Written for hp_owned Summer of Slaves Fest 2013.

Betaed by wonderful gusx217.

A SLAVE FOR KEEPS

"Mr Potter, so good to see you here. What would you like for your enjoyment tonight?" A middle-aged, half-bald man rubbed his hands together and earnestly eyed Harry. Harry almost winced; the worst part of his explorations was having to deal with slippery dealers who always tried to gain some advantage from having The Boy Who Lived visit their premises. Fortunately Mr Simms, the British owner of this French club, wasn't the worst of them.

"Good evening, Mr Simms. Actually I haven't decided yet what I'd like to see tonight. I guess I have seen everything you've had to offer so far."

"Oh, but you haven't seen this one. I've been waiting to show it to you for a long time." It's finally ready and the scene is waiting for you. But I must warn you, there will be also other people interested in this particular one, so unfortunately you won't be able to have your usual private show tonight. This scene is a once in a lifetime sort of event, very rare, and I probably won't be able to repeat it anytime soon, I'm afraid."

Harry's interest was definitely piqued upon hearing that. After the war he had been aimlessly wandering around, trying to find a purpose to his life, exploring and experiencing everything and almost anything in order to find out what he really wanted. He had always had that darker side in his nature and that had led him to explore the darker side of human nature in general. That was one reason he was now standing in the hall of the most extraordinary night club in wizarding Calais; this one had the most interesting sexual-themed scenes, best private services he had seen anywhere, and the most delicious boys to offer. Not that Harry had accepted any offers very often; usually he just wanted to watch and learn.

"So please, do tell me, Mr Simms, what's so special in the show you are offering me tonight?"

"It's a slave auction, Mr Potter. You'll have a chance to buy yourself a slave and keep enjoying him whenever you want in the privacy of your own home. Very convenient, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh no, I have no interest in buying anyone, not tonight or ever. Besides, I thought the slave markets are history."

"Not like this one, Mr Potter. These slaves have willingly agreed to be sold as slaves to the highest bidder. They are well trained and ready to fulfill all your wishes, both sexually and in general."

Harry's throat went dry as he thought about everything he could do with a slave like that, but then he shook those thoughts out of his mind. A slave was out of the question for him. He didn't want to be responsible for anyone's life but his own, and even that he didn't know how to handle yet. Besides, Hermione would have a field day lecturing him on human rights, and she firmly believed that subjugating a human being – a house elf or a fellow citizen – in any way was a contemptible act against the whole human race. Hermione had already been lectured him frequently about his dawdling around for years now, with his not being able to decide what to do with his life. She kept telling him to at least try something instead of doing nothing. Well, he was trying something, trying to figure out what he wanted or needed in his life. Too pity that Hermione wouldn't have approved his way of trying, at least not like this.

Harry realized that Simms was waiting for his reply a bit impatiently.

"All right then, I'm interested to see what you've got for me today."

Harry followed Simms to the back of the building where he knew was a large showroom usually used for the bigger shows or scenes. This time, though, there was only an empty stage, and in front of the stage there were six tables, most of them already occupied. Simms led Harry to the last vacant table and beckoned to a waiter.

"We are ready to start the auction in a minute. Please have a drink while we set the last things up in the back room."

Harry nodded and placed his drink order. The waiter brought his drink quickly and Harry had some time to look around. There were five other patrons attending the auction besides Harry, four men and one woman. Harry didn't know any of them, but they all seemed accustomed to events like this. At least they all seemed relaxed and almost bored waiting for the auction to begin.

Harry seemed to be the youngest of the participants; he couldn't help but wonder about what kind of slaves they were looking for, and what kind of purposes they had in mind. In only sexual purposes, there were so many different types or genres to choose from; no one could specialize in everything, that's for sure. Harry surreptitiously kept an eye on the other participants and tried to guess what they were looking for.

The only woman in the room was quite beautiful, maybe in her late thirties, and her posh appearance made Harry guess that she might be looking for a servant with benefits. All the men were probably way over 40; two of them looking like accountants with similar Muggle-like suits told Harry they might be looking for some excitement to add to their bland lives. The third man looked like a professor or Healer or something like that. His short beard and hair were grey and his features were distinguished and strict; Harry wondered if the man was up for a submissive slave to punish for whatever reason. All of them ignored Harry but the fifth one, and when Harry turned his gaze towards the man sitting next to his table, he had to stifle a shudder; the man reminded him of Vernon Dursley – as a matter of fact, he had to check twice to make sure he wasn't Vernon, the resemblance was so unnerving. When the man slurped his drink and turned to look at Harry, Harry did actually shudder; the man had a greedy, cruel look in his eyes even though he was smiling at Harry.

"Looking for a new playmate?" the man asked grinning at Harry.

"No... just looking. Haven't seen any slave auctions before." Harry forced his voice to sound calm.

"I heard that this new batch of meat is fine quality. I've prepared to spend a good amount of Galleons to get a high-class slave to take care of my needs. My last slave wasn't any good, I had to get rid of him."

The man let out a lecherous laugh, and Harry had to turn away from him in disgust. Fortunately, Simms chose that moment to step on stage.

"My lady, gentlemen, the auction is ready to begin. Today we have four fine young slaves to sell, each one to the highest bidder. But first, of course, you'll have a chance to inspect the goods by yourself when all of the slaves are introduced to you before the auction really begins."

Simms beckoned to the man standing in the doorway to the backroom, and four boys with perfectly oiled skin were escorted onto the stage. They were arranged in a line about three feet apart from each other. All of them were blindfolded, gagged and collared. Their collars were attached to a strap going all the way down and disappearing under their leather g-strings. Harry assumed that the straps ended in a cock strap under their pants to accentuate their well-endowed packages. They all wore ankle and wrist cuffs; their ankles were chained together with a chain long enough that they were able to walk quite normally. Their wrist cuffs were attached to the belts they were wearing on their hips effectively immobilizing their arms at their sides.

Two of the boys were tanned and more muscular, and they offered a delicious sight with their rippled muscles glistening in the bright light over the stage. They were quite tall and looked strong; Harry assumed they were accustomed to physical work more than the other two boys, who were lean and pale. Three of the boys were dark haired but the other lean one had shockingly white-blond hair.

Harry leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the sight in front of him. From the corner of his eye, he could see the man next to him rubbing his hands and practically drooling at the presented slaves. Harry hoped that the man wouldn't be able to buy any of the slaves tonight; he felt sorry for anyone who was forced to serve the bastard in any way.

Simms stepped behind every slave in turn introducing their good qualities but not once revealing their names. The slaves were to be claimed by their new owners without a given name; it was the owners' choice which name they wanted to give to the slaves.

First he introduced one of the muscular ones. As Harry had assumed, he was praised for his strength and his ability to build almost anything inside and outside the house. He was long-lasting at pleasuring purposes and also tolerated rough handling. The slave was still young, only 19 years old, just like the other muscled slave who was also praised for his strength and long-lasting quality, but where the other boy had been skilled at building, this one was good at handling animals and he had a gentle nature.

The third slave was the dark haired lean one who was 21 years old, and he was skilled at music; he played a lot of instruments and he had a beautiful voice. This slave would be the pride of his new owner at entertaining in many ways. He was also skilled in the kitchen, so good meals were granted. This boy had to be handled gently; he wasn't stubborn or bad-behaving, so there was usually no need for rough punishments.

The last one of the slaves, the blond, was introduced as an intelligent and well-educated slave who would offer sparkling conversations and a good opponent for games like chess. He had a very sophisticated taste in fashion and culture in general, and he had perfect manners. He was also skilled at making potions. On the other hand, he didn't respond well to rough handling, so the new owner should take that into consideration. He was the oldest of these four slaves, being 23 years old.

After the introduction Simms invited the first of the buyer candidates, the woman, onto the stage to inspect the slaves. She slowly rounded every one of them, occasionally brushed her hand on the skin or hair, once even wrapping her hands around the arm of one of the muscled slaves. After she was finished, the next three men did their inspections much the same way as the woman had done. Then it was the 'Vernon-lookalike's turn, and he charged towards the stage like a bull towards the toreador, and Harry winced. He was glad that the slaves were blindfolded; otherwise they'd have escaped screaming in panic long before the man reached the stage.

There was nothing gentle in the man's inspection; he roughly pushed, pulled, prodded and groped the poor slaves who tried to stand stoically under the attack. The boys couldn't stifle all their grunts and groans though, and the last one in line, the blond, tensed visibly when the man neared him. Harry felt sorry for all of the boys and wished the brutal inspection was over soon. Unfortunately the last inspected wasn't getting away with it any faster than the others; if anything, the man seemed more interested in the blond than in any of the others. He unashamedly groped the boy, pinching his nipples and squeezing his arse cheeks and his genitals, first through the leather pants and then he even stuffed his turgid fist inside the pants and groped harshly. Simms had to intervene at that point and end the inspection.

Then it was Harry's turn to make his inspection, and first he thought to decline after seeing the slaves attacked so harshly by the previous participant. It had been disgusting to watch, but then he thought that at least he couldn't make the situation any worse if he took a closer look at the slaves on the stage. He rounded the slaves slowly admiring their beautiful bodies and occasionally caressing the lines of the rippled muscles of the first two slaves in the line. Their skin was so smooth, and their muscles shivered so deliciously under his fingers that he fantasized tracing the muscles with his tongue. The musician slave was cute; his lean body was pliant under his fingers and even though he didn't know if he was allowed to talk to the slaves, he couldn't help but murmur to the trembling boy soothingly. The previous man had scared this sweet young man quite badly.

When he rounded the blond slave, he saw angry red fingerprints on his beautiful alabaster skin. His temper flared at seeing the marks of the abuse and he gently brushed his hand on the back of the stiffly standing slave. Even though the slave must have been as scared as the musician, he kept his posture proudly, only his trembling hands revealed how upset he really was. He was a piece of art, actually, and Harry couldn't help but think what it would be like to own someone like him. With a last brush of his hand into the soft blond hair, Harry left the stage and went back to his table.

He had barely sat down when the jackass from the next table leaned over.

"I'm going to buy that blond and break him down. Pretty boys like that need to learn their place, and I'm going to enjoy whipping that porcelain arse to a bloody mess until he submits without a question."

Harry was repulsed. "He wasn't the one who reacted well to rough handling. You should reconsider who you'll buy for your pleasure."

"He's mine and I'm going to show him how an upper class slave should be treated. They need firm discipline and a good amount of caning to beat that arrogant attitude out of them."

