nový př 8
Tuesday, October 19, 1998 ----7:38 p.m.
Brewing was always a calming sort of activity for Severus, as long as he was left alone to work in peace. He usually enjoyed having total silence in which to observe the subtle interplay of one ingredient with another. A quiet laboratory was a welcome change, after an entire day of rebuking students for chattering steadily away.
This evening, however, he realised he was humming as he stirred. Three times clockwise, five times anti-clockwise, over and over, and he was humming a little tune to match the strokes.
Well, why not? If any man had reason to feel content, Severus did. Now that Harry was over his reservations about sex, he couldn't get enough. He wanted it almost constantly, it seemed.
Not that Severus was complaining, certainly. In fact, he'd rarely had so little cause for complaint. All in all, life was good.
How could it not be? He'd spent his entire Sunday wallowing in decadent pleasures. After their morning romp--and what a romp it had been!--they'd napped for a while, spooned together. Then breakfast in bed, waffles with fresh strawberries doused in cream, and a bottle of very nice champagne. Harry had ordered all that, but when Severus tried to come to the upstairs table to eat, he'd been firmly shooed back to bed, where they'd fed each other strawberries and toasted the future.
A future that suddenly looked bright to Severus. And when had he ever felt that way, before? But how could he feel otherwise when Harry had proceeded to smear dollops of syrup across Severus' lips, only to kiss it off? And that was only the beginning. Harry had got more and more adventurous with the syrup as the meal went on. He'd started with Severus' chest. True, Harry had been slightly tentative at first, as if not sure that Severus would appreciate being made a snack, as it were, but when Severus laughed in pure enjoyment, Harry had shoved him onto his back and begun in earnest.
Syrup on his nipples, then his abdomen, Harry licking it off drop by drop as Severus moaned with pleasure. Harry blazed a trail down, steadily working his way toward Severus' cock.
No, Severus thought, wanting what seemed to be coming, yet afraid to believe it could be true. He won't. He's not going to. He's not ready for that. He's just teasing me, and doing a damned fine job of it, at that--
But the teasing was so very delicious that Severus couldn't even resent it.
Or maybe he could have, if he'd been left hard and aching. But he hadn't been.
Harry's hand on the root of his cock, holding it at a steady vertical, and then a drop of syrup on the tip. And then a long dribble, strawberry flavour oozing down on all sides. Severus gasped, pushing up on his elbows to see what would surely follow, but Harry placed a palm flat on his sticky chest and shoved him straight back down.
"I don't think I can keep going, not if you're planning to watch."
If that was the way Harry wanted it, fine. Severus went so far as to close his eyes and fling an arm up to cover them, which made Harry giggle.
Severus never would have thought that a giggle could be so erotic, but that one was, because it proved that what Severus had been waiting for, for so long, had finally come true. Harry was at ease with him. Utterly at ease. Sexually, and in other ways as well. He could be himself. He could be silly, even, and not worry that Severus might tear him apart with scornful words.
For a moment more, nothing happened. The small span of time was almost torture, Severus still wondering if Harry really would, or if he'd back out at the last instant.
Then a warm, wet tongue began lapping at him, caressing the head of his cock, bared by the force of his erection. For a while, that was all Harry did: just lick and lick and lick. Like Severus was his lollipop.
Like he was trying to make Severus come from licks alone.
It wasn't like any blowjob Severus had had before. Each time Harry's warm tongue left a wet trail on his cock, the air in the dungeons would start to cool the streak of moisture. But then Harry would lick him again. Hot, cold, hot, cold . . .
It was maddening. Beyond maddening.
"Suck me in," Severus finally groaned, moving his arms off his eyes. He had to see, had to know why Harry wasn't doing that already. Licking was all well and good to start with, but a man needed more!
He pushed up on his elbows, just slightly.
Oh, Merlin. That might have been a mistake. Harry looked . . . how to describe it? Like every randy fantasy you've ever harboured, he decided. Lips moist like he'd just licked them, his brilliant green eyes intent as they stared down at Severus' cock, one hand still holding it upright, but the other one shoved suspiciously beneath his own body as he lay between Severus' spread legs.
Harry, so turned on by Severus' cock that he was touching himself.
If Severus had been twenty years younger, he might have come from the sight alone. As it was, he made a kind of strangled noise and pumped his hips, desperate.
A smile curled Harry's lips when he glanced up. "No watching, eh? Or I won't."
Severus knew better than to take the threat seriously. The truth was there in Harry's eyes, in every line of his body as he lay just inches from Severus' hard cock. Harry wanted to do more than lick him. A lot more. He'd just never done it before, and he was a little slow about getting to the point.
He'd never done this before. With anyone.
A wave of strong feeling suddenly washed through Severus. He wasn't sure what to call it. Fondness, affection, devotion? He just knew that Harry had never shared himself this way before. Had never looked at anyone the way he was looking down at Severus. He was Severus' alone.
That probably had a greater impact on him than it should have; Severus knew he wasn't by nature a sentimental man. With Harry, though, he was having to guard against sentimental reactions more and more often.
At any rate, the warm, sweet feeling gathering inside him wouldn't let him stay sitting up to watch, much as he longed to. No, if Harry would prefer that Severus onlyfeel, then the matter was settled.
Severus slid down onto his back again, and wriggled his hips. "No watching, I promise."
Harry stroked Severus' cock up and down as he spoke. "Mmm. I think I like promises. You've been really good about yours. I mean, about all the ones you made but couldn't really make. You probably deserve some kind of reward . . ."
Now that was definitely a tease.
"Some fresh bobotubers, how about that?"
"Harry . . ."
Amazing how rough his voice could become, when he wanted something badly enough.
Severus had a feeling that Harry might have prattled on for a good while longer. His tone certainly suggested that he was enjoying watching Severus writhe and moan. But his own desires were obviously too strong to be put off any longer.
"Mmmm," Harry said again, except that time, it wasn't a prelude to speech. That time, it was pure enjoyment, for Harry was sliding his lips down over the tip of Severus' cock, taking him into the warm cavern of his mouth.
Severus exhaled a long breath, one he hadn't known he was holding. The moist heat was just what he wanted, and when Harry began bobbing his head up and down, caressing Severus' cock with his lips and tongue, adding friction and motion and pressure to the mix, Severus bucked upwards, unable to control himself.
Bad move, that. Harry ended up gagging.
