Actions

Work Header

Debts of Honour

Chapter 5: Facing your fears

Summary:

It's time for Lord Slytherin to face his fears, and to meet Lord Prince for the first time...

Notes:

Sorry for the *long delay*, but my beta was quite busy...nevertheless, we wish you a lot of fun by reading the new chapter^^

Chapter Text

Marvolo was thinking about what happened after the first kiss he shared with the delightful young Slytherin. Within him sparked the wish to keep him forever. But he knew that such a thing would not be easy. The Prince heir had been blessed with extremely protective relatives…the exceptions being the unworthy mother and his muggle father, but that didn’t matter. No, Walburga Black had been right. Marvolo had been told to meet with Lord Prince at a neural place so that nobody would be able to eavesdrop on them. His ears were still ringing from the vicious verbal attack that he received from the Prince patriarch.

 

Forget Dumbledore…he did not fear the old coot. But the same could not be said regarding Lord Prince. And it did not matter how often they met. The fear stayed alive. He didn’t know how the Lord Prince managed to instil fear in him with such ease.


Flashback — 5th January 1975

 

Lord Slytherin, please take a seat”, sneered Lord Prince.

 

If looks could kill, Marvolo would likely already be six feet under. Maybe his allies had been right, and the Prince glare could kill. Marvolo certainly hoped not…not after having found his soulmate.

 

My wife along with the godparents of my heir, have informed me about your shameful behaviour during the Yule holidays Lord Slytherin”, hissed Augustus Prince. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t rip you apart with my bare hands…why I should even consider allowing you any further contact with my grandson”, clearly furious at the treatment of his precious relative.

 

Marvolo coughed uncomfortably. He wondered if it was fear that seemed to be making it hard for him to breath. Truly, he was not used to this feeling.


I have apologised for the incident in the private library at Malfoy Manor, Lord Prince”, Marvolo replied, “It was never my intention to dishonour your heir in any way. However,” Marvolo continued, “I do not apologise for being blessed to have shared his first kiss. Lord Prince, I am willing to undergo any punishment you see fit”, Marvolo finished calmly.

 

Really? Any punishment I see fit?” the Prince patriarch inquired coldly, “And afterwards, will you cease and desist all contact with my beloved grandson, Lord Slytherin?”

 

No, Sir”, replied Marvolo, “I am unable to do so, because my very blood sings when I am close to young Master Prince. He seems to complete me, and he soothes my soul. That is why I humbly beg to be allowed the privilege of courting your grandson according to our laws and traditions, so that in a few years, he will become my rightful consort and the bearer of the next generation of Slytherins, my Lord”, explained Marvolo.

 

Such audacity…but I really shouldn’t be surprised that a half-blood like you lacks the appropriate manners. It seems that you are not satisfied with tainting the innocence of my heir, you want more”, growled the Prince Lord.

 

Please, sir”, Marvolo pleaded, “I am willing to face any challenge you see fit, but do not deny me the right to court Severus. I give you my word as the heir of Salazar Slytherin and the rightful Lord of my family, to not only cherish Severus every moment of my life, but to treat him with love, respect and honour…just as he should be treated. Please do not deny us our happiness. I promise that I would not touch him inappropriately, before our wedding night…and I will let him set the pace for the courtship, while submitting to any chaperones you deem worthy for this endeavour”, Marvolo continued graciously surrendering to the judgement of the Prince patriarch.


How very interesting”, Lord Prince responded, “you are willing to face any challenge I set just for the chance to court my grandson. Hmm, so be it. You and I will meet in four days at Gringotts to set up a proper courtship contract, and so that you can face the punishment for your disgraceful behaviour towards my heir at the Malfoy Manor. Should you survive the punishment, only then will we negotiate under the supervision of three carefully chosen witnesses, a possible courtship and marriage contract. Be warned…you are not allowed any sort of sexual relations with my heir, until he is twenty years of age. Kissing him will only be allowed under special circumstances, and you will not be allowed to sleep next to him until the wedding has taken place. Are you in agreement, Lord Slytherin?”, Prince challenged.

 

I agree”, Marvolo responded, “I swear on my magic, my life and my honour, that I will respect your decisions with regard to my courting your heir…and I hope to prove myself worthy of this opportunity, Sir.”

 

Wonderful. I will meet you at Gringotts at 9:00am in four days. Do not be late, young Slytherin because if you are, nothing and nobody will be able to protect you from my ire”, Lord Prince stated before leaving the table.

 

Weak with nerves from the verbal confrontation, the Dark Lord stayed a bit longer. He consoled himself with the realisation that now he at least had the chance to court the Prince heir. But he couldn’t shake off the fear and uncertainty that the Lord Prince would prepare something dangerous and extremely humiliating to get even with him for the encounter at Malfoy Manor.

