Disclaimer: I'm not J.R.R. Tolkien, I'm not J.K. Rowling, But I write from the heart, from the heart.
Rating: Slash sex warning!
Summery: A gift picture to stir up painful memories and a willing Irishman to get rid of them.
Bata: Beankin' and Tamara – I thank you so very much for that.
Mad About You – Chapter 2
Artist - Sting. Title - Mad about you. Album - The soul cages
"Presents!" Harry stirred and woke up at Seamus' call. Seamus was already halfway down to his own bed, heading for the large pile of presents at its foot. Harry smiled and stretched, Christmas day. He got up and went over to his own pile. Seamus was already busy unwrapping presents as cheerfully as a three years old.
"Oooh, Harry, thanks. It's lovely." he called and held up a woolly hat in the colours of red and yellow. Harry laughed as he opened Seamus' gift to find a scarf in the same colours. They both grinned and shrugged. Gryffindors think alike.
Harry quickly opened the rest of his gifts. A pile of sweets from Ron, a book from Hermione, no surprises there. Hagrid had given him a stack of rock cakes that, for a change, did not feel like rocks. Harry suspected they were made by his wife and was rather grateful for that. Mrs. Weasley sent him yet another sweater and a huge fudge filled chocolate cake, his favourite. Fred and George gave him a bag of selected "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes" goods and Ginny gave him a diary with a picture of a snitch on the cover.
After five years they could sort of laugh about the whole Harry-saving-Ginny-from-Tom-Riddle's-diary thing, but the gift left him feeling a bit uneasy. It was a symbol of Ginny's love and trust in Harry and he still hadn't told her about Terry or Seamus. He put the diary away and cleared the paper wraps to see what presents he missed. At the bottom of the small pile he found a little square package. It looked like a thin book, but he already opened Hermione's present and who will be daft enough to give him a book but her? He curiously tore the wrapping paper and saw it wasn't a book after all, but a picture.
The card attached to it read "Happy Christmas, Harry. I found this while cleaning up and thought you might like it. Have a great holiday. If you need me you know where to find me. Yours, R.J. Lupin."
Harry looked at the picture. It was clearly a wedding photo, his parents wedding photo. James and Lily Potter were standing in the centre of the picture; Lily wore white robes, her flaming red hair falling on her shoulders and her face beaming and smiling, so happy. James stood by her side holding her hand, dressed in dark green dress robes, his messy black hair standing on end and his face shining with pride and love for his bride. To their left stood Sirius and Remus both in black dress robes, as best men and looking so young and happy. Dumbledore was there, looking the same as ever since Harry first met him, his eyes twinkling behind his half moon spectacles. Hagrid was sitting down on the ground to fit in the picture, his black bushy beard combed and he wore a hideous suit, although not the familiar hairy brown one.
There were other people in the picture Harry didn't know, although two of them looked amazingly familiar- the woman had the same pleasant smile his dad wore and the man had the same messy black hair. They must be my grandparents, thought Harry in amazement. He never saw any of his grandparents. Suddenly a drop fell on the glass surface of the picture. Harry mopped it hastily, wondering where it came from when another followed and he realized he was crying. Seamus looked up from his presents to see Harry's tears. He went over to sit behind him, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist. Harry leaned back against him in silent thanks. Seamus conjured a tissue and Harry smiled between his tears and blew his nose.
"Are those your parents?" he asked in a quiet voice Harry nodded,
"It's a picture from their wedding."
"You know, you look just like your dad, except the eyes, you've got…"
"My mother's eyes, yes, I know." Seamus scanned the picture,
"Hey, that's Dumbledore, and Hagrid… and this guy looks like a young professor Lupin." he pointed,
"It is a young professor Lupin. He was a good friend of my parents. He's the one who gave me the picture." Harry said fondly. Seamus looked at Sirius,
"Who is that? He's smoking hot!" Harry laughed,
"That is my godfather, Sirius Black." He tried to sound casual but the words hardly left his lips. It was still hard for him to say Sirius's name. Seamus cursed inwardly; he knew the story of Harry's convicted murderer of a godfather, Harry had long ago told his friends bits of the story he found fit to tell. He also knew that Sirius was innocent and that he died in the Ministry of Magic raid in the end of their fifth year.
