Chapter 87 – Passions
Ron and Hermione took their places at Friday night dinner, each commenting that this was the first semi-normal dinner they'd enjoyed at Hogwarts for a while now. They had no need to get back to the Headmaster's or Harry's offices, no burning problem to solve, no complicated spell to create or learn. It was nice to just be able to sit in their usual places, amid the usual people and visit with their friends for once. True, Harry was absent this evening – he'd said something about plans with Severus, but otherwise, all was exactly as it should be.
Neville had news. His gram, the formidable Augusta Longbottom, had found him the greenhouses this afternoon and asked him to join her for tea on Saturday afternoon. Most people would find tea with their grandmother to be at worst boring or tedious, but Neville was in an absolute panic. Everyone remembered Neville turning his boggart, Severus Snape, into something funny by dressing Snape in his grandmother's very distinctive clothing, but what did cause more than a few of Neville's classmates pause was discovering that the reality was not much less scary than Snape to begin with. She was a stern, no-nonsense kind of person, with very high standards and the expectation that people would live up to her standards. It had not escaped Neville's notice that she'd stood with the Headmaster and others who were extremely powerful witches and wizards at the casting of the stasis spell, one of the small group that cast the Iunctus spell. He'd always know his gram was a powerful witch, but he was still taken aback to see her shoulder to shoulder with some of the strongest wizards he knew.
"What does she want with me? What does she plan to discuss? Should I be studying something, or reading up on something to get ready? What if I disappoint her?"
Hermione laughed at the level of panic that tea with Mrs. Longbottom generated in her grandson. Given all the things that had been going on around here for the past few days, this was so refreshingly normal.
Seamus had his stories to tell, too. He'd landed on an Operation Safe Harbor team that was stationed in a Ministry warehouse in London. The Ministry workers had been bringing in wrecked cars in which muggles were sleeping, and his team that was cutting them out of the wreckage. "We didn't get shut down yesterday, since we're in a warded building anyway, and they'd already brought in a few dozen cars when the teams were pulled from outside activity. They needed a few of us who'd actually been in cars and had at least some understanding of what went where to be a part of the team." His descriptions were listened to with horror by most of the pure bloods at the table, who were silently vowing to themselves to never set foot into a muggle automobile. There were so many wrecks, and it was a surprise to Seamus how many did not prove fatal for the muggles in the cars. They were anxious to get muggles out of the wrecks because there were quite a few injuries like broken bones that would be much easier to address sooner rather than later, especially while the muggles were asleep. Ron was both horrified and fascinated by the stories Seamus was telling, as he was one of the few pure bloods whose family had actually owned a car. Granted, his father had modified it to fly and become invisible, but it was still a muggle car. Ron knew that his father was going to want to install these "air bags" that Seamus mentioned. They sounded very cool.
When dinner was over, Ron suggested that he and Hermione take advantage of not having to be somewhere or do something for once, and go for a stroll down by the greenhouses. The greenhouses created several very secluded spots within the walls of the castle but out of sight of people in the castle itself, and had become quite a popular destination for couples looking for privacy lately. No one was stealing off to places outside of the castle wards anymore.
Ron had been very pleased that Hermione had accepted his kiss the other day when they were waiting for Harry to join them. He'd really agonized over whether she'd welcome his touch or push him back. She was so hard for him to read! Going on about DNA and other totally vulgar subjects one minute, and getting all stiff and proper the next. He was in a constant state of confusion with her. He'd been thinking about kissing her for a while, and finally gotten his nerve up, and just as things were getting interesting, Harry had turned up. Not that he blamed Harry or anything, but his timing could have been better. Tonight, since Harry had other plans, he figured that they were much less likely to be interrupted, if things took off as he hoped they would.
For her part, Hermione had been hoping that Ron would initiate something intimate with her. She had been thinking of starting something herself, asking him out, putting her hand someplace that he'd understand her interest, but wizarding courting customs, especially those followed by the socially backward Ron, gave her pause. She'd decided to look for opportunities to plant suggestions that hopefully Ron would pick up and pursue, thinking they were his idea to start with. Hermione had heard talk about the alleys between the greenhouses and the walls from some of her female friends, and she'd worked in mention of them very obliquely in a conversation she'd had with Ron a couple of weeks ago. True to form, he'd finally adopted her suggestion as his idea, and she was very happy that he'd finally gotten up his courage to invite her to go.
