Crossing the Line

CHAPTER 12: TOUCH OF MY HAND


Severus stretched lazily before attempting to blink himself awake and coherent. The sun was just rising through their window. He glanced down at Harry, with whom he was now spooning, and found him fast asleep. \'So *that\'s* what it takes to wear you out,\' he thought to himself with a smirk. \'I\'ll have to remember that.\'

Warming his smile, Severus brushed some of Harry\'s hair away from his nape and leaned in to trail soft, sucking kisses over the back of the sensitive neck. He chuckled softly to himself as Harry scrunched his brows in annoyance and shifted on to his stomach, mumbling something through barely parted lips.

\'Must have really taken a lot out of him last night,\' Severus thought, as he started working his way down Harry\'s back. \'We\'ll just see what we can do about waking you up, shall we?\'

Still lost in his dreams, Harry murmured sleepily as the large black figure before him went down on his knees. Strong hands gripped his slim hips while pushing him against the wall. Moaning, Harry arched, his head hitting the wall with a quiet \'thump.\' The older man kneeling before him licked at his member, making him buck. \"Please... please, Severus.\"

The man chuckled and scraped his teeth across Harry\'s cock, the unusually sharp canines digging into the flesh. Oddly enough, not hurting, but causing an incredibly pleasant sensation to start up from his groin and seeming to work its way up through his blood stream.

Feeling a tongue sweeping the small of his back, Harry looked down in confusion. How could Severus be in two places at once?

\"Harry,\" a far off voice called, whispering, the voice muffled in some way. Blinking in confusion, Harry finally opened his eyes. He was met with the vision of a strange room, before remembering where he was.

Yawning, he looked over his shoulder and saw Severus lying down on his stomach behind him, chin resting on his crossed arms which were sitting in the small of Harry\'s back. He blushed and lowered his eyes. Feeling strangely shy and embarrassed to have the other man so close to the scars on his buttocks, thighs and back; areas where the marks were the worst.

\"Hello,\" Severus purred, smirking up at Harry with his patent arrogance. He tipped his head to one side and asked, \"Did you sleep well?\" as his fingers gently danced over the skin on Harry’s lower back; moving steadily downward.

Biting his lip, Harry shifted and gasped when his half-hard cock rubbed up against the sheets. \"I was having the most pleasant dream until you woke me up,\" he finally managed with a grin when he caught his breath.

\"Well,\" Severus murmured, \"let me see if I can make amends.\" With another smirk, he moved his hands to either side of Harry\'s torso and lowered his head to continue mapping out Harry\'s lower back with his lips. Grinning inwardly at another small gasp, Severus dragged his hands up Harry\'s sides, tracing lazy patterns over his skin. He moved down even further, hovering over a firm cheek, giving it a rather impressive hickey, before trailing his lips over to Harry\'s entrance. He allowed himself a wolfish grin at the next gasp.

Panting, Harry laid his damp forehead against the pillow, trying to calm his breath while Severus nibbled and sucked on the sensitive skin surrounding his hole. Oh Merlin, if he was already panting now, imagine what would happen when -\"Fuck!\" -- when Severus started putting his tongue in, and -- mmm... \"Sssseversss,\" he hissed, switching to Parseltongue unconsciously as he arched in a tight bow, trying to bring the talented mouth closer. Why did his lover have to be such a damn tease?

Severus moved his hands down to hold Harry\'s hips in place, provoking a frustrated cry from the other man. He proceeded to probe his entrance slowly, savoring the slow, sexy, hissing coming from his partner. Pulling back, he spoke so that his hot, moist breath blew over Harry\'s sensitive opening. \"My, but you are responsive after a feeding; I\'ll have to remember that in the future.\" Smirking at another frustrated cry from Harry, he obligingly approached the entrance again, circling it slowly with his tongue before delving back in.

\"Bastard,\" Harry whispered, squirming under the assault despite the strong hold on his hips and the quiet chuckling that could be heard rumbling from the other man\'s chest.

He gasped when Severus slipped in a finger. \"Pleasse... pleassse, Ssssev,\" he groaned, hissing as he bucked his hips again ineffectively.

