The Rules of Life

Title: The Rules of Life

Summary: There was no Harry Potter at the Dursley’s when Dumbledore sent Hagrid to fetch him in first year. Where in the world is Harry Potter? This fic is SNARRY slash, Snape!Dom, Harry!sub.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or any of the other familiar characters. Harry Potter and this magical world belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money made from this.

Warnings: This fic is Snarry slash, which means two men in a sexual relationship – specifically, Harry and Snape. This fic also contains BDSM elements with Snape as the Dominant partner and Harry as the submissive. If you don’t know what this means then please don’t read the fic – you won’t understand most of what happens. The fic starts out before Hogwarts and contains elements of chan (just mentioning of it), dub-con and non-con (rape). Don’t read if you don’t like!!

Mila: LOL :) I think I’m spoiling everyone :)

About Sirius: I doubt I will be able to make him a Voldemort supporter… no, you will see why you come to hate him later on…

As he neared the gates of Hogwarts, Harry felt eyes watching him and scanned the area for the perpetrator. A large black dog looked at him for a while before growling once and turning away from him.

Weird… was the only thing Harry could think as he made his way to Professor Snape’s chambers.

Chapter 9

Harry looked at his transfiguration with a critical eye. As Professor Snape predicted, the Peryton was too difficult for Harry to manage. The small details of creating the antlers and the details of the hooves were proving to be beyond Harry’s capabilities. With a disappointed sigh, Harry waved his wand to banish the disfigured form of the deer.

Half an hour later Harry’s spirits had lifted somewhat. The snake was a lot easier to transfigure and Harry looked forward to completing this project in a few weeks’ time. He decided not to think on the details of the scales and the concentration needed for something like that – he would worry about that when the time came… He comforted himself with the fact that millions of small hairs would be much more difficult to create than the scales. It helped, a bit…

Professor Snape entered the room and surveyed Harry and his transfiguration for a while before nodding and proceeding to his workroom, a stack of essays floating behind him.

It was difficult, but Harry was slowly starting to get used to calling the man Professor Snape instead of Master in his mind. On paper, it was easier, he usually thought before he wrote, but in his mind, it took a while.

Harry carefully placed his transfigured snake on the table and made his way to his room. He had other homework to do and loath as he was to stop his project, he knew he had to.

Taking out his Charms and Potions textbooks, Harry returned to the living room and proceeded to work on his assignments.

Professor Snape came out of his workroom while Harry was busy with his Potions essay but the man walked past him to the kitchen, collected a glass of water and returned to his work. Harry had the feeling that the man had not even seen him.

Deciding to take a break from his work, Harry made his way to the kitchen and started dinner. It was not often that Harry or Professor Snape would make their meals but when the opportunity presented itself, Harry was the first to take the chance.

Half an hour later, Harry set the table and went to his Master’s – Professor Snape’s – workroom. Knocking on the door, Harry waited a few moments and knocked again – it was a simple method to let the Professor know that dinner was ready. Whether or not the man heard was uncertain but there was no way Harry was going to face the man’s wrath by opening the door to check.

Returning to the kitchen, Harry was glad when he heard a door open after he seated himself. A few minutes later Professor Snape joined Harry and they ate their dinner in silence.

“I see you’ve decided on the Amphiptere, or did you maybe realize that I was right?”

Harry gave the man a sheepish smile, which told just how right he was. He ducked his head and continued eating.

A snort was his only answer and Harry smiled slightly.


*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*


I have no idea how to continue the task! Concentrating on the details of the scales was hard enough but now they want us to do this?! They’re mad!

Severus read the piece of parchment with some amusement. Harry had the strangest way of changing a most horrible day into something tolerable with just a few words.

“Just what exactly is so complicated that you would call a respectable witch or wizard ‘mad’?”

Harry squirmed a bit at his tone but did not back down.

They want us to infuse a part of our magic in the transfigured animals. They say it will start some kind of process that will prolong the transfiguration’s ‘lifetime’. Apparently, a normal transfiguration holds only about a month or two, with the magic infused in it, it should hold for almost a year, depending on how much you put into it.

It was not an unheard of concept and Severus wondered just what Harry’s problem with it was.

They didn’t tell us how to do it! Just how exactly am I supposed to get my magic in that thing? ‘Oh magic… would you please be so good as to go into that transfigured snake-like figure? No? Oh well, didn’t think so.’

Severus suppressed a snort of laughter with some difficulty. He could actually imagine Harry asking his magic to do that and would not be surprised if he tried it already.

“Harry, look at me. You do not ask your magic to fuse with the figure but you do have to concentrate on giving some of your magic to the transfigured piece. Close your eyes and just feel your magic. Just concentrate on your magic, feel it in your body and then concentrate on ‘giving’ it to the figure. It is not the same as wandless magic, with wandless magic, you just release the magic and it will dissipate after the task, with this, the magic does not dissipate but fuses with another figure.”

Severus snapped his head up as he felt a tendril of Harry’s magic reaching out to him.

