nový př 10
Friday, October 22, 1998 ---- 5:15 p.m.
"Everything went well with Bryerson's classes?"
Harry continued taking off the brown teaching robe he always wore to Defence. "Yeah, fine. You asked me that at lunch, too. What's the matter, you think I don't know the material through fourth year?"
"One would hope you know the material far beyond that."
"Defence was always my best subject of all," said Harry, sighing as he turned to face Severus. "Look, I know you mean well but I want you to stop asking that. It sounds like you think I'm incompetent."
"Incompetent and thrown into the deep end are rather different things," said Severus dryly. "And I do know what the latter can be like. I was scarcely more prepared than you when I began teaching."
"But Potions was your favourite thing, right?"
Severus inclined his head.
"That's Defence for me. And I've had a good teacher to watch up close, and I'm only handling the easier levels of the subject. And I did teach before, you know, in D.A. So . . ." Harry sighed again. "Just have a little faith in me, Severus."
Realising that his concern was being taken for something else entirely, Severus briskly nodded. "Fine. Just know that you can come to me if you--" He broke off when it occurred to him--because of the look on Harry's face, probably--that he was likely the last person Harry would come to for help with his teaching duties. "Fine."
Harry didn't say what he'd obviously been thinking. Instead, it seemed like he wanted to get completely away from the subject. He turned back to the robe he'd draped across a chair. The cleaning charm he started casting on it wasn't his best bit of magic, Severus noted.
"So, then. When are we leaving for Spain?"
Severus sat down on the edge of the bed. "What would make you think we're going to Spain?"
"Cologne, right? Today on my free period I went to the library and had a chat with the talking card catalogue. Colón, Cristobal, commissioned by the Spanish to find a new route to India, except he found the New World. They named a city after him, I guess? Oh. But he was Italian, right. So we're going to Italy again?"
"Irma needs to respell her catalogue for multiple meanings. Cologne is a city in Germany. No relation to Columbus."
"Oh. Germany." Harry didn't sound terribly excited at the prospect. It seemed his mind was still on the robe. He was shaking it out, now, using his hand to brush off bits of lint that had persisted through his earlier efforts.
"Do you always take such care with it?" asked Severus, curious.
As if suddenly realising what he'd been doing, Harry hurriedly hung the robe on a hook inside the wardrobe. "I . . . oh, what's the use? If I say 'no,' you'll know that answer's really 'yes.'"
"I wasn't trying to pry. But why wouldn't you just answer 'yes,' in any case?"
"That's not prying?"
Severus waved a hand. "Never mind."
Harry chuckled a little as he sat down alongside him. "I never thought you'd be so easy to get on with, Severus."
"Easy, am I?"
"Don't worry. I won't tell the students." Smiling then, Harry lifted his shoulders a little. "I guess it doesn't matter if you know how much I like that particular robe. I'm trying to make sure it lasts, you know?"
"It's just a robe."
Harry nodded, but Severus noticed that the young man's Adam's apple bobbed a little bit. "Yeah. Of course. It's just . . . well, you know a bit about my home life. So now, when somebody gives me something, I try to take care of it." His nostrils flared. "I'm still annoyed over what happened to the knife I got from Sirius."
Severus didn't know if he meant the way the knife had been damaged, or if Harry was referring to his belief that Draco Malfoy had stolen it. He did know that he didn't want to talk about an old knife of Black's. Once had been enough. "You aren't so careful with all your clothes, are you? They were gifts as well."
Harry met his eyes, the look in his own a little rueful. "Yeah, but even so, the ones from Norway you sort of had to buy, you know? The robe was different."
"For your birthday."
Harry smiled. "I meant something else. The stuff you bought me in wizarding Strasgard was all in Slytherin colours, right? I mean, I was afraid you were going to pretend I was one, or something. But then you gave me the teaching robe. You made sure I wouldn't have to look like a Slytherin in front of all my old mates. And I really liked that. As much as the robe itself."
Severus almost chuckled. Pretend Harry was a Slytherin? Harry. "I doubt I could ever think of you as anything but a Gryffindor, Harry, no matter what you wear. I bought what I did in Strasgard because you looked quite well in greys and greens."
Harry stared a little. "Even though I had completely different looks at the time."
"I could look at you and still see you."
The moment he'd said it, Severus felt uncomfortable. What if Harry guessed that as far back as their first trip to Norway, Severus had already been in over his head? Trying to distance himself from the feeling that he was in danger of giving himself away, Severus swept his gaze over the contents of Harry's wardrobe. "You have access to sufficient funds, yet you've never purchased any more clothing, it seems. Why is that?"
"I . . . hmm, I'm not sure. I didn't really think about it. I guess after you made such a point of purchasing everything I would wear, right down to my pants, I figured all the rest of my clothes had better come from you. Hedwig's cage seemed different." Harry shrugged. "Besides, I haven't really needed anything."
"Some of your shirts are getting a little tight through the shoulders," murmured Severus. He wanted to offer to purchase more during their weekend away, but that wasn't practical, not considering that Harry would be Polyjuiced in public. Besides, it was better for Harry to understand that he could buy his own clothes. "You should probably see to it the next time you're in Hogsmeade."
"Not in Cologne?" A moment later, Harry was nodding. "Oh, right. The Polyjuice."
