Chapter Text
The breath was sucked out of him as he sat bolt up right. Sweat dripped from his body, pooling on the bedsheets, leaving a damp mark from where his body once laid. Coal dark eyes looked around frantic like as he tried to figure out where the fuck he was-- oh- his dormitory. It was empty, thank Merlin. It was cold, thank merlin. The trauma in his body eased away but left a dull ache that made Severus tense his jaws.
Stiff legs, unmoving feet, made him stumble on his way to the bathroom. His whole back was screaming, nerves on fire, the pain similar to the belting he'd get at home. No, lets not think about home. Pushing the memories aside, Severus snaked his hand under the bathroom sink and pulled out his personal pain potion. The brown cork fell to the floor, the echoing of his gulping was the only sound he could hear besides the tripping of a leaky tap. his empty bottle shove into the pocket of his too big PJ pants.
Severus felt his blood run cold, peering into the mirror; a ring of dark purple bruises engulfed his neck, the worst of them being at the sides of his throat. He tensed and a fleeting memory of Lucius ran into his mind. What in Merlin's sake had that man done? Another memory decided to appear; Regulus. Would the little shit know? he must do, surely.
Severus got dressed as well as he could, now the potion was there to suppress the pain that screamed his name and travelled though his spine. He wore a white turtle neck under his school uniform, a glamour charm took too much of the energy he simply didnt have. As much as Severus hated to admit it, sometimes the muggle way worked. He knew how to hide marks, it was easy enough after years of practice.
It was lunch time according to the elf he passed the soiled bedsheets too. He'd slept half the day? unusual but so were the marks around his neck, his life an ever growing mystery.
Severus slipped through the somewhat empty hallways, head hung low and eyes down, desperate to avoid detection but there was a pair of eyes he simply couldn't hide from; James Potter.
James had been alone, once again, the glimpse of a muggle cigarette box in his hand but the taboo substance was quickly forgotten when he saw the lanky little omega finally make an appearance. The alpha in him boiled in rage. James was quick and loud on his feet as he stomped his way over. He shoved a hand into Severus's chest, the wind blown from him the second time that day.
"Where the fuck have you been?! Three days--" James inhaled and the scent of another dominant caught him off guard; Dirty and musky, rotten and foul to his unfamiliar nostril. A dark, threatening growl escape from his throat as he cornered the omega and pressed him close to the wall. "Fucking slut.." He cursed under his breath.
The fear in Severus's eyes was real and bare for a moment, just a moment, before he looked away. He panicked, glancing over James arm, hoping to see a flurry of red hair or god forbid that long white beard before he finally realised what James had said; Three days. Three days!
"I dont know what you're playing at but I had Lily threatening me with every hex in the book when you didnt show your whore face!" Anger and dominance oozed from James to make for a dangerous cocktail.
Tears impulsively leaked from the corners of Severus dark eyes. He felt like a child again, cowering in fear from his fathers fists. "I'm sorry!" Something in him broke, something crumbled into a million pieces, leaving him shattered. He fell to his knees out of pure exhaustion, trying to stop the tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," The omega begged, a sorry state for s submissive.
James felt a ball of pity and shame work up in him as he stared down at the malnourished mess. A deep sigh escaped his lips as the anger shrivelled and shrunk away into nothing. "You need a shower." He grunted, picking the sobbing boy up with ease, carrying him off to the lions den.
Severus didn't protest or speak a word, an unsettling feeling of panic lay over him like a blanket. The flash backs left his mind a bubbling mess of trauma and fear as every limb shook in James masculine arms. There was no escape from his own feelings.