he
told himself silently. He is dead. But even this
mantra didn’t stop the
voices.



***



Voices slowly invaded his pain-fogged
consciousness. The sudden bright
light blinded him and drove tears to his eyes that further took away
his sight.



“Does he look like a
threat?” Potter’s voice asked.



“No.” The man, Severus
assumed it was an Auror, sounded disgusted.
“Still, are you sure we shouldn’t take him to
Azkaban …”



“No!” Potter interrupted
him gruffly. “I told you I want to punish him
myself.”



“Yes. Yes, of course, Mister Potter.
I assure you that the whole affair
is so embarrassing to us …”



“It should be. Can we finish this
farce already?”



“Of course. You heard what the
Minister said. It will take only a few
days …”



“Hours.” Potter corrected.



“Hours, yes of course …
we’ll be finished tomorrow evening, at the
latest …”



“Today.” Potter corrected
again. “You’ll be finished this evening. If I
still find remains of your ridiculous and ineffective spying spells on
my
property in …” He interrupted, perhaps to look at
his watch. “…a little more
than three hours, I’ll raise hell like you’ve never
seen before. Do I make
myself clear, Auror … What-ever-your-name-is?”



“But, Sir, that … . Yes,
of course, three hours.”



A cracking sound indicated that the Auror had
apparated.



Potter laughed softly and stepped closer to
Severus. Severus blinked to
get a clearer sight of him. The blurred shape slowly took on sharper
edges. He
felt Potter’s hand stroking his chest, almost gently.



“How do you feel, Severus? Oh, I
forgot, you can’t speak. Silly me.”
Potter laughed again. “We’ll have more fun with
each other … but not for the
enjoyment of those incompetent Aurors … no, I’ll
amuse myself with your godson
for a few hours and then …” Potter smiled at him
and caressed his lower lip
with his thumb. “Then we’ll see if we
can’t revive some memories.”



His breath caught in his throat. He told
himself that Potter would let
him go as soon as the surveillance was cut off, but it didn’t
help. Panic held
him in a steely grip. Potter’s smile grew.



“Yes, Severus, I know what happened.
I was assisting Madame Pomfrey that
time because Dumbledore thought it was good for me to learn some
healing magic.
I was there when you gave your report to the old man. I’m
sure you left some
things out then. For instance, how it felt when …”



Potter’s hand stroked down from
Severus’ chest over his hip to the
inside of his thigh. Severus jerked back, despite the chains. Potter
laughed
and stepped back. “Later, Severus.”



The light went out and the door banged shut
behind Potter.



***



“Severus … Severus
…”



The chains around his wrists were loosened and
he was lowered gently to
the floor.



“How could you do this to
him!”



“It was necessary.”
Potter’s voice didn’t show regret, surprisingly.
Severus had gotten used to his incessant pointless apologies.



“How can you be so …
callous!”



Potter laughed. It sounded bitter.
“Severus could tell you that I’ve
always been that way.”



“That’s not true! Why are
you so different, all of a sudden? Harry,
please …”



Severus felt the soft tingle of healing spells
that re-aligned his
bones. “There is no point in keeping up the pretence, is
there?” Potter’s voice
sounded above him. “After all, I don’t have to fuck
you any more.”



Silence.



“You don’t mean
it.” Draco sounded like suffocating.



“I don’t?” Potter
replied without emotion. “Get over it, Malfoy.
It was for your own good, but now the surveillance is gone.”



“No …” Draco
answered back. Severus could hear the tears in his voice.



Someone held several vials at his lips and
Severus swallowed without resistance,
recognising the healing potions. The pain slowly faded from his body,
indicating that the damage hadn’t been as bad as
he’d assumed. The agony had
been mainly in his mind. Finally, he noticed Potter beside him and
Draco a
little farther away. Potter helped him to sit up and put on a robe.
Then he
pulled him to his feet and led him over to his sleeping place. He
chained him.
Then he pushed Draco into the room, too, created a second chain and
fastened it
to Draco’s collar. Draco stayed silent. He looked numb.



“It wont take long.” Potter
said. “I’ll have to take care of a few
things before I can set you free. What ever will happen,
DON’T DO ANYTHING.”



He let a lamp materialize on the ceiling and
closed the door.



Draco stared blindly at the closed door.
Eventually he closed his eyes
and tears ran down his face.



Severus would have consoled him but he
didn’t know what to say. He was
incredibly exhausted and didn’t know why Potter acted the way
he did. Finally,
he just leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Only
Draco’s sobs
broke the silence.



