Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Giving A Chance	By : Leania07 Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 17356 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
A/N: Sorry it's been a while; I've been plugging away at chapter 16, and I've struggled with blocks and trying not to rush some things. This chapter isn't quite so long *in my opinion* but so far chapter 16 will make up for that. I've just started on 17, so I hope to be able to post 16 soon. Keep reviewing, it's the only way I know people still like this story. ^.^ I will finish it, that's a promise.
Chapter 15: Two Steps Forward
Severus had skipped dinner in the Great Hall, still unsettled from this afternoon. When Harry’s two friends came to him, separately, to say they couldn’t find Harry he felt his heart clench and his stomach drop. Had Death Eaters managed to get to him? Did some of the Death Eaters’ children corner him and harm him? Did the young man’s luck land him in yet another unknown part of the castle and he was unconscious?
The strength of his emotions stunned the normally unflappable man so when Salazar said Valis found the young man by the painting of Lady Aswin he left in quite the hurry. His thunderous look was enough to keep the students out of his way and once more he had to fight down the urge to run. If Valis was talking to him, it was apparent the young man was alright and that changed his worry to anger. When he saw the young man standing with nary a scratch on him, Severus felt the urge to throttle him. He cringed as he thought back on how he did react.
Flashback**
Severus came around the corner and saw Harry standing there. Relief that he was alright was soon washed away by the fury that once again, Harry Potter caused a panic and here he was, acting as if he hadn’t just turned Severus’ world upside down. He stalked towards the young man, not even noticing the flash of fear in those green eyes as he reached out and grabbed both arms and shook him.
“You inconsiderate brat! Have you no care that your sudden disappearance has cause panic among your friends?! I had to endure Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley coming to me worried because you couldn’t be found; separately mind you. You weren’t in the Chamber, the Room, nor in any of the other ‘hiding’ spots your two friends knew of. Nearly a whole period and then suddenly you appear without a care!” It wasn’t until the water in those green eyes converged into a tear did Severus’ rage fogged mind clear. Two things hit him at once; he was squeezing Harry’s arms quite harshly, and the young man was shaking. Dear Merlin, he probably caused the young man a flashback to his relative’s treatment; he was aware of their verbal abuse though Harry didn’t call it that. He loosened his grip but before he could say a word Harry tore out of his grip and stumbled back.
“I didn’t plan that, alright! I was…abducted I guess you could say, and hustled into a room nearby, a cloth bag over my head that must’ve had a silencing spell since no one heard my shouts. Hermione and Ron knew ‘Shadow’ was going to contact me today and meet with me, we just didn’t know how or his motives. If, IF, I was in danger, I would’ve found a way to tell someone; hell I would’ve called Dobby if I had no other way!” He didn’t want to admit Severus had scared him, though he knew the man had been worried. His admittance to have been watching out for Harry each school year and the trouble he’s had to put up with to ensure he was never found out in the process told him the man would always do his best to keep Harry safe. However that thunderous face and how he approached reminded him too much of how Uncle Vernon looked before a beating.
Severus took a deep breath and closed his eyes, yes it would’ve been like that. He was just reacting to this unusual worry…he refused to call it fear.
“I know, Harry, I…” Severus sighed and stepped closer, his heart squeezing painfully at the tiny flinch Harry gave. He pushed up one sleeve and saw the beginnings of finger shaped bruises and dug out some balm. He began to gently work it into the bruising flesh as he collected his thoughts, “I did not mean to react so harshly to you. I was…worried that somehow Death Eaters found a way to get to you underneath our noses. Usually your friends would know where to find you, and the fact that they could not, did not sit well with me. Perhaps I should’ve called for that fanatically loyal house elf of yours; I must admit that thought did not cross my mind at the time.” He worked on both arms until the bruises faded and replaced the balm, stepping back to give Harry some space.
Harry saw the pain that flashed through Severus’ onyx eyes as he flinched; no Severus wouldn’t intentionally harm him, he knew it. It was just reaction. He understood the concern, especially if Death Eaters managed to get into school or find a way to get him out without anyone knowing. He remembered he had the Map with him, so Ron and Hermione wouldn’t have been able to use that to find him, hence going to Severus for help. The more Severus spoke, however, the more he wondered if perhaps there was more to his concern that he wasn’t saying. He looked around, though no one was around it didn’t mean they wouldn’t show up; it seemed as if ‘Shadow’ used this hall for his meetings.
