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Ties That Bind - The Love Story of Lucius and Severus

Lucius' head appeared in the headmaster's fire.

"Lucius. I am headmaster here at Hogwarts. I cannot just talk to you whenever it appeals to you. I am also sorry that you feel that having a relationship with me was a mistake. You needn't worry about ... "

Lucius interrupted the snarky headmaster, "Severus, that is not what I meant! As always you are taking what I say, twisting it, and misconstruing my meaning. Now before you get all huffy, I meant that the decisions that I made when it came to our relationship were mistakes ... not the relationship we shared.”

This response seemed to calm the melodramatic wizard, and Lucius continued evenly, "Severus. I hope we can talk about this. There is so much I want to explain to you. Perhaps we can meet for tea? We could discuss this in a more civilized manner."

Severus' shoulders let down in a sigh, "Tomorrow at Malfoy Manor?"

Lucius beamed in return, "Wonderful! Until tomorrow!"

~*~*~*
Several years earlier:
Summer was approaching, and for the first time in Severus' fifteen years he was excited for the end of school. Not only was he going to escape daily tormenting by that foul group of Gryffindors, but he was going to holiday with his housemate, Lucius Malfoy!

Over the past year, Lucius had befriended the boy. Lucius had taken Severus under his wing and provided a safe haven for the greasy haired Slytherin.

It was Lucius Malfoy who had given Severus money to purchase some rare potions ingredients for an extra credit assignment.

It was Lucius Malfoy who had intervened on Snape's behalf when Black and Potter had taken a practical joke too far, almost injuring the raven haired boy.

It was also Lucius Malfoy who gently embraced Severus on Christmas morning after finding the boy alone, sobbing gently when his own family hadn't sent so much as card.

Severus was packing all of his possessions into his tattered bag: worn robes, a handful of undergarments, potion ingredients, an aged mahogany journal, and a copy of a tattered Dickens book. It was all Severus needed, though he wished his belongings were in better condition.

~*~*~*

The summer that Lucius and Severus spent together had been the best of Lucius' life.
It was only with Severus that Lucius could be his true self. Lucius loved exposing Severus to the finer things in life. He took Severus to countless art museums, poetry readings, ballets, and symphonies, taking pleasure from every smile that graced the younger man‘s face.

From the moment they woke, to the moment they kissed goodnight, they were inseparable. Lucius delighted in his ability to banish the younger Slytherin's scowl. With Lucius, there was never a reason to be melancholy, pessimistic or sarcastic. They loved each other and that was all that mattered.

As seasons changed, the boys returned to school. As their relationship continued, it was easy to have midnight rendezvous in the prefects’ bathroom. It was even easier to spend time together at Dark Arts meetings in the long forgotten caverns of Hogwarts. They revelled in dueling one another, seeing who could outwit and outfox the other. Severus created some of his finest jinxes and hexes for his "battles" against Lucius. But no matter how physically or mentally exhausting their duels were, they always made time to properly heal each other's wounds.

The Christmas of Lucius' sixth year was quickly approaching. Lucius feared the Snape family would yet again neglect their only child. To 'remind' the Snapes of the magnificent young man they had reared, Lucius felt it was time to properly meet Severus' family and inform them of this fact. On a Hogsmeade weekend, so as not to draw any suspicion from his snarky lover, Lucius appeared at the Snape family home for tea. Throwing his Malfoy title around a few times, he informed the family of the nature of his relationship with their son. As the tea drew to a close, Lucius asked for their permission to commit his life to their son. Hoping to benefit from the Malfoy wealth, and not for any potential happiness for their introverted son, the Snape family greedily gave approval for the life commitment.

~*~*

Green velvet bows bedecked the columns in the marble hallway of Malfoy Manor, as fairy lights twinkled above. Walking through the impressively decorated home, Severus felt as if he were a humble orphan in a Dickens novel. Severus was angry with himself for not procuring attire worthy to be worn at his lover's home.