Severus simply smirked to himself and took a quick swipe at Harry\'s scrotum with his tongue before slipping in another finger; he worked them slowly, fully intent on driving Harry mad. When the man beneath him began to tremble, Severus finally consented and, pushing a third finger inside, he thrust shallowly. When Harry cried out hoarsely, he knew he\'d found his prostrate. Leaning forward, Severus trailed a few lazy, sucking kisses over Harry\'s lower back and cheeks, before pulling his finger almost entirely out and thrusting back in – *hard*.

Arching in a silent scream, Harry didn\'t even wince at the quiet crack coming from his lower back at the sharp angle. While Severus continued to suck and nibble on his cheeks, he drove his fingers in, imitating an intimate act that left Harry panting and moaning. At each thrust, Severus would suddenly stop to curl his fingers upwards. The movement seemed to pull an invisible string that made Harry tilt his head back and moan. After several agonizing minutes where Severus continued to drive him crazy by varying the pace of his thrusts and curling his fingers just so, Harry came, writhing and moaning his lover\'s name.

While his muscles pulsed faintly in the aftermath, Harry sighed and turned his face to rest his cheek against the damp pillow. He could feel the equally damp strands of his hair trailing across his back. He murmured in protest, too tired to work up the energy to even twitch, when Severus turned him on his side. With a quietly whispered cleaning charm on the sheets, the older man lapped up the remaining come on his flaccid length.

Severus smirked up at Harry’s limp form and when he was finished, he climbed up the length of the bed to wrap his arms around Harry\'s slim frame and pull him closer. He still had a while before he needed to go into the city and he planned on enjoying it. Mumbling a spell to draw the blankets up around them, Severus pressed a soft kiss to Harry’s forehead and murmured, \"Good morning, Harry.\"

\"G\'morning,\" Harry whispered, voice hoarse from all the screaming of both last night and today. \"S\'your fault I sound like I have Strep throat,\" he continued, pouting when the other man laughed. Still tired, he put a hand up and placed a finger on Severus\' wet and flushed lips, \"Shh, too early for loud sounds,\" he mumbled, ignoring the older man\'s laugh.

Severus just smirked and rested his forehead against Harry\'s gently. \"I guess it\'s logical to assume you\'ll be spending the majority of the day in bed then?\" he murmured, smiling down at Harry, sifting his fingers through his hair.

The younger man rolled his eyes before closing them sleepily, pushing up with his forehead against the other man\'s. \"No, I\'m going to go outside and frolic around in the woods in my birthday suit,\" he mumbled. He smiled softly when Severus chuckled and continued running his hand through Harry\'s locks, as he tucked his head underneath the other man\'s chin, humming happily. Perfectly content and sated in his lover\'s arms.

They lay together, intertwined for a long time, before Severus started to disentangle himself from the mass of limbs and sheets. Harry made a small sound in the back of his throat and tightened his grip. Severus just smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead again. \"It\'s better to get to the council early, Harry, then we can hash things out and I can come back when you\'re fully conscious,\" he murmured.

\"Fully conscious now,\" he mumbled, reaching again for the warm figure. From his half-lidded eyes, he saw Severus shake his head in amusement before he gently pulled the covers over Harry. He watched as his lover hesitated briefly, then grabbed the pillow he had been using, cast a warming charm on it, and put it next to Harry, who promptly snuggled up to it, murmuring happily. \"Sev,\" he whispered, wrapping his long limbs around the pillow.

Severus smiled warmly down at Harry before making his way quietly into the bathroom. He went about his usual routine and dressed in his traditional black before emerging just as quietly. He found Harry, dozing lightly already, very cutely wrapped around his warm pillow. Just before leaving, he leaned down by his sleeping partner and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, murmuring, \"Sleep well, Harry.\" He went into the living room so as not to rouse Harry when he Apparated.

Severus appeared in town with a loud \'pop\' and quickly made his way through the streets without much incident. It wasn\'t long before he found himself standing in front of the council building, gazing up at the detailed Victorian architecture. It may have been his hometown and while he was more than welcome there despite his long absence, he was still a little bit nervous in approaching the council; he hadn\'t really belonged anywhere for a very long time.

