Blackmail by sexyseverus Title: Blackmail Author: sexyseverus (Kyrie) Pairing: Severus/Harry Rating: PG-13 Word Count: 4540 Warnings: None Theme: Love and Courtship Prompt: Reaping what you sow Summary: Harry is determined to get Severus. Severus is determined to annoy Harry. Disclaimer: I don’t own Severus, although I wish I did. All Harry Potter characters are property of J K Rowling. The plot is the only thing that is mine. And my cat would dispute even that. A/N: I want to thank the incomparable White Cotton for taking the time to beta this – corralling all the errant commas and excessive thats, and also for putting up with my scatter-braininess. Also, I need to thank my good friend, Abigail, who gave it a rough once over even though she is not a Snarry fan.
Blackmail
“What are you doing?” asked Severus suspiciously.
“Trying to blackmail you,” returned Harry.
“Well stop it. I don’t like it,” snarled Severus.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to,” commented Harry offhandedly.
Severus drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before carefully laying his quill upon the essays he had been grading. Looking up at the boy – no – man standing on the other side of his desk, he asked, “And just what is it that you want from me, Professor Potter, that you feel you must resort to blackmail?”
Harry wasn’t to be deterred from his goal, although the deadly calmness of Professor Snape’s voice sent a slight tremor of apprehensiveness down his back. It was a tone he remembered all too well from his days as a student at Hogwarts. One that promised pain, and not the good kind, either.
Harry started to speak, only to end up emitting something resembling a croak. Severus’ right eyebrow rose to his hairline, but otherwise he said nothing at all, which Harry took as a good sign. Clearing his throat, Harry tried a second time.
"Look, Snape, I wouldn’t have to resort to blackmail if you would bloody just go out to dinner with me.”
“Really,” drawled Severus. “And why, pray tell, would I want to go to dinner, or anywhere else for that matter, with someone who cannot even bring himself to refer to me in a respectful manner?”
Harry closed his eyes. If he weren’t so damned attracted to the man, he’d have throttled Severus by now. Blast him to the lowest level of seven hells! He was so infuriating sometimes. No, strike that; he was infuriating most of the time. But damn it to hell if the mysteriousness and his standoffish manner didn’t make him that much sexier.
Opening his eyes, Harry said calmly and very politely, “Professor Snape, you’ve never given me leave to call you by your first name. May I call you Severus?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?!”
“Because it infuriates you and that pleases me. Now go away.” Severus picked his quill up and resumed grading the fourth year essays before him.
Harry stared at the man in front of him for what seemed an eternity while he fought not to pull his wand and hex the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Finally turning, he stormed out of the office.
Hearing the door to his office slam shut, Severus allowed a small smile to play across his face. When Minerva had asked him to return to Hogwarts, he’d been worried that it would be like his days under Albus, with him starring as the hated outcast stuck in a position that he didn’t want.
Oh, that wasn’t to say that he didn’t like Potions. He did love the craft, and even now, it was he who brewed most of the complex potions required by the infirmary. However, he just didn’t have the patience to teach it. It was such a precise craft, that teaching it could be tedious work – especially if the class had a Neville Longbottom in it, or Merlin forbid, more than one.
He found himself pleasantly surprised when she told him that the Potions position had already been filled and what she really needed was a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher – preferably one who could also serve as the Deputy Headmaster and Head of Slytherin House. He’d all but jumped at the chance.
Those first few years hadn’t been easy. Not only did he have to deal with the distrust of many of the parents and students, trying to reintegrate the students of Slytherin with the rest of Hogwarts had been damn near impossible. It was almost worse than it had been prior to the war. And to make matters even worse, the Board of Governors had tried to take complete control of the curriculum - especially the Defence class, which it seemed they’d wanted to turn into a repeat of Umbridge’s ideology.
It had taken the combined efforts of Minerva, Filius, and himself, along with Lucius – who had been reinstated to the Board after the war ended – months to stop that foolish thinking. When Filius decided to retire and Potter was asked to take over Charms, he agreed only if the Board promised to leave the running of the school to the Headmistress and the professors.
As annoying as it was, Severus supposed that having Potter around had made things run much smoother. The Board of Governors had accepted Potter’s terms and, in true Board fashion, they had immediately tried to renege on that agreement. After the third such attempt, Potter with his solicitor in tow had had a closed-door meeting with the Board of Governors. Severus wasn’t sure exactly what had been said, but it left Lucius laughing for weeks and the Board hadn’t bothered them again.
