How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

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DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.

A/N~ Here it is, the demise of Morgan Taylor. If you are easily squicked, please wait until chapter 87 to rejoin the boys in Echo, or you may simply skip past the dbdbdbdbdb parts. Unbroken halo has written a cookie that will go along with what happens immediately after the end of this chapter, also not for the squeamish. It will be posted on the live journal community ‘snitch_n_time’.
My thanks to golden snitch and unbroken halo, for betaing and listening to me bitch about just the right way to kill Morgan.
To everyone that has stuck with me this long for this chapter, please stick around, we still have many things for the boys to deal with and learn from. People have asked repeatedly if Orion Snape and Severus’ problems will be brought back, the answer is yes, but not for a little while. They deserve to relax a little for now.
Hugs and kisses for all.

Draco entered the old house and wondered just exactly what he was supposed to be doing while his father and godfather were busy. Turning around in the foyer, he noted the décor with approval; amazed Potter had taste after all. Speaking of Potter, where was the prat anyhow? The tall blond wandered through the main floor, looking at the woodwork until he came to the partially open door of the master bedroom. He pushed the door open further to reveal Harry lying on the bed looking at the ceiling.

“Hey,” Draco said as he stepped into the room, the same attitude he had had in school, he simply didn’t believe there was anywhere he wasn’t welcome. Harry turned his head and fixed his green eyes on the old rival in the doorway. “Where are the rooms Severus said we’d have?”

“The rooms are upstairs, the only bedrooms down on this floor are this one and the nursery,” Harry said as he waved his hand toward the door on the opposite wall. “Do you need me to show you?”

Draco didn’t say anything, just walked further into the room and sat down in one of the arm chairs by the window. Harry regarded him with some suspicion and then sat up with an exasperated sigh. Draco looked at him and gave one of his trademark sneers to which Harry just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Is it alright if I call you Harry? It doesn’t feel right calling you Snape,” Draco said, trying to act as bored as he could and stay looking elegant. Truth be told, he was a bit nervous not knowing exactly what he was supposed to be doing while they waited for Lucius and Severus to return. Harry just looked at him and sighed again.

“Yeah, you can call me Harry,” the brunette muttered as he looked out the bedroom window and followed his husband’s walk down to the shed with Lucius and…that thing. Draco followed Harry’s gaze and he felt a chill run down his spine as he caught a glimpse of his godfather’s face.

“It was bad, wasn’t it?” Draco asked as he nodded towards the window. “I mean what you went through. Father obliviated me after I came back from checking out his house.” Harry turned and stared at the blond, giving a sharp bark of laughter. Draco flinched and then looked at Harry.

“It was hell Malfoy, be glad you don’t remember what you saw,” Harry said as he pushed himself off the bed and walked over to open the door to the nursery. He stopped and looked back at his childhood rival and saw a man standing there that looked lost in his surroundings. “Tell me about your little girl.”

“She’s almost six now,” Draco said with a small smile, it was obvious that the little girl was his life. “Would you like to see a picture of her?”

“Sure. Come on in here and keep me company while I put these decals on the wall,” Harry said going into the nursery and letting Draco follow. Draco slouched in the nursery doorway and looked around approvingly at the pale pastel colours that made up the decorating scheme in the baby’s room.

“I can’t believe you are going to have a baby, Severus Snape’s baby at that. Man, you two hated each other when you were at Hogwarts,” Draco laughed to himself as he remembered all the detentions Harry had served because of mishaps in potions class. Harry only smiled and picked up the first of the cartoon character decals that he and Severus had decided on, peeling the back off and affixing it to the wall beside the window. \"You have to admit that if anyone had said you would end up with Severus while you were in school you would\'ve hexed them into the next week.\"

Harry only shook his head and laughed quietly, he knew Draco was right but that didn\'t mean he would admit to it. The blond pulled his wallet in his back pocket, opening it to take out a picture of Evette. Harry reached out for the picture and studied the little blonde haired girl that was smiling and waving at him, he grinned and handed the picture back.