“I understand, Sir; I apologize. Perhaps we can discuss this later, I do need to get to my class soon and I’m sure you have a class as well.”
Severus nodded, “Detention tonight, Mr. Potter, immediately after supper.” He had a slight smirk on his face and was pleased when the young man nodded in understanding. He turned around and stalked away, having to fight the urge to just gather him close and hold him. He would get an explanation tonight.
End Flashback**
The memory of those tears and the fear in those emerald orbs tore at him, Merlin he wanted the young man to trust him not fear him. He finished the last essay just as a soft knock sounded from his door. “Enter.”
Harry opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door and brushing his hand over the knob to activate the wards. There was much for them to talk about, none of it could be overheard. “Sir, I…”
Severus stood and waved a hand to silence him, “Follow me, Harry; it is known you have a long detention tonight and that I will be bringing you to my personal lab to clean those cauldrons.” He smirked as he opened a hidden wall, “So no one will bother us.” He waved the young man through and followed, closing the door behind him.
Harry stepped through and stopped; it wasn’t a lab but looked to be the man’s personal quarters. The last time he was in here was the day after he helped McGonagall get Severus to his rooms and they had that discussion. He looked over at the man who motioned for him to have a seat; he watched as he tapped a pattern on the brickwork around the fireplace and the fire shimmered momentarily.
“I locked down the Floo and set wards up around my quarters, this way no one can eavesdrop or come through the Floo. You won’t have to worry about anyone over hearing our conversations, Harry; so tell me what occurred this afternoon.” He had already ordered a tea tray and a small supper; he kept the warming cover over the plate of food, still in no mood to eat, and poured them each a cup of tea.
“Well this morning I woke with a note on me from ‘Shadow’ saying he wanted to meet with me.”
Severus raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his tea which was still too hot. “You know this person’s gender now?”
“I know who this person is now; I told him I might tell a trusted confidant but I wonder if you can figure it out first.” Harry saw a glittering in those eyes and felt a flutter.
Harry trusted him, was teasing him? Perhaps he didn’t ruin their tentative friendship after all, and Severus felt relief sooth him at the realization. He nodded to let Harry know to begin.
“Well he has a way of gathering information secretly. His family has many generations of record keepers and historians, as far back as his family line goes he believes. He’s being taught by his great-Uncle since his father is seen as too biased and opinionated, unable to have the detachment for the duty.” Harry sat back and waited; he didn’t have much else to go on and by looking at Severus, the man already knew.
Severus sat still, a wave of uncertainty crashing over him. He knew who the individual was, but the question was how much did Nott know. He focused on Harry, ‘he would know, he spoke to the young man.’
“How certain are you that you know who this is?”
“Once I called him by name he removed the hood and revealed his face. I must admit I couldn’t have guessed by just him speaking. The hood had charms on it to keep his face blacked out and his voice ambiguous; the cloak too didn’t give away much, however the figure just appeared to be too bulky to be female. Unless they were a large female. There wasn’t even the shimmer of a glamour once the hood was down.”
Severus nodded, “What did Nott say? Is he aware of my involvement? How certain are you he won’t tell anyone, or that he isn’t acting on his father’s orders?”
Harry tried to speak a few times, yet he couldn’t find the right words. “Sir, do you think you could view it through a Pensive? There was much we talked about, and a lot of it I’m sure I’ll just bungle it up trying to explain as I’m not certain I understood. However I do know he won’t share the information as he wants to remain anonymous, but I don’t think he knows your involvement in the group. He never mentioned you in regards to the group, and I didn’t say anything about you in any context. We spoke mostly of Slytherin House if anything, and he asked me not to say anything to his Housemates. He said nothing of his Head of House, though.”
Severus smirked, amazed at Harry’s Slytherin line of thinking. “I do have a Pensive; are you familiar with how to retrieve a memory?” He brought Harry over to the table in the kitchenette and opened a cabinet with a whispered password. Pulling out the Pensive he sets it on the table.
