Chapter Text
Severus was in dire need of whiskey, today had been a day of awful worthless children who didn't even try to pay attention to what he had been trying to say. He lectured, he taught, he tried his best to make sure every merlin forsaken student had a chance in the real world with basic potions, and yet most of them couldn’t even brew a pepper up correctly. Walking down the halls to his chambers, just thinking about his personal stash he had kept away - for days like today.
On top of the fact that Dumbledore was holding a meeting for two days from now, another search for damned Potter boy. He has been missing for two bloody years, why in the hell would it be worth anyone’s time to continue looking for the boy? Obviously he was either dead or had a very good way of hiding. He wasn’t going to be found if he hasn’t been found yet.
Revealing the password to his chambers, Severus walked in already shredding his outer robe ready to relax with the “Prophet” and a good glass of liquor. But what sat his chambers was unexpected.
“Potter?”
Harry looked up from Severus’s couch with a smirk, “Hello, Severus. I hope that you didn’t have plans tonight. Could we speak?”
Severus looked around the room as if he was expecting another person to jump out or perhaps he was expecting this was a test. He glared at the teen, not wanting to spare him a moment but at the same time - he wanted to know where the teen had been. How had he been able to hide for so long without being found? How was he alive without giving any type of sign or evidence? Severus waved his wand and hung up his cloak as he observed the situation. “What could you possibly have to say to me, Potter?”
Harry only kept his smirk and gestured his hand to the chair across from him, as if he owned the room. “Surely, your curiosity is killing you. Don’t you have any questions? I’m happy to answer them, if you would prefer to go first.”
Sneering, Severus ignored the teen for a moment as he walked passed the den to his kitchen to make a drink. Regardless of the turn of events, he had been looking forward to his drink for a good part of the day - and no one was going to stop him from having it. Not even “The-Boy-Who-Lived”. Dropping the ice into the glass he looked over the teen, he had grown since the last time he had seen him. His hair had grown out, but it was styled neatly. The body on the young boy had filled out, Severus had to admit that was expected though. The boy was now 17 after all. Taking a sip from his glass, Severus moved to the armchair across from Harry, “How did you get in here?”
Laughing as if that was the most amusing thing Severus could have asked him, Harry rolled his eyes, “That is your first question. Of course. How could the little Potter Jr get into the Half Blood Prince’s chambers, right?” Shrugging, as if it didn’t make a difference in the world, Harry continued, “the shadows. Anything else?”
Raising an eyebrow clearly unamused with the younger boy, Severus inhales through his nose and as if talking to a very small child, he tries again to get clarification. “The shadows.”
Waving his hand, as is dismissing the question, not so much question. “In a moment.” Harry turns serious, his own amusement dying down. “I have some things I'd like to discuss with you. So do you have any other questions before I begin? If it is where have I been and how come no one could find me..I've been moving around quite a bit and I haven't been using any wizard magic to allow Dumbledore or anyone else to trace me. How have I survived without magic at the age of 15, after supposedly running away? I had other means that will be discussed, again, in a moment. Do you have anything else you would like to ask, before I tell you why I'm actually here?”
With a sip of his whiskey, the potions master sucked on his teeth in thought, but nonetheless shook his head in negative. If Potter was going to tell him eventually everything, there was no point to waste time asking questions now. He was a little more curious to why the boy would come to him, announcing he was here, alive, and well after two years.
Harry bent over and pulled a package out from under the couch, setting it in his lap. “I've been watching you for awhile. And I trust you. Your a smart man and while you seem to give both your current Masters-”
Sneering feeling rage that this teen would even dare imply anything of a sort. He worked for both Dumbledore and Voldemort but he did on his own choices, he cut off Potter before he carried on with things he knew nothing about. “I have no Master, Potter.”
Narrowing his eyes, Harry went from relaxed to dark. His eyes turned from his bright green to an intense black. “Do not lie to me. As I said, I have been watching you. For the better part of a year. I know everything about you Severus. I am not going to play any games with you, and I will expect if you want to get the Master you are clearly searching for, you will not lie to me again.” Staring down at the potions master, the previous easiness that had been originally displayed was gone.
