hpstrangelove (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} hpstrangelove) wrote,@ 2008-07-10 15:36:00 |
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2008 Snarry Games Gift Fic For Dragon Team Captain: Playing With Fire
Title: Playing With Fire
Author:hpstrangelove
Team: Dragon
Genre(s): Alternate Universe
Prompts: Spilling Fire
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: NC-17 / Character Death (but not Snape or Harry), Rimming, Bondage, Dub-con, does Dragon Sex count as bestiality?
Word Count: 3,700
Summary: Dragon Porn, with a little plot thrown in.
Disclaimer: Not mine – just having fun.
Beta:klynie1 did a fabulous last minute job - thanks so much for helping to polish this up.
A/N:joanwilder , I can never say thanks enough for all your support, and for teaching me the difference between past and past perfect tenses. Even at 50, I can still learn something new.
This is also posted over in a comm on IJ created to honour our wonderful captain. There are some other, very nice, gifts over there that you might want to check out.
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/thanks_
~*~
Harry woke slowly, pain throbbing along the right side of his head. Darkness surrounded him, broken only by the flame from a single torch flickering in the room.
The stone he laid on was cold and damp, and as he tried to sit up, waves of dizziness engulfed him. It took three attempts before he was able to right himself, leaning against the wall for support. The dizziness was replaced with horror when he felt the collar. It was made of a rough, thick metal about two inches wider than his neck. Connected to a chain of about four feet in length, the end disappeared into the wall as if it were a direct extension of the stone.
Harry checked the pockets of his trousers, but no wand - not that he expected it to be there, but it was worth a try. His eyes were becoming accustomed to the dim light and he could tell now that the room he thought he’d been in was not a room at all, but a large cave.
The full realisation of what was happening barely had time to hit him before a voice came through the dark.
“So, Baby Potter. Finally awake and ready to play?”
Harry’s eyes widened as he watched Bellatrix Lestrange walk towards him, an evil leer on her face.
"Why am I still alive? I thought… in the Forest…." Harry had cast a Shield Charm just as Voldemort sent the Killing Curse at him. Harry was sure Voldemort's curse would be successful - there was no defence against Avada Kedavra - but it was just the distraction that would be needed in order for Snape to cast his own Killing Curse at Voldemort and finally put the slimy snake bastard away once and for all.
There’d been green light everywhere. Harry had thought it beautiful, and if he had to die, at least it seemed to be quick and painless. Then he had been swallowed up in blackness.
What had happened? How did he end up here, as Bellatrix’ prisoner?
Bellatrix’s smile faded, and her voice took on a hate-filled tone.
“I don’t know how you and that traitor Snape did it, and I don’t care. You two may have killed my Lord, but I will have my revenge and in the most – delicious – way.”
Harry shivered. He wasn’t prepared for this. Torture and death at Voldemort’s hands, yes, but by Bellatrix? He was exhausted from the duel. He didn’t think it would take long for her to break him. But then again, what did it matter? They’d been successful. Voldemort was dead!
Harry’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that Bellatrix had knelt in front of him until he felt a long fingernail touch his cheek. He scrambled away from her, but the chain on the collar didn’t allow him to go far.
“Oh, Baby Potter,” she laughed. “I’m not the one you need to be afraid of.”
She stood and stared down at him. “That traitor, Snape – were you two lovers? Is that how you got him to your side? Wormed you way into his bed and then convinced him to betray us?”
Harry refused to answer her. How he wished what he had with Snape could have been sexual. But Snape wouldn't touch him, resisting even a kiss, as long as Harry was a student. Snape wouldn't allow himself to be seduced, not even when Harry gave his 'I don't want to die a virgin' speech.
“I see,” she said with a smirk.
Harry was confused for a moment, then realised that he'd betrayed himself. He had forgotten how good Bellatrix was with Legilimency, and she now knew every thought he'd just brought to the forefront of his mind. Damn it!
Delight flitted through her eyes. “Well, that makes it even better. You see, Snape isn’t himself these days, the result of an original Black family curse that only those in the Black bloodline can cast.”
Bellatrix eyes glanced quickly into a dark corner of the cave, then back at Harry. “When I wake him, he’s going to be quite – hungry – and since you’ll be the first one he sees, he won't think twice about devouring that perfect virginal body of yours. Only I don’t think it will be in the way you’ve been hoping for.”
Harry’s heart leapt, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Snape’s alive?”
His hopefulness elicited another cackle from her, and he berated himself for allowing his feelings to show so easily.
