Death Eater Takes a Holiday

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Hi, here is the missing chapter. I feel like such a fool not realizing it didn\'t go up a long time ago. Please feel free to email me if you want to know when the story is updated, with a link to where it is posted. LeeLeePotter@optonline.net
Thanks
Lee


Chapter 28 Intimidation 101


Severus watched the boy fidget in his seat. Nott\'s face shined, sweat formed despite the cool temperature of the room. Severus Snape was a pro at fear, intimidation, and other tortures. Of course he couldn\'t use his talents to their fullest extent on his \'day\' job. Children were easy to intimidate.

\"Mr. Nott,\"

The young Nott was smart enough to know not to speak unless asked a direct question, just smart enough.

\"You and your bumbling sidekicks attacked two unarmed students. Your behavior is unbecoming of a Slytherin!\" Snape scowled at the boy. \"If my influence had not been what it is in this school, you would have been expelled!\" Severus almost laughed at the \'truth\' of that statement. If he had the pull he thought he should, Nott would have been out on his ass already. \"You have no idea the favors I\'ve had to call in for you to finish the term. As I recall the results of your O.W.L.\'s, you may have been better off expelled and repeating the year at Durmstrang.\" Snape said offhandedly. It was not really an option but it didn\'t matter, Nott was too nervous to think it all out.

\"As you know, you will be required to serve detention every weekday evening for the duration of the term. You will continue to see Mr. Filch for detentions unless I can persuade him to release you to me on occasion, to assist me with some experimental potions.\" He permitted himself a small smirk.

Nott seemed to be mentally weighing the settings, unsure if helping with experimental potions was a relief from Filch or not. He shifted in his chair as the images of what that might mean came to mind. Would Snape...?

Severus rose from his chair and waved his wand, adding wards to the already locked door. He placed a silencing charm Nott had never heard before, and could probably never recreate.

\"You attacked Harry Potter on school premises wearing the robes of our Lord\'s followers! What were you thinking?\"

\"I was thinking about my father,\" answered Nott, forgetting that this was probably a rhetorical question.

\"Your father has people like Lucius Malfoy on his side. He may very well get a chance at an appeal next year.\" Fat chance Severus said inwardly. \"Do you think he would get off on a plea of being under the influence of Imperious if his son goes around attacking the wizard who is, in the public\'s view, \'our savior\', while wearing Death Eater\'s robes?\" Snape said the words \'our savior\' with a look as if he had just smelled something foul.

Nott sunk further in his chair as he realized he hadn\'t helped his father any with his actions. Not that his father had a chance in hell of getting out any time soon, regardless.

\"Did it ever occur to you that any plans our Lord may have had for the near future will be seriously hindered by the additional security put on Potter since your reckless actions?\" Snape watched him squirm. \"Luckily, you haven\'t finished school yet. If you already had the mark you would probably be still shaking from the pain of Cruciatus, among other things.\" The boy was starting to look green. \"I wouldn\'t worry too much about it, unless your friends are stupid enough to brag about a fight that they lost. The Dark Lord is unlikely to even find out right away. I will say nothing, for now, unless I sense that others are about to relay the information; if that happens, of course you will understand...\"

Nott knew he was still being reprimanded, but wasn\'t sure about the rest. Was Snape trying to make him feel better, while warning him? He didn\'t want to think about the possible painful future. He had enough to deal with for the next few weeks with Filch.

\"Sir, did you know Mr. Filch has a - a torture room?\"

\"If you can call that a torture room,\" Snape mumbled derisively, barely loud enough so he was heard. \"Yes, don\'t give it a thought. He hasn\'t been allowed to make use of such punishments for many years now. He likes to make students clean that room. It\'s the most intimidating he can get these days.\" Severus said as if mocking the caretaker. \"Watch yourself, the castle is alive with magic. Be sure to treat that room with the respect it deserves.\"

Nott nodded, although he didn\'t understand how he was supposed to respect a room. Severus made a mental list of the possibilities.

\"Now, unless you feel we need to continue the discussion of your punishments, I think we should move this conversation to a more comfortable setting.\"

Nott shook his head, and stood up to follow his Head of House. His eyes widened a bit when he noticed a door open, not six feet from where he had been sitting. He couldn\'t remember what it was he thought he saw there before he noticed the door.