With one last deep breath, Severus entered the building in the hopes of rallying an ally that could help end this terrible war once and for all.

~*~*~

It was some time later when Harry finally woke up completely. Snuggling closer to the warm body, he suddenly stopped and frowned. Since when had Severus been so squishy?

Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Harry frowned in confusion at seeing that he was snuggling up to a -- pillow. He lay like that for a minute, before the previous night, or this morning rather, caught up to him. Grinning, he hugged the pillow close again and took a deep breath, his grin turning into a dreamy smile when he caught Severus\' signature scent.

Finally detaching himself from the pillow, he removed the warming charm and put it back at the head of the bed; climbing out, he waved a hand, quickly making the bed. Straightening, he reached towards the ceiling and bent backwards, working out the kinks in his back and other areas as he stretched fully.

He straightened and rubbing the last bits of sleep out of his eyes, Harry blinked a few times and made his way to the bathroom where he proceeded through his morning ablutions.

Harry crouched in front of his duffle bag and rifled through it, absentmindedly sending the towel back into the bathroom and into the hamper, which he closed with a quiet \'thump\', all with just a sweep of his hand.

\"Ah ha!\" he whispered quietly, pulling out his comfortable black stretch jeans. Standing, he slipped them on and tugged on a pair of black ankle socks. He then pulled on a loose red and black long-sleeved shirt. Going into the living room, he plunked himself down into the burgundy couch, sighed softly and turned the fire on while fingering his wet locks. Since he wasn\'t planning on going outside, using a drying spell would just be meaningless. Besides, he liked the feeling of his slightly curly hair, which he only got when it was wet; when it was dry, it settled into loose waves.

Harry sighed and settled back into the comfy sofa, laying his head down on the plush navy blue pillow on the end. He settled in for a long wait. \"It\'s sad how lonely everything seems when he isn\'t here,\" he said quietly, listening to the lack of response.

~*~*~

Severus emerged from the council building about an hour later, feeling better about the war than he had in a long time. Not only had the council consented to compile a vampire army to work with the Order\'s army to defeat Voldemort, but they\'d also agreed to help him with his own little venture. It *was* an act against Voldemort, but really it was more for Harry than for anything else.

The dangers for him were no less than with their help, but at least he knew that should he become unable to finish the task, there would be people to finish things for him.

Pushing such depressing thoughts aside, Severus Apparated back to the trail leading up to the door of his cabin. Pushing it open, he smiled warmly and called out, \"Harry, I\'m back.\"

Blinking out of his thoughts, Harry glanced up from his contemplation of the fire and turned onto his stomach, peeking out from above the pillow under his chin. \"Hi,\" he called, his voice still hoarse and quiet. He watched Severus make his way over to him and lean against the sofa\'s back, crossing his arms while Harry asked, \"I assume you want to leave now, so we can get there before dinner?\" The prospect of spending so many hours on a broom already had his ass aching.

\"No,\" Severus murmured, walking around the sofa to sit down beside Harry where he proceeded to loop his arms around the slim waist, pulling his lover back against his chest. \"You can\'t Apparate onto Awen, but you can Apparate out of it. I don\'t know about you, but one insanely long broom ride is enough for me this week.\" He smiled again and brushed a quick kiss over Harry’s lips. \"I hope you weren\'t too bored here by yourself?\"

Harry grinned and snuggled back into Severus\' arms. He thrust his hips back, smirking, \"I managed to keep myself busy.\" He was glad they wouldn\'t have to leave right away. This place was so beautiful and relaxing. Smiling at the older man\'s quiet chuckle, Harry turned his head to the side so he was nuzzling his cold nose against the other\'s warm neck.

\"How did it go?\" he asked with certain trepidation; wondering if the vampires would really help them after staying in the shadows for so long.

Severus smiled down at Harry. \"It went very well. The council agreed almost immediately. Apparently, they were just waiting for the right time to join the war. Plus, they have some theories about what Voldemort is planning and they think his lack of knowledge will be his weakness to their special brand of magic.\"

Harry smiled brightly, \"That\'s great.\" Maybe they did have a chance in this war then.

