Chapter 3 - Calling in a Debt
Go back to Chapter 02
Index
Go on to Chapter 04
Disclaimers: Neither the idea of Harry Potter nor the characters belong to me in any way. They are the sole property of JKR. I do not make any money of this story either.
/ ... denotes flashbacks and remembered conversations
* ... denotes thoughts
Chapter 3 - To Acclimatise
Severus Snape sat in his overstuffed chair, his feet drawn up under him. He missed his dungeons, his classroom and the cosy private rooms he had lived in for so many years. More than anything else he longed for the solitude that has been ripped out of his grasp so unexpectedly.
For a month they had been living in what Harry kept calling the Potter-Snape residence. If it had not been Albus who had suggested the order of the sure-names, Severus could have clung to it as a further slight. Truth was that Harry was consideration in person and the way he treated Severus was polite, almost loving. “It’s awful. If he would at least treat me in a fashion that would let me resent him for it.”
That was his true problem: Harry was kind. Glares, short answers, snarls and curses, nothing seemed to faze the younger man. They had even started to have real conversations. In one of those Severus had expressed how he missed his books and the access to the school library. The next day the biggest bare room on the first floor had been converted into a cosy, warm heaven. The colour scheme was a homely dark green. As he looked through the collection of books on the shelves he had been surprised at the variety. Most of the reading material was potion texts. Only one shelf contained Quidditch and Defence against the Dark Arts texts.
If Severus Snape had not been so cynical of life and everything around him, he would have seen it as a gift from his husband. Being the jaded man he was though, he looked at it as a treat from a wizard to his consort - an attempt to calm Severus’ irascible temper.
In the first weeks Severus had been calling himself every kind of idiot over and over again. He was convinced that Harry would have never made his threat true. Harry Potter had a lot of life-debts. Of course the younger wizard could make it true, asking everyone who owed him a favour to turn out the Potion Master. He could even demand it of some people. There was no doubt whatsoever that his erstwhile pupil had that kind of power. What had hurt most was that Dumbledore did not fight or try to change Harry’s mind.
/”You have a choice, Severus.”/
Even remembering the brat’s words, and his gall of using the Potion Master’s given name, was enough for his blood to run hot in his veins with anger. He still flinched every time Harry Potter-Snape called him by his first name.
/”Join me in marriage for the time frame of 2 years.”/
The silence had been unbearable, but it had been Severus who had cracked first, unable to hold back his scathing “or?” any longer.
/”Or I will make sure you are homeless, jobless and without friends.”/
In retrospect Severus had to confess, Harry was cleverer than he had ever hinted at. It was positively Slytherin, what he had done to his former teacher. First he had made his victim uneasy by observing him for months, stalking him, just out of range. Severus had known someone was there but had never managed to catch the miscreant. *Where did the brat learn how to do that?* Then he had panicked the older man and forced him into a rash decision. If it had not been Harry Potter but one of his Slytherins he would have been delighted at the slyness. Of course, he would have given them detention until the end of their school-time, Slytherin or not.
Married to Harry Potter for two, long years. Then he could go back to his dark and peaceful dungeon quarters. They would not even need a divorce. After the length of time determined in the marriage contract had passed, they would simply cease to be Harry and Severus Potter Snape and go back to their individual lives, continuing like it never happened.
Severus scowled. At least Harry left him alone most of the time. The first few weeks he had only seen the little brat at mealtimes. Until now he had not even realised how skilful Harry was drawing his net tighter around his victim. For weeks now Harry had searched Severus’ company over longer and longer periods of time every day. He stayed in his vicinity, starting conversations or asking the older man’s professional opinion on something or other. Until it became too much for Severus to bear and he left - fled - the room. Usually he vanished into the new library for a read and up to now, Harry had yet to follow him there.
His thoughts made a full circle and came back to their wedding ceremony. Dazed was the expression to use when describing his emotional state at the time. The only other person he was aware of was Harry and he had the dim memory of Dumbledore saying something. Probably trying to be funny.
Waiting for the small ceremony to start he had stood in the adjacent room next to the Headmaster’s office. His hands had been cold and clammy, his stomach was a knot of cold ice and his heart had been beating so fast, he had been afraid it would jump out by his throat. “Damn you Harry Potter.” Even remembering the day, all those feelings came back like it had just happened yesterday. But instead of being clear, like most of his memories, the pictures came back like a soft mist had settled over them, like they were a dream.
It must have been anger. Severus had been positively livid, he had raged against the injustice of it all, thrown books - or anything handy - when Potter had dared to come close. He had even begged. Begged. Shaking his head in disgust at himself he snuggled deeper into the cushions and pulled a pale green blanket from the armrest to put over his freezing feet.
