-1Hello again, y'all! Sorry for the wait, but I have been ULTRA busy, like you would not believe. Anyway, thank you very very very much to those kind people who reviewed, and here is the next chapter!
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Definition.
Still warm from the previous evening, the room was empty.
The only sounds perforating the quiet stillness was a light crackle of the dying fire and the muffled breathing.
Harry looked at the older man lying opposite him, the pale chest rising and falling in a soft regular rhythm. Here and there were scar marks - the white skin puckered where dark magic had scored themselves harshly into the wizards' body and soul. Marks from Harry's rough treatment during the night left red patches and scratches.
The couch where they had lain gave off the distinguishable odour of sweat, mixing with the earthy aroma of the fire and the lingering fragrance of something like sandalwood.
A deep sorrow made Harry's green eyes glitter, the unshed tears welling up beneath the sooty black lashes brushing his cheeks as he squeezed them shut.
Pressing the heel of his hands into his eyes until he saw stars, Harry remained silent. All the while, he was shouting at himself inside.
I raped him… I raped him! No… no, he wanted it, I wanted it… but what if he denies it? He'll hate me for ever… why did I want it? I did it just for revenge, didn't I? It was the drink… I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing…
Sighing in frustration and flinging down his arms, Harry looked around the room, reminiscing about the time he had spent there previously.
In his last year, and for the months following his graduation, Harry had been taught by Severus in these rooms, hour after hour, the Dark Arts, Occlumency, Legilimency, and some serious Potion making drilled into his skull until he could recite word perfect most of the texts he'd read, and perform flawlessly wandless magic that was certainly against the law.
In the time they had spent together, Severus and Harry had grown to known each other. Their relationship became progressively more comfortable, and Harry found it easy to relate his experiences, and on one particularly embarrassing occasion, his inexperience.
Severus never laughed, or sneered, or criticised, and Harry grew to respect the Potions Master in turn, admiring his skill, and looking up to him for so, so much.
Severus, the legal guardian of Draco Malfoy, after his father, Lucius, had been killed by the Dark Lord, was supportive of Harry's developing crush on Draco.
He knew the hardships they had both suffered, and believed that, even just for a purely sexual reason, having someone to turn to during the war was a necessity, not a luxury.
The hard grafts and demands of endless fighting and stress could make a person withdraw, and tense. But Harry and Draco moved past a sexual intent, Harry announcing his love for Draco, at long last, to his friends, who were supportive as he imagined.
Severus was uncertain, however. He knew the folly of a Malfoy, from first hand experience, and warned Harry that he should not be surprised if Draco did not reciprocate. It proved to be Severus who was surprised. Draco and Harry announced their plan to perform the Bond of Equals, and they seemed to be extremely happy.
Unfortunately, Harry was having difficulty lately. Draco was reserved around him, leaving for long periods of time during the night with no explanation as to where or why, and snapped at Harry for the slightest of things.
Concerned, Harry had tried to engage Draco in conversation, but it proved useless. So, determined to straighten out whatever it was that was wrong, Harry decided to treat Draco and himself to a weekend away, in a cottage in the Lakes.
Going out and purchasing everything necessary, intent on surprising his lover, Harry snuck back to their shared apartment. On entering the lounge, he heard talk in the bedroom.
Uncertain, but anxious, Harry continued with trepidation. Only to find Draco plummeting himself into a long bodied, well tanned man beneath him. They grasped at each others skin, glistening with sweat. As they climaxed, Harry, previously frozen with shock, cried out. As the two sweaty bodies separated, Harry stumbled out. Draco watched him leave, his grey eyes shadowed by his pure hair, plastered to his damp forehead.
Harry fled the apartment, and headed straight for Muggle London. Drowning his sorrows in as much alcohol as he could, he went to Hogsmeade, and continued to sink himself into endless glasses of Firewhisky.
Somehow reaching the castle, and stumbling through the corridors, Harry found himself outside a familiar door, one that he vaguely connected to comfort.
And then…
Harry sighed again. His pacing had carried him into the bathroom, and he slipped into the shower. As the hot water pounded down, turning his skin red, Harry worried about what he should do. Should he leave? If he stayed, he doubted he could deal with Severus. If he left, that would be cowardly.
Stepping out of the shower, performing a nifty piece of wandless magic, Harry dried himself, and went out to retrieve and clean his clothes.
Snape still slumbered peacefully, so Harry rummaged around in the man's desk drawers, and pulled out a beautiful quill which stirred a distant memory, some black ink and a spare piece of parchment. He wrote:
Dear Professor,
I doubt there are any words that I could possibly use to rectify what I did last night, and I fear that you will despise me for it eternally. However, I will be close at hand, in Hogsmeade, if there is anything you wish for. Please accept my deepest apologies, and my sincere regret.
Yours, in penance,
H. Potter.
Deciding that it was formal enough, considering what he had done, Harry left the parchment in plain sight on the desk, and took one last fleeting look at the body spread over the sofa.
Stepping out onto the grounds of Hogwarts, the air was crisp and fresh. Still early in the morning, the horizon was tinted in a fabulous pink, and the grass was crested with a layer of pearly frost.
Falling into a brisk pace, Harry set off to Hogsmeade, to find some sort of lodging, intent on staying nearby so that Snape could incite what he considered appropriate compensation.