Turning around so he was lying between Severus\' legs, with his arms wrapped around the man\'s waist, he spoke quietly, listening to the beating of the heart beneath his ear. \"So what do we do now? How do they think we should proceed?\"

Severus snaked his arms around Harry\'s waist after he settled down. Holding him close, he thought about his answer. \"Well, if I know Awen, they should have an army ready and waiting in a week or so. I think by that time you\'ll be strong enough to use your bond with Voldemort to pinpoint his location and we can go after him.\" Severus tightened his grip on the younger man. After all these years of battle, the end of the war was probably about a week away; that was an unsettling thought. The possibility of peace truly coming into being seemed unnatural after great evil had become the norm in their lives.

Harry sighed and tried to snuggle closer, not really succeeding when they were already pressed together. \"So, there\'s not much we can do until then, besides practicing more wandless magic and meditation?\"

The thought of a war -- a war he had been fighting for seventeen years -- finally being over by just the end of this week scared him. After living his whole life in fear and constantly looking over his shoulder, he didn\'t know if he could accept peace, if they ever got it. He was worried about losing more loved ones. Harry tightened his arms around the slim waist at the thought. He didn\'t want to lose Severus, not when they were finally together. He didn\'t know if it could last, but he hoped so. Merlin, how he hoped so.

Severus felt Harry tighten his grip and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. He could tell he was scared too; maybe everyone was on some level. But humans were very adaptable creatures and with time they\'d all adapt to peace; if it came.

\"Let\'s not focus on that until we need too,\" Severus murmured, running his fingers through Harry\'s hair. \"As I understand it, we have the rest of the day to ourselves and I think we should take advantage of it.\"

Harry smiled slightly, shaking off his previous thoughts to focus all his attention on the man above him. Looking up at Severus, he grinned cheekily, \"Was that a pick-up line I just heard Sev?\" His grin broadened when Severus snorted.

Severus was right. It was better to focus on the here and now and worry about specifics later. For now he would enjoy the calm and peace of relaxing with the older man. Or, well, enjoying whatever else Severus decided to dish out. The thought made him grin internally.

\"I think,\" Severus murmured, shifting Harry in his arms so that he could lift him up bridal style, \"*this* is a pick-up line Harry.\" Despite his lover\'s small squeak of protest, he carried him back into the bedroom. After closing the door behind them with his heel, Severus gently placed Harry down on the bed and loomed over him on all fours, smirking as usual. Shifting to thread his fingers through Harry\'s hair, he lowered his head to cover the younger man\'s laughing mouth with his own.

Still smiling, Harry wrapped his arms around the man\'s neck and pulled him down to get better access. Nibbling and licking Severus\' delectable lips, Harry moaned and wrapped a leg around the one in between his.

The older man groaned and pressed his half hard cock against Harry\'s muscular thigh. Tensing the limb so Severus had something hard to thrust against, Harry moved one arm down the firm back, reaching until he had slipped one hand underneath the loose black shirt, groaning at the feel of hot skin already perspiring. Scraping his nails along the smooth flesh, he traced abstract designs, enjoying the feel of velvety smooth skin encasing hard muscle; steel wrapped around ice.

Severus moaned softly and slipped his tongue into Harry\'s mouth while his hands worked on relieving Harry of his shirt. One swift move and Severus\' lips were back on Harry\'s, as each man returned to the embrace. Severus pressed his hips down over Harry\'s and trailed his hands leisurely over the man\'s soft skin. After a few long moments, Severus pulled away from Harry\'s mouth, albeit with a twinge of regret, and moved to nibble across his jaw to his ear. \"This could be a late night,\" he murmured. \"Why don\'t we just play hooky tomorrow?\"

\"The famous Potions master playing hooky? After taking only one sick day out of the thirty odd years he\'s been working there? What is this world coming to?\" Harry sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to his forehead to swoon.

He grinned when Severus snorted and pressed his hooked nose into Harry\'s neck, obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

Still snickering to himself, Severus moved back to smirk down at Harry and reply, \"That simply means I\'ve never had anything worth playing hooky for.\" To enforce his point, he removed Harry\'s hand from his forehead and dipped his head back to kiss him deeply.

