I'm A Slave For You-Chp25

I'M A SLAVE FOR YOU

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry soon became a little empty and quiet as most of the students have returned to their homes to make use of the semester break to party and relax and do whatever teenagers do best. The only ones staying in Hogwarts were those who were preparing for the O.W.L. examinations, and the lot of them was mostly seated in the library cramming their heads off with as much information as possible, which included the Old Married Couple Hermione Granger and Ronald.

Due to Hermione and Ron's situation, Harry was temporarily free from his nightly speech, reading and writing classes, but occasionally Hermione and Ron (and sometimes Draco whenever possible) gave him some new books to read and practice his speech on his own. They have heard from Harry personally in one of their nightly classes before the semester break began that Albus and Severus were going forward for their task to free Harry. Despite the fact that the Old Married Couple were happy for the boy and gave him countless reassurance that no harm will come to Severus (obviously they did not know the true procedure of freeing a slave), they could not lift Harry's spirit. Not even Draco, in one of their secret meetings in the prefects' bathroom, could persuade the boy to see the brighter side of things, and Harry refusing to meet up with Severus even when Albus allowed it or Harry refusing to even look at the Potions Master in the eye was not helping the situation. Albus had an idea that the discussion about Severus wanting to free Harry did not go well, and he tried to break the cold shoulder Harry was giving Severus by deliberately giving him more chores that involved helping Severus out in the lab, but Harry continued to give the older man the silent treatment and just did everything that he was asked wordlessly and with no eye-contact.

Finally, when Albus checked the calendar to see that it was about 3 days since semester break started and that he had pretty much finished everything that he had required to do, he gathered the necessities he needed for his trip to the slavery business and made a firecall to Severus' office.

"Severus? Severus Snape?"

"Yes, Albus?" Severus poked in, being that he had just finished marking the students' essays.

"I think it's about time we get going. The sooner we get it done, the better," Albus advised. At that moment, Harry had just come out of his room after cleaning up and saw Albus chatting with Severus in the fire. The poor boy's heart ached at upon seeing his beloved's face in the fire, the memory of their discussion a few weeks ago still fresh in his mind.

"Yes, you're right, I suppose," Severus sighed. As much as he wanted to go through this, part of him was still having second thoughts. "I will meet you in front of the school. It is better that Harry not see me right now."

"I see you," Harry muttered grudgingly within earshot, though his words were directed more towards Albus than Severus to make it like he was still in silent terms with Severus, before walking out of the office to do his chores for the day.

"Oh dear," Albus lamented. "Still giving you the cold shoulder, I presume?"

"You could say that. I still have a book of his that he forgotten when he ran out on me after I broke the news to him."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Little Red Riding Hood," Severus held up the book for Albus to see. He had not given back the book to the boy. The time was still not right.

"Ah, a lovely children's book. I used to know the writers. The Muggles tend to domesticate it a little too much though. We know it didn't happen the way the Muggles wrote it. Anyways, we'll go straight after lunch."

"Yes, sir," Severus replied, though he preferred not to eat.

Soon, after lunch, they met up at the entrance of Hogwarts. Argus Filch the caretaker was there to open the gates and prepare the carriage for them. Albus was there first, Severus came about 10 minutes later.

"All set, Severus?"

"Yes."

"We will be back a little later, Argus," Albus said to Filch as he and Severus entered the carriage. "I have left Minerva and Hagrid in charge of the school while we're gone. If anyone asks, tell them we are running a little errand for the Ministry. Very hush-hush business."

"Yes, Headmaster," Filch said as he helped them close the door of the carriage and signaled the carriage driver to make a move on.

From the Astronomy Tower where Harry was sweeping the floor and dusting the star-viewing equipment, the boy was able to get a full view of the school carriage leaving the school grounds. Ron and Hermione were there at the tower as well to accompany Harry while he did his chores, books and parchments for notes-taking never leaving their laps. They could tell from the solemn looks the two professors exchanged with each other as they entered the carriage that they were on their way to discuss matters with whoever was in charge of enslaving Harry and his fellow colleagues about the matter.

"I wonder why they didn't choose to Apparate," Hermione commented as the carriage went further and further away. "It would've been so much easier."

