Fic: We'll Always Have Stockholm
Another ficlet, this one for the Beloved Enemies list. The word this week was "ameliorate," meaning "to make better or more tolerable."
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE STOCKHOLM
Harry tensed in his restraints as Macnair raised the lash above his head. He barely had time to register the sound of it whistling through the air before it burned across the bare skin between his shoulder blades, tearing an agonized scream from his throat. He'd lost count of how many times it had landed in the same spot. Macnair was nothing if not skilled with the whip.
"Stop!" a voice commanded sharply as Macnair raised his arm once more. Harry nearly sobbed with relief when Lucius strode into the room. It was over. He'd survived it once again.
"Leave us," Lucius ordered the circle of Death Eaters. They complied immediately.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to stop them," Lucius said quietly, murmuring the spell to release Harry from his bonds. He caught the younger man as he fell forward and Apparated them both upstairs to his chambers.
"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Lucius asked after he'd healed the wounds on Harry's back. Another set of scars added to the multitude already criss-crossing his flesh.
"I don't know," Harry croaked. "Since before you left. How long were you gone this time?"
"Three days," Lucius said, summoning a platter of food. He fed Harry with his fingers, offering him tiny bites so Harry's cramping stomach wouldn't reject the badly needed nourishment. When Harry finished eating, Lucius gathered him in his arms and carried him to the bathroom, where a warm bath had been drawn. He settled Harry in the water and gently scrubbed away the layers of grime and sweat three days of neglect had left on him.
"Thank you, Lucius," Harry said softly, looking up at his savior with love in his eyes.
Later, when they lay together in bed, Harry wrapped his legs around Lucius's waist and shouted the older man's name as he came.
****
Rough hands shook him awake, and Harry opened his eyes to see Severus Snape standing over him.
"Wake up, Potter," Snape hissed. "Hurry. I've got to get you out of here before Lucius finds me."
"What are you doing here?"
"I've been looking for you for months. It never occurred to me that he would bring you here. Get up. Quickly! I've come to take you home."
Harry sat up. "Home?" he said numbly, then shook his head. "No. I don't want to go. I want to stay here."
Snape reared back as though he had been struck. "With Lucius? My gods, boy! Why?"
"I… I love him," Harry replied. "Whenever they hurt me, he makes them stop. Whenever they starve me, he makes sure I'm fed and bathed and… he takes care of me."
"Potter, this is Malfoy Manor. Do you think they would be doing all these things to you without Lucius's knowledge? He's the one who has been ordering them to beat you and starve you all along!"
Harry looked up at Snape then, his eyes so dead that Snape recoiled at the sight.
"I know," Harry whispered.