The Journey Cycle pt 1: Europe *pt 1 now complete*

13

They spent the next few days in a haze of love, the laptop closed down and their phone off just enjoying each other’s company and the love that surrounded them, letting it engulf them, consume them, wandering the streets hand in hand. Harry booked them a gondola ride to celebrate and the gondolier was the first person that they told, now sporting rings on the appropriate fingers. That night, they logged on again and raised a harrassed Hermione to tell her the news. Ron and Oliver were there that night and the folks back home all cheered as Harry and Severus watched Hermione struggle with a bottle of champagne before pouring it and hoisting their glasses in congratulations, Harry and Severus sat side by side sharing their own bottle raising glasses alongside their friends as their new union was toasted. Later that night, Severus rang the Zabinis and related the happy tidings to heartfelt cheers from them both, the children back at their various schools by now.

The next time they called in at the post office, various cards of congratulations were waiting for them and Severus saved them to be blu-tacked to the wardrobe door of Bessie in due course along with the other evidence of their travels. Their final few days they wandered again hand in hand through the streets and crowded marketplaces buying presents for their friends and sending them off before they gave up the apartment that they had both grown to love and loaded themselves and their possessions back aboard Bessie and made to continue with their travels. Milan next on their agenda.

Milan: The gayest city in Italy. Chockfull of designers and the best clothes shops in Italy. Harry had the best fun outfitting them both with new clobber, his main criteria, how much he or Severus were aroused by the outfits that they tried on. In short order he had them both new suits made up, and a veritable trunk-ful of new jeans and cashmere sweaters to wear plus shirts, silks of all kinds, shoes and sexy undies, not all male as Harry got to model shyly his new things on Bessie, a lacy waspie and lace panties that drove his lover wild as he modelled them before they were ripped away from him as he was fucked senseless by the love of his life who murmured what a pervert he was in that voice before taking him forcefully over the back of the driver’s seat filling him with his emission as Harry sprayed the pale blue leather with his own delight.

They spent a lusty week in ‘Gay Central’ Italy visiting low-key clubs and staying in top-flight fashionable little hotels lapping up the lifestyle and the fun to be had in a city that rarely sleeps, letting their outrageous outre sides out to play in the little dives, playing by night and sleeping by day, making love when the mood took them. They stopped in a large pharmacists for some supplies and upon returning to their hotel, Severus smeared Harry’s mouth in carmine lip-stain to fulfil a long-standing fantasy to have his cock comprehensively sucked by a red, red, mouth, whereupon Harry reversed the roles stroking colour on his lover’s mouth before filling it with his own cock feeling it taken into a deep and open throat watching all the while as he was swallowed between redder than red lips, his cock peeking out over just-pulled-down white silk panties, his balls constricted by the elastic, slender hands holding his hips encouraging him to fuck that red mouth until he came shrieking down that open throat in deep waves before they fell together mashing their mouths together further smearing the gel colourant and their flavours over each other as they rolled together, laughing at their wild side, determined to continue to explore. Travel meant more to them than countries and distance and road-miles and cities on maps. This was also travel and both were discovering new horizons sexually that their previous partners had never even envisaged. They shared a blushing secret pleasure in this and determined to take it where it would lead.

It was with lowered mascara’d lashes and an arse full of butt plug that Harry crossed them over the border into Switzerland. Under his jeans he wore satin and lace. He was so glad that they were only subjected to the most cursory of searches as they drove through customs.

They crossed the border near Varese and stopped just north of Lugano taking the north-west route out of Milan in a tiny campsite that was getting ready to close for the season. That night was cold and Harry fetched down the additional blankets for their bed. They snuggled close in the warmth under the covers with the stove door open heating Bessie nicely with the last of their cooking fire.

It was as if a dam had broken between them, a wall fallen, and there were no secrets left and limitless territories to explore. That first night, however, they spent in blissfully chaste sleep.

