Oh. Oh. Now, Severus understood. Harry didn't refer to sex with a lover as sex. When it's with someone you love, it's making love. Harry had been saying sex with his exes because he didn't love them. Severus had been the one to call it making love earlier, when he told Harry that it was just sex with his one-night stands. He didn't care about them and making love to Harry would have far more meaning because he cared for and loved Harry. Interesting way to turn that one around.
"Are you top or bottom? I don't believe we've ever had that discussion." Severus asked.
"Either or. Depends on my partner's preference, so what are you?" Harry wondered.
"I've always topped." Severus responded.
"Then I suppose I'm bottoming." Harry replied as he kissed the man again. "Make love to me, Sev…"
Severus immediately sat up to recapture Harry's lips, and wrap an arm around his back before flipping the younger male down onto his back on the bed. Harry giggled at the shift, but happily went back to making out with his boyfriend. This was giving them a nice little break to recover from their first orgasms. It didn't take long before Severus had summoned lube from somewhere in the room, likely his nightstand, then got the lid open to squeeze some onto his hand. Harry had already adjusted his legs spread open to give the man access to his rear end. Not breaking their making out, Severus moved his hand lower to smear the lubrication around Harry's bum, focusing on the hole and then beginning to work his finger in. It made Harry tense slightly, but he relaxed, though Severus had caught the movement and broke the kissing to look at Harry.
"We don't have to do this, Harry. I felt you tense, you're nervous." Severus said.
"I want this, Sev. It's just been a while since I've been on the bottom." Harry told him.
"How long?" Severus inquired.
"I can't remember the last time, so it's been quite a bit. Couple years maybe?" Harry admitted. "I only tensed because the guys I've been with don't do the whole fingering to prep thing. Some did, but not often enough for me to consider it a part of the process. I'm okay, really." He smiled.
"You've been with guys who don't prep first?" Severus asked, seemingly dumbfounded to learn of such. Harry nodded. "What kind of idiots have you been dating, Harry? Good Merlin, you always prep your partner. Especially if it's been a while." The man sighed.
"Well…I didn't really date these guys, Sev. They were just…Random hookups out of boredom or drunken fun." Harry said.
"Still idiots." Severus shook his head. "You don't have to worry about that with me."
"I wasn't worried to begin with, it just took me by surprise to be touched like that. The gentleness." Harry informed.
"I am not even going to respond to that statement, but leave it to imagination of what I would say to the notion that the guys you've been with just go right in." Severus remarked.
"Something along the lines of sarcastic-laced." Harry chuckled.
"Excellent deduction, Mr. Potter. Five points to Gryffindor." Severus nodded as he bent forward to kiss a giggling Harry again, then continued working his finger around the ring of Harry's entrance. Massaging the muscles and easing his finger into the younger male's hole. Harry moaned out into Severus's mouth, but then went back to making out with the man while Severus began pumping his finger back and forth slowly. Eventually, Severus picked up pace and added a second finger. Harry moaned at the feeling before Severus used his other hand to stroke Harry's half-hardened cock back to being fully erect.
"Oh, God…" Harry arched slightly. "Sev. Sev, please…"
Severus looked at him lovingly with a smile. "What is it, Harry?" He asked teasingly, but he knew.
"Want you…N-Need you inside me. Please!" Harry pleaded desperately.
"Would I ever deny you?" Severus inquired as he removed his hand from Harry's length to grab the lube once more and get it on his own prick before using his free hand to rub it around. Severus adjusted himself to be lined up before withdrawing his fingers and setting his cock at Harry's entrance, then he started to push in until their bodies came flush with one another. Harry arched again, head thrown back with a cry of pleasure. Severus groaned with enjoyment to have his length buried in the younger male's tight ass. "Are you okay?"
"Perfect…" Harry panted slightly. "You're bigger than anyone I've been…" He admitted. Severus kissed him a few times, just to give Harry a little time to adjust to him. "You can move." Harry told him gently.
Severus started to thrust his hips back and forth, keeping it slow and somewhat light. Of course, Harry's arms went around the older man's neck and pulled him back down to resume making out. It went on for what felt like hours, changing positions so often enough that they wouldn't immediately cum. When they changed positions, it involved having to stop and readjust, it let them both cool down and restart slowly to rebuild. The other positions they did included leaving Harry on his back and Severus sitting up on his knees while pushing Harry's legs up, or dangling over Severus's arms. Then there was Harry being on his front, or hands and knees with Severus behind him. From there, it shifted to them laying down on their sides where Severus would raise one of Harry's legs up, and then let it back down.
Another had been Severus on his back and Harry riding him, or Severus sitting upright to hold Harry steady while thrusting up into him. Finally, they ended where it began with Harry on his back, and Severus between his legs that were wrapped around Severus's waist.
