Halloween Fic: What Sex Has To Do With Inferi Title: What Sex Has To Do With Inferi Author: Anonymous Rating: PG Warnings: None Disclaimer: I own nothing. All of the Harry Potter world belongs to J.K.R. and her known associates. Summary: Severus is hired to solve a case for the Ministry and he turns to Harry for help. Word Count 5,194 Mod Note: The author has requested to remain anonymous, but hopes you'll enjoy this holiday treat.
What Sex Has To Do With Inferi
Harry put the last figure in the column and cast a drying spell over the numbers he'd just written into his ledger. He placed the book back under the register and locked it up with a spell he'd used since the war, one that only a selective group of people knew about it. He smiled and looked around his shoppe, pleased. He actually earned a nice profit from his job and it was quiet.
The Gryff's Nest was located on Ash Lane, a short twisting stretch of shoppes off Diagon Alley. It was quiet here, with very few of the Hogwarts crowd coming in since the kids could get all their school supplies on Diagon. Ash Lane was more for adults--one or two other book shoppes, a few other restaurants, a tea room, an antique shoppe, a potions store which sold ingredients for household tasks and such, and a few tailors.
Harry liked his fellow business owners--all of them discreet and willing to help Harry keep busybodies and fans alike from bothering him; the shoppes around his store also had the same warding spell he had on his own--one that would keep the fans away. Anyone who wanted to simper at Harry or ask for his autograph or ask about this or that or any other business that had to do with "The Man Who Lived" would find themselves back in Diagon Alley--with their clothes inside out and on different parts than they belonged.
Harry picked up his duster and started sweeping it along the books and little things he had on display. There weren't many other book dealers who sold used books, but there was a market for them. Harry often had Healers in, looking for a information on a very old heirloom hex; Aurors who needed to research for a case; people who suddenly found themselves with a house that they needed to tame before living in it. His old teacher, Professor McGonagall, came in during the summer with a list of books that the school had lost through students not returning books they loaned or books that they simply needed a new copy of.
The door bell chimed and Harry turned with a bright grin. "Good afternoon!" The rest of his speech, asking if his customer was looking for something specific, died on his lips.
Professor Snape stood in the doorway, a sneer as always on his face. "Potter."
Harry gulped and shuffled his feet. "Sir. Uh, how can I help you?" He almost said something about the Potions shoppe just down the way, but knew that if it was potions help Snape was looking for, Snape would have gone there.
Snape closed the door behind him and looked around at the books with distrust. "I need a book on family curses and Inferi."
Harry blinked, but nodded. "All right. Anything specific? I have a lot on family curses."
"Ones that are specific to carrying on the bloodline," Snape said.
Harry waved his wand and the two books that he had for that topic settled on the counter in the window. Another wave and the five books he had on Inferi sat next to them. "Those are the ones I have. I'll let you look through them--cup of tea?"
Snape shook his head as he started flipping through the books. Harry waited for a moment and then went back to his dusting, uncomfortably aware of Snape. The crush he'd had on the Half-Blood Prince had never really gone away, but after the final battle, when Harry really had the chance to think back on the last tumultuous two years, the fact that Snape had been Harry's potion's hero had manifested into a crush on Snape.
Harry shook his head and made himself a cup of tea. No use thinking of that now. Snape's attitude toward Harry had not changed in the few years since then. Harry's crush would have to remain firmly a crush (no matter how much he wanted it to be otherwise).
When the books were closed with a snap, Harry jumped and spilled a little tea. He smiled sheepishly to Snape's glare and cleaned it up quickly. "So, will you be taking them?"
Snape nodded. "I will, Potter. Very useful books--may I ask where you found them?"
Harry took the books and looked them over. "Most of them from the Malfoys, actually. Draco came in to sell them, saying he didn't want them in the Manor where Scorpius could find them."
Snape raised his eyebrows. "Did Draco happen to mention if he kept any of the books?"
Harry screwed up his nose in thought and pushed his glasses back up when they slipped. "I think he may have. I can't quite remember."
Snape scoffed. "Of course you can't. Could never remember anything, could you? It's a wonder you ever left school."