Even more annoying was the realisation that having Potter around wasn’t as much of an irritation as he’d thought it would be. Not only had he sorted out the Board, but he’d been instrumental in helping to get Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff to accept their Slytherin counterparts. There were still rivalries and the occasional scuffle, but overall the school was as affable as Severus had ever seen it.
The only drawback to the Gryffindor Golden Boy’s presence at the school was Potter’s insistence in the ruse he called a courtship. Whatever had given Potter the idea that Severus would welcome all the romantic blather Potter had been shovelling his way was beyond his comprehension. He certainly couldn’t remember a time when he showed the bo… man any hint of interest.
Severus sighed. The thing that was really infuriating to Severus was that he was interested, but he just didn’t see how any relationship between the two former antagonists could ever end any way but badly. Severus was too old to let himself be tempted by something that had the potential to destroy him. It had taken him most of a lifetime to get over the loss of the mother to his most hated enemy; to become entangled with the son would be nothing but pure madness.
Severus knew that everyone who attended Hogwarts during Harry’s years there would say that Severus hated Harry. However, it had never been the case. He had hated some of the same arrogance that he’d seen in the father, and Severus had hated the boy’s tendency for heroics, which could have gotten him killed, but he had never hated the little whelp.
He could admit that he had grown to respect Potter over the last year of the war and his subsequent, albeit short, career as an Auror. But he wasn’t in love with the brat. He did, however, love frustrating Potter at every turn. Smirking at the thought, Severus tapped the scrolls on his desk with his wand, sending them to the return box on his classroom desk. Then replacing the wand in its sheath he wore on his right forearm, Severus headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
~~~
Harry watched as Severus swept into the Great Hall and wondered not for the first time how in the blazes the man could make his robes billow and snap the way he did. Although Severus was not the same sadistic man from Harry’s own school days, he was still a stern taskmaster who brooked no foolishness. That combined with the way the man could manipulate his robes caused the students to refer to Severus as ‘The Great Bat’ still.
“What?”
Harry looked up as Severus sat down to his left as was customary. “What ‘what’?” asked a bewildered Harry.
“You were grinning like a fool, Potter.”
Harry blushed, causing Severus to smirk. He hated it when Severus caught him daydreaming like an errant schoolboy.
“I was just thinking that the students would really think you were a ‘Great Bat’ if they ever saw you fly.”
Severus stared at Harry for several long moments before speaking, “Potter, you’ve taken one too many Bludgers to the head. You’ve gone round the twist.”
Shaking his head, Severus turned to his plate, which had just filled with all his favourite foods, causing him to turn and look at Harry again. “You’ve been talking to Lucius’ ex-house-elf again,” he said.
It wasn’t a question, so Harry chose to ignore it and began shovelling his own food into his mouth.
Severus just rolled his eyes and returned to his own meal. Eyeing the plate again, he supposed that having Harry Potter infatuated with him did have its uses on occasion. Although, if the blasted brat didn’t stop having Dobby fix special food for Severus, he was going to be forced to buy bigger robes.
The meal was a rather quiet affair, considering they were in the midst of a multitude of boisterous students. No one spoke to Severus until he finished his dinner, which was just fine by him. He liked to enjoy his food and preferred to leave conversation to after-dinner drinks – be it good alcohol or good tea – and dessert. Something that it hadn’t taken Harry long to learn, Severus remembered.
“Severus,” Minerva spoke from his left, breaking into his reverie. “Did you get the problem with Miss Lestrange settled?”
“Yes, Minerva,” Severus replied. Turning to face Harry, he said, “I need to discuss Messrs Wood and Lupin with you, Professor Potter.”
“What’s Teddy done?” asked Harry.
“It is a matter best left for private,” admonished Severus quietly.
“You’re right, of course, Professor Snape,” said a slightly embarrassed Harry. He’d been working at Hogwarts for over a year now and he still had the tendency to forget protocols. No wonder Severus wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Things like that made Harry seem immature, and Severus was anything but. Harry couldn’t even begin to imagine Severus being in a relationship with someone who was the least bit immature.
“Good,” said Minerva. “Severus can let me know what the two of you work out. And Harry, although I don’t think I have to say this, I will… remember that while dealing with Teddy here at school, you need to treat him as you do any other student and not as his godfather.”
“Of course, Minerva,” said Harry.
Minerva smiled at his confidence. “I may sound condescending, Harry, but I’ve seen many professors struggle with similar situations. It is one of those things that is easier said than done. I know I struggled mightily when dealing with yourself as a student. It’s tricky trying to walk the line between being too lenient on someone close to you and going to the other extreme and being too harsh in overcompensation for that familial bond.”
Harry smiled back. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I have no doubt that Professor Snape will ensure I remember it.”
“It’s so nice to see you two boys working so well together.”