An odd sensation seized Severus after a while.
It was almost as if the
air around them was charged with electricity. When Draco’s
sobs subsided, he
knew his godson felt it too. The unpleasant tingle grew until Severus
recognised it as magic. It ran through everything around them and
pulled at
them as if they were unwanted intruders. The unpleasant feeling
increased.
Draco gasped and wrapped his arms around himself.



Severus clenched his teeth. It bordered on
painful and finally it was.
It was almost as if the magic tried to violently penetrate into every
fibre of
his body. It felt old and primordial and suddenly he knew what it was.
It was
the magic of the house, waking up. It had to be an old estate of the
Potter
family even if it didn’t look that way. It recognised him as
a foreign object
and therefore tried to eject him. Potter’s words
“DON’T DO ANYTHING” echoed in
his ears but he couldn’t obey. Not with the pain so
inevitably increasing.
Severus did the only thing he knew. He forced himself to his knees and
started
an old ritual that would show the house that he belonged to it.



“I, Severus Snape, last heir of the
Snape family, declare myself
property of Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter. I swear
to serve
and obey like it befits a slave.”



The magic ran through him. He felt it tingle on
his skin. The pain
reached its peak for the fraction of a second then faded. The house had
accepted him. He breathed in relief but that was gone as he heard Draco
scream.
His godson wreathed in agony beside him.



The cries died suddenly and Draco went limp.
Horrified Severus knelt at
his side and felt for his pulse. He sagged in relief when he sensed the
regular
beating of his heart. Draco was just unconscious. When the waves of
magic
faded, he looked around. The room they were in had changed. It was
bigger. The
walls now were from hewn stone blocks instead of the concrete walls of
the
Muggle cellar. The door was wooden and had a small barred window. They
were
still chained to the wall but the chains were longer and led to heavy
iron
rings imbedded into the wall. Two straw bags lay on the floor. Even
Draco’s
collar had changed; it now was an iron ring. Apart from that, Draco
still
looked like before. Unlike himself, Severus noticed. His grey slave
robe had
changed into one of silk, adorned with artfully made embroidery. Only
when he
pushed his hair impatiently out of his face it struck him that it had
re-grown.
The ring around his throat felt oddly light. When he touched it, he
encountered
a fine linked, tight fitting necklace, obviously made from high-quality
metal.
The chain was locked to a ring around his ankle, not to his throat.



Worried he sat by Draco, waiting for the boy to
wake up. After a while,
Draco stirred and opened his eyes.



“Severus.” was the first
thing he said.



Severus smiled at him. “You alright,
Draco?”



Draco nodded hesitantly and sat up slowly. Then
he stared at him,
incredulous. “What happened to you? Your clothes …
your hair ... and what is
that on your forehead?”



“What?” Severus asked,
puzzled. His hand went to his forehead. It felt
not different than before.



“It looks like a small
tattoo.” Draco said. “Right here.” He
circled a
point in the middle of Severus’ forehead with his fingers.
Then he pulled
Severus closer and scrutinized what ever it was more thoroughly.
“It is Har …
Potter’s crest! Do I have it too?” Draco rubbed his
forehead as if he could
feel it.



“No.” Severus answered.
“Nothing there.”



“It’s also on the back of
your hands.” Draco said.



Severus looked down on his hands. Draco was
right. Nowhere near as small
and unnoticeable as the spot on his forehead, Potter’s crest
covered the backs
of both of his hands. It had to be the house. The house had changed him
…
sudden resignation filled him. He knew what that meant.



“Don’t worry,
Draco.” he said, toneless. “It wont happen to you.
I
caused that myself.”



At this moment, the door opened. Potter entered
and stood motionless. He
stared at Severus. “What, by Merlin, have you done? I told
you not to do
anything!”



Severus lowered his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”



Potter slumped against the wall. “You
are … Do you even know what you’ve
done?”



“Yes.” he answered softly.



“And you stick to it?”
Potter asked unbelievingly.



Severus hesitated for a moment.
“Yes.” he then repeated. He hadn’t
thought about what he did. His sole focus was to escape the pain. Now,
afterwards, he didn’t know what he wanted. But he was fairly
certain that it
couldn’t be turned back. He felt strangely distanced, almost
numb. Potter’s
question didn’t make sense. He didn’t have a choice
anymore, not really.