Harry stared at the man in horror. The bastard didn't appreciate any of the fine qualities of the slave. These sort of people didn't deserve to have a slave at all, or any other living creature, for that matter! He hoped the other buyers would bid high enough to claim all the boys so that the asshole next to him would have to go home empty-handed.

Then the auction began. Every slave had their collars attached to a leash, their wrist cuffs freed from the belt and their blindfolds removed. Their obedience was presented by parading them in front of the audience, making them crawl around the stage and follow the orders from their handler. Some of the orders were quite humiliating like presenting their arses in front of the staring people and their only clothing removed for everyone to see their cocks and balls. It must have been even more humiliating now that they could see all those staring people in front of them as they were not blindfolded anymore.

Harry followed the blond slave more than the others. He was intrigued, utterly fascinated by the man. Where the other slaves blushed in embarrassment, the blond kept his head high and posed with grace and dignity even in the most depraved positions. His grey eyes sparked with fire but that was the only defiant trait in him. He did everything he was told to but he was far from broken. More than once those grey eyes locked with Harry's and he felt an odd familiarity. It was as if he knew the man from somewhere but he couldn't figure out where. His eyes and hair reminded him of Malfoy but it couldn't be him. His facial features were partially obscured by the large ball-gag but his nose reminded him a bit of Malfoy's nose too. Harry was confused; what if the slave was Malfoy? How in the hell had he ended up in here, to be sold as a slave to some drooling bastard planning to beat him until his spirit was broken?

The first slave, one of the muscular ones, was sold after rather careful bidding. There were only three bidders, the woman, one of the accountants and the professor. Harry was surprised to see the professor bidding for this slave; in Harry's opinion he'd have been more of the musician slave style. The woman won and claimed her new property.

The next bidding was more exciting; both of the accountants and the professor fought over the remaining muscled slave with enthusiasm, and finally the professor made the highest bid. He looked very pleased at claiming his slave.

Harry glanced at the bastard next to him curiously; he hadn't made one bid thus far. He looked almost bored. Obviously he was waiting for the blond one to be sold and prepared to put all his money on him. Harry was starting to get worried. At this rate, the bastard might very well be the only one to bid for the blond. Harry felt sorry for the poor slave.

The musician slave was next, and the bidding fight was between the two accountants. The price didn't climb very high and the winner seemed relieved. He claimed his new songbird quickly.

Then there was only one slave left and the silence before the bidding began was ominous, at least for Harry. As he had predicted, the bastard in the next table started his bidding aggressively. Harry sighed with relief when the remaining accountant took the challenge and boldly competed against the 'Vernon'. The price went quite high and grudgingly the accountant had to give up. Harry glanced at the blond and saw him looking back at him pleadingly. Simms started to count the last bid and Harry saw the blond's eyes fill with terror. At the same time the bastard next to him looked smug and triumphant. Harry felt a sharp flare of jealousy and protectiveness rush through him, and just when Simms was beginning to count the third time Harry raised his bidding card.

Even Simms looked relieved at seeing Harry compete against the greedy asshole but the said bidder turned his head and snarled at Harry, "Fuck off, he's mine!"

Harry smiled sweetly at him. "We'll see."

Every time the bastard raised his bid, Harry raised even more and the air around them sparkled with tension and fierce fighting. This bid of war was going to cost him dearly, more than he'd ever paid for anything, and now he was throwing out all that money to buy a slave. The adrenaline rush coursing through him didn't let him give up, though, and he kept bidding until the 'Vernon' finally threw his card to the floor and stood up threateningly, towering over Harry. "You're going to regret this."

Harry blinked and said under his breath, "Probably," and watched the man stomp away.

He turned his gaze back to the stage and saw Simms grinning at him.

"Once, twice and third time. You just bought yourself a fine young slave, Mr Potter."

Harry groaned quietly at himself; what the hell had he gotten himself into this time? Despite his good intentions, trouble was still finding him much too easily.

Simms led him to the back room to settle the payment, collect his slave's few belongings, including his wand, and sign the documents of transferred ownership.

"He signed for five years of service, Mr Potter," Simms explained when he gave the documents to Harry for signing. He questioningly glanced at his slave, but the blond avoided his eyes.

When he signed the document, a faint tingling of magic settled over him and his slave. At the same moment, a tattoo of a black and silver chain appeared on his slave's neck. Simms explained that was the magic binding them together from now on and the tattoo was a mark of his position as a slave. He also assured Harry that the slave couldn't use his wand unless his master gave him permission, and even then the wand was allowed to perform only restricted, simple magic. Harry, as the new master of the slave, was also now the master of his wand, and it was the master's choice as to what kind of spells he allowed his slave to cast.

All that time, Harry's new purchase was standing patiently beside him, head held high but eyes cast downward and hands clasped behind his back. He was a perfect model example of a submissive slave who was proud to serve his master. Harry looked at him and frowned.

"For Merlin's sake, take these off and dress him!" he demanded motioning to the gag and the straps. He was surprised realizing that he didn't want anyone to see his slave naked and strapped like that - no one but him. Hm, apparently he was becoming quite possessive of his property, he smiled inwardly to himself.

When his slave was dressed and his gear had been removed, Harry took a closer look at his slave.

"Malfoy? Is that really you?"

Eyes downcast the slave nodded slightly and whispered, "Yes, Master."

"How the hell did you... never mind. I believe we are done here?" Harry directed his question to Simms. At Simms' confirmation, Harry turned around and after checking that Malfoy was following him, strode out of the back room. In the doorway, he stopped as a thought occurred to him.

"Simms?" he called over his shoulder.

"Yes, Mr Potter?"

"Please make sure if you can that the bastard who tried so aggressively to buy my slave will never have a chance to buy a slave here, ever. He's an animal, and no slave should ever have to tolerate a master like him."

"Yes, Mr Potter, I'll make sure of that. Thank you for your concern."

Harry nodded and left the building with his new slave in tow. Once they were outside and reached the Apparition point, Harry offered his arm to Malfoy and Side-Along Apparated them back to London and Harry's house.

Harry ushered Malfoy into the sitting room of his house at 12 Grimmauld Place and dropped heavily into the armchair.

"What the hell am I going to do with you, Malfoy?" He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face. Malfoy just kept standing near the doorway in the same position he had assumed in the back room after the auction.

"Sit down, Malfoy," Harry demanded and Malfoy dropped on his knees and kneeled, though otherwise keeping the same position.

Harry sighed again, "Fine, do it your way then. Now tell me, what were you doing at a slave auction? I thought you were living in your Manor and running the business after your father."

"I was being sold as a slave, Master."

"I figured out that much, Malfoy. Now, I'm asking you to speak freely, and anything you say now under that request won't cause you any repercussions or punishments. I just want to know what's happened to you, and then we need to set the rules for our arrangement. Understood?"

"Yes, Master."

"Seems that we need to set a rule for how to address each other. I don't like being called a Master so you'll have to learn to call me Harry. I will call you Draco from now on. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, Mas...Harry."

"That sounds better. Now I want to know what happened to you for you to end up being sold at an auction. I want to hear it all."

A long, heavy silence fell between them until Draco shifted a little uncomfortably and swallowed audibly.

"I... After the war, I returned to the Manor and began to sort out my father's business. My mother couldn't stand living in the Manor after my father's death, so she moved to France. I tried to handle it all by myself - the Malfoy properties, clearing our name, getting rid of any remains of the Dark Lord and Dark Magic left in the Manor, all the pressure coming from the public... it was just too overwhelming and eventually I couldn't take it anymore. It was too much stress, too many decisions, too much responsibility. Then I found the Dominant-submissive scenes in a club, and I found it refreshing and calming to me like nothing I had tried before. I was told I'm a natural submissive, but I couldn't find a Dom I trusted enough to take charge. Then I was introduced to the slavery scenes and it intrigued me so much that I signed up to a slave training camp to learn more. I just didn't realize that after the training, I'd have no choice but to be sold in a public auction. It was in the contract..." Draco's voice faded towards the end to barely a whisper.

"How come you didn't realize you'd be sold in an auction? How could you've missed that?"

"I was stupid, Master... Harry. I was too distracted to notice the fine print in the contract at first, and then it was too late."

"Who is taking care of your properties and business now, Draco?"

"I transferred the responsibilities to my solicitor for the duration of my training. I guess that it is all yours now if you want to take over, Harry. Me and all my properties are yours now as my master to do with as you please."

"We'll get you out of this contract, Draco. We'll find a way to get you free from your slavery, I promise." Harry's voice was firm and reassuring.

Draco lifted his head and looked at Harry in horror.

"No, Harry. I'm your property now and I'm here to serve you in any way you wish. I signed a contract and I won't break it."

"You'd want to be a slave even if you could get your contract dissolved?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, Harry. That's what I want."

"I might not be the best master for you. I've never had a slave before, hell, I've never had a sub before, so I don't exactly know what I'm doing."

"If you don't mind me saying, I'm sure you are a lot better master that the one who tried to buy me in the first place." Draco shuddered.

"We'll see. Well then, I better start to learn what you like and what you don't like." Harry pondered.

"No, Harry. All that matters is what you like, not me. I'm here to serve you and do what you wish me to do."

Draco bowed his head and his posture was now so submissive that Harry couldn't help but stare at him. He looked so vulnerable... and beautiful. Harry sighed. Once again he would need to fill the expectations of the others, of Malfoy - his slave - to boot, but this time he was quite excited about learning to live up to the expectations. This might turn out to be interesting. He decided to ask Hermione for some advice about the possibility of cancelling the contract just in case it came to that.

"Fine. So, what skills do you have besides brewing potions? Can you cook?"

"Yes, I was taught the basics of cooking and baking."

"Then you'll be fine with working in the kitchen. I'm sort of fed up with Kreacher's cooking." Harry grinned. "Kreacher!"

The ragged old house-elf appeared in front of Harry.

"Draco will take care of cooking from now on. First thing tomorrow morning, you'll show him the kitchen and where everything is that he might need."

"Yes, Master," Kreacher croaked and turned to look at Draco. "Is this Mistress' grandson, one from the noble family line of Blacks? He is not a house-elf, Master!"

"He is one of Blacks, sure, but he'll be living with us now and he likes to cook, so you better let him, Kreacher," Harry said sternly.

"Poor Mistress, her precious descendant forced to work like a house-elf," Kreacher muttered under his breath and scowled at Harry.