As they ate breakfast, they had maps spread before them on their bed and were trying to come to a decision. North or south. It didn’t take much discussion. It was now the end of September and the crispness was evident in the night air. “South”. They were in unanimous agreement. “Plus I would love to visit the cradle of modern civilisation, Greece”, Severus murmured. Harry grinned at his lover. They had discussed going towards home but Severus balked, “Nah, we’ve only just begun and I fancy another Christmas in the warm weather”, and that decided it for Harry, he had given his beloved the chance to head homewards but Severus was enjoying their odyssey so much that he was willing to continue. He glanced shyly at his Harry to see the wide smile and knew he had made the best choice. Neither of them were ready to go home yet.

They would be driving through the newer states that had formed part of the formerly Communist state of Yugoslavia but Harry shrugged at the thought, “The violence stopped here years ago. It’s okay. You have to remember that these wars were fought many years ago. C’mon, Sev, travel means taking risks and these seem okay. There’s a strong inclination to welcome tourists now and I’ve heard that the Greek mainland or even the islands is a great place to spend Christmas”.

Severus capitulated to the expert and it was decided. They were heading south, away from the snow and the cold that would soon take over Austria and Switzerland, ski resorts, in the main, for the winter months in favour of seeking the sun and they pointed themselves in the direction of the coast which Harry loved so much. He grinned as he turned Bessie in the right direction, “Never was much of a fan of the cold. Greece here we come”, and the decision was made. To spend Christmas in Greece somewhere and into Turkey in the new year then put their home on a container ship and head for Asia. They kissed over the plans and set off, driving through the night. Severus adjusted his sleep schedule to be awake when his lover was to keep him company throughout the drive south.

They had to do quite a bit of paperwork to ease them through Bosnia-Herzogovina and Serbia but with Harry’s facility for languages they found their way through the red tape. They rested their first night outside Liubliana before heading for the coast and Harry finally told Severus how he managed all the languages.

“It’s a spell, love, I’m surprised that you never figured it out. One that Drae taught me, that his father had taught him”. Severus was amazed, his mouth dropping open. Harry chuckled, “You look like me in third year”, he exclaimed. Severus dived on him and laid him flat on their sofa, “You bitch. This is how you have managed this all along?” Harry just laughed, “Oh, behave, love, where did you think that I had had time to learn all these languages? I know them no better than you do, but the spell is pretty dark although the intention is good” Severus only let him up on pain of showing him how to cast it and Harry obliged, “You speak in English and the answer comes back the same but your mouth speaks German or French or whatever, the speaker answers in his/her language and it translates for you. I’ve had it activated since I landed in France. It’s non-trackable, very low-level”.

Severus was miffed, to say the least, “So I’ve let you lead me all this time?” Harry looked abashed, “I just wanted to let you down gently. I may not be a seasoned traveller myself but you have needed more help or something since you landed in Europe. You looked so scared when you landed in Malaga as if you didn’t have a clue and I’ve been more than happy to run interference for us. I wanted you to want to travel but now I think you are ready to do this, otherwise I would have kept it secret for longer”, he sighed.

Severus was angry that Harry hadn’t allowed him to make his own speeches in the country’s native tongue, but as he cast him a side-long glance, he could see his lover’s remorse. If he was honest with himself, he had been quite happy for Harry to do all the talking for them in whatever language they required and had to admit that he had freely allowed himself to hide behind Harry linguistically, perfectly happy to let Harry to conduct negotiations with hoteliers and suchlike. Letting Harry be the traveller and himself the hanger-on, the newbie, the inexperienced one and he found he couldn’t berate his lover. He let the tension in his shoulders go. “Sorry, Harry, I’ve let you take the lead so much here, because I thought that you were an expert and I should have realised that this could be done with a simple spell. I’m sorry for getting angry with you. Please teach it to me”.

