Title: Delicious Deviance

Pairing: Draco/Harry, Lucius/Snape (shortly), Lucius/Sirius

Rating: R, NC-17 in later chaps readers… this has been edited for ‘legal’ submission)

Warnings: Slash, Possibly Triggering (self-injury in later chapters)

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are property of JK Rowling. No money was made for this fic.

Genre: Romance

Summary: Draco finds out something very interesting about himself and Harry plays an important role in that discovery. When Draco’s heart is broken he slips into a new habit.

Notes: If you read, please REVIEW.

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“Put your books away,” Snape sneered as he hurried into the Potions room. “I have decided to test your knowledge today. I feel you have all been in this class long enough to complete the next task completely unaided. Of course some will do better than others.” He looked at Draco who smiled back at him. “I want you all to create a potion that will cause some sort of physical, but not permanent, alteration to someone’s exterior.” The students in the class groaned as Snape looked over them.

“I learned all about these types of potions from my father,” Draco whispered to Crabbe and Goyle. “This will be no problem for me.”

“I have an important meeting that Dumbledore felt needed to occur right now,” Snape said. “I expect all of you to continue working while I am gone. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, that is not finished with this potion upon my return will lose ten points for their house. No excuses!” Draco sneered in the corner. “This includes all Slytherin students.” Snape cast a lingering glare at Draco and then turned on his heels and exited, his robes bellowing after him.

“Apparently someone isn’t playing favorites anymore,” Hermione said in a singsong voice with a smirk as she looked at Draco quickly before turning back to her cauldron and ingredients.

“Shut up you filthy mudblood or I’ll have your head!” Draco snapped. Something must have gone terribly wrong for Snape to be in such a foul mood. He would have never dared talk to Draco like that on any normal day, but things were changing.

In the hallway, Snape slowed his pace and lifted the left sleeve of his robe. The Dark Mark burned. He knew this was what Dumbledore wanted to discuss with him. The burning mark had put him in a terrible mood, and he felt bad that he had snapped at his godson like that, but Malfoy had to know something was going on, with his parents in the position they were.

“Come in, come in,” Dumbledore responded cheerfully to the soft, timid knock on his door. He had been expecting this visitor for quite a long time. He had hoped Snape would initiate this meeting with him. He hated to admit it, but his trust in the man was wavering as the dark forces grew stronger.

“You wanted to see me?” Severus questioned as he walked into the room. Dumbledore nodded gently and motioned for the man to sit down. Snape knew that this was going to be a long and unwanted conversation that would probably take up his entire class period. He only hoped he could get back in time to take points from Gryffindor as that incompetent duo would probably not have their potions finished, but then he grimaced as he realized he would have to award at least ten points to Granger. He had to admit the girl was excellent and thorough when it came to her schoolwork.

“You know why I called you here,” Dumbledore said. It was most definitely a statement and not a question. Snape nodded, but did not respond otherwise. “Why did you not come to me sooner?”

“I merely assumed that you would contact me when you felt it necessary,” Snape responded calmly. The real reason he hadn’t run to Dumbledore was because the childhood taunting he received from his years at Hogwarts was all too fresh in his mind. The Marauders had called him Snivellus far too often so he had stopped relying on the professors and other authority figures. Dumbledore echoed every memory of his childhood at Hogwarts, and Severus could barely look at the man without thinking of James.

“I understand,” Dumbledore said. Severus knew the Headmaster knew the real reasoning behind it, but the understanding was in Dumbledore’s nature. “Lucius Malfoy will be in to see me later this afternoon. He has requested an audience with you after our meeting. He says it is to discuss his son’s progress, but I assume he has more on his mind than that.” Dumbledore’s eyes glistened as if he had been let in on some dirty little secret.

“I will give you a full report of our meeting afterwards,” Snape responded. “If anything important is said, that is. I assume he is just here to inquire about his son. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to talk about that kind of business in Hogwarts.”

“I wasn’t talking about that, Severus,” Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile. Snape sneered. He hated it when Dumbledore appeared to know more than he should. “I would be grateful for any information you receive from him though. Lemon drop?” Snape looked confused for a second, but then took one of the small lemon candies anyway.

“What is this?” Snape asked as he wrinkled his nose at the unusual taste and texture.

“My favorite Muggle treat,” Dumbledore responded pleasantly. Severus thought for a moment about spitting it out, but decided against it when he remembered how rude that would have been. “When did the Dark Mark first make its presence known?” Snape ran his tongue over the hard candy, trying to determine whether or not he liked it regardless of its Muggle make.

“A few weeks ago,” he responded. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the candy. “It wasn’t painful until today.”

“It will grow more painful the longer you ignore it,” Dumbledore mused. He watched Severus’ face intently. He wasn’t sure what reaction he expected from the man, but he knew he would know it when he saw it.

“I know that,” Snape responded, trying to sound as calm as he could. “I can’t go back yet. I refuse to risk the safety of my students. I have a potion that will make the Mark less noticeable. I can’t, Albus.”

