A/N: I'm wondering how many of you are reading this for the storyline, and how many are reading it for the smut. Since the smut is sort of irreversibly tied together with the storyline, it doesn't make that much difference, except for my devious author plots. What if I said that you don't get any more smut until I get enough reviews? Now there's an idea. I could do something like this:
Harry grinned and toppled backwards onto the bed, pulling Severus after him. It was going to be a long night.
And then I'd go to a different scene, probably one involving Argus Filch, who NOBODY finds sexy.
But enough of my pathetic threats for reviews…on with the story!
Whoever it was who commented that they were confident Harry and Sev would run into some problems soon…well here you are. Aren't you smart?
Severus had never felt like this.
He was floating on a cloud, and he felt reckless.
He poured seven bottles of Firewhiskey down the loo, and whistled as he did so.
He awoke from dreams of green eyes, instead of slit-like red ones.
He caught himself humming while walking down the corridors.
He awarded house points to Griffindor, and reprimanded Draco Malfoy.
Severus wondered if he were going insane.
He felt happy.
Severus woke early that morning, started a roaring fire with a flick of his wand, and smiled encouragingly at the sole portrait on his wall. The short man with dark hair snarled at Severus from his two-dimensional world, and turned his back on the room, sinking into an uncomfortable looking high-backed chair facing away from Severus.
Still feeling absurdly cheerful, he sat down into his own, much more comfortable chair, and found a good book.
Of course, if he'd known what the day held in store, he would have stayed in bed.
While life was not…perfect, it was hardly bad. A lapful of aroused, energetic young man was undoubtedly an attractive way to end the day.
Disregarding (not that he could for an instant) the moral issues that came with the energetic young man.
Disregarding (not that it was at all possible to do so) the intense and inescapable feeling that this bliss could not last.
Disregarding the frightening fact that he was getting in too far, too deep, and yet could not bring himself to exercise any restraint.
But, in an odd way, Harry was worth the mental strife.
Harry was worth an awful lot to Severus Snape.
His morning did not go badly. In fact, it started out with an unexpected pleasure, in the unusual form of a letter from Albus.
Severus,
Forgive an old man's stubbornness, but I have a favor to beg of you. You will, of course, recall the somewhat disastrous attempt to teach Harry Potter Occulemency? It is with some apprehension that I would ask you to reconsider your decision to cease your attempts. Now, more than ever, we need Harry to be guarded against Lord Voldemort.
Besides, my friend, am I not right in thinking that the situation has changed somewhat, and you might not be adverse to giving the boy extra instructions?
Do get back to me as soon as possible, Severus. I'd like you to start lessons tonight, if agreeable.
With respect,
Albus
It took him only a moment to scrawl a reply.
Whistling tunelessly, he thought idly of how much fun it was going to be to tell Harry.
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Harry could not ever remember being this happy.
Ron and Hermione were bickering at the couch near him, about William Shakespeare, who Ron had reportedly called 'that muggle nutter who wrote about people getting stabbed and giving speeches.'
Hermione, of course, was heatedly defending the writer. "Honestly, Ron, you're an idiot."
Yes, Harry thought, leaning back in his chair, watching rain fall outside the window, his eyes half closed, life might be getting more and more dangerous, with the war on, but at the moment, life was also good.
It was a Thursday night when he got the letter from Severus, delivered by one of the school Barn Owls.
Mr. Potter:
See me in the Potions classroom immediately.
Professor Severus Snape
Harry grinned, glanced at his watch and grinned again. He still got a fluttery feeling in his stomach at the thought of being in the same room as Severus.
Still grinning, he snatched a quill and 'Intermediate Potion Making' from his book bag and made for the door. He ignored Ron's questioning look, his thoughts full of Severus and Severus's body.
He loved Severus for his mind…really he did. The gorgeous body was simply a plus. But, admittedly, he sometimes found it difficult to separate the two; mind and body; in his head. Certain long-fingered hands kept intruding into his thoughts, sending pleasant shudders down his torso.
And when he entered the potions classroom and found Severus waiting for him, a welcome half-smile on his face, Harry felt that he could die of happiness.
"Harry. You were faster than I expected."
The voice was warmer than usual, and Harry closed his eyes for a second, delighting in the fact that he, of all people, was the one Severus chose to speak to this way. Then he clamped firmly down on that particular thought and reminded himself not to be giddy.
"You asked me to come, Professor?" There was a smile in his voice. And on his face. And in his heart. Just having Severus this near made a difference. He moved closer, put his arms around the thin frame and buried his face in robes that smelled faintly of sandalwood. Maybe if he held tightly enough…Harry didn't really know what he feared. There was a faint sense of dread in his chest that was only slightly banished by Severus's body.
Severus seemed to sense that something was off, as his arms came up to hold Harry. A bony, but surprisingly soft hand tilted his face up, and his eyes met mirrored black ones.
"Is something…wrong?" Severus sounded uncertain. "I had good news, but if there is something amiss, it can wait."
Harry laughed, the dread abating somewhat, and untangled himself from Severus arms, parking himself on a desk. "No. It's fine. I've just got the chills tonight. I don't know what it is, really." He smiled up at Severus. The feeling was fading anyway.
Severus smiled back, and Harry searched his face. "So what's your news? If it's important, I'll keep my hands off you for a few minutes."
He was awarded with another wry smile. "This is a first."
"You're not complaining, are you?" Harry rose to his feet and closed the distance between them, standing on tiptoe so that his lips almost touched the thin ones in front of him. "Because if you are – " He moved his head so that it rested on Severus's black-clad shoulder, his breath brushing the ear in front of him, "I could arrange to put more of an…effort…into it…"
A shudder went through Severus's body, and the arms came up to hold him again, fingers brushing against Harry's hips before coming to rest on his lower back.
