Bonds of Affection

The tranquilizer gun trained on Lucius Malfoy, Severus sat on the floor of the wooden enclosure, wanting more than anything, to be looking for a way inside the Castle, but not daring to leave Lucius unattended – for the fear he might wake, and alert Voldemort.



Just as his last thought in the face of death had been of Harry, his every waking thought was also filled with him. In his entire life, Severus never held this much admiration and respect for any single person, Albus Dumbledore himself included.



Lucius stirred slightly on the floor, and Severus discharged a single dart into him, hitting him in the shoulder. With a low grunt, Lucius passed out again. Severus glared at his sleeping form with loathing. This man had caused Harry more grief and anguish than anyone else alive – including probably Voldemort himself. Lucius was the Dark Lord\'s muse – the instigator of Harry\'s enslavement, the producer of the slave potion, and the irreversible, untreatable Termination Ingredient...



And yet, Harry withstood Lucius\' attempts at destroying his soul, his spirit – so far.



Throughout their bonding, Harry somehow ... managed to remain himself. He submitted – but retained all of his pride, all of his dignity, all of his unique personality that made him who he was. He still teased, he joked around – and he even threatened to defy his Master when something was important to him. This was not a typical behavior of someone under the slave-bond; but of course, Harry was remarkably strong-willed.



Suddenly, Severus felt something change. It was as if a shadow was lifted from his mind, or as if a fog clouding his vision, had dissipated. And it was then, that Severus remembered that one more unsolved mystery remained. While Severus had abandoned Harry, bleeding and near death, in the hands of the enemy – someone else had healed him. Someone other than Severus. And that, simply put, was supposed to be impossible. Not just unlikely – impossible. Some parts of slave-bonds were rather mechanical and unbendable, and that was one of them. The slave-bonds were designed to instill maximum dependency on the Master. Whenever an injury had been delivered by the Master, even by accident, only the Master\'s personal touch could bring relief and end suffering. And yet... Harry had been healed – and suffered no ill effects. Therefore....



Severus\' eyes shot wide open, and he smiled. Therefore, there was no slave-bond.



Excitement surged through him instantly, and he allowed himself to complete the line of reasoning:



Therefore, Harry never drank the slave-potion.



Therefore, Harry never consumed the Termination Ingredient.



Severus smirked, then laughed out loud. No wonder the brat had been pulling his hair and pushing him around in the kitchen... Severus covered his mouth with his hand, trying to erase the idiotic, delirious smile from his lips. He failed, of course.



Still, more mysteries remained. Somehow, someone had fooled Voldemort\'s tracking and surveillance spells that had been placed on the potion. But how? And more importantly, who? Severus did not know the answer to that, but as he recalled more and more details from the last two months, Severus became convinced that Albus held the answer.



He remembered how ... distraught ... Albus was when he observed Harry\'s public displays of affection towards Severus. Obviously, Albus knew there was no bloody slave-bond, and hadn\'t been expecting them to become physically intimate... The old bastard damn nearly fainted when he saw Harry sitting on the floor, the boy\'s head in Severus\' lap.



No wonder Albus had called off the search for the information on the Wailing Willow Bark and told Minerva it didn\'t matter. Of course it didn\'t matter – Albus knew that Harry had never consumed the mystery ingredient.



And still, the old manipulative bastard had allowed them both to believe the worst, for the past two months, Severus thought, with both loathing and admiration at once. Not that they didn\'t deserve it – breaking into his office, and stealing the potion... but still...



He finally heard a distant sound of Castle doors opening. He looked - and saw Harry running towards him, as if in bid to win a race. Hermione and Ron were following him – but not running, just walking quickly, Ron\'s arm wrapped around Hermione, supporting her.



Severus tucked the tranquilizer gun away, and ran towards them, forgetting all about appearances and personal dignity.



When Harry reached him, he handed Severus\' wand back to him, and then, flew into his embrace, holding on to him desperately. “He\'s gone. He\'s gone,” Harry repeated, over and over again. “And Severus! Ron found the curses that Voldemort had used on the Marvolo Gaunt\'s Ring... we can now go back and save Dumbledore!”



For a minute or so, Severus could not tell whether he was crying or laughing, as he was holding Harry in his grip. Ron and Hermione caught up with them finally and smiled hesitantly.



“Harry, I have something to tell you, too,” Severus said quietly. “Promise you won\'t attack anyone...”



Hermione and Ron were looking at Severus nervously.



“I promise,” Harry said without conviction. “Severus – what is it?”



“There\'s no slave-bond,” Severus said. “I just finally realized it. You never drank the ... enslavement potion. You are not dying.”



Harry stiffened in his arms. “You sure?” he asked quietly. Severus nodded. “But how... what....who... the surveillance spells on the potion... how?”



“I don\'t know how,” Severus said. “But I am sure we\'ll find out soon enough. Won\'t we, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley?”



Harry turned around and glared at Ron and Hermione. “You knew, didn\'t you?” he demanded. “You knew there was no slave-bond! That\'s how you knew that being healed by someone else other than Severus wouldn\'t harm me... that\'s how you knew that slave-bond couldn\'t tell me where Severus was....” Harry\'s glare was ready to incinerate them. “You knew I wasn\'t dying, you knew I wasn\'t slave-bonded, and you\'ve told me NOTHING? What kind of friends are you?”



“Sorry,” Hermione whispered contritely.



Severus placed his hand on Harry\'s shoulder. “They couldn\'t tell you,” Severus said calmly, with regained confidence. “It\'s not that they weren\'t eager to throw caution to the wind and blab it out, but they were physically and magically unable to do so. My guess is that there is a Fidelius charm involved, with Albus Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper. Perhaps we should find our way back to Hogwarts and get some answers.”



“Tell me!” Harry demanded, staring at his friends. “What happened? How? Tell me!”



Ron and Hermione smiled sheepishly, but did not say anything.



“They can\'t,” Severus repeated, very patiently. “Stop tormenting them. They can only confirm what we already know. They cannot reveal any new facts. The Fidelius protects the information. Let\'s walk towards the Estate boundary, shall we? From there, we can Apparate to the Manor, and then Floo to Hogwarts.”



Hermione smiled at Severus gratefully.



“Fine,” Harry said, almost mollified, and took Severus\' hand in his, squeezing his fingers slightly. “So, Severus, how did you figure it out? Is it... because ... someone else healed me, and I didn\'t go insane from mental anguish?”



Severus nodded. “Yes. But truly, I should have guessed much sooner, Harry. Among other things, I should have paid more attention to the Third Prophecy of Sybill Trelawney.”



Harry glanced at him, surprised. “What do you mean?”



“They say that no word in the prophecy is random, or superfluous,” Severus said, smiling wryly. “Remember the wording Trelawney used? She did not mention any bonds of slavery in her prophecy. Just... bonds of affection.”



Harry looked up at him, returning his smile. “I think I can live with that.”



To Be Continued...