Harry smiled into Severus\' warm lips as he accepted the kiss and eagerly returned it. While his mouth was busy, he attempted to open Severus\' button-up shirt. It took him a few moments of clumsy fumbling until he finally succeeded. Dragging it down the muscular arms, Harry tossed the black mass to the floor.

He trailed his hands up and down Severus\' broad chest, tickling the fine hairs there and stroking the dark nubs with his thumbs, making them harden quickly. He played with them for a while, enjoying the feel of the puckered flesh, and continued to breathe heavily through his nose as he sucked on Severus\' tongue. Harry moved his hands down the flat stomach, enjoying the curve of the abdominal muscle, and scratched under the navel lightly with his nail, earning a sharp contraction in the man\'s stomach. Trailing his hands down even further, Harry undid the many buttons on the Severus\' trousers and moved his own legs up to the man\'s hips (ignoring the mutter of \"flexible\" and \"show off\"), toeing off the pants until they were at his lover\'s bony ankles. He easily took them the rest of the way off and tossed them from the bed.

Harry gasped at the hot flare that went through him when the vampire\'s bare flesh pressed up against his still clothed legs, creating a wet patch. \"Sssev...\" he hissed quietly when the older man moved to suckle on his neck.

Severus smirked to himself and continued to suck and nip at Harry\'s neck in a certain kind of hunger that had nothing to do with feeding. He pressed down against Harry\'s hips, continuing to move his hands over his wonderfully firm torso with reverence. Fixing his hands over the curve of Harry\'s hips for a moment, Severus shifted downwards to suck on his collarbone and murmured a spell that left his lover completely naked, clothes slithering off the smooth skin and onto the floor. He chuckled deeply at the sudden gasp from underneath him. \"What?\" he murmured, nipping at Harry\'s collar bone. \"You thought wandless magic was only for mundane uses?\"

Harry mock pouted, \"And you called me a show off? Tch,\" he grinned when Severus chuckled. Breathing deeply, Harry rocked his hips against the man\'s stomach. Both men moaned loudly at the friction, even as tiny grins played over their lips. He bit his lip when Severus\' hands went down to his ass, cupping him gently and lifting so he could get better access as he traveled down to lick the treasure trail starting underneath Harry\'s navel. He was nervous though and flashes of memory flew across his mind\'s eye, but he trusted Severus and he really did want to go further, to be filled with the other man; to *feel* just how much Severus loved him and how it was supposed to be. He wanted Severus to consume him, inside and out.

\"Please... Severus, please,\" he whispered, pressing down against the large palms, trying to get his point across without saying exactly what he wanted. He was afraid that if he put it off for any longer, he would loose his infamous Gryffindor courage and retract the offer.

Severus did indeed understand the hint and met Harry\'s eyes to make sure he wasn\'t pushing the young man too far. There was nervousness there, but also trust. Severus smiled warmly and pressed a kiss to Harry\'s lower abdomen, murmuring, \"Just tell me if you want to stop,\" before summoning the potion to him. He spread it liberally over his fingers and began massaging Harry\'s entrance gently while he continued kissing down the scarred body. He took a quick swipe at Harry\'s member when he finally pushed a finger inside and smirked at the low groan that provoked.

\"So sensitive today, Harry,\" he whispered with an amused chuckle.

Harry moaned, effectively distracted from the finger wiggling inside him with the wet lathering at his cock. \"Only for you,\" he whispered, biting his lip and arching even further off the bed when Severus curled his finger and brushed against his prostate. \"Oh fuck...\" he murmured, tossing his head from side to side and pressing against the pillow.

Barely hearing Severus\' quiet chuckle, he tensed suddenly when the man added a second finger, the slight sting bringing a rush of memories to the forefront of his mind. He whimpered, but was silenced when Severus swooped in quickly to give him a heated kiss, trying to distract him from the flashbacks. When Harry calmed down, Severus twisted his two fingers, making sure he was stretched, before gently easing his long fingers out. Harry moaned at the loss, producing a quiet huff of amusement.