“Boys, Minerva?” drawled Severus. “Mr Potter is no longer a boy and I surpassed being a boy more years ago than I care to remember.”
“At my age, Severus, most everyone is a boy or girl.”
“You’re not old, Minerva,” Harry commented.
“Why thank you, Harry dear, but I’m not under any illusions. This old girl is not as spry as she once was,” said Minerva, laughing as she stood to make the evening announcements.
Severus picked up his teacup and took a sip as Minerva cast the Sonorus charm.
“Mr Filch has added several new items from Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes to his banned list. For a complete list of items banned, you can go to his office where it is posted.”
Harry snorted in amusement and Severus discreetly elbowed him.
“The advanced Muggle Studies class is studying the holiday customs of Muggles in other countries and have found that some countries, like America, have costume balls for Halloween. And so, Professor Ayres has asked if we could hold a Halloween Ball this year. You will be required to wear a costume. Also, you are required to have a partner. That doesn’t mean it has to be a date, so two friends can go together. However your costumes must complement each other. Furthermore, although the American custom was the inspiration for the ball, your costumes can be from anywhere in the world as long as they are Muggle and not magical in origin.” Minerva paused momentarily, before resuming, “And to make this truly a Hogwarts event, the professors will all be participating as well.
“Now then, Halloween is three weeks away. I’d suggest you make your plans and begin getting your costumes together. And now that we are all full, it is time to be off to your dorms.”
As the students filed out – some chattering excitedly about the ball, while others grumbled about it – Severus glared at Minerva.
“Go ahead, Severus. Get it off your chest before you explode,” said Minerva with a sigh after she cast the quietus charm.
“If Professor Ayres wants to have a ball as part of her classes, fine. But I do not see why we should be–”
“Severus,” Minerva sternly interrupted, “I’m sorry that I didn’t have a chance to warn you earlier, but you were tied up with Miss Lestrange. When Patrice asked that the staff participate, I agreed that it would be a good way for us to encourage the students in their studies, and it will be fun for them to see their professors in a manner they never have.”
“But–“
“It’s decided, Severus. In this, you have no choice. Everyone else has accepted it, and so you should as well,” stated Minerva in a tone that told Severus there was nothing he could say that would get her to change her mind.
Glaring at the Muggle Studies professor, who visibly paled in fear, Severus stormed out.
The Muggle Studies professor looked over at Harry. “I hope you know what you are doing, Harry. That man is not happy.”
“He usually isn’t when it comes to one of my schemes,” grinned Harry. “Thanks for agreeing to help me. I was beginning to get desperate. At least now I have an opening.” Looking at her pale face, he placed a hand on her shoulder as he passed. “And don’t worry, Patrice. I’ll make sure that he doesn’t hex you.”
~~~
Severus slammed the door to his chambers. He couldn’t believe Minerva would go along with such foolishness. It was one thing for the students to realise that their professors were humans too, but to see them act so foolishly was undermining their authority, he thought. Fuming, he paced back and forth in front of his fireplace.
“What’s got you so worked up, my boy,” came the jovial voice of Albus Dumbledore.
Severus glared at the portrait that hung over the mantel. “To what do I owe this honour, Albus?” he asked waspishly.
“I thought I might help you with costume and partner suggestions,” said an ever-twinkling Dumbledore.
As Severus glared at the portrait, it crossed his mind that he didn’t even know it was possible for portraits to twinkle.
“I do not need help with a costume and I sure as hell do not need your help with a partner,” he snapped.
A far off look crossed Albus’ face before he spoke in a manner that was more to himself than to Severus. “No, you don’t, my boy. You certainly don’t.” Then as the twinkle returned to his eyes and a smile graced his lips, Albus vanished.
“Barmy old codger,” grumbled Severus. “Even dead he’s a pain in my–”
A knock sounded at the door to his chambers, cutting off the rest of Severus’ sentence. Looking at the newly vacated portrait, Severus waited for Requiem to enter and let him know who was at the door. It only took moments for a large black King Cobra to slither into the frame.
“Itsss Harry Potter, Ssseverusss,” hissed the snake.
“Thank you, Requiem. I don’t suppose you bit the old codger as he left…”
“Sssorry, Ssseverusss,” he hissed.
Severus waved his hand at the door, causing it to swing open just as Potter’s hand began the descent to knock a second time.
“Hello, Severus,” said Potter, smiling as he sauntered into Severus’ quarters.
“I don’t remember giving you leave to call me by my given name, Potter,” Severus snarked. “Nor do I recall inviting you to my chambers.”