The two stole away from the groups returning to the Common Rooms and headed to a seldom-used door that was a short-cut to the greenhouses that Neville had shown to them, as he used it frequently. They were not the only couple sneaking down there, but each pair was keeping to itself and trying not to draw attention to itself. Hermione's recommendation was the alley just beyond the next-to-last greenhouse. She really did not want to go to the furthest and be right at the castle walls; it felt safer to be one full greenhouse in from the walls. Ron was amenable, so they staked out space toward the end of the alley, hopefully away from any prying eyes.
Ron was not exactly sure what to do, now that they'd gotten to this point. He suspected that some conversation was in order, and he had no idea what to talk about, which was odd because Hermione was such a good friend and they always found things to talk about. Hermione was a bit disappointed that Ron seemed so awkward with her. She took a seat on her folded school robes and patted the space next to her. Ron seemed thankful for the clue and sat there, at a respectful distance. She immediately closed that distance, observing "It's a bit chilly here, don't you think?" He nodded aggressively at her comment, and did his best to accommodate her move to be close to him by backing off to prevent their bodies from actually touching. Silently cursing her bad fortune to fall for the one member of the Weasley family for whom this sort of thing was such a trial, she took his arm and physically placed it around her shoulders, giving her an excuse to snuggle into his chest. She could feel his breathing getting labored. He was panicking, and she had to do something. "That's much better, Ron - thanks. It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" She had turned into him and, trusting him to leave his arm around her shoulders as she did, placed her own arms around his waist, pulling their torsos tighter together. She dearly wanted to start touching his chest, and maybe if she was bold, move her hands down over his stomach and maybe even to more interesting places. She did not want to scare him out of his wits and cost her what she believed had the chance to be a wonderful and loving long-term relationship, so she held off on that tactic for now. Gradually, her little comments and observations got verbal responses, some of even a full sentence in length, so she knew she was getting him comfortable. When they were well past the point at which she would have expected this session to begin to involve significant kissing, she started nibbling on his neck, placing little kisses on his neck, and slowly advancing up to his chin. FINALLY, he got the message and turned into her hug, lowered his face to hers, and gave her what she wanted – nice, long, open-mouthed kisses.
Hermione's heart was soaring as she lost herself in the sensations that were coursing through her body, and her own breath started to deepen. Unfortunately, Ron's hands stayed resolutely at her shoulders. She took one of his hands and guided it down her arms, and onto her chest, placing it atop her breast, and then placed her hand atop his to get the fingers caressing and massaging her. She moaned encouragingly, and after a bit of a rough start, he began to get the idea, and was actually delivering some very arousing caresses. She adjusted her clothing a bit so she could get his hand up inside her sweater, and started working his hand down to the hem of her sweater, and then up the inside of it, finally back to her breast. She'd not been able to adjust her bra, so there was still that fabric between them, but it was filmy fabric and this felt much better than the sweater.
Her own hands were now pressing around on Ron's chest and shoulders, massaging his muscles. As he warmed to touching her in a more intimate manner, she was emboldened to start touching him more intimately, too. Her hands moved to his stomach, and gently separated his sweater from his trousers, as she got them inside the sweater and onto skin. Each new sensation seemed to require a long period of adjustment for him, so she was stuck giving him a belly rub for several minutes until she tried moving her hands up to his chest to fondle his nipples. He did not seem to enjoy that, pulling away from her touch, so she dropped her hands lower again, heading for the belt buckle and the snap on his trousers.
They were still pretty much sitting up, and Hermione pondered if there was any way to get Ron into a more comfortable position. He resisted any effort to either pull him down on her side, or to be pushed down on his, so she decided they needed to remain sitting. She took advantage of his momentary confusion resisting her movements to get her hand to his belt buckle and undo it, and immediately get the button at the waistband of his trousers undone as well. That got her a small gasp, but he did not stop her. She moved her hand back to his stomach to enable him to adjust to the sensation of the space she'd created at his waist.