The room they sat in was even colder than Snape\'s office. As they spoke about possible career opportunities Severus had lit a fire, supposedly to make the atmosphere more comfortable, though the room didn\'t seem to get any warmer. The high back leather chairs were stiff and hard to get comfortable in.

After the topics moved from possible career choices to choosing your associates wisely, young Nott fell into sense of security. He was sure he\'d gotten out of discussing the attack on Harry Potter. He wasn\'t that lucky. Severus poured two classes of some sort of amber liquid and placed one in front of his student. Nott smiled weakly and thanked him. It wasn\'t like any alcohol he had tasted, and he didn\'t want to look ignorant asking what it was. Snape smiled, thinking, \'Fool. He thinks because I drank some first it\'s safe\'. Snape took a sip of his tainted scotch. It wasn\'t his drink of choice, but much easier to add \'helpful\' ingredients undetected. Snape could easily maintain enough control over himself to overcome the mild potion, but he wasn\'t in the mood, so he\'d taken an antidote beforehand.

\"Do tell me how three wizards were bested by two, when those two were unarmed?\" Snape looked at the student and smiled, a look at once colder and more deadly than any glare could have been.

Nott shifted in his chair as it suddenly seemed even more uncomfortable, which was something, considering Snape had charmed the chair to be extra stiff.

\"What did Potter do when he saw three Death Eaters enter the room?\"

\"He froze, and ran.\"

Froze and ran? \"What, no Gryffindor courage?\"

\"Actually he froze, looked us over, and ran over to tell Weasley something.\"

I thought so. \"You had Potter in your grasp, unarmed. Did you at least hit him with Cruciatus?\" asked Snape, knowing full well the boy didn\'t posses the courage or ability to cast such a spell.

\"That\'s an Unforgivable, sir,\" whimpered Nott. Snape glared, thinking, \'What you did to my Harry was unforgivable.\' Snape was grateful Harry was only molested; it could have been so much worse. He, Snape, would certainly be in Azkaban, or dead, for throttling a student to death.

\"I suppose I could see your reluctance to use an Unforgivable on school grounds. Did you at least take advantage of the fact that he was naked?\" asked Snape, who now had moved so close to Nott that the boy could feel the warmth from his body. Nott shifted as far away as his uncomfortable chair would allow. \"With someone like Potter, who is powerful and well trained, the best move to make would be to attack and torture him without magic.\" Snape took a long sip of his drink, eyeing Nott carefully. \"You did rape him, didn\'t you?\"

\"I\'m not gay!\" yelled Nott with conviction, louder than he intended. His blush said otherwise, or that he was unsure of himself.

\"Who said anything about being gay?\" asked Snape smoothly. \"To a proud Gryffindor there is nothing worse than being humiliated by a Slytherin.\" Snape looked accusingly at Nott. \"You took him, right?\" asked Snape with ambiguity.

The young Slytherin nervously shook his head, but admitted to molesting Potter, as if it were some sort of last minute redemption.

\"You had opportunity and wasted it. You merely...touched him?\"
Nott sputtered.
Snape could sense the inexperience, the resistance. The boy is straight, merely curious. Now was the time to terrify him.
\"Ah, you did not know what to do? It was a whim? Never go into a situation without premeditation; and be prepared to follow through.\"
Snape paused, as if considering. \"You want to be a Death Eater? You think you have the required ...gifts?\" Snape asked softly.

Nott looked up, puzzled, \"Gifts, sir?\"

\"Your desire to serve our Lord is admirable. But first, there is a great deal you need to learn. You will need proficiency and endurance, in many skills. Of course, you would want to ... please...our Lord at your initiation. You cannot afford otherwise. The result would be most painful. And I would not want one I recommend to be less than competent.\" Snape seemed to have somehow moved even closer; he was leaning over him now. He raised his hand, stroked his index finger from Nott\'s cheek to his chin, and then tilted his head up, looking down at him with intense, fathomless black eyes. He continued with a low, silken voice, \"Your father would have, of course, been the one to prepare you to be a proper servant for our Lord, had Nott Sr. been available.\"

The boy winced at the thought of his father in Azkaban... or was it the thought of his father preparing him for the Dark Lord?