"Enough, Kreacher. It's late and Draco must be exhausted. Prepare a room for him across from mine and let him have his rest. Tomorrow morning, I expect Draco to make breakfast and bring it to my room at eight o'clock."

"Yes, Harry," Draco replied, but Kreacher only grumbled quietly. They left the room together leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

The next morning, Harry woke up to the feeling of being observed. He slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary in his room. Then his eyes landed on a kneeling figure next to his bed. Harry blinked in confusion until he remembered ordering breakfast to his room at eight.

"Good morning, Draco."

"Good morning, Harry. Your breakfast, as you requested," Draco said bowing his head and lifting the tray he was holding in his hands.

Harry sat up in his bed and let Draco arrange the tray in his lap.

"Thank you, Draco. That'll be all for now."

"Would you like me to select your clothes for today?" Draco asked carefully.

"No, thanks. I'll do it myself."

Harry was surprised at the suggestion but more surprised at seeing Draco's disappointment. There was no way he'd let his slave decide what clothes he'd wear. He dismissed Draco and turned his attention to his breakfast. It looked like the best breakfast he had ever had in this house – well, not counting the times when Molly had been cooking. Better than Kreacher's, anyway.

He took his time enjoying his breakfast: the eggs, bacon and toast were just perfect for his taste, and the tea was his favourite blend. Draco had even made him a glass of fresh pumpkin juice and little scones served with honey. Had Draco managed all that without his wand? Harry had totally forgotten his wand; it was still laying in the box with Draco's other belongings.

He finished his breakfast, took a quick shower and dressed. Then he went downstairs to see how Draco was doing. He stopped just outside of the kitchen to listen to the sounds coming from there and grinned.

"Kreacher, you are a disgrace to the whole house-elf race, look what you did! The dough is ruined now. Stop messing around and clean that disaster! I'll have to make new dough now and Merlin help me if you even come near that one anymore!"

Draco's voice was irritated and he chided the house-elf while angrily banging pots and utensils on the counter. When Harry entered the kitchen, all the noise stopped immediately and Draco assumed a position standing in front of the counter hands behind his back, head bowed and eyes downcast. Kreacher sulked in the corner scowling at Draco.

"What's happening in here?"

"I'm sorry, Harry. I was planning on baking pastries for your afternoon tea but... but there was an accident and the dough was ruined. I got a little angry and I apologize," Draco confessed, his cheeks flaming.

"Don't worry about it. You can yell as much as you want at Kreacher if he does something stupid. Hell, you can even yell at me if I do something stupid, for that matter." Harry said chuckling.

"Oh, no, Harry, I would never do that to you - you are my Master," Draco sounded scandalized.

"All right then, yell at Kreacher if I do something stupid, if that makes you feel better."

Draco glanced up at Harry to see if he was being serious and seemed to relax a little at seeing Harry grinning.

"Draco, how did you manage to make the breakfast without your wand? I'm sorry I forgot to give it back to you yesterday."

"I was trained to make some simple meals without using magic, so it wasn't a problem. Only when I needed the stove, I had to ask Kreacher to turn it on. It doesn't work without magic."

"You did well, Draco. The breakfast was very good, thank you."

Draco's face lit up at hearing the praise, his posture straightening, and he beamed. "Thank you, Harry."

"Now, come with me, I want you to have your wand back." Harry led Draco to the sitting room where he had left the box containing Draco's belongings.

"First, here is your box. I'm sorry I didn't remember to give it back to you when we arrived last night. Now, let's see how we can make your wand work for you again."

They worked together for an hour to make the wand perform every spell Draco needed for his chores. At Harry's reques,t they also added some simple spells for self-defence for the situations when Harry wasn't nearby and if something happened. Harry used the strongest spells the slave bond would allow for Draco's wand, but Harry still wasn't satisfied. He wanted Draco to be able to defend himself effectively if the need ever arose, but the bond didn't allow it. The bond obviously expected the master to defend his slave, and that's what Harry decided to do. He also decided to talk to Hermione to see if she could find something useful for their situation.

After lunch Harry went out to meet Hermione to explain what was happening. Before he left he locked the Floo so that no one could enter the house in his absence. He spent the afternoon explaining, arguing, demonstrating and finally defending himself. At first Hermione didn't even want to hear any of Harry's explanations and lectured and admonished him for his actions. After long and tiring arguing, Harry finally made her see what other options Draco would have had if he hadn't interfered in his sale. Eventually Hermione agreed to help them and promised to start searching for any information regarding slave bonds and their magical bindings.

When Harry returned back home he was exhausted. He plopped down on the sofa in the sitting room to watch television, the only invention from the Muggle world he wanted in his home. Draco came into the room soon after Harry had settled onto the sofa. He quietly kneeled next to the sofa and removed Harry's shoes. Harry raised his eyebrows at seeing that but didn't say anything.

"Would you like a cup of tea or a drink, Harry?" Draco asked quietly.

"Did you make the pastries you mentioned before lunch?" Harry asked hopefully.

Draco nodded.

"Then I'll take tea and a pastry, please. Take one for yourself too and come sit here with me, Draco."

Draco left the room and returned ten minutes later carrying a tray with two cups, a tea pot and a platter of pastries. He carefully set it down onto the coffee table in front of the sofa and served Harry his tea. Harry urged Draco to take his own cup and sit down next to him on the sofa, but Draco kneeled by Harry's feet resting his upper arm against Harry's knee.

"Why don't you sit on the sofa? I don't require kneeling, you know," Harry asked.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather kneel to remember my place. Besides it's quite comfortable after I got used to it."

"Speaking of comfortable, what do you require of your owner to keep you comfortable?"

"I will do anything my owner wants me to do."

"That's not what I asked, Draco. I want your honest answer. What makes you feel comfortable as a slave?"

Draco was quiet for a moment.

"I feel comfortable when I know I'm safe and I know what's expected from me. I like to serve, to do the chores like cooking, baking, brewing potions, taking care of your clothes for you, keeping you company – I enjoy things like that. On the other hand, if I fail in something or I make a mistake or behave badly, I expect to be punished."

"But I thought Simms said that you don't respond well being punished?" Harry asked confusedly.

"Only the harsh punishment, especially causing injuries is out of limits. Punishment in general as spanking, restraining and such is acceptable, even required if I need to be punished."

"What about bondage – and sex?"

"I'm trained to give pleasure to my owner, you don't even need to ask."

"And bondage?"

"It calms me down, makes me feel safe, owned and cared for."

"All right then, I think now I have a better grip of what to do with you, Draco."

Draco bowed his head and took a sip of his tea. They sat in silence, enjoying their tea and pastries and watching television. Draco seemed to be curious about television, and when Harry asked about it, he explained that he hadn't had a chance to watch it much before. He was definitely transfixed by it, and when Harry was finished with his tea, Draco quickly cleared the table and returned to kneeling near Harry's feet, leaning against him and staring at the screen. Harry was amused at seeing him paying such rapt attention to what was happening in a muggle hospital in a daytime series.

Draco's weight against his leg felt comforting and absent-mindedly Harry reached out to comb his hand through Draco's soft hair. He had already done it twice before he realized what he was doing and stopped, but didn't release his hand from Draco's hair. Immediately Draco leaned into his touch even though his eyes never left the television screen. Draco even shifted his weight to get more physical contact with Harry, almost snuggling against his legs. Harry resumed his petting and occasionally also brushed his fingers on the sensitive skin on Draco's nape. They sat there in peaceful contentment until Draco shifted and reluctantly pulled himself free.

"Thank you, Harry. I need to go and get dinner started."

Draco gracefully stood up and left the room. Soon Harry heard pots and pans clanking in the kitchen and wondered what Draco had in mind for dinner.

A couple of hours later, after a delicious dinner of roast chicken and a treacle tart for dessert, Harry was full and relaxed. He had requested Draco to have dinner with him, actually sitting at the table, although Draco didn't seem very comfortable doing it at first. Eventually he had relaxed enough to enjoy the dinner and to have a nice conversation with Harry about Quidditch. Draco hadn't seen any Quidditch games lately, yet he could effortlessly discuss the best players and teams.

When Harry stepped into his bedroom to go to bed, he was surprised to see his bed already opened and his pyjamas spread on the bed. Harry grinned; he didn't usually wear any pyjamas, only the bottoms occasionally and that's what he decided to wear now too. He went to bed and fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of a certain blond slave serving him in a very naughty way.

His dreams were still in the forefront of his mind when he woke up in the morning. He relished his aroused state for a while before he pried his eyes open. He immediately spotted a familiar kneeling figure next to his bed holding a breakfast tray in his hands. Harry stretched lazily, kicking the rest of the covers aside before sitting up.

"Good morning, Draco," he greeted.

"Good morning, Harry. Here's your breakfast," Draco said with his voice oddly tense.

Harry saw him casting several glances at his middle and checked if he had something wrong in his clothing. Nope, he was still wearing his pyjama bottoms, though the front was clearly tented by his morning wood. Harry saw Draco shooting a glance at him again and licking his lips this time.

"Something wrong, Draco?" he teasingly asked.

"No, Harry. Everything is fine."

"Oh, I think I have a problem down there. Would you like to take care of it?" Harry said before he could stop himself and nodded towards his groin.

"I'd love to," Draco said in a hoarse voice and carefully set the tray down on the bedside table.

He crawled onto the bed and settled on his hands and knees over Harry. He tugged Harry's pyjama bottoms down to his thighs and lowered his head to give the revealed erection a long lick from the base to the tip. Harry couldn't help but moan when his slave's hot mouth enveloped his shaft and his tongue swirled around the head and dipped into his slit. Then he began bobbing his head up and down on Harry's shaft, taking it deeper with every downside move until it hit the back of his throat. He kept it deep in his throat for a while and then swallowed. Harry groaned; he swore he saw stars right at that moment. Then Draco had to come up for air but didn't waste any time diving back down again and sucking him as if his life depended in it.

Harry tried to keep his hips from thrusting deeper into Draco's mouth and barely managed with much effort. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the headboard. Draco's mouth felt incredible on him; he was absolutely talented at using his mouth to bring pleasure to his owner. He kept his pace steady but alternated his suction from light to hard, deep-throating him after every hard suck and swallowing around him.

Harry couldn't keep his hands to himself anymore, he needed to know what the man in his bed felt like. He reached his hands down to Draco's back and slipped them under the waistband of his trousers. He urged Draco to move next to him so he could get better access to him. Draco moved as requested without hesitation and without pausing his actions on Harry's cock.