Harry stepped back nimbly, grinning mischievously. "I thought you had something to tell me?"
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and glared in an amused way down at Harry. "You are incorrigible."
Harry couldn't stop smiling. He tried to smother the grin and plaster a serious expression over top it, but couldn't manage. Standing here flirting with Severus was the most incredible thing that had ever happened to him. The sex…well that was one thing. But something as ordinary as flirting, as standing here talking, was what really had him grinning madly.
Harry stepped into Severus's arms again, this time tucking his head into Severus's chest and keeping his hands on the long spine. He got the impression that Severus was rather taken aback for a second, and he almost regretted his action, almost pulled back, away from the stiff-backed embrace. But then Severus's body softened against his and tentative hands touched his hair, lightly, as if confirming it as real.
Harry sighed happily and kept absolutely still. He simply burrowed his head deeper into the black robes, listening to Severus's voice deep in his chest as he spoke again.
"Apparently Albus believes that we require more time together. He asked me if I would be adverse to giving Occulemency another attempt."
That got through Harry's haze of contentment. He jerked his head backwards and stared into Severus's face, trying to take it in.
On the one hand, he had never been good at Occulemency, and he wasn't keen on having Severus rub his nose in the fact…it couldn't have a good effect on their relationship. But on the other hand he would be able to spend time with Severus.
Harry smiled, tentatively.
He would be able to spend time with Severus.
Occulemency had never looked so good.
Severus looked almost amused, an expression that Harry could not get used to on his face. "I assume this is agreeable to you?"
He wrapped his arms around the thin, tall frame again and buried his face in Severus's chest. "More than agreeable." His voice came out muffled. "Even Occulemency isn't too high a price to pay to spend more time with you."
"Indeed." The voice rumbled from next to Harry's ear. Severus pulled him closer for an instant, and then moved back gently. "You understand that it will not be easy."
It wasn't a question, but Harry answered it anyway. "No. I don't suppose it will. It's hard enough having you teach me Potions, which I'm half decent at, as opposed to Occulemency, which I'm shit at. But I really will try."
Severus nodded, his eyes boring into Harry. Harry gulped but met his eyes, wondering what the older man saw. Perhaps he was seeing a child, someone who couldn't even close his mind from intruders, hardly someone fit for an adult relationship…
Harry squashed that thought with difficulty. Being paranoid was hardly a way to keep a relationship going.
Instead of asking an insecure question, he met Severus's eyes and smiled, trying to convey how he felt about Severus in a single look.
Those dark eyes seemed to go on forever, and he felt that he was falling head first, irresistibly, into them.
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Severus suppressed a shiver at the emotion he saw expressed in those eyes. He wondered if his own thoughts were shown so nakedly on the surface, so easy to read. The thought appalled him, and he turned away abruptly, walked to the fireplace and leaned against the wall.
"It is a Thursday night, is it not?"
The boy nodded, obviously confused.
"And you do, in fact, have homework, do you not?"
Another reluctant nod.
"Then you had best get to it. Much as I am coming to respect your abilities, you do not need to become further behind in your classes."
Harry gave him a shrewd look, but nodded. "When can I see you next?"
Never. You care too much, boy, and you are ultimately going to suffer a great deal for your careless heart.
But Severus crushed his better judgment yet again. What did it matter that Harry would suffer some day? What did any of it matter? They were at war, and 'some day' might never come.
"Tomorrow, after your lessons. You are in remedial potions, if anyone asks."
Harry nodded. "Good. I'll see you then, I suppose."
And, with another smile, he turned to go.
The ache that formed in Severus's chest made him wonder just who was ultimately in for the suffering; him or the boy. Without thinking about it, he moved forwards, reached out to embrace Harry from behind –
And stopped.
This was going too far. He was getting in too deep.
Instead of the embrace, he took another long step, to bring himself alongside Harry, and placed a light hand on the boy's lower back, leaning in to whisper into the dark hair.
"Perhaps you needn't leave just yet."
His heart was pounding. Letting Harry convince him into things was one thing; suggesting them himself was another.
But when Harry wound eager arms around his neck, pressed eager kisses to his jawline, Severus did not pull away. It had been too long since life had felt this good. It had been too long since anything had felt this good. Severus was drunk on the smell of this boy's hair, on the touch of calloused fingers down his spine. He was drunk in a way that he had never been from Firewhiskey, and he shoved all thoughts of decency to the back of his mind, for once simply feeling.
He even, for a moment, allowed himself to think the forbidden words, the ones he would never speak aloud, the ones that haunted his every waking moment.
I love you, Harry. I love your hands and your eyes, and this finger as it traces my lips, and I love that you love me. And I never want to let go of you, of this moment.
Another soft, unhurried brush of lips, and Severus felt the words threatening to burst from him.
I love you.
The urge to speak them aloud was overwhelming, and he broke the kiss to meet Harry's eyes.
"Harry." It came out softly, as he gazed into infinity in the form of green eyes. "I…"
And, of course, that was as far as he got before his arm began to burn.
It was a moment before he registered what he was feeling and wrenched away from Harry, a horrified look forming on his face.
Before the boy could ask, the sleeve of his robes was rolled up and the mark, shining white, was exposed.
The Dark Mark.
He was being summoned.
A/N: There. I have no idea when you can expect the next chapter, but honestly, the more reviews I get, and the longer they are, the more likely I am to update quickly.