\"I could instruct you.... He has... unusual tastes.\" Snape\'s breath made the hairs on the boy\'s neck raise. Nott swallowed, hard. Snape moved back to his chair. \"I will allow you time to consider. Do not return unless you are sure. Once you are marked, it is for life. You cannot leave His service. If you do not accept this offer, I will not ask again. This discussion will simply be... forgotten.\"

Nott left, clearly shaken.
Snape chuckled. That had been rather amusing. He had particularly enjoyed the blanching and cold sweat that had periodically broken out on Nott. The boy was so cowed he didn\'t even notice Snape registering his reactions, though Nott had made a good effort not to let them show. Double entendre was so much fun, and Slytherins were so much better at picking up on the nuances than anyone else. He knew the student would not return.


~~~~~

Once past the initial feeling of annoyance that he had been pressured to go see his counselor, Harry looked forward to seeing Dr. Kirkland again. He remembered the first time meeting her. Erin Kirkland was a surprisingly pleasant lady. She was attractive, in her mid-forties, wore short brown hair, and had a pair of glasses hanging from a silver chain around her neck. Harry was surprised to find the office had been redecorated. He liked it before, but for some reason found the change comforting

\"Good to see you, Harry,\" said Dr. Kirkland, kindly.

\"Hello,\" he said before sitting in a chair across from her desk. \"You changed your office; it suits you.\"

\"You think? I\'m glad you like it.\" She made a note to Harry\'s chart. Harry was happy to talk about her office décor more than his problems.

\"It used to remind me of the common room in Gryffindor, but now it\'s more like I would expect you to have it,\" said Harry casually, as he noted the office was slightly more clinical. He noticed diplomas and certificates on the wall. The furniture was a warm blue color, with cream carpeting on the floor. \"It\'s very soothing.\"

\"I wasn\'t sure if you realized the significance of the décor when you first came to see me, and it wasn\'t too important to mention at the time, but I know it bothers you to be kept in the dark about things that effect you.\"

Harry nodded. That was the problem he had with Albus, and they had worked through that well enough. He wasn\'t sure where she was going with this, nor what it had to do with her redecorating the office.

\"It\'s common practice for wizard counselors to spell their offices to reflect what the patient finds to be a comforting atmosphere. Do you understand?\" She continued when he nodded. \"Is it correct to assume that since the office is what you think I would have, that you are comfortable, and feel safe with me?\"

Harry laughed a little. He felt silly not knowing that. He couldn\'t wait to take the muggle-born course on wizarding customs Hermione had taken last year. \"Of course I feel fine around you. Is this what your office looks like when no one else is here?\"

\"Close, \" she said and waved her wand around. The room didn\'t change much, but Harry noticed more personal items now. He glanced over at a picture of her and a young woman in formal robes. They were so close in resemblance they had to be Mother and daughter. \"The change in décor is us usually significant for patients Harry.\" When he offered no explanations she continued. \"Can you tell me why you feel unsafe, or not as comfortable and safe at Hogwarts as you did before?\"

Harry lowed his head. She had gotten right to the heart of it without him seeing it coming. \"Ron and I were attacked.\"
Harry went on to explain what had happened, and how he had wanted to kill the slimy Slytherin. When she asked why he was more upset with Nott than he had been with Draco Malfoy after a particularly bad fight they had the year before, Harry was quiet again.
\"I was still dealing with the repercussions of being outed. Did you see the article The Prophet ran on it?\" She nodded. \"That wasn\'t as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still dealing with some of the more ignorant, cruel sector of the student populace, all the while trying to deal with a possible new relationship. This, when we were attacked, we were showering... I, um, felt more vulnerable even than when my uncle was at his worst,\" he said quickly.

\"You have a lot on your plate, Harry. Why don\'t we start with your being outing, was it?\"

\"Outed,\" he corrected, with a weak laugh. \"One of my more embarrassing moments to date,\" he said, rubbing his eyes. \"Once things settled down, it wasn\'t that big a deal. I expected it to be worse. I\'ve gotten pretty good at tuning people out.\" Harry thought about what he said. Would telling her about Nott be like his being outed? Maybe it wouldn\'t be as bad as he thought, to have someone know. It had been a relief to have it all behind him when the public knew of his sexuality. How would telling her be a relief? It\'s not like I\'m not still going to keep it a secret from the public. \'If you care enough about Severus, you\'d get past this.\' It would be a relief because it would help him deal with how he felt about it. Damn his conscious for being rational.
\"I\'m afraid if I don\'t get this out of my head, I\'m going to ruin my chances at the only relationship I ever felt strongly about.\"

Dr. Kirkland nodded to encourage him to continue.

\"He was screaming something about me not fitting the bill. Not being what the \"Boy Who Lived\" was supposed to be, as he had pictured in his mind all those years. It\'s like I\'m some god or something, and then when someone gets close enough to see I\'m just human, they\'re disappointed. How could I be the one who is to save them all, when I can\'t even save myself from the likes of Nott? Maybe he blamed me for not killing Voldemort already and saving him from having to become a Death Eater like his father. IT\'S NOT MY FAULT HIS LIFE SUCKS!\"

\"No, it\'s not,\" the counselor agreed.