“Not me, you imbecilic boy! You have no idea what will happen if you fuse two magical beings’ magic with each other. Do not attempt that again, ever!”

Harry cringed back in his seat but even though Severus did not want to scare the boy, this was more important and he had to impress on Harry the seriousness of the situation.

“You have to promise me Harry that you will never do that again, with anyone. The consequences are dire and I do not want to find you immersed in something you can not get out of, even with help.”

Yes Master was his answer and Severus decided it was time to back down again. It had been a while since Harry last called him ‘Master’ and he was loath to trigger a setback.

“Good. Now, try it again with you Amphiptere and remember not to do this with anything that has its own ingrained magic.”


*----------------------------------------------------------------------*


Harry wandered aimlessly through Hogsmeade. His mind had repressed the memories containing anything about Andy but as the Christmas holidays drew nearer, the painful memories started to surface again.

In three week’s time, it would be Blaise (and Andy’s) birthday. The painful truth that Andy would never again celebrate his birthday, and that his twin had to celebrate it alone, was almost too much to bear.

His transfigured Amphiptere moved from one shoulder to the next and back, as if sensing Harry’s listlessness. The little creature had been a source of some amusement for him but even the antics of a flying snake could not jolt Harry out of his depressed funk.

Shika – Harry actually named the creature – was one of only two of their team’s transfigurations that moved. The other team members were having trouble directing their magic in what to do.

Harry finally decided on getting Blaise a stack of parchments and some invisible ink. His friend was always complaining that he couldn’t write Harry any letters because his friends at Hogwarts would see and start asking questions. This way, he could write the letters and if nosy roommates decided to go through Blaise’s things, they would find what looked like empty parchments. The ink turned invisible ten seconds after it touched the parchment so Blaise would not find it difficult to write – he would be able to see where and what he was writing.

There was also a spell that he could use to find the parchments with the invisible ink on it, should they get a bit mixed.

Harry exited the store with his purchases in hand and started his trek back to Hogwarts. The same black dog he had seen a month before was on the outskirts of the school and Harry watched him wearily.

The dog locked eyes with him and Harry felt a shiver go through his spine.

There was something in the dog’s gaze, something familiar to him and Harry repressed his shiver of revulsion.

Quickening his pace, Harry hurried past the dog, jumping a bit as it snarled at him, and could not help but run the way back to his Master’s quarters.

There was something very weird about the dog and it set Harry’s nerves on end.

Sighing with relief as he reached his Master’s quarters, Harry entered and put his purchases down carefully before sinking to the floor.

Thoughts and memories bombarded his mind as he curled into himself.

One thing he was absolutely certain of was that he would stay away from that dog as much as possible.


*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


By February, the judges had given all the explanations for the tasks and Harry was happy to realize that his project was well on the way to success.

Shika was by now a very lively little snake. She was able to fly on her own, talk to Harry, and had even developed some kind of poison in her fangs. Harry wasn’t certain if this was normal, but as she posed no threat to him, he didn’t think it would matter.

The other members of his team had all progressed to the stage where their figurines moved on their own and one of them had even bitten Harry, twice!

None of the figurines was very big but they were all fast and very playful. Harry had to keep his amphiptere in check most of the time as it had the tendency to wind its tail around one of the other figurines and fly off somewhere for a while.

Terry, one of his teammates, had not been impressed when he realized Harry’s ‘flying snake’ had gone and ‘pet-napped’ his poor defenseless kitten. The cat in question had not seemed to mind the intrusion and they found it purring under the attention of the snake.

Harry laughed as he remembered the look on Terry’s face when they found their wayward animals.

His good mood vanished however, when he made his way back to Hogwarts and heard a sound he fervently hoped he would never hear again. The shriek of a dying animal rang in the air even as the silence settled again. Harry shivered as he saw a huge blade lowering off in the distance. Even with as far away as he was, he could make out a darker shade on the blade and it did not take a genius to guess what it was.

Forcing the bile rising in his throat back down, Harry hurriedly made his way to his master’s quarters. He did not want to be out there and longer than absolutely necessary.


*-------------------------------------------------------------*


When the day arrived for the final votes on their projects, Harry nervously twiddled with his robes and absentmindedly petted Shika.

Master Snape – Professor Snape, Harry!! – sat beside him and gave Harry a glare as he looked over his shoulder for the twentieth time. The judges weren’t there yet and Harry was on tenterhooks.

“Will you stop your fiddling? They will come when they are good and ready to give you your results. No matter what, you are not going to change their opinions by looking eager to see them!”

Harry lowered his head at the chastisement and kept his fiddling to a minimum for the next few minutes.

When the judges finally made an appearance, everyone was bursting to hear the results.

“May I have your attention please!”

“We have cast our votes and the results are as follows:

Team C – Their tasks were to procure any protected specie of plants, nurture it for the seven months of the tournament and then present it to the judges for marking by the end of that time. The team with the healthiest looking plants, but that were not the most easily maintained ones, was awarded the winning prize.

