Chapter Twenty-One

Nor breathe my poison on thy Venice-glass,

Harry was used to his dreams by now, even ones that most other people would see as being extraordinarily vivid, would find worthy of note, would probably mention to their friends. He was even used to dreams that were obviously more than 'simply' dreams.

But that night, they felt subtly different to anything he had felt before. They were certainly not ordinary dreams, full of their casual peculiarities and unpredictable yet unremarkable changes. Nor were they the type that the bond had generally created so far, full of traumatic predictions of their future, or revelations he didn't want to face.

No, this one was most definitely different.

***

Severus walked into the clearing, feeling himself subtly relax as he passed through the last set of wards. Only the first day of the year, the students not even arrived yet, and already he felt the need to retreat to this, his sanctuary. He seated himself on the conveniently placed log at the centre of the clearing, and shut his eyes. His senses filled with the rustle of dry autumn leaves, the smell of wet earth after the morning's rain, the graze of the light breeze across the unprotected skin of his face. He took a deep breath, held it, let it out, and repeated the cycle.

An uncounted number of breaths later, Severus looked up sharply as he suddenly realised that he was no longer alone. The intruder was obviously attempting to move quietly. However, his ears, absorbing every sound nearby without always registering them, had easily caught the sound of footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves that liberally scattered the forest floor. He had been deep in thought – close to brooding, actually – but not so engrossed that he could fail to notice such an unexpected interruption. There were very few people who would dare to disturb him here, and fewer still whose presence would give only that late warning.

He smiled slightly. Unless his long-established wards around this place had failed – and there were naturally further wards in place to let him know if that happened - there was only one person it could be. It was a most pleasant surprise, although he generally had little use for surprises. In his experience, they tended to be things that could get you killed, or at the very least, injured. This though, was wholly good.

//Harry?// Severus called out.

He caught a sense of chagrin, leavened with a certain amount of amusement as Harry picked up what had given him away.

//Damn. And to think I used to do this kind of thing for a living.// Severus could feel Harry shaking his head at his own clumsiness, and smiled, knowing that the other man would feel it.

//I think we've found the reason why you gave it up,// he teased.

//Maybe. Or maybe the almost getting killed every single day for three years had something to do with it,// Harry retorted, his tone abruptly losing some of its lightness.

Giving up being an Auror was still something of a sore point with him, though the decision had been made more than half a decade ago now. Severus let the topic slide for the moment, but he knew that they'd need to have a talk about it soon. He hadn't realised it still rankled so much. He made a mental note not to let it go for too much longer.

Severus' smile grew more pronounced as the expected figure stepped into the clearing. Harry walked across to sit beside him on the log without hesitation. Severus had long ago enlarged the smooth spot at its middle. It was comfortable enough for two, as long as they didn't mind being in very close proximity. Neither of them ever had thus far. He hoped they never would, not that he would ever admit to that.

"Hey," the younger man said, leaning over to place a chaste kiss at the corner of the other's mouth. He moved a little closer, so they were pressed hip to hip, and rested his head on Severus' shoulder with the ease of long familiarity. //Warm,// he commented, half to himself.

Severus moved his arm to rest around Harry's waist, but only because it was just too uncomfortable to leave it trapped between their bodies like it had been. "What brings you back here so early?" he asked, curling his hand comfortably around Harry's hip-bone.

"Your last owl said that you wouldn't be free until next week." Harry's head was a familiar weight in the hollow of his shoulder, as soothing as the clearing itself. A few stray strands of the other man's short, perpetually dishevelled black hair insinuated themselves over Severus' high collar, tickling slightly at the junction of neck and head. He shook his head slightly, but not enough to risk disturbing Harry.

"That sounds awfully like a complaint," Harry replied quietly. It was so peaceful here, so very easy to forget that not all that far away, there was a school full of people. A host of children would soon be arriving for another new year, and there would be a Sorting Feast. One that the Headmistress would certainly make him attend tonight, since he was here.

As he was leaning quite heavily on Severus' chest, Harry could feel the slight change in the man's breathing as he registered Harry's comment. Depending on his mood, it might be preparatory either to a refutation of the accusation or to withering Harry with sarcasm. He forestalled it quickly.

"No, I know. I managed to finish my project a bit earlier than planned," he explained. "Actually, I managed to rope Christopher and Ellen into helping me finish it, since they'd done theirs already. I told them I had an unexpected commitment." He grinned and tilted his head slightly, brushing another kiss against the underside of his lover's jaw. Longish, greying, eternally greasy hair bestowed its own return caress on his forehead, smoothing across the beginnings of lines.

"Maybe I should have stayed there, though," Harry added in a thoughtful voice. "It's an awful lot colder up here."

This time, Severus refrained from comment. Since he wasn't rising to the bait, Harry continued, hoping that he'd get some reaction soon. Not that Severus' warmth all along his side and the arm curled around him weren't nice, but he had something else in mind, considering how long it had been since they last saw each other.

"I am starting to feel a little hurt. I haven't even had a proper kiss yet," he complained.

Harry didn't have to lift his head to know that Severus was smiling. He could feel it perfectly well, in his mind and in the slight shift in the body in such close contact with his own. "As I have often told you before," the other man said, with tartness Harry knew he didn't exactly mean, "if you want something from me, you will have to take it. I am not in the habit of further spoiling overly-indulged young men."

Harry grinned happily. He'd missed this just as much as the touches. "Ah yes, I'd forgotten that. Sorry."