It was difficult for Harry to concentrate on something as simple as opening Draco's trousers while Draco was lavishing him with attention, but somehow Harry eventually managed to do it and slip his hand inside. Draco was hard as a rock and Harry gripped his shaft firmly in his hand. A few strokes up and down the length made him realize that just feeling wasn't enough, he had to see it too. He tugged the trousers down, revealing the smooth buttocks and caressed them with delight. He kneaded them in his hand and let his fingers trail down the crack to Draco's balls. He cupped them and weighed them in his hand and Draco let out a strangled moan. The vibrations of his moan around his cock made Harry's own balls tighten and the pleasure coiled deep inside him ready to burst out any minute. Harry returned his attention to Draco's cock and pushed him gently to get him to lean his hip sideways down onto the bed from his kneeling position and expose his groin to Harry.

Draco was so beautiful with his mouth busy on Harry and his cheeks flushed with exertion and arousal. His cock was gorgeous; straight and slender, and it felt incredibly smooth in Harry's hand. He swiped his thumb across the leaking slit and couldn't help but bring it to his mouth for a taste. Draco moaned again, and that was Harry's undoing. The heat inside his belly burst out and his cock pulsed inside Draco's mouth. Draco swallowed every drop; not one escaping his hungry lips and tongue. He kept licking and sucking through Harry's orgasm until Harry was utterly spent. After Draco released his softening cock out of his mouth, he made an attempt to move but Harry stopped him short. Even though Harry was felt like jelly after his release, he didn't want Draco to leave the room until he had had his release too.

Harry put both his hands to use now; with one hand he stroked Draco's cock, and with the other one, he rolled his balls and caressed the sensitive skin behind them. Draco's eyes were half-closed and he panted lightly through his parted lips. He leaned his head on Harry's leg and rubbed Harry's thigh and hip with one hand, the other wrapped around Harry's other thigh. Harry smeared the pre-cum gathered on the tip of Draco's cock and stroked faster. He brought one finger of his other hand to his mouth and licked it slick before trailing it back to Draco's balls and past them to his crack. He found his entrance and rubbed around it gently. Draco twitched and his whole body undulated under Harry's attention. His moans grew louder and that made Harry double his efforts. Draco was responding so beautifully, and Harry couldn't help but imagine how Draco would look and respond when he was bound and stimulated further.

Draco started to twitch continuously under Harry's hands, and Harry could feel him being close. Harry stroked him faster, and when he soon applied more pressure to the finger rubbing Draco's entrance, letting his fingertip slide in, Draco tensed and came with a choked cry. Harry stroked Draco through the tremors of his orgasm and when his hands finally stilled, he still kept the contact. Harry's thumb rubbed soothing circles on Draco's hip until Draco's breathing calmed down. Then the blond jumped up on his knees.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I wasn't supposed to come. I tried to hold back but... I'm sorry."

"No, Draco, don't apologize. You are allowed... no, you are required to come unless I've particularly denied it. Otherwise I expect you to come when you feel like."

Draco had his head bowed so that Harry couldn't see his eyes behind his fringe. He lifted his hand and cupped Draco's chin.

"Draco, look at me. You did very well and I enjoyed every minute. Thank you."

Draco raised his head and smiled a little shyly. Then he pulled Harry's pyjama bottoms back up and straightened his own clothes. Then he dropped back to the floor on his knees and took the tray from the bedside table.

"Your breakfast, Harry. The food is under a preservation charm so it will still be warm."

Harry was in a good mood the whole morning. He entertained himself by listening to the bickering coming from the kitchen where Draco complained and cursed at Kreacher's nonexistent household skills. That was obviously becoming a daily routine for the house-elf and Draco to start the day.

Harry skipped lunch at home to go and see Hermione; he wanted to see if she had found any solution for the slavery spell yet. He locked the Floo before he left, promising Draco to be back for dinner.

He Apparated outside of the Ministry where Hermione worked as the Junior Assistant to the Minister. He was in time to take Hermione to lunch but to his surprise, Hermione had already left. No one in the office knew where she'd gone. Harry waited for a while but when Hermione didn't return in fifteen minutes, he told one of the secretaries to tell Hermione if she returned shortly to come and meet him in a nearby pub where they used to meet during lunch breaks.

Harry strode to the lift for the Atrium from where he could Floo to the pub, but just as he stepped out of the lift, he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"Harry! So here you are! I just came from your house." Hermione hurried to him.

"Yeah, I was in your office, thought I'd take you to lunch but you had left early."

"Well then, take me to lunch. I have so much to tell you."

Hermione took Harry's arm and together they went to the Floo and a minute later appeared in the pub.

When they had placed their order and sat at the table, Hermione leaned close to Harry.

"I think I upset Draco quite badly when I appeared on your doorstep. Your Floo was locked so I knocked on the door."

"What happened?" Harry frowned; Hermione's voice was worried.

"When Draco saw me, he paled and slammed the door shut right in my face. I think he panicked."

"Slammed the door in your face? Shit. I'm sorry. I'll talk to him. He was supposed to have impeccable manners, but it seems it doesn't apply towards my friends."

"Don't be too hard on him. I think he really just panicked. I did come unannounced."

"I'll make sure he doesn't do that again. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

"I started to look at the slavery spell last night and I already found something. I found one counter-spell I'd like to try, if you don't mind of course."

"Of course I don't mind, when would you like to come and try it?" Harry asked eagerly even though his insides twisted a bit at the thought of losing Draco. In such a short time he had already gotten used to the blond and appreciated his company. Going back to living with a cranky house-elf didn't appeal to him at all.

"I'm busy tonight and tomorrow, but Thursday night would be great. Can I bring Ron too? He's excited to see your slave."

"Thursday is fine and of course you can bring Ron. Just remind him that Draco is my slave now, not the old Malfoy he could torment all he liked."

"I'll tell him. But Harry, I don't like you calling him your slave. He's an individual human being, not anyone's property. You shouldn't have encouraged any actions regarding slavery, especially not buying a slave for yourself, despite that it was to save Draco. You should have tried to find another way to save him."

"It was the only way I could save him at the auction, Hermione. He had signed the contract already. Besides, slavery in the wizarding world isn't illegal if it's consensual."

"Maybe not illegal, but very much frowned upon. If word were to spread of you owning a slave, and your slave being your old enemy, your reputation would be tarnished."

"I don't care about my reputation," Harry stubbornly declared.

"What about Draco's then?" Hermione pointed out, and that made Harry frown. Yes, if Draco being a slave made it to the public, he would lose face and reliability in his business dealings.

Harry was mostly silent during their lunch even though Hermione chatted about her work and research. She didn't seem to notice Harry's absent-minded appearance – or she just ignored it. When they finished the lunch and walked out of the pub, Hermione patted Harry's arm comfortingly.

"We'll find a way to solve this problem, Harry. Don't worry." Then she left, heading back to the Ministry. Harry stood there for a moment before he turned and Apparated back home.

Draco was cleaning the kitchen after his baking session when he heard the front door open and Harry's already familiar footsteps made their way to the sitting room. Then he heard the dreaded call.

"Draco! Would you come here for a minute, please?"

Draco's heart started to pound faster; Harry had obviously been informed of his recent bad behavior, and it now was time to face the consequences.

He felt a pang of fear and excitement when he made his way towards the sitting room where Harry was standing in the middle of the room looking furious.

"What can I do for you, Harry?" Draco asked in a small voice when he stopped by the door.

"I thought your manners were impeccable. Why is it that I hear you've slammed the door on Hermione's face today when she visited?"

"I... I'm sorry, Harry, that was inexcusable and I'm very sorry. I panicked when I saw her at the door. I shouldn't have, but her visit took me by surprise. I'm so sorry that I behaved so badly and shamed you by my actions."

Draco dropped to his knees and bowed so low that his forehead touched the floor.

"You can't act like that in front of my friends, Draco. You need to get used to them being around. They usually stop by several times a week and they tend to come and go through the Floo unannounced. What the hell should I do with you?" Harry groaned in an irritated voice.

"If I may suggest, you should punish me. That way I'll remember my place and manners next time when something like this occurs. And maybe you don't hold a grudge against me and my misbehaving after you've punished me."

"Fine. What do you think would be a fitting punishment for your misbehaving this time?" Harry asked.

"It would be spanking, Harry."

"Spanking it is then. After dinner. Now go back to your duties."

"Thank you, Harry."

Draco slowly stood up and without raising his head, turned on his heel and went back to cleaning the kitchen. Even though he was ashamed of his behavior towards Granger, he was looking forward to his first punishment in Harry's hands and couldn't help but shiver in anticipation. He didn't like spanking in general but somehow imagining Harry being the one who held the whip or crop or paddle or whatever he liked to spank with, turned Draco on surprisingly much.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon in the library of his home. The things Hermione had said to him, asked of him, weren't anything new but now they made Harry think. He wanted to see if any of the dusty tomes in the ancient Black library would give him more knowledge about slavery in the lifestyle of pure-blood wizards.

Harry had been in the library for hours, sneezing and coughing at the dust swirling around him whenever he found a new book from the shelf and opened it. He decided to have Kreacher to clean the library of all the dust before he continued his research.

He didn't see the door being opened and Draco standing on the doorstep until the blond spoke.

"Dinner is ready for you, sir."

"Thank you, Draco," Harry managed through his parched throat.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to brew some basic potions tomorrow, including an anti-allergy potion for you. It sounds like you're allergic to dust... or books," Draco hesitantly added.

"Go ahead, brew whatever you think we'll need. Let me know if you need some ingredients."

Harry stood up from the desk where he had been reading and stretched. Then he followed Draco to the dining room where the table was set for one. Harry glanced at Draco, but the blond had his head bowed again and Harry couldn't see his eyes to figure out what he was thinking. Harry had requested that Draco join him at the table during meals if only for company, but now Harry didn't feel like he should give Draco any liberties because of his misbehaviour earlier that day.

Harry shrugged and sat down at the table. Draco quietly served him the dinner – quite delicious pot roast, actually – and while Harry ate his dinner, Draco kneeled next to him head bowed, waiting to fill any request Harry might have.

After the dessert, apple crumble, that Harry thought might become his new favourite, Draco was clearing the table when Harry finally took a long look at his slave.

"You'd better eat, Draco. You're going to have a long evening."