"I'm going to cum, Harry…Do you want me to-," Severus started.
"If you even consider the idea of pulling out, Severus Snape, I will kill you in your sleep tonight and frame it as a potions accident…" Harry warned. Severus chuckled a little and understood the answer as he brought a hand down to take hold of Harry's cock and stroke him. "S-Sev'rus…!" Harry choked out. "O-Oh, God! I-,"
"Yes, cum with me…" Severus said in his ear, then nipped the lobe.
It only took a few more movements of Severus's thrusts and hand stroking Harry's length before Severus re-captured Harry's lips in a fierce kiss and they both released together, letting the pleasure rip through their bodies. The two were still making out, despite trying to catch their breath. After some minutes of coming down from the high, but still feeling great, Severus adjusted to pull out and waved his hand to clean them before laying down and pulling Harry closer. With an easy movement, Harry was cuddling up to Severus and the blankets were pulled over them. Harry's head was on Severus's shoulder while the older man's arm was curled around the back of Harry's shoulders. And Harry's arm was draped lazily over Severus's chest. Severus pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, which made the younger male look up at Severus.
"I love you, Severus." Harry said.
"I love you too, Harry." Severus replied.
The two shared a kiss and got comfortable for the evening. They were relaxed and tired from their love-making, it did not take long for either of them to fall right to sleep.
. . .
When the next morning came, sunshine flooded the room and forced Harry to turn his head away to avoid being blinded.
"Sev…Close the blinds," Harry groaned. No answer. "Sev?" He moved his hand around the spot beside him to find no one else. He immediately pushed upward to be in a sitting position, and blindly reached for his glasses on the nightstand to his right. Harry put the objects on to not only find that Severus wasn't beside him in bed, but that he was in his own bedroom and in his night clothes. "Severus?" The room was empty, no one but him. Everything of last night came rushing back as Harry tried to remember if they'd been at Severus's or his place. They had definitely been at Severus's, and fell asleep there after making love. But here Harry was, alone, in his own house. A pain Harry had felt in the past after the war came forward, the pain of everyone he'd lost in the war. The pain that consumed him to the point he almost killed himself between drinking, potions, and drugs. Harry was almost sure in the silence that he could hear the sound of his own heart breaking.
Severus promised he wasn't leaving. Or…Had it all just been a dream? Was he actually still in a deep sleep from the Draught of the Living Death? Had he never recovered and everything that happened was just his imagination? Harry lowered his head in defeat, tears forming and beginning to slip from his eyes.
"Harry? What's wrong?" Severus's voice reached Harry's ears as he looked up quickly to see the potions master standing across the way from him at the bathroom door. Seeing the tears in Harry's eyes, Severus made it before Harry, kneeling quickly. "Why are you crying? Are you hurt? I knew I shouldn't have been so rough, but you kept asking for-," He was cut off by Harry hitting his knees and wrapping his arms around Severus tightly. "...More," Severus finally finished the sentence, though confused.
"You're still here…" Harry whispered.
"Of-Harry, Of course I'm still here. Where did you think I would go?" Severus asked. "I was only taking a shower." He informed.
"I…I thought that-," Harry began, clearly ashamed.
Now, Severus understood. Harry's fear of something happening after the first time they had sex, then waking up alone. "Oh, Harry…" Severus embraced Harry lovingly, then pulled back with his hands on Harry's shoulders. "You thought I up and left, didn't you?"
"I'm…Sorry." Harry sniffled. "I-I didn't know what else to think when I woke up in my own bed, dressed when I knew we fell asleep together last night in yours." He mentioned. "I-I thought that-..."
"Tell me, love." Severus asked.
"I thought everything had been a dream. Not just you and me, but the last however many years it's been since I went off the deep end in my depression. I-I thought I was still in a deep sleep from that time I took Draught of the Living Death while drunk and drugged up…" Harry admitted.
Severus moved his hands to Harry's cheeks, swiping his thumbs to wipe away the falling tears. "Everything that's happened since that moment of your life, Harry, has been real. You and me, us, has been real, love. I promise that it's not a dream." He assured softly. "It is not you who has to apologize for this, Harry, but me." Severus stated. "I'm so sorry for not being here, and making you believe that it never happened, or that I lied to use you and left. Please forgive me."
Severus helped get Harry back to sitting on the bed and then he followed suit to be beside his young lover. "I forgive you…" Harry leaned against him for a moment as Severus kissed his forehead. "What are we doing here?"
"There was a…Situation at my house and I had to act quickly to contain it as well as move us here to not be affected by my foolishness." Severus stated. "I am still surprised that you slept through the whole thing."
"What happened…?" Harry inquired, fear in his tone.