More proof, as if Severus needed it these days, that there was nothing whatsoever wrong with Harry's critical thinking capacity. Really, he should have been able to become quite a good brewer. But of course, no one who detested the discipline could really become truly skilled at it.
Severus sighed inwardly. He generally wasn't much given to regrets, but in this case he couldn't seem to stop himself. His treatment of Harry wasn't something he could simply consign to the past. It was still alive and well, and standing between them. Those years of ridicule were making Harry hear criticism of his teaching now, when Severus intended only support. And interest.
"If we're going to keep travelling, you really should do something about the taste of that stuff," said Harry.
That, Severus knew, almost certainly couldn't be done, but he didn't feel like pointing out Harry's poor grasp of potion construction. "We can put that all behind us once you defeat the Dark Lord."
"Right. We can be our usual selves in Disneyland. Or world. Whichever one's--"
"In Florida, yes. I haven't forgotten."
Harry rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait. All the more reason to get our powers crossing, eh?"
"Yes, I never would have imagined that the ultimate reward for vanquishing evil would be a trip to a Muggle wonderland."
"You'll love it," said Harry, the words sounding like a promise. And perhaps it was. "We'll spend plenty of time in those swamps so you can collect loads of bugs and weeds and such. But enough of that. Let's talk about Germany. I never thought of going there, before. Er . . . is there anything to do?"
Is there anything to do. Severus nearly scoffed out loud. "Of course there is."
"Like what?"
Too good an opportunity to pass up, thought Severus. "Whatever I say," he said, deliberately deepening his voice. He knew what that low, husky tone always did to Harry.
Harry dropped to sit on the bed beside Severus, his green eyes darkening with desire. "Mmm, sounds brilliant. Um, you said we'd stay there all weekend? So I'll pack a few things?"
"No need."
Harry blinked, and then looked, perhaps, just the tiniest bit flattered. "Oh. Is that what you were talking about in the Room of Requirement? The new thing we're doing? Er . . . you plan to keep me naked the whole time?"
The image that conjured! Harry, nude all weekend, working on the task Severus planned to set him . . . "An excellent notion," he purred. "I take it you'd be amenable?"
"Maybe it's better if I'm not," murmured Harry, biting his lip a little. "What if I didn't want to do it, but I did because you said to . . . would that help us cross powers faster? Since it would be kind of a way to build some extra obedience in?"
The prospect of keeping Harry naked abruptly lost much of its appeal. "I've no interest in pressuring you into things, Harry."
"I know that. I wouldn't mind if you wanted to keep me naked." He sent Severus an arch glance.
Now Severus was the one who felt flattered, even as he admitted, "I've already packed for us both."
"Oh. Well, that works, too." Harry grinned. "By the way, I really do want to know what you have in mind for our weekend abroad."
"I told you not to ask me that."
"And I haven't asked, have I? Not once."
When Harry laughed, Severus thought, not for the first time, how good it was to see him so happy.
Friday, October 22, 1998 ---- 6:17 p.m.
Severus pulled the champagne bottle out of the ice bucket, wincing a little at the way it dripped. A quick drying charm took care of that, though. A little magic in the privacy of the hotel room would do no harm, though of course it was out of the question to use any when they were out and about in the city.
In fact, only Albus knew that he and Harry were in Cologne. Nobody else would be able to so much as track their route. He and Harry had flooed to Paris and from there to Cologne. By the time they arrived in Germany there would be no reason to suppose them anything but continental European wizards, particularly if Severus did all the talking.
But still, Severus had decided he would feel more secure if no-one about realised they were wizards at all. It had been different before, when he and Harry had gone on day trips to Paris or Rome or Venice. This time, they would be sleeping in Germany for two nights, and wizarding hotels often had quite clever spells in place designed to identify travellers.
With that in mind, Severus had left the wizarding district at once. Best to lodge in a Muggle hotel, he'd decided. He'd booked ahead the Muggle way, though it had been quite a bother to get to a phone box and wait through the interminable clicks and pauses as his call was put through. Owls were much preferable, in his view.
Once in Muggle Cologne, he and Harry had walked a few blocks, the better to become lost amid the throngs of Muggles. The hotel wasn't far and they could easily have gone there on foot, but it was a bit awkward carrying their bags the whole way. Besides, the body Severus was currently wearing was far from fit. He was breathing heavily already.
Severus headed toward a taxi stand on Venloer Strasse, then shrugged at Harry's obvious amazement. "Perhaps I did learn one or two useful things from my father."
Harry didn't reply until they were in the taxi and on their way, and even then, his voice sounded very careful. Well, the one time they'd discussed Tobias Snape at any length, Severus had made it clear he'd rather not discuss him, ever. "I thought you didn't spend much time with him."
"Summer after my fifth year," said Severus, the words clipped.
When abroad, Harry's eyes were usually wide, his attention riveted on the cityscape all around. But now, he wasn't even looking out the taxi window. His gaze was fixed on Severus. "Oh, right. You said that that was when he . . ."
Harry made a vague gesture and said nothing more, but Severus knew he was thinking about the scars on Severus' back and chest. He'd learned from last time, though. Clearly, Harry wasn't going to ask anything about them.
For several seconds, that suited Severus perfectly. There were subjects he'd prefer not to discuss, and that was certainly one of them.
