Where Lies Will Not Blossom

Author: Akumu Suta-Raito

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: R (Adult)

Genre: Romance, Drama, Angst, H/C

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Warnings: Language, Anal, Explicit Torture, Disturbing imagery.

Summary: HD Dark Epic. 'A single tear found its way down his cheek, hidden by his death-mask.' In the summer before sixth year, Draco Malfoy attended a Dark Revel. It wasn't what he expected. Author’s Note: Gah! The one thing I’m starting to hate about this story is how slow going it is! I feel like it’s taking forever for Draco to get rescued – but the plot is complex and I’m not going to screw up the story by rushing anything. I’m aiming to have Draco rescued before chapter twelve; I think that’s a good goal. But I’m trying to update as quickly as possible, so maybe chapter twelve won’t be that far off. Also in this chapter, a bit of Severus’ past is revealed. My version doesn’t follow the canon on a few points, but it doesn’t stray too far like some people have done.

Well, on to the next chapter!

Chapter Eight: Coming Clean

Draco fought not to tense when he heard the Dark Lord make his way to the bed. Instead, he let his body remain boneless and limp, feigning sleep. He made his continence stay as relaxed as possible, ready to perform the greatest act of his life. Gods, please let this work.

For the past few hours, Draco had lain awake and perfected the minute details of how he would manipulate Voldemort – it left him sickened. But Draco was nothing if not a true Slytherin and the end justified the means; if he played this right, he would lengthen his life – hopefully long enough for the Order to break him out of this prison.

Yes, and if he kept telling himself that he wouldn’t feel like such a disgusting whore. The bed dipped slightly, signaling that the Dark Lord had finally reached him – a long-fingered hand stroked his cheek in an almost tender fashion. Draco wanted to bite those fingers off. Pretending to give a small sigh of contentment, the blonde moved slightly into the touch, still simulating slumber. His stomach rolled and he hoped that the nausea didn’t show on his face.

Voldemort made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, and Draco wondered what he would see in that monstrous face if he wasn’t blind. Would he see satisfaction, amusement, lust? Well, he hoped the bastard ate it up, because once he was out of here Draco would find a way to end him.

The hand traveled further down, to lightly stroke his collarbone from where it was peaking behind ill fitting rags. He wanted to yell and scream for Voldemort to stop touching him but fought relentlessly against the impulse. Instead he let out a small moan, pretending to fight his way out of slumber.

“Wake up, little one.” The hand was back at his face, tracing his slightly open lips slowly. “Time to face me, no more ideal dreamsss.” Draco noticed that the voice, while soft, held an unmistakable possessive quality.

Draco stiffened and pretended to start with fright, curling up and opening his blank eyes reflexively. He swore he heard a hiss of satisfaction, then he felt the pressure of the Dark Lord’s hand on his hair, the spidery fingers combing slowly through the flaxen strands – it took all he had in him to not move away from the touch. He was almost shaking with the effort, but he prayed Voldemort wouldn’t notice.

“You no longer move from my caresss, why? What game are you playing, little Dragon? I hear your heart beating fassst under your ssskin.” Crap, crap… he can here my heartbeat, Draco thought frantically – that hadn’t been expected.

Well, this was as good a time as ever.

“I’ve realized that I have little control over what happens to me now – that is up to you, Lord. I’ve been beaten, cut, burned, curse, tortured beyond my imagination…” Draco paused for a moment, then began to speak once more. “I belong to the same house as the one you descended from, and like any true Slytherin I just want to live. I’ll fight against you no longer, defiance has only brought me pain – do with me as you will.” Draco attempted to project fear, boldness, and a small bit of confidence in his statement – this combination would seem likely to the Dark Lord and make Draco’s deception easier to believe.

“And you presssume to give me permission; I, Lord Voldemort? You are most curiousss – and most foolish youngling.” The Dark Lord’s voice sounded both amused and incredulous, but Draco could also sense a bit of curiosity in the bastard’s voice. Good. So long as he could keep Voldemort interested, things were going well.

“I am not giving you permission, Lord. I am simply declaring that you need not expect insolence on my part any longer; if you kill me, so be it. If you have some other purpose for me other than death, I will comply.” Comply until I find a way to kill you, you bloody prick.

Voldemort was still stroking his pale hair, and Draco had the sudden feeling that if he were able to see, it would be much harder to carry out this plan. It was the first time Draco felt thankful of his blindness – he couldn’t imagine looking into those terrifying crimson eyes and saying these things.