Harry grinned, “Of course I will, but I wasn’t sure if you really liked this travel lark or not, and I thought that if I could speak the lingo then you would carry on, but if we had problems with language then you would want to go home, though I don’t want to do this yet. I’m sorry, love”, he gazed long and hard into his lover’s face seeking, redemption, forgiveness, until his lover capitulated and gathered him in for a breathless kiss, “So teach me, Harry”, and his lover flung his head back, giving in to the ‘voice’ that he loved so much. “I’ll teach you, okay Sev? But not tonight. Right now, I want you. I want to fuck you”. Severus couldn’t argue with this and gave it up for the love of his life, spread across their bed and opened with fingers and tongue before being fucked rigid. “Love you, Harry”, was all he could say before being brought to the orgasm of a lifetime, Harry buried deep inside him and moaning and crying out before feeling Harry come copiously deep inside him and he realised just how much he had leaned on his lover and how Harry had protected him from the strangeness, the culture shock, acting like a buffer between him and the newness of wherever they were, dealing with all the negotiations, the bookings, the changing of money, all the hassle and unpleasant side of travelling to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience that Severus would never forget and in an instant, his anger dissipated as he realised the burden that Harry had willingly assumed on his behalf and all for love of him, in that moment, forgiving him totally and loved his younger lover all the more for it. Instead of losing his temper as he had been previously tempted to do, he thanked him with a shy smile and Harry promised to show him the spells but not now as they rested for another night in a strange country and Severus let Harry deal with the introductions, the culture shock and the hotel booking, finding themselves in the most luxurious accommodations possible.

They kept the mountains on their left as they travelled on the opposite coast to the Zabinis, heading south once more. Severus kept up his job of looking after his driver, feeding him and giving him massages after the long days’ driving with no further rancour. Harry helped him cast the spell that would enable him to converse in different languages and as a result, in moments, he had a rudimentary command of French, Spanish, Italian and German at his disposal and was delighted at the new turn in events, using any and all of them in shops, hotels, garages, anywhere where language skills were needed. In a matter of days, he was as confident as his lover and was delighted as he could roll down his side window and converse with the locals in any or all of his newly acquired skills.

They were separated from the main part of the countries by the hills to their left and Harry was determined to drive right through until Severus insisted that they see a little whereof they travelled and they were surprised to meet decent hardworking folk who let them park up for free, often feeding them at family tables despite knowing little or nothing about them. In this way, they passed a very pleasant week travelling to the Greek border.

Thus it was that they traversed mountains and foothills to land in Igoumenitsa and both relaxed knowing they were finally in Greece. They stayed on a late-season campsite for a few days so Harry could re-charge his batteries. He had driven several hundred kilometres almost non-stop and was exhausted by the time they arrived. He let Severus book them in, lead them to their site, plug them into the electric and phone line as he had seen Harry do on so many occasions then cook for them, waking Harry out of a knackered sleep to insist that he ate, to Harry’s delight, then massaged him until Harry slept beneath his ministrations. He murmured, “Silly boy, I could have been doing this weeks ago, rendering you greater assistance”, but his admonitions met gentle snores as his lover slept, passed out from sheer tiredness from all of the driving.

Greece was like Spain and Italy temperature-wise, warm and delicious. They found a billet near a large inland lake, a huge and slightly delapidated villa that would house many and decided to stay there for the next few weeks.

For all of the rustic nature of their accommodation, they still had all the mod cons with fully functional Internet connectivity and the usual things that Harry demanded of their places to stay, plus a huge pool that Harry dived into as soon as he saw it, running through the house ripping clothes off as he ran and diving in headfirst in nothing but his silk boxers. The water wasn’t the cleanest but it felt like heaven against his heated skin. Severus smiled as he bustled about indoors unpacking catching glimpses of his lover as he fooled in the pool, then fished out a couple of cold cans and went outside, offering one to his fiance when he emerged dripping wet, the cling of his undies leaving nothing to the imagination. Harry took one look at the expression on his lover’s face and hugged him hard to Severus’ mild disgust as he was soaked from chin to knees with an armful of a wet Harry who proceeded to strip him off, “Oh, dear, I wet all your clothes”, he giggled affecting an air of mock innocence that had no-one fooled as he pressed them together before pushing his beloved backwards and into the water.

In some weeds at the side of the pool, Harry found a ball and they tossed it about, both in a playful mood, then Severus pushed Harry away to have a proper swim but he kept being splashed or dive-bombed until, rolling his eyes, he grabbed Harry and kissed him hard in the middle of the pool. One thing led swiftly to another and they made love in the shade of the terrace on a ratty old lounger and spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing in the waning sun.