Harry turned away, his profile looking as though it was set in stone, though of course it wasn't Harry's profile at all. They were both still under the influence of Polyjuice. But he knew Harry well enough to register this slight withdrawal, all the same.
And that was when Severus realised something that should have been obvious long before. He didn't want the two of them to be strangers sharing quarters, or even two men sharing a bed, with all that implied. He wanted to know Harry, every inch of him, inside and out. Severus had been aware of that for some while, of course.
But now, there was more to it. He wanted Harry to know him, just as well.
Because otherwise, they were just sharing a bed. Severus wanted to share more than that. A good deal more.
And Harry wanted it as well, he thought. Or had, once. He'd said that he didn't know a lot about being someone's lover, but he thought it meant more than just having sex. He'd been right about that.
"Yes, that was when my father lost his temper, as you know," said Severus, shrugging slightly. The story was difficult for him, even now, but he liked the way Harry turned back towards him, as if an invisible wall that had briefly gone up was now dissolving. "We probably shouldn't discuss the matter here, but once we're alone I'll tell you what happened."
At that, Harry looked gobsmacked. "You will?"
Severus nodded.
"I wasn't asking. I mean, I figured out I'd better never bring it up again--"
"Harry," said Severus quietly. "It's all right. I think I'd like you to know."
Now, standing by a small table in a suite in the Hotel im Wasserturm, Severus wondered how to begin. He poured champagne into two flutes while he considered the matter.
"You don't have to," said Harry, taking his glass from Severus' hand.
"But you're wondering something," said Severus dryly. "I can see it in your eyes."
"In these blue eyes, you mean." Harry raised a hand and ran it through the short red hair atop his head.
"I can still tell that you're wondering something."
Harry more or less flopped onto a brocade-covered sofa. "You're sure you're all right with me asking? 'Cause I don't have to know. I got used to that idea a long time ago."
Severus sat down too, in a chair alongside. The body he was wearing at present didn't feel right, not even after he adjusted his position to compensate for his increased girth and the rolls of fat spilling over the waistband of his trousers. "Ask."
"Well, since you say to," said Harry, evidently in some effort at jesting. "Um . . . you know, when you first told me that your father had . . . er, whipped you, I guess, I assumed he was a wizard. But ever since I found out he was a Muggle I've been wondering how he could have got away with a thing like that. You'd been at Hogwarts for years, by then. Couldn't you have cast something to defend yourself?"
"No, actually."
Harry blinked. "Oh. He got your wand away from you, the same as Uncle Vernon did to me, that time?"
"He confiscated mine the moment we walked through his front door," said Severus, the memory still a bitter one.
"Yeah, that was usually the story for me, too." Harry sighed. "Every damned summer. It's kind of a miracle I don't hate Muggles, if you ask me. No wonder you joined the . . . never mind."
"I had more reason for that than merely hating my father. Though I suppose that what he did to me that summer didn't help matters any."
Harry cocked his head. "Why did you go to stay with him?"
"I wasn't given much of a choice."
"Oh."
The way Harry said that, the syllable clipped, made Severus realise that his answer had been somewhat evasive. "My mother insisted, I meant to say."
Harry opened his mouth, but then he shut it again, and looked away.
"Ask." When Harry didn't, Severus sighed. "I shouldn't have been so harsh when we were playing our questions game, Harry. We're lovers. For life. We're committed to one another, now. If you want to know something about me, ask."
"Yeah, well just don't forget that you said to, all right?"
"I won't!"
Harry shifted in his seat. "Well, crap. If you're cross over it already, then maybe we should just forget the whole thing!"
"Maybe you should bloody well ask!"
Harry sucked in a breath and blurted his question out. "From what I saw that time I made it into your mind, your father treated your mother like shite, so why would she insist you go stay with him, of all people?"
Ah. No wonder Harry had been reluctant to ask his question. Severus didn't like to be reminded of their early Occlumency lessons. Too much had gone wrong. For both of them.
Still, the question was a very good one. "Perhaps I should back up a bit," Severus said smoothly, trying to prove that he didn't mind the question. "As you may have surmised, my mother was a pureblood who ignored her family's advice on marriage, to her regret. Tobias Snape turned out to be a rather petty sort of man, and the marriage lasted only a few years. She returned to her family and took me with her. As I told you, I rarely saw my father after that."
Harry nodded, saying nothing, though he did gulp his champagne. Severus wondered if he was thinking about how he'd missed his own father, growing up.
"However, after I'd completed my O.W.L. year, my mother became concerned about some of my associations. I'm certain you can imagine which ones." Severus paused until Harry nodded again. "She thought it best I spend some weeks that summer with my father, far removed from my friends who were fast becoming ardent supporters of the Dark Lord."
"I get the Death Eater thing," Harry said shortly. "But God, Severus. Why send you to him?"
"She didn't expect him to beat me. I'm quite sure of that." The rest came out slowly, as it was harder to admit. He'd been so foolish. So easily manipulated. "She saw what I did not, that it would be a coup for Lucius Malfoy if he could recruit me to the Dark Lord's ranks. Even then, my skill at potions was evident. She saw that I was being courted."
Harry sputtered a bit on his wine.
"Not that kind of courted." These memories weren't fond ones by any means, but Harry's reaction still brought a small smile to Severus' face. "At any rate, she urged my father to allow me to stay with him for a few weeks. Nobody would be likely to pursue me there, and I would have some time away from Malfoy's influence. Time to come to my senses, she no doubt thought it. Actually, I suspect that she hoped that I might see some value in my Muggle heritage." Severus shrugged.
