Note- Hey, just wanted to say a quick thank you for the lovely reviews and PMs I've been getting. It really means a lot to me, i love hearing from you guys. Thanks!

Saturday dawned bright and clear, perfect conditions for flying. Harry was overwhelmingly excited. Severus was not. As much as he enjoyed the matches themselves (and he did...to a degree) he hated watching them. It reminded him so vividly of being back in school, bullied and rejected. It was particularly pronounced at quidditch matches because each time he had the torturous decision about where to sit. There was a teachers box, but it had been years since he'd sat there. Ever since one excruciatingly embarrassing incident where he'd arrived and didn't have anywhere to sit. He'd had to leave against amongst whispers and stares. Somehow his chair had gone 'missing'…. he'd taken this as a cue that he wasn't wanted and instead sat with the slytherins, who were respectful enough. But they clearly didn't want to be with their head of house on the weekend and they made pains to avoid him.

And so he sat alone, as always. But this time was slightly different. As the teams kicked off, the only had eyes for one player- Harry. Even Severus couldn't deny that he was an excellent flyer. He seemed to be one with the air somehow, dodging and weaving with a grace none of the other players had.

God, Severus had always wanted to date a quidditch captain. The school boy in him still swooned over the uniforms and the prestige. Not to mention the undeniable skill, the self confidence, the beautifully toned bodies… he lapsed into a fantasy. He saw in his mind's eye, Harry landing, snitch raised high, the crowd roaring. Harry would sweep Severus into his arms, kissing him deeply, one hand wrapped snuggly, almost posessively around his waist, the other still on the snitch. Severus leaned forward, as if into this fantasy. But he was bought caught back to earth with a thud as lee Jordan proudly announced:

"AND GRYFFINDOR CATCHES THE SNITCH! 170 points to 10! That must be the shortest game yet!"

And Severus watched Harry land gracefully in the ground, the crowd cheered, he raised the snitch high in the air...and Severus was still alone.

That night, Severus would chastise himself for this little fantasy. But he didn't take it too seriously. It wasn't the first time he'd fantasized about a quidditch player, in fact he had rather a fetish about them, and it had never been an issue before. He was confident it wouldn't happen again.

Instead he busied himself with grading papers, easily killing the time before he saw Harry again.

Harry arrived promptly at 7, a fact wich made Severus smile. He knew punctuality was not his strong suit and he felt flattered. But his smile soon wavered.

"Your bleeding…" he said, pointing to a mark on Harry's robes. He looked closer and noticed that he was covered in small specks of red, almost as if he'd been splattered with blood.

"Oh yeah." Harry said, nonchalantly. "It's from that curse you put on me. It was healing well, until yesterday, I ripped all the blisters open as I dove to catch the snitch. It was such a good game. Did you see?"

"Wait, you still haven't cured yourself? Why ever not, burns are incredibly easy to heal."

"Yeah, Hermione's offered multiple times…." Harry said, a bit sheepishly. "But. You know. Honestly, I feel like I deserve it. I deserve some kind of punishment for what I did. The only one that should cure me is you."

"That's insane" Severus said, eyebrows raised high. "You need to be cured. You could get an infection." He tutted. "it's a very simple lotion, I'll do it now." He said, stalking off into another room. He returned moments later with a tub of lotion. "Sit." He said distractedly, mentally berating himself for such a stupid curse. He shifted Harry's legs on to his lap and unscrewed the lid.

And then he realized what he'd actually agreed to do. A lotion obviously needed to be applied directly to the skin. To Harry's bare legs. From the blood marks in his robes, he could see it went very far up.

"Or, uh, would you like- you can do it yourself, I uh, give you my blessing-" Severus said.

But Harry had realized the same thing at the same time, and he was far too excited to be turned away so easily. Besides, there was something wildly endearing about Severus's suddenly tongue tied nature. He couldn't help it, he smiled, perhaps a little mischievously.

"I'd rather you do it. If it's not too much trouble.. there's a reason I didn't do it myself...didn't think it would be right." He said, slyly.

Severus bit his lip, looking at Harry's legs, feeling their weight on his lap. That alone was an incredible feeling...of warmth, trust, friendship... and the smallest scrap of hope of something more. He couldn't turn down the invitation. Besides, he reasoned, surely he was helping Harry. He clearly won't cure himself, it's been weeks…

"Lay back down" Severus said softly, and Harry reclined on the couch. He waited with baited breath for Severus to touch him. He was not disappointed. Using both hands, Severus began to gently massage the lotion into Harry's calf. It was electrifying, as if every cell in his body was suddenly awake, suddenly begging for Severus's touch. With great effort he suppressed a moan. A tingling started at Severus's nimble fingers and shot even further up his leg, making him writhe just slightly in pleasure. Harry had an aching awareness of Severus's hands, every subtle movement building an intense pressure in his groin.