The whole day had been surreal and when he had seen the pictures Hermione Granger had taken at the wedding - Harry had hung them up everywhere in their flat and the house - he had been aghast at his unresisting picture. Instead of doing what Severus expected of his image, it stood there and looked at Harry with a dazed expression on his face. Every time he looked at any of the pictures - Harry waving out at him with a big, happy grin and himself moving around in a daze - he had the urge to kick something. To top it off his husband hung the pictures back up and repaired them when he flung them off the walls.
They had lived together for six weeks now and slowly Severus got used to sharing his habitation with someone. That did not mean that the Potion Master stopped resenting Harry and the situation. He had just ceased to struggle. *What’s the point anyway?*
Harry Potter was his husband. The marriage contract named Severus only as consort, giving The Boy Who Lived an unnatural amount of power over him. If he wished, Harry could tell Severus what to wear, how to eat his breakfast toast and even what to say. However you looked at it, Severus was in the hand of the brat.
Short-term contracts like the one that bound Severus to Harry were a usual way of conducting relationships and especially marriages in the wizarding world. Given their long life-span wizards very rarely bonded for life, simply because spending the span of one hundred years or more with one person only was boring and could lead to a lot of problems. Said problems had led to include something into the binding spell that hindered both parties to hex, jinx or injure their husband or wife or consort.
A low growl emanated from Severus’ throat. He would have given almost everything to hurt the younger man, but the mere thought made his head ache. Leave it to Albus to change the spell.
Rubbing his temples to ease the pain a little he sighed and stretched, slipping into his comfortable house-shoes in a fluid motion. He got up and walked into the dining room. Time to face his husband. It was time for lunch.
***
Lunch was a simple affair, vegetable soup, pasta with a delicious herbal sauce and vanilla cream. The problem with meals was, that Harry insisted on talking at him, and being his consort he had no choice but to engage in conversation.
“I’ve been thinking of planting something in the garden. There is still a lot to be done and I thought you might want to grow some of your potion ingredients yourself. It would be a suitable hobby for you.”
Having been in the process of eating some of the dessert Severus allowed himself the time to swallow before he glared at his husband. “I’m not a gardener. Ask Albus, but I have a black thumb as the Muggles like to call it.”
Harry’s smiling face turned stern as he answered in steely tones. “I don’t care what you think about the idea. You will be responsible of turning the sorry excuse we have for a garden into something beautiful. A place we would actually like to stay in for more than just a second, before fleeing back.”
*Great. I knew it was just a matter of time before he would start ordering me around.* Severus’ thoughts turned dark. *You’re just like everyone else, Potter. Just you wait till our contract is over. Just you wait.* A slight ache in his head flared up and he looked down at his bowl. “As you wish, Potter.” A clang of metal against glass startled Severus
Harry’s face was slightly red with anger, Severus assumed. “Stop calling me Potter, Severus. We are married, I insist you call me Harry and act like a proper consort.”
Getting to his feet as well and smugly observing that he still towered over the younger man, he said in a low voice, “What do you expect? You forced me into a bonding I did not want. You made me give up my living quarters and move in with you into this horrible house. You insist I spend time with you. I thought you wanted a consort, Potter? Suddenly changed your mind?” There was an ugly expression on his face, a mixture of a sneer and a grimace. “Got enough of your new toy? By all means, just dissolve the contract then. I am not going to stop you.” He turned around and left the room and a very stunned Harry. Although he had meant to go to the library he finally ended up in what went by as a garden.
“Damn Harry Potter.”
***
Completely stunned Harry looked after Severus. Finally they were making some kind of progress. After all the glares and sneers, the other man had finally disclosed his feelings.
A smile spread over his face. The feelings were of negative origin, but it was definitely a beginning. Harry had been reading up on a lot of things since they had come to this house. His bedroom looked like a miniature library. Right now he was doing something that a lot of people had to do with nervous horses before they were able to break them. Getting the scared creature used to their voice, touch and smell.
Harry had been surprised by the lack of resistance he met in most regards when dealing with the Potion Master. Coming to think of it, his comparison with Severus to a scared horse was so far off, it was not even in the same library. Maybe he should ask Hagrid for advice on how to care for one of those scary monsters the half-giant loved so much.
Shaking his head a little to clear it of thoughts, he sat back down and continued eating his dessert, even going so far as to steal what Severus had left over. For the first time since he had hatched this plan, he felt truly happy. Hermione would love to hear this.
In his happiness he never noticed that Severus had not finished his food completely. Then Dobby appeared and started removing the used dishes while happily chatting to Harry.
Life was good.