Harry hesitated, but not as much as before. "Did you?"
Another shrug. "I suppose the telly was interesting at first. But then my father and I had a disagreement."
"He wanted you to leave Hogwarts, you said, back when I first asked about your scars."
"Yes. He thought it high time that I pursue a trade. He wasn't an educated man himself, you understand. No son of his was going to sit in classes after he was old enough to be gainfully employed."
Harry sat up straighter and put his champagne flute down with a slight thump. "That wasn't his business, though. I mean, you usually lived with your mother's family. And it's not like they needed the money--"
"Oh, but my grandfather's family could have used the money," Severus quietly interrupted. "Although we weren't in desperate straits, certainly. To outsiders it appeared that we lived comfortably enough. We had heirlooms in our home that spoke of wealth. In reality, however, the Prince family had been coming down in the world for generations. An extra income would have been most useful, and Tobias knew it."
"So you told him you wouldn't leave school, and he whipped you for it?"
"Whipped is a bit of an overstatement," Severus corrected. "He used a switch."
"Like that makes it better, Severus!"
"You mind the scars so much?"
"You know I don't!"
That was true; Severus did know it. He supposed he'd just wanted to hear it said.
Harry's eyes had narrowed. "Did that bastard--"
"You shouldn't call my father a bastard even if he was one. You wouldn't like me to insult James, after all."
"Point taken," muttered Harry. "Sorry. Er . . . I was going to ask why he let you scar like that. I mean, would a switch really leave such permanent marks? And I don't mind them, all right? I'm just asking. Didn't he give you any cream, afterwards?"
Severus' smile was very thin. "Oh, he did. I flushed the entire tube down the loo."
Harry gaped. "The tube? Or did you mean you squeezed it out?"
"I flushed it tube and all. Stopped up the plumbing. To this day I can still hear my father cursing about the expense."
Harry stifled a laugh. "That was very bad of you, Severus."
"He deserved it."
"Yeah, he did. But . . . um, didn't you use any of the cream before you flushed it?"
"No."
"That was stupid."
Severus leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Teenagers often are."
"Yeah, but throwing away something that would help you?"
Severus opened one eye. "How did I know it would help me? It was a Muggle cream. I assumed it would be worse than useless. A sop to his guilt, nothing more."
"Muggle medicines aren't completely worthless!"
"Had I been Muggle-raised, I might have known that." Severus gave a long sigh. "At any rate, I was with my father for some weeks longer, that summer. We didn't talk much beyond pass the salt. The welts he'd caused became more painful rather than less, but I didn't tell him that. It wasn't until I got home again that anyone realised they'd become seriously infected. My mother did what she could but by then it was too late to heal them entirely. Hence the scars."
"They aren't that bad. I mean, you'd hardly notice if you only had one or two. It's just that there are so many." Harry paused for a moment. "Um . . . have you ever seen him since?"
That time, Severus' smile was tight. "No. And before you ask, he's dead now. They all are. My grandfather's house was sold for debts, though a few family heirlooms came down to me. You've seen them. The furniture and silver and such in my quarters. I also inherited my father's house, but it's not a place I much care for, all things considered."
"If I inherited the house on Privet Drive--ha, can't imagine it, but if I did--I'd sell it in a flash."
"I kept the house on Spinner's End in the belief that a Muggle bolt-hole might prove of use, someday."
"Oh." Harry's expression brightened, though it looked a bit forced. "Well, we'll just have to make sure that you'll have no need of it, right? So, where's the bedroom? Time to work on crossing our powers more, you know!"
"You don't need to, you know."
"Cross our powers?"
"Cheer me up with sex, Harry."
Harry looked him up and down. "Oh. Well, that's a big relief. You look awful like that. I'd much rather wait until the Polyjuice wears off."
Severus lumbered to his feet. "We'll have dinner here in the suite, I think. Will that suit you? I'll ring for room service."
Friday, October 22, 1998 ---- 6:52 p.m.
Harry put down his fork and knife and leaned back, patting his stomach. "That was really good. Though who would have thought we'd get French food here, eh?"
"Beef au jus is the specialty of the hotel."
"Yeah, but we're in Germany! I thought it'd be knackwurst and sauerkraut at every meal, you know?" Harry made a face. "Not that I'm asking for that. Aunt Petunia served sauerkraut a few times, and it was . . . well, it was just nasty."
"Most likely tinned, then. We'll get some fresh tomorrow and see what you think of sauerkraut when it's properly prepared and served."
"You think I'll want to eat tomorrow?" Harry shook his head. "After that meal I think I'm set for about a week. You sure do know how to pick a hotel. When I first saw it I thought it was really weird-looking, though. Like a circular factory or something."
"It was a water tower. Once the largest in Europe, in fact."
"Did you pick it for that or for the menu?" asked Harry, laughing at the idea of staying inside a water tower, of all things.
"Actually, I chose it because the bar in the lobby is called 'Harry's Lounge,'" said Severus, deadpan.
"Oh, it is not."
"We'll have a drink there tomorrow."
"Didn't I just mention I'd still be full?"