“Oh yes, Snape is alive, in a manner of speaking,” she replied. “I can’t wait to see his face once I turn him back into himself and he realises what he’s done. Not only will he have killed you, dear Harry, but he’ll have consumed you whole. And he’ll have to live with the memory of what he’s done to you for the rest of his life.”
Her words sent more chills along Harry’s spine, but it was his fear for what she’d done to Snape, rather than his fear of what Snape would do to him, that filled him with apprehension.
“Look, you have me. Why don’t you do your own dirty work and just kill me yourself? I can’t believe you’d pass up that kind of opportunity, to… to torture me and pay me back for robbing your vault and for killing Voldemort.”
A sharp pain flared across his face, the echo of her slap resounding throughout the room. She grabbed him by the hair and roughly jerked his head back so that he was forced to look into her eyes.
“Happy now, Baby Potter? But, you’re right. I do so love to hear you scream, to see those pretty tears of agony as they fall from your eyes.”
She let go and shoved him back against the wall, then stood and pointed her wand directly at his chest.
“Crucio!” she shouted.
Harry’s body contorted in pain. It felt as though a thousand molten knives were stabbing him all at once, penetrating his skin and embedding themselves into his bones. He hated giving Bellatrix the satisfaction of hearing his screams, but he couldn’t help himself, the pain was so intense. If he could have formed words, he would have been begging her to kill him.
Then an unholy sound, like a demon rising from the depths of hell, broke Bellatrix’s concentration and her Crucio ceased. Harry lay panting and sweating, unable to move. Every muscle in his body ached, and small tremors continued to wrack his limbs. He wished for unconsciousness so he would no longer feel the fire causing his blood to boil in his veins.
But the shrill voice of Bellatrix drew his attention. “Stop! Snape, stop! I command you to stop!”
Harry opened his eyes, searching for Snape, only to see Bellatrix consumed in a river of flames. The sound was like a roar of a freight train, the light from the flames so bright that Harry had to avert his eyes or be blinded. He could feel the heat radiating throughout the cave and wondered for a moment if the flames would consume him too.
Then the conflagration ceased as suddenly as it had started, and Harry looked back to the place where Bellatrix had last been standing.
Harry froze in terror.
He’d expected to see Snape, but instead, found himself staring at shiny dark eyes, a long black snout, and an open mouth spewing bright, red embers. Black, bat like leathery wings unfurled and stretched, reaching a span of at least twenty feet across before retracting back. Harry didn’t fail to notice the sharp protrusions at the tip of each wing joint.
Once the wings were pulled back against its body, Harry saw the arms. Smaller than human arms, their stunted size was more than compensated for by the long, curved talons at the end of what should have been fingers.
The meaning of Bellatrix’s words was now clear. Snape was a dragon.
If Harry hadn’t been so horrified, he would have found the beauty of the dragon breathtaking. As it was, he pressed himself against the wall, knees bent defensively in front of his body, the chain stretched taught as he attempted to get as far away from Snape as was physically possible.
Harry wondered if Snape would kill him with fire first, before eating him. Harry hated the thought of being burned alive, even more so now that he’d seen what had happened to Bellatrix. Snape was coming towards him though, and if Snape had wanted to burn him first, he would certainly have already done it. No, it seemed Snape had other plans as he moved menacingly closer… closer… closer.
Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of Snape, mesmerised by the gracefulness of the transfigured man. Harry could barely take a breath, his heart pounding so hard he was sure it would beat right out of his chest. When Snape finally reached Harry, Harry couldn’t keep the whispered, “Please…” off his lips before turning away from the awesome sight and curling up into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible. If he could no longer see Snape, maybe Snape could no longer see him.
Harry felt a sharp talon on his shoulder and a tugging so that he was forced to turn – that, or be skewered by the claw. When Harry looked closely at the talons, he could see the knife like tips. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the burning pain that would overtake his body when Snape began to slash him to bits.
Pain didn’t come yet, though. Instead, Snape moved a talon to Harry’s throat and gently pushed Harry down to lay on his back, trapping Harry while he used the other talon to slice open Harry’s shirt. Harry had never been this scared before, not even when he’d faced Voldemort earlier that morning. It wasn’t that he was afraid to die; he’d just rather not have to endure being painfully flayed and eaten alive, which seemed to be what was about to happen.
It only took a moment before Snape had Harry’s shirt cut completely off, leaving small nicks and cuts in Harry’s skin where the talon had scratched. Blood oozed in little droplets to the surface and trickled in tiny rivulets down Harry’s side, dripping onto the stone floor. Snape placed his talon to Harry’s breastbone - Harry was sure this was it! Snape would cut him open, a long, gaping wound running down the length of his chest, from his neck to his groin. If Harry could raise his head, just a little, he could manoeuvre his throat under the talon pinning him there. He'd much prefer a quick death by having his throat cut than to having to endure feeling his insides yanked out and watching Snape eat them.