"It was nothing you did, Harry. Please don't believe that this is your…Curse activating to try and drive me off." Severus told him. "This one was entirely on me, something I haven't done since I was a child." He added. "I woke up before you and thought it might be nice to make you breakfast in bed. Then I remembered something I had to do for a potion. To keep a long morning short, a call from Draco got me distracted from the two things I was doing and I mixed up ingredients on top of burning breakfast." The man sighed. "Negative potion reactions made it volatile and dangerous on top of the kitchen fire. I was worried about you breathing it in, so I got you dressed and brought you here."
"Is your house okay?" Harry wondered.
"It's still standing, but can't be there for a few days. Once you were safe here, I went back to activate a neutralizing agent I made for situations like these. It's like a smoke screen, but it works to handle gasses and liquids that are left behind from a potion gone wrong. The agent stays within the four walls, takes care of everything over the course of three to five days depending on how volatile the potion was and then I can go in and clean everything safely." Severus explained. "So the house is on lock down to handle that."
"Where's your elf?" Harry asked.
"Here. I think she's made herself busy with finding things to clean." Severus mentioned. "I should have left you a note I was in the shower. I'm sorry for scaring you by not being here and making you think that I just left, Harry. I swear it was not the intention."
"It's okay. Accidents happen," Harry shrugged. "Thanks for saving my life again."
"I promised I'd protect you the rest of my days. I intend to keep that vow until the day I die, Harry." Severus said. "Come on, go grab a shower and I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast. I'm sure my elf will have made it."
"Okay. Also…You're more than welcome to stay here while your house is locked down." Harry told him.
"Thank you, Harry." Severus nodded.
"And I want this story about when this apparently happened when you were a child over breakfast too." Harry stated as he prepared to head into the bathroom.
"I shall tell you." Severus agreed.
. . .
A week later, Severus and Harry were back at Malfoy Manor with their friends and family for the weekly get together. It was 5:00 pm when Harry arrived, of course, as he had to finish a couple things at work. Severus had arrived ahead of him around 4:30. All the usual people were there, which was great. Once all the hellos were taken care of, everyone relaxed to enjoy the dinner. Now, it was 7:00 pm with everyone sitting around the grouped tables to catch up on how their week had been since the last gathering.
"So, Harry…How was yours and Severus's date last week?" Hermione inquired.
"It was great." Harry responded. "Went out to dinner, sat together in front of the fire at Sev's house and fell asleep." He obviously wasn't revealing to everyone that sex also happened.
"Uncle Sev, I'm curious…How the hell did you gas out your house last week?" Draco wondered.
"Little mishap in brewing." Severus admitted.
"You? You made a mistake in brewing? Merlin above, how? You're a potions master." Lucius questioned.
"I may have been a tad distracted." Severus remarked. "I was also in the middle of cooking breakfast for Harry. I woke up before he did, thinking it'd be a nice surprise since I've never cooked for him. He's cooked for me plenty, but not me for him. Draco called for something and next thing I knew I'd screwed up breakfast, and mixed the wrong ingredients. Was not a fun morning." He informed.
"Did Harry end up cooking afterwards?" Narcissa smiled.
"Ah, no. Harry actually slept through the entire thing. Hard enough that when I realized how dangerous the gas would be to breathe in, I grabbed him and rushed over to his house. Then I put mine in lock down while the neutralizer went to work." Severus chuckled.
"Must have been a surprise to Harry to wake up not where he fell asleep." Ron mentioned.
"I'd call it a panic." Severus said.
"I panicked." Harry confirmed. "My own insecurities got the better of me. I thought Severus left me, or that none of it actually happened and…I was still unconscious from when I took that Draught of the Living Death, and everything had just been a dream. I felt pretty stupid when Sev came out of the bathroom…"
"I told you it wasn't stupid, Harry. Especially given your past with relationships…Though, I probably shouldn't be bringing it up here. Forgive me." Severus stated.
"Everyone knows, Sev." Harry revealed.
"About Harry's curse?" Ron said.
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "Harry is not cursed."
"He totally is." Ron argued lightly. "Even he agreed that he was."
"Eh, I don't think that curse matters anymore." Draco chuckled. "In case you've all not remembered…That curse made it so none of Harry's relationships lasted past the six month mark…But Harry and Severus hit that last week, and are still together."
"That's because I told Harry I wasn't going anywhere last week when his insecurities reared their head." Severus enlightened. "When he was prepared for it to not last beyond that night."
"Yes, you put up a very convincing argument on the matter." Harry said. "Still…I know I'm difficult." He paused. "I shouldn't have gotten worked up. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave over my insecurities."