All indications were that Ron was enjoying himself with the kisses and fondling Hermione's breasts, and she decided that she'd regard this first session with Ron as a success even if she could not get him to touch her anywhere else. She wanted to touch him more intimately, though. She finally started moving her hands down Ron's torso, to his waistband, and then pushing in and down. He stopped moving his hand on her breast as he felt her hand suddenly rubbing quite below his stomach. She pushed a little bit further, and she had what she was after. Ron was hard, and as she took him in her hand, he went rigid and seemed to stop breathing. She simultaneously deepened the kiss by sucking his tongue into her mouth, as she started stroking him inside his still-zipped trousers. She had suspected that Ron had never done anything like this before, and that was confirmed when, after only a few minutes, he broke the kiss and with a funny look on his face and deep gulping breaths, he came in his pants as she stroked him.
Apparently, for Ron at least, a very satisfactory orgasm was quite a mood-killer for a romantic evening. With his standard "Bloody hell!" he tried to clean himself up and get Hermione's hand out of where he suspected it did not belong. She just reached for her wand and directed a cleaning charm at his crotch, vanishing the offending dampness, leaving him blotchy and panting, but at least in dry underwear. She kept her calm as he became upset. "Ronald, please calm down. There's nothing wrong with what we just did, or with what just happened to you. It's all very natural. I really enjoyed kissing you, and would be happy to sit here a while longer doing that. I also was enjoying the way your hand felt rubbing my breast – did you realize how sensitive my nipples are?" That frank, but hardly explicit, comment was making him uncomfortable. "I also really enjoyed touching you like that." He really started to look upset, so she changed the subject. "Let's get cleaned up and back together, and head back to the Common Room. It's kind of chilly out here now, and we maybe can find a nice dark corner there and snog for a while, OK?"
"Yeah, sure, Hermione. Let's go inside. It is kind of chilly out here." She adjusted her clothing and got tucked together, and once he stood and pulled her to her feet, she gathered up her robes, shook them out, and the two snuck along the shadows back to the door into the castle. It might not be much, but it was a start.
X X X X X X X X X X
After their dinner in the Great Hall, Sirius and Remus, who had been seated together at the Head Table, took a short stroll around and just outside the castle admiring the beautiful evening before returning to the rooms they shared and settling in for the evening on the sofa in front of the fire, Sirius stretched out with his feet up on the sofa, resting his head on Remus' lap. There werewolf was watching the flames flicker as he idly played with his mate's curly hair. Remus had not yet broached the subject of Sirius' foolishness in allowing Padfoot to walk along with Voldemort in London, but it had been close to the top of his mind all day. It was time.
"Sirius, I told you we'd discuss Padfoot's excursion with Voldemort, and I think we need to do that now. I was furious with you for taking that risk. There are some risks we have to take because circumstances make it necessary that we try to get information or need to get something done, but there was no reason for what you did. And it was so dangerous, going off with that madman! You could have been killed, and for what? Nothing! I cannot stand the thought of losing you, Sirius."
"Oh, Remus, you know I wasn't going to get myself killed. Padfoot's big and fast; if old Voldie made a move at him, he could have dodged him or run away, or maybe even physically attacked him. Padfoot was in no real danger. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll promise that I won't do it again."
"Sorry, but that's not good enough. It was a foolish and ill-considered thing that you did. I think you need to be punished; that will assure that you remember this lesson."
Sirius looked up at his mate with surprise, a smile playing on his lips and a gleam in his eye as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Oohh! Punishment – that sounds like it could be fun, Remus! What do you have in mind? Something kinky?"
Remus lifted Sirius up off his lap, flipped him over face down, and with a wave of his wand, had the smaller man's trousers and pants bunched around his knees. He held him in place as he began to rain sharp smacks on Sirius' backside. Sirius reacted loudly. At first, he was furious with Remus, demanding that he be released that instant. Almost simultaneously, though, Sirius realized that his anger was matched by a growing arousal at his situation. It really did not hurt that much, and it was quite a turn-on to be draped over Remus' lap, held so tightly, and swatted so intimately. Once Sirius was focused on the arousal, the indignity and pain were forgotten. He started to hump Remus' lap, looking for some friction, finding it eventually in the space between Remus' legs. The sounds of protest were replaced by equally loud "Ahhs" and "Yes!"