Lucius had graciously shown him to his suite, and given him a grand tour of the unfamiliar guest room. Lucius had taken to having Severus stay in a different room every stay, tailoring the suite to his current decorating whim of the moment. This room had an almost Victorian flair. The mahogany armoire contained hand crafted dress robes from the finest wizarding shops in the world, all tailored to Severus' exact measurements. An old English study was recreated in leather and mahogany. Severus delighted to see both wizarding and non-wizarding books alike; about everything from the Dark Arts to Mephistopheles, all readily available at his fingertips. This whole area, designated as his, was larger than his entire house. This was definitely shaping up to be his favorite holiday!

~*~*

Soaking in the marble tub, aroma of scented oils filling the air, Severus felt as if he had melted and become one with the tub. Lucius had lovingly applied a cleansing shampoo to his hair, every follicle stimulated and seeming to burst with the blonde's touch. He felt free, relaxed, and appreciated. No longer did Severus have greasy hair, it was luscious and flowing like his lover's. Severus had never felt more beautiful than he did right at that moment.

Lucius took only the softest towel to dry every inch of his sardonic lover. He then lovingly dressed Severus in robes of the deepest green.

"Really Lucius, I am competent and able to dress myself," Severus said, embarrassed.

Lucius was fussing with a button on the front of the robe, "I am quite aware of your abilities, and I mean you no disrespect. I want to do this, I want to pamper you. You are always doing things for me and never doing things for yourself. You deserved to be adored, you deserve to be loved, and I want to be the one to give you the pleasure you never take for yourself. So now, here is your book and a glass of wine. Enjoy some quiet time while I take care of a few tasks before dinner."

Lucius left the suite to inform his father of his intention to commit his life to Severus.

~*~*

Severus could not believe he had become so relaxed that he had fallen asleep! Severus was not one to waste a moment's time with something so frivolous as a nap! And to be late at the first meal that Lucius' father was going to attend. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Severus rushed into the formal dining area, but came to a sudden halt.

"This boy ... this boy who has occupied all of your time ..." a voice unfamiliar to Severus drawled.

"Yes father, this BOY. May I remind you that this boy has a name," Lucius spat. How could his father be so close minded about someone's gender? Actually, the more he thought about it, the more hypercritical it seemed. Abraxas had often slipped out of family parties to have his cock sucked by the male 'flavor of the week'.

"It is not the fact that he is male. It's that he is not of pure blood," his father replied as if he was ill.

At that moment, Severus knew that no matter how well he was groomed, how fine he was dressed, or how ingenious a curse or potion may be; he would never gain the approval of Lucius' father.

~*~*

"So, after you left that night, my father forbad me to see you."

"Lucius," Severus' look wavered, "We continued to see each other. We continued to meet Riddle at the Shrieking Shack."

"We did. But if you recall, we only saw each other at Hogwarts events or at ..."

"Death Eater meetings." Severus' vision of those past events were coming into clearer focus.

"The Dark Lord had guaranteed me a safe location for us to meet. As long as we swore our allegiance to him, we were safe."

Severus' eyes filled with confusion, "But we did. We took the Dark Mark together. We pledged our undying allegiance to him."

"We did," Lucius spat, "But what we did not know at that time was that my father had as well. Voldemort used our love for each other as a way to build his army. He knew that my father had already committed me to another. He used our emotions to manipulate us."

"The night you left Malfoy Manor, and I had run to my room, my father went to a Death Eater meeting, confessed the 'sins of his son' to Voldemort, and sought his counsel. Out of that meeting, my marriage to Narcissa was arranged. My whole life was mapped out. I was to become a Death Eater, marry Narcissa, give birth to a pureblood child ... a boy to pass on the family name. I was not told of the plot until after we had taken our oaths."

"So you did not reject me for her?"

"I did not reject you for her." Lucius nervously took Severus' hand in his. "I have always loved you. Not even for a moment did I ever stop loving you.

The Dark Lord threatened my family's lives if I was ever to dishonor my family name. Once I was married, even if it was a loveless marriage, I could not break my wedding vows. Narcissa knew what we had was not love. She was in an almost identical situation herself. Our marriage was about duty, honour, and family pride. It was a marriage between two powerful pureblood families, not about love. And Draco was conceived out of duty, not as a celebration of a blessed union."

"I always thought ..."

"I know."

"But how come you never told me?"

"That is why it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life," whispered Lucius.