“I am.” Harry waited until the Pensive is ready before he puts the wand to his temple and extracts the memory. He drops it into the misty liquid and watches it swirl; he sits in a chair as Severus leans forward and enters the memory.
A few minutes later Severus returns and Harry retrieves the memory. They move back into the living room and sit.
“I am grateful you did not try to repeat what he said; it was confusing enough to hear him explain it, I would hate to have deciphered your method of speaking.” He smirked, teasing the young man, “His intentions do seem to be sound, as much as an unknown factor can be. He won’t vocally choose a side, however it’s obvious he supports you in this. I can understand his reluctance, as he wouldn’t want to be called to fight and seems to take his task as record keeper seriously. Perhaps we can rely on him as a knowledge base, however I must agree that his identity be kept secret. The Nott family holds much information that has been lost and should anyone else find out about the knowledge they have, it could be all destroyed.”
Harry nodded, “Of course if I ever needed to get Hermione out of harm’s way, I should have Nott direct her to that library; she’ll be gone for ages reading up on lost history.” He snickered and was pleased to hear a soft chuckle.
Remembering about what happened earlier though made the smile slip off his face. “Harry, I do apologize for the way I acted earlier. I was too harsh and I…Merlin I hurt you!” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
Harry’s eyes widened, apparently Severus was still upset over what happened. Not Harry being missing, but what happened when he found him. He didn’t notice when he stood and walked over to the man, but soon found his hand softly going through inky strands.
Feeling a soft touch in his hair, Severus’ eyes flew open and he stared back into green, Harry standing so close to him.
“It’s okay Severus, I understand you were concerned. You didn’t really hurt me, I didn’t feel pain; I was mostly just startled by the look on your face. I reacted to the situation reflectively, I’ve told you how my Uncle was; I know you wouldn’t hurt me, Severus.”
Severus didn’t fight his reactions, he just wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and laid his head against Harry’s chest. It was little consolation that Harry was so frightened by his expression he never noticed his flesh being bruised. He took a shuddering breath that caught in his throat as he felt one of Harry’s hands going through his hair, while the other rubbed circles on his back.
Harry continued to sooth the older man, stomping down the urge to crawl into Severus’ lap to hold and be held. This was good, and Harry knew things would improve over time, but he had to be patient. Right now the man was a spy and he would fight any further closeness because of that. He felt the deep sigh as Severus’ back seemed to expand with air and a slow release. He looked down as he felt Severus lift his head up.
Severus stared into those green eyes and knew he felt more than just friendship for the young man. He wouldn’t jeopardize their friendship by pushing his feelings towards Harry, however he held hope that someday, perhaps after the war, there could be something more.
“Thank you, Harry.” He held in a shudder as the hand in his hair tucked back a few strands behind his ear, and a thumb brushed softly over his cheek.
Harry smiled, seeing relief in those dark eyes, before he went back to his seat. He resisted the urge to kiss the man; now wasn’t the time to rush things or muddle their closeness up with his Gryffindor actions.
“So, how far have you gotten with the Mark? I think if we’re to get other Slytherins we need Draco to be the leader in that, yet as long as Draco bares that Mark he’ll be in danger.” Harry looked at the covered plate and realized Severus must’ve been too worried over this afternoon to eat, yet the house elves made sure food was provided for the thin man. “You should eat, too; I’m sure my detentions were always trying enough after a good meal, never mind taking one on an empty stomach.”
Severus glared, though it was good natured, and pulled the plate towards himself, uncovering it. He was quite hungry, now that his worry was settled.
“I have read much up on the different type of Bonds that could be used, however there really is no way for me to know for sure until you see the initiation ritual and translate the spell from Parseltongue. Once I have the spell, I’ll have more direction.” He ate a few bites before continuing, “The initiations are not pleasant to view, and I apologize that you have to witness them, even by memory, but I don’t know of any other way.”
Harry nodded, “I can guess, especially with the visions I’ve seen of ‘emotionally charged’ meetings.”
Severus chewed a mouthful while he reviews that statement, ‘Emotionally charged? Must be a nice way of the Dark Lord being angry or pleased.’ He nodded and soon found his plate cleared, sipping on his tea.
“When would you like me to view the memory? I could do it now, since you said it would be a long detention, that way you would have plenty of time to research once you knew which bond it was.” Harry saw the reluctance flash over Severus’ face, but soon the man nodded and he followed his Professor back to the Pensive.