Harry bit back a sigh and rang up the books. "Am I charging this to the Hogwarts' account, then?"
Snape pulled out a coin pouch. "Ministry funds, actually." He counted out the coins and threw them on the counter. He picked up the books and swept out.
Harry collected the money ruefully. Still a bastard, then. A sexy bastard though, a traitorous voice in Harry's head said.
With a scowl, Harry clamped that voice and his feelings closed tightly.
~~~
The next few days were quiet--it being Spring, Harry had customers coming in asking for books on cursed heirlooms and rooms and the odds and ends that came with Spring cleaning. He knew that the Potions shoppe was doing fairly well, too, selling potions for burns and other house cleaning maladies. He was just closing up for the night two days after Snape had bought the books when again Snape visited him.
"I think right now I am out of the books you were looking for, sir," Harry said. "A lot of people looking for something to help them clean out the attic."
Snape looked put upon. Either that or he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him. "I am loath to ask help from you, but you are, as of right now, the only person I can ask for help. The Aurors are very busy at this time of year for the same reasons you are. Hogwarts' defense teacher is incapable of finding his own nose."
Harry nodded. "Sure. What is it?"
Snape looked around the shop and then to the windows or the street outside. "Here is not the best place. Perhaps your rooms above here?"
Harry nodded. "Of course." He finished up his closing routine and then led the way up the stairs to his living room. "Have you had dinner? I need to make my own."
"A pot of tea will suffice," Snape said, sitting on the edge of the wing chair by the fireplace.
Harry nodded and put it together, putting a few biscuits on a plate feeling that it would be rude to not offer something while he ate his dinner. When he had put the tray on the coffee table, he said, "So, what is it that you need help with?"
"First, I ask that for this you do not ask anything of me in return," Snape said. "I'll not be indebted to you in any way."
Harry nodded. "Naturally, sir. I understand."
Snape was silent for a few moments, studying Harry as though trying to determine if Harry was telling the truth. After a few moments, he nodded. "Very well. You recall the books I bought from you was about family curses and Inferi? It seems that the Aurors came around a case of several people turning up acting like Inferi, yet they are still alive.
"The staff at St Mungo's and at the Ministry were at a loss of what to do. They suspected either a curse or a potion. I have done consulting work for the Ministry a few times in my life and though they were reluctant to do so, they asked for my opinion. I took all their notes and found a few others of my own.
"There was a pure-blood in the last years of the war whom Voldemort wanted to recruit--Thornewood. He was from a family older than the Malfoys and his power was formidable. He rather good with hexes and curses and potions. I learned a few myself from him. My fervor for the subject caused him to develop a liking for me and we spent many evenings discussing hexes and curses he had created. He also let slip that his family ended with his son."
Snape's eyes burned into Harry's face. "Are you following, Potter? I don't need you getting lost."
Harry blushed. "I'm following. What does this have to do with the case the Ministry gave you?"
Snape seemed lost in though for a few brief seconds, looking at Harry. Then his face closed up to its usual sour demeanor. "It seems that Thornewood wanted to curse his son. The son, Malakai, had decided to overturn years pure-blood history and not accept the inheritance that would have been his. In addition, Malakai also decided to not wed the witch his father had chosen and continued to embrace his deviant lifestyle."
"Deviant lifestyle?" Harry asked. "As in, homosexual?"
Snape nodded. "Quite. Thornewood--the father--decided that he needed a curse that would make his son ashamed of his deviant ways and return him to his proper place. Shortly before the final battle, Thornewood showed me several theories he had drawn up that would create the exact curse he wanted."
"Where is now?"
"He disappeared and all of my attempts to find him have failed. However, I was able to use a Penseive to review my memory and look over the information he gave me. One of the theories he had that night was very close to the exact effect that the victims that Aurors found were experiencing."
"He found a way to curse his son and make his partners like Inferi?" Harry thought back to his Defense classes and the books he'd read on Inferi since he had first found out about them and knew that it didn't make sense.
"It seems wild and untrue, but I swear it is, Potter. I was able to enter the minds of the victims and as it so happens all of them, shortly before becoming like they are, had relations with a young man who bears a strong resemblance to the elder Thornewood."