"I already ate, sir. I'm ready for my punishment."

"Well then, after you have cleared up everything, go upstairs and wait for me in my room."

"Yes, sir."

Draco disappeared with the dinner dishes and Harry shook his head. Why had Draco started to call him "sir" all of a sudden? Was it because he was ashamed of what he had done, or was it another sign of his submission?

Harry took his time finishing his coffee, and after he heard Draco go upstairs, he waited another ten minutes before following him.

Draco was already in his kneeling position in the middle of Harry's bedroom. He was naked, hands clasped behind his back, head bowed and legs spread. Once he had entered the room, Harry had to stop and admire his gorgeous slave in all his glory. Merlin, he was beautiful submitting like that.

Harry prowled around him looking at him closely. Draco didn't move even a muscle under his scrutiny; the only sign of him being aware of Harry's presence was a slight hitch in his breathing. Harry rounded him twice before sitting down on the armchair near the window.

"Draco, do you understand why you are being punished?"

"Yes, sir. I was rude to Miss Granger by shutting the door in her face."

"What else?"

Draco was quiet as if he didn't understand the question. "Sir?"

"What else was wrong with your behaviour?"

"She's your friend and I should always show nothing but respect to her."

"Yes, that's right. What else?"

Draco looked confused and fractionally shook his head so Harry helped him with the answer.

"You are a perfectly educated pure-blood wizard and well-trained slave, so you should always know how to act and know the perfect manners in every situation. Acting so childishly today is not making me proud to be your owner."

"Yes, sir. I'm very sorry for being a disappointment to you, sir," Draco whispered clearly ashamed.

"Very well. You'll receive five spanks for being rude to Hermione, five more for the lack of respect for her and five for forgetting your place and manners. And for your childish behaviour, you'll be spanked like a naughty child, bent across my lap. Now, come here and give me your wrists."

Draco crawled to Harry, kneeled back down on his heels and extended his arms in front of him keeping his wrists crossed. Harry tied them firmly together with a soft rope and noticed Draco's cock twitching with excitement. Harry grinned inwardly; poor dick didn't know that this wasn't going to be just having fun. Actually, Harry wasn't into beating anyone, not for fun and definitely not a submissive slave, but Draco clearly expected this from him and Harry felt it was his responsibility as his owner now to give him what he needed.

With wrists securely tied, Draco was urged to crawl across Harry's lap positioning his arse high up and hands brushing Harry's ankles. Harry watched in awe the perfect sight in his lap and couldn't help but caress those smooth pale globes in front of him, hands stroking the soft skin. Draco relaxed under his caresses and Harry knew it was time to start.

"Draco, count every smack out loud; if you miss even one, we'll have to start all over again." Harry's voice was firm and Draco shivered. Harry dismissed his first choice of using the paddle for spanking; Draco's delicious arse was something he wanted to explore with his bare hand at first.

The first slap landed on Draco's left arse cheek and Draco gasped. "One." Then four other slaps followed in rapid pace until Draco breathed, "Five". Then Harry concentrated on Draco's right cheek and made the next five smacks efficiently land on that one, Draco counting every slap more breathlessly than the previous one. When there were only five slaps to go, Harry changed his hand to a paddle which he Transfigured from a handbrush. His slaps had been strong this far and Draco's skin was flaming red already. Harry felt Draco clinging to his trouser leg to keep himself upright and his breathing sounded more or less sobbing by now, but not once did he ask Harry to stop. If he had, Harry would have most definitely stopped right away.

When Harry raised the paddle preparing to make the last five spanks, Draco shifted slightly and with that Harry made an interesting observation: Draco was fully hard and his dick poked firmly against Harry's thigh. Now it was Harry's turn to shiver in delicious anticipation. This night would definitely turn out to be a long and pleasant one for him too.

Harry took his time with the last five spanks; he brushed the paddle gently against Draco's buttocks between every spank and even though Draco was sobbing the counts by now, he moaned at the gentle touch of the leather between the smacks. Finally the required 15 spanks were done and Draco's tears had soaked Harry's trouser leg thoroughly. Harry helped Draco up from his position and took him in his arms rubbing his back tenderly with his hands.

"Shh... it's over now. You took it all like the good slave you are. You did good, Draco. I'm proud of you."

Draco sniffed and raised his head hesitantly, the last of his tears still clinging in his eye-lashes.

"Am I... am I forgiven now, Harry?"

Harry kissed the tears from his eyes and lashes. "Yes, Draco, you are forgiven."

Harry held Draco in his arms for a long time before moving him onto his bed.

"How are your wrists? Are they bound too tightly?"

Draco shook his head and settled on the bed so that the sensitive skin on his buttocks didn't get abraded against the duvet. Harry took his bound wrists in his hand and pulled them towards the headboard tying them there. Draco was stretched on his stomach and Harry's hands itched to touch Draco. He summoned a cooling salve from his ensuite bathroom and dipped his fingers into the jar. The first touch of his fingers on Draco's buttocks made the blond flinch, but soon Draco relaxed against Harry's gentle hands. Harry applied the salve carefully on the flaming skin and then put the jar away. He kept touching and caressing Draco's skin everywhere he could reach, and judging by Draco's moaning he seemed to enjoy every moment of it.

The spanking had also turned Harry on and now having Draco's lovely body all to himself, he couldn't help but take advantage of it. He stroked Draco's back and sides in long caresses, sometimes keeping his touch firm, sometimes feather light, and Draco responded to every touch with shivering and moaning. When Harry moved his hands to Draco's long legs, he gently kneaded the lean muscles on his thighs and calf. Draco instinctively spread his legs wider to give Harry better access.

Harry decided he had too many clothes on and started to strip but kept one of his hands on Draco all the time. He manoeuvred himself getting naked with effort – undressing one-handed wasn't too easy when you were distracted at the same time – but it was worth it because now he could get more skin to skin contact with Draco. He carefully laid down on Draco, covering him with his body like a blanket. Draco's hot skin on his buttocks felt deliciously warm on Harry's groin and he gently thrust into the warmth. Harry's arousal intensified and he groaned in pleasure. Draco was bucking his hips under Harry even though he didn't have much room to do so as he was pinned tightly against the mattress. Harry trailed his fingers up from Draco's shoulders and arms to his hands and laced their fingers together. He bit down on Draco's nape and then soothed the bite with his tongue. Draco was so soft and pliable against him and Harry wanted nothing more than to stay there all night.

Soon, though, Harry needed more. He rolled to the side of Draco and resumed caressing Draco's skin, but now he focused on one goal, giving and receiving the most pleasure possible for both of them. He summoned the lube from the bedside table and slicked his fingers. Then he slipped his slick fingers between Draco's buttocks, trailing down the crack to his balls and then back up. He repeated the move a few times until Draco got impatient and wiggled his hips a little, spreading his legs a bit more to urge Harry to get on with it. Harry swatted Draco's arse and growled, "Stay still, slave," and Draco stilled. He let out a frustrated groan but Harry ignored it.

Harry rubbed his finger around Draco's entrance until it was relaxed enough to let the tip of the finger slip in without force. He slowly pushed the finger inside as far as it could go and began to move it in and out of Draco. After a while he inserted another finger and this time he gave Draco some time to adjust before he started to move them in and out. The third finger went in a little bit later and that made Draco tense a little. Harry snaked his other hand under Draco's stomach and wrapped his hand around his hard cock. A couple of strokes later, Draco relaxed again, and Harry urged him up to a kneeling position. His hands remained tied to the headboard so Draco was positioned like a stretching cat, his arse up in the air and his torso stretched long against the mattress.

Now Harry had perfect access to Draco's private parts and he took advantage of it. One of his hands stretched Draco's entrance while the other stroked his cock and gently rolled his balls. Draco was moaning constantly now and writhing under Harry's hands. Harry was painfully hard too and he couldn't wait anymore. He withdrew his fingers from Draco and coated his own cock with the lube. He lined up the head of his cock to Draco's entrance and pushed slowly inside. Once he was fully sheathed, he stopped for a moment to regain his own self-control as his mind screamed at him to thrust as hard as he could, but he knew if he did he would come embarrassingly soon.

Eventually he was calm enough to start moving, and at first he made a couple of tentative thrusts. Draco was staying still after his command but let out small whimpers as if frustrated by Harry's carefulness. That made Harry slam right in with his next thrust and he set a pace that rocked Draco against the headboard with such force that he had to brace himself with his bound hands. Draco's whimpers turned to moans and grunts as he was pounded mercilessly, and Harry could feel he was close to coming. On every other thrust, he pushed back against Harry and then against Harry's hand on his cock. All of a sudden, his cock twitched in Harry's hand and his arse clenched tightly around Harry's cock while he let out a long keening sound as his climax hit him full force. Harry's thrusts became erratic but didn't lose any force until Harry was lost in his own mind-blowing orgasm that made him dizzy and pulsing a long while into Draco's snug heat.

Harry collapsed on top of Draco, trying not to crush him with his weight but ending up having no other option because his muscles had turned to jelly. His heart pounded frantically in his chest and he panted as if he'd climbed bloody Mount Everest in one go; both reactions he'd never experienced before when having sex with someone. Maybe the excitement of the spanking and having Draco so willingly submit to him had given him an adrenaline rush like never before?

Eventually Harry rolled off of Draco and reached up to release Draco's wrists. Draco tried to scramble off the bed but Harry pulled him back by the arm.

"Stay still for a while. It was an intense session so you better not hurry yet."

Draco lowered himself back on the bed, and Harry couldn't help but pull him against his chest. He held him tightly against him, rubbing soothing circles on his back with one hand and running his other hand through his soft hair. Draco sighed contentedly and snuggled even closer. They must have dozed off for a while because when Harry finally opened his eyes, it was dark outside. Draco was still snuggled against him, sound asleep. Harry watched him for a while, unsure if he should let him sleep in his bed but then decided to wake him up. He had never been good at sleeping with another person in the same bed. He stroked Draco's hair and nudged his shoulder gently.

"Draco, time to wake up."

Draco woke with a jump and a slightly wild look in his eyes.

"What? Where..? Oh, I'm so sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's fine, it's just time for you to go to your own bed. Off you go now."

Harry smiled and petted his slave for a moment before releasing him. Draco hastily retreated to the door, bowed one last time with "Good night, Harry" and with that he was gone. Harry sighed, rolled over on his stomach, and fell back asleep.

