I'm A Slave For You-Chp30

I'M A SLAVE FOR YOU

Hagrid continued following behind Severus in his quest, munching a rock cake along the way. Severus could hear the sound of the rock cake crunching and crackling between his teeth as the half-giant chewed and munched while enjoying the sights and tried to walk a little faster to distance themselves—hoping that he could lose him at the same time—but the half-giant, what with his sort of 'bird's eye view' and tracking system because of his giant blood, he quickly sensed that Severus was at a inconsiderable distance from him and immediately caught up with him with just three strides of his wide footsteps, his munching and chewing noises following suite.

Severus sighed. Hagrid was following him everywhere like a huge conspicuous shadow, and there was no shaking him off, no matter how Severus threatened or shooed or tried to escape. He had tried several attempts of losing him by getting up way earlier than him and sneak out of the hotel they were staying, only to be chased after like an escaped convict by the breathless half-giant, nagging behind him for leaving him behind and not waking him up sooner. He had tried mingling and blending in with the crowd so that he wouldn't see and that he would be rid of him, but Hagrid's height served him painfully well as he spotted him almost immediately, what with Severus having a habit of wearing dark, conservative clothes even while touring around the Muggle world, making him stick out like a sore thumb for Hagrid to see. It was like bringing along a big baby who wanted his daddy 24-7 or having a disease that just won't go away. His presence was made even grudgingly worse when the half-giant seemed to find it amusing to let Severus know at the last minute after roaming around in Germany for almost one month that he knew people who had Portkeys at certain areas so that it would take them to their destination a little faster.

But in all honest truth, he would not say that he did not like the company entirely; having someone to talk to, or there lack of, was better than musing about with a face that looked like everyone owed you a million Galleons. With Hagrid around, at least he felt a little bit compensated for his having to be so lonely separated from his dear little pet for so long. His long-winded chattering, which was just as bad as Albus' talkative nature, was the only thing that kept him sane and guide him to the right path without doing something stupid out of desperation to fulfill the deal of the slaver manager Mr. Jefferson Underhill. Besides, when they came across mean-looking thugs or robbers who wanted to cause trouble and steal him of his valuables, Hagrid proved to be a good bodyguard rather than having Severus causing uproar of revealing his identity as a wizard. Hagrid's connections into looking for the contacts that possessed those Portkeys also made their journey a little more bearable than before. Thanks to Hagrid, they actually managed to locate a witch, who was a half-succubus from her father's side, who owned a Jack Skellington live-size doll that served as a Portkey to take them to Austria and closer to their destination. He secretly thanked Albus for sending Hagrid after him and would've done the same to Hagrid, if he weren't munching behind him so irritably noisy, literally killing off the grateful mood.

"Wanna rock cake, S'vrus?" Hagrid suddenly asked.

"No, thank you," Severus replied dourly.

"C'mon. It tastes good," Hagrid probed as he offered one to Severus.

Severus took it, threw it on the ground without a moment's notice, and kept walking. I'd rather keep my teeth intact, thank you very much, he thought to himself.

"Aww, S'vrus!" Hagrid exclaimed in annoyance before running to pick up the cake, scraping and blowing away the dirt before putting it back into his duffel bag. "D'ya hafta be so uptigh'?"

"Yes, I have a reputation to uphold. And that doesn't include associating with giants and sacrificing their teeth for mere junk food."

"Ya know, fer a guy who so lovesick tha' ye willin' tuh risk yer neck fer a common slave, ye sure ar' a walkin' contradiction."

"Well, I never wanted you following me around like a lost canine and you are annoying the shit out of me. So please do me a favour and go away."

"Canna help it now, can I?" Hagrid scowled as he pocketed his half-eaten rock cake into his duffel bag. "Unbr'kable Vow, remember? 'Sides, if it wern fer me, ye migh' still be back in 'em German-ee runnin' 'round in circles. I wuz jus' bein' friendly, neways. Wat's yer poison?"

"I just want to get this over and go back to my Harry, that's all I'm asking," Severus sighed, tired of wasting his breath arguing with him for the umpteenth time.

After smiling good-naturedly at some curious passers-by ogling at his massive size, he turned to ask Severus again, "I'm jus' curious tho'. Wat exactly ye see in tha' boy?"