Severus's breath was quicker too. It was with a mix of horror and excitement that he realized he'd have to shift Harry's legs, or he'd soon feel Severus's developing erection.

Torturously slowly, he slipped his hands further up, past the knee and to the thigh. Harry had to bite on a pillow to stop from moaning, his pelvis positively glowed with arousal. He was already leaking precum, and he knew he was one wrong (or right?) move from coming right there and then. Softly, he caressed Harry's inner thigh, stroking his thumb back and forth,a faint hint of a promise of what he could do higher up. Harry couldn't help it this time, he let out a long, low moan.

"Does it hurt?" Severus asked nervously.

"No." Harry assured him. "It's a relief...to be healed" he explained lamely, almost too distracted to think up even this feeble excuse.

Severus slowly, as if expecting Harry to leap up and run away, he ran his hand up the inside of Harry's thigh. It was the most incredible feeling Harry had ever experienced. He stopped only when he got to the thin fabric of Harry's boxers.

"I should probably...take those off...to cure properly..." Harry said, barely coherent.

Wordlessly, Severus reached up even further, hooking his fingers under the elastic and dragging them down. Harry was positively shaking with desire. Severus threw them on the floor and went immediately back to his work, running both hands up Harry's leg, touching every part of him he could.

Eventually, Severus hit that crease between thigh and pelvis. Not daring to look at Harry, he ran one, long forefinger across it. It took every ounce of will power for Harry not to move. He fought to keep his breathing even, aware that one wrong move and Severus would back off forever. His erection was so intense it was painful now, all he needed was the slightest bit of friction...

But Severus dared to go no further. With great reluctance, he slid his hands back down. Harry slowly began to get up, trying his best to look normal.

"Do you not want... the other leg?" Severus asked, looking surprised.

"Oh right." Harry said, laying back down quickly. "Of course, I, uh, forgot." Neither of them mentioned how stupid he was for getting he had two legs, they were both far too distracted. This time Severus was bolder. He ran his hands quickly up Harry's leg, finding that creese. He went further this time, he went down, sliding his finger between Harry's perfectly formed cheeks, grazing his hole, framing his balls. Harry couldn't stop himself, he moved just slightly and pushed himself into to Severus's hand. Severus gasped slightly and withdrew quickly. Harry cursed himself. A little breathlessly he said "Will you do the backs of my legs too?"

Severus hesitated. Harry couldn't help pleading. "It's really painful…"

Severus couldn't resist such a perfect excuse. It was clear, so clear, that Harry wanted this. And he did too. And for a moment he couldn't think of any reason to resist.

"How far up did the curse go?" Severus asked softly. Harry was still for a moment, wondering how far he dare push it. "To my lower back" he lied again.

Severus highly doubted this. The curse was specifically meant to bind legs, not backs, and he knew he hadn't messed it up. But still. "Very well" He purred.

Harry flipped over. Severus pushed his hands up the back of Harry's legs, nails gently grazing against his soft thighs. He stopped just before Harry's ass, his robes still pooled around him modestly.

"Do you want me to do all the way to your back?" Severus asked, his voice so husky it was basically a growl.

"Yes" Harry panted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Harry insisted, a slight edge to his voice this time. He was desperately, achingly impatient for more.

Severus did as he was asked. Almost reverently, he lifted Harry's robes. The sight was enough to make Severus salivate. Harry's perfect round ass on his couch, begging for his touch. A wild possessiveness took hold of Severus and he grabbed Harry's ass suddenly, unabashedly. It was enough to drive Harry wild. He scrunched up his face into the pillow and stifled a gasp as Severus came to rest his hands on Harry's hips. It would be so easy for Severus to mount him like this, and for a wild moment Harry considered begging for his cock.

Every part of Severus was obsessed with Harry's body. He couldn't help it, he grabbed just a little harder, pushing him down into the couch. It was enough for Harry. With a jolt that he tried valiantly (but unsuccessfully) to hide, he came. He'd never come harder in his life, by the time he was done, he was seeing stars. But he didn't have long to bask. With a mounting horror, he realized he was leaking through his robes and on to Severus's beautiful couch.

"That's great, thanks!" He said, jumping up, "Do you have a bathroom I can use?"

Severus looked stunned, he pointed wordlessly to a door and Harry rushed off, barely remembering to grab his boxers.