As he lifted his head, Severus shifted slightly, turning to face him. It made it almost absurdly simple for Harry to lean forwards and brush their lips together. Automatically, he was sure to be extremely careful of both pairs of glasses, a lesson they'd both learnt well years ago. All he'd originally intended was the initial light contact, the barest touch of skin to skin, but the hunger that manifested itself within a matter of seconds didn't quite take them by surprise – they'd experienced this too many times before.

//I did miss you,// Severus assured Harry after a while. Their mouths clung together, eagerly reacquainting themselves with the taste and feel of the other, savouring the sensation.

//I know. It's good to be reminded though.// Harry nipped gently at the corner of the older man's mouth.

Both would have smiled again, had their mouths not been so well occupied already. The scent of autumn surrounded them, fallen leaves, wet earth, and the promise of rebirth.

***

Severus and Harry both smiled in their sleep. The man woke for a moment, reaching down to tug a stray sheet back into place before pushing his head back into the soft embrace of his pillow. Harry burrowed deeper under the covers, feeling their warmth somehow lacking, and settled gently back into his dream after the brief interruption.

***

Harry woke slowly, to the feeling of glorious warmth surrounding him. As he came a little closer to full awareness, he registered the sensation of arms holding him close to a long, slender body, and soft breaths ruffling his hair. They were things that he was just beginning to get used to, and he took an enormous amount of satisfaction in them. He smiled into the other man's chest, rubbing his nose gently against smooth, almost hairless skin as he revelled in the comfort and pleasure of it all. Then he set about waking his new lover in the most enjoyable of ways.

Well, Harry at least thought it was extremely enjoyable. Severus inevitably hated waking up, no matter how it was done. However, Harry had so far been able to change his mind after a short while. He'd never known he was so good at persuasion before.

Wriggling slightly, Harry gained himself some space to move without breaking out of the circle of Severus' arms. He used it to shift cautiously up in the bed so that they faced each other on the pillow. Then he leaned forward, brushing a kiss to the slightly creased forehead, moving down a little to press one between the closed eyes. He bestowed another on the tip of the distinctive nose, gave a light brush to lips slightly parted. Severus didn't – quite – snore, but it was a close thing. Unable to resist the temptation, Harry gave the mouth one more kiss, slightly harder, before he continued moving down.

He sighed lightly, savouring the contact of skin on skin, and the warmth that radiated so generously from the other man. He still found it slightly strange that so usually restrained a man gave off so much energy this close, but he was grateful for it. He relished, too, the security provided by their blankets, and the way Severus pressed close to him as if craving more touch even while asleep. Both of them longed for this kind of contact, this warmth, although the other man rarely admitted it. Harry could feel contentment permeate his whole being as he luxuriated in the moment. He could tell from the feeling of the bond that, even while still sleeping, Severus felt much the same way.

Having explored Severus' torso briefly, Harry returned to his mouth for a more thorough kiss. After a second or two, he felt the man beginning to awaken properly, and start to respond, and pulled away slightly.

"Morning," Severus muttered ungraciously, without opening his eyes. He shivered slightly in a sudden chill, and reached down automatically to tug back the thick woollen blanket, which had slipped down during Harry's earlier explorations. He pulled it right up under his chin without any regard for the convenience of the young man who was still nestled right up against him.

Severus knew that Harry was smiling despite being unable to see the expression. Experience would tell him that, even if the feel of the bond or the body pressed against him had not already. He refused to open his eyes yet. That would mean admitting he was awake, and he wasn't ready to do that for a while. Besides, he could tell what was going on, and how Harry was reacting, perfectly well without them, so there wasn't any point at all.

"Morning," replied his excruciatingly awake lover, adding a brief kiss, barely more than a peck on his cheek, to the day's collection.

Severus finally gave in and opened his eyes slowly. He cracked his eyelashes apart slightly, letting in the barest glimmer of light, despite the knowledge that the light level would not be too great – they were in a dungeon, after all. He peered warily up at Harry through the protection of his eyelashes, judging the amount of foreboding he needed to feel from the expression on the younger man's face.

"What do I have to do today?" he said to those mirth-filled eyes, trying very hard not to whine. Harry would surely be even more amused if he did, and Severus didn't cope well with being teased this early in the day. He needed caffeine before he could tolerate being made fun of.

"Nothing much. It's Saturday, remember?" Harry's tone was more than a little mischievous.

Severus always had a little trouble remembering who he was when he had just woken up, let alone what day it was. Harry knew that very well, and therefore of course brought it up constantly. "Of course I remember," Severus grumped. "And since I don't have to teach today, I'm going back to sleep." He suited his actions to the words by closing his eyes tightly again before turning over and snuggling his face into the pillow.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" the irritating young man beside him asked, adding, "I sort of had something else in mind for today."

That tone of voice, at such an hour of the morning, ought to be illegal, especially on a Saturday, Severus thought rather muzzily. The thought didn't keep him from retaliating as Harry deserved, though. Blankets were only one way of keeping warm, after all, and sometimes – sometimeshe thought they might be slightly over-rated.

***

When Severus woke in the morning, a half-smile still curving his lips, he realised that he felt uncharacteristically content. Unlike most of his normal dreams, he could remember every detail of this one as he lay in bed attempting to find the courage to throw back the covers and face the dungeon's customary early-morning cold. The dream showed no signs of fading as he began to prepare for the day, either. He had the vaguely unsettling feeling that it had been the result of the bond trying in some way to reward them for their actions the previous day. Rewarding Harry for once more daring to take that step, and him for not rejecting it, for maybe even beginning to accept that it was what they both needed. What they both wanted.

He wasn't sure whether he should be worried by it, but it was at least good to know that the bond didn't mean a lifetime of nightmares. He had enough fodder for those as it was.