Before Sirius could make a complete mess of Remus' trousers, he pulled Sirius up to his feet and carried him to the bedroom. It was just a matter of seconds after that that the remainder of Sirius' clothing was gone, and Remus shed his, as well. Most of their lovemaking up to this time had been very gentle and considerate. Sirius had been amazed that he could be as comfortable in a relationship in which he was not the alpha male, as had been the case with every partner he'd ever had before, and part of his acceptance of his role in this relationship flowed from the way Remus made him feel absolutely safe and treasured whenever they made love. Tonight was a bit different.
The wolf was in charge and demanding, and while Sirius still felt safe and treasured, he was treated roughly. Remus cast a cleaning and lubricating spell, but he took almost no time to prepare Sirius for what was to come, and he took him hard. Where normally there would be soft and gentle thrusts, tonight, Remus pounded in and out. Often, their lovemaking was a more mutual experience, but that was not to be the case tonight. Sirius was on his knees and elbows, or on his back with his legs resting on Remus' shoulders. Remus did not allow Sirius to touch himself; only he was going to do that tonight, and that was something else done roughly.
When at last the furious couplings ended, Sirius was limp. He'd been brought to orgasm twice, and felt drained. His ass ached from the constant, rough attention it had gotten. He collapsed into Remus' arms, intending to spoon into his lover to sleep.
Remus wasn't done, though, although he was no longer going to be rough. He was still hard, and as Sirius spooned into him, he carefully eased himself once more into his lover as they lay on their sides. This time, the sex was tender and slow. Sirius reacted with a whimper when Remus's wiry hair ground into the sore skin on his spanked bottom, but he turned his head to reach Remus' and they kissed constantly as Remus gently moved in and out. Remus reached around Sirius and stroked him with exquisite care, extracting yet another orgasm. When they had both climaxed one final time, Remus stayed inside his lover. He stayed that way for quite a while, and for the first time in his life, Sirius fell asleep with his lover still inside of him, feeling full, and cherished and loved in a way he'd never experienced before.
X X X X X X X X X X
Harry had stayed away from the dungeons all afternoon, not sure what Severus needed to do to prepare the dinner he had planned, and not wanting to be in the way. He stashed a change of clothes in the prefects' bathroom, so he could shower and change before going back to their rooms for dinner. Careful to stay within the wards, he then spent some time in a meadow outside the school, picking a large bouquet of flowers for the table. It was probably a muggle thing, but the few memories Harry had of anyone arriving for a special dinner at the Dursleys almost always included some flowers. He hoped the ones he'd selected were acceptable; he certainly could not get to a florist from here and had no idea if there were wizarding services that would deliver something like this. He wanted to show Severus how much he appreciated the effort he was making on his behalf, so it seemed appropriate. He'd found Neville in the greenhouses and was able to also gather some tips on how best to keep the flowers fresh, as well as a few greenhouse blooms that Neville thought would look good with the meadow flowers.
Severus had spent much more time than he'd be willing to admit in planning this dinner and then cooking it. His skill with potions assured that he had a number of skills that were directly transferable to culinary pursuits, and while Severus cooked very infrequently, he had several complicated and impressive "sure things" in his repertoire in which he had great confidence. All well and good, but he was not so sure that Harry would be familiar with or even happy eating some of the things he might choose to prepare. Thinking on Harry's limited experiences in dining, he opted instead for a chicken dish that blended the familiar chicken with some subtle spices, for a different, but not shockingly so, dish. He personally loved making soufflés for his guests, as he had some amazing recipes and had created a special cooking charm that assured the perfect cooking environment for a soufflé to rise to impressive heights every time. He thought that was a good bet for Harry, as the taste of the ingredients would be familiar, just not the way they were presented.
At the appointed hour, there was a knock on Severus' door, to the amusement of Salazar and his snake. "Why are you asking Severus to admit you? The password is the same one you gave us just a few hours ago. Did you forget it?" Harry blushed at the inquiry, and mumbled something about not wanting to surprise Severus, who was expecting him to arrive at this time. Severus opened the door for Harry and it was clear from the look on his fact that that he was very pleased to see him. And a big bouquet of flowers? He was puzzled at that, until Harry explained that they were intended to grace their table at dinner. Surmising that this was some muggle tradition, probably one with which Harry himself wasn't all that familiar, he simply conjured a suitably large container in which to place them on the sideboard.