"Maybe they want to conserve their energy," Ron suggested. "I heard that Apparating is tough stuff and drains your energy. The further the destination, the more it'll suck up your energy. I wouldn't want to end up collapsing face first on the ground out of exhaustion if I were either of their ages."

"Where did you hear that sort of nonsense?"

"Uh…Fred and George…?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. It was so typical of her fiancée to fall for such stupid rumours. Sometimes she wondered why she loved him at all, but probably it was Ron's gullibility that drew her in. Seeing Harry looking longingly and sadly at the disappearing carriage, Hermione asked, "You OK, Harry?"
Harry nodded unconvincingly.

"You ain't gonna say goodbye to em, Har?"

Harry hesitated for a long moment before shaking his head indignantly and muttered, "No. Dun wanna."

With that the boy left the tower hastily, leaving the Old Married Couple giving each other a pitied and dismayed look.

--:--

The ride felt like forever as the carriage took them all the way to Diagon Alley. The duo traveled in near-silence, with Albus chattering about nothing in particular and Severus nodding and responding to his conversation with no more than one syllable, not that the old Headmaster minded. In fact, it got him even more animated and talkative, and despite the fact that the conversation was one-sided, the old man seemed to enjoy himself, as if whatever they have been conversing throughout the journey was very meaningful.

His eyes focused out the window, Severus finally spoke up, "I want Harry to have everything of mine if I die."

"Let's not go into that, Severus. You're not sure what's going to happen," Albus said as he tried to keep up the cheerful mood.

"Yes, I know, and that's why I want it. Everything is set. I already had my will drawn up the day before yesterday, so if it happens that I don't survive, Albus, you know what to do."

"Alright. I'll see to it that the Ministry follows it. They cannot contest with Legal Affairs. They'll have to follow your will, you can count on that, no matter how big a grudge they have against you. That's the biggest weakness the Ministry has: bureaucracy. Everything has to follow to rule in their system."

"Good. That will ensure my pet will be taken care of."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Albus asked. "I know you have other servants in your home that would tear off their limbs for you. I'm sure they can help you run the errand."

"To be honest, I am a little bit hesitant about this," Severus admitted. "But Harry would never forgive me if I sent anyone else to die for him. He loved each and every one of my household members, no matter how badly they behaved towards him in the past—I know some of my hired help are less than pleased to have him around back then—and he was already upset enough that I am doing this. Besides, how can I prove my sincerity if I asked someone to do my dirty work?"

"You have a point there. I do wish you would come back in one piece though…ah! We're here."

Just as Albus said it, they soon found themselves staring at the carriage port of Diagon Alley. Telling the driver to wait for them, they got off the carriage and made their way into the sea of people, nodding and greeting anyone who recognized them (Albus being the one doing most of the greeting, though). Following the Potions Master's lead, Albus entered Knockturn Alley and walked quite a long way past dirty ragamuffins and troughs of beggars, street-wise crooks and ugly men and women in general, eyeing them with greedy looks, until he and Severus found themselves entering a small town which looked much cleaner and more high-classed than the ones they walked past, but still darker nonetheless. Soon they were standing in front of Obsidian Multi-Purpose Hall, where Severus' new lease of life had begun.

Entering the hall, they soon came across a woman who was cleaning up the bar of its glasses and refilling the booze into its respective bottles with her wand. There were a few other people in there cleaning up the hall and rearranging the tables and chairs, and by the looks of it, someone must've used this hall last night for some sort of celebration. Judging by the way she did her magic, they could tell that she was a warlock. Albus flashed a professional smile at the woman and approached her.

"Excuse me, can I speak to the manager of this hall, please?"

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked, looking at him with her piercing blood-red eyes as she flicked her long dark-brown curly tresses lazily with her dainty fingers.

"No, unfortunately, but do tell him it's urgent. It's regarding 'the business transaction' my friend here had with him."

The woman gave both the old Headmaster and the Potions Master a skeptical look before rolling her eyes tiredly and muttered "Fine" before walking all the way to the back of the hall. A few minutes later, she came back and pointed with her slim index finger at the direction where she came from, "He will see you now. Go all the way back, then through the first door you see, down the hall and to your left. If you see a fat guard walking about, tell them Illust sent you here."