"Blech," he said, probably not realising how it came out sounding to Severus. "No, better not."
"No more?" asked Severus before he could stop the words.
"No, I meant, you hold still," said Harry, rising up enough so that he could look down into Severus' face. "Let me, all right? Explore. Figure it out."
That sounded a capital idea to Severus. "I'll be good."
Harry chuckled. "If you could see yourself, Severus."
"Ah. Well, I'm rarely in such a good mood, I suppose."
"Long as I know what it takes to keep your temper sweet," quipped Harry, sinking back down to start again.
Severus kept to his word and held still this time as Harry sucked him in and began bobbing his head. It was definitely the most shallow blowjob he'd ever had. He wanted to thrust up, to feel the length of his whole cock inside Harry's warm, eager mouth. But if Harry gagged again, he might not want to continue.
Severus wasn't used to a lover who was this inexperienced, but he found he didn't mind in the slightest. In fact, he liked it. Harry would learn to do this with him. Only with him.
Granted, the end of the blowjob could have been better. Severus had wondered if Harry would swallow. He didn't. He didn't even let Severus climax inside his mouth. At the last second, he yanked his face away and finished Severus off using his hand.
Severus had a feeling that Harry's other hand was still wrapped around his own cock. Which made up for the not swallowing, he thought, deciding not to mention it. It hadn't been a perfect blowjob, but the next one would be better, he felt sure.
The important thing was something that went beyond technique. Harry had blown him of his own free will. Had licked and sucked him for no other reason than because he wanted to.
Because he wanted Severus.
Not because he had to. Not because he was a slave. Not because Severus had commanded him, or even suggested it. No, Harry had done it because they were lovers.
If Severus could have melted, he would have.
"My turn," said Harry in a low voice as he slid his body up to lie on top of Severus.
"You didn't finish yourself off?"
How a grin could be both impish and worldly-wise was a good question, Severus thought, but Harry's was. "Now why would I do that, when I have you?"
With that, Harry began grinding their hips together.
The tray clattered to the stone floor, no doubt spilling what remained of their breakfast, but Harry didn't seem to care. Didn't change tempo, though he did grab Severus' hands in his own and pull them up to lean on them.
Sweet Merlin. Severus wished he hadn't come so recently, then. He wasn't used to this, to someone who wanted him, really wanted him, and was eager to take what he wanted.
Eager, perhaps, wasn't even an apt word. Severus ended up coming three times over the course of Sunday morning and afternoon, more than he could remember since he'd been a teenager, himself. Harry had actually had five orgasms.
Ah, the pleasures of youth, Severus thought now, still humming as he moved his stirring stick. But those pleasures were his to enjoy, too, since Harry was his. In every way, now.
Well, not quite every way. Harry wasn't ready for some things. He didn't like to be on the bottom, not even figuratively. But that would come when Harry was ready.
And in the meantime, Severus was as happy as a champion brewer with a shiny new cauldron. It didn't even matter to him that Harry sometimes came out with statements that in any other context would be frankly off-putting.
Take the syrup, for example. After their frottage, when Harry had been lying limply atop him, playing with a strand of Severus' hair, he'd said he'd used it because he'd been afraid that Severus' bare cock might taste absolutely awful.
Not exactly seductive, a remark like that. And yet, that Harry felt free to say it, that he felt free to say anything . . . there was value in that. Besides . . .
"And so?"
"Oh." Harry had blushed, which he hadn't done in a long time. "I liked it. I mean, once the syrup was all gone, I kept on, didn't I?"
So he had.
"But we're sticky again, somehow," Harry had continued. "Let's have a bath, you think?"
They hadn't bathed together since the invocation. That Harry would suggest it now struck Severus as significant. It was like he'd moved beyond regretting that he'd had to become a slave. Like he was at peace. At ease, just like with the sex.
And that was an aphrodisiac in of itself, even though both of them were already so spent that they did little in the bath but lazily wash each other as they talked and laughed.
On Monday they'd both had to get up and go to work, but for all that, they'd managed very satisfactory sex in the morning and evening both. Late into the evening, Harry starting to understand that anticipation could be almost as pleasurable as culmination. Starting to learn the fine art of teasing, after all.
He'd used that knowledge to stunning effect this very morning, actually making Severus whimper before he'd stopped that licking--ever more sensuous as he gained experience--and started using both his hands, even while he whispered, "Let's see if I can make you beg . . ."
He had made Severus beg. And Severus had never begged before. Not for release. Or at least, not out loud.
What Harry offered was well worth begging for, though. No doubt about it. That time, he'd provided a much more satisfactory finish to the blowjob, staying with it until the very end. Severus came, spurting into Harry's warm mouth, which kept pleasuring him all through his climax.
And if Harry hadn't been able to swallow and had instead made a strange motion with his hand as he exited the room, obviously intending to get to the bathroom to spit the semen out . . . well, he probably just needed a bit more experience. Or perhaps he just needed to learn one of the discreet charms available for such situations.
He didn't say anything about the matter to Harry, though. He didn't think he would need to, either. Harry needed just what he'd said earlier: the opportunity to explore. To figure things out. Besides, Severus had better things to do when Harry came back a few moments later, his green eyes blazing. Much better things.
"I want you to suck me," Harry had said, his voice low and husky. "A long, hot, wet blowjob. The best you have, and I don't particularly care if we're both late to class . . ."
They weren't late, of course. Severus had known they wouldn't be. But they did miss breakfast in the Great Hall and had to grab a quick bite from the table in their rooms. Harry didn't even have time to eat with Severus, since he had much farther to walk. He'd stuffed a fried egg between a couple of slices of toast and started munching as he walked. He'd given Severus a little wave as he left the room, mouth already full.
Once, Harry would have been humiliated that he and Severus had missed breakfast on the same day. The implications would have horrified him, no matter that it was absurd to think anyone would draw any sort of conclusion from such scant evidence. Now, he seemed unconcerned about the entire matter.
But then again, once not so long ago, Severus would have been thinking caustic thoughts about Harry stuffing food in his mouth as he walked along the corridors where students and professors alike could see him. Now, it only meant that they'd stayed too long in bed.
So of course he was humming as he stirred his potion! Why wouldn't he? Life with Harry was turning out to be wonderful.
Five strokes clockwise, three strokes anti-clockwise, over and over again. Usually Severus was in a worse mood when he made this particular potion. He resented doing anything for Lupin.