"Now that is a pity seeing as a lovely dessert is waiting." Severus laconically waved a hand toward the silver domed dish still waiting on the serving tray. He looked a lot better now that he was back to his usual appearance. Though seeing him change back had been a bit amusing. The minute Severus had hung up the phone, it had begun. The large-sized trousers he'd been wearing had slipped off as his hips had grown lean, and then his pants had fallen, as well. Severus had been left standing in an overwide, too-short shirt, with the rest of his clothes puddled around his ankles.
The look was ridiculous, but not what it put so prominently on display. Severus' long, large cock, swaying lightly beneath the hem of the shirt.
Harry might have suggested they skip dinner and go straight to bed, except that he'd just changed back too, and Polyjuice always left him feeling shaky and disoriented. Better to eat, yes. Even now, after some time to rest and relax over the meal, he still felt a bit woozy. "Maybe just a bite of dessert, after all," he murmured, reaching over to lift the cover off the dish. "Mmm. Looks like a fancy chocolate cake in caramel sauce."
When Harry started to slice it, Severus shook his head. "Just the one plate."
Harry knew what that meant--Severus rarely ate much dessert, after all--but he couldn't resist a little tease. "Oooh, sharing a plate. We can feed each other."
"Feed me caramel and you'll live to regret it," said Severus. "I can't abide such cloying flavours."
Harry served himself extra sauce on the small wedge of cake he'd taken, but when he lifted a bite to his mouth and savoured the syrupy sweet taste coating his tongue, he couldn't help but frown slightly. Severus didn't like caramel? Something about that was off, wasn't it . . .
"The present I got you from Honeydukes!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "You mean you didn't like the caramel-filled chocolates?"
The look on Severus' face was answer enough.
"You never even tried one?"
Severus glanced away from him.
"You might have told me," said Harry. It wasn't so important in the scheme of things, whether Severus had liked the chocolates or not. What bothered him more was the fact that Severus had never said anything about hating caramel.
"It was almost your first day as my slave and I was doing everything I could to put you at ease," said Severus softly, coming over to his chair. Kneeling down, he looked Harry in the eyes. "You were a nervous wreck, for reasons I understand better now than I did then. At the time, I thought it best not to say things you might find upsetting."
When Harry didn't reply, Severus seemed to reach some kind of frustration point. "I wanted us to get on!"
"We do get on," said Harry, leaning over to kiss him softly. "I know you think I'm young, and immature at times, maybe--"
"Maybe?"
"Oh, shut it. The point is, I'm not such a prat that I can't handle learning that I chose the wrong gift for you. But . . . I guess I can appreciate that you wanted so much for us to start off on the right note. And considering we're talking you, I can only imagine what it took for you to hold your tongue. Did you have to bite it clean off?"
Severus smiled. "I thought I did well, considering how much I detest caramel."
"Maybe sweets were a bad idea, but at least I did all right with the book."
"You're certain you can handle learning that you chose the wrong gift, are you?"
"Oh, no." Harry gulped. "Don't tell me. You didn't like the book, either?"
"Ebeneezer Erikson is an imbecile, through and through."
Harry reared back a little. "But- but I thought you'd find his ideas so interesting! An entirely new theory of potion making? How could you not like that?"
Severus gave him a superior look. "Because it's an entirely brainless theory. I'm surprised the man didn't publish his drivel as a cookery book, instead. Consult thePotions Quarterly that was published last March and you'll see what I mean. Erikson's book was most thoroughly discredited."
Harry grinned a little slyly, feeling on firmer ground. "Oh, please. What was it that you always used to say about secondary sources? That we shouldn't rely on some editorial hack to tell us what to think, right? Why don't you read the book for yourself before you decide it's so worthless, eh?"
"Why don't you read the Quarterly I mentioned and see just which editorial hack reviewed that tripe masquerading as a text, eh? Letters to the editor section."
"Oh." Harry could feel himself blushing.
"Yes, oh."
At that, Harry clutched his stomach, he started laughing so hard. "Oh, God. I got you sweets you detest and a book you hated so much that you'd already written in complaining about it?"
"We Potions Masters expect a certain level of expertise in any approach to the subject. It was my responsibility as a member of the profession to expose that charlatan publicly."
"What did he write that was so unacceptable to you?"
"Let's just say that his new theory basically boiled down to three words. Be the brew."
"What?"
"You heard me."
If Harry had been laughing hard before, now he was afraid he might never stop. And his stomach was actually hurting by then. Be the brew?
"He apparently believes potion-making to be something on the order of a religious experience," added Severus sourly. "It's really not very amusing."
It was to Harry, but another thought made him abruptly stop laughing. "Maybe this time I should just ask. Christmas is coming up, and then your birthday. What sorts of things would you like?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, that's real helpful. Thanks."
"Albus often complains that I'm impossible to buy for."
"No, he just complains that you're impossible."
"Cheeky this evening, aren't you?"
"Going to do something about it?" Harry waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Say, I've got an idea. How about I cover myself in caramel and--"
"Bedroom," ordered Severus, pointing. "Now. I'll expect you naked and on your knees, and not a drop of sauce anywhere, is that clear?"
Harry scooped up a fingerful of chocolate and smeared it teasingly across his lips. "How about icing?"
"How about obedience?"
"Mmm, your wish is my command," murmured Harry, licking the icing off his own lips. "And vice-versa. Bedroom it is. Naked, kneeling . . . don't keep me waiting long."
