Here's your next chapter! With a much more skiing and Severus!
I owe my soul to Sexy. Lil. Emo for the great help with the editing. All remaining mistakes are mine. Draven, darling, get better soon!
PS: It is not advised to try leaning skiing with the help of this fic.
– Lesson Two –
The beginner skier should always listen to the instructor. Meanwhile the instructor should also listen to the skier. Not everyone learns in the same manner.
Harry stepped into his skis awkwardly again. Malfoy was sitting on the snow next to him, working his boots into his board's binding. The twins were already several feet away shouting at Draco to hurry up. Ron was pressing a bashful kiss on Hermione's cheeks before taking off, with Lucius dashing right after him.
Harry gripped his poles and looked at Hermione for instructions. She was looking after Ron's retreating back with a cute, eerie smile on her face. Harry tried to slide next to her but the front of his skis came upon each other and he almost fell forward. Fortunately, Hermione was still in her own little word and she didn't notice the mishap.
Unfortunately, someone else did.
"Potter, what on Merlin's beard are you doing?" Snape taunted behind him.
"Skiing." Harry answered with his dignity in pieces.
"You call that... inept movement skiing?" Snape sneered.
Harry wanted to turn around and glare at Snape but his move was too sudden and his legs were shaky and the snow slippery so he fell over again.
He forgot about the pain in his ass when he saw Snape standing over him. The man looked stunningly hot with his black pants and equally jet black jacket which seemed to be actually tailored to the tall man. No one should be allowed to look this sexy in ski pants, Harry thought to himself. This should be illegal. This could actually be dangerous towards skiers as it drew too much attention, he realized.
Harry pushed the lever behind his boots down to get out of his skis and finally stand up. He was aware of the heavy gaze that followed his movements as he pulled himself up from the snow. He attached his skis again and looked defiantly at Snape.
"You are a disgrace to this sport, Potter." Snape sneered condemningly.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione's voice reached him and Harry turned towards the girl nodding.
He could hear the clicks behind him as Snape stepped into the bindings too. He tried to ignore the man as much as he could and edged forward to reach Hermione. He miscalculated the steep however and suddenly found himself rushing past the girl, strait down the trail. He felt a rush of adrenalin and suddenly it became quite clear to him that he was about to die. The precipice came closer and closer and this time there wasn't even a net that could hold him up. His heartbeat was drumming in his head and the shock in his system prevented him to think logically.
Out of nowhere something clashed against his back and he was about to scream. Did someone just deliberately push him to go faster towards that sheer drop he was about to fall down? But there were hands on his hips, he felt a firm grip and he noticed black and white skis at the outer sides of his own. The body behind him grunted disapprovingly as it steered them out of danger with a nice wide curve while slowing them down and then after an eternity they came to a halt far from the cliff.
"Are you purposely trying to kill yourself?" Snape snapped behind him and Harry thought he heard something like worry in the question. That would be impossible for very obvious reasons so this must have been from the adrenalin, Harry concluded.
Snape let go of his hips and slid away from behind Harry and Harry didn't fail to notice that he already missed the warmness of the other's body. Not to mention the stability. He swayed and almost tripped over again but managed to stick his poles into the snow just in time.
Snape slid next to him and Harry watched the man in awe as he stopped with his back to the slope, his skis forming a V, and not even gliding backwards one bit.
"How are you doing that?" Harry asked fascinated.
"What were you doing back there, Potter?" Snape barked at him again and Harry raised his eyes from the skis to the man.
"What do you think, Snape?" He retorted with a grimace. "I couldn't stop."
"You idiot." Snape sneered again. He turned parallel to the steepness of the trail and stepped out of the bindings. "Do you know what you do in a situation like that?" Snape asked and Harry actually looked at him in sheer disbelief.
"Don't you think," Harry started slowly, his anger flaring up, "that if I knew what the hell to do, I would have bloody done it?"
"Well, next time you manage to get yourself in a situation like this, try and keep this little word of advice in that empty head of yours," Snape growled as he stepped right next to Harry. He looked Harry in the eyes and with a sudden but forceful move he pushed Harry to the ground. "You fall."
Harry looked at him with wide eyes, mostly because he knew he should have thought about this. Falling on his side carried far less danger than falling down a cliff. That was all he was doing all day and the only time falling would have been the thing he had to do, it didn't even occur to him. He kind of understood the disapproving look on Snape's face but couldn't help himself and feel like he just messed up a potion again. If he was now comparing skiing to Potions that must mean his dislike towards the sport just went beyond acceptable.
"Get up," Snape ordered and Harry was stunned to feel that for one of his body parts 'getting up' wasn't as a difficult task to achieve as it was for him. He reached towards the lever again but Snape kicked his hand away with his boot. "Use the poles."
So Harry tried. He stuck them in the snow and tried to lean on them to push himself up but his skis moved forward and he panicked so he sat back down and looked at Snape with reprehension.
"I'm going to slide forward." Harry noted sitting in the snow.
"No you won't." Snape replied. "Push yourself up with one shift motion."
Harry pressed against the ground and moved as if taking off to play Quidditch. He was more surprised than glad that it actually worked.
"I did it!" He exclaimed looking at Snape, brushing the snow from his ass.
"Good for you, Potter." Snape said in a bored voice and pushed Harry down again. Harry collapsed disgracefully onto the snow with a loud thud but he didn't care. He noticed how Snape's eyes followed his hand as it rushed over his ass and that made him happy enough to tolerate being smacked on the ground. "Again." Snape sneered.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione arrived next to them. Harry just nodded and stood up again.
"Look, I can stand up without undoing the binds!" He smiled at the girl.
"Oh, that's really good Harry!" Hermione beamed at him.
"Miss Granger, I believe you can go after your fiancé for now, this will take... a while." Snape suggested pushing Harry down yet again. "Again, Potter."