But Harry had specifically asked, months ago, that Severus keep making the Wolfsbane. Severus had done it, both for Albus and to keep faith with Harry, but he'd still resented the long hours put into a potion that would make Lupin's life easier.
This time, though, he found that he couldn't quite muster as much resentment over the matter as he usually did. Harry would make it worth his while.
Tuesday, October 19, 1998 ---- 8:12 p.m.
"It's simple when you get used to it," said Harry, hovering on his broom just a few feet off the ground. The Slytherin Chasers listened attentively, gazes trained on him.
Well, about time. Harry hadn't wanted to complain to Severus, but the Slytherin team had been his biggest challenge as Quidditch coach. Harry figured it had a lot to do with past history. All those Gryffindor wins. Since there weren't any first-years on the team, everyone on it had attended Hogwarts during Harry's time there. He had a feeling that his name had come up in the Slytherin common room, after matches. Not to mention that some of these students were probably still friends with Malfoy.
All of which meant that the players had been uncooperative, and even hostile at first. Things were finally getting better now, though. The Slytherins still didn't like him much, but they did respect him. Or rather, his authority. A little while back, Harry had started taking Severus at his word, and had started taking points.
Sometimes, lots of points.
And he wasn't shy about assigning detention, either.
The Slytherins had got the point, and now when he talked, they listened. Courteously, since Harry had made it clear that he wasn't about to stand for glares, either.
It probably didn't hurt that Slytherin had lost the two practice matches he'd set them. First to Ravenclaw, and then to Hufflepuff.
"And you're going to keep losing," Harry had said to them at their next practice, his voice cold, "if you don't start trying to learn from me instead of resent me. The other houses have the sense to see that I can help them improve. They're going to be leagues ahead of you soon if you don't take your heads out of your arses!"
All right, so probably a staff member shouldn't say arses in front of students. But maybe a coach had more leeway. At any rate, when one of the Slytherins had muttered something under his breath, Harry had decided they needed even more plain speaking. "Five points," he'd snapped, turning his broom toward the offending student. "What's wrong with you lot? I thought you were Slytherins! You should be thinking strategically! Instead, you're letting personal feelings keep you from taking advantage of what I have to offer!"
He'd dismissed practice early, saying that he had better things to do than teach students who didn't care to learn.
Ever since that night, the Slytherin team had been much more willing to cooperate with him.
"You roll your broom just at the end of your acceleration, and it'll give you a tiny additional burst of speed. Might be that burst that makes the difference in a crucial moment." He turned and flew up a few more feet, then demonstrated the move once more. "Practice that for a bit, but don't forget, it won't work unless you're flying flat-out when you try the roll."
The Chasers started trying the move, but they didn't really make much progress until Harry suggested that they race. Slytherins. Best way to motivate them--ha, short of accusing them of not living up to their house name--was to make everything into a competition, Harry had found.
Hmm. He actually kind of wondered if the same idea might apply to Severus in bed. Not that the man needed any motivation, certainly. He was a wonderful lover, Harry was finding. Actually, he'd known for a long time that Severus would be. But knowing that first-hand . . . it was a little bit like Christmas had come early.
But how would Severus react if Harry were to challenge him to some sort of grown-up game? Like, which one of them could last longest during a blowjob, or-- no, no, not that. Harry didn't have a chance of winning at that.
Well, maybe he'd think of something later if he needed to spice up their sex life. Though that was hard to imagine, wasn't it? Severus was always ready for sex. Even when he'd just come and obviously needed time to recover, he was still ready to give sex to Harry. All he wanted--
"Er . . . Coach Potter?"
God, he'd done it again. Ever since the weekend, Harry had been drifting off into sex fantasies at the least provocation. Or at no provocation, really. Severus was just so good that he couldn't help it.
"Yes, Miss Tiddleywell?" He looked up to see the Slytherins' reserve Seeker waiting for his attention.
"I have a new dive I wanted to show you."
Harry gestured for her to explain it, but after she did, he decided a cushioning charm would be a good idea. Just in case. "There," he said, pointing at the area where he'd cast it. "Stay over that patch of grass."
Tara Tiddleywell rolled her eyes. "I've done it a thousand times, sir. I'm not going to crash."
"Of course not. But, you know." Harry leaned close, his voice a little conspiratorial. "I can't watch otherwise. It sounds too scary."
"But you were a Gryffindor!"
Interesting choice of tense, Harry thought. "Oh, yeah. But that just means I'd probably do the dive myself without thinking twice. All right?"
Tara chuckled a little. "You go over there for the best view, though. I was hoping you could give me some pointers on how to make the dive a little more straight. I think I'm going at a slight angle, see."
Harry backed off until he was a good distance away, then looked high into the sky, where Tara was hovering, and waved for her to begin.
She turned on her broom and zoomed toward the ground, rotating quickly as she descended. The rotation helped her speed up. Harry had known it would, of course, but Tara's new trick was to slide her legs out and align her body with the broom as she spun.
She picked up more speed that way. A lot more.
Harry had never seen quite this kind of dive before. Impressed, he glanced about to see if Tara's team mates were watching the new manoeuvre.
They weren't. Still intent on their own drills and exercises, they were working on the tasks Harry had set them. Actually, a good number of them were watching Harry, which the Slytherins tended to do a lot. More than the other teams, certainly. They seemed to feel a need to keep track of where he was. Harry didn't like it, but he was getting used to it.
Good thing he'd looked around for an instant, though, because at that moment Harry saw one of the Beaters give a Bludger a hell of a whack. Normally no problem, but his aim was off. The Bludger started careening straight towards the stretch of grass Harry had charmed to cushion Tara in case she fell.
Harry's spell had been designed to absorb the impact of one good crash, and if the Bludger hit the grass, that would certainly count.
Even worse, the waves of magic that a collision would set off would almost certainly disrupt Tara's concentration. The Bludger hitting the grass was likely to make her crash.
Cursing a little, Harry leaned low over his broom and flew as fast as he could, one hand reaching back to grab the bat he usually kept with him while he was coaching. You never could tell when you'd need to whack a Bludger out of your way . . . particularly when flying alongside Slytherins.
He wasn't going to make it in time; he could tell.
He flew faster, pushing at the limits of his magic. After seven years of flying every chance he got, he knew just where those limits were. He could go so fast, but no faster.
Except, this time, when he really pushed, he broke through his usual limits, his broom leaping forward at high speed, so fast that the ground below him became a blur.