As Harry gathered up his courage, he made ready to drag his throat against the talon. Suddenly, he felt an unexpected smoothness on his chest and realised that Snape had turned his talon so that the rounded back was against Harry’s skin. Snape ran the talon over and around on Harry’s chest, almost as if he were worshipping Harry’s body. When Snape moved the talon down to Harry’s stomach, though, he turned it back over to the sharp cutting edge. Harry gasped; Snape was going to eviscerate him.
Harry held his breath, clenched his hands into fists along the side of his body, and waited.
Instead, the talon began to cut Harry’s trousers and it dawned on him that Snape wouldn’t want a mouth full of fabric when he ate Harry. He almost laughed at the irony of the situation. How many times had he fantasised about Snape ripping his clothes off in the heat of passion? Well, Snape was ripping his clothes off, just not in the way Harry would have ever imagined.
Soon Snape finished with the trousers. They were sliced to shreds and easily cast aside. Snape only needed one swipe of his claw and Harry’s pants were off, too. Harry now lay naked and helpless, the dragon looming over him, deep black eyes boring into Harry’s soul. The dragon opened his mouth and leaned towards Harry’s neck, and Harry trembled in anticipation of what it was going to feel like when those razor like fangs tore chunks of his flesh from his body.
“Please, Snape, please! Just make it quick. I know part of you is in there, part of you can understand me. Bellatrix said you would remember this, so you must be aware somehow of what you’re doing. I don’t want it to hurt. Please, just do it and get it over with!”
Harry felt the heat from Snape’s mouth as the dragon’s snout came within an inch of Harry’s face. It took a moment before Harry worked out that Snape wasn’t eating him though. No, Snape wasn’t eating him at all – Snape was nuzzling Harry’s neck and… and… licking him!
A wet tongue began to lick along Harry’s jaw, then curled into and tickled his ear. The sensation sent goose flesh up and down his body, and blood began to flow to his groin. Harry had heard somewhere, probably from Hermione, that some animals cleaned their prey before consuming it, and he wondered if it was something that dragons did too. But then Snape’s tongue attacked Harry’s nipple and Harry moaned loudly, sure now that this was not a cleansing act.
Snape's tongue was wicked - long and powerful, roughly textured like a cat's, and the way Snape moved it over Harry's nipples had Harry's cock hard and leaking, his hips undulating upwards in response. Harry longed to take himself into his own hand but was afraid to move, afraid of breaking the spell of sensations. Then the tongue travelled downward, burning wetly over Harry's stomach until it reached Harry's groin, and he almost came right then as that tongue began lapping around and massaging his balls. He unconsciously spread his legs wider in open invitation for it to explore the lower half of his body. Within seconds, the tongue found his entrance and invaded, shoving deep past the tight ring of muscle, then darting in and out, impaling him and fucking him mercilessly.
Harry was flying and falling, all at the same time. It felt brilliant, better than any self-induced orgasm, burning through him like wildfire. As he came in white, hot pulses, Harry thought that maybe the dragon actually was breathing fire deep inside him.
Harry lay panting from his release, but was startled when the dragon's tongue once again began licking his body, cleaning Harry's come that had spurted onto his stomach. Harry watched, fascinated that this time, the dragon was being so gentle, and he could swear he heard the dragon moan as it finished taking in Harry's come.
Then their eyes met, and the room shimmered in and out of focus – Legilimency! The dragon could do Legilimency.
Harry was no longer in the room with a dragon, but with Snape. Snape smiled sadly at him and reached to cup Harry’s face. Images passed between them, images of Snape holding Harry, of Snape kissing Harry, of Snape making love to Harry. And then Snape was gone, and Harry felt another wetness on his chest, and a lone tear fell from the dragon.
~*~
Harry didn’t know how much time had passed. They had quickly fallen asleep, Harry cradled against the soft body of the dragon. It was cold in the cave, but the dragon had wrapped a wing around Harry like a blanket, and Harry, even though still naked, felt warm and protected. When he moved, however, the clink of the chain and the collar around his neck reminded him their ordeal was not over yet.
“Snape,” Harry whispered softly, nudging the dragon tentatively. He was sure now that Snape would not harm him, but he still didn’t want to take a chance of startling the dragon into acting defensively.
“Snape, you have to wake up. I need your help,” Harry said, this time a bit louder, the nudge more insistent.