"Is it just me or had Hagrid grown bigger over the years?" Seamus voice was light and happy and Harry was thankful for his subtlety.
"I doubt it, maybe just sidewise." he said and Seamus laughed.
"So, what are we going to do today?" asked Harry in a matter-of-fact voice, although he somewhat ruined the effect by pulling his nose.
"We have a giant pile of sweets, I say we gorge ourselves to death, then go and puke our hearts out and then go fly for a bit." said Seamus happily,
"Sounds like a plan to me."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
That night was again spent in Harry's bed. It was getting more and more familiar and comfortable. Seamus was already sleeping, holding Harry gently, and his warm breath on the back Harry's neck. Harry wasn't asleep; he was watching the picture of his parents wedding which was on the night stand. The figures in the picture were moving and he could see his parents facing each other. Even through the picture it was obvious they were deep in love, he could almost see it forming a bubble of sort around them separating them from the rest. Harry felt his chest tightening and the tears creeping back to his eyes and tore his gaze from his parents.
He looked instead at Lupin and Sirius. They were standing a little apart from the rest. Harry watched as Sirius leaned over to Lupin to whisper something in his ear and then Harry saw it. Sirius was holding Lupin's hand! How could he have missed it before? Lupin's face lit up when he looked at Sirius, who gave him a bright smile in return. Apparently James and Lily were not the only ones in love in the picture. Harry grabbed the picture and sat in the bed. That was so strange. And comforting, in a way, if Sirius and Lupin were queers why can't he?
His movement woke Seamus, he sat up rubbing his eyes and looking over Harry's shoulder "What's the matter?" he asked in a voice thick with sleep.
"Professor Lupin and Sirius were lovers." said Harry in amazement. Seamus muttered something and fell back to bed. Harry smiled and counted under his breath. One, two, three.
"PROFESSOR LUPIN IS GAY?" Seamus sat bolt upright and looked at the picture; Harry laughed and pointed at the young Lupin and Sirius holding hands.
Seamus looked puzzled "I thought he was going out with that Tinky girl." he said,
"It's Tonks," answered Harry. "and I think it must be this shared trauma after shock thing or something like that." he waved his hand.
Seamus took another look at the picture "Well, one thing is for sure, professor Lupin has really good taste in men."
He leaned forward planting a soft kiss on Harry's neck, now fully awake and Harry smiled broadly. Lupin did have good taste in men. He knew Sirius was very good looking in his youth but every time he saw pictures it still amazed him just how good he looked, with his black hair falling in his grey eyes and his flirtatious smile. Lupin had told him all the girls in Hogwarts went nuts over Sirius but he didn't want any of them. Now it was obvious why. He turned to kiss Seamus. If Sirius can fall in love with one of his best friends so can he. They fell back to the bed kissing and Harry placed the picture back on his night stand face down. It felt a little weird having his parents watching him, even if it was only through an old picture.
His hands went under the T-shirt Seamus was wearing and lifted it up. He could feel the tension in Seamus' body growing as the anticipation and the fear took over. Harry knew that if he would let Seamus panic they won't get anywhere, and right now that was not an option. Hell, he thought, if I could do it, then so can he! He began to trace his way along Seamus' neck, grazing it with his lips and teeth and drawing immense satisfaction from the fluid movement under the skin as Seamus gulped.
Soon the garments went flying to the floor and Harry now had clear space to work in. His mouth went on Seamus' stomach, moving south all the time, he felt the muscles tense under his lips and smiled to himself. Seamus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, not entirely sure what to expect, and once Harry took him in his mouth he couldn't think of anything else anymore. This was a whole new sensation from yesterday, lips, tongue and teeth instead of fingers and Seamus felt shivers running under his skin like waves. He couldn't control his body more than he could control his mind and he didn't want to. His back arched and his hands went down, his fingers tangled themselves in Harry's hair. Harry's tongue was doing such wonderful things to him; Seamus never knew one could feel that way. He was thrusting forward and came with a last shiver that ran along his spine leaving him limp and shuttering.