A year? How had Potter been watching him for so long without being noticed? Could he be lying? He had to be. It was impossible to have been around and completely undetected for long. His eyes were red, and Severus couldn't deny the small amount of dread that was building. Hiding it in face, Severus responded, “Impossible Potter, you want me to be honest with you and yet you lie.”
Harry looked to the floor to the corner of Severus’s chair, then back to the man before him. “I will only prove this to you once. If you question me again after this, the next time you see me - it will not be for a conversation.” Harry disappeared from his seat without a sound. There was no sound of apperation but at the same time, no one but the headmaster could apperate on Hogwarts grounds. Severus looked around the room, searching for the boy, but found nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn't even sense any other magic in the room other than his own.
Harry appeared again but this time next to Severus, the same spot he had been staring at before he disappeared. “You're scared. And curious. You long for a Master stronger than yourself, that will stand by you but will not take your snark. You want freedom from both sides, but you believe in ideals from both sides. You can't pick one and you can't leave either. Your mark imprisons you to the Dark and you would be content to stay on that side if the current Dark Lord wasn't insane but you can't choose Dumbledore because he is only full of broken promises and threats. You want something more.” Dropping the package in Severus's lap, “Do not open it. Deliver it. Tonight. If you give this to the Dark Lord, I promise you, you will leave the manor untouched and unmarked.”
Severus was stunned and confused, he didn't want to believe this but at the same time he did. “That proves very little. How can you make a promise like that? You have been gone.” Severus's words were meant to be confident, but Harry knew better.
“Severus. There is not a single thing about you I don't know. Every thought, hope, dream, and action you have ever had in the last year - I know. I know about the small affair between you and Lucius. I know about your attraction to the Dark Lords magic and I know about your longing to be acknowledged by Dumbledore. I know about your abusive childhood. I know about your nightmares about dying and being thrown away after this predicted war. And I am telling you, I will and can help you if you listen to me.” Harry looked at their overlapping shadows on the floor, “Your shadow tells me everything about you. You can't keep anything from me so don't try. But I am going to give you one more form of proof, that I can and will protect you and keep every promise I make.”
Harry stepped in front of Severus, his eyes back to their original green. “I will allow you to cast any curse or hex you wish on me. Be an unforgettable or a jelly-legged jinx.”
Completely flabbergasted, Severus has no idea what to make of the boy. Curse him? Was he insane? But how could he possibly know all of those things about him? What was he supposed to do? Looking at the package in his lap, he was being sent on an errand that could possibly get him tortured or even killed. “Why can't you deliver it if you can hide so well?” Severus eyed the boy suspiciously.
“I could. But believe it or not, this is going to help you.” Harry was standing inches away from Severus, if Potter stepped any closer his knees would be touching Severus. “You only get one shot at me, pick anything you want. This offer will not happen again.”
Was this a test? What would this possibly prove? Severus picked up his wand and looked at the boy again. “I don't understand.” Was finally all he could say. But Harry said nothing to clarify, he only spread his arms out lowly at his sides to show he was waiting and ready for Severus to cast his spell. Severus decided that he would use his own spell, it was strong but he could save the boy with the supplies he had in his chambers. With enough curiosity and bravery, “Sectumsempra!”
The spell shot off his wand and hit Potter, but his spell was absorbed. Potter's eyes turned black but the only thing that even showed that Potter had been hit with anything was the slight hiss the boy made. But it wasn't from pain, it sounded like an aggravated animal that was going to attack. Potter put his hands on either side of Severus's chair and knelt at the waist, his face down inches from Severus’s, “Nothing can hurt me. Nothing can touch me. I am the Devil of Shadows. I am the Lord of the Dark. I will protect you if you obey me. I will only ask once for your loyalty. Will you be mine, Severus?”
“Yes, Master.”