 

No matter what he had planned, it would be worth it, Marvolo decided. To know that nobody would be able to take young Severus away from him. The sinfully tempting young wizard would forever be at his side, as his lover and consort. He would be a fool to back down. No, for Severus he would do everything in his power to prove himself worthy no matter what it would take. Severus would belong to him, and nothing would stop him.

End Flashback


To pass the time, Marvolo thought of different things he could do to make himself more appealing to Severus and his protectors. One thing he thought about was the current age difference between himself and his intended. At the moment, the age difference is 33 years. He had no desire to endure tasteless cradle robber jokes. He thought about what the best age possible would be. After all, he really didn’t want to appear to be too old for his young intended. Especially not when he could do something about it. Perhaps he should ask his library elf to look up some books for him on permanent de-aging rituals, spells and potions. He thought 10-15 years older than Severus would be sufficient.

 

Of course, he would have some fun with it and rub it into the old coot’s face. He would ask the Goblins and some of his Allies in France to create a new identity for him. He remembered a delightful French pureblood lady who was the proper age to have given birth to the next Lord Slytherin. From there, it wouldn’t be too hard to arrange for a death certificate for Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jr. a plane crash would do quite nicely as the cause of death. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that a half-blood had used muggle means for travel every now and then.

 

This would also ensure that Tom’s son Marvolo S. Slytherin would inherit the Lordship. Since he grew up in France, his dear mother had him home-schooled to prevent unwanted attention from a distrustful old coot, while he studied from the curriculum of Beauxbatons. Since he had French citizenship as well, he also had a solid muggle education and had studied for a few years at the Sorbonne. Though he may have to tweak a few things here and there, he felt that his new background was fairly solid.

 

As soon as he was back in the good graces of Lord Prince, he would speak with his vault manager about a name change. He would also take some time to look for suitable courting gifts in his family vaults not only for promise rings, but also books and other treasures that would protect and please his beloved while he still attended Hogwarts.


And luckily, his beloved had loyal friends at his side to protect him, should it be necessary. He knew all too well, how important having friends for protection was. Marvolo clearly remembered that if Orion and Abraxas hadn’t been watchful, he would have started creating horcruxes and not only would he have descended into madness He would have fallen right into Dumbledore’s trap. However, his two friends had been alert, and recognized the book he’d been given. They had not only petrified him…but had levitated him and the book to Gringotts via the floo system in Slytherin, where the Goblins destroyed the book after making a copy of all the spells on it. They also made sure to copy and store Marvolo’s memories as well.

 

After learning that Professor Slughorn had given a student that awful book, Ragnuk ordered the Slytherin head of house to Gringotts for a meeting. There, he made clear what would happen if he ever handed such dangerous books to any student under his care again. Needless to say, old Slughorn was a weeping wreck, who had to be freed from numerous compulsions himself. He received a special Goblin pendant, which would keep him safe from further mind manipulations. He would also have to pay 25,000 Galleons in restitution to the designated Lord Slytherin.


9th January 1975 — 9am, Gringotts

 

Tom had indeed used the time before his meeting with Lord Prince for his permanent de-aging. He had also informed his closest friend about his decisions and what was going to happen on the  9 th of January with Lord Prince at Gringotts. He was slightly nervous because he had no idea what kind of challenge Lord Prince had in mind for his retribution, but he would face it so that he would have a chance to be with his beloved. There was no doubt in his mind that Severus was worth it.

 

Trying to stay calm was not easy…not when Mathias Prince smirked deviously in his direction, but Marvolo had promised himself not to rise to any bait. He needed to be back in their good books, or he would risk losing the chance of courting and marrying Severus in the future.

 

I think I’ll go for a short visit to Hogwarts. It’s always good to scare the old coot now and then…keep him on his toes, especially today of all days”, Mathias said cryptically before apparating to Hogsmeade.

 

Frowning the newly de-aged Slytherin lord looked at Lord Prince, who only silently gestured for Marvolo to follow him. They reached two huge ornate Goblin doors- full of runes and sigils, which made Marvolo’s heart start to beat faster. This was it…and yet, he still didn’t know what to expect.


The Goblins were most helpful by creating this Gauntlet for you, Lord Slytherin. It will resemble a part of our past. You need to find all the missing items that belong to my grandson while searching for cover or else you risk getting hit by bombs. You will have 30 minutes. Should you succeed, then we will proceed with the marriage negotiations. Fail and I will personally ensure, that you will not be able to come near my grandson again. I vow this as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Prince”, declared Augustus Prince.