The next two days went uneventfully with Draco trying his best to meet the expectations of his behavior – though Kreacher wasn't as fortunate. Especially after Harry had told Draco that they expected Hermione and Ron for dinner on Thursday evening, Draco had been oddly nervous and lashed out at Kreacher more than usual. Even brewing potions didn't seem to calm him down. On the other hand, Draco was seeking more contact from Harry during their lounging times in front of the television. Harry often trailed his fingers idly through Draco's hair or stroked his smooth skin without even noticing it until Draco leaned into the touch and sighed contentedly.

On Thursday evening, just before Hermione and Ron were expected to arrive, Draco couldn't keep his nerves in check. He yelled at Kreacher in the kitchen more than ever before and hurled a couple of pans and a knife at the poor elf in his rage. Harry entered the kitchen curiously.

"What the hell is happening in here? Draco?"

Draco had frozen in place his head bowed and trembled but didn't answer.

"Draco? What's the meaning of this fuss?" Harry asked again, his voice now demanding.

Draco was still quiet as he dropped to his knees and continued trembling. Harry stepped in front of him and took a firm grip of Draco's hair, tilting his face up to meet his glare.

"What. Is. It? Answer me!"

"I... I'm nervous. And scared," Draco confessed in a small voice, his eyes not quite meeting Harry's eyes.

"Scared of what?" Harry's voice was gentler now.

"Your dinner guests tonight," Draco's voice started to tremble now too.

"Ron and Hermione? Why are you afraid of them? You've known them for years, for Merlin's sake!"

"That's why... They know me. To them I'm only the insufferable Malfoy they knew at Hogwarts and they will take it out on me now that you have bought me as your slave."

"Well, you agreed to be sold as a slave in the first place, didn't you Draco?"

"No! Yes... but I thought I'd be sold to an owner who didn't know me, who didn't know what I was before..."

"You don't have to worry about Ron and Hermione, they will treat you decently, if only because of me. You, on the other hand, showed once again that you haven't learned how to be a good slave and be in control in every possible situation, haven't you?"

"No... I'm sorry. I wasn't behaving as a well-trained slave should. You deserve only the best behavior. Please forgive me, Harry."

"I accept your apology, but there will be a punishment for you, though. I don't tolerate behavior like that."

"Yes, Harry. Anything you want."

"Well, I want to make you understand that you need to remember your place here in front of any guest we will have visiting us. You will control yourself in every possible situation starting from tonight. You are my slave, my pet, and you will be safe with me. Understand?"

Draco nodded. "I trust you, Harry."

Harry felt a warm flush inside his chest at hearing Draco's words but pushed the feeling aside for now.

"Very well then. After you have finished cooking and before our guests arrive, meet me upstairs and I will give you your outfit for tonight."

Draco looked confused but nodded and went back to work.

After half an hour later Harry heard a hesitant knock on his bedroom door. He had everything ready and was only waiting for Draco to arrive. He called Draco to come in and closely watched Draco's expression as he realized what was laying on the bed for him. Draco's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the clothes – well, only one cloth with accessories – as the same he had worn at the auction. His cheeks blushed pink and he averted his eyes in shame.

"Not any of that now, Draco. You wore these with dignity back at the auction for a larger audience than there will be tonight. I won't gag you, or blindfold you or chain you, but you will wear these things to remind you who you are."

"I didn't wear that one at the auction," Draco nodded towards a device next to the leather g-string.

"No, you didn't. You wore a cock strap there but tonight I don't want to present your assets to anyone, I want to keep them safe and secure," Harry said lifting the chastity belt meant for men from the bed. "Now, take off your clothes and put these on."

Draco managed to put on his g-string and his ankle cuffs by himself, otherwise Harry had to help him. He fastened the leather collar in place and attached it to the strap coming down on his chest and ending at the cock strap. He placed the stainless steel chastity device to cage his cock and locked it in place. Then he attached it to the strap to double-secure it in place. The wrist cuffs were the last ones he fastened to Draco's wrists, and then he stepped back a little bit to admire his slave.

"You look so beautiful, my Draco. Turn around," he instructed. Draco did as he was told.

"Mmmm, delicious." Harry caressed Draco's silky skin all over his body but then he stopped at his buttocks. "These are so perfect, but they are only mine. We need to adjust your clothing a little."

Harry transfigured the g-strings into snug leather shorts that barely covered Draco's arse. "Much better. I'm not ready to share some parts of you with anyone yet. What about a leash? I'll bring it just in case."

He grabbed the leash on his way out of the room but didn't snap it on Draco's collar yet. Draco followed him his head bowed but once Harry glanced at him and saw his defeated posture, he took Draco's face between his hands and lifted his face up.

"None of that, Draco. I want you to be proud of being my slave. You are a beautiful, good slave and you serve me well. I'm proud of you, but I need you to be proud of yourself too. You can handle this, you can handle Ron and Hermione. Just keep yourself in check and remember, I will keep you safe."

Draco gave him a small smile and nodded but Harry could see it in his eyes that he was scared and already feeling humiliated. This evening was going to be a challenge for Draco, and Harry hoped that Ron wouldn't be too hard on the blond.

Draco was in the kitchen when Hermione burst through the Floo, Ron in tow. She looked worried.

"Harry! There's something I need to tell you. I had a long meeting with the Minister for Magic just before this. Someone has contacted The Prophet with information about you owning a slave. The Minister was barely able to block the news from being published in tomorrow's paper. He demands that we do something about this slave contract before the news spreads out of his control. We have to find a way to abrogate the contract."

Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Since when has the Minister listened to rumours?"

"You know very well that this isn't just a rumour. How could anyone have known about you and Draco anyway? Wasn't the slave auction supposed to be discreet, even private?" Hermione anxiously wrung her hands in her lap.

"And where's your slave anyway? I want to see him, Harry," Ron exclaimed with an amused look on his face.

"You'll see him in a moment, Ron, but please, no mocking or taunting, all right?" Harry shot a sharp look at his friend.

"Jeez, Harry, no need to be so sensitive about it. It's just Malfoy! Getting to see him as your bloody slave is definitely going to make my day. It's too good to be true!"

"Ron," Harry growled warningly, and Ron raised his hands in a mock surrender.

"Okay, I'll try my best but I can't guarantee anything."

Harry glared at Ron but then a thought occurred to him and he turned back to Hermione.

"I know who informed the Prophet. It must have been the man at the auction who tried to buy Draco but I didn't let him. He was a bloody bastard. He said something about making me regret."

"Oh, him. Do you know his name?" Hermione immediately jumped into her investigating mode.

"No, I don't, but Simms, the owner of the club probably knows. I'm going to visit him as soon as possible."

"Good. We have to stop this information from leaking out to the public, and in the meantime we have to work on cancelling the contract," Hermione sounded very determined.

All of a sudden Ron burst into hysterical laughter, making Harry and Hermione jump up from the sofa they had been sitting on. Confused they stared at Ron who beckoned towards the door where Draco stood frozen in place holding a tray of drinks in his hands. His cheeks were bright pink and his eyes lowered; Harry could see that he was on the verge of tears.

"Ron, you fucktard!" Harry slapped Ron hard on the back of his head and turned to Draco.

"Come in, Draco," he said in a gentle voice. "Drinks, anyone?"

Hermione elbowed still-snorting Ron sharply in the ribs glaring at him, but then she smiled at Draco with a friendly expression on her face.

"That would be nice, thank you."

Draco stepped into the room and served the drinks. Then he stopped in front of Harry and bowed his head slightly.

"Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, Harry."

After Draco had left the room, Hermione glared icily at Ron.

"I can't believe you, Ronald. You're acting like a fool. This can't be easy for him, you know. How would you feel if you were serving him, and his friends were all laughing at you, huh?"

"Oh yeah, he would do that, wouldn't he? That's why I feel compelled to give him the same treatment. Besides, Harry only said no mocking and taunting, he didn't say anything about laughing!" Ron was wiping his tears of laughter with his sleeve but was interrupted by Hermione giving him a nasty kick on the shin. "Oi!"

"I'm ashamed of you, Ronald Bilius Weasley. Wait until your mother hears about this! Then you won't be laughing so much anymore. And I won't be talking to you until you apologize to Draco." Hermione was furious.

"Apologize? What the bloody hell for? He's a slave for Merlin's sake!" Ron growled his face flushing red from anger.

Hermione just stared at him without a word. The silent treatment had obviously started.

Harry excused himself and went to look for Draco. He found him in the kitchen angrily chopping vegetables with a big knife. Harry went to him and laid a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Draco?"

"Yes?" came a choked reply.

Harry took the knife from Draco's hand and turned him to face him.

"You already killed that cauliflower, try not to kill anyone else with that knife, okay?"

Harry noticed that Draco's cheeks were wet and he gently wiped the tears from his face.

"I'm sorry, Ron was out of line. But you have to remember, you'll need to be in control in every situation. They can't hurt you with their words or laughter, the only thing that matters is what your master will say or do. If you want to be a slave, you have to accept that."

Draco nodded quietly and Harry could see that he was slowly calming down. His eyes didn't seem so defeated anymore; there was an edge of hardness and fire in them and Harry smiled.

"That's the spirit. Now, are we ready for dinner?"

"Yes, Harry."

The dining room table was set for three; Harry hadn't even asked if Draco wanted to join the dinner. He knew it would have been too uncomfortable for Draco. Besides, Draco only sat at the table when they were alone and Harry enjoyed their private, relaxed meals together.

Draco served the dinner and Harry was proud to see how calm and collected Draco was, at least on the outside. Hermione was friendly but to Harry's relief didn't overdo it. Ron just sulked; Hermione didn't talk to him at all as she had promised. The dinner was awkward; nothing like they usually had. Harry tried to chat with Hermione and occasionally drag Ron into the conversation but the tension at the table was too much for everyone. Harry was relieved when the dessert was served and devoured; Draco had once again proved how good he was at cooking.

After dinner, they gathered back in the sitting room where Hermione and Ron sat on the opposite sides of the room, Harry in the middle, lounging on the sofa. Harry asked Draco to join them and soon they were sitting just like any other evening, Harry on the sofa and Draco at his feet, Harry's hand caressing Draco's hair and neck. Harry felt Draco begin to relax and changed the topic to what he knew Hermione was anxiously waiting for.

"So, Hermione, you said something about a spell you wanted to try tonight?"

"That's right. I found a counter-spell for a slavery spell that might be the one used in your case, and I'd like to try it on you two if you'd like."