“You call me Lord.” The words somehow sounded ominous and for a moment, Draco was robbed of speech as he frantically tried to think of a response.

“I – Are you not a Lord,” Draco asked calmly, his voice doing nothing to show how his heart was racing. No doubt Voldemort could hear it.

Yet again he heard the dark chuckle and Draco knew trouble was coming. “Yesss, I am. I am the Lord of the Darknesss, one who travelsss the Ssshadowed Roadsss, descendant from the Great One that tamed the Chaosss, who ssshall be Ruler of all Wizardom.” (1) This statement was followed with a long, nearly inaudible hiss – and Draco was once again scrambling for something to say. But what does one say to the delusional nonsense of the most powerful Dark wizard in Europe?

“I – yes.” That apparently.

Suddenly the light, fleeting touch on his hair became an iron grip, nearly ripping chunks of pale locks out of his scalp. Draco clenched his teeth against the pain, hearing the near rasping of the Dark Lord above him and once again questioned his sanity in attempting this trickery.

“I am your Lord!” The words were nearly growled out, and the hand in his hair tightened, whipping his head closer towards Voldemort. Another hand gripped his right arm harshly, yanking it behind his back and nearly dislocating his shoulder. Funny how physical the Dark Lord tended to get with him. In the excruciatingly painful way.

“Yes,” Draco panted slightly, refusing to show how much pain he was in. He allowed his body to remain pliant, knowing that any resistance would be interpreted as defiance – that would only send Voldemort into a frenzy.

“SAY IT!” His head was pulled further and the collar began to cut into the tender skin of throat, nearly choking him.

“Y-You are my Lord – my Lord,” Draco gasped out reverently, hoping that would placate the Dark Lord enough to let him breathe. He shuddered in relief when he was suddenly released and the pressure on his neck was relieved – he was starting to wonder if the wizard didn’t have some sort of asphyxiation fetish. Draco certain wasn’t fond of it.

As if he hadn’t just been bellowing with some maniacal strength, Voldemort began to pet his hair again and purred, “Good, good. You are finally understanding, Dragon – I am most relieved. I would have hated to break you… but you do bleed ssso prettily.”

And if that wasn’t the single more disturbing think Draco had ever heard. Hopefully he would be out of here before the Dark Lord decided he wanted to see Draco bleed – he was rather attached to his blood staying in his body. He realized that Voldemort was no longer speaking, just touching his hair, and the relief he felt was indescribable.

He couldn’t believe he had actually gotten away with this. When Draco first developed this plan, he was sure it would take days, even weeks to get the Dark Lord to trust him – he was prepared to deal with the same agonizing pain that he’d felt in that hell hole of a cell. But the fact that he’d actually gotten the wizard to consider him as compliant was more than he could ever hope – he might just be able to get out of here alive. If he could continue to play this game, that is.

But Draco was confident in his ability to deceive now – and so long as he kept Voldemort intrigued by him (which shouldn’t be a problem, as the freak seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with his hair), Draco wouldn’t have to worry about death. Although rape seemed to loom imminently in the future, he thought that was far off as well.

The Dark Lord seemed to be anticipating having him that way, and yet he hadn’t acted on his desires thus far. Perhaps whatever was keeping him from taking Draco would continue to do so – at least a long as it would take for Severus and the Order to come for him.

Yes, Draco thought he could hold out until then. These psychotic Dark Lord types were so easy to predict, after all.


Severus had long since resolved to not think about it – the way he had screamed and raged, nearly destroying his home had been most undignified. How he’d collapsed on himself and began to sob hysterically had been even worse; he was only grateful that he’d waited until leaving Grimmauld Place before breaking down in such a despicable manner.

What Draco was being subjected to – it was beyond monstrous. When Potter haltingly begun to explain his vision, Severus had remained in a stunned stupor, his mind unable to comprehend the demented tale Potter was weaving. And although he knew that it was unlikely the teen could fabricate such a story, Severus had still demanded entry into Potter’s mind to see the memory for himself.

Of course the brat had refused at first, but something in his face must have convinced Potter – he could only imagine how he had looked. For the first time in years his carefully contrived masked had slipped, and he was only a man who’d just found out that unspeakable things might be happening to the boy that was his son in everything but blood.

It had taken hours before he could look at what he’d seen logically (he’d put the memory into his pensive and viewed it numerous times.) Perhaps what was so startling about the vision was that he was actually hearing the Dark Lord’s thoughts, and feeling the wizard’s emotions – he grudgingly found himself thanking Potter. If it weren’t for the boy’s odd connection to Lord Voldemort, it was doubtful that he would have ever found out about this new development, or have insight into what the wizard was thinking.