\"Did he think beating up Ron and me was going to get his father out of Azkaban? Did it make him feel like a bigger man to attack me while I had no wand, to hex me, to hit me... to touch me?\" he said the last part just above a whisper. His hands began to clench on the arms of the chair. \"I couldn\'t move, couldn\'t scream. When he saw me look at him, he pushed my face away. All I could do was feel. I felt helpless, felt his hands on me, rubbing me.\" \'Plink\' Harry looked up, startled to see what the sound was. The glass pitcher of water on the desk had cracked; water was trickling down the side. \"I\'m sorry, I didn\'t mean...\" Harry stood up, but Dr. Kirkland waved her hand at him to sit and relax. She picked up the pitcher, placing it in the basin in the next room. Harry noticed she didn\'t fix it, but put it in the other room. She had once told him that in life, it was important to deal with things we don\'t want to, even if it isn\'t hard to make it go away with magic. It was one of the arguments she and Albus had with him about his scars. They wanted him to remove his glamour and deal with his life, and he didn\'t see the point. The compromise had been that Harry would remove the glamour when school ended. Poppy had also been an advocate of him allowing the world deal with him being less than perfect. Harry didn\'t care so much what the world thought about him, but he didn\'t want the extra attention he would get when the charms did come off. He unconsciously rubbed the side of his neck where the worst scar was.
The counselor told Harry it was perfectly normal to have a sudden burst of raw magic when dealing with an upsetting issue for the first time.

He expressed his concerns for Albus knocking out the Slytherin before he could kill him. Harry was sure he had let Albus down. She explained that if Harry were truly out of control the day of the attack, he would have probably experienced a larger eruption of raw magic and energy. She continued to assure him that Albus most likely knew he was not out of control, but wanted to give Harry a chance to make his own decision. Dr. Kirkland and Harry continued to speak about the attack, and touched on several other subjects before agreeing to meet again in a few days time.

~*~*~

In the Gryffindor seventh year dorms, Hermione gasped as Harry twirled around to give a proper view of his new dress robes he was trying on for her.
\"They\'re gorgeous! I love them.\" Harry clasped her hand, as if pulling her over to dance. \"You two are going to look so great next Friday,\" gushed Hermione. Harry felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, but didn\'t flinch as he might have, before.

\"May I cut in?\" asked Ron, taking Hermione in his arms.

Harry bowed, ending their mock dance. He made a mental note that he was feeling more comfortable with physical contact from his friends again. Sure, it was only little touches, but it was a start at any rate. Wearing a wistful expression, he watched his friends dance. \"You know mate, Fred had a dance with McGonagall at his formal.\" Harry chuckled at the thought of that sight, and the even odder vision of asking Severus to dance with him. Harry couldn\'t really remember what Severus wore for the Yule ball three years ago. He doubted he would have given Severus a second glance back then.

Hermione giggled as Harry slid off his dress robes. \"Are you going to wear cut-off shorts underneath on the night of the formal, too?\" she teased when she saw what he was wearing.

\"No one knows what we\'ve got on under these things,\" said Harry with a grin. \"I\'ll just have to leave you guessing that night.\"

\"I heard that since the formal is on a week night, Nott is going to miss the first half; Filch won\'t let him off detention that night,\" said Ron. Harry nodded; he didn\'t know what to say. He was able to avoid Nott since they didn\'t have the same classes, but Harry hadn\'t thought about the formal. He was frowning at the thought of having to see him in a social setting.

\"How\'s it going with Dr. Erin?\" asked Hermione timidly when she noticed Harry\'s sudden change in mood. Harry gave her a smile.

\"Fine. We\'ve talked a ton. I sometimes wonder if that woman has a time-turner.\" Harry was suddenly finding the floor more interesting. He was putting this off, but knew it was time. \"I have something I need to tell you,\" he said quietly. \"I wasn\'t planning on it, but I guess Dr. Erin thinks I should have at least one person to confide in. That would be you guys.\"
Hermione gave him a small smile. She liked when he referred to them as one. Harry could never tell one of them something important without telling the other as well.

\"Did something happen?\" asked Ron. Harry nodded without looking up. Hermione sat down next to Harry. He was grateful for the comfort she gave. He missed the closeness they\'d had.

\"When you and I were attacked in the locker rooms,\" he started slowly, but worked his way up in speed as he continued, \"When you were stupefied, and the other two had left, Nott said that he could do what ever he wanted, and he touched me, uh, you know,\" he said rolling his eyes and looking down at his lap.

\"Oh My God, he molested you?\" spouted Hermione in shock. Harry winced.

\"I really hate that word, could we just call it... never mind, I don\'t want to call it anything.\"

\"I\'m glad you told us,\" whispered Hermione. \"I understand why you didn\'t want to tell anyone, but I\'m glad you could tell us. It\'s good to get it out. You must want to kill Nott. Is Dr. Kirkland helping you work through this?\"

Ron didn\'t speak. He understood now why Harry reacted the way he did after the attack. Several other things made more sense now, too.

\"Yeah, Dr. Erin knows just what to say. Actually, she doesn\'t always say much, but asks just the right questions. It\'s like I knew the answers all along, but didn\'t know the right questions to ask myself. Does that make sense?\" asked Harry, with his head tilted slightly as if he was going over the sentence in his head. Harry told them about a few other things he talked about with the Dr. to help him get past this. They were happy to see he was doing better.

None of them knew that just one bed over were Seamus and Dean, behind the curtains of Dean\'s four-poster bed. Dean was helping Seamus with a love letter for the girl he liked. They hadn\'t intended on eavesdropping, hadn\'t expected the trio\'s conversation to take such a private turn.