Snape slowly opened his eyes, peering at Harry and using his wing to pull Harry tighter against his body.
“Snape, I… you have to let me go. I promise I’ll come back. I won’t leave you like this, but with Bellatrix gone, I don’t know what to do to reverse the curse. The only ones who can help are Draco and his mother. I need to get to them right away.”
Snape shifted into a crouch, and Harry got to his feet. Harry pulled on the chain, wondering if Snape could control his fire breath. What did it matter? He had to have Snape try. There wasn’t any other way that Harry could see to get free.
Licking his lower lip, Harry asked, “Can you use your fire to melt a link on the chain?” He looked expectantly at Snape.
Snape’s black eyes narrowed. Harry was sure Snape was going to refuse, whether out of uncertainty that he could do it or because he didn’t want to let Harry go, Harry couldn’t be sure, but then Snape moved his head slightly up and down, as if nodding yes, he would do it.
Moving several feet away from Harry, Snape turned his head to the part of the chain that was closest to the wall. With an almost deafening roar, the dragon let loose a yellow stream of fire, quickly turning two links in the chain white-hot. The heat moved up the chain and to the metal collar, burning hot around Harry’s neck. Harry struggled frantically to get away, but the links, even though softened, still had not broken apart.
“Stop! Snape, please! It’s starting to burn me! You have to stop!” Harry yelled, but Snape couldn’t hear Harry above the roaring sound of the flame. Then in one mighty burst of strength, Snape reared up to his full height and, with his entire weight behind him, came crashing down against the weakened links, severing the chain from the wall.
The impact shook the cave and Harry was barely able to stay standing, though he was thankful that Snape had stopped before the collar had become unbearably hot. Snape looked at Harry, seemingly uncertain as to what to do next, then lifted the collar as if checking to see if Harry was hurt.
“I’m fine, Snape. It’s all right. You did great. Thank you.” Harry leaned against Snape’s body and placed his hand over Snape’s heart, feeling it pound hard and fast beneath his fingers.
Stepping back from Snape, Harry looked around the cave and found the robe he’d been wearing during his duel with Voldemort. Bellatrix must have removed it before collaring him, and it was the only piece of clothing that hadn’t been shredded by Snape. Checking the pocket for his wand, he was almost delirious with happiness when his hand touched the warm wood of the holly. With the wand, he’d be able to Apparate quickly to the gates of Hogwarts, then find Draco.
“I’m going, but I’ll be right back,” Harry assured Snape. “I want you to stay here. It’s the safest place for you right now. I’m afraid if you came to Hogwarts with me, you’d be attacked.” Snape’s eyes looked sad but accepting, and Harry wondered how much of what he’d just said, Snape could really understand.
Picking up the end of the chain so that it wouldn’t catch on anything, Harry Apparated from the cave.
~*~
When Harry returned an hour later, the cave was eerily silent, and empty. Where was Snape?
Harry couldn’t believe that Snape wasn’t here. He fell to his knees, and placing his hands over his face, he cried. The last twenty-four hours had been such an emotional rollercoaster, and it didn’t take much to send him over the edge.
Draco had confirmed Harry’s fears – Draco knew the curse, but only the castor could reverse it. How could Harry tell Snape that their one hope in returning him to his human form was now dead at Snape’s own hands? Harry had waited and hoped for so long that once Voldemort was dead, that he and Snape would finally have a chance of getting to know each other better, of moving beyond their roles of hated professor and insolent student, of becoming friends and lovers, and now those dreams were destroyed.
Moments later, Harry heard a rustling noise outside the cave, and looked up in time to see Snape flying majestically through the entrance. Relief washed over him when he saw a dead animal in Snape’s jaws. Harry should have realised Snape would have been hungry and needed to find something to eat, since he hadn’t eaten Harry as Bellatrix had planned.
Harry could have sworn he saw Snape smile when Snape noticed Harry had returned. Snape quickly made his way to where Harry was kneeling, and when Snape saw the tears, gently placed a talon against Harry’s face in an attempt to wipe them away. Snape leaned in and nuzzled Harry’s neck, and Harry petted his long snout affectionately in return.
The dragon once again wrapped his wing protectively around Harry and pulled him in tight. It felt good, and Harry didn’t want to think about anything but sleep – well, and maybe think about Snape’s wicked tongue, too.
They were safe, and even if Snape was a dragon, they were together. Harry would go back to Draco in the morning and find out more about the curse, and together, they’d find a way to help Snape.
But for now, Harry was happy to sink blissfully into Snape's embrace.
~*~
Six Months Later: A Cure
(Joan’s comment is the second one, and what led me to write this little fic as a thank you for being my beta, and for being such a wonderfully supportive and organised team captain. GO DRAGONS!)