“Of course not. We both know it would be a happy day at Azkaban before that ever happened. But I figure that if I’m going to be your partner for the upcoming ball, it would look funny if I didn’t call you by your given name. You could try calling me Harry—”
“Or not.”
Harry ignored Severus. “What do you think we should choose for our costumes?”
“Did we not have a similar discussion earlier? If I refused to go on a dinner date with you, why in Merlin’s name do you think I would agree to go with you to a costume ball?”
“Well, it could be my handsome face… no? Well, how about my charm? Hmm… guess not. Then how about that if you don’t agree to be my date for the ball, Trelawney is on her way to your quarters as we speak. Seems she thinks that she’d be a great Cleopatra and you will make a wonderful Marc Antony—”
“Fine,” snapped Severus. “You win. I’ll go to the bloody ball with you.”
“Great!” Harry grinned. “Shall we discuss costumes or shall I just surprise you?”
“I’m warning you, Potter. You choose something asinine and the time you spent in the infirmary as a student will seem like the blink of an eye, compared to what you’ll need when I get through with you.”
Severus had believed that agreeing to go with Potter to the ball would curb all the other nonsense that had been going on. But when he saw a familiar snowy owl and a very familiar black owl fly into the Great Hall during breakfast the next morning, carrying a large package between them, he knew he’d been overly optimistic.
“Traitor,” he hissed at Jeremiad, his large great-horned owl. Jeremiad, in turn, just nipped his ear affectionately, stole a piece of bacon, and flew off.
Harry leaned over and spoke quietly, “She’s a beauty. I’ve never seen a black owl before. What’s her name?”
“His name is Jeremiad and he is a great-horned owl. They occasionally come in black. He happens to be one of the larger of his species.”
“He’s very hand—ow!"
“I believe,” drawled a smirking Severus, “that your own owl wants her treat.”
Harry frowned at Severus. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
While Harry fed Hedwig a bit of bacon, Severus checked the package in front of him for any curses, hexes or dark magic in general. He could sense some residual dark magic, but nothing harmful.
“It’s safe,” commented Harry. “I promise that nothing will bite you if you open it.”
Severus ignored him in favour of opening the package. It was a very old, very rare copy of Grimoire Noir. Severus turned the book over in his hands carefully. Last he’d heard there were only two copies of the book left in existence.
“How?” he asked.
“I found it at Grimmauld Place, actually. Hermione, Neville, Ron, Luna, and I have been working at night and on weekends trying to finish cleaning up what the Order never got around to, because I’m giving it to Draco and Ginny as a wedding gift. While cleaning the private library attached to the master bedroom, I found that and thought that you’d be interested in it.”
Severus ran his hands over the book in an almost caressing manner before sliding it toward Harry. “Potter, I can’t take this. Do you realise how valuable the book is?”
“Sure.”
Severus looked at him with a raised eyebrow that expressed his doubt as clearly as any words could.
“Gryffindor honour, Severus,” Harry said, pushing the book back toward him. With a wink, he leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Hermione told me all about it when I showed it to her, so your Slytherin pride can allow you to take advantage of my Gryffindor stupidity and accept this gift with no strings attached.”
“No strings?”
“Well, none but my continuing attempt to woo you of course.”
“Of course.”
~~~
By the time the evening of the costume ball arrived, Severus was down to his last nerve. He decided that either Potter was wearing him down or he was about to go to Azkaban for murdering the Boy-Who-Lived-to-Become-the-Man-Who-Defeated-the-Dark-Lord. Glancing at the clock on the mantel, he realised that Potter would be arriving any moment with their costumes.
As if on cue, Requiem slithered into his frame to announce Harry’s arrival.
“Thank you, Requiem,” Severus said as he waved his hand at the door.
“You are welcome, Ssseverusss,” hissed Requiem before curling up in the frame and closing his eyes.
“Did I just hear you talking to that snake?” questioned Harry incredulously.
“Yes, Potter. This is Requiem, the guardian for my chambers.”
“But I thought Voldemort and I were the only Parselmouths left.”
“You were,” said Severus.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Severus smirked at the irritation in Harry’s voice. “Each house has a way to mark their true Heads. Much as a wand chooses the wizard, the houses at Hogwarts choose their heads. And also, like a wand can be used by another wizard, a person can act as the Head of House without being chosen, but when they are chosen by Hogwarts, a bond is created that can never be broken. Until the Heads of House from your years at Hogwarts, there had not been a complete quartet of them since the original founders. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been chosen heads… Albus was one for Gryffindor… but there was never more than one at a time at Hogwarts until Minerva, Filius, Pomona, and myself.”
“Slughorn?”
“Wasn’t worthy of the title,” said Severus irritably. “He was never chosen by Hogwarts herself, no.