Draco looked at Harry, his eyes full of worry. Harry squeezed his shoulder trying to reassure him.

"Let her try, Draco. If we can get you free from your slavery, you'll be able to find a better option for your liking."

"You want to get rid of me, Harry?" Draco asked quietly.

"No, of course not. That's not what I meant. I'm comfortable with you but it would be easier and better if you weren't forced to do all this by the slavery spell. We'll have to do it anyway because the Minister for Magic has ordered us to." Harry rolled his eyes at the last part.

Draco was quiet for a while, worrying his bottom lip while he thought about it.

"If that's what you want, Harry, then it's okay with me."

Harry smiled at him and brushed his fingers along his cheek. Then he looked up at Hermione.

"Go on then. How do you want us?" Harry asked. Ron snorted at the question but they all ignored him.

"I think you should sit side by side and have physical contact, just in case." Hermione eyed them with an evaluating look in her eyes.

Harry pulled Draco to sit next to him and wrapped his arm around Draco's shoulders. With his other hand he took Draco's hand and laced their fingers together.

"Ready?" he asked both Draco and Hermione at the same time, although he looked only at Draco. Both of them nodded and Hermione raised her wand.

She began her chanting but after a few words, her voice grew strained. Then abruptly they heard a loud crackling sound and Hermione flew across the room, hitting the opposite wall and collapsed on the floor unconscious.

They all startled and jumped to their feet at once, rushing to Hermione. She stirred after a moment, opening her eyes and frowning.

"It wasn't supposed to do that," she said dazedly, a little bit of wonder in her voice.

"Are you all right?" Ron worried.

"I'm okay, now let me get up. I need to do more research for the spell. I wonder what caused that reaction. Harry, would you let me see the contract?" Hermione was clearly impatient and determined to solve the problem. Ron and Harry knew better than to try to stop her when she was in that mode.

"Of course, it's in my study. I'll get it for you," Harry said and stood up leaving the room.

Ron scowled at Draco who was standing close to Hermione offering his hand to help her to stand up.

"Back off, Malfoy. She isn't your responsibility!" Ron snarled.

Draco snatched his hand from Hermione as if burned. She whirled around and slapped Ron across the face. "Ron, you better back off yourself. What's wrong with you today, this macho attitude all of a sudden? And I'm nobody's responsibility but my own!" Hermione was furious, and both Ron and Draco stepped back cautiously.

"What's going on in here?" Harry was standing at the door frowning at them.

"Nothing. At least nothing new. Ron's just being a jerk as usual," Hermione huffed and reached out to Harry for the contract.

Harry gave her the documents and went to Draco, wrapping his arm around Draco's waist.

"You okay?" Harry asked softly. Draco nodded and pressed himself against Harry's warmth. Harry led him to the sofa and sat him down next to himself, keeping him close.

Ron scowled at them all.

"I see I'm not needed in here, so I better leave. See you, Harry," he growled and left.

Hermione sighed. "I think it's better he left. He's insufferable when in that mood."

Hermione studied the contract in silence for a long time. Then she raised her eyes from the parchment.

"Harry, I think I know now what to look for in my research. I'd like to meet Mr Simms first before I do anything. Can I come with you when you visit him?"

Harry agreed and they settled for visiting Simms next Saturday. After that Hermione smiled and left with a determined look on her face.

Harry and Draco sat quietly on the sofa for a moment until Harry turned to Draco and lifted his face to meet his eyes.

"What do you think about all this, Draco?"

"I... I don't know. The Minister ordered you to get rid of me?"

"Oh, you didn't hear when Hermione explained it. Someone has informed the Prophet that I bought a slave and the Minister is a bit upset about it. He managed to block the news for now, but he wants us to find a way to cancel the contract."

"So you will cancel the contract and send me away?"

"I'll cancel the contract and let you free, yes."

"Please, don't send me away, Harry. I... I like to serve you, and this is everything I've wanted. I need this." Draco slid down to his knees on the floor looking beggingly at Harry. "Please, let me stay here with you. Please, Harry."

Harry looked at the pleading silvery eyes and something moved inside him. He grabbed Draco and pulled him into his lap. He framed Draco's face with his hands and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was soft and gentle, and hesitantly Draco kissed him back. It occurred to Harry that this was the first time they had ever kissed even though they had already slept together. With one last nip on Draco's delicious bottom lip, Harry ended the kiss and pulled back, but Draco's lips followed him.

Harry chuckled and pecked him gently on the lips.

"First we need to take care of the contract, then you'll have all the time you need to figure out what you really want, Draco."

Draco's lips shifted and he looked as if he was pouting. Harry couldn't help but kiss him again and this time the kiss was anything but soft. It had the sort of intensity and hunger in it that made Harry's toes curl and his heart pound in his chest. He devoured Draco's mouth and Draco returned the kisses with equal fervor. He caressed Draco's back with his hands and slid them down to his shorts, squeezing his buttocks. Draco shifted as if rubbing his groin against Harry's but stopped short when the chastity device made itself known. Draco groaned in frustration and changed his course, rubbing his buttocks against Harry's kneading hands instead. At feeling Draco's cage-trapped cock through his shorts, Harry's lust hazed brain created several wanton images of Draco in different states of bondage, and he pulled away a bit, taking a deep breath.

"Draco, let's take this upstairs. I want to try something. Go ahead and wait for me in my room, okay?"

"Yes, Harry," Draco breathed, struggling onto his feet, and left the room. Harry took a couple of deep breaths and steadied himself before standing up and heading to the kitchen to grab some things he would need upstairs.

When he stepped inside his bedroom, he saw Draco kneeling in the middle of the room, still wearing the outfit Harry had dressed him in earlier. Harry dropped the items he was carrying in his hands on the bedside table and went to stand in front of Draco. He carded his fingers through Draco's hair and urged him to stand up by giving a firm tug in his hair.

Draco stood up and Harry let his hands wander on his skin for a moment. Then he slipped his hands under the waistband of Draco's shorts and tugged them down.

"We don't need these anymore. Now, lay down on the bed on your back and give me your wrists."

Draco did as he was told without question, and Harry tied his wrists separately to the opposite ends of the headboard. Then Harry took two other lengths of rope and tied each of Draco's ankles to the posts at the foot of the bed. Draco was now stretched in a spread-eagle position on the bed, shivering in anticipation. Harry checked that the ropes were tight but comfortable and then picked up a blindfold. Harry noticed excitement flashing in Draco's eyes just before he shut them and Harry tied the blindfold in place.

Harry felt his own excitement heighten when he took the first item from the table and weighed it in his hand. It was a bottle of oil and he drizzled some of it on his skin to test the temperature. Harry cast a warming spell to make the oil hot but not enough to burn too bad. He didn't warn Draco before he drizzled the first few drops on Draco's pale skin, making the blond startle and his breathing hitch. Harry detached the long strap going from Draco's collar to his groin to get the next drops of oil to Draco's nipples and navel. Then he slowly drizzled a thin line of oil on the sensitive skin from his navel to his inner thighs. Draco was twitching and trembling under Harry's ministrations and Harry grinned; they had only gotten started here.

Once the oil had cooled on Draco's skin, he smeared it with his fingers, rubbing gently. The hot oil had left pink patterns on Draco's skin, and on the same spots Harry used a cold substance starting with an ice cube, followed with cold caramel sauce. Draco was shivering now and panting slightly; Harry was delighted to see how responsive his slave was. He squeezed the caramel sauce out of the tube, making new patterns on Draco's skin, around his nipples, down his chest pooling it in his navel and making a caramel path down on his groin, coating his cock with caramel through the cracks on the chastity device. Then he used his tongue to lick the caramel sauce from Draco's skin, doing a very thorough job with it. He licked and sucked the sauce from Draco's nipples and when he was done, he bit down for a good measure. Draco yelped but didn't protest. Harry noticed that Draco's cock was hard and swollen inside the chastity device and it filled the device quite thoroughly but it wasn't the time to take it off yet.

The next item for Harry's sensation playlist was a knife. It wasn't a sharp one, it was a butter knife so it wouldn't cut the skin if one of them moved unexpectedly. Harry dragged the edge of the knife on Draco's skin with slow deliberate movements. He started from Draco's chin, dragging the knife down on his exposed throat, over the collarbone and both of his pebbled nipples. He followed Draco's ribs with the knife, dipped it down into the navel and trailed the outline of the chastity device to his thighs and all the way to his toes. He even dipped the knife between Draco's toes, sliding along his soles to his heels ending his trail there. Draco had been twitching and shivering through the whole knife play his muscles convulsing when the knife reached the most ticklish spots. Finally when Harry lifted the knife from his skin, Draco was panting harshly.

"Please, Harry. Please..." he begged almost incoherently.

"Please what, my Draco?" Harry asked grinning devilishly.

Draco swallowed, clearly overwhelmed with the sensation overload. Harry had seen scenes with much more sensation play, but Draco seemed too sensitive and responsive to go any further this time.

"Draco?" Harry prompted.

"Please, Harry, anything... anything at all," Draco whispered and shivered almost uncontrollably.

Harry released his ankles and took off the chastity device. He cleaned Draco's cock with his tongue, sucking the rest of the caramel sauce off, but that made Draco come too close to climax. Harry distracted Draco a bit by rubbing his trembling muscles with warm hands keeping his touch firm and strong.

When he reached for the bedside table to get the lube, he got rid of his own clothes too and pressed his body against Draco's. He kissed Draco hungrily while he swiftly prepared him, and Draco's panting turned into pitiful mewling somewhere around the third finger being inserted inside him. Harry couldn't wait any longer; his own cock was throbbing with need, and he positioned himself between Draco's thighs. He entered Draco with one slow thrust and didn't stop until he was balls-deep inside him. Draco was so far gone that he didn't even seem to mind if he felt uncomfortable. Without waiting for his partner's adjusting as Harry used to normally do, he began to thrust forcefully into Draco, his lust hazed brain urging him to own Draco as fast and completely as possible.

Harry had barely had enough time to set a stable pace in his thrusting when Draco's mewling turned into whimpers and with a soft cry he came all over his stomach. Harry stared at him in awe; Draco had come without a touch. He leaned down to kiss Draco's quivering lips as his body trembled with aftershocks of his orgasm. Harry began to chase after his own release with faster and stronger thrusts, the look of Draco's dazed face spurring him on. It didn't take long until the slow fire in Harry's groin burst into a blaze burning through his body and he came with a shout, tensing and shuddering on top of his slave.