Hermione looked at Harry anxiously. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked.
But before Harry could say a word Snape spoke again. This time harshly and Harry was reminded of their terrible Potions lessons again.
"Go." Snape ordered the girl but he wasn't looking at Hermione, his eyes were fixed on Harry. Hermione squeaked lightly and took off with an almost silent "Good luck, Harry".
"Some friend you are..." Harry murmured pushing himself up again, this time even though his skis moved a bit further he didn't panic and managed to stand up.
"I'm getting the hang of this." Harry commented proudly.
"Just because you managed to stand up, that does not mean you are 'getting the hang of' anything." Snape said mordantly.
"Shut up." Harry mumbled as he dropped to the ground again, however this time on purpose. He stood up without any problem and looked at Snape who was staring at him.
"If you want me to teach you, mind your manners Potter."
"Who said I want you to teach me?" Harry asked smugly.
"Well, in that case." Snape said putting on his skis again. Harry knew he was about to run off and that was something Harry really didn't want.
"Hey, Snape, wait! That was a joke." Harry shouted after the man just in time. Snape looked back at him. "Do I need to call you Sir or Professor?"
"I am no longer your Professor, Potter, so that would be unnecessary." Snape remarked. "Now... Come to me."
Well that was something Harry always dreamed of hearing from Snape however in much more different circumstances. Right now however, the command made him feel uneasy.
"I have absolutely no idea how to do that without falling again." Harry admitted.
"Right now you are leaning on the right edge of your skis, right Potter?" Snape asked and Harry nodded. "I want you to shift slightly and place your weight on the centre of your skis, that way you will slide down slowly sideways, just like this." He explained and then showed Harry.
Harry watched the man glide sideways on the snow and stop a few feet lower. Harry did as he was told and shifted his weight slightly and suddenly felt himself gliding slowly towards Snape. He pressed the side of his skis into the snow and he stopped He looked at Snape who nodded reassuring so Harry went on, balancing on the centre part then on the edge slowly shifting right next to Snape.
"I did it!" Harry declared happily.
"You are missing some basic manoeuvres that would be too dangerous to learn here so we need to move to a different trail." Snape remarked. "You can either take your skis off and walk down from this hill or you can let me steer you down. Choose."
"You steer." Harry replied immediately however he didn't know what that actually meant. He imagined something like following Snape down the hill just like he did with Hermione.
Snape nodded as his gaze sized up Harry from tip to toe. Harry blushed from the intense gaze and tried not to jerk.
"Bend your knees, don't stand so rigidly. Your arms too, don't be so uptight Potter, relax. Leave at least ten inches between your skis at the beginning, do not let them touch, or overlay each other. Don't look at the skis while going down, look at the snow, at the path you would like to take. Pay attention to your surroundings." Snape listed a bit too fast for Harry to remember everything. He did his best and tried to relax. Snape meanwhile slid behind him, which was a surprise. Harry was about to ask him what he wanted to do, when Snape glided right up behind him, his skis once again on either sides of Harry's, his fingers grasping onto Harry's hips.
Harry tensed at the connection but then Snape spoke again. "Relax, Potter." The cool voice he knew so well from his school years seemed burning hot against his ears and he couldn't help but let the tension out of his system. He deflated like a balloon. Snape saved him once on the slopes he wouldn't let anything happen to him.
"You will need to trust my motions and follow them." Snape murmured behind him and Harry thought he would follow Snape to hell and back, as long as he could listen to this alluring and smooth voice. "I will indicate which way we are going with my hands, I will lead you but you will need to turn too otherwise we fall. I would rather avoid that in any case. If you find our speed to fast, let me know."
"Yeah... no... fast is good." Harry groaned his thoughts running wild somewhere on an entirely different topic.
Snape gripped his hips with more force and pulled Harry closer so that Harry's ass was pressed tightly against Snape's front. Harry couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips.
"Concentrate Potter," came the hoarse whisper from behind him. "Press down your left leg and you will turn left. Press down the right one, you will turn right, simple as that. If you want to slow down, push your toes closer to each other and your heels further apart. This is called snow plough. Do not let the front of your skis too close, if we end up in to snow, I will kill you." Snape dictated and then gave a little push with his hips and off they went.
Slowly they started sliding on the white slippery snow and Harry felt the panic rise. He would mess this up, they would end up covered in snow, Snape would kill him, Harry was sure about that.
Snape gripped him tighter on the left side as he said, "We are going left. Push down your leg, not too firmly, feel the hill, feel the curve you will take. If you think the pressure is not enough apply more."
Harry did as he was ordered and a miracle happened. They were turning left. Harry's legs weren't shaking and he felt more in control than he had all day.
"Good." Snape commented. "Now, to the right." And Harry felt the grip on his right side, and Snape's whole body leant slightly towards the right. Harry mirrored the movement and they were turning right.
Two more turns later Harry's manoeuvres became more relaxed. His whole body loosened and he started enjoying what they were doing. He was still reluctant to call it skiing though. As they were getting closer to the bottom of the slope he felt himself more confident and Snape didn't have to tell him when to turn anymore. He felt the body behind him shift slightly and he went with it. Soon, even the grips on his hips became needless as he moved in synchrony with Snape. It was kind of like dancing, though at first the idea seemed ridiculous. After a few more neat curves he became even more aware of the lean body that pressed against him and the glove covered hands that rested on his hips, not to mention the dark voice that sometimes whispered into his ears.
He liked the feeling of Severus Snape pressed against him and Harry soon found himself fantasizing about doing other activities with the man, which involved fewer clothes and more touching and gripping and whispers and moans. No matter how impossible that was.
TBC
I can just see Severus in skiing outfit, looking perfect and fabulous, can't you?