He was flying faster than he ever had, yet his aim was true when he zoomed past the Bludger and knocked it to the far edge of the pitch.
Tara pulled up sharply, her broom making a screeching sound as she came to a sudden halt and landed beside Harry, who was standing to the side of the charmed ground, breathing hard.
"Great bloody Merlin, did you see that?" Harry heard someone shout, the voice sounding very far away. That was just his shock getting in the way, though. When he turned his head, Gaius Galsworthy was hovering nearby, just off the ground. And he was practically slack-jawed.
And no wonder. Harry wasn't sure how fast he'd flown; he only knew that it was a lot faster--a lot--than he'd ever dreamed of going.
Still, letting on that he was as surprised as the students probably wasn't a good move. Blinking, he recovered enough presence of mind to smirk, just a little. He wouldn't have done it with any other house, but Slytherins respected confidence. Over-confidence, even. "You see what you can accomplish with practice," he said, casually.
The whole team was around him, by then. Whispering, murmuring, voices alternately awed and envious. Most of them had seen, it seemed, and those who hadn't had already heard.
"You might have shown us a thing like that earlier," said Leonard Brimstone, glaring. "Or do you only demonstrate things like that for the other houses?"
"Don't be daft. I wouldn't have done it at all if I hadn't thought I needed to get that Bludger out of Miss Tiddleywell's way." Harry shrugged as though he'd given the matter a lot of thought. "There's a difference between teaching and showing off, after all."
"Could you do that when you were at school, here?" A seventh-year asked that, his voice laced with suspicion.
"No. I practiced all summer to get that good."
Harry held up a hand when it looked as though the questions would never end. Then he drew his wand. "Tempus. Right. It's gone half-eight already, so that's it for tonight. Good night, then."
They grumbled, something about how he probably let the Gryffindors have the pitch for as late as they liked. Which wasn't true, but Harry didn't need to defend himself. Let them say what they liked. He didn't care.
All he really cared about now was getting home to Severus to share this great news. It was starting, finally. Their powers were beginning to cross. He probably should have expected it, Harry decided as he flew to the castle doors, his speed this time fast but not unreal. He was happy, and Severus was happy, and the sex was incredible. So of course their powers were going to start crossing.
Harry jumped off his broom and rubbed his hands together as he hurried down to the dungeons.
Tuesday, October 19, 1998 ---- 8:37 p.m.
"Severus!" called Harry as he rushed through the door connecting the two parts of their quarters. "Severus!"
No answer, but that wasn't so hard to understand, since Harry could hear the sound of the shower running.
So excited he could hardly bear it, Harry rushed headlong toward the bathroom, ripping off his Quidditch coaching robe as he went. He threw it toward the bed and barely registered that he'd missed. Then he was dashing through the bathroom door, sure that he'd burst if he didn't tell Severus the good news right this instant.
He wanted to celebrate, to order gallons of champagne, to throw himself at Severus and kiss him long and hard, because of course, Severus was a big part of this, wasn't he? It was all the fantastic sex they'd been having that was responsible for that amazing surge of power Harry had felt out on the Quidditch pitch.
And what power . . . Harry's breath hitched for an instant. That rush of speed was just the beginning, he knew, but it had been enough for him to look ahead and see the truth of what was coming. Harry was going to have scads of power available, whenever he wanted. Nobody would ever be able to get the better of him, again.
And that was an odd kind of feeling, for Harry. Growing up, he'd always been aware that at any moment, Vernon might grab his arm wrong and twist it to make a point. Or even fling Harry away too hard, not caring when his head collided with the hearth. And certainly not caring when Dudley started in on him. Even after he'd been attending Hogwarts and had learned enough magic to defend himself, he hadn't felt secure. Because by then, of course, there was the worry that if he used his wand away from school, the Ministry would do something awful to him, like take it away for good and leave him at the mercy of the Dursleys forever.
And then of course it had been brought home to him, again and again, just how little use even magic could be, when you were faced with those more experienced at it than yourself. Harry had managed to survive on luck alone, more times than he liked to think about. Sure, there had been some magical skill involved, too -- the Sorting Hat's knowing to bring him that sword, Dumbledore and the statues in the atrium coming to his defence. But that was just the thing. It had almost always been somebody else's magical talent coming to his rescue, not his own. That Patronus he'd cast out by the lake that time--he wouldn't have had a chance to do it, if not for Hermione's time-turner.
Even when he'd won the tournament, it hadn't been his doing. And he knew he'd be dead and gone if his parents hadn't shown up during the duel in the graveyard to give him some time to escape.
This power was different. He would be the one wielding it, the one making the decisions. And sure, Severus could countermand him if he wanted to, but other than that, Harry would be in control. He still wouldn't be as experienced at magic as Voldemort and the rest of his inner circle of nasty little minions, but for once, experience wouldn't matter. Not against the kind of power Harry was going to have at his disposal.
For the first time, in a long, long time, possibly forever, he felt truly confident. Free, even, because nobody was going to do anything awful to him, ever again. Nobodycould, except Severus, and by then, Harry knew without a doubt that he wouldn't.
A surge of something indefinable rushed through Harry, then, seeming to fill him from toes to scalp. A warm feeling. Almost honeyed. Harry had been given so few gifts in his life that he cherished every one, and that meant that he easily recognised the feeling coursing through him now. Of course. Harry had thought of the spell as a curse, but in some ways, Cambiare Podentes was really more like a gift. It had taken a long time to see that, but it was a gift of power. Ultimate magical power. And if it required slavery to make the power flow . . .
Harry wasn't daft enough to be happy about that end of things, but it was starting to look like it wasn't as bad a deal as it had been before. He was finally getting what he was supposed to get out of the bargain. What he'd wanted. The whole reason he'd been willing to go into this in the first place.
He'd be invulnerable, once their powers crossed completely.
"Severus!" Harry said again as he bounded over to the shower and yanked the door open. "We have to celebrate!"
The other man turned around to face him, his hair a black curtain as the water flowed over it. But it wasn't his hair Harry was looking at, not really.
Mmmm. Severus' long, thick cock had water streaming over it too, the rivulets making his crotch hair a sleek mat, beads of moisture gathering at the tip of his cock. Hanging there, they simply glistened, like dewdrops just waiting to be lapped up.