"I see. What does that have to do with me?"
Snape paused momentarily. "I need you to go to the club he frequents and get him."
The simple and easy way that Snape had said seemed to Harry to have frozen the air in his flat. After a moment, he put down his dinner plate and sat back. "You want me to go where exactly?"
"A club. It's exclusive to homosexuals. However, it also has a ward on it to bar entrance to those with the Dark Mark after some trouble during the First War with Voldemort."
"But why me? I'm sure one of the Aurors can get him."
"Because the Aurors have washed their hands of this case until I find the culprit. Though homosexuals may no longer be hanged for being who they are, the Ministry is still cold towards them. They do have an oath to keep to catch the young man in question and see the responsible party fined or in Azkaban as per the law, but until and unless I do, this case is off the records."
"So if you didn't know, they wouldn't have done anything?"
"Unfortunately not, Potter. We are talking of the Ministry, however, and I expect no less." Snape put his cup down on the coffee table. "Will you help me or not?"
~~~
A few nights later, on Saturday, Harry stood in front of a mirror and eyed his clothes. He'd cast a small charm to change his hair and eye colour and put in his contacts. He didn't use them often, but he knew that he looked better without his glasses. It had a long time since he'd last worn the contacts and his eyes were slightly itchy. He hadn't worn these clothes in months, either.
He turned and considered. He nodded. It should be enough.
The doorbell rang and he rushed to answer it. He smiled at Snape. "Time already?"
Snape's eyes ran up and down Harry, gaze settling for a few moments longer than proper on Harry's crotch, outlined in the tight jeans, making Harry shift uncomfortably. "Yes. Are you ready?"
Harry spun around and nodded. "Yeah."
"Remember--once you're close enough, grab him and Apparate back here. I'll be waiting with a Stunner."
Harry took a deep breath. "Right. Okay. There's plenty of tea in the cabinets so help yourself. Hopefully I'll see you soon."
Snape sneered and let Harry pass. The night was cool and there was a small breeze. The walk was short and Harry was early enough that the line was relatively short. He was in within the hour and winced at the pounding bass that assaulted his ears as soon as he was in. Now he remembered why he didn't do this anymore.
He circled the dance floor, looking carefully for the man who fit the description Snape had given him. After a moment, he went to the bar and ordered some water. He turned and ran almost face first into someone. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there." He grinned up at the person.
The other wizard oddly fit the description Harry had. The wizard smiled softly. "No, it's my fault." He bent to Harry's ear. "Was actually hoping to pin you to that bar and give you a hand job right here."
Harry gulped and smiled weakly. "Really?"
The wizard nodded. "Really." He reached around and caged Harry in when he put his hands on the bar. "What's your name, pretty thing?"
Harry blushed. "James Black." He hoped Snape's idea of giving his own last name would prompt their man to give up his so Harry could be sure.
"Thornewood. Malakai Thornewood." He kissed Harry. "Now that we're acquainted, how about we dance?"
Harry took a deep breath and grabbed Thornewood's shirt. "How about my place instead?"
Thornewood looked surprised, but eager as they winked out and into Harry's flat.
~~~
Harry staggered onto the couch and grinned at Snape. "It was almost too easy."
Snape hummed under his breath. "Quite." He cast an Incarserous to keep Thornewood from leaving. "Are you all right?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. He just was very quick to pick me up and very eager to get me into bed." He blushed remembering the kiss.
Snape snorted. "Really? I imagine that would be something you're used to."
Harry kept his silence, not wanting to open up that can of worms. "What now?"
"Now, we ask him what he knows," Snape said as he revived Thornewood and then quickly poured three drops into Thornewood's mouth.
Thornewood shook his head. "What's going on? Who the hell are you two? I'll have you arrested for kidnapping!"
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? A trifle matter that the Aurors will look over, I'm sure since I am working on their case." He grinned and sat opposite Thornewood. "Tell me, did you know what has happened with your recent sexual partners?"
Thornewood looked extremely confused. "Well, some of the friends were asking what I had done to them and why I had done it." His eyes went wide. "But I swear, I didn't! I didn't do anything but have sex with them."
Snape nodded. "Indeed. When we the last time you saw your father?"