Severus withdrew one of the least graphic initiations; he hoped the graphic nature of some didn’t mean a different bond. He shuddered as a flash of McNair’s initiation was brought up; rapes and torture were the highlight of that initiation. Instead he removed Allen McLaughlin’s which consisted of the spell, or string of hisses and the color of the spell as it coalesced into the Mark. He watched as Harry touched the memory and waited.
Harry found himself in the familiar ballroom turned throne room; he realized it must’ve been an older initiation as Bellatrix was there but didn’t have that streak of grey. Must’ve been because of Azkaban; he focused on the person kneeling. Sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes, but not someone he recognized; Harry hoped the spell was the same for each. Perhaps he should watch a second, just to make sure there were no differences. He saw Riddle step down, and that was another clue that this must’ve been from the first war. Riddle still had human-like features, though his eyes were ruby and not hazel.
“So, McLaughlin, you have proven yourself to be a worthy addition to my Death Eaters. I hope for your sake you continue to prove your worth; hold out your left arm, uncovered.”
He watched Riddle step up and grasp the arm by the wrist, his wand pressed onto the flesh causing it to dip down under the pressure. Soon he heard the words.
“Bind thy magic, young and strong, to my will and command. Submit to my command, my will is law. Respond to my call, no barrier shall keep you; my magic brands you, punishment upon my command.”
He watched as a black and dark purple light surrounds the location where the Mark is, blocking out the sound of the man’s scream, and the light settles into the form of the Mark. He leaves the memory, words of the spell whirling around in his head.
“Harry?” Severus waited after the young man left the memory, obviously deep in thought, but after a few minutes decided it was best to interrupt. “Were you able to understand what was said?”
“Yes, but I have a few questions.” Severus nodded and Harry continued, “What is the age a follower is Marked? Is it always the same?”
Severus thought over every ceremony he saw in the past before nodding, “He prefers to have his followers Marked before their 17^th birthday; he also has a strong charm on it that blocks the magic from being detected while they’re in school. Why?”
“The very first phrase was ‘Bind thy magic, young and strong.’ Wasn’t there something about a witch or wizard’s 17^th birthday?” Harry summoned parchment, ink, and quill and wrote down the spell so he wouldn’t forget it.
“Yes, some get a magical boost, called a magical inheritance; one of those books Salazar pointed out said that’s also when a ‘magical being’ bloodline could come, if they have one.” He looked over the spell words Harry slid over to him.
“I would like to see another ceremony, one not as tame, to see if the spell words are the same.”
Severus shook his head, “I’ll let you see another, but it will be the tame one. The others are vile and depraved; I doubt those ones would ever wish to be rid of the Mark.”
“What about yours?” Harry looked at Severus and saw him pale, “You eventually want it gone, right? Was yours different than the one you showed me? What about Draco’s, how much different was his?”
“I would like to have it removed eventually, Harry, but as long as I’m needed to spy, I need the Mark. Draco’s initiation was tame, all things considered, but he had to witness his mother’s torture and I could tell it was reluctant.”
“Was yours tame?” Harry saw pain and something else flash through those onyx eyes but it went too quick.
“It was not, neither was it as vile as others have been. I…wasn’t eager, but uncertain if it was the right choice. I was a very angry, lonely young man, Harry, and was convinced by Lucius I would be welcomed. Perhaps there was some part of me that thought it was a bad idea, but my desire to belong and be understood was more.”
“You regret your choices now, though; I can tell. Perhaps that is a part of being rid of the Mark; have you a lead now on what to look up? Can I help?” He didn’t press to view the memory, he knew it would only end badly and make Severus snappy with him again.
Severus relaxed when Harry changed the topic; sometimes he worried Harry’s Gryffindor stubbornness would be an issue but it was times like this when he was grateful the young man had sense. The two males began discussing and researching the different bonds the Mark may fall under, knowing it wouldn’t be found that night but hoping to either get a promising lead or rule out many. Harry went back to the tower that night hopeful of the direction of their research; Severus fell asleep with a smile on his face, enjoying the time spent with Harry.
- 14
- 15
- 16
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Giving A Chance