"He is special," Severus replied after a moment's silence. "You can't pick your love; it just happens."

"I wunner wat he sees in ye," Hagrid asked in a joking tone, receiving a death glare from the Potions Master.

"I really don't know. My last love saw only a Master."

"Ah, tha' one, aye?" Hagrid asked. He briefly remembered during a school function, he saw a green-eyed young man who was almost in his 20's following waist to waist beside Severus wearing some sort of greenish-silver collar and was looking at everyone with a feeling of reservation. He never asked of his name because he was too drunk with mead at the time, but the young man's piercing green eyes were etched deep in his memory banks even though he only saw him once. "Tuh bad ye hafta let 'im go. He's a pretty lil' thin'."

"He was, during those 16 years of my life, my one and only. I never thought I could get over it and love someone else just as much as I loved him, but I do now."

"I guess it's like ye says: it jus' happens. But s'riously, S'vrus, wat made ye so attracted tuh him? Wat did he do tuh make ye so…smitt'n?"

"His eyes," Severus replied briefly.

"Eyes?" Hagrid echoed.

"Yes, that is what made me buy him. His green eyes."

"Green eyes? Ye bought 'im jus' coz he has green eyes?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "Dere's gotta be more than tha'."

"I bought him for that at first," Severus said, then smiled inwardly, "but it changed to something much more."

"Aha! So do tell ol' Hagrid 'ere," Hagrid grinned and egged him on with a light nudge at his shoulders, eyeing him with interest.

"His trust, his body, his smile, everything," Severus allowed himself to smile in the open as he reminiscence every detail his pet had that made him so head over heels for him. "There is trait after trait for me to love. Even his pout and anger."

"Oh ho ho…" Hagrid guffawed, then flashed Severus a naughty grin, saying, "Our Ice Prince of 'ogwarts 'av finally melted, aye?"

"Yes, yes, I have. Whatever," Severus waved him off, trying hard not to blush. "Let it get out and your animals will suffer."

"Dinna worry, S'vrus, yer secrets safe wi' me. Ev'n Minerva, who helped seal tha' Unbr'kable Vow dunno wat yer reli out 'ere fer n why I hafta protect ye."

Severus groaned. Not only had he involved a stupid huge oaf to make such detrimental vow over his own life, he even made an old hag seal the deal. No wonder life in Hogwarts have been in shambles and no wonder the Ministry of Magic was always finding ways to debunk the old man from his seat in the office.

"They should be arrested for attempted murder and endangering the life of an innocent bystander. Now I really hate that man."

"Why?" Hagrid asked, not sure why Severus would want to make a fuss about Albus looking out for him. "He's da one who sent me outta concern fer yer safety. If 'e dinna care, ye woulda be dead righ' 'bout now 'fore ye ev'n got tha' eye."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe, but tha' dinna change tha' Dumble cares 'bout ye. 'Sides, I vows tuh be Dumble's loyal servant n I did it of my own free will."

"Fine!" Severus snapped at the half-giant, getting a little frustrated that this bickering was going nowhere. "Go lick his boots and jump off the cliff for him if you want to serve him so much! How about you shut up for an hour while I try to figure it out how to find that other stupid Portkey owner of yours?"

"Alrigh', alrigh'," Hagrid rolled his eyes and took out his rock cake to munch again, muttering, "Summat's woken on tha' wrong side o' tha' bed today…"

While Severus sighed in relief that he had a moment to think of which route to take next or which person to ask to look for their next contact, Hagrid was enjoying the sights. Soon, he whipped out an old worn camera given by Albus and took pictures of the place. It was one of those cameras that required a flash of a bulb because electronic devices go haywire in the magic world due to the differences in nature and wavelength, but it was functional, and the half-giant was happy to be able to just use it.

"Oh ho ho, wait till Ron and Mione sees this," Hagrid grinned happily. "They'll be flippin' dere gourds."

"I thought I said be quiet," Severus growled, annoyed that his train of thought was disrupted by Hagrid.

"It ain't no crime talkin' to meself now, innit?" Hagrid gave him a sarcastic sideways glance.

Shaking his head in dismay, he walked faster to leave some more space between them to navigate and plan his next course of action while Hagrid, keeping Severus within eyeshot, continued to take photos.

This was going to be one hell of a long journey still.