Severus had left Potter with a dreamless sleep potion, and a promise to keep him updated on the effort to save Draco.

Yes, that had surprised even him.

Contrary to popular belief, he did not see James Potter when he looked at Harry Potter – but they all had a role to play in this game with the Dark Lord. His just happened to be that of a bad-tempered spy. He didn’t necessarily hate the boy, but he did despise the company the boy kept: Weasley was a lumbering fool and Granger thought she knew more about the Art of Potions than him.

But truly, it would be dangerous for the boy to harbor any other feelings besides dislike for him as Potter was terrible at Occulumency and he didn’t want his cover blown. He liked his head attached to his shoulders, thank you very much. Severus wasn’t saying that he was dying to start handing the boy chocolate frogs and flowery words – he wasn’t a nice man, but he was far from evil.

And Potter was proving to be less and less like James Potter and his dogfather every day.

He was reluctant to admit such things, but Potter seemed far more aware than his blockheaded father – the boy saw not only black and white, but shades of grey as well. And even more shocking, he seemed genuinely concerned about Draco’s wellbeing; of course he was still disgustingly Gryffindor, but he was closer to Albus then he was to Weasley. He believed that ‘innocent until proven guilty’ nonsense and truly looked for good in everyone.

Severus could make use of this naïveté, however. If things turned out badly and certain Order members found out that the recruit was indeed Draco Malfoy, Potter may be the only thing standing between his godson and certain death. Potter, while not officially part of the Order, held plenty of sway over its members – he was their Boy Wonder after all. Potter could bat his big green eyes at them and lay on a guilt trip bigger than the Atlantic Ocean – something he learned from Albus, no doubt.

But he had more important things to think of at the moment.

After analyzing the memory, Severus found out that things were both better and worse than he thought. Knowing that Voldemort desired Draco in any fashion was beyond ghastly; every Death Eater knew what happened to any of the Dark Lord’s ‘playmates.’ After just one day spent in the wizard’s company, a Death Eater was summoned to remove the body of the unfortunately soul – the victims were always dead or near death.

Even Death Eaters dreaded being called to the Dark Lord’s bed – in fact, many of Voldemort’s lower level servants wore glamours to make themselves and family members unattractive, as they were the most expendable. Voldemort wasn’t particularly amorous, but he was far from celibate – he had a predilection for smooth-cheeked and slender men with small features, the younger the better. Draco fit this description perfectly, but the Potion’s Master had never known the Dark Lord to take any interest in a traitor beyond desiring their death.

Severus himself wore an all encompassing altering charm; without it he would have been singled out by the Dark Lord for his looks long ago. His mother, who had been a devout follower of Voldemort, soon discovered his tastes and forced her then twelve-year-old son to disguise his looks. His mother had been far from maternal, but she didn’t want her only son to be viciously raped and killed – someone needed to uphold the family name, after all.

Neither his mother nor father would have won any beauty contests with their hard beady eyes, odd (and in his father’s case large) noses, and sallow skin; Severus’ looks were an anomaly of genetics. (2)

His skin was an ivory tone, his body long and leanly muscled, and his features almost elfin – no large hooked nose took up the majority of his face, as the male Snapes were known for. His hair, while inky black, had never been greasy and instead fell in thick waves. His eyes were just as dark as his parents’, but were larger with an almost liquid quality to them. With the glamour, however, he was nearly his father’s twin, with yellow unhealthy skin and that hideous nose.

He transformed into the epitome of unpleasant to look at.

The Marauders, unobservant as they were, didn’t seem to notice that their classmate changed so drastically over the summer before Second Year, seemingly believing that he’d always been so ugly.

Honestly, it didn’t bother him that his supposed attractiveness was hidden; he was able to be an effective spy and that was all that mattered. Never mind the fact that the Dark Lord wouldn’t dare to seek after him now even if he pranced around the throne room naked – he was highly prized for his position as spy.

No, this undesirable façade made it easier for him to maintain his mask in company of both enemies and allies. In fact, Severus had grown almost fond of the unappealing glamour – at least he didn’t have some love struck fool running after him because of his looks, interfering with his already complicated life.

But Severus felt almost personally responsible for Draco’s position; he had pushed Lucius to put Draco under a mild glamour after the rise of the Dark Lord, but his blond ‘colleague’ had been far too proud to do such a thing. His exact words had been, “The Malfoys have always been highly valued weapons for Our Lord, and he would not use my son simply for pleasure. If your mother had not been so incompetent at her tasks, perhaps you would not have been forced to hide yourself in such a despicable manner.” After this, Lucius made some remarks about how he would be “safe” in removing the glamour and tried to proposition him as he often did. Severus replied scathingly by stating that Lucius did have a wife, woefully inadequate as she may be.