For Team C – Third place goes to Toor-Toring from South Africa. They had some of the most difficult to maintain plants and did an excellent job of it. Well done!

The award for second place goes to ‘The Rio de Janeiro School for magical children’. Their plants were the best-maintained ones, but as they were not very difficult or challenging species, we award them second place.

First place goes to Hogsmeade school. Their plants were both difficult to maintain and one of the rarest species on earth. Very well done to them!

Harry clapped enthusiastically along with everyone there and did not even try to contain his excitement.

Team B – Their tasks were to transfigure any animal, fuse their magic with their transfigured piece and then care for the creature as you would a pet. All the participants of Team B managed to hold their transfigured creatures for the allotted time. Some of them have by now reverted back to the sticks or stones they once were, and some of them are still going strong.

For Team B – Third place goes to the Chinese school – I will not even attempt to pronounce the name as I will mangle it beyond recognition (there were some scattered laughter at that). They all managed to create and maintain some exceptional creatures. One or two did not develop full function of movement but the efforts were still admirable.

Second place goes to Hogsmeade school. Some of the most amazing creatures came from this team and they all managed movement and flexibility in their creatures. I will however, not mention the types of sounds some of them emitted.

The laughter was a bit louder this time and Harry couldn’t help but crack a smile as he remembered the very horse-like neighing that Simon’s owl made from time to time.

First place goes to Toor-Toring from South Africa. Their creatures were all magnificent and in a team effort, they managed to create and maintain four of the ‘Big five’ animals very well known in their country.

We also award a special recognition for one exceptional participant of Team B Hogsmeade. Mr Harry Patterson managed to create, care for and maintain a magical animal well beyond the allotted time; I believe he still has his Amphiptere even now.

Harry could not help but blush beet red at the attention and quickly hurried back to his seat after given his award.

Team A – Their tasks were difficult but very enjoyable. Each team was given the theory behind spell creation. We then gave them their task – each team was to create a new spell, perform it with satisfactory results and then write an essay on how they did it.

There is only a first and second place here, as the other two teams did not manage to complete their spells. We would still like to applaud their efforts and encourage them to improve on their work.

Second place goes to ‘The Rio de Janeiro School for magical children’. They created a new duplication charm that even works on animate objects – after the spell is cast, the replica is, however, inanimate but this is a very useful and well-developed spell. Well done to them!

We award first place to the Chinese school for creating a temporary invisibility charm. The charm works on any still standing object, be it living or not. So, anyone who wants to hide, you can use this charm but make sure you are not standing anywhere your balance might be compromised for as soon as you move, the spell dissipates.

Another special award goes to the Hogsmeade school for the creativity of their spell. Though their effort was unsuccessful, we believe that with some research and patience, they will be able to complete it. They attempted to create a spell that will record movement in any specific building, relay the information to a charmed parchment and let you know who entered your house or school and where they entered.

This could be a very useful spell to corner burglars and those who wish us ill, we encourage you to complete this spell and maybe make our world a better, safer place.



Harry trudged behind Professor Snape as they made their way back to Hogwarts. He was very happy with his award but after the excitement of the moment wore off, he had been restless and bored.

It was late at night and Harry looked to the sky as he heard the howl of a wolf. It was the full moon.

Sliding a glance at Professor Snape, Harry could see that the man was just as uneasy as he was. Werewolves were not uncommon, even in that part of the country, and Harry dreaded ever meeting one on a full moon.

Professor Snape suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and Harry smacked right into him. Looking around the professor, Harry could see two students cowering behind a dark figure. Looking closer, Harry saw it was the dog he had seen a few times. The dog was trying to protect them however, which made Harry’s uneasy lighten a bit. The werewolf advancing on them had his stomach in knots a moment later and Harry watched in fear as Professor Snape made his way to the students.

The dog looked in their direction and locked eyes with Harry for a moment. Its lips curled back in a snarl and it looked about ready to attack him, that same glint shining in its eyes as before.

It did not attack however as the werewolf chose that moment to attack the students. The dog jumped in front of them and attached its teeth to the wolf’s neck. Harry winced at the action but quickly recovered himself and made his way to the castle. He knew his Master could look after himself and would protect the students until help arrived. Help would not arrive out of the blue however, and Harry quickened his pace as he took the task upon himself.

Harry quickly told the first Professor he came to about the situation and as the old woman dashed off with the request that Harry tells another Professor, he set off to find another adult.

Finally, after telling four different Professors about the werewolf, the dog, the students and Professor Snape, Harry set off to his Master’s quarters, hoping against hope that the man was all right and that things would settle down soon.

He fell asleep on the couch, one of his Master’s robes clutched in his hands and did not even wake when strong arms lifted him and placed him on his bed. He did not wake when long fingers pushed back his fringe and traced the shape of his scar on his forehead.

Harry was fast asleep, the memory of strong arms around him accompanying him into dreamland and keeping the nightmares at bay.


End Chapter 9


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