***
Go back to Chapter 02
Index
Go on to Chapter 04
Index
Go on to Chapter 04
Disclaimers: Neither the idea of Harry Potter nor the characters belong to me in any way. They are the sole property of JKR. I do not make any money of this story either.
/ ... denotes flashbacks and remembered conversations
* ... denotes thoughts
Chapter 3 - To Acclimatise
Severus Snape sat in his overstuffed chair, his feet drawn up under him. He missed his dungeons, his classroom and the cosy private rooms he had lived in for so many years. More than anything else he longed for the solitude that has been ripped out of his grasp so unexpectedly.
For a month they had been living in what Harry kept calling the Potter-Snape residence. If it had not been Albus who had suggested the order of the sure-names, Severus could have clung to it as a further slight. Truth was that Harry was consideration in person and the way he treated Severus was polite, almost loving. “It’s awful. If he would at least treat me in a fashion that would let me resent him for it.”
That was his true problem: Harry was kind. Glares, short answers, snarls and curses, nothing seemed to faze the younger man. They had even started to have real conversations. In one of those Severus had expressed how he missed his books and the access to the school library. The next day the biggest bare room on the first floor had been converted into a cosy, warm heaven. The colour scheme was a homely dark green. As he looked through the collection of books on the shelves he had been surprised at the variety. Most of the reading material was potion texts. Only one shelf contained Quidditch and Defence against the Dark Arts texts.
If Severus Snape had not been so cynical of life and everything around him, he would have seen it as a gift from his husband. Being the jaded man he was though, he looked at it as a treat from a wizard to his consort - an attempt to calm Severus’ irascible temper.
In the first weeks Severus had been calling himself every kind of idiot over and over again. He was convinced that Harry would have never made his threat true. Harry Potter had a lot of life-debts. Of course the younger wizard could make it true, asking everyone who owed him a favour to turn out the Potion Master. He could even demand it of some people. There was no doubt whatsoever that his erstwhile pupil had that kind of power. What had hurt most was that Dumbledore did not fight or try to change Harry’s mind.
/”You have a choice, Severus.”/
Even remembering the brat’s words, and his gall of using the Potion Master’s given name, was enough for his blood to run hot in his veins with anger. He still flinched every time Harry Potter-Snape called him by his first name.
/”Join me in marriage for the time frame of 2 years.”/
The silence had been unbearable, but it had been Severus who had cracked first, unable to hold back his scathing “or?” any longer.
/”Or I will make sure you are homeless, jobless and without friends.”/
In retrospect Severus had to confess, Harry was cleverer than he had ever hinted at. It was positively Slytherin, what he had done to his former teacher. First he had made his victim uneasy by observing him for months, stalking him, just out of range. Severus had known someone was there but had never managed to catch the miscreant. *Where did the brat learn how to do that?* Then he had panicked the older man and forced him into a rash decision. If it had not been Harry Potter but one of his Slytherins he would have been delighted at the slyness. Of course, he would have given them detention until the end of their school-time, Slytherin or not.
Married to Harry Potter for two, long years. Then he could go back to his dark and peaceful dungeon quarters. They would not even need a divorce. After the length of time determined in the marriage contract had passed, they would simply cease to be Harry and Severus Potter Snape and go back to their individual lives, continuing like it never happened.
Severus scowled. At least Harry left him alone most of the time. The first few weeks he had only seen the little brat at mealtimes. Until now he had not even realised how skilful Harry was drawing his net tighter around his victim. For weeks now Harry had searched Severus’ company over longer and longer periods of time every day. He stayed in his vicinity, starting conversations or asking the older man’s professional opinion on something or other. Until it became too much for Severus to bear and he left - fled - the room. Usually he vanished into the new library for a read and up to now, Harry had yet to follow him there.
His thoughts made a full circle and came back to their wedding ceremony. Dazed was the expression to use when describing his emotional state at the time. The only other person he was aware of was Harry and he had the dim memory of Dumbledore saying something. Probably trying to be funny.
Waiting for the small ceremony to start he had stood in the adjacent room next to the Headmaster’s office. His hands had been cold and clammy, his stomach was a knot of cold ice and his heart had been beating so fast, he had been afraid it would jump out by his throat. “Damn you Harry Potter.” Even remembering the day, all those feelings came back like it had just happened yesterday. But instead of being clear, like most of his memories, the pictures came back like a soft mist had settled over them, like they were a dream.
It must have been anger. Severus had been positively livid, he had raged against the injustice of it all, thrown books - or anything handy - when Potter had dared to come close. He had even begged. Begged. Shaking his head in disgust at himself he snuggled deeper into the cushions and pulled a pale green blanket from the armrest to put over his freezing feet.