The smells coming from kitchen were wonderful, and Harry's stomach growled in anticipation of whatever it was Severus had planned for them. Severus smirked at the sound, but it wasn't a snarky smirk, and Harry smiled back at him.
Harry followed Severus into the kitchen, to see the sources of the incredible aromas. His eyes widened at the sight of a soufflé – he had never seen anything like that and had no idea what it was. "It's called a soufflé, Harry. This one has vegetables in it, and whipped egg whites are what enable it to achieve that height." Harry shook is head at the marvel. "It almost looks too beautiful to eat. I never saw anything like that. Egg whites? It must be very light then, right?" Severus was surprised that he knew how ingredients would work in a recipe, but then he figured that Harry was not unfamiliar with the work of food preparation, just with the entire experience of enjoying the fruits of all that labor. "Let me serve you some, and some of the chicken."
Severus plated their meals very carefully, with Harry watching intently as he did so, commenting on the scents and ingredients of the special dishes. Severus had accepted a standard salad from the Hogwarts kitchens, along with some pudding for dessert. He served the salad with a dressing of his own creation, also commented on by Harry. As Severus himself never took dessert, he had no particular skill in preparing anything special. He'd noted that Harry and most of the students were always pleased to see a pudding appear when dessert was served, so he'd asked that one be prepared tonight.
Severus had moved the small table that usually served for their meals in the kitchen out into the living room, in front of the fireplace. When Severus had placed the dishes, he pulled out one of the chairs and guided a very uncertain Harry to sit. Harry was overwhelmed. This was so much more than he'd ever imagined. No one had ever gone to such trouble just for him before. He realized that Severus was watching him closely, and he certainly did not want him to think that he was anything less than thrilled with this wonderful meal. "Thank you, Severus. I don't know what to say – I've never seen a meal like this." Severus had been watching the emotions flicker across Harry's face with some concern, as he was not sure if the young man was upset or disappointed with something. With Harry's assurance that his efforts were appreciated, he relaxed a bit.
Harry watched Severus to see the etiquette attached with eating the various things, lest he embarrass himself by doing something wrong. He was comforted by his memory of the dinner with the Snapes, and hoped that Severus' professed lack of concern for the full range of wizard dinner customs held true even in this private setting. Severus noted the scrutiny, and addressed it right away. "Harry, I hope the food is special and to your liking, as it was prepared with your pleasure in mind. But it's just food, and I don't want you worrying about forks, or customs, or anything like that. I want you to eat it, and enjoy it. If anything is not to your liking, let me know. Please, enjoy the food."
With a big grin, then, Harry dug in. It was all incredibly flavorful, and he thoroughly enjoyed everything. The soufflé fascinated him, and he peppered Severus with questions about making it, with more than a few questions focused on issues of dicing vs. slicing vs. chopping. "The next time we are going to have a special dinner, you will make it with me, Harry. It had not occurred to me that you would appreciate the details of making these dishes, but if you want to see how these things are made, we can make them together."
When the meal was over, Severus waved his wand and the table was back in the kitchen and the sofa back in front of the fireplace. A tea service appeared on the table next to the sofa, and Severus served them each a cup as they took seats on the sofa. "Severus, that was an amazing meal. Thank you so much." Harry kept his hands to himself while they enjoyed their tea in companionable silence, but when the cups were empty and placed back on the table, he scooted closer to Severus. Leaning in, he whispered "You are not getting out of our moonlight stroll, Severus. I've been looking forward to it all week." Severus decided against sharing the fact that he had been looking forward to it as well, and directed a look of resignation to Harry. "Oh, alright, if we must . . ."
He stood and summoned their robes. "It will likely be chilly tonight, and I don't want you getting ill." Quite happily, Harry fastened his robe and waited as Severus did the same, and together, they headed out. To his surprise when they left their rooms, Severus led them down some corridors that Harry had never traveled before. Thinking on it, Harry realized that most of the times when he'd left their quarters, he headed off to classes, or the Great Hall, or the other public areas of the castle, but these corridors were heading in a direction he'd never taken before. The castle had many secrets and he was pretty sure he was about to find out another. The corridor ended with a staircase going up to a door that left them just a short walk from the shore of the lake.