Severus wasn't even hard, but that didn't matter. Harry's mouth was watering, already. Harry wanted him, and he suddenly couldn't think of any better way to celebrate than to step into the shower, clothes and all. He dropped to his knees on the tiles, his hands reaching up to begin to stroke that cock, up and down, up and down.
"Harry--"
Harry glanced up, feeling cocky. And in charge. Which was really strange, considering that he was the slave here, but more and more he was starting to realise that when it came to his relationship with Severus, that didn't matter. It really, really didn't.
"Want me to stop?" he asked, his thumb massaging Severus' foreskin in little circles that made the cock in his hand swell and grow. It was a feeling Harry liked, that sensation of weight. He moved one hand a little to hold Severus' cock, using his other hand to weigh the man's balls. So heavy and substantial, and round and firm in their casing of soft, wrinkly skin. Sometimes Harry thought he liked Severus' balls even more than his cock. He liked to roll them gently back and forth in his hands and feel the skin around them tense as Severus' cock got hard and pulled on it.
Shocking Severus was great fun, Harry decided. The man was all but speechless for a moment. Unfortunately, he seemed to recover from the surprise of having a fully-clothed Harry join him in the shower after a second or two. He looked down to where Harry was kneeling before him. "You're getting wet."
Hmm, maybe he wasn't quite over his shock after all, saying something as obvious as that. Brainless, even. It made Harry feel better about his own sometimes-not-so-brilliant comments, to hear one like that coming from Severus.
"Really?" he asked, laughing, but not so much at Severus. There was more than that buoying his mood. A lot more. Just like when he'd dribbled syrup all over Severus and the bed as well, he found he didn't care how big a mess he might make. He couldn't remember closing the shower door, so water was probably spraying all over the floor behind him, but there was something liberating about that, really. It felt decadent. Naughty, perhaps.
Harry was finding that he liked the sensation of being naughty.
He took Severus in his mouth, then, enclosing the cockhead with moist warmth, his tongue darting out to lap at the ridge on the underside. Severus liked that, Harry knew. It never failed to bring forth a little shiver that started at the man's calves and sort of coursed its way up his body. And when Harry twisted his tongue a bit, and poked at the ridge, there, and yes, there, he could sometimes even get Severus to make a noise that sounded like he was trying hard not to moan.
Harry wanted him to moan. Or better yet, cry out. Babble, even, the way Harry sometimes did when Severus sucked him, keeping Harry in such a state of need that Harry sometimes felt he'd die if he didn't climax. He wanted to hear Severus lose control so much that it was almost like a craving. Harry drew Severus more deeply into his mouth, as deeply as he could. Which wasn't very deep, actually. He wasn't sure how Severus managed to give such deep blowjobs without choking and sputtering all over the place. Granted, Harry wasn't quite as long, but still . . .
Practice, Harry thought, a little impishly. I bet I'll get there with practice, so . . .
He started moving his head back and forth, taking Severus all the way to the back of his mouth, then pulling back again. To think he'd been worried that bare cock might not taste good, when it was so very delicious! Or at least, Severus' was. Harry wouldn't know about anyone else's, but that was all right. His little . . . thing . . .for Bryerson seemed a bit ridiculous, now. Why would he have been fantasising about him when he had someone like Severus, right under his nose?
So yeah, Harry liked what he had, taste and all. Especially taste. Severus usually had a musky flavour. Heady. Intense. Harry loved it. A blowjob in the shower actually had drawbacks, he was finding. Severus must have just washed his cock and balls. Right now they had a clean, fresh taste, very close to the crisp flavour of water itself. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Harry missed the musk.
Wanting more of Severus, more of his own particular flavour, Harry tensed his tongue and darted it into the slit at the tip of Severus' cock.
The man thrust his hips out, his hands scrabbling for purchase against the slick walls of the shower. "Bed--"
By then Harry was soaked clear through, but that wasn't why he gave in to the urging. He actually wanted to finish this in the shower, for the novelty of it, if nothing else. Even if his knees were starting to ache.
But no . . . Severus had said bed, and all at once, Harry wanted to see what obeying would do for their crossing of powers. After that exhilarating rush of speed on his broom, Harry was eager to try anything that would push the process along.
"Bed, yeah," he agreed, pulling himself up to stand. Ugh. Severus had shut the water off by then, and Harry felt absolutely sodden, his clothes a rapidly cooling mass. Not exactly a feeling that would normally make him want to leap into sex, but then again, Severus didn't let him feel it for long. Strong, long-fingered hands were slipping buttons free, yanking down his zip, and peeling fabric away from skin. Bit tricky, considering he still had his shoes on. Not to mention his glasses, which had long since fogged. He'd completely forgotten about them, but of course he'd been going on taste and touch and smell for a while.
They ended up tumbling together onto the bed, the two of them naked, damp from the shower, shivering until they dove under the thick duvet and more or less cuddled. Just for a moment, though. Just until they were warm, and Severus urged Harry into the position he'd called soixante-neuf the first time they'd tried it. The name had sounded exotic and exciting to Harry, the same way frottage still did, at least until afterwards, when they'd been lying in bed together. Then, Severus had translated it, and appeared amused when Harry had only shrugged. Sixty-nine? Bit odd, really.
He hadn't really got the name until Severus had drawn a loopy six and nine in the air, his wand leaving a trail of greenish smoke in the air, and then had given him a rather pointed glance.
"Oh . . ." Harry had grinned, then, thinking it brilliant.
"Wait until I teach you seventy."
Harry had brightened at that, only to have Severus shake his head, even more amused.
"Oh, you!" Definitely, the man had deserved to be bonked over the head with a pillow, even if it had made him glower. The look on his face at that had made Harry laugh out loud. "Never thought things would be like this," he'd murmured after a moment. "So . . .I don't know. Carefree, I guess."
Hmm, seemed like that admission meant something to Severus. "You're happy then?" he'd asked, a little stiffly. Like he was almost afraid of the answer.
"I'm happy," Harry had said, smiling as he'd snuggled up against Severus. "The slave thing . . . well, when I think about it, it's not what I would have wanted, right? But here's the thing--I don't think about it any longer. Or, not much."
And to think, they'd had that snippet of conversation before Harry had discovered that their powers were starting to cross.
Now, as he scooted around in the bed to straddle Severus, head-to-toe, eagerly swallowing as much of the other man as he could fit in his mouth, Harry decided he was better than happy. Sex with Severus really wasn't an experience to be missed. Brilliant didn't even begin to describe it, and that was without counting the potential it had for enabling them to crossing their powers still further.