Title: Playing With Fire
Author:
hpstrangelove Team: Dragon
Genre(s): Alternate Universe
Prompts: Spilling Fire
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: NC-17 / Character Death (but not Snape or Harry), Rimming, Bondage, Dub-con, does Dragon Sex count as bestiality?
Word Count: 3,700
Summary: Dragon Porn, with a little plot thrown in.
Disclaimer: Not mine – just having fun.
Beta:
klynie1 did a fabulous last minute job - thanks so much for helping to polish this up.A/N:
joanwilder , I can never say thanks enough for all your support, and for teaching me the difference between past and past perfect tenses. Even at 50, I can still learn something new. This is also posted over in a comm on IJ created to honour our wonderful captain. There are some other, very nice, gifts over there that you might want to check out.
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/thanks_
~*~
Harry woke slowly, pain throbbing along the right side of his head. Darkness surrounded him, broken only by the flame from a single torch flickering in the room.
The stone he laid on was cold and damp, and as he tried to sit up, waves of dizziness engulfed him. It took three attempts before he was able to right himself, leaning against the wall for support. The dizziness was replaced with horror when he felt the collar. It was made of a rough, thick metal about two inches wider than his neck. Connected to a chain of about four feet in length, the end disappeared into the wall as if it were a direct extension of the stone.
Harry checked the pockets of his trousers, but no wand - not that he expected it to be there, but it was worth a try. His eyes were becoming accustomed to the dim light and he could tell now that the room he thought he’d been in was not a room at all, but a large cave.
The full realisation of what was happening barely had time to hit him before a voice came through the dark.
“So, Baby Potter. Finally awake and ready to play?”
Harry’s eyes widened as he watched Bellatrix Lestrange walk towards him, an evil leer on her face.
"Why am I still alive? I thought… in the Forest…." Harry had cast a Shield Charm just as Voldemort sent the Killing Curse at him. Harry was sure Voldemort's curse would be successful - there was no defence against Avada Kedavra - but it was just the distraction that would be needed in order for Snape to cast his own Killing Curse at Voldemort and finally put the slimy snake bastard away once and for all.
There’d been green light everywhere. Harry had thought it beautiful, and if he had to die, at least it seemed to be quick and painless. Then he had been swallowed up in blackness.
What had happened? How did he end up here, as Bellatrix’ prisoner?
Bellatrix’s smile faded, and her voice took on a hate-filled tone.
“I don’t know how you and that traitor Snape did it, and I don’t care. You two may have killed my Lord, but I will have my revenge and in the most – delicious – way.”
Harry shivered. He wasn’t prepared for this. Torture and death at Voldemort’s hands, yes, but by Bellatrix? He was exhausted from the duel. He didn’t think it would take long for her to break him. But then again, what did it matter? They’d been successful. Voldemort was dead!
Harry’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that Bellatrix had knelt in front of him until he felt a long fingernail touch his cheek. He scrambled away from her, but the chain on the collar didn’t allow him to go far.
“Oh, Baby Potter,” she laughed. “I’m not the one you need to be afraid of.”
She stood and stared down at him. “That traitor, Snape – were you two lovers? Is that how you got him to your side? Wormed you way into his bed and then convinced him to betray us?”
Harry refused to answer her. How he wished what he had with Snape could have been sexual. But Snape wouldn't touch him, resisting even a kiss, as long as Harry was a student. Snape wouldn't allow himself to be seduced, not even when Harry gave his 'I don't want to die a virgin' speech.
“I see,” she said with a smirk.
Harry was confused for a moment, then realised that he'd betrayed himself. He had forgotten how good Bellatrix was with Legilimency, and she now knew every thought he'd just brought to the forefront of his mind. Damn it!
Delight flitted through her eyes. “Well, that makes it even better. You see, Snape isn’t himself these days, the result of an original Black family curse that only those in the Black bloodline can cast.”
Bellatrix eyes glanced quickly into a dark corner of the cave, then back at Harry. “When I wake him, he’s going to be quite – hungry – and since you’ll be the first one he sees, he won't think twice about devouring that perfect virginal body of yours. Only I don’t think it will be in the way you’ve been hoping for.”
Harry’s heart leapt, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Snape’s alive?”
His hopefulness elicited another cackle from her, and he berated himself for allowing his feelings to show so easily.
“Oh yes, Snape is alive, in a manner of speaking,” she replied. “I can’t wait to see his face once I turn him back into himself and he realises what he’s done. Not only will he have killed you, dear Harry, but he’ll have consumed you whole. And he’ll have to live with the memory of what he’s done to you for the rest of his life.”