Harry laid his head on Severus’ shoulder as the day waned, “I’m so glad that you wanted to continue. I was afraid that you may want to go home”, they lay side by side holding hands. Severus increased the pressure slightly as he squeezed, “Not on your life, and anyway, in case you had forgotten, our homes lie in some storage facility in London. As of now, Bessie is the nearest thing to a home that either of us has right now”. Harry turned his head and kissed Severus under the jaw, “I know, but we’d find something else quickly enough if you wanted to go back”. Severus planted kisses in Harry’s damp hair, “No, love, I wanted to continue and still do. This is great. I feel so much better than I would if we were holed up in rainy old London and we’re having so much fun. This trip has taken years off me, let’s face it, I could be in the basement of my shop right now, lonely as hell, brewing potions instead of shagging in the open air with my wonderful lover beside me, lying temptingly naked. No contest really”.

They ended up spending the night on the comfy old lounger after Harry Summoned a blanket from indoors to cover them with and settled himself in Severus’ arms sighing with pure contentment as his eyes closed.

****

Once again, they set out, rucksacks packed with necessities for another week-long hike into the hills and woods nearby. Harry had seen to maps and orientation gear while his lover packed food and clothing for them both along with waterproofs, groundsheet, the tent pegs and the folding shovel. They locked up and took off into the wild.

“This is more like it”, Severus breathed deeply of the fresh air and the sweet smells of the fire that he had lit. Harry snuggled up to him and couldn’t agree more. They both enjoyed seeing the sights but this was seeing the real country, tramping the land, breathing the air and cooking over their small fire at night. Watching the small creatures that scurried away from their approach, the tiny lizards that would creep under their groundsheet tied to the lower branches of trees to create their temporary billet. This time there were no unpleasant rituals to witness in the wildness of the woods, in fact they hardly saw another living soul save for farmers and the denizens of the forests. The week was very restful for them both as they completed their planned curcuit of the journey and once more made their way back to their villa. Everything was exactly as they had left it. No-one had been in at all, not even cleaners or maids although the pool had been cleaned of dead leaves.

Harry ran Bessie for a couple of hours to recharge her batteries while Severus loaded their dirty clothes into the washer and cleaned their boots of the sandy dust that had collected on them. By day, they took excursions out in Bessie to explore further stopping at farms for fresh food and home made wines before heading back at night to the cosiness of the rather battered old villa and it’s huge bed.

They moved on the following week heading southwards towards the more populated areas of the mainland, then over the surrounding ring of hills and the bustling city was laid out before them seeming to tip into the sea with the ancient hill of the Acropolis rising from it with the impressive ruins at the apex.

They plunged down into the most highly populated area on the Greek mainland. They stayed in a small campsite rigged especially for motor homes and were eyed with suspicion by the proprietors who seemed to favour the older traveller with his well-appointed Winnebago rather than the ramshackle and somewhat hippyish vehicle that Harry drove, but after Harry had politely conversed with the man in reasonably flawless Greek, he relented and guided them to a spot on the far side of the site warning them against playing music too loud and other raucous antics that would get them thrown out without demur. He glanced cursorily at their passports and seemed relieved to see that they were in fact two middle-aged gentlemen rather than students or younger types and his manner warmed to them somewhat.

There were no open fires on this site and everything was spotlessly clean so Severus tended to light the fire in the range only after darkness had fallen and the prevailing winds took the scent of woodsmoke away from the site offices as he cooked for them quickly and efficiently using their stockpile of logs cut from earlier in their travels and brewing enough hot drinks to see them through the evening.

After their first evening meal there was a polite tap on the door and Harry answered to be invited to the trailer next door for a rubber of bridge by two rather ancient maiden ladies who had the indomitable manner of schoolmarms and brooked no refusal from them so he accepted.

They were Americans who had been travelling Europe for three years now and although they were disappointed at not getting the hands of cards that they had wanted, being sure that two middle aged Englishmen would know the intricacies of bridge, instead, the four swapped travellers tales over a bottle or two of the powerful retsina and local brandy and soon the four were showing photographs while Harry was receiving a potted history of ancient Greece with Severus eagerly joining in his instruction. In no time, the ladies discerned the nature of their relationship and grinned at them, delighted to find out that Severus was a retired schoolteacher as was one of them, and they too revealed that they were in a ‘Boston marriage’ and did not mind in the slightest that the two were ‘friends of Dorothy’, as the louder and older of the two, Phyllis, was at pains to reassure them. Her quieter friend, Edith, smiled shyly at them and patted her friend’s hand and made them more drinks. Harry and Severus were very circumspect, sitting side by side exchanging occasional glances.