"Thank you very much, young lady," Albus said, getting a grunt as a reply before he gestured Severus to come along.

As the duo followed her direction, they could distinctively hear a very far-away and very muffled echoes of voices that were only appropriate for adults' ears. They could only assume that they have pretty much entered the heart of the slavery business and that those voices were of those poor souls being trained to perfection to serve their future masters every whim and fancy. They couldn't really pin-point where exactly did the voices come from, but they assume it could come from underground, hidden from the public eyes and ever evading the authorities because of its illegal nature. As the woman predicted, a guard almost the size of half of Hagrid was patrolling past them. Albus told the inquiring guard what the woman advised them to tell him and soon nodded, leaving them alone. Seeing their faces, he could tell that they have heard the echoes and quickly took out his wand to cast a Silencing Charm. Apparently, it was a routine for him to double-check if any of the 'training lessons' were leaking out of the walls and it was his job to silence it so that no feds who come checking could hear their underground trade, and it seemed the charm had worn off and it was his cue to cast it again.

Soon, they found themselves standing in front of the office that bore the name 'Jefferson Underhill: Hall Manager'. After rapping on it a few times, Albus heard the welcome call and entered it. Sitting on the table smoking a Cuban cigar was an Asian man whose wild hair reminded Severus of Sirius, only that his hair was shoulder-length and in chopped layers. His eyes were big and clever, almost like a pair of cat eyes, and his skin was tan. He had a smile that could make many men and women swoon and had a rather straight nose. Despite the suit he was wearing and a bit of stubble here and there on his chin, his facial features almost resembled a seventh-year student, like a child in a grown-up's body.

"Ah, good day, sirs," he greeted as he stood up in a height that could match an average basketball player to shake Albus and Severus' hands. Gesturing them to sit down, he continued, "Master Snape, what a pleasant surprise to see you here! I remember you buying off Harry James Potter from me almost a year ago. I hope my merchandize is to your satisfactory."

"Yes, but as of late, due to certain circumstances, he was taken away from me. But that is not why we are here."

"Oh dear, how unfortunate," Jefferson replied, but his voice was not as sincere as his face seemed to be. "Ministry problems, I presume? A few of my clients in the past had that sort of problems. So how may I help you? Persuade the Ministry to 'let bygones be bygones', perhaps?"

"As much as I wish so, that would not be necessary," Severus cleared his throat before continuing, "I wish to free him."

Jefferson kept quiet for a while, giving Severus the "Ah, here comes another one" look before leaning back and took a drag of his cigar and asked, "Oh? And why should I? He's just getting started on bringing in the dough since I bought him when he was 10 years old, coming to 11 at the time. He's got potential."

Albus tried to keep a straight face as he listened in to all this, but inside he was disgusted.

"He is not going to be sold, again, Mr. Underhill," Severus replied. "I am sorry to inform you on that. He deserves to be free and I intend to do so for him."

"Well, I must be honest with you, Master Snape, that this is not the first time people like you coming over here all self-righteous asking to free their slaves, only to find they ain't got the guts for it."

"Trust me, sir, you do not know me."

"And that, sire, is not the first time I've heard before. But, since you insist, I'll give you a shot. I always give my clients chances."

"Just name your terms, Mr. Underhill," Albus said, "and we will be on our way."

Severus nodded in agreement. He came prepared for anything, and was ready for anything Jefferson can throw at him. After considering his options for a moment, Jefferson accio-ed a file from his cabinet and displayed its contents on the table, which included Harry's photograph. As the young manager looked through the paperwork, the duo stole a look at the photograph. It was a picture of Harry totally stripped down bare and had a leash with a long chain that was attached to some sort of railing, staring at whoever was taking his picture in fear. In the picture, they could see him trembling, with numerous bruises and a few cuts and scraps all over his body as he tried unsuccessfully to cover his nether regions. They could tell from his jade-green eyes in the picture that he was horrified to be there, hoisted from his familiar Muggle background into a world so strange to him, and that sent a jolt of sour-ish pain through their hearts. Severus felt like he was willing to give his entire fortune just to find the person who took this picture so that he could torture him into a slow and painful death.