"I never knew there was a passage out right to the shores of the lake!"
"Given its location in the dungeons, I don't believe that anyone but Slytherins ever use it, but yes, there has always been a corridor that extends under the castle and comes out here."
Harry was thrilled when Severus reached down and took his hand, as they walked together around the shoreline. Holding hands with their fingers entwined, as they were doing right now, struck Harry as possibly the most intimate touch he'd ever had. He gripped Severus' hand firmly, relishing the touch.
The evening was perfect, in Harry's opinion. Light played on the water, which seemed to twinkle under the starlight, and the soft sound of the little rippling waves was so soothing. He and Severus were quiet, maybe lost in their own thoughts, or maybe each thinking of the other, but very comfortable in the shared silence. Severus found the rock he was looking for – a large rock that jutted slightly into the water, and he helped Harry climb onto it, following himself, as he cast a warming charm around them. While the look of wonder and delight on Harry's face assured Severus that this was Harry's first visit to a favorite spot of generations of Slytherins, in truth although nothing that could be read from his expression, this was Severus' first visit as well.
Severus stretched out on his side, head resting on his bent arm, and Harry sat looking at him, with his legs crossed in front of him. "Harry, you said something today that I've heard you say before, and I wonder if you would explain. You mentioned to Mr. Landon before that you saw an interesting path for his family, and I heard you use similar terminology when we were at the Ministry when you spoke to Lucius Malfoy, about a path set before him. What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure myself. I can tell sometimes when I look at someone that there are ways their life might go from there. When I spoke to Mr. Malfoy at the Ministry, I could just tell that there were a couple of different directions that his life could go, and certain decisions that he made right then and there were going to cause things to proceed in a certain direction. Sort of the same thing this afternoon with Mr. Landon. I got the sense of certain possibilities but it seemed that it was not specific to him, but to his family. It isn't something that I see, like a ley line, or a dirt path through a meadow, nothing physical. I just get this very strong feeling, so strong that it is not a feeling, but a sense of certainty. It's happened a couple of other times, too. When Professor Dumbledore and I were leaving the castle to go to the Calling, I had a sense that I was heading off on a path from which I was not going to be able to deviate. I couldn't see the direction for myself, just that it was a time that was going to set things in a direction that could not be changed. And believe it or not, when I stopped to speak to Aunt Petunia the other night, I saw a path before her of a life in the wizarding world."
Severus laughed at that last image. "I have a hard time believing that, Harry. I've never encountered anyone as antagonistic to the wizarding world as that woman."
"You haven't met my Uncle Vernon."
"And you do not see the path for yourself with the same clarity that you can see for others?"
"It hasn't worked that way for me, yet, anyway. It only happened for me that one time. It could just as easily been my realizing that this event was going to be a turning point for me; maybe that's all it was."
"You had mentioned seeing ravens in the Headmaster's office after the demon attack. Are they part of this?"
"The ravens have come to me several times, usually in dreams, but sometimes when I'm awake. They were there that day. They tell me things, and they do seem to know things, sometimes things that haven't happened yet, that they think I should know. Maybe they are connected to this sensing paths thing, but I've not seen them when I've seen others' paths. They've tended to be there when I had dreams of things that were to come, but in the Headmaster's office, they just wanted me to . . . I don't know, focus, I guess, on what needed my attention then."
Severus' expression was strange as he heard this information. He did not want to show any alarm or concern, but this was definitely something that he needed to discuss with the Headmaster. The references to seeing paths had caused both of the men to think of the eye of Odin, but the ravens, Odin's familiars? And they were behaving in a way that a familiar would.
"Have you ever tried to look at someone's path, deliberately?"
Harry shook his head at that, but looked thoughtfully at Severus for several moments. He'd never considered whether he could somehow provoke feeling a sense of the direction that someone's life might take, and as he studied Severus intently, he wondered if he could make it happen now. He realized that he did have a certain sense of direction for Severus' life, but it was vague, in the same way that his own sense of his life's path was vague. "When I try to see a path for you, Severus, I get the same vague perception that I experienced when I saw my own path. I cannot see your path any more clearly than my own. Maybe it's because our paths are moving together? If you and I are on the same path, I will probably have the same problems seeing your path as I have seeing my own. I will give this a try with some others; it might work differently with someone other than you."