Friday, October 22, 1998 ---- 7:11 p.m.
True to his word, Harry was naked and on his knees when Severus went into the bedroom a moment later. He'd positioned himself in the middle of the large bed, his cock hanging down between his spread legs. It would have been quite a sensuous atmosphere--Harry had even dimmed the lights--if not for one thing.
The telly was on.
Worse, it was tuned to some programme filled with animated people behaving in very odd ways. Badly-drawn animated people, at that. They were speaking German, yet Harry was laughing at their antics.
"Know a spot of German, do you?" quipped Severus as he looked for the switch that would shut off the Muggle device. Hmm. Things looked to be quite a bit more complex than the last time he'd seen a telly, but that was easily remedied. He pulled the electric plug out of the socket.
"Hey!" Harry made a face. "I wanted to find out if Homer was ever going to lose all that weight!"
"Homer."
"Yeah. As far as I could figure out, he gained a bunch of weight on purpose so his company would have to let him work from home--"
"Have to?"
"It's an American cartoon."
"And so inane that you can follow it in a foreign language. That should tell you something." Severus leaned down, close to Harry, and breathed the question against his ear. "You'd really rather watch a silly American programme than suck my cock?"
Harry rocked back on his heels, a smile spreading across his face. Even better, words like that from Severus had his cock springing to attention. In less than ten seconds, it looked as stiff as a well-made wand. But still, he pretended to hesitate. "Well, let me think. Silly cartoon or sex with you. Hmm . . ." He tilted his head up and grinned. "I guess I'd rather suck your cock."
"You guess, do you?"
Harry patted the bed beside him. "Planning on joining me?"
"Actually, I think I'd rather have you at my feet." Severus made a sharp motion with his index finger, indicating that Harry should kneel on the floor.
"Ooh, right. You're taking charge." Harry slid off the bed and tilted his face up. "That was hot, last night in the Room of Requirement."
"Oh, you liked that, did you?" drawled Severus, something deep inside him sparking with warmth and pleasure to hear that. It was like a long-denied desire began awakening, coming to life. Harry was his, after all. In every way. Invoke the rite not just in name . . . And they had, and ever since, he had owned Harry, body and soul. Severus had ignored that as best he could. No choice, really, not after what had happened to Harry in London. But Harry was recovering from that, clearly.
And now, hearing that Harry thought Severus taking charge had been hot . . .
Severus felt his breathing hitch. He was used to being the dominant partner when it came to sex, after all. It could hardly be otherwise, when most of his experiences had been with men he'd bought for an hour or a day. And the spell had unquestionably put him in command of Harry. A prospect he'd relished . . . though it was one he'd repressed almost from the first. Almost, but not quite. Now, memories of their earliest encounters rose up to tempt him. Harry, gasping under Sensatus, practically a slave already, he was so in thrall to what Severus could do to him physically.
And now that Harry was finally comfortable with him, with his place in Severus' life and in Severus' bed, it was time for Severus to take charge again. Full charge, pushing Harry past his limits. For both their benefits.
He stroked his fingers through Harry's hair, tousling it as he spoke. "Oh, but last night was nothing new, you realise. We'd enjoyed frottage before. I merely made you wait a bit. Made you earn your release, as it were." Severus stilled his hand, tugging on Harry's hair then, just slightly. "Tonight you'll have to do more to earn it."
Harry licked his lips. "What?"
Severus had planned what to demand, of course, but he'd expected to make the entire weekend something of a game. Not now, though. He wanted to command, to dominate. It was a welcome relief to finally be able to assert himself in the bedroom. Having Harry lead . . . that had been enjoyable too, but Severus was the older, more experienced man here. It had been something of a strain pretending he wasn't. Severus wanted to take charge. And he could, now that Harry wanted that as well.
"You're going to suck me in," he said, his voice rasping over the words. Thank Merlin he had years and experience behind him, or the mere prospect might have him coming on the spot. As it was, he was painfully hard thinking about it. "All the way in, Harry. Every inch."
Harry glanced up, his green eyes huge. "You're joking. I can't--"
"Of course you can." Severus stroked both hands down the sides of Harry's face, almost as though positioning him already. "You will."
"Oh, God." Harry made a gulping noise, and turned his face into one of Severus' palms. He kissed it, his tongue lingering a bit. When he spoke, his voice was warm and moist against Severus' skin. "I . . . I don't think you know how much I want to. Well, of course you know how much, I did kind of babble on about it during the invocation, but don't you understand? I've tried, I really have, and I can't, you're too huge, and--"
If anything, that last bit just made Severus all the harder. What man didn't want to hear such things, after all? It came to Severus in a rush of warmth that Harry truly was a very satisfactory lover, in every way. At the same time, it was clear that that he had to make this good for Harry, who had clearly fantasised about giving Severus a proper blow job. Severus had to be sure the experience lived up to those fantasies.
But that desire didn't conflict at all with the urge he was still feeling to dominate. It was as if the two were blended into just one thing, as if they weren't contradictory in the slightest. But of course, they weren't. He'd explained it to Harry all those months ago, that taking on a slave meant protecting and supporting that slave just as much as it meant commanding him. Only now did Severus feel as though he were learning that lesson in earnest. He hadn't ever let himself give orders, not truly.
But now, Harry was ready.