"Well, he is new, and he's born from a pretty good breed. He should have a fetching price. Let's see…" Jefferson muttered as he tapped his chin, his eyes still fixated on the paperwork before him, considering the price.

Severus clenched a fist, struggling to hold back a punch. Whispering to Albus, he hissed, "This man is making Harry sound like a piece of meat or and animal! I won't stand for this!"

Albus did not reply, but gave him a "Calm down" look. It was best that they remained on the manager's good side if they want to cut this deal.

"I assume you know how we do deals on freeing slaves, right?" Jefferson finally voiced out.

"We have been informed, yes," Albus replied, with Severus nodding in reply.

"Well then, then I don't need to explain how it works. I'll just get straight to the point. For his price, I want you to get me the eye of a dragon. And not just any dragon. I want the Norwegian Ridgeback."

"That's absurd. It's too much just to free a slave!" Albus protested.

"That boy is the best addition we have," Jefferson retorted. "Because of him, customers have been rolling in for a while. I mean, he's the son of the community protégé. I won't lie to you; I know of his parents' background. James Potter and Lily Evans, right? Before I was in this business, I used to be a fellow member of his father's Quidditch team, and he and his wife are like the darling of the society, the sweetheart of the Ministry and the saint of the public. It was no wonder they have made a lot of enemies and green-eyed monsters, me included, and that crazy mass murderer Tom Riddle. Even when we concealed his scar, quite a number of them are still able to recognize the boy as their child, and I was astonished that he was even able to stoop so low as to be sold into my business. Everyone loves a protégé's kid, especially when they've diminished into such a low level as a sex slave. It turns them on to see their demise."

"I see," Severus replied, fighting the urge to shove his foot into the man's mouth. "How long have I got?"

"Oh, it's alright, take all the time you need. We can wait. But," Jefferson warned as he leaned back in his chair, "if you don't show up by the end of this year, I'll have to assume you failed and your life expired, and we will have to take back our merchandize, regardless whoever you transfer the temporary ownership of him to while you're gone."

"Very well, I agree to the terms," Severus nodded, smiling inwardly to himself as he remembered the will he had drawn out and Albus' promise to fulfill it.

"A dragon's eye, you say?" Albus confirmed the price.

"Norwegian Ridgeback dragon's eye, if you please," Jefferson stressed.

"Alright then. We will bring the eye for you. Make sure you prepare all necessary documents for Harry's release."

"I'll be waiting," Jefferson agreed, a sarcastic smile spread across his tan face.

"We will see ourselves out," Severus got off the chair and left the room, not even looking back at Jefferson's fake professional wave goodbye, with Albus following behind him.

"The nerve of him. Asking us to get such an outrageous payment! If he had asked for a mermaid's song or a centaur's bow and arrow, I'd be glad to get it for you, since we have it just right at school at our disposal, but this…"

"That's the whole point of their terms of release," Severus sighed as he led the old Headmaster out of the hall and out of Knockturn Alley. "It was not meant to be easy. I will leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Very well then, Severus, since you have already made up your mind to do it," Albus said as they finally reached the carriage port and mounted the carriage, signaling to the driver who was enjoying a pint and a smoke with his friends to get going. "I will have your replacement from the Ministry in the meantime. I'll tell them that I sent you on an urgent confidential errand."

"Thank you," Severus said as he felt the carriage began to move slowly away from Diagon Alley. "I hope to have this done by the end of school."

"Hopefully. Would you like some assistance in your quest?"

"No. It is my task and mine alone, Albus." The last thing the Potions Master wanted was to have anyone involved.

"I think you need assistance. I can give Hagrid for you. He's good with creatures of such nature. I mean, he is, after all, our professor for Care for Magical Creatures subject."

"No, Albus. Just me."

"I must insist. You're almost like a son to me. If you have to die, at least you won't die alone."

Severus sighed, tired of arguing but still adamant to his decision to be a lone ranger in this, "I am fine, Albus. Please let me do this alone."

Albus shrugged in defeat, knowing that he couldn't persuade the Ice King of Hogwarts even if he were to be cast an Imperius Curse, "At least say goodbye to the boy. He deserves it."

"He will just run away. I still have his book though. Maybe I could talk to him using the book as an excuse…if he would still want to see my face."