Harry stayed on top of Draco for a while, catching his breath and enjoying the feel of Draco under his body. Then he slowly pulled himself out of Draco, rolled off of him and released his wrists and took off his blindfold. Draco laid with his eyes shut, still panting and shivering from the intense session. Harry smiled and took him in his arms, rubbing his muscles and keeping him close until the shivering faded a bit. Then he pulled the covers over them both and arranged Draco against him with his head on Harry's shoulder. Draco sighed contentedly and snuggled even closer to him. Harry stroked Draco's skin everywhere he could reach and had a fleeting thought of how good it felt to have the blond in his arms. Then he fell asleep, exhausted and sated... and feeling strangely happy.

The next morning Harry woke up alone in his bed. He instantly reached over to the other side of the bed to pull Draco back against him, but the bed was cold and empty under his hand. He sat up in the bed looking around and realized that Draco was kneeling beside the bed, the breakfast tray in his hands.

Draco was acting like a good slave as usual but Harry felt something was off, both for him and Draco. He observed Draco the whole day and realized that Draco seemed unusually careful and reserved as if expecting something bad to happen. Harry realized that he was dreading the next day as well because if Hermione could find a solution to cancel their contract, she would find it when visiting Simms and there was no way of stopping her. The contract between Harry and Draco would be cancelled the next day one way or another and Harry had to let Draco go.

He didn't want to, he startlingly realized, but if Draco wanted to continue being a slave, he'd have to let him free to find another owner to enjoy his serving skills. Harry felt an irrational jealousy flare through him; he couldn't bear to think of Draco with someone else, sharing his life, his bed... No, in the short period of their life together, Harry had irrevocably become attached to Draco and didn't want to lose him just yet. It was crazy, he knew, but it had nothing to do with just having a servant, having someone to obey his every whim and submit to his sexual needs. It had everything to do with having a companion, having someone in his life he felt comfortable being with. However, if he had any say about the matter, that significant other would have to be his equal, not a slave or servant – although Harry wouldn't mind having that part of the relationship once in a while too. However, the entirely different matter was what Draco wanted and what he wanted to do about it.

After dinner Harry asked Draco to join him in the sitting room. He stopped Draco from kneeling at his feet and urged him to sit down next to him on the sofa.

"Draco, I've been thinking... Tomorrow will probably be the day when our contract will be annulled, if I know Hermione at all, that is. Then you'll be free. Have you given any thought about it? I mean, what would you like to do after you are free to decide with your free will?"

Draco was quiet for a long time and Harry started to wonder if he was going to get an answer at all. Then, hesitantly, Draco began to talk with a soft voice.

"I have been thinking about it all night and day, Harry. I have really enjoyed being your slave and I'd love nothing more than to keep doing it for the rest of the time of our contract. I do understand, though, why you have to cancel it. But I have just come to realize that being a slave is something I really need and I'm not ready to abandon that just because you can't keep your part of the contract. I guess I'll have to find another owner then."

Harry swallowed a big lump in his throat at hearing this. His jealousy burned inside him like a venomous acid eating away at his intestines.

"I want to keep you, Draco, but I can't, not with a contract anyways. Is there any chance for us to stay together, even if there's no contract between us? I mean, to the outside world we'd have to be equal partners, but in our private life we could be anything you want. I'd love to stay with you, or at least give it a try. If it doesn't work out for either of us, then we can think of something else. What do you think, could you at least consider it?"

"Harry... I don't know. I really don't. If I were to continue being your slave, I would say yes immediately. Anything more, though... I have to think about it. Can I have some time to think about it before I give you an answer?"

"You can have all the time you want or need, Draco. I just wanted you to know that if you wanted to, we could stay together. I'd like that very much."

Harry smiled at Draco trying to look reassuring, but his smile faded when Draco only nodded and left the room going back to the kitchen. That night, Draco slept in his own room and didn't come out until it was time for Harry's breakfast. By then he was just like he always was, a perfect slave devoted to serving his master.

Hermione arrived in the late afternoon on Saturday to go and meet Simms with Harry. They Apparated to Calais near the club where they had arranged their meeting with Simms. Hermione looked around with a suspicious and wary look in her eyes but Harry was totally at ease. This was his world and he was relaxed and admittedly a little bit excited to be back in there. The club was mostly empty – it was too early for people to come in yet and see the show.

After Harry had introduced Hermione to Simms, they were so engrossed in their conversation that Harry felt left out, even though he was part of the deal they were talking about. Simms understood the situation and to avoid drawing too much attention to his business, he agreed to help them any possible way he could. With Harry's contract with them and Simms' magical signature on it, they were able to revoke the contract on their part; after that the only thing left was to cast the final spell to free Draco of the contract too, but that had to be done when Draco was present.

Harry couldn't believe it; it felt so surreal to think of Draco being free to leave him soon, to have a life without Draco in it as if the last week had never happened. The days they had spent together were few but their impact in Harry's life was something so extraordinary that even Harry couldn't explain it.

When Harry and Hermione prepared to Apparate back, Harry had a sudden urge to keep Hermione from going back to Draco and casting the final spell. He felt as if every moment he could delay Hermione from setting Draco free, the longer he could keep him for himself. With effort Harry pushed the thought to the back of his mind; freeing Draco was inevitable and it had to be done, so he escorted Hermione, if reluctantly, back to Grimmauld Place to finish the job.

Draco was in the kitchen, as usual, but this time he wasn't arguing with or scolding Kreacher. In fact they were sitting at the kitchen table quietly having tea and both looking morose. When they noticed Harry and Hermione at the door, they both jumped to their feet and cleared the table. Without a word Draco began to prepare tea for Harry and Hermione too, but Harry stopped him.

"Draco, would you come to the sitting room with us, please?"

Draco nodded but looked uncomfortable and nervous. He followed them to the sitting room and at Harry's sign sat down on the armchair, his hands so tightly clasped together that his knuckles were white. Harry nodded to Hermione to begin.

"Draco, we found how to cancel your contract. It was quite simple, actually, after we learned from Simms exactly what spell was used to bind you two together. I already managed to revoke most of the contract, but your part in it needs to be taken care of too. Casting the final spell will set you free from your slavery. I can do it right now if you'd like," Hermione explained.

"If that's what is needed, I'm ready." Draco's voice was even but the look in his eyes was so sad and defeated that Harry wanted to go and take him away from all of this. It felt as if all that Draco had wanted for his life and finally reached was abruptly being taken away from him, Harry thought. Or... was it Harry who felt that way?

Without giving himself any more time to think about it, Harry stepped behind the armchair where Draco was sitting and put his hands on Draco's shoulders.

"Is this how we should be while you cast the spell, Hermione?"

"That's fine. Just stay close and in physical contact with each other," Hermione said.

Harry gave a reassuring squeeze to Draco's shoulder, and Draco glanced up to meet Harry's eyes. Giving him a small smile, Draco lifted his hand, placing it on top of Harry's and leaving it there. Then Hermione cast the spell and Harry felt the same tingling of magic as he had when the contract had been signed. He noticed the tattoo around Draco's neck disappear at the same time.

Draco didn't look away from Harry, he just stared at him with blank expression on his face. Hermione coughed and stepped cautiously to them.

"I think you should try your wand now, Draco. If it works fine outside of the restrictions the contract made for it, it will mean you are totally free of your slavery now."

Hermione's cheerful voice did nothing to lighten up the glum atmosphere of the room, and reluctantly, Draco took his wand in his hand and cast a spell. The wand obeyed him perfectly, and while Hermione seemed pleased, Harry and Draco looked even more sad if possible. Hermione finally noticed that she could do nothing to ease the uncomfortable feeling around the boys, so she quickly said her goodbyes and left.

There was a long silence in the room before Harry finally broke it. "You're free now, Draco."

Draco just stared up at Harry and weakly squeezed his hand, "I know, Harry." Then he stood up and stiffly turned towards the door. "I'll get my things and go, then."

Harry's sad eyes followed him until he disappeared up the stairs. It took only about fifteen minutes for Draco to come back downstairs with a bag in his hand. He stood at the sitting room door looking at the floor and fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"I don't want to go, Harry," he whispered hoarsely.

"Then don't go, Draco. Stay with me," Harry whispered back and couldn't help the hope rise in his chest.

"But I don't know how to do this. I don't do relationships. Living with me is probably a nightmare for you, Harry. I don't want you to end up hating me."

"How can you say that if you don't even give us a chance? I don't know how to do this either but I'm ready to give it a try. And for your information, I'm not a perfect partner either, but I don't want to lose you, not like this."

Draco raised his eyes to look at Harry and what he saw in Harry's eyes made him to drop his bag and rush into Harry's waiting arms.

"I guess I'll stay then. Merlin help us."

EPILOGUE

It took two months for Harry to coax Draco out of his slave role even occasionally. They began to go out in public after that, and slowly Draco found his old snarky spirit and didn't take any shit from anyone but Harry anymore.

The news about Harry owning a slave was never published in any paper, and instead, Harry encouraged the news of their relationship and living together now to be printed in the Prophet.

All this time Hermione stayed a close friend for both of them, but for Ron it took a little bit longer to come to terms with Harry being with Draco now. A lot of time and pressure from Hermione's side and even Harry demanded Ron apologize to Draco for his previous behavior. Ron didn't like it but eventually gave up just to get Hermione and Harry off his back. After the grudging apology, Draco and Ron made an uneasy truce that included almost constant bickering and nonchalantly throwing insults at each other, but at least they could stay in the same room without trying to kill each other. In time they reached some sort of understanding and a tentative friendship no one could have believed at the rocky beginning.

In a couple of years, Harry encouraged Draco to take back most of his responsibilities of the Malfoy business, and with Harry's help, Draco found a new balance in his life.

As for the slave/master part of their life, Draco never wanted to abandon it completely. Harry learned to read Draco's moods and need to be dominated, even subjugated, and never failed to give him what he needed. When Draco was practically climbing on the walls because of the stress at work, Harry knew it was time for a slave ride. Also Draco made it known very clearly when he needed some spanking time; Harry couldn't have ever imagined the creative ways Draco could find to break the rules, most of them being rules he had created himself.

But if anyone asked Harry when he felt his life was finally perfect, he would have without any hesitation picked the moment from their first Christmas together, when Draco had snuggled against Harry in their bed on Christmas morning and said, "I love you, Harry."

The End