"Shh," said Severus, tracing Harry's lips with a fingertip. "You trust me, yes? You want this. Just do as I say, and we can make it happen."
Harry gulped again, but then he nodded. "If you . . . yeah, all right. But it had damned well better make our powers cross more, since I'm pretty sure I'm about to choke. Er . . . you really want it though, right? So that should work."
"Oh, I want it," murmured Severus. "You can't imagine how much."
Harry looked down at Severus' crotch. "I can imagine how much."
"Come on, get on the bed."
"I thought you wanted me here."
"I think a massage is in order, first. And a strong drink. You're far too tense. This really isn't the problem you seem to think it is."
"Ha. Nobody could get that thing all the way into their mouth."
Severus decided he'd be better off not bringing up the men who had, since mention of prostitutes was bound to ruin their time together this weekend. As far as Severus was concerned, it was a honeymoon of sorts.
As Harry climbed onto the bed, Severus went back into the sitting room to prepare him a drink from the small wet bar there. A Scotch and water on ice, he decided.
Harry took off his glasses and then gulped down the drink like he thought it would give him Dutch courage.
Definitely, Harry needed to relax. A long massage was in order.
Severus shed his clothes, then strolled into the bathroom to see what sort of body lotion the hotel might have on hand. One drop on his finger told him that it was rich and smooth. It smelled of honey and melon. Just the thing for Harry, Severus decided.
It was rather gratifying that when he went back into the bedroom, Harry's gaze was trained on Severus' jutting cock. He might be a touch apprehensive, but he did want this.
Which was all to the good, since impulse to dominate or not, Severus truly didn't wish to force anything on Harry. Or force anything down his throat, as the case may be.
"On your stomach, then," he said, moving to sit alongside Harry. "It's been too long since I gave you a proper massage. I do love touching you, you know. And I don't just mean your cock."
"Yeah, I know," said Harry thickly. He pulled in a long breath as Severus dabbed lotion across his shoulder blades. "Oh. Mmm, that smells good. Nice and sweet. New brew? Hmm, but it doesn't feel magical . . ."
Severus didn't answer that as he ground his palms into Harry's shoulders and began the massage in earnest.
"Ah . . . oh, you do know what you're doing," moaned Harry after a few minutes.
"Yes, I do," said Severus, the words laced with meaning. Harry seemed to miss it, but that was all right.
"Feels so good . . ."
It felt that way to Severus also. Touching Harry always had been a potent pleasure. Well, not always, but ever since he'd known that Harry would be his, Severus could hardly get enough opportunities to touch him.
So marvellous how they were getting on, now that Harry had recovered from his terrible experience at the beginning of summer. Or recovered enough to be sexual, finally. Severus didn't fool himself that Harry was completely over what had happened. He still couldn't even bear to feel Severus' weight on top of him; he didn't like any sensation that smacked of true helplessness. Whenever they lay on the bed to enjoy mutual blowjobs, they were either side by side or Harry was on top.
Harry needed to feel that he could get away if he wished to.
Severus put that thought from his mind. He couldn't deny that he wanted to top Harry, in every way, but since it was too soon . . . no point in dwelling on it.
Especially since they were getting along in the bedroom in every other way.
"Relaxed, now?" he asked, leaning down so that his breath would brush against the hair curling over Harry's ear. Nudging him to turn over, Severus kissed him deeply. Mmm, Harry tasted of the Scotch he'd drunk. A heady combination.
"All of me 'cept my throat," said Harry when Severus pulled back.
It wasn't really a joke, though Severus saw that Harry had meant him to take it that way.
"You'll be fine." Severus reached for the wand he'd put down on the night table when he'd undressed. "It's possible to learn the technique without magic, of course, but I thought a spell would make things a bit easier for you."
"Sensatus?"
"No, something to loosen your throat muscles." Tensing up, of course, was Harry's main difficulty when he tried to deepen a blowjob.
"Is that why you didn't use a magic lotion, 'cause you were planning a spell and we have to be careful not to use too much magic? I mean, because Podentes won't like us solving our sex problems that way?"
"You're over-thinking everything again," said Severus softly. He briefly considered positions but decided that the one he'd settled on earlier really was best. "Back on the floor, Harry, on your knees. And lift your chin."
Severus touched his wand, lightly brushing across Harry's Adam's apple, and whispered the incantation. It wasn't much of a spell, really. Just the barest suggestion that the muscles should relax. It wouldn't even work, except on a willing partner, but as far as Severus was concerned, that was all to the good.
He didn't want to use anything resembling Compulsio, or remind Harry in any way of that night when Severus had forced him to relax against his will.
Harry obediently opened his mouth when Severus gently thrust his cock against his lips, and took Severus in. His hands came up as they usually did, his fingers wrapping themselves around the base of Severus' cock, massaging and caressing him there.
So warm and wet. Severus loved the way Harry would suck on his cock, lightly licking the cockhead all over, even while it stayed inside his mouth. It wasn't an expert blowjob by any means. It wasn't practiced and nuanced and designed to drive Severus to the brink of desire, again and again.
But for all that, it was better than any prostitute's efforts could be, because Harry's attentions were genuine. He was doing this because he wanted to. Because he enjoyed it, and they were lovers, and he wanted to please his lover.
Severus allowed Harry to go at his own pace, pushing forward only gradually, just enough to hint that he would like more as soon as Harry was ready to try it.