Thornewood blinked. "My father? Three months ago, I think."
"Do you remember exactly what happened during that meeting?"
Thornewood opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked confused for a moment. "No, now that I think about it, I don't."
Snape sighed. "I thought as much. Do you know where your father lives?"
"Of course. At the family home. I could take you there, if you'd like." When Snape glared at him, Thornewood added, "I want those people cured of whatever it is I gave them. If it's something my father did--"
"And why would say that?" Snape said.
Thornewood was thrown by the question. "Well, the first one turned up sick about three months ago, yeah? And I can't remember what my father and I talked about the last time I saw him. I know he doesn't like the way I live, would rather I married some bird and pretended that I don't hate it."
Snape sighed and shared a look with Harry. "Very well. If you run on us, we will make sure to find you again. Now, show us where your father is."
~~~
The Thornewood Manor was more imposing than any other estate Harry had visited; the mere sight of it in the near-moonless night sent a chill down Harry's spine. Snape looked at him briefly, but kept an eye on the younger Thornewood. They were soon climbing the sets of the house whose doors quickly opened. The elder Thornewood looked imposing and stern, unmovable like stone, in entrance way.
"Malakai," he said. "Brought some of your deviant friends with you."
Malakai gulped. "You could say that."
Snape stepped forward. "I'm sure you remember me, Marius."
The older Thornewood--Marius--seemed to transform instantly. His face opened up and he smiled a bit. "Severus! I had heard you escaped a sentence to Azkaban. How are your potions, dear boy?"
"Quite well. I actually had a question for you. About the last subject we were discussing?"
Marius nodded. "Yes, yes!" His eyes twinkled and he cast a look at his son. "It turned out quite well. Malakai--unless you're here to turn back from your ways, I must ask you to leave." He looked at Harry. "And you--what are you doing here?"
"My apprentice," Snape said. "Harry Potter."
Marius raised his eyebrows. "Truly? Well, then, come in, both of you. I'll have the house-elves prepare something for us."
Malakai turned away to go back and wait at Harry's flat. They had all suspected Marius to have dismissed his son and so had told Malakai what to do when that happened. Harry followed the other two wizards into the house and wondered how it was colder in there.
They were soon in a cozy room that had a few bookshelves and a wide desk. Snape directed Harry to a corner, where an apprentice would usually be, while Snape and Marius sat by the roaring fire.
"So, my friend, you have heard about what I accomplished?" Marius said.
Snape nodded. "I have. It was brilliant work--however did you do it?"
"It was a few things," Marius said. "Excuse me. Wood!" A small elf popped into the room and bowed low. "Wine and some snacks. Quickly!"
Marius waited until the elf had reappared with the food before continuing. "As I'm sure you remember, I was working out how to use a hex and a curse both. I worked out that I needed his blood and sperm to accomplish my task! It was quite that simple after that--I merely used the trace magic in his blood for the curse to recognize it's victim and the sperm to recognize how it was to accomplish it's goal.
"I didn't want my heir tainted--merely shamed into returning home and his duties. Rather than curse him himself, like many will do, I had his sperm act like a virus--in essence, it transfers the curse every time he experiences an orgasm. His partner's body absorbs the curse and the transformation begins! It affects the magic, you see, twisting it so it turns on itself and the wizard until the wizard is unable to function or use magic."
"How were you sure his sperm would do the job?"
"Ah, that I needed to ask him," Marius said. "I visited him a few months ago once I had worked it out and under Imperious, asked him to tell me his...proclivities." Marius shivered as though it had revolted him to even say that. "Once I worked this curse out, Snape, I was able to further my work by visiting each of his victims.
"I took some blood samples and readings of their magic. I have been able to make this curse so that the caster does not need either blood samples or sperm samples. I am having a gathering in a few days hence to share with my fellow pure-bloods who find themselves with unwilling heirs."
Harry shivered as he considered the consequences of that thought. How many people would then know about it--not just pure-bloods but anyone with a reason to get vengence? Snape was nodding to himself.
"Ingenious, Marius. I like it." He stood and nodded. "Unfortunately, we are not on the same side this time."
Marius stood as well. "What do you mean?"