"I told you from the start, Harry, that I would not leave over jealous people who wanted you for themselves or the extra baggage. I promise you I'm not like the others, love. I won't just leave because you're insecure. Others leaving over such is why you are insecure in the first place. Or the curse you mentioned last night, where the others would get hurt and leave. I am not like that, and I believe I said once before that I should have been around years ago to help you get through everything." Severus took Harry's hand with one of his, and used the other to cup the younger man's cheek so that they were looking at one another.
"I am here now to help you and I will do that best by making sure you see that I'm not like them. So I will stay, no matter what happens. I will only leave if there's unfaithfulness, which you don't strike me as the type to do. Or the feelings are no longer mutual. And I don't believe we have that problem given that we are no longer on the level you were with the others, which was only liking one another. You and I ascended that to being in love. We're already ahead and stronger than what you had with them." Severus said. "And I am in this for the long haul. However long that be and wherever it may go. I am with you and I will stay with you for the rest of our lives." He said firmly, but not in anger.
"Rest of our lives?" Harry questioned.
"Yes. If that is what you want." Severus replied.
"Not trying to assume here, but sounds awfully close to a marriage proposal." Harry countered.
"If that will give you absolute assurance that I am not going anywhere, Harry, so be it to assume I'm asking you to marry me." Severus responded.
"Severus…We've been together for six months. Isn't this a little fast?" Harry looked at him with surprise. "The people would riot…"
"I don't care about the people or what they'd say and do if we got married. I don't care about them. But for the record, I'd love to shove it in all their faces that the former Death Eater is the one who took their precious savior off the market for good. That a former Death Eater is the one who outdid all of them. That I am the one who stayed when they all left over a couple accidents after sex. I almost blew up my house last week, but I don't blame you or the amazing time we had making love." Harry blushed a bit at his words.
"It may only be six months that we've been dating, Harry, but I've always been a part of your life. As a teacher, a protector, a friend, and now a lover. This January marked a year that we ran into one another. Okay, and it's March now?" Harry nodded to confirm. "In two more months, it will be June and that will mark a year since you, me, and Draco sat around the fire drinking and he came up with the whole idea for us to date. The night we decided to go on dates for three months, and then actually get together in September. We've been together long enough to just get married and no one we're close to would bat an eye." Severus revealed. "Let me prove to you that I'm all in with you by making our two lives one."
"You're serious about this?" Harry inquired.
"I am being dead serious."
"This is…Sev, this is mad." Harry mentioned.
"I know. Merlin, I know it's mad, Harry. But I'm pulling a teenager you move and just going for it. Jumping in and somehow, it'll work out. Be that reckless, bold…Be that Gryffindor brat one more time for me." Severus told him. "I love you, Harry James Potter-Black. I've always cared about you in some way, and now I just want to be able to care for and love you as long as this life allows me to. But mark my words, I will not take both of your last names." Harry laughed. "It's a win/win for us." Severus informed.
"Oh!" He continued before Harry said anything. "A bonus is that it will break the curse." He paused. "This is real and true love, Harry. All the signs are there. We both ended up in Godric's Hollow after years apart as next door neighbors. We both came here to start over, hoping to find the something we believed was missing and would be here. That something is us, Harry. We have been what we were missing. We've needed each other. And on top of all that…We're soulmates. We have complimenting patronus animals. Your Stag. My Doe. True love, Harry, can counter and break the curse because it's one of the most powerful forces in existence." Severus said.
"Just agree, and I will go out and buy you a ring right now, then come back and propose properly on one knee." Severus promised. "You won't regret it, and neither will I. I know what I want; it's you and being at your side, where I've always been. Where I've chosen to be. And I choose it now for the rest of my days. Say yes. Marry me, Harry."
"Okay." Harry agreed as Severus's eyes widened.
"Okay?!" Most of the adults shouted in surprise.
"Yes? Is that a yes, Harry?" Severus pushed with anticipation and some excitement..
Harry smiled and leaned closer. "Yes." Then he kissed Severus deeply for a moment. "Yes, I'll marry you, Severus." They kissed again. "But I still want that breakfast you were going to make for me." He stated.
"Done, love. Tomorrow morning, I'll cook for you. I solemnly swear to keep all my focus on the meal this time."
Harry chuckled. "I trust you, Sev."
"As you always have. I love you, Harry." Severus said.
"I love you too, Severus." Harry responded.
"Okay…So just for the record…" Draco paused. "I get full credit for this? You two?" Harry and Severus nodded. "Yes! I knew you two were perfect for one another! I called it!" He cheered.
Everyone shrugged and laughed, Severus and Harry shared another kiss before Severus pulled his young lover against him and they relaxed. This was a good night, and with a wedding on the horizon, the future was looking great. Like in all fairy tales, this would be a happily ever after because true love prevailed in breaking curses and bringing two people together. But in Harry and Severus's case, it wasn't the end. No, it was just the beginning.