\"She looks a lot like her mother,\" he said and noticed that Draco nodded in agreement. \"I was sorry to hear that you lost Pansy.\" Draco continued to nod his head and gave a sad smile. Not knowing what else to say, Harry studied the next decal before he peeled the backing off.

Draco swallowed before he spoke. \"She\'d made her choice to stand and fight against the Death Eaters. I had asked her to remain in the Manor with the baby where she would be safe, she made her choice.\" Harry just listened as Draco talked. Even though they had not been friends in school, he knew that he had grown up and it seemed that Draco had as well. Who was he not to listen to the man that had stood up for his unborn child.

The two men remained silent for several minutes, listening as Grant and Damon moved through the house looking for them. Grant entered the bedroom and looked around before he peeked into the nursery to find the two young men. He entered and laid one hand on Harry’s narrow shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Harry reached up and grasped the old man’s hand before he turned to Draco.

“I’m Grant Wolffe, Damon’s husband, you must be Draco,” Grant said as he gave the blond a smile. Draco nodded and stuck his hand out to the man only to find himself pulled into a gentle embrace. “If you are family to Sev, then you are family to us.” The blond gave a squawk of surprise and then smiled.

Harry had drifted over to the window and was staring down the hill at the shed his husband was in at the moment. Biting his lower lip and tuning out the others in the room, he carefully raised the window sash and listened. Yes there it was…Harry could hear meaty thuds and cries for mercy as they drifted up to him on the afternoon breeze. He stood there almost in a trance, just listening as his husband yelled out a question, and although he strained, he couldn’t hear the answer, only another blood curdling scream. Grant quickly noticed the noise and started to shut the window as Harry put his hand out to stop him.

“Harry, I don’t feel this is appropriate for you to be doing,” Grant said, disapproval strong in his voice. Harry turned to him with an eerie smile on his face and one hand over his slightly swollen tummy. “Harry come in the kitchen and we’ll make a snack.”

“No Grant, I want to hear him scream. I want to hear him beg like he used to make me beg. I want to know that he knows what it is like to not have any mercy,” Harry said as he turned back to the window and promptly forgot the others in the room with him. Grant looked at him and shook his head sadly at the words the young man said, he looked at Draco who only shook his head and shrugged.

“Well Draco, let’s go find you something to eat then,” Grant said as he turned to leave the room with the blond in tow, vowing to himself that he would have Damon come fetch Harry and talk some sense into him. He didn’t think listening to torture was healthy for anyone.

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Down in the stone building that at one time had been a small milking shed, one Morgan Taylor, former member of the Lower House of Parliament was now chained to the wall and watching as Severus Snape, former Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry calmly laid out the tools of torture he planned to use over the next few hours. Lucius would chuckle now and then at the frightened noises Taylor would make as he watched with wide eyes and lean forward to whisper.

“You do remember that I told you I was the nice one, right?” Malfoy would hiss and Morgan Taylor would only roll his eyes in the same petrified manner frightened cattle have as they are led up to the knackerman’s sledge.

“Severus, this beast has shat itself, I don’t suppose we can hose it off,” Lucius said as his nose wrinkled in distaste as the foul odor permeated the closed air. Severus only nodded his head and waved towards the garden hose in the corner.

“Hose him down, I am not going to get shit on my hands when I castrate him,” he chuckled as he sharpened a short handled field scythe. The sounds of water running and high pitched squeals as icy water hit the frightened flesh brought a smile to Severus’ face. He picked up a blow torch and looked at Taylor speculatively, enjoying the short scream of fear that escaped the man’s lips.