Severus sat, numb for a second before a horrible wave of shame came crashing over him. How could he do that to a student? Harry had trusted him, to heal him, to cure him, not to molest… was that why he'd run away? Had he suddenly, horrifically realized that Severus had gone far beyond what was medically necessary? Severus decided it must be. Surely that was the reason he shuddered so violently, jumped up so sharply. Had he really been that wrong? Misread Harry that badly? Severus couldn't think of any other explanation. He put his head on his knees, nausea rising inside of him. How could he do that? He took long, deep breaths trying to calm down, but it only seemed to make things worse.

In no time at all, Harry was back, beaming. But he stopped when he saw Severus. "Are..are you okay?" He asked.

Severus shot up, his eyes wild. "Yes. Are you?"

"Yeah" Harry laughed, he felt fantastic. "Why wouldn't I be?" There was an awkward pause. "So, you want to go to dinner…?" He asked.

"Do you?" Severus countered. He was shaking. He wanted to fall to his knees, to beg Harry's forgiveness. But he didn't dare and this too, shamed him. He was hit with a wave of regret so hard it almost knocked him over. He knew he was rude, arrogant, obnoxious….but he had never thought he was enough of a monster to sexually assault a student. Now he knew he was and he felt his humanity crumbling away.

"Of course! I've been looking forward to this. I know you had something to say." He looked suddenly confused. "It was your idea. Don't you want to?"

Severus felt like he had been punched in the stomach. It had been his idea, hadn't it? Under threat of detention. That made it so much worse. He could hear the gossip now "did you hear? That potions master harassed a student into his private rooms, sexually assaulted them…" "always knew that man was a monster…"

"We're late for our reavation now…" he said limply, grasping for any excuse.

"Only ten minutes," Harry said, checking his watch. "They'll wait"

Severus nodded, at a total loss of what else to do. Mekely, he followed Harry, head spinning. They took the floo to the restaurant (a lovely little magical place in Lille) where they sat, Harry beaming, Severus looking pale and wide eyed. Harry decided to order a bottle, an extremely expensive one, hopeful that would cheer him up. It did not.

"So…" he said, all too aware that his dinning partner had the expression of a man about to be executed. "Did you want to talk about something in particular? Did you want me to keep apologizing?"

"No!" Severus said suddenly. "You don't have to apologize for anything." Guilt churned his stomach, shame made his shoulders tense. Nothing Harry had ever done was as bad as Severus's latest blunder. To take advantage of a student….it destroyed everything he thought he was. Finally he accepted what the others he always said- he was worthless.

"Uh. Wow. You've changed your tune." Harry said. He was starting to get worried, Severus wa not acting at all like himself. Was he cursed?

"So if not that..? What?" Harry prompted.

Severus had no idea. He'd never really known what he was going to say, only that he wanted more time with Harry. Again his stomach lurched. But he had to say something.

"It drove me mad, you know" Severus said, suddenly. "There was a mass murderer on the loose." It took harry a moment to realize he was talking about Black and his third year. "Everyone knew he was getting into the school somehow and no one would even question if lupin, his best friend, was involved. All dumbledore would say was that he trusted him. Weasley was almost attacked that year, you remember. The fat lady was. And still Lupin was trusted. Why?" Severus asked suddenly, as if expecting Harry to have the answer. He really didn't.

"Well, uh… he was right in the end…"

Severus let out a mean bark of a laugh. "But what a gamble to make. The lives of every student on the possibility that Lupin wasn't still helping his best friend, his only real friend. When there was no other reasonable explanation. He may have been right. He was, I'll admit that. But he still risked everyone's live proving it."

"Yes. I agree." Harry said keeping his voice deliberately casual, although he was desperate to hear more.

"I tried to kill myself twice that year you know." Severus said, almost casually, although a tightening of his jaw betrayed his inner turmoil.

Harry jumped, spilling his wine and not caring "Oh my god! I had no idea.."

"I'd have succeeded too, if Malfoy hadn't come back to borrow a book. He found me. Took me to the hospital wing. That's another reason he hates you, you know. Thinks it was your fault."

"Was it?" Harry asked, hardly dating to speak.

"No." He said sharply, suddenly. "Nothing that's happened has been your fault. You were just a child. You still are." and with that, a wave of shame and nausea hit him so hard, he had to blink away tears. "Excuse me." He said roughly, heading towards the bathroom. Harry was sure he could hear retching sounds, but he didn't know what to do. He merely sat there, stunned, although not for long. An extremely snooty waiter approached him and forcefully suggested he escort Severus home, as he was clearly sick. After a few choice words, Harry did exactly that, bewildered and on earth was going on?