Snape withdrew his wand. "I apologize, but I must do this."
Marius seemed to know what was going on and shot off a spell not at Snape, but at Harry. Harry blinked when nothing happened. Marius laughed when Snape lifted his wand to Marius' face. "What did you do?"
Marius smirked. "I shouldn't tell you, but...I am rather proud of my work and know that as fellow Potions master with a thirst for knowledge, you will appreciate this. While working out the curse so that one does not need blood and sperm, I worked out how to create the effects on the victims without needing sexual contact."
"You mean, I'm going to turn into an Inferi?" Harry asked.
Marius chuckled. "In a way. You can feel it, can't you? Your magic turning on you? Your blood pressure and body temperature are rising, acting like it's a virus it can defeat. But it can't."
Snape snarled and threw a Stunner at Marius. He bound the other wizard and rushed to Harry. Harry took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "That was unexpected."
Snape glared. "Come on. We need to get him to the Ministry and you to my private lab."
~~~
The next few days--which could have been mere hours or even a few weeks for all that Harry was conscious--passed in a haze of confusion for Harry. He rarely slept for long and when he did sleep, his dreams were haunting and foggy. When he was awake, he shivered and sweat through his bedclothes and threw up.
Snape was there almost constantly, brewing nearby or keeping Harry dry or from choking on his own bile. Harry remembered Snape trying to feed him potions, but he never kept them down and seemed to remember having once said to Snape that his potions actually tasted better coming up.
When Harry finally woke up clear headed, he grinned. He tilted his head toward the window which was open and letting some sun in. He wasn't shivering much and his stomach wasn't twisting at all. He tried to sit up, but fell back quickly, weak from the last few days.
Snape swept into the room and started running different spells. "Finally. All of your vitals are returning to normal."
"How'd you do it?" Harry asked.
Snape nodded at the bedside table where a clear tube and a few needles were. "Intravenously. I gave it to the Healers at St Mungo's, but until they've seen you recovered, they won't use it."
"Because it's not traditional and is Muggle?" Harry asked.
Snape nodded. "Quite." He stopped the spells. "You're on the mend. In a few days, you should be up and moving again."
Harry beamed. "Thanks to you, sir."
Snape harrumphed softly. "As always, Mr. Potter, I am here to save your life."
Harry blushed. "Always. Thank you."
Snape rolled his eyes. "You need to eat. I'll get some soup and bread."
~~~
After Harry finished the small meal, Snape helped him prop himself against the headboard. Harry took a deep breath and was glad that he was better. Lunch or dinner--he couldn't tell what the time was, only it wasn't morning--was not revisiting him and he wasn't feeling like he was going to be torn in two.
Snape handed him a vial. "Here. You still require a few doses to get the curse completely out of your system."
Harry downed it in one go and groaned at the taste. "It's weird--you had to use potions to counter the curse."
Snape nodded. "The Healers when I told them were quite skeptical. It's because this curse is unlike any other thus far. A curse will usually target the victim's magic so as to identify the victim. Thus, a counter curse. This one, however, didn't. It went after blood. And so potions were needed as though we were treating a virus."
Harry nodded. "Ah." When Snape started to turn away, Harry grabbed his hand. "Why am I here, Snape? Instead of at St Mungo's where the Healers could watch you work."
Snape looked cornered almost. "I...I had noticed that the wards on your shoppe were to keep out any adoring fans and so I thought that perhaps some privacy would be best for you."
"At your home?"
Snape blushed for about two seconds before he stood up sharply and swept out of the room.
Harry blinked in confusion.
~~~
Later, just as the sun was setting, Snape brought in another tray of soup and bread and another vial. Harry accepted it gratefully. "I'm sorry for earlier. It's just that your lab is here, right?"
Snape nodded. "Yes." He looked uncomfortable. "I sent an owl to Minerva to tell her that you were well again--she was very worried. I also sent one to your friends, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger."
Harry grinned. "Thank you!"
"I had to or else they would have beaten down my door." When he saw Harry looking amused, he snapped, "I kept them away so I could work in peace! Weasley would have been muttering about how a proper Healer instead of a Death Eater would be more helpful and Granger would have been trying to help me with the solution when I work best alone!"