 

Marvolo looked at the older wizard in shock. This was evil. It seemed that Lord Prince had known exactly what Marvolo would fear most, besides the loss of Severus…but he had no choice but to comply if he wanted to win the approval of Severus’ guardians. He couldn’t fail, he wouldn’t fail. Failure was not an option. Breathing in and out once more, he attempted to calm himself and his magic in preparation to cross the threshold.

 

Ah, before I forget, you can’t use any magic during the gauntlet. May Lady Magic be merciful to your soul, young Slytherin”, Augustus smirked triumphantly.

 

His grandson was one of the most important people in his life, and anyone who even dared to imagine a future with Severus, would face a similar gauntlet and had to defeat his biggest fear. How else could he be sure that they would be able to protect Severus against greedy and corrupt wixen whether they were in Britain or anywhere else around the globe?

 

Er…one last question Lord Prince, how many items are hidden within the gauntlet?”, Marvolo inquired fearfully.

 

Hm, since my grandson celebrates his birthday today, we have placed 15 items within the gauntlet”, Lord Prince replied, “Will you accept the challenge or not, Lord Slytherin?”, he asked calmly.

 

I accept”, murmured Marvolo, before placing his wand into the little alcove on the left side of the portal. Only the rightful owner of the wand could remove it afterwards. This was the only reason Marvolo could accept the thought of being without this wand for the challenge.

 

He accepted the satchel decorated with the two crests of Prince & Slytherin, which is where he was to store the items he would retrieve. Marvolo bowed respectfully to the Goblins and to Lord Prince and began to enter the gauntlet. For better or worse, he would not back down. Not when the reward would be a future with the young Prince who had captured his heart without even trying.


My dear Augustus, you can be so devious at times”, the Goblin King murmured…complementing him on his plans, as he watched from a distance.

 

Am I?”, Augustus replied, smirking. “It was your kin, who created the gauntlet, Jareth.”

 

So, do you think he will be successful, or will Lord Slytherin fail?”, Jareth asked curiously.

 

Knowing how smitten he has become with my heir, Lord Slytherin will do his utmost to pass the Gauntlet. However, he will have learned to fear me…and to never dare to step out of line again. Should he prove himself worthy, then he will receive my blessing to marry Severus after he has completed his Mastery, or on his 21st birthday. I am not an ogre, but I need to ensure that only the best will have a chance to court Severus”, Lord Prince explained.


Meanwhile, Marvolo had stepped over the threshold to the gauntlet. He heard the portal close with an ominous sound, which didn’t really fill Marvolo with a lot of confidence. What he saw was shocking, the area looked like a warzone – like the Blitz in his youth. There were sirens…and oh, no…bombs and an eerie laughter sounding all around him.

 

Without thinking twice, the de-aged Lord Slytherin reflexively dived for cover while luckily finding the first of the items he needed to collect. This was not a gauntlet, this was hell!

 

He was running, ducking, diving for cover, and trying to stay safe…always searching for the items he was to collect. Photos, potions recipes, muggle literature, school books…even toys, none of it made any sense, but somehow his luck held and he found everything. Even the last item…a Japanese Shinobi Weapon set, and a scroll that contained family pictures of the Uchiha clan.

 

The sound of the sirens all around him grew louder and more ominous. A big unidentified shape was released as the portal appeared in front of the heavily breathing Slytherin, and he jumped through it before the shock wave destroyed the gauntlet.


The sound of clapping made him look up, and for the first time he realised that Lord Prince wasn’t alone any longer. At his side was the Goblin King. Both were clearly amused and wore a smirk on their faces. Jareth floated Marvolo’s wand back to its owner and Lord Prince used a spell to verify that Marvolo had fulfilled his challenge.

 

How fortunate for you, it seems that you have found everything”, Lord Prince said calmly. It’s such a pity, my dear brother had hoped that you wouldn’t be successful before running out of time. All is forgiven and you have a clean slate for now, Lord Slytherin. Come, it is time to negotiate a marriage contract between our houses. But remember my warning…I only give it once before I make my enemies pay.”

 

Thank you for your generosity, my Lord. I promise that I will not disappoint you. I will cherish Severus as long as we live, and never forget the lesson you have taught me today”, Marvolo politely replied.


Inwardly Marvolo was celebrating. Severus would be his partner…he didn’t even care that they would have to wait for a few years. Being able to court his delightfully shy serpent, knowing that he would be the only one who would taste those sinful lips and would have every other ‘first’ that the young Slytherin would someday grant him was better than anything he could have hoped for.

 

After he returned home, Marvolo would order his elves to begin preparing things so that Severus could move in, once their courtship was over. He would also have the best and most expensive potions lab in the world built for his beloved. It would include a private potions library and a study so that nothing would stop his beloved from revolutionising the subtle art of potions and achieving his Mastery!