When Harry came back up he found Seamus staring at the canopy above the bed, panting. He looked at Harry and smiled
"Wow, Harry that was..." Harry cut him off with a kiss and whispered in his ear,
"It's not over yet." and Seamus swallowed hard. Harry ran his fingers gently on Seamus' torso and was pleased to note how hot the skin was under them. He flipped Seamus to his stomach and started to run his fingers on his back, he traced the spine with his forefinger and Seamus moaned. Harry moved slowly, trying to calm Seamus down, remembering how stressful this experience had been for him, only two weeks previous- it seemed like ages ago now. He moved to place himself above Seamus and nuzzled his neck, Seamus closed his eyes and tried to focus on breathing, which was quite a difficult task at the moment, when he felt Harry's finger slip inside him, and he stopped breathing altogether. He could hear Harry whispering something in his ear but couldn't make out the words, but drew comfort from his voice and forced his body to relax. When the second finger entered him he winced but this time it was almost easier to relax. Then the pressure was lifted and he could breathe again. But when Harry entered him he felt a surge of white hot pain running through his entire body and he couldn't breathe or do anything, his body went rigid and his mind was blocked. Harry felt his panic and tried to calm Seamus down. He started to sing softly in his ear:
"We are the Cannons,
Lean and mean,
Fierce as dragons,
And someday we'll win."
It was a silly little Chudley Cannons song Ron used to sing which made the others make fun of him and his favorite Quidditch team. It took Seamus a couple of seconds to realize what Harry was singing but when he did he couldn't help laughing, his body shaking. The movement broke Harry's concentration and he started to snigger as well and felt Seamus' body relax under him, almost unconsciously. Harry started to move again, he laced his fingers with Seamus' and they both moved together, Harry was kissing Seamus shoulders, gently at first and then more fiercely almost biting him as the momentum of his own movement grew and his excitement was peaking. Seamus' head slumped forward and he let out little moans of pain and pleasure. As Harry climaxed he heard Seamus mutter his name, his Irish accent thickened by his lust, it was so hot, that Harry thought he might come all over again just from hearing Seamus say his name like that.
They both lay exhausted next to each other. Their fingers were still held fast together; when Harry untangled them he realized how tight they were held by the pain of straightening them. Seamus' eyes were still shot and a little smile played on his lips.
"Shey..." Harry whispered, but Seamus held his finger,
"Shhhh, I'm savouring the moment," he said without opening his eyes. Harry looked at him and bit his lip so he won't burst out laughing and ruin the moment. When Seamus finally opened his eyes he saw Harry's face flushed with held laughter and punched him in the shoulder,
"Ouch, that hurt, you big Irish bully!" Harry called before he burst out laughing,
"You bastard." Seamus started to turn his back to Harry, holding his chin up to indicate he was offended; Harry grabbed his shoulder to force him to turn back.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." he said and made to stop laughing by leaning forward and kissing Seamus. From the eagerness of Seamus respond to the kiss Harry could tell he was forgiven. When they broke apart, Harry gazed deep into Seamus' eyes, but could see only that soft, lazy after sex pleasure. They lay facing each other and caressing each other faces, softly and lovingly.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Seamus propped himself on his elbow. Harry shrugged. "Oh, come on, Harry. You just did things to me that I never thought were even possible. You must have had someone before me! Who was it?"
Harry didn't look at him and murmured "Terry."
Seamus mouth fell open. "Terry! Head Boy Terry!" Harry nodded "Terry Boot, epitome of all things Ravenclaw- Terry is gay? Well, guess that gives a whole new meaning to the term "Head Boy"." he grinned widely
"Oh, Shey, that was a horrible pun."
"So, how was he? Was it puppy love, both groping and trying to make the best of each other?" he was still grinning and Harry suddenly wanted to take that stupid smirk off Seamus' face and some vindictive part of him took over,
"Hardly, he sure knew what he was doing. He fucked me good." As he suspected the grin vanished from Seamus' face and Harry suddenly felt like a jerk. "But it was just sex. It didn't mean anything." he could see the slight frown that passed through Seamus forehead but it disappeared so fast Harry wasn't sure it was even there. He knew that Seamus wasn't the jealous type, no matter how hard he tried. But Harry still felt a bit sleazy and quite hussy though he couldn't really figure out why, he didn't have enough lovers to even qualify for 'curious' let alone go as far as hussy. "He's not into relationships. He shagged half the school already. You could say he's got the school by the balls, literally." He said with a smile.