Harry made a contented noise as he worked Severus' cock and felt his own swallowed right down to the root. Mmmm, good. So good. He tried to say so, but of course with his mouth filled to overflowing with warm, delicious cock, it came out more like a gurgle.
For some reason, it struck Harry as funny that he was talking with his mouth full, and that for once, Severus wasn't complaining.
That was Harry's last coherent thought for quite some time, because by then Severus' attentions to his cock were getting quite energetic, and that despite the fact that Severus was the man on the bottom. Ah, God. Harry started thrusting down into Severus' mouth a little, needing more friction, but his position on his elbows and knees seemed too unstable. Moaning, he let his body slide until most of his weight was resting on Severus, and grabbed the man's shins with both hands, the better to control his own angle of entry into that wet, eager mouth.
Legs splayed to either side, Harry thrust down sharply now, wanting more contact, more of Severus. In some strange way it seemed like he wanted to possess him, like all this frantic thrusting was staking some kind of claim. He felt like he had the other night, when he'd said over and over that Severus was his. When he'd made Severus say it, too.
And Severus was his, Harry knew. That fact actually made him want to swallow Severus down a whole lot deeper. Make him be all Harry's, literally, but every time he lowered his lips around the large, delicious cock in his mouth, the fantasy shattered. He had to be really careful not to gag.
Well, Harry didn't have that part down as well as Severus, but for all that, sixty-nine was nothing short of brilliant. Harry had thought so the first time they'd done it, butthis time it was even better. They ended up coming almost at the same time. Harry wasn't actually sure who started off first, whether it was the sharp taste of Severus' semen that pushed Harry off the edge too, or if Harry's orgasm triggered Severus'. It was too close to call, not that he was trying.
In the end, all that mattered was that their mutual thrusting and straining ended up being entirely satisfied. Sighing with pleasure, Harry spent a while afterwards just lying atop Severus, staring at his spent cock, giving it the occasional lazy lick before he rolled them both slightly so that they were lying more on their sides, facing each other.
"More?" asked the other man, his warm breath brushing Harry's balls, slightly to the side of his face by then.
He was offering, not asking, Harry knew. Severus was like that. Unfailingly generous in bed. Which was pretty un-Slytherin of him, Harry thought, but then again, Severus did like Harry's pleasure. Loved it, in fact, so it wasn't as though he was always giving without taking in return.
Actually, Harry thought as he turned around to face the same way and curled up against Severus, when the sex was really, really good, like this, there wasn't any question of giving or taking. It was just all there, for the both of them to enjoy.
"Mmm, brilliant," he murmured, his fingers trailing across the sparse hair scattered on Severus' chest. As often happened, it seemed like his attention was drawn to the scars marring the man's skin. Harry wasn't sure why. He just knew that he liked to touch them. To kiss them.
As long as he didn't ask questions about those scars, Severus didn't seem to mind Harry making it clear that he'd noticed them.
Apparently thinking that Harry's "brilliant" had meant he wanted to come again, Severus smoothed a hand down Harry's chest and stomach, then began teasing his cock with sure, practiced strokes.
"Oy. Bit sensitive there," gasped Harry, shifting his hips back a little bit. "I know you asked if I wanted more, but I don't think I'm ready quite yet."
"All right." Severus settled his hand on Harry's hipbone instead, letting it just rest there. He yawned, loudly, then appeared to shake himself awake again. "What was that you said when you first came in? Something about celebrating?"
Tired and relaxed as he was, Harry sat up suddenly. That was right; he'd forgotten. Well, no, he hadn't really forgotten. Not for a second. The knowledge of their crossed powers was so acute it was like a part of his mind was brilliantly lit with it, but he had forgotten that he hadn't told Severus yet. Maybe at some level, he'd expected Severus to know instinctively, or something. It did seem the kind of thing the master wizard might just sense, right?
But the spell didn't always work as they anticipated. The mind bond certainly hadn't.
"Our powers are starting to cross!" Harry exclaimed, the bed shifting oddly until he realised he was actually bouncing, he was so excited. He quickly explained what had happened out on the pitch and how he'd never flown anywhere near that fast and how it was definitely a sign of increased powers.
"Take an occasional breath," Severus advised, his voice dry.
Harry didn't need to be told that, but he took a long, deep one, again liking the idea that Severus had told him to do something, and he'd done it. He wondered how much of an edge a single command like that might give him.
"I thought you'd be excited we're finally getting somewhere," Harry said.
"Have you been anxious about when it would start to happen?"
Harry stared at him. "Well, yeah, considering the occasional story the papers run. I mean, after the Tower Bridge thing, the attacks seemed to quiet somewhat--"
"No doubt Bellatrix's abrupt death caused some re-thinking of plans. Not to mention Bole and Talmadge's mysterious demise."
"Mysterious?"
"I do flatter myself that the Dark Lord will see my hand there. But it's more likely that he'll assume they killed Bellatrix, and her followers took revenge."
Harry swallowed. "He never Legilimised them to find out that I killed her?"
"No. At that last meeting I attended, the Dark Lord was largely concerned with the change that the invocation had made in his mental link to you. Are you still Occluding all the time, by the way?"
Harry shrugged. "Seemed like I'd better. I didn't want him sensing it when our powers started to cross. Anyway, Occluding's almost no effort once you're used to it."
"A good thing you mastered it, especially now."
"But you still aren't excited that our powers are crossing. What's wrong?"
"We've only just become intimate. I expected it to take much longer for that to translate into any magical effects. Months, perhaps."
"Well, you know I always seem to break the rules," joked Harry. Then he preened, just a little, as something else occurred to him. Bit silly, really, to be so proud of it, but he was. It was great not to feel like the inexperienced, awkward one all the time, after all. "I guess I just really know how to satisfy you, you think? I'm good at sex."
Severus' lips curled upwards. "Certainly, I have no complaints."
Harry nodded. "Me either. Or is it me, neither? Never have known. But anyway, so it's happening faster than you expected. No harm in that. Maybe we can cross our powers completely before there are any serious attacks. Any more of them, I mean. And it's definitely better if we cross fully before he gets wind that we can, right? I still think about that misfiled declaration of slavery for us, you know? It could be discovered any time, and I'd rather face him down with him not knowing what I've got in my wand."
Severus pursed his lips. "The issue of twinned wands still might pose an issue, even considering fully crossed powers."