Harry laughed. Snape snorted. "At any rate, they will likely want to come around and see you."
Harry nodded. "Yeah. If you give me some parchment and a quill, I'll send them an owl to tell them to wait until I'm back home."
"That won't be necessary," Snape said. "If they can manage just one visit for an hour, I can have them in my home."
Harry blinked at that, taken back. "Really, sir?"
Snape raised his eyebrow. "Indeed. I'll bring you some parchment and a quill shortly so you may tell them."
~~~
Harry felt his breath leave him in a woosh as Hermione tackled him. Ron was grinning at him from the doorway, but it looked nervous. Harry waved him in as Hermione pulled away.
"You look well, Harry," Hermione said. "Snape did a good job."
Harry nodded. "He did. I'm really grateful."
Ron leaned on the footboard. "I'm surprised the greasy bat healed you himself. I would have thought that he would've dumped you in St Mungo's and left you to rot."
"Ron!" Hermione clucked her tongue.
Harry chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think he would have even if they'd had the cure."
Ron raised his eyebrows. "What?"
Harry shrugged. "Just a feeling."
Hermione was studying Harry. "Really?"
Harry cleared his throat, not wanting to discuss Snape with Ron in the room. "So, Ron, how's the shop?"
Hermione let them change the subject until the end of the hour. She shooed Ron out the door. "Go. I'll be right with you. I have to talk to Harry."
When the door closed, she turned back to Harry. "So?"
Harry shrugged and half smiled. "Dunno, really. He keeps giving me these looks and he did send an owl to you to let you know about me."
She grinned. "And I bet you're enjoying this."
He blushed. "I might."
She sighed. "Harry--"
Harry held up a hand. "Leave it, Hermione. Please."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but didn't. She stood and gave him a last hug before wishing him well.
~~~
A few days later and Harry was well enough to leave Snape's home. They were having a small lunch before Harry left.
"You've recovered well," Snape said.
Harry nodded. "Of course I did. It was your potions, after all."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Potter."
Inwardly, Harry sighed. "I know, sir."
Snape paused in preparing their lunch. "I believe that I am no longer your professor or superior, Potter. You can call me by my name."
Harry licked his lips and took a deep breath. "All right, Severus."
Severus' hand, holding the spoon stiring the sauce, paused momentarily. He nodded.
"I never asked, but what happened to Thornewood?"
Severus' grinned. "A few years' sentence in Azkaban and a bit of a fine to pay for the victims' care."
"Good." Harry accepted the plate of pasta as it was handed to him. "Who's been teaching your classes?"
Severus grimaced. "Most unfortunately, the only one whom Minerva could find on such short notice is George Weasley. I'll have to reteach the students everything when I go back."
Harry chuckled. "George knows his way around potions. I think the students will be fine."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I know that, Harry. However, I have no illusions that my students will have received a fair amount of prank items and learned a few clever spells. I will have to teach them that such...play things are not allowed in my classroom and will not tolerate the easy going atmosphere they've learned from Mr. Weasley."
Harry laughed. "You'll be as formidable and scary as ever, I'm sure."
Severus narrowed his eyes and sniffed haughtily.
~~~
A week after Harry was back in his own home and back to work, Severus paid him another visit.
Harry grinned as he put down his duster. "So what case is it now? Something that the potions department cannot figure out?"
Severus crossed his arms. "If they ask for help, I will promptly turn them down. I've met them and they deserve any mess they come across. No, Harry, I'm here for something else. Something I was remiss in asking."
"If I can help you, I will," Harry said.
Severus sighed. "I don't need your help this time, Harry. Rather...I..." He cleared his throat. "Would you have dinner with me this weekend?"
Harry blinked. "Dinner? With you?"
Severus nodded. "I see. Unexpected and unwelcome. I'll leave before you can--"
Harry rushed to Severus and put his hand on Severus' arm. "Yes. I'd love to."
Severus looked stunned. "Oh. Yes. Good."
Harry grinned. "I hope that the end of the dinner will be better than good." Feeling brave, Harry kissed Severus' cheek. "How about Saturday? I know a great place not far from the Leaky."