"He deserves to see you, even if it's for the last time. You don't want to let him think you don't care, do you?"

"Yes. I guess I will come tonight," Severus replied as he could finally see the tower of Hogwarts coming into view, hoping to gods of all religion that Harry would at least grant him that much of a visit.

--:--

Harry yawned and stretched as he finally finished his chores for the day. As he made his way back to the office and to his room to retire for the day, the words of persuasion and encouragement from Hermione, Ron and Draco came raining down in his mind about Severus' wish to free him.

He wants what's best for you, Harry…He loves you very, very much to do this…

No master would ever wanna sacrifice himself just to free you, lad… Ya don't have to worry about that ol' bat…

Uncle Sev will be alright, I'm sure of it. He's a tough guy…If he can survive an explosion in the lab, I don't see why he couldn't survive this…

Harry groaned and wiped those imaginary speech bubbles off his head as he spoke the password and went to his room, bidding Albus, who was at his desk writing as usual, good night. As he took off his usual work clothes and stared at the wardrobe wondering which night clothes to wear for tonight, he contemplated on whether he was a little too harsh on his judgment on Severus' actions. He knew that he was only doing this for the best of both of them. If he were to be free, he didn't have to worry about obeying anyone's orders unless necessary and he didn't have to worry all the time about when Lucius would pop out of nowhere to fuck him blind. If he were free, he could finally date Severus as a normal couple just like Hermione and Ron, with Albus' consent, of course. And probably Draco was right: he was overstating his worries about Severus getting killed. The blonde had told him that the lab had suffered more explosion than the Muggles doing nuclear test bombing back in the Cold War, and Severus had lived to tell the tale about it, so what are the odds of him dying out there to fight for his freedom? Besides, according to Draco, no one has ever successfully free a slave before and Severus was willing to beat the odds, so why not give him the credit for sticking his neck out for him? Does that not prove that he loved him so much that he was willing to do anything? But still, the thought of the unthinkable still lingered, and that was the last thing he wanted happen to Severus.

While he was deep in his thoughts, Severus was in his room at the staff hostel, staring at the ceiling with the child's book on his lap, having read it for the past hour over and over again until he could remember the lines by heart. Although he knew that in the original story, Little Red was given a choice between Path of Needles or Path of Pins while the wolf beat her to it and killed the grandmother, then made Little Red eat the leftovers of her grandmother before asking her to strip naked and lie in bed with him until he was drowned in the river by a laundress when he discovered Little Red had escaped with the pretense of going out to pee, it was still fascinating to read how the Muggles tried to pave off all the horrifying gory details to suit their children's mindset and hide them from the truth of the fact that people back then were just as cruel as the ones depicted in those ancient fairytales. Personally, he thought the Muggle children should learn the truth just as he and all his childhood friends—if he had any—did. Finally, unable to stall his visit to Harry any longer, he got up from his chair and brought the book along with it, making his way to Albus' office. Seeing that the old man was not at his desk as usual (probably retired for the night), he took a deep breath and went over to knock on the door to Harry's room.

"Grandpa Albus?" Harry's voice rang from inside the room. Oh, how he missed that voice. Inside, Harry was surprised. Albus had never visited him in his room at such a late night.

"No, love, it's me," Severus replied. Harry scowled.

"I no wan see you. Go away."

"Please, Harry. I have your book. You left it at the Quidditch field the other day."

Harry hesitated for a moment. He was wondering where the book had gone to. Finally, he opened only a crack, pouting, "Gimme book."

Severus slid the book through the crack, but held onto the knob, not wanting Harry to close the door at his face, "Can I talk to you, Harry?"

"I no wan to talk to you," Harry replied indignantly.

"I am leaving tomorrow on my quest, Harry. I just want to say good bye, and maybe get a hug?"

Harry considered for a while, then released his hold on the door to let him in, still partially naked with only his underwear as he fixated his gaze at his wardrobe, looking for what to wear for bed. Severus took only one step inside, afraid that Harry was still grudging over as he bit back a groan seeing Harry's delectable body. Ever since he found out about Lucius raping Harry, he had never dared to touch him for fear of seeing Harry's traumatized face whenever he tried to get near him like the last time. As he watched Harry finding what he wanted to wear, which was a white male-version of a nightgown that ran all the way to his ankles, his will was struggling to keep his awakening nether regions at bay and forcing the inner sexual demon back into its cage of self-control. Now is not the time to think about ravishing the boy, Severus! he screamed in his head to himself, Focus on what you're supposed to do, you dunderhead! Focus!