Her words sent more chills along Harry’s spine, but it was his fear for what she’d done to Snape, rather than his fear of what Snape would do to him, that filled him with apprehension.
“Look, you have me. Why don’t you do your own dirty work and just kill me yourself? I can’t believe you’d pass up that kind of opportunity, to… to torture me and pay me back for robbing your vault and for killing Voldemort.”
A sharp pain flared across his face, the echo of her slap resounding throughout the room. She grabbed him by the hair and roughly jerked his head back so that he was forced to look into her eyes.
“Happy now, Baby Potter? But, you’re right. I do so love to hear you scream, to see those pretty tears of agony as they fall from your eyes.”
She let go and shoved him back against the wall, then stood and pointed her wand directly at his chest.
“Crucio!” she shouted.
Harry’s body contorted in pain. It felt as though a thousand molten knives were stabbing him all at once, penetrating his skin and embedding themselves into his bones. He hated giving Bellatrix the satisfaction of hearing his screams, but he couldn’t help himself, the pain was so intense. If he could have formed words, he would have been begging her to kill him.
Then an unholy sound, like a demon rising from the depths of hell, broke Bellatrix’s concentration and her Crucio ceased. Harry lay panting and sweating, unable to move. Every muscle in his body ached, and small tremors continued to wrack his limbs. He wished for unconsciousness so he would no longer feel the fire causing his blood to boil in his veins.
But the shrill voice of Bellatrix drew his attention. “Stop! Snape, stop! I command you to stop!”
Harry opened his eyes, searching for Snape, only to see Bellatrix consumed in a river of flames. The sound was like a roar of a freight train, the light from the flames so bright that Harry had to avert his eyes or be blinded. He could feel the heat radiating throughout the cave and wondered for a moment if the flames would consume him too.
Then the conflagration ceased as suddenly as it had started, and Harry looked back to the place where Bellatrix had last been standing.
Harry froze in terror.
He’d expected to see Snape, but instead, found himself staring at shiny dark eyes, a long black snout, and an open mouth spewing bright, red embers. Black, bat like leathery wings unfurled and stretched, reaching a span of at least twenty feet across before retracting back. Harry didn’t fail to notice the sharp protrusions at the tip of each wing joint.
Once the wings were pulled back against its body, Harry saw the arms. Smaller than human arms, their stunted size was more than compensated for by the long, curved talons at the end of what should have been fingers.
The meaning of Bellatrix’s words was now clear. Snape was a dragon.
If Harry hadn’t been so horrified, he would have found the beauty of the dragon breathtaking. As it was, he pressed himself against the wall, knees bent defensively in front of his body, the chain stretched taught as he attempted to get as far away from Snape as was physically possible.
Harry wondered if Snape would kill him with fire first, before eating him. Harry hated the thought of being burned alive, even more so now that he’d seen what had happened to Bellatrix. Snape was coming towards him though, and if Snape had wanted to burn him first, he would certainly have already done it. No, it seemed Snape had other plans as he moved menacingly closer… closer… closer.
Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of Snape, mesmerised by the gracefulness of the transfigured man. Harry could barely take a breath, his heart pounding so hard he was sure it would beat right out of his chest. When Snape finally reached Harry, Harry couldn’t keep the whispered, “Please…” off his lips before turning away from the awesome sight and curling up into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible. If he could no longer see Snape, maybe Snape could no longer see him.
Harry felt a sharp talon on his shoulder and a tugging so that he was forced to turn – that, or be skewered by the claw. When Harry looked closely at the talons, he could see the knife like tips. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the burning pain that would overtake his body when Snape began to slash him to bits.
Pain didn’t come yet, though. Instead, Snape moved a talon to Harry’s throat and gently pushed Harry down to lay on his back, trapping Harry while he used the other talon to slice open Harry’s shirt. Harry had never been this scared before, not even when he’d faced Voldemort earlier that morning. It wasn’t that he was afraid to die; he’d just rather not have to endure being painfully flayed and eaten alive, which seemed to be what was about to happen.
It only took a moment before Snape had Harry’s shirt cut completely off, leaving small nicks and cuts in Harry’s skin where the talon had scratched. Blood oozed in little droplets to the surface and trickled in tiny rivulets down Harry’s side, dripping onto the stone floor. Snape placed his talon to Harry’s breastbone - Harry was sure this was it! Snape would cut him open, a long, gaping wound running down the length of his chest, from his neck to his groin. If Harry could raise his head, just a little, he could manoeuvre his throat under the talon pinning him there. He'd much prefer a quick death by having his throat cut than to having to endure feeling his insides yanked out and watching Snape eat them.