Severus lay him down gently on the bed, but when he moved to turn him over, Harry opened his eyes -\'when did I close them?\'- and shook his head jerkily, stubbornly staying on his back. He wanted to be able to *see* the other man. If he had his back to Severus... he didn\'t know if he\'d be able to keep the memories at bay the first time. Maybe in the future he\'d easily be able to, but at the moment, even after two years had gone by since the latest incident, he was still slightly scared and nervous about it. He had nightmares constantly, but until recently -- when he started sleeping with Severus -- he\'d had them every night. Now it was only after a very stressful day that he would end up reliving the torture sessions in his dreams.

\"Okay,\" Severus whispered softly, leaning forward for another tender kiss, he eased himself on top of Harry. They kissed for a while, idly caressing each other\'s skin. Then, when Severus felt Harry relax beneath him, he smiled inwardly and gently positioned himself at Harry\'s entrance. Again he felt some tension in Harry and pulled back from the kiss just long enough to murmur, \"Relax, I won\'t hurt you.\" He returned to the kiss gently, giving Harry enough room to pull back and ask for him to stop if Harry wished it. When Harry wrapped his legs around his waist however, he took it as the go ahead it was meant as and eased himself inside very slowly; moaning softly into the kiss at the feeling. \"All right, there?\" he asked softly against Harry\'s lips once he was fully inside.

Wincing slightly at the burn of entry, Harry nodded and sealed his lips over Severus\', licking and nibbling at the familiar taste that drove away the memories.

Rocking his hips when he had finally relaxed, Harry moaned lightly at the feeling of being so full. From this angle, Severus didn\'t have as good a chance of hitting his prostate each thrust, but it was still pleasant.

Harry groaned when the older man rocked slowly, his hands on either side of Harry\'s chest for purchase. He moaned when the thick cock inside him barely brushed against his inner gland. \"Deeper, Severusss... harder,\" he whispered, arching to get more contact.

Severus lowered himself further atop of Harry, fusing their lips together and moving his whole body with his thrusts, causing them both to moan loudly at the slick skin-on-skin contact.

\"Harry,\" Severus whispered, shifting so he could hit his prostate. He continued to thrust *hard* (but kept his pace slow) into his lover, prolonging the pleasurable torture. It wasn\'t long before they\'d both slipped into their respective personal languages; something Severus would later reflect on as an odd, but sweet element of their bond.

\"Ssssev... fuck!\" Harry hissed, grabbing on to the man\'s back to get better purchase. His nails dug in while he tried to speed Severus\' thrusts. But the other man was stubborn and continued at his slow pace, though he managed to hit Harry\'s prostate frequently. His moaning increased when his vampiric lover started whispering harshly into his ear in Nosferatu, making his breath catch and his heart speed up. He didn\'t know a bloody thing that he was saying, but fuck it sounded so sexy!

He tossed his head side to side in an almost fever, his cheeks flushed. His lips were wet with saliva and blood from when he had bit his own lip. His long locks were soaked with perspiration, crimping up into loose curls which scattered across the pillow.

Getting desperate for release, Harry reached down and fisted his weeping cock, gasping for breath as he pumped it in time with the older man\'s thrusts.

Groaning, Severus reached down and interlocked his fingers with Harry\'s, masturbating for and with him. It wasn\'t long before they both came, crying out and trembling at the intensity of it. They collapsed against each other, a tangle of sweaty limbs, blankets and hair. Once Severus returned to himself enough, he muttered a cleansing charm and shifted to hold Harry against him; their legs still hopelessly tangled.

They lay there for a long time just trying to catch their breath. At length, Severus looked down at Harry\'s limp form, smiled, pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered, \"I love you, Harry,\" in English.

Snuggling further into Severus, Harry responded in kind, smiling softly when the older man squeezed him and pulled his head up to lay a heated (though some what tired) kiss on him. When they broke off for air, Harry went back to snuggling into the broad chest.

They rested quietly, both sated and happy as they relaxed completely. Glancing out the window, Harry noticed that the sun was setting. \"When are we going back tomorrow?\" he asked, breaking the silence reluctantly, looking up at Severus from his position of laying half on the man and half on the cool mattress.