"You're joking." Harry frowned. "Oh. You're not. I suppose you should buy me another wand, then."
"Leaving aside the fact that you can buy it--you have funds enough at your disposal--any additional wand would end up being registered, which could alert the Dark Lord that something is being planned. I think it best for you to accustom yourself to using my wand." Snape's nostrils flared. "Particularly since we are talking about you wielding my own powers."
"Combined powers." Harry wasn't going to discount his own role in this. He was going to have help again, yes. But he wasn't helpless. And besides, this time it was help he'd earned, more or less.
"Yes. Combined powers." Severus blinked then, as though just figuring out a potions puzzle. "Ah. Of course."
"Come again?"
Instead of answering, Severus pulled back a bit and propped his head up on an elbow. The covers had ended up the floor a while earlier, so the pose displayed Severus' whole body, strong and nude and unashamed, to advantage. Harry stared. He couldn't help it. Severus wasn't beautiful; he was too male and rugged for that word to make sense. But he looked good. Really good, so much so that Harry felt his balls tightening. Again.
He grinned, the word greedy suddenly occurring to him. He'd never thought of his balls that way before, and that he did now . . . it was funny. His grin spread. He felt goofy and silly, but he didn't mind feeling that way. It was nice to be so completely relaxed. At ease. Though one part of him was distinctly not relaxing, now.
Severus flicked a glance down toward where Harry's crossed legs did little to hide his growing erection.
"Oh, do think of something other than your cock for a moment," he purred, voice full of good humour. "Now, as I was saying before you began to ogle me--"
"I don't ogle!" Harry licked his lips. "Um, well, maybe I do, but what can you expect, lying there like that?" He lowered his voice, surprised at how husky the next bit came out. Husky, but sincere. "I .. . er, you know, I really like the way you look, Severus."
The man pushed his hair back from his forehead, like he thought Harry was talking about his hair alone.
"No," said Harry, laughing. "All of you. Well, I think I liked your cock from almost the first, though I didn't want to admit it. But yeah, you really do look good to me."
Harry was astonished at how Severus took that. The man's cheeks went slightly pink, and he glanced over Harry's shoulder as though embarrassed, when he must have known for quite some time that Harry did find him very attractive indeed. The invocation probably couldn't have worked, otherwise. It was for lovers, after all.
Maybe he just hadn't expected Harry to say he was attracted. Ever. Which made Harry realise how stingy he'd been, all along. Severus had made sure that Harry knew how physically attractive Severus found him. When Harry thought back on things, he could remember some times that Severus might have read between the lines to figure out that Harry liked him that way, but he couldn't recall ever having really said so, in so many words. Except during the ritual bath, when he'd babbled on about the man's cock, but that hardly counted as being willing to say what he thought. Had he ever, of his own volition, made sure that Severus knew what Harry thought of him?
No, he hadn't. And what sort of way was that for a man to treat his lover?
A memory flashed inside Harry. Turning around in the shower. Except, instead of Severus turning, it was Harry, months ago, practically biting his lips, he'd been so afraid that Severus was going to make a derisive comment about Harry's looks. Laugh at him, even.
But Severus hadn't laughed at him, not once. In fact, when the man had realised how little Harry expected to be admired physically, he'd made a point of telling Harry what he thought of his eyes. His physique. His cock, even.
And what had Harry done in return? It was worse than if he'd merely neglected to ever compliment Severus, Harry realised as more memories jolted through him, these ones far harsher. Himself, making it clear that not only was Harry not attracted, he'd never be attracted. Harry didn't exactly feel guilty for saying those things, though he could have been more diplomatic, he supposed. But he'd been convinced that Severus would use Cambiare Podentes to torture him, or at least hurt him horribly. Not to mention, completely unaware that he could be attracted to men. So it only stood to reason that Harry had been a bit defensive. Rude, even, he thought, cringing a little bit when he remembered some of the blunter things he'd said.
What made him feel bad now wasn't so much that he'd told Severus he didn't find him attractive, but that when things had started to change, he'd never really taken that back.
And while Severus was easily clever enough to know that of course things had changed--a lot--he also might think that Harry was just making the best of a bad deal, or something. Better half a wand than none at all, something like that.
But it wasn't like that! It wasn't like that at all, and suddenly Harry was possessed of an absolute need, a burning urge, to make sure that Severus understood that. Really understood it.
The trouble was, Harry realised as he stared at Severus, was that he wasn't exactly sure how to begin. You're not exactly a handsome bloke, but, seemed destined to strike the wrong note, for all it was true. He didn't know how to explain what he thought.
Though he did know, thanks to Hermione, one way to handle a situation like this. The blurt method hadn't failed him yet.
Deep breath, lungs filling with air. And talking on top of the rush to exhale. "You're striking," he heard himself say. "Lean and tall, and your eyes and hair are dark, just like I like most, and you know how to move, you know? The way you can make your robes swirl, and then naked, lying there like that with your hipbones jutting and your cock so thick and heavy and--"
Harry stopped, because he suddenly realised that he sounded about as brainless as he ever had. No wonder Severus was just staring at him like he didn't know what to say.
"I do like the way you look," he finished, feeling like he should have done a better job explaining why.
"Relax, Harry," said Severus, his voice very dry. Reaching out a hand, he rested it atop Harry's hipbone. "I did believe you, you know."
Harry blinked. "You did?"
Severus' smile was a little bit thin. "It's not as though you can lie to me."
Oh, yeah. There was that. Harry was a bit startled that he'd forgotten it. On the other hand . . . "Oh, the mind bond lets me exaggerate and understate and pretty much twist things around, if I want," he said, knowing it was true. "I just can't tell you an out-and-out lie."
Harry covered the other man's hand as it rested on him. "But I really do want you to know how attractive I find you, Severus."
Severus' lips curled upwards slightly. "I suppose you must," he said, his tone that time light. "You were ogling me, after all."
"So I was," said Harry, more at ease with the idea, by then. Feeling like there was no reason not to, he bent over and kissed Severus on the lips, then sat up again. "Anyway, what did you mean, before?"
"Hmm?"
Harry settled onto his side, facing Severus. "We had just agreed that I'd be using our combined powers, not yours alone, and then you got a funny look on your face and said, Oh, of course, something like that."
Severus frowned. "Ah. Yes. Well, the truth is that I think I felt it when your power surged."
"I thought you might. Did you know what it was?"