"I am going to release you, Harry. I promise. It will be hard and difficult but I will."

"I no want you go," Harry said grudgingly, dressing up in his night clothes and not looking at him.

"I have to, Harry. I am not going to let Lucius or any other asshole near you."

"I can take care of myself! I no wan u to die for me!"

"I will try not to, pet. Just think a few months from now you will be free."

"I no wan be free if u die…" Harry's voice trailed away, the choked feeling starting to crawl up his throat.

"Let's focus on the good right now, OK, pet?"

Harry didn't reply, trying to blink back his tears, knowing that he couldn't persuade Severus to change his mind. He wished so badly that it did not have to come to this, but he knew once his Master had made up his mind, there was no turning him back from it.

"May I have a hug? For good luck?"

Finally relenting, but still not looking directly at him, he turned around to face his open arms and wrapped his own around his waist, hugging him tight as he tried in vain to force his tears back. Severus hugged Harry back, taking it all in. It felt like forever since they were like this in each other's arms. The small warmth and the soft feeling of Harry's tiny arms around him was all that mattered right now. The rest of the world could just blow up into ashes and wither in the wind for all he cared; all he ever wanted was right here in his arms, and he was willing to trade his life for it.

"I love you, pet," Severus whispered.

"I love you, Master…" Harry whispered back, trying to hold back his sobs.

Severus, after making sure Albus was really not around, knelt down and kissed Harry softly, savouring the taste of his rosy-tinted lips. Harry kissed back, his lips trembling as he tried hard to suppress his cries. Severus stroked his hair with one hand and wiped the boy's tears with the other, leaning his forehead against his.

"Don't be scared, love."

"I…I no scared," Harry allowed the older man to help him wipe away the tears that fell out of his sparkling jade-green eyes like rain, "I just…no wan you die…"

"Don't be," Severus assured him. "If you believe in me, I will come back."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

"I wait. I wait for you," Harry vowed. No matter how long it takes, he will wait for him to return if that is what his beloved Master had promised.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Severus said, then kissed him once more after the boy nodded. "I need to go, I need rest and so do you."

Before he could leave, Harry held onto his sleeve with both his thumb and index fingers, blushing as he looked at the floor, whispering, "Sleep with me."

"I can't, love. Not without Albus' express permission. If he saw me in your bed…"

"I no care. I wan u to sleep with me, or I no let u go," Harry pouted, still looking at the floor, blushing as he pretended to be very interested with his toes. Severus chuckled lightly at his expression. It has been a long while since he saw his pet putting that sort of face. Looking around again, he stepped fully into the room and closed the door, locking it.

"Fine, but if I am caught with you, it's your hide, not mine."

Harry giggled and pulled at Severus' sleeve until he was near the bed. Severus reached down and pulled the covers aside.

"The bed is rather small though. We will have to sleep right next to each other, love."

"I no care. I wan sleep with you."

"Alright, pet, alright," Severus chuckled again as he took off his shoes and outer robes before getting onto the bed and turned to face Harry, opening his arms to let the boy sleep in them. Harry quickly nuzzled into Severus' arms, enjoying the warmth and the scent of mixed potions he was so accustomed to ever since the first day he was bought and brought into his Master's manor.

"I missed you, love. So much," Severus whispered as he petted the boy's ebony-black unruly hair.

"Me too," Harry replied as he huddled closer in his embrace. Severus kissed the top of his head and petted him some more.

"When I get back, you will have learned complete sentences. We can talk all you want."

Harry mumbled a sleepy agreement as he slowly fell asleep with his thumb in his mouth. Apparently he still had not given up the habit of thumb-sucking himself to sleep even though he had left the manor to live the Hogwarts life.

"You are too old for that, my love."

Severus took the finger out with a silent pop and kissed those lips that just held his thumb captive gently as he watched him drift into Dreamland before he, too, succumbed to the World of Slumber.