Edith ventured, “Well, Severus, you seem awful young to be retired. You too, Harry”, then asked after Harry’s profession. Harry just smiled and said he had worked for the British government until he had been pensioned off. He tapped the side of his nose in a secretive gesture and both ladies nodded and Phyllis winked, “Okay, we won’t pry. Are you two married? Only we can’t help but notice your rings”. Harry blushed, “No, we only became engaged in Italy and we will marry when we return to England”. He slid his hand into Severus’ shyly for a quick squeeze. “That’s so romantic and a good thing that y’all can marry now. Relationships such as ours should be solemnised, but our state back home forbids it still but we wouldn’t move for the world”, and launched into a description of the beauties of their part of the world.

The men took their leave, a little wobbly about the legs, some considerable time after the witching hour, thanking their hostesses for a pleasant evening, and staggered back to Bessie somewhat the worse for wear. Harry chuckled as they made ready for bed, “See, you meet all sorts on the road. It’s a whole nomadic community out here, from hitch-hikers to elderly ladies and it’s great to be part of it”. Severus couldn’t help but agree, “Travellers seem a liberal enough bunch, I’ll agree. It must be to do with the mind broadening effect of the encounters on the road”. Harry smiled, “Well, let’s face it, the stuffy ones are too nervous, by and large, to attempt this so it’s the interesting ones you tend to meet”. They discussed their plans for the morrow and curled up together dousing the lights.

The next day brought hangovers for both of them, neither being used to the local spirits, and Harry was eternally grateful for having Severus’ supply of pain relieving potions. Neither could face breakfast that day and both spent a quiet day on Bessie relaxing and poring over street maps when their heads stopped pounding with Severus reading from their guidebook and Harry reading a potted history. “Bloody hell”, he exclaimed, “Gay relationships were positively welcomed during ancient times, the Spartan warriors were encouraged to take younger lovers and act as trainers and mentors to them and I didn’t know that ‘lesbian’ was named after the isle of Lesvos or Lesbos”.

Severus rolled his eyes, “Pleb. Sappho was one of the great Greek poets who wrote extensively on love relationships between women couched in the most beautiful and expressive language”. Harry sighed, “Sorry, poetry was never my strong suit”. Severus kissed him, “I must admit to being a fan of the Roman poet Catullus who wrote about buggering young boys in Latin, more my thing, don’t you know. It lent impetus to my learning of Latin at school besides all the Latin we needed to know for Magic, but while the Greeks and Romans were civilizing the West, we Britons were still running around in animal skins painted blue”, and Harry sniggered even though it was obvious that Severus was much more of a scholar than he would ever be and he felt a bit ignorant beside his learned lover.

They shared a sexy, loving morning then set out as total tourists to see some of the ancient sites for themselves, armed with guidebook and maps, strolling the streets, taking lunch in a backstreet taverna Thus fortified, they climbed the hills to the Acropolis with the Parthenon sat atop it. Even this late in the year, there were many tourists about but neither minded as they had spent so long in quiet parts of the country and were hungry for some culture. They decided to join a tour party and tagged along with a motley selection of tourists.

It was as the group grew close to hear the guide that Harry blanched and had to sit down suddenly, his hand clutching at his head. Severus was beside him in moments, all concern as was one of the group, an elderly Spanish gentleman who turned out to be a retired doctor and asked if he could render assistance. Severus reassured the man that Harry was prone to sudden headaches and the man rejoined the party as they lagged behind it at a little distance. “Are you all right?”, Severus asked, offering Harry a drink of bottled water. Harry looked at the thirty or so strong party. “Sev, take a careful look at this lot, is there anyone you recognise?” Severus looked puzzled, “No, although there’s one woman that reminded me of someone I may have known slightly once”. Harry asked him to point her out. Severus’ frown deepened as he discreetly indicated a small mousy woman of a similar vintage to himself on the edge of the group. Harry pulled them further away from the group on a pretext of examining more closely some of the ruins, “She’s a Death-Eater”, he hissed.