That day weighed heavily on his mind now. Instead of forcing the issue and perhaps saving Draco from his current fate, he had allowed himself to be distracted by trading barbs with Lucius. If only that conversation had gone differently, perhaps…

At the same time, he knew this odd lure Voldemort felt towards Draco had kept him alive this far; the mystery of why Draco had been healed and cleaned was now understood. He wished that his godson had never been put in this situation, but he was grateful the boy was still alive. He also had reason to believe that Draco would be kept alive for longer still – hopefully long enough to be rescued.

The Dark Lord believed Draco to have some special powers – whether this was true or not was debatable. Even in his most sane years, Lord Voldemort was known for chasing after the most ridiculous of mythical weapons and the Death Eaters would loyally run around the world on these wild goose chases. The dark wizard was always looking for some kind of edge over the Light, something that would ensure his victory over Albus Dumbledore.

Now, Voldemort thought this came in the form of his godson. So long as the Dark Lord deluded himself, Draco was relatively secure, dare he say. His life was probably in the least danger it had been in since the beginning of his captivity – it was quite ironic that Voldemort was the source of this ‘safety.’ This was not to say that what Draco suffered at the hands of the Dark Lord would not make death look like a happier alternative, but Severus prayed that it would not come to that.

The biggest dilemma to be overcome now was how they could possible retrieve Draco from the Dark Lord’s private quarters. It was hard enough to come up with a plan to infiltrate the dungeons, but this would prove impossible.

Unless.

Unless he came clean to Albus.

There was no hope of any successful liberation if Albus did not know of this knew development – he was the only one that could possibly pull this off. There was not one day to waste, especially with the situation his godson now found himself in; Albus was the only one who could magically hold his own against Voldemort. And it wasn’t that he didn’t trust his mentor, it was the man’s inherent trust in humanity that Severus feared. All of this would be for naught if Albus simply did what he’d stopped Potter from doing.

Well.

That just wouldn’t do at all.


Albus stared down at him through the half-moon spectacles, his twinkling blue eyes contemplative as he finished listening to Severus’ account. He hadn’t seemed surprised when Severus announced that the recruit was indeed Draco, just raising an eyebrow, but once the dark-haired man related the newest development, the wizard quickly paled with horror.

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Severus would have been quite amused to finally shock the Headmaster. Waiting for Dumbledore to respond was more than nerve racking; the last things he wanted was to hear was that the man was disappointed in him. His decision may not have been without fault, but he acted only out the desire to save his godson’s life. Sitting in the comfortable armchair across from his mentor, he once again felt like some misbehaving child who had finally confessed to some little misdemeanor – he wished he knew how the old man was able to do that. He resisted the urge to brush his hair from his eyes or make some other nervous gesture.

“This is very serious, my boy.” The man was still staring at him in a mildly disapproving fashion, but the lingering concern and calculation in those blue eyes showed the man was thinking of something other than Severus’ schemes.

A ghost of his usual sneer appeared on Severus’ face as he stated, “I’m aware of that.”

“You should have told me.” Now Albus looked sorrowful and slightly hurt, and he resisted the urge to scream – it wasn’t that he didn’t trust the man who was more like a father than his own had ever been. Honestly, he trusted Albus more than most; it was the other Order members he had little faith in.

“Perhaps – I should have,” Severus conceded slowly, nearly dragging the words out of his throat, “But it would have made no difference up to this point; I had not found out the extent of the Dark Lord’s interest with Draco until early this morning.”

“From young Harry?”

“Yes.”

“His strengthening connection to the Dark Lord is becoming more worrisome as time goes on. Extensive exposure to Tom’s mind – especially his thoughts and beliefs – could have a very negative affect on Harry’s psyche. But there will be more time to think on that later. We need to focus on the more pressing issue of Draco’s perilous location.

I have a… suggestion regarding his rescue – one that I think will prove to be a better alternative then rushing in with all of our forces. It would require a select few to know the truth while keeping the rest of the Order in the dark, so to speak. I would allow you to choose who you think would be best for this team – I trust you to choose wisely, Severus. The mission will be a great danger to those who participate, but I believe it has a high chance of success. But this all depends on you, my boy, and what you will be willing to do to save young Draco.” Was it just him or was the man’s eyes sparkling with good humor once more? Just what was Albus playing at now?