Severus was very relieved with that statement. It eased several fears that were lurking just below the surface within him, that had been festering since their discussion about annulments a short while back. If their paths did proceed together, it suggested that Harry might not be waiting for the opportunity to be rid of his bondmate. Severus sincerely hoped that was the case.
Severus was further heartened when that beautiful young man sitting before him shifted from sitting to kneeling, and then moved over to push him onto his back. Harry gently placed a kiss on Severus' lips, and then he leaned into the kiss. Severus idly noted to himself that the boy was a quick learner, as he felt several of the techniques he had used on Harry himself now being used on him by Harry. The two stayed locked in an embrace with Harry stretched on top of Severus, for a number of minutes, their kisses deepening, as their breaths grew shorter. Severus had been wondering if it might be time to suggest that they go back to their rooms, when he heard Harry squeak in distress. Grabbing for his wand as he rose and pivoted at the same time, he sought to find out who or what had so alarmed Harry. The boy was looking in horror out to the lake, and as Severus followed his line of sight, he saw the giant squid floating tranquilly at the surface, with one incredibly large eye trained on the two of them. With an angry comment directed to voyeuristic marine life, he calmed Harry and offered his hand to help the young man stand. "Harry, let's head back inside. The giant squid is just curious, he won't hurt us."
Harry seemed not entirely sure about that, but was happily distracted by Severus' suggestion and the firmness with which he held his hand as they walked to the entrance to the corridor back into the dungeons.
They bypassed the sofa by the fire in the sitting room, and resumed their mutual explorations in the bedroom, now without cloaks and jackets, stretched out on the bed they would later share. Severus stretched out on his back, and encouraged Harry to resume his place stretched over him, as they continued to kiss. He slowly allowed his hands to drift from the younger man's shoulders and back, down to caress his bottom. Harry was momentarily alarmed by that, but soothing sounds from Severus, coupled with a very competent massage of that bottom, calmed him. Severus did realize, though, that Harry's skittishness about being touched intimately, coupled with his reluctance to appear unclothed in front of Severus this morning, suggested that even now that they'd taken their relationship to this new place, he had to proceed slowly.
"Harry, I want you to be assured that we will do nothing that makes you uncomfortable or that you do not want to do. Tonight, we'll explore each other, and find out how we can best enjoy being touched. We are not going to have sexual relations tonight, and we will not until I believe you are ready to take that step. Even if you say that you wish to take our relationship to that level before I think it is time, we are going to wait." He looked very carefully at Harry's face as he spoke, to monitor the emotions being broadcast there, and was himself relieved to see the relief in those beautiful green eyes. "I am going to touch you in ways that I think you will like, and if I've made a mistake about that and you protest, I will stop immediately. You are free to mimic what I do to you, to me, or touch me in ways that you think I might like, and if I'm not comfortable, I'll ask you to stop. Is that acceptable?" Harry could only nod his agreement, not trusting his voice at that moment.
Severus sat up and shrugged out of his clothes, as Harry watched with interest. He truly could not get enough of looking at Severus' body – he thought it was perfection. Severus began kissing Harry as he gently and slowly removed his clothes, alternating mind-blowing kisses on his mouth with little nips and kisses applied to the places newly-freed from clothing. Harry felt absolutely worshiped, and his skin tingled all over. By the time Severus was easing off his pants, Harry was squirming, and when Severus places kisses on his belly and started working his way down, he started groaning. Looking up at Harry for permission when he reached his goal, and seeing lust in those green eyes, Severus took Harry into his mouth and gently began to work his tongue around his prize. Harry nearly forgot to breathe, with the amazing and powerful sensations that were pulsing though his body as Severus swallowed him. When he felt Severus' fingers gently fondling his balls, he had to hold onto the bedcover, and when those fingers started probing back further, Harry seemed no longer able to control his mouth, and drool started ebbing out the side. He did not last long before totally losing himself to an orgasm beyond anything he'd ever imagined, rewarding Severus with strong pulses of cum that were greedily swallowed.