Lucius moved forward and picked up a knife from the carefully laid out implements Severus had set up earlier in the day in anticipation. “I think we need to begin with a bit of blood Sev, what say you?” Severus nodded and picked up a knife as well and they both advanced on Taylor. The first bit of business was taken care of as Severus quickly sliced away his eyelids, being careful not to damage the eye itself. He wanted to be quite certain Taylor didn’t miss a moment of the fun by closing his eyes, as soon as those two tiny bits of skin went, the fun began in earnest. Blood quickly began to flow as long strips of skin were carved from his back and sides, screams filling the air accompanied by long shuddering gasps as it finally dawned on Taylor that he was not going to make it out of this alive. And the begging began.

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeassssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeee….” He screamed as he watched another strip of his skin be flung against the wall of the shed to stick there with the other pieces, sliding wetly down to the dirt floor. Severus only cocked his head as if he were considering and then laughed.

“Should I show you the same tender mercy you showed my Harry?” he asked mockingly as he began to gently carve away the skin from the bastard’s upper thigh. A high pitched warbling scream filled the country air and unknown to Severus, was bringing a smile to the beautiful lips of his young husband as he listened.

“I’m sorry, oh gods I’m sorry,” Taylor chanted and then shrieked again as Lucius began to sponge a mix of salt and vinegar on his exposed muscles. The blond only smirked as he knew how bad the mix burned the open flesh; he only wished he had some pepper juice to mix in with it.

“You aren’t sorry enough yet,” Severus growled as he deftly cut away the man’s genitals and lit the blow torch to cauterize the wound. The rich smell of burning meat filled the air as Taylor ruptured his vocal chords screaming in pain and fear. Convulsions ripped through his body as Severus and Lucius kept him awake and aware of every little thing they did to him.

Amused by the hysterics of their prey, Severus made a motion to Lucius and stood up to stare at Taylor. “We need to let him rest for a bit so he appreciates what we are doing; I fear he is becoming overwhelmed by our attentions.”

Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow and looked at the man appraisingly. “Did you bring tea down, Severus? I am feeling a bit peckish,” he asked as if they had been doing nothing more than perusing items at a Dark Arts artifact collection. The raven haired man nodded to the low bench by the far wall where a thermos and small basket were waiting for them. It never dawned on either of them just how surreal the setting was, both of them covered in blood and gore sitting down to tea with a half dead sexual predator hanging from one of the walls in a macabre decoration.

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Up in the house Grant paced outside the door of the bedroom, still upset and fuming because they had been unable to pry Harry from the window. The young man had pulled a chair up to the window so he could be more comfortable as he listened, and he sat there with a content little smile on his face. His eyes closed in some twisted parody of a pleasant daydream. As he gradually realized the screams had died down, he also became aware of Damon calling to him from the doorway, turning his head; he looked at his father-in-law curiously.

“Harry, you need to come in and join us now,” Damon said as he entered the room and stood by Harry’s chair. Nodding his head dumbly, Harry struggled to his feet on limbs deadened from sitting still for so long.

“I think I am hungry,” Harry murmured as Damon caught him under one arm and helped him to his feet. He blinked his eyes and noticed the room was in near darkness, he wondered how much time had passed and if Severus was finished. “Is Severus back up yet?”

“No Harry, not yet, I went down a little while ago and they were taking break,” Damon said as he led Harry into the lit kitchen where they joined the others.

“Do you think they will be much longer?” he asked as he plucked a piece of fresh fruit from the bowl on the table and bit into it. Sitting down at the table, he became aware of the others staring at him. “What is there something on my face?”

“No Bit, but I have to wonder just how healthy it is for you to listen to what is going on out there,” Grant said carefully as he watched the young man eat his orange. Harry calmly finished his snack and wiped his lips before replying.

“Grant I do understand what you are saying, but I am not hearing anything I haven’t heard before. In fact things are pretty tame,” Harry said as he looked at the concerned face and gave him a tired smile. “People look at me and forget what I am capable of.”

“I have to say Harry is right,” Draco said as he passed Harry a glass of milk. “I’ve seen them both in battle. All I will say is that I am glad I’ve never gone up against Harry.”

“That may be, but you aren’t the same person you were then, are you, Harry?” Grant asked as he remembered the mental breaks the young man had had recently. Harry only gave him a crooked grin.