As Harry gathered up his courage, he made ready to drag his throat against the talon. Suddenly, he felt an unexpected smoothness on his chest and realised that Snape had turned his talon so that the rounded back was against Harry’s skin. Snape ran the talon over and around on Harry’s chest, almost as if he were worshipping Harry’s body. When Snape moved the talon down to Harry’s stomach, though, he turned it back over to the sharp cutting edge. Harry gasped; Snape was going to eviscerate him.
Harry held his breath, clenched his hands into fists along the side of his body, and waited.
Instead, the talon began to cut Harry’s trousers and it dawned on him that Snape wouldn’t want a mouth full of fabric when he ate Harry. He almost laughed at the irony of the situation. How many times had he fantasised about Snape ripping his clothes off in the heat of passion? Well, Snape was ripping his clothes off, just not in the way Harry would have ever imagined.
Soon Snape finished with the trousers. They were sliced to shreds and easily cast aside. Snape only needed one swipe of his claw and Harry’s pants were off, too. Harry now lay naked and helpless, the dragon looming over him, deep black eyes boring into Harry’s soul. The dragon opened his mouth and leaned towards Harry’s neck, and Harry trembled in anticipation of what it was going to feel like when those razor like fangs tore chunks of his flesh from his body.
“Please, Snape, please! Just make it quick. I know part of you is in there, part of you can understand me. Bellatrix said you would remember this, so you must be aware somehow of what you’re doing. I don’t want it to hurt. Please, just do it and get it over with!”
Harry felt the heat from Snape’s mouth as the dragon’s snout came within an inch of Harry’s face. It took a moment before Harry worked out that Snape wasn’t eating him though. No, Snape wasn’t eating him at all – Snape was nuzzling Harry’s neck and… and… licking him!
A wet tongue began to lick along Harry’s jaw, then curled into and tickled his ear. The sensation sent goose flesh up and down his body, and blood began to flow to his groin. Harry had heard somewhere, probably from Hermione, that some animals cleaned their prey before consuming it, and he wondered if it was something that dragons did too. But then Snape’s tongue attacked Harry’s nipple and Harry moaned loudly, sure now that this was not a cleansing act.
Snape's tongue was wicked - long and powerful, roughly textured like a cat's, and the way Snape moved it over Harry's nipples had Harry's cock hard and leaking, his hips undulating upwards in response. Harry longed to take himself into his own hand but was afraid to move, afraid of breaking the spell of sensations. Then the tongue travelled downward, burning wetly over Harry's stomach until it reached Harry's groin, and he almost came right then as that tongue began lapping around and massaging his balls. He unconsciously spread his legs wider in open invitation for it to explore the lower half of his body. Within seconds, the tongue found his entrance and invaded, shoving deep past the tight ring of muscle, then darting in and out, impaling him and fucking him mercilessly.
Harry was flying and falling, all at the same time. It felt brilliant, better than any self-induced orgasm, burning through him like wildfire. As he came in white, hot pulses, Harry thought that maybe the dragon actually was breathing fire deep inside him.
Harry lay panting from his release, but was startled when the dragon's tongue once again began licking his body, cleaning Harry's come that had spurted onto his stomach. Harry watched, fascinated that this time, the dragon was being so gentle, and he could swear he heard the dragon moan as it finished taking in Harry's come.
Then their eyes met, and the room shimmered in and out of focus – Legilimency! The dragon could do Legilimency.
Harry was no longer in the room with a dragon, but with Snape. Snape smiled sadly at him and reached to cup Harry’s face. Images passed between them, images of Snape holding Harry, of Snape kissing Harry, of Snape making love to Harry. And then Snape was gone, and Harry felt another wetness on his chest, and a lone tear fell from the dragon.
~*~
Harry didn’t know how much time had passed. They had quickly fallen asleep, Harry cradled against the soft body of the dragon. It was cold in the cave, but the dragon had wrapped a wing around Harry like a blanket, and Harry, even though still naked, felt warm and protected. When he moved, however, the clink of the chain and the collar around his neck reminded him their ordeal was not over yet.
“Snape,” Harry whispered softly, nudging the dragon tentatively. He was sure now that Snape would not harm him, but he still didn’t want to take a chance of startling the dragon into acting defensively.
“Snape, you have to wake up. I need your help,” Harry said, this time a bit louder, the nudge more insistent.
Snape slowly opened his eyes, peering at Harry and using his wing to pull Harry tighter against his body.