As the young man tried to recover his senses, Severus eased up to lie next to him, and suggested "Would you like to taste yourself on my lips, Harry?" Harry had never considered such an idea, and while not ruling it out for all time, was not quite ready to try that. True to his word, Severus dropped the matter immediately. When Harry had his breath back, he got to his knees, and began to inspect Severus' body in the same way that his had been inspected as his clothes were removed, and he delivered shy kisses as he worked his way from spot to spot. He'd been surprised by the feelings he'd experienced when his nipples had been kissed, and found that Severus seemed to have those feelings too, as the man groaned when he gently sucked on them. Harry playfully poked his tongue into Severus' navel, eliciting another moan. He pondered Severus' erection, not being at all certain that he could get that into his mouth, or do anything close to what he'd just experienced. Severus sensed his hesitation. "Only what you are comfortable doing, Harry. If you are not comfortable using your mouth, you can always use your hands." He smiled at that possibility, and took the organ in his hands, massaging it gently, squeezing in the places that he'd felt the most amazing sensations when Severus had touched him. He explored Severus carefully, noticing the different textures of his skin, and especially marveling at his balls as he gently fondled them. Harry was getting aroused himself as he touched Severus, both from the noises that Severus was making and the feel of this incredible man allowing him to do these things to him. It seemed to be more than just a physical arousal, although that was quite evident as he began to get hard again himself. His magic was reacting to this, too. It was pulsing within him, everywhere. As he grasped Severus, and focused in earnest in bringing him to the point of release, he could feel the magic in his hands pulsing out to Severus.
Apparently, Severus felt it, too. He had reconciled himself to an evening of marginal satisfaction, when it appeared that Harry was more timid than he might have hoped of a Gryffindor, when a jolt of magic went into him at the place it was going to do the most good at the moment. He arched his back with a loud groan, clutching the pillow under his head. The magic was not abating; it was on his skin and moving inside of him, and it felt like nothing he'd ever felt before. The external stimulation of Harry's hands coupled with the internal stimulation of Harry's magic brought him to the point that his eyes went back in his head, he lost the ability for conscious thought, and he gave himself over to the most intense orgasm he'd ever experienced, coming and coming and coming for what felt like eternity. He literally lost his breath.
When he was able to focus his eyes again, the first thing he saw was Harry, looking very pleased with himself, splattered with cum. Severus' coordination was a bit longer in returning, but eventually he was able to get his arms under him to push himself up to rest on his elbows. "That was OK, Severus?" Harry asked, suddenly timid. Severus could not control the chuckle that escaped before he could answer, causing Harry a moment of concern, until Severus followed that chuckle with "Merely OK, Harry? I never experienced anything like that in my life! What did you do to me?"
"I think my magic got involved. I started to feel it stirring and pulsing in me as I touched you, and I think it was in my hands, too."
Severus looked at him intently. He'd never had a relationship with anyone who was not a wizard, so all of his sexual experiences had been with people who had magic. And yet never in his life had the presence of his own or someone else's magic resulted in anything even remotely like that happening. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, but, Merlin, it took his breath away and wrung him dry. He sat up and pulled Harry to sit between his legs, the better to kiss and stroke him. Noticing Harry's arousal, he began to stroke him there, much as Harry had just done to him. Before the younger man was too far gone for speech, he asked "Can you tell me if you did anything that made your magic do that?" Harry could only shrug. "It just happened."
Severus tried closing his eyes and focusing inward, on his own magic. He realized that he could feel a pulsing, something he was pretty sure he'd never felt before. It gradually suffused him, filling every pore, pulsing in time as he stroked Harry. When he felt confident that he would not lose this sensation by opening his eyes, he dared to do so, looking right into green eyes that were now filled with lust and unable to focus. Several expert strokes later, with the magic pulsing in him and apparently being felt by Harry, the younger man erupted again with a prolonged orgasm that threw him back limply against Severus' chest.
As Harry recovered, Severus gently got them both under the covers, and allowed Harry to get comfortable. Instead of spooning as he'd done other nights, he went to sleep facing Severus, with his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Severus cradled his head and played with the dark strands as he stared at the ceiling.
What an evening!