Severus resisted the urge to rub his head at the feeling of an oncoming migraine.

“You are aware that I will do anything and everything possible to insure my godson’s safe return. Tell me what your plan is and I’ll judge whether I can complete it solitarily. I don’t think any others should know – Potter being aware is bad enough,” Severus grimaced and waited for the silver-bearded man to inform him of this quickly contrived idea.

“There is no doubt that you will need others to complete his mission – don’t be needlessly proud Severus. Everyone needs help at some point, and Draco needs all the resources available to us.” Severus scowled but nodded in agreement. “As for the plan itself and your role in it; I believe you well know what I will ask of you.”

Albus leaned over his folded hands and gave him a look. For a moment he was horribly confused, but then his suddenly understood what the old man was hinting at. Of course, he was always pushing the bloody issue…

“No.” The answer was flat and unemotional, but a frightening anger was shone on his face.

Albus appeared to be blissfully unaware of the coming storm, merely smiling gently at his surrogate son. “There is no other way.”

“I will find one.” If his face got any stonier, it would be carved at out of granite. But Albus, the meddling fool, was completely unaffected by the display – damn him!

“You would waste needless time while the boy suffers in Voldemort’s bedchambers?” Severus nearly flinched at the words. Bloody hell, but the man knew how to hit where it hurt!

“I can’t,” Severus nearly bellowed out in exasperation. “What you ask of me will have ramifications –”

“I am fully prepared to deal with any consequences that may arise; I always have been,” The man then smiled gently. “Don’t you think it’s time, Severus?”

Their gazes locked for several long moments, Severus’ filled with anger, frustration and guilt while Albus’ reflected compassion, understanding and empathy. Severus broke the contact a moment later, cursing, but knowing that the man was right (funny how he always seemed to be).

“Fine,” He bit out, nearly choking on the word.

Albus’ smile could have powered several small muggle machines.

TBC

(1) All of that was basically Voldemort’s flowery and overbearing way of saying that he was Slytherin’s heir and that he was extremely powerful.

(2) I just wanted to point out that while normal wizards and witches might not know about muggle genetics, Severus would, considering that his father was a muggle. Even if he was a pureblood, I could imagine him learning such things because it is Severus, after all!

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!

Vittani – Really glad you like the whole creep factor I have going on; I think I might have scared a couple of people off the it *beats sadistic plot bunny into submission.* Yeah, I have to really think when I write Draco, because you don’t realize how much you rely on sight until its gone – and even as an author, I’ll type “he looked” and then have to erase it. It’s definitely a challenge, but I’m enjoying it.

As for the vision, the idea came to me right after I finished with Draco’s scene and I was like ‘hmm, wonder if that’ll work’ and I was pleasantly surprised that it did! It was a split second decision to do it in Harry’s POV – but I thought it was creepier that way, lol. Snape and Harry interaction was a bit weird to do, most people have them going at each other’s throat in the extreme, but I want to show a fragile camaraderie between the two of them.

Yes, the books would have been brought to a new level if it would have been Sirius/Remus… drool. Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you like the chapter!

Thrnbrooke – Well, this chapter addresses the issue of Draco’s rescue and so does my author’s note. Don’t worry, I’m doing all I can get him out of there ; ) thanks for the review!

sasukichan – Don’t worry, I love long reviews! Feel free to ramble all you want, lol. Considering the amount of feedback I get on this sight, I suck up any encouragement that I can get. Yes, Draco is determined to get out of there, no matter what he has to do to achieve that goal. This chapter shows that, but he’s also going to have to go through some more hell before that happens – hehe, I am so twisted to look forward to writing the torture… you are not alone!

Draco’s virginity will probably stay a secret for a while, but whatever Gift he has will be hinted at in the upcoming chapters (as soon as I figure out what it is, exactly). I’m terrible, I know! Voldemort’s insane intelligence will make itself known in later chapters, but I love writing him so evil villain… I had a lot of fun writing that POV scene, especially with Harry posing as Voldemort.

It was a bit hard to figure out how the do the Harry and Snape interaction without downplaying or exaggerating their mutual dislike for one another. And you are right, Severus is a much better father than Lucius could hope to be. As for what Severus will do now… I think that is explored in this chapter. As for Harry being part of the rescue plan, you’ll just have to wait and see…

Thanks so much for the feedback – and keep telling me what you think. P.S: If you want me to email you when I release a new chapter, just leave your email on your next review – I’ll be happy to keep you informed!