“As I was saying, the true heads are chosen and each are marked—”
Harry began unbuttoning his robes.
“What are you doing?!”
Harry ignored the question and exposed his right shoulder. “You mean like this?”
Severus stared at the red and gold lion that graced Harry’s shoulder. He’d always heard about the marks, but had never seen one other than the Slytherin mark.
“Severus?”
Tearing his eyes away, Severus looked back at Harry’s face. “Somehow… it does not surprise me that you were chosen by Gryffindor, but then again, you were able to wield the sword…”
“Wait. Does that mean that if Neville had been on staff and asked, he would have become the true Head of House?”
“Assuming it was he and not you here, yes. He had the potential. But now that you’ve been chosen, there will be no other this generation.”
“Can I see yours?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Severus ignored him and continued, “Each house comes with a gift. Gryffindor’s, as you no doubt have guessed, is the sword. No one but a true Gryffindor may wield it. Ravenclaw’s is a book that appears blank to anyone but a true Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff’s is the scales of justice, which helps a true Hufflepuff to be more fair. In the case of Slytherin, it is the ability to speak Parseltongue.”
“Must be very useful. No wonder you were always so hard to avoid after curfew. You have a network of spies in the castle that everyone discounts.”
“Indeed,” was all Severus said because honestly he was impressed that Harry had grasped the situation as quickly as he had. It made Severus’ opinion of him rise just a bit higher.
Reaching into his outer robe pocket and pulling out a shrunken parcel, Harry said, “It’s almost time for the ball. We’d better get you dressed.”
Watching him enlarge the parcel, Severus noted, “I have been able to dress myself since I was three.” Taking the parcel, Severus disappeared into what Harry assumed was a bedroom, leaving Harry to look around curiously.
Less than fifteen minutes after he’d disappeared, Severus reappeared.
“Wow!” said Harry as he took in the sight before him.
Severus looked simply ravishing. The black breeches were made of the finest velvet, as was the near-calf length tunic, but with diagonal strips of silver and black silk, a black silk border, and a strip of silver silk that ran down each sleeve with smaller diagonal strips coming off it. The fasteners resembled triangular buttons made of silver and onyx, but actually fastened with small hooks, while the entire tunic was cinched at the waist with a silver belt. To finish off the ensemble, Severus wore knee-high, black leather boots and black leather gloves and, over it all, a black silk cape trimmed in black fur, held closed by a black cord which looped through two pure silver half-circles with jewel-encrusted gold cord hanging from them.
“Wow,” Harry repeated.
“You’ve said that, Potter. Would you like to tell me who we are supposed to be?”
Closing his gaping mouth, Harry said, “One moment. We need to add the finishing touches.”
Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out his wand and whispered a spell. Within moments, Severus could feel a beard and moustache growing, as well as his hair. Once Harry was done, Severus walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His hair was now collar length and wavy, and he sported a very short, well-groomed boxed beard. Looking up he saw Harry in the mirror over the shoulder of his reflection.
“Perfect,” whispered Harry.
“And who am I supposed to be?” asked Severus.
“The Sheriff of Nottingham.”
“So who are you?”
“Robin Hood,” said Harry as he removed his cloak and dropped it to the floor.
When Severus saw the costume, his mouth went dry.
“I thought you would be most comfortable in those clothes. They are black and are closest to robes without being robes.”
“And…” began Severus, only to have to stop and clear his throat. “And the, ah… what do you call those?”
“Tights.”
“And the tights don’t bother you?”
“Not really. The tunic covers everything important.”
“Unfortunately,” muttered Severus quietly, causing Harry to grin. As he eyed the tights and all the leather circlets around the boots Harry wore, as well as the ones on his arm, Severus asked more loudly, “How long did it take you to get into that?”
“I don’t know really. Dobby helped with all the buckles,” chuckled Harry. However, all laughing stopped when Severus turned to face him. Confronted with the naked lust in Severus’ eyes, it was Harry’s turn to clear his throat.
Severus leaned in and whispered in Harry’s ear.
“What are you doing,” Harry breathed.
“Trying to blackmail you,” Severus returned softly as he pulled Harry into his bedroom.
“Don’t stop. I like it!” said Harry breathlessly as Severus shut the bedroom door and pushed him onto the bed.
As their mouths met, a quiet voice from the portrait over the mantel said, “Don’t worry, boys. Minerva will understand your tardiness.”
The End.
Credit: '“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to,” commented Harry offhandedly.' Line taken from a commercial for a series on TNT… I’m almost positive it was “Bones,” but I don’t know what episode as I only heard the lines and do not watch the show.