"Harry, your pun was much worst than mine!" Seamus called out but couldn't help smiling himself,
"No it wasn't. I thought it was really good."
"I bet you did." They looked at each other and grinned again. "So who else would you shag around here?" asked Seamus in business-like tone,
"I don't know... who would you?" shot Harry in return, not especially wanting to answer the question,
"Oh, let's see..." Seamus thought for a moment and Harry rolled his eyes, "I guess I wouldn't throw Justin Finch-Fletchley or Michael Corner out of my bed. I could be persuaded to do Andrew Kirke 'a favor' even though he can't handle a club or a bludger..." he said referring to the abysmal performance of the Gryffindor beater. Harry laughed in spite of himself. This was pure torture but he couldn't stop himself from listening or bring himself to stop Seamus from talking "Let's see who else... Oliver Wood, always a favourite, Malfoy, Zabini... now he's one good loo..." Harry had had enough of this.
"Wait a minute, back up. Malfoy?" Seamus looked at him sheepishly.
"Well, you have to admit he's dead gorgeous." Harry gave it a thought, he closed his eyes and brought up the image of Draco Malfoy- his pale hair and face, slate grey eyes, his sensual lips, the ever lasting smirk and the look of malice his face took every time he looked at Harry or one of his friends, his Death Eater future...
"No." he said finally and opened his eyes. "I wouldn't touch Malfoy with a bloody ten foot poll, he's pure evil!" he said hotly and Seamus smiled at Harry's resolution, he was secretly hoping for a similar reaction but this was better than he thought. "Mind you, you might have had a chance with him." said Harry in an after thought and Seamus looked at him in surprise. "Terry told me they had a 'thing' back in the end of fifth year. Apparently Malfoy was very good with his tongue..." he said without any feeling and Seamus laughed.
"Well, he better be, after all that bloody talking he's done for the past six years."
"What about Terry?" asked Harry,
"No, he's not my type." Seamus said and shook his head. Harry burst out laughing.
"I'll say! Obviously dark hair and glasses does nothing for you." At that Seamus moved to place himself on top of Harry, pinning his wrists to the mattress above his head and looking down at him. After several seconds he pulled up and sat back on Harry's pelvis folding his arms.
"I don't mind dark hair and glasses as long as they come with a set of stunning green eyes and a body to die for..." Harry laughed and reached up to catch Seamus mouth with his. They fell back to bed and lay facing each other once more. Harry lifted his hand and traced his finger along Seamus' jaw line and cheek bone, then leaned forward and kissed him softly
"You were much better than Terry was." he whispered,
"Oh, come off it, Harry. You just said that he shagged half the bloody school; I was a virgin up until you so graciously deflowered me. How can I be better than him?" Harry shrugged,
"I don't know! But I mean it, I guess it's because for him it was only sex."
"As oppose to what we just did, which was, what? An advanced hand job?" Seamus was clearly not following Harry's train of thoughts; unfortunately Harry didn't seem to follow it very well himself. He wasn't sure what made this time so special and so much more exciting for him, but it felt completely different from the time with Terry. It might have been the way Seamus cried out his name or the fact that he could sing Ron's silly song and Seamus instantly took his meaning. Maybe it was the fact they have been friends for so long he actually knew how to calm Seamus down, knew what way to hold him, something Terry didn't know about him and he realized he missed the last time- the knowledge that everything will be alright and that he would not be harmed.
He decided it didn't really matter if Seamus understood him or not. Someday he probably will, besides there was no point fretting over it right now when they are both so happy and relaxed and all he really wanted was to wrap Seamus in his arms and fall asleep smelling him and forget everything else.
He kissed Seamus' temple gently and murmured "Good night." closing his eyes and letting sleep sweep him away.
Seamus looked at Harry's sleeping face, beautiful and soft. He kissed the scar on Harry's forehead and whispered in his ear "Thanks, mate." because he knew Harry was sleeping and couldn't hear him. He closed his eyes and so missed the little smile that crossed Harry's lips.
A/N: My friend Jul gave me a Gryffidor scarf that her grandmother knitted especially for me... You should have seen the sensation it made in the SiFi/Fantasy con we went to in October...