“I respect that, Severus,” Dumbledore said with a nod. “As a Hogwarts professor, your most important responsibility is the safety of the students, but what will you tell Voldemort when he questions your devotion? Do you have a plan for when that moment comes? You must realize that if you falter, if you hesitate for even a second, you will be destroyed.”

“I have it under control,” Severus assured him. There was another knock at Dumbledore’s door and Severus looked up at a strange clock. His class was almost over. Dumbledore acknowledge the knock and a tall, imposing man walked in. His white-blond hair hung loosely just past his shoulders. His cold, silver eyes rested first upon Albus and then darted to Snape once he realized another person was in the room. They held each other’s gaze for a moment.

“Lucius,” Snape said, bowing his head slightly as a greeting. Lucius stifled a smile.

“Severus,” he responded in an equally polite and formal tone. Dumbledore concealed a gentle smile behind a thin hand as Lucius settled in one of the more comfortable chairs and Snape left the office, robes billowing.

“I hope you are all very well finished,” Snape said in a much happier tone, if he could be happier. He took a quick look around the room, and to his extreme displeasure Draco was the only one not finished with his potion. This would be because in his place a small, red parrot was currently sitting.

“Professor, it appears that Draco is a bit engaged at the moment,” Harry said with humor in his voice. Snape turned on Harry with a look that could kill just as easily as the Avada Kedavra curse.

“And I suppose it is you that did this to him?” he asked. “The only students in this class right now are Gryffindors and Slytherins. I know a noble Slytherin would never cast a spell such as this on one of their own, and especially not on a Malfoy. Therefore, fifty points from Gryffindor for disobeying the orders of my assignment.” The Gryffindor students groaned and Snape turned to Malfoy and de-parroted him.

“It was that filthy mudblood!” Draco exclaimed. Snape turned to look at Granger. “It isn’t my fault I didn’t finish the potion!”

“Nevertheless, Draco, you should have been able to place a block against that spell. If you had blocked it, your potion would be finished. Therefore, I must deduct ten points from Slytherin as well,” Snape said. “Granger, explain yourself.”

“I needed a feather for my potion,” Hermione responded. “I was trying to conjure a bird and misfired. I am sorry, Draco.” Draco looked as though he was going to respond with a snide comment, but he was too shocked to say anything when Hermione actually apologized to him.

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Snape said. He, too, was too shocked from the apology to say anything more. “Leave a vial of your potion with your name attached on my desk. Draco, given the circumstance, you may submit your potion no later than tomorrow at noon.” Draco smiled and nodded. The other students left their vials, but Draco stayed behind.

“I know that my father is here to ask about me,” Draco said uncertainly. Snape sat behind the desk and looked up at him. “I was just wondering what my status in your class is, Professor.” He was playing with a tassel on his robe and trying to avoid eye contact.

“Rivaling Granger,” Snape replied with a proud smile. “You always were one of my best students, Draco. There is no doubting that we can all expect great things from you, but then again I would expect nothing less from my godson. Don’t worry. My report to your father holds nothing but good news. Just makes sure you get that potion to me by noon tomorrow. I can’t give you any more extensions.”

“I didn’t see it coming,” Draco offered. “Thanks for the extension though.” Snape nodded and Draco scooted out the door just as his father was entering. Lucius looked around the dank potions room and sneered.

“Still playing with these trinkets and concoctions when you should be honoring your true loyalties, Severus?” Lucius questioned as he stood in front of the man’s desk. He picked up the vial labeled Granger and uncorked it, sniffing the brew inside. “This is to make someone’s face resemble a bird, is it not? So this is what is more important than the Dark Lord.”

“You should reconsider speaking of Him so openly inside these walls, Lucius,” Snape said, “but then I know that isn’t why you are here. You already know why I haven’t returned to his side. I can’t risk losing Dumbledore’s trust at this point.”

“You are right,” Lucius said. “That isn’t why I am here. How is Draco?” He continued picking up vials and sniffing the mixtures inside without really thinking there might be a potion in one of them that could have strong enough vapors to affect him. Then again, he didn’t really care. He was in the Potion Master’s room and he knew Severus was more than capable of concocting a more than useful antidote.

“He is doing well, Lucius. I imagine his grades will look like yours did,” Snape replied. “He is brilliant in potions when Granger isn’t interfering.” Lucius nodded. “You can’t fool me, Lucius. I know why you are here. You have to stop this. Students will get suspicious of your frequent visits.”

“I am sure they will assume it has something to do with the Dark Lord,” Lucius said as he put down another vial. This was full of a thick blue liquid. “Why is Draco’s not here?”

“As I said before, Granger interferes. She turned him into a bird before he even had the chance to stew his roots,” Snape responded. “He will have quite a job of scrubbing out that cauldron tonight. The concoction he had in it before he was supposed to add the roots scorched terribly.”

“I take it that you saw they were reasonably punished?” Lucius asked as he put down the next vial he had in his hand.

“I removed 50 points from Gryffindor and 10 from Slytherin,” Snape responded.

“Slytherin? Why?” Lucius questioned as he narrowed his eyes.