“I’ve always been a bit insane Grant; I just hid it better before Severus. I just feel safer now, so it isn’t imperative I hide what I feel,” Harry tried to explain, feeling as though he were failing miserably. “I won’t deny that Morgan really messed me up, but it’s closure for me to know he’s suffering like I did at his hands.”

“I still…” Grant began and Damon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Grant looked up at his husband and started to speak again when Damon shushed him.

“Grant, honey, you need to let the boy be,” Damon said as gently as he could. He had an idea of what Harry was feeling, he’d felt the same needs when he’d been in Korea as a Marine and captured. He’d wanted to hear his tormentors taken apart piece by piece. “There are some things you don’t understand and this is one of them.” Grant looked at his spouse and stayed silent.

“Thank you Damon,” Harry said as he rummaged around, making himself a few sandwiches and grabbing a quart of milk from the refrigerator. “I’ll be in the nursery if anyone needs me.” Before he left the room, he stopped and gave Grant a kiss on the cheek; he knew the man only wanted the best for him.

Harry once again took up his post in the chair and looked down over the hill to the shed. He didn’t really want to see what his husband was doing, simply knowing that he was taking care of the threat to their child was enough. Not long after the screaming began again, Damon joined Harry by the window.

“They should be done soon,” Damon said as he leaned against the back of Harry’s chair. “They were setting the stake up when I went down earlier.” Harry nodded as Damon spoke. Severus had not told him what he’d be doing and he hadn’t asked, to be honest, he didn’t care. “It’s getting late and I think I am going to try to get Grant to rest.”

“Okay,” Harry said with a nod and continued staring out the window.

“He means well Harry, Grant does, but he’s never been in a situation where others have hurt him. He doesn’t understand the desire to have those people destroyed in the most painful ways imaginable,” Damon said as he drew another chair up and sat down. Harry glanced at him and nodded again, he had nothing against Grant. “He wasn’t with me when I came home from Korea, but he’s lived with my nightmares and memories the same as I have. I have to wonder sometimes why he’s stayed with some of the shit I’ve put him through.”

“I’ve wondered the same thing about Severus,” Harry said quietly as he finished off the last of the milk. “and I am sure he’s wondered the same thing about me.” Damon only smiled and shook his head.

“You two need each other and you’ll take care of each other,” he said as he stood and patted Harry on the shoulder. “Try to rest if you can, Sev wouldn’t want you to wear yourself out.”

“Okay Damon.”

The old man left Harry in peace to usher his husband to the sofa where he could stretch out. Draco had already claimed the new recliner and was quickly falling asleep. Harry closed his eyes briefly only to snap them open as the sounds of joyful laughter drifted up from the shed.

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Lucius and Severus grabbed the quivering, bloody ball that had once been Morgan Taylor and lifted his body up to align him with a sharpened five foot stake that had been planted in the dirt floor of the building. Carefully and with the gentleness of lovers, the two men lowered Taylor onto the tip of the stake until his arsehole was stretched over the point. Severus made sure he was settled with several inches of the wood inside of him before he nodded to Lucius and they both turned Taylor loose to let gravity do the dirty work.

Both men began laughing as Taylor began to slide down the stake and he tried to scream, the only noises coming from his bloodied mouth being harsh grunts.

“I always thought marriage to the stake was reserved for women,” Lucius said as he poured himself a cup of now tepid tea and grimaced at the taste. Severus shrugged and poured a cup for himself as he watched the slow descent of the man who had hurt his Harry.

“Traditionally it was for women, but I felt inspired,” he smirked. They both sat on the bench and munched biscuits while comparing notes on different methods of torture used through history. They stopped talking when they noticed the beast on the stake was quiet. When Severus checked, he found no pulse, shrugging he turned to his friend. “I suppose he was tired of playing.” Both men broke out in peals of laughter, the basic coping mechanism of theirs minds dealing with what they had done.