“Snape, I… you have to let me go. I promise I’ll come back. I won’t leave you like this, but with Bellatrix gone, I don’t know what to do to reverse the curse. The only ones who can help are Draco and his mother. I need to get to them right away.”
Snape shifted into a crouch, and Harry got to his feet. Harry pulled on the chain, wondering if Snape could control his fire breath. What did it matter? He had to have Snape try. There wasn’t any other way that Harry could see to get free.
Licking his lower lip, Harry asked, “Can you use your fire to melt a link on the chain?” He looked expectantly at Snape.
Snape’s black eyes narrowed. Harry was sure Snape was going to refuse, whether out of uncertainty that he could do it or because he didn’t want to let Harry go, Harry couldn’t be sure, but then Snape moved his head slightly up and down, as if nodding yes, he would do it.
Moving several feet away from Harry, Snape turned his head to the part of the chain that was closest to the wall. With an almost deafening roar, the dragon let loose a yellow stream of fire, quickly turning two links in the chain white-hot. The heat moved up the chain and to the metal collar, burning hot around Harry’s neck. Harry struggled frantically to get away, but the links, even though softened, still had not broken apart.
“Stop! Snape, please! It’s starting to burn me! You have to stop!” Harry yelled, but Snape couldn’t hear Harry above the roaring sound of the flame. Then in one mighty burst of strength, Snape reared up to his full height and, with his entire weight behind him, came crashing down against the weakened links, severing the chain from the wall.
The impact shook the cave and Harry was barely able to stay standing, though he was thankful that Snape had stopped before the collar had become unbearably hot. Snape looked at Harry, seemingly uncertain as to what to do next, then lifted the collar as if checking to see if Harry was hurt.
“I’m fine, Snape. It’s all right. You did great. Thank you.” Harry leaned against Snape’s body and placed his hand over Snape’s heart, feeling it pound hard and fast beneath his fingers.
Stepping back from Snape, Harry looked around the cave and found the robe he’d been wearing during his duel with Voldemort. Bellatrix must have removed it before collaring him, and it was the only piece of clothing that hadn’t been shredded by Snape. Checking the pocket for his wand, he was almost delirious with happiness when his hand touched the warm wood of the holly. With the wand, he’d be able to Apparate quickly to the gates of Hogwarts, then find Draco.
“I’m going, but I’ll be right back,” Harry assured Snape. “I want you to stay here. It’s the safest place for you right now. I’m afraid if you came to Hogwarts with me, you’d be attacked.” Snape’s eyes looked sad but accepting, and Harry wondered how much of what he’d just said, Snape could really understand.
Picking up the end of the chain so that it wouldn’t catch on anything, Harry Apparated from the cave.
~*~
When Harry returned an hour later, the cave was eerily silent, and empty. Where was Snape?
Harry couldn’t believe that Snape wasn’t here. He fell to his knees, and placing his hands over his face, he cried. The last twenty-four hours had been such an emotional rollercoaster, and it didn’t take much to send him over the edge.
Draco had confirmed Harry’s fears – Draco knew the curse, but only the castor could reverse it. How could Harry tell Snape that their one hope in returning him to his human form was now dead at Snape’s own hands? Harry had waited and hoped for so long that once Voldemort was dead, that he and Snape would finally have a chance of getting to know each other better, of moving beyond their roles of hated professor and insolent student, of becoming friends and lovers, and now those dreams were destroyed.
Moments later, Harry heard a rustling noise outside the cave, and looked up in time to see Snape flying majestically through the entrance. Relief washed over him when he saw a dead animal in Snape’s jaws. Harry should have realised Snape would have been hungry and needed to find something to eat, since he hadn’t eaten Harry as Bellatrix had planned.
Harry could have sworn he saw Snape smile when Snape noticed Harry had returned. Snape quickly made his way to where Harry was kneeling, and when Snape saw the tears, gently placed a talon against Harry’s face in an attempt to wipe them away. Snape leaned in and nuzzled Harry’s neck, and Harry petted his long snout affectionately in return.
The dragon once again wrapped his wing protectively around Harry and pulled him in tight. It felt good, and Harry didn’t want to think about anything but sleep – well, and maybe think about Snape’s wicked tongue, too.
They were safe, and even if Snape was a dragon, they were together. Harry would go back to Draco in the morning and find out more about the curse, and together, they’d find a way to help Snape.
But for now, Harry was happy to sink blissfully into Snape's embrace.
~*~
Six Months Later: A Cure
(Joan’s comment is the second one, and what led me to write this little fic as a thank you for being my beta, and for being such a wonderfully supportive and organised team captain. GO DRAGONS!)