“Draco did not finish his potion,” Severus responded. “You can’t expect me to play favorites in the classroom all the time, Lucius. I grade Draco purely based upon his talent in this classroom. If I grade him fairly, then I must punish him fairly as well. Just because he is my godson doesn’t mean he gets special treatment when it comes to classes. You know I would gladly lay my life down for the boy if it came to it, but I have to look out for my position here. Besides, the Dark Lord isn’t going to care what Draco’s marks are and he isn’t going to care how the boy was treated in school either!”

“I suppose you are correct,” Lucius said, finally giving in.

“Would you like to step into my office?” Snape questioned. Lucius felt a smile creep across his lips, but that same hollow feeling entered his heart.

“You have another class in a few minutes. What would they think if they came in and I was still here? No doubt half this school is afraid of me and my family. I am sure there are rumors,” Lucius said. “I wouldn’t want you to risk your position for a few minutes of pleasurable… conversation.”

“How is Narcissa?” Severus asked. He decided it was time to clean up the vials so Lucius would stop messing around with them. He opened a drawer and placed the vials carefully inside. He hadn’t heard from Narcissa since she had found out.

“She is well. You know all she ever cared about was status,” Lucius responded. “She could care less about that. We did have an argument, but only because she was frightened I would leave her and she was frightened I would leave Draco. She is afraid of the way he would react if he found out.”

“What did you tell her?” Snape questioned, looking at Lucius.

“I told her that I’m not going to leave my family,” Lucius responded. “If I left her, I would be losing a fair amount of power and influence. I can’t let that happen. It isn’t even that I don’t love her. I do love her. I just love her differently.” Snape nodded and stood. Lucius looked over Snape’s face. “I love her the way someone loves a valuable weapon. The beauty must be noticed, but it must be used to the best of its ability, and in this case the ability involves more power and more influence. I have never claimed to love her and she has never claimed to love me. I believe she has taken on a new lover in France… or somewhere.” Snape nodded.

“I understand,” he replied.

“It isn’t like it was before,” Lucius noted. “It isn’t like it was when we were in school, is it?” Severus shook his head gravely. “Things have gotten so complicated. It kind of makes you wonder if we were ever right at all.”

“You can’t ask those kinds of questions in situations like this, Lucius,” Snape responded. “I’ll cancel my next potions class. Dumbledore will understand and then we can talk about this even more.” Severus waved his wand and placed an enchantment on the door along with a note saying class would be cancelled for that period.

Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was looking over her essay and Harry and Ron were talking about Snape’s weird mood changes lately. They had skipped lunch due to excessive homework.

“I am telling you something weird is going on,” Harry said. “He had an urgent meeting with Dumbledore. He snapped at Malfoy. He even deducted points from Slytherin today. He NEVER takes points from his own house.” Harry was sure there was something more to all of this than anyone would let on.

“He used to be a Death Eater. Maybe this has something to do with You-Know-Who,” Ron offered. “Granted he is never in a great mood, but he seems worse. The only thing that could be is You-Know-Who has returned and Snape can’t join him.”

“What makes you say that?” Hermione asked. She had quite enough of this nonsense. They made it very difficult to study when they insisted on placing Snape inside some new conspiracy theory. Harry never thought Snape could be involved in normalcy.

“He was holding his left arm away from his body,” Harry responded. “It looked like he was hurt. Didn’t you see it?” Hermione shook her head and returned her eyes to the essay before her. Ron shrugged as he looked at Harry. There was no way he could prove it.

“I need more belladonna,” Ron said as he looked through his school stuff. “I have to finish this potion for my essay before I can write about it, but I don’t have any more belladonna.”

“We could go ask Snape for some,” Harry said with a devious smile. He was all too ready to find out what the man was up to.

“I’ll just borrow some from Neville and then send an owl to my mother and have her send me some later,” Ron said. He wasn’t as keen on walking into Snape’s office as Harry had been.

In the dungeons, Lucius was walking toward the door of Snape’s office. The expression on his face was unreadable, but Snape knew very well what the man was thinking. He had never been able to hide his feelings or thoughts from the man, even when they were students.

“You work too hard, Lucius,” Snape said as he handed over a few vials of potent potions. “These are for the Dark Lord. I can remain loyal to him and hold onto my job at the same time.” Lucius nodded.

“I will be sure he gets these,” he responded. “Your charm has worn off, Severus. I see your class is here.” Snape walked up and looked out his office window. Lucius composed himself and placed the potions reluctantly into his inside pocket of his overcoat. He pushed open the door and walked out into the classroom followed by Snape.

“Thank you very much for your time, Severus. If there are any changes please let me know,” Lucius said as he extended his hand. Snape took it. Lucius always knew how to lay down the charm in front of other people.

“It was nothing, Lucius. Draco has immense talent in this area and I am sure he will pass his NEWTS with nothing less than an O when the time comes,” Snape assured him. Lucius let a small half-smile creep onto his face before turning and walking out of the classroom, the familiar emptiness filling his life once more. The first-years were left staring after him.

“Open your books to page 557. Now!” Severus said as he looked over his class. He sneered as they all did what he said. This was the only place he had ever had any real power. Everyone listened to him here. They had to.