Harry moaned and opened his mouth wider, tilting his head back a little more, and shifted forward on his knees, just a little.
Ah . . . Severus drew in a sharp breath as he felt the tip of his cock slip a little way into Harry's throat.
Almost immediately, Harry began sputtering slightly, twisting his body a little.
Severus placed a hand on the back of his head. Not enough to hold him in place by force, just enough to steady him. "Shhh," he said, fingers carding through Harry's hair. "Stay relaxed. Yes, just like that. If you just tilt your head at a slightly different angle, you'll find that you can breathe perfectly well."
Harry angled his head backwards, just a bit, and Severus felt a small jolt of pleasure run through his cock.
Severus moved his hands down to Harry's shoulders as he felt him relaxing again. "More. All right with you?"
He felt rather than saw any sign of Harry's agreement, but that was enough. Severus pushed forward again. Slowly, true, but also more insistently than before. Harry could take it, and more importantly, Harry knew he could take it, now.
And that made all the difference in the world.
Harry took him in eagerly, his hands letting go of Severus' cock and coming around the back of the other man's thighs. Severus sighed in pleasure, not just at the feel of his cock slipping farther inside Harry's warm, moist mouth, but also at the trust he sensed radiating strongly from Harry. Usually he liked to hold Severus' cock in his hands, the better to control how deep Severus could go.
But not now.
Now, he was content to let Severus take charge, in this as well.
"Harry," Severus gasped as he inched his hips forward again, taking things slow. Part of him wanted to plunge inside that throat, wanted to sink himself balls-deep on the next thrust, and then begin moving in and out, in and out . . .
Severus wanted to fuck.
Handjobs and blowjobs and frottage . . . well, Severus was hardly complaining about the amount and kinds of sex he'd enjoyed in the past week. But that didn't mean that it had been all he wanted.
He wanted to fuck Harry's mouth, right now, and have his pleasure in a dazzling burst of hot, frantic thrusting into his handsome, fit, lover. He wanted that tight arse clenched around him, Harry groaning as Severus' cock connected with his prostate, again and again and again. He wanted to plunge inside Harry, plunge inside him so hard and fast that his balls made a slapping noise against Harry's arse. He wanted to arch his back and thrust his hips forward, his cock lodged so deep inside Harry that they became one.
But Harry trusted him, and Severus wasn't about to betray that trust, not in any way.
No matter how much he wanted to.
He let Harry control the speed and tempo of the blowjob. Let Harry grow used to the sensation of Severus down his throat, to moving his head this way and that to catch breath around Severus' bulk.
"Mmmmm . . ." That time it was Harry making noises, the sound a bit muffled and awkward, but so deeply meant and genuine that Severus felt drenched in pleasure. Not just physical pleasure, either. It went all the way through him, down to some deep place he didn't think about much, but that he'd known was there, ever since he'd woken up with Harry in his arms.
His Harry. His, forever.
Severus let loose a long, keening moan as he began to come, his cock fully lodged down Harry's throat. Ah, good. Fuck, was that ever good. It was incredible, how it felt to possess Harry that way, knowing Harry wanted it, knowing that Harry was his and could never leave him, knowing that there would be no clink of gold afterwards to remind him that he wasn't truly wanted.
He was truly wanted, now.
Severus waited until his orgasm had faded completely and then pulled out, and at once hauled Harry to his feet and yanked him close to kiss him long and deep. Harry's cock, hard and insistent, pressed against his thigh, the young man thrusting in a steady rhythm.
For all that, though, Harry clearly had more on his mind than his own need.
"No fair," he said, pulling away to pout, his lower lip thrust out in a way that made Severus want to kiss him again.
"Hmm?" Severus stepped back a little, but Harry stepped forward, crushing their bodies together again.
"I wanted to taste you when you came. I like it. You taste really good."
"Ah, but the feeling of coming while I'm thrust in deep, as far as I can go . . ."
"Yeah, that's good," said Harry, licking his lips. "Really good. I should know. Um, think you could do something about me, now?" He made a vague gesture downward.
"Now, when have I ever not taken care of you?"
Severus meant more than sex when he asked that, but the moment the question left his lips he wanted to call it back. After all, he'd spent years being spiteful and cruel to Harry.
If Harry was thinking of those years, he didn't let on. "Well, I'd tell you to get on your knees, then," he said, voice eager, actually bouncing on his heels. "But I'd rather you tell me what to do. You know, for the powers thing. And then the next time you want a blowjob you can cast that spell again, and I can take you in really deep, and--"
"You're not going to need the spell again."
"And what makes you so sure of that?"
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps the fact that it only lasts about two minutes to begin with? Everything you did after that was done by you alone."
"That's . . ." Apparently at a loss for words for a moment, Harry poked Severus in the chest. "That's awfully sneaky!"
Personally, Severus thought it rather clever. "You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"
"I'd like to enjoy myself quite a bit more--"
Severus needed no further urging than that. "On the bed again, then," he said, dropping his voice to a deep purr. "On your back. Close your eyes. And while I suck you off, you're to pinch and caress your left nipple. Play with it. Tug on the ring a bit. I want to watch."
"Kinky blighter, aren't you?"
"I'd like to see you enjoying the fact that you're mine."
"Oh, I enjoy it," said Harry, reaching up to kiss Severus once more.
But then he got on the bed and did as he'd been told.