Potter took a deep breath and straightened.
“Well.” He looked at
Severus. “I, Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily
Potter, owner of Godrics
Hollow, take you, Severus Snape, as my slave. I swear to treat you with
respect
and to honour what was given to me. So be it.”



“So be it,“ he repeated.
The magic tingled briefly around him, then it
was quiet.



Potter’s gaze still was unbelieving
but he quickly regained his equilibrium.
He waved his wand and Draco’s and Severus’ shackles
opened and clanked to the
floor.



“Come on.” Potter said.
“I’ll show you your rooms. I’m sure you
have a
lot of questions. But you’ll have to be exhausted. I think
it’s best if we talk
tomorrow.”



They nodded silently.



Potter led them from the room. The door opened
to a stony hall where
more doors had appeared on both sides. Apparently, the whole house had
changed
and they were in the dungeon. They climbed up a narrow stone staircase
and reached
a wide entrance hall, where portraits of wizards and witches hung on
both sides
that watched them curiously.



“Well, look …” a
voice, familiar to Severus, said. “If it isn’t
…”



He turned toward the speaker whose words died
on his lips.



Severus grinned involuntarily. Who’d
thought that he would live to see
James Potter lost for words.



“That can’t be
real,“ the brown-eyed image of Harry Potter finally said,
faltering.



“If you are wondering, father, yes,
it is Severus Snape.” Potter said to
the speechless portrait. “I warn you … if I find
out that you insult him, even
if you think it irrelevant, you’ll find yourself up in the
attic. And before
you say it … I know spells to prevent you from visiting the
other portraits.”



James Potter stared at his son, unbelievingly.
Someone nearby applauded.
When he turned, he saw the portrait of Lily Potter on the other side.
“Congratulation, son.” she said, smiling.
“I have tried his whole life to pound
some reason into this thick scull. But there still is something that
annoys me
…”



“Later, Mum.” Potter smiled
at her. “We are all tired.” He waved at them
and they went up the great stair to the second floor.



The small house had transformed into an old,
venerable manor.
Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and fairies danced
in the lamps sitting at the sides. They entered a long hall and Potter
finally
stopped in front of a door.



“These are your rooms,
Draco.”



Draco grimaced. “Are we back on first
name basis, Potter?”



Potter winced slightly. “Whatever you
want.” he said, coolly.



Draco glared at him and pushed open the
indicated door just to bang it
shut immediately.



“Why are you treating him this way,
Sir?” Severus asked when they
proceeded on their way. “I know you care for him.”



Potter smiled at him fleetingly. “Why
still so formally, Severus? It
tempts me to call you Professor again, but it somehow feels awkward
after all
that time.”



Severus shrugged. “I got used to it.
You can hardly call me Professor
and it would feel awkward to me, if you called me
Sir.”



Potter laughed.



“But I refuse to call you
‘Harry’,” he continued. “So I
guess, we should
keep it the way it is. You didn’t answer my question, by the
way.”



Potter sighed. “You could talk to me
informally and still call me
Potter, you know.”



Severus glared at him and Potter smiled,
resigned.



“You of all people know what I am,
Severus. I never could be the lover
he deserves. Not as long as I have such power over him. It’s
for the best.
Maybe, some day when he is free and still wants me … but I
really doubt that.
Whatever he thinks he feels for me is nothing more than necessity. It
will
subside as soon as he has freed himself from his dependency from me.
And then
he will hate me because I made him what he is now. And he’s
right.”



Severus regarded the young man beside him
thoughtfully. How could he
ever have taken him for a selfish ignoramus?
“Gryffindor.” he finally said the
first thing that crossed his mind.



Potter laughed.



Eventually they halted in front of another door.



“These are your rooms.”
Potter said, giving Severus a serious look. “I
will treat you like a guest in this house and you can act like one.
Whatever
the magic of this house says about our relationship, I can define its
boundaries. And I determine that you don’t have to serve me
in any way. Tomorrow
we are going to find you a wand, now that you have back your ability to
perform
magic. And you are free to do with it whatever you want.



Severus studied him thoughtfully.
“What if I decide to serve you?”



Potter winced slightly and avoided his gaze.
“Please, don’t do that. I’m
not a suitable master for anyone.”



“I can understand why you would think
that,“ he said slowly. “Good
night, Potter.”



Potter smiled briefly. “Good night,
Severus. I asked Dobby to put a vial
with ‘Dreamless-Sleep’ beside your bed.”



Severus remained at the door before he opened
it. “Thank you.”