~~~~~

Severus Snape walked through the Great Hall to dinner. He always had such a presence. His robes looked slightly different today. Harry watched discreetly as he sipped from a goblet of pumpkin juice. Something was not the same. He scanned the black robes, looking for something. Then, about midway down, he spotted it. There were buttons along the waistline. These were the robes Severus wore riding. Harry wished he had a chance to see Severus riding again. Before reaching the head table, the professor stopped and spoke to a blond Ravenclaw girl. Harry remembered she was the one who wanted to get an apprenticeship in potions. He handed her a card, and then sat down with the other professors for dinner.

Severus ignored the conversation Filius and Hooch were having next to him. He ate in silence, and glanced around the Great Hall. There was a small burst of laughter where Draco Malfoy could be seen in the center of a conversation at the Slytherin table. Nothing interesting at the Hufflepuff table (as usual), and the Ravenclaws kept to themselves most of the time. The tall blond girl rose from her seat before dinner arrived. Severus watched her cross the room to the Gryffindor table where the Creevey brothers were sitting. She gave the older brother a note, and proceeded to do the same with Harry.

Severus knew Harry had been seeing a counselor. It wasn\'t hard to find out. One of the professors had to escort Harry to an apparation site, so it was discussed during a staff meeting. Minerva had volunteered to walk Potter out for the appointments. No one mentioned that they were for a counselor, but Severus could figure it out easily enough. Harry walked a little easier the past week or so. He held his head up higher, and was now the confidant boy Severus had met on holiday. Sev watched Harry look up, surprise evident on his face when the Ravenclaw stopped in front of him to give him a card. Severus couldn\'t hear what they were saying, but knew she was giving him one of the passes Severus had given to her to distribute.


The potion lab will be open to you on Thursday evening at 7:00 for tutorial.


Harry read it twice, guessing that Severus would be showing him to brew the non-addictive pain potion. He didn\'t want to kid himself into thinking that Severus just wanted to be with him. Creevey had gotten what must have been a similar note. He looked forward to Thursday, regardless of the motive his Potion\'s Master had.


Tbc