"No, I've only just put it together."
"So, what was it like?"
Severus' frown grew more profound. "I'm not at all certain that I should tell you."
That had Harry sitting up, a dark suspicion growing in his mind. "Oh, so that's why you stretched out like a nude on display. To distract me! You knew I liked the way you looked!"
"Of course I knew."
Harry grabbed a pillow, curling his fingers into the pillowcase as he considered whether to go ahead and bonk Severus over the head again.
"I also very much like hearing you say it."
Harry shoved the pillow back toward the headboard, huffing a little. "Well, your first distraction worked but this time we're not getting sidetracked. So, out with it. What is it that you're not sure you should tell me?"
"Rather bossy this evening, aren't you?"
Harry just gave him an impatient look.
But still, Severus hedged. "I'd hate for you to hesitate at a crucial moment merely because it might affect me in some way."
"In what way?"
Severus put on a nonchalant expression, but Harry could tell it was an act. "I was brewing when you were discovering the power at your command. I had reached the stage at which charms are applied to the vapour rising from the--" Severus shook his head slightly, as though realising he was going into too much detail. "My spell failed."
"Oh, my God," breathed Harry, suddenly understanding what must have happened. Crossing powers meant that he would be drawing on Severus' for a moment, or longer, depending on the spell. And so of course it stood to reason that during that time, if Severus reached into his own magic, he would find it missing. "If you didn't know that it was me, stealing your powers, then I'd think you'd have been a bit more concerned about any spell of yours failing!"
"You aren't stealing," Severus said, his expression quite calm. "I freely offer you my magic. If I didn't want you to have it, you would find that our powers would never cross."
"Oh, don't change the damned subject! Is it your usual practice to misfire a spell, then just go about your business showering as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary did happen, Harry," insisted Snape, stroking a hand down Harry's shoulder and arm. "It's a complex series of spells I weave together at one stage of the brewing. If the potion isn't quite ready to absorb them--not an infrequent occurrence, as advanced brewing can be more an art than a science--then I merely wait a moment and begin the spell sequence again. It's happened before."
Oh. Well, that didn't sound so dire, then. "What makes you think it was me siphoning off your magic at all, in that case?"
"I grew slightly faint for a moment or two."
"Slightly faint," repeated Harry. "What does that mean?"
Severus' hand on Harry's arm stopped its caressing motion. "A little dizzy, just at that same moment. But that is not terribly unusual either, when I'm in the presence of such potent fumes. Noxious, almost."
Harry blew out a breath. It was news to him that Severus was in the habit of cooking up stuff that could affect him like that. "What on earth were you working on?"
Severus stretched a little, yawning, then flipped over on his stomach and lay down. "Wolfsbane. It's a hard brew to get correct, I'll have you know. I'm really quite exhausted."
Wolfsbane. A sudden rush of tangled feelings seemed to wrap itself around Harry, then. He hadn't thought about Remus in a long time, which made him feel a bit guilty. Harry wasn't even sure when the full was, and he used to keep such careful track, too!
And mixed into the tangle were feelings for Severus. He hated Remus; Harry knew he did. But he kept making the Wolfsbane, all the same.
"Thanks," said Harry, softly.
Severus snorted. "I told you I'd continue providing it, didn't I? It's a lot of work, in case you're interested. My back aches now. Hence the shower."
"Actually, you told me that you couldn't promise me that you would keep making it."
"Yes, you demonstrated your considerable powers of recall on your N.E.W.T.s," drawled Severus, stretching his legs out and groaning, just slightly. "Now, if you could learn to read between the lines as well, you'd be something truly formidable."
"You mean you'll keep making the Wolfsbane, even if Albus dies before Remus does?"
When Snape turned his head toward Harry, his eyebrows were drawn together in obvious irritation. "I mean that I've been hinting for five minutes that I'd like a backrub after all my hard work!"
"Oh."
"Yes, oh," said Severus, almost caustically.
Harry reached over to the night table and fumbled in a drawer. Took him a minute to find the right salve for the job, the really nicely scented one Severus made himself.
"You know you can have a backrub, or anything else you like, just for the asking," Harry rebuked the man, slapping him lightly on one buttock to emphasise his point.
Severus wriggled his bare hips a bit when Harry straddled him and began to pour salve onto his shoulder blades. "I wanted you to offer."
Hmm, well that bore thinking about, Harry thought. If Severus wanted that, Harry should try his best to provide it.
"All right," he agreed easily. It wasn't as though it was an imposition. He loved touching Severus. Harry started moving his hands as he talked, his fingers working deeply into Severus' vertebrae. "I was thinking though, that now that our powers are crossing, maybe you could give me more opportunities to obey you. You've been really careful not to treat me like a slave, and it's not like I don't appreciate that, but I know you wouldn't ask me to do anything I didn't want to do, anyway, so maybe we should try it, you think?"
"You want me to treat you like a slave?"
Put like that, it sounded a strange request. "Er, no. Not exactly. But you could tell me what to do more often, you know. I mean, we should try it, to see if it makes our powers cross a whole lot faster."
"Higher," said Severus.
Harry moved his hands up to the man's shoulders. "It's not like you have to do anything different, really. It could be just small things you tell me to do--"
"Harder."
Harry ground his palms down, twisting them as he pressed against the knotted muscles near Severus' neck. "You could just try it, you know," he grumbled.
"I am trying it. I'm wondering if you're ever going to notice." Severus shook all over, probably with laughter, Harry thought. But that was all right. He didn't mind being laughed at, not like this. "If you're this poor at reading between the lines then perhaps I should be more direct and tell you that yes, I will continue making the Wolfsbane for as long as needs be." Severus dropped his voice, speaking so low that Harry had to strain to hear him. "I'm not making it for Albus any longer."
Harry felt happiness washing all through him at that admission. His last, lingering resentments over the whole brothel thing faded away, then and there. Because here was Severus keeping faith, just as he'd said.
"Thank you," Harry said again, vaguely aware that something was happening inside him. He'd been bonded to Snape by means of magic for months now, though at some level he hadn't really felt all that bonded. And then in these last few days he'd become aware that the two of them did have a bond--a strong, sexual one. But this new feeling, this sensation of connectedness . . . it was something else.
"A little to the left," said Severus, his tone offhand instead of significant, that time.
But Harry read between the lines, all the same, and very happily followed Severus' directions until sighing, the two of them fell into a contented sleep.