\"Hmmm, whenever you want,\" Severus murmured, pulling Harry closer and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He looked down at Harry and smiled. He looked so happy, relaxed and beautiful with the orange sunset reflecting off of his skin. \"I don\'t know about you,\" he nearly whispered, \"but I feel no real motivation to ever leave this bed.\"

Harry grinned and laid his cheek back down on the damp chest, looking out at the beautiful view. \"You will when you have to go the bathroom,\" he responded reasonably, laughing when Severus ran his fingers lightly up his sides, purposefully tickling him. \"No fair,\" he whined, all semblance of maturity leaving him as he squirmed to stop the attacks.

Severus smiled and relented, too tired at the moment to hold the man down and tickle him properly. Almost grinning, he settled down and pulled Harry closer, running his hands gently over his back. \"I haven\'t been this happy in such a long time,\" he mused openly, free of all inhibitions for the moment.

Smiling softly, eyes serious, yet full of unspoken emotion, Harry looked up and ran a finger down Severus\' cheek gently, \"You deserve it,\" he whispered, wiggling around to better reach the other man as he leaned in to kiss him lightly. This time he placed his cheek just underneath the older man\'s chin.

He was glad that Severus was finally happy. The man deserved to be happy and content all the time. And Harry planned on bringing peace to the wizarding world precisely for that reason. It was somewhat selfish of him to not be worrying about the other wizards and witches, but instead for his lover. Harry didn\'t care though. To him, his drive to protect Severus only made him stronger. Thus, he would be able to bring Voldemort down. Then his lover could be happy and content all the time. Well, except for when Harry bugged him; but other than that… The thought made Harry grin faintly as he sighed and breathed in the other man\'s scent happily.

\"You deserve to be happy too,\" Severus murmured, closing his eyes and holding Harry closer. He hadn\'t allowed himself to be this happy, or want something so much, for far too long. He\'d been doing a good job of it too until Harry came along and took that option out of his hands. That was part of the reason he loved Harry so much; he made it so easy for him to just be happy where it had been so difficult before. With that thought, Severus fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, the day\'s activities finally catching up to him.

Harry smiled softly as his head was slowly raised up and down with each deep breath from the sleeping man. Still looking out into the setting sun, Harry pressed a light kiss against the skin closest to him, enjoying the salty taste. He was glad that Severus found it easy to fall asleep.

When they had first slept together, he\'d found that Severus tended to stay up a bit later, probably restless about falling asleep in front of someone else and having his personal space invaded. Eventually, he\'d fallen asleep as easily as Harry. Not that Harry hadn\'t been nervous about the same things, but he knew he could trust Severus, so he\'d held on to that trust, and had eventually found it easy to fall asleep while in Severus\' arms.

Yawning, Harry blinked tiredly and closed his eyes, the room now covered in darkness as the moon slowly replaced the sun.

~*~*~

Tapping his wand against the arm of his throne, Voldemort looked down at the writhing man. He was probably going on twenty minutes now under Crucio. He\'d have to take it off soon before the man went crazy and he ended up losing yet *another* Death Eater. Mumbling the counter charm while pointing his wand, the curse ended and the man lay panting on the ground.

\"Rose, take him to his cell,\" Voldemort said, talking to the man standing by the door. The black haired man nodded and carried the disgraced man to his cell in the dungeons.

\"Yet another one who can\'t make it through the Forbidden Forest and the wards around Hogwarts to get to Potter...\"

\"I can do it my Lord.\" Voldemort looked down at the kneeling man, his head lying against his knee. Smiling crookedly, he reached out and stroked the long blonde hair, smiling further at the shiver.

\"Yes, my pet. Bring him to me. I know you can get past the wards. Why didn\'t you offer to do it before?\"

Lucius wrapped an arm around his calf lightly. \"Could I help it if I wanted to watch the others fail, my Lord?\" Voldemort laughed.

\"Of course not, you wouldn\'t be a true Slytherin if you didn\'t want to see them suffer first and learn from their mistakes.\" The Dark Lord smiled and laid his head back against the large chair. It was better this way. Because of the other\'s failures, Potter had time to develop a relationship with the traitor; he’d be easier to break that way. It would be so easy to convince him that the traitor no longer wanted him. Oh yes, he would get Potter and change him -- make his soul stronger for what he had planned and there was only one way to do that.