Fic: A Hero's Welcome
Another Dictionary Ficlet, this one for the After Class list. The theme word is "rhetoric."
A HERO'S WELCOME
"... we owe him a debt we can never repay..." Cornelius Fudge declared, and Snape's lips curled into a sneer as Potter ducked his head in embarrassment.
Bloody idiot, he thought, gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles went white with the strain. The Minister had been prattling on for over an hour now, extolling Potter's supposed virtues as if he were the Second Coming the Muggles were always going on about.
"... incredible courage, the likes of which has rarely been seen in wizards several times his age..."
From his seat on the dais, Snape could see every person in the Great Hall, and the sight of all those faces alight with adoration sickened him. Arthur and Molly Weasley sat in the front row, smiling proudly through their tears as though Potter were their own child, and each time Molly dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief the knot of fury in Snape's chest grew tighter.
"...therefore, in recognition of his heroism in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, I am pleased to present Harry Potter with our highest honor... the Order of Merlin, First Class."
When the crowd rose to its feet, shouting its approval as Fudge slipped the coveted medal around Potter's neck, Snape could take no more. He stalked out of the Great Hall in an angry flurry of robes, his face flushed with murderous rage.
You'd think the pathetic brat had done it all by himself, he fumed, stomping into his chambers. Never mind that Snape had risked his own life more times than he could count during the war. No one wanted to acknowledge the efforts of a former Death Eater whose previous actions had helped bring the problem about in the first place.
He sat brooding furiously in front of the empty fireplace for a long time before a familiar presence breached his chamber wards. He refused to look up when the door opened and Potter slipped inside, wordlessly crossing to the bedroom beyond.
Snape let him wait, savoring the anticipation of what was to come. When he finally entered the bedroom, Potter was nude and waiting for him in the position Snape had long ago ordered him to assume whenever he came to Snape's chambers: kneeling on the floor next to the bed, head bowed and hands clasped loosely in his lap, framing his already semi-hard cock.
Snape muttered a brief spell, and manacles appeared around Potter's ankles. Another set encircled his wrists, yanking them to mid-chest level by the short chain connecting them to the collar around his neck. Snape smiled coldly as Potter's body grew rigid with apprehension. The boy was right to fear what Snape had planned for him.
"Open your mouth," he commanded harshly, tearing at his trouser buttons. "Out there, you might be a hero," he hissed, thrusting his cock so far into the younger man's throat that it cut off his oxygen. "But we both know what you are in here, don't we, Potter?"
A HERO'S WELCOME
"... we owe him a debt we can never repay..." Cornelius Fudge declared, and Snape's lips curled into a sneer as Potter ducked his head in embarrassment.
Bloody idiot, he thought, gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles went white with the strain. The Minister had been prattling on for over an hour now, extolling Potter's supposed virtues as if he were the Second Coming the Muggles were always going on about.
"... incredible courage, the likes of which has rarely been seen in wizards several times his age..."
From his seat on the dais, Snape could see every person in the Great Hall, and the sight of all those faces alight with adoration sickened him. Arthur and Molly Weasley sat in the front row, smiling proudly through their tears as though Potter were their own child, and each time Molly dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief the knot of fury in Snape's chest grew tighter.
"...therefore, in recognition of his heroism in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, I am pleased to present Harry Potter with our highest honor... the Order of Merlin, First Class."
When the crowd rose to its feet, shouting its approval as Fudge slipped the coveted medal around Potter's neck, Snape could take no more. He stalked out of the Great Hall in an angry flurry of robes, his face flushed with murderous rage.
You'd think the pathetic brat had done it all by himself, he fumed, stomping into his chambers. Never mind that Snape had risked his own life more times than he could count during the war. No one wanted to acknowledge the efforts of a former Death Eater whose previous actions had helped bring the problem about in the first place.
He sat brooding furiously in front of the empty fireplace for a long time before a familiar presence breached his chamber wards. He refused to look up when the door opened and Potter slipped inside, wordlessly crossing to the bedroom beyond.
Snape let him wait, savoring the anticipation of what was to come. When he finally entered the bedroom, Potter was nude and waiting for him in the position Snape had long ago ordered him to assume whenever he came to Snape's chambers: kneeling on the floor next to the bed, head bowed and hands clasped loosely in his lap, framing his already semi-hard cock.
Snape muttered a brief spell, and manacles appeared around Potter's ankles. Another set encircled his wrists, yanking them to mid-chest level by the short chain connecting them to the collar around his neck. Snape smiled coldly as Potter's body grew rigid with apprehension. The boy was right to fear what Snape had planned for him.
"Open your mouth," he commanded harshly, tearing at his trouser buttons. "Out there, you might be a hero," he hissed, thrusting his cock so far into the younger man's throat that it cut off his oxygen. "But we both know what you are in here, don't we, Potter?"