The whole day had been surreal and when he had seen the pictures Hermione Granger had taken at the wedding - Harry had hung them up everywhere in their flat and the house - he had been aghast at his unresisting picture. Instead of doing what Severus expected of his image, it stood there and looked at Harry with a dazed expression on his face. Every time he looked at any of the pictures - Harry waving out at him with a big, happy grin and himself moving around in a daze - he had the urge to kick something. To top it off his husband hung the pictures back up and repaired them when he flung them off the walls.
They had lived together for six weeks now and slowly Severus got used to sharing his habitation with someone. That did not mean that the Potion Master stopped resenting Harry and the situation. He had just ceased to struggle. *What’s the point anyway?*
Harry Potter was his husband. The marriage contract named Severus only as consort, giving The Boy Who Lived an unnatural amount of power over him. If he wished, Harry could tell Severus what to wear, how to eat his breakfast toast and even what to say. However you looked at it, Severus was in the hand of the brat.
Short-term contracts like the one that bound Severus to Harry were a usual way of conducting relationships and especially marriages in the wizarding world. Given their long life-span wizards very rarely bonded for life, simply because spending the span of one hundred years or more with one person only was boring and could lead to a lot of problems. Said problems had led to include something into the binding spell that hindered both parties to hex, jinx or injure their husband or wife or consort.
A low growl emanated from Severus’ throat. He would have given almost everything to hurt the younger man, but the mere thought made his head ache. Leave it to Albus to change the spell.
Rubbing his temples to ease the pain a little he sighed and stretched, slipping into his comfortable house-shoes in a fluid motion. He got up and walked into the dining room. Time to face his husband. It was time for lunch.
***
Lunch was a simple affair, vegetable soup, pasta with a delicious herbal sauce and vanilla cream. The problem with meals was, that Harry insisted on talking at him, and being his consort he had no choice but to engage in conversation.
“I’ve been thinking of planting something in the garden. There is still a lot to be done and I thought you might want to grow some of your potion ingredients yourself. It would be a suitable hobby for you.”
Having been in the process of eating some of the dessert Severus allowed himself the time to swallow before he glared at his husband. “I’m not a gardener. Ask Albus, but I have a black thumb as the Muggles like to call it.”
Harry’s smiling face turned stern as he answered in steely tones. “I don’t care what you think about the idea. You will be responsible of turning the sorry excuse we have for a garden into something beautiful. A place we would actually like to stay in for more than just a second, before fleeing back.”
*Great. I knew it was just a matter of time before he would start ordering me around.* Severus’ thoughts turned dark. *You’re just like everyone else, Potter. Just you wait till our contract is over. Just you wait.* A slight ache in his head flared up and he looked down at his bowl. “As you wish, Potter.” A clang of metal against glass startled Severus
Harry’s face was slightly red with anger, Severus assumed. “Stop calling me Potter, Severus. We are married, I insist you call me Harry and act like a proper consort.”
Getting to his feet as well and smugly observing that he still towered over the younger man, he said in a low voice, “What do you expect? You forced me into a bonding I did not want. You made me give up my living quarters and move in with you into this horrible house. You insist I spend time with you. I thought you wanted a consort, Potter? Suddenly changed your mind?” There was an ugly expression on his face, a mixture of a sneer and a grimace. “Got enough of your new toy? By all means, just dissolve the contract then. I am not going to stop you.” He turned around and left the room and a very stunned Harry. Although he had meant to go to the library he finally ended up in what went by as a garden.
“Damn Harry Potter.”
***
Completely stunned Harry looked after Severus. Finally they were making some kind of progress. After all the glares and sneers, the other man had finally disclosed his feelings.
A smile spread over his face. The feelings were of negative origin, but it was definitely a beginning. Harry had been reading up on a lot of things since they had come to this house. His bedroom looked like a miniature library. Right now he was doing something that a lot of people had to do with nervous horses before they were able to break them. Getting the scared creature used to their voice, touch and smell.
Harry had been surprised by the lack of resistance he met in most regards when dealing with the Potion Master. Coming to think of it, his comparison with Severus to a scared horse was so far off, it was not even in the same library. Maybe he should ask Hagrid for advice on how to care for one of those scary monsters the half-giant loved so much.
Shaking his head a little to clear it of thoughts, he sat back down and continued eating his dessert, even going so far as to steal what Severus had left over. For the first time since he had hatched this plan, he felt truly happy. Hermione would love to hear this.
In his happiness he never noticed that Severus had not finished his food completely. Then Dobby appeared and started removing the used dishes while happily chatting to Harry.
Life was good.
***
Go back to Chapter 02
Index
Go on to Chapter 04