When Living Ain\'t Easy

Okay then.... this is it for today, possibly the rest of the week (depending on how demanding my darling mother decides to be).

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Fourteen : Facing More Than Just the Facts

There\'s nothing quite like an energetic round of sex to make a person sleep soundly. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Severus Snape had chosen to spend much of the \'Voldie years\' celebate -- a spy can scarcely afford to lower their guards long enough to enjoy such recreation.

At the back of his sleep-befuddled brain, the Potions Master recognized the door opening, the sounds of voices lowered in whispers, the door closing, followed by slightly louder but muffled voices. He gave every effort toward waking to investigate, really, but his body just didn\'t seem to want to cooperate. Severus decided to blame Lucius for his current state of lethargy.

The blond in question was far deeper in sleep than his lover, blissfully dreaming of dark hair and strong hands. And if the occassional flash of sparkling green eyes showed up, well he was the only person to see such things.

Snape had just managed to excavate himself from the tangled blanket (and Lucius\' arms -- the man slept like an octopus!) when the study door opened once again. With his pants in hand, the rest of his body bare as the day he was born, Severus\' natural reaction to the vision entering the study was evident for the world to see. Or in this case, for Harry Potter. He had known prior to accepting the summer\'s mission that the Gryffindor had grown into an attractive young man, but this... this was well beyond such a simple accolade. Stunning, superb, exquisite, a veritable work of art. His treacherous body refused to acknowledge the atheletic events of the previous hour, voting to offer a standing ovation to his student\'s new look.

Nervously nibbling his lower lip, the subject of such intense scrutiny stood just inside the doorway, torn between fleeing in panic and dropping to his knees in front of his instructor. Who would\'ve guessed that the (not-so) greasy git had a body like *that*? And with decent recovery time too. Harry had to stop himself from purring in satisfaction, even as his ego blossomed under that intense gaze.

\"Sorry to interrupt, Severus, but... about this morning?\"

Spoken softly, the question was still enough to rouse the sleeping blond. He reached for his lover and came up lacking one warm body. Opening a single eye, he quickly found the escaped wizard. \"Sev, you\'re not where you belong.\"

\"Never let it be said that your son\'s ability to pout was inherited from his mother, Luc.\" With fewer inhibitions than his student had suspected, the Potions Master tossed his clothes back on the floor and resumed his position on the transfigured bed. \"You might want to wake up a bit and join the conversation, Lucius. It would seem that our Mr. Potter has a few more surprises in store for us.\"

Hearing the name of the young man he\'d just been dreaming about, the elder Malfoy opened both eyes and searched the room, targetting the Gryffindor with wide eyes. In purely erotic tones, Lucius\' voice sent shivers down Harry\'s spine. \"Well, well, well, I must say that you clean up rather nicely, Harry. To what do we owe this pleasure, hmm?\"

The Boy Who Lived stood, dumbfounded, and watched in helpless fascination as Lucius indulged in a long, feline stretch. The too-small blanket fell further, allowing him to see every last bit of the blond\'s attributes. A tiny, giggling section of his brain noted that, yes indeed, Lucius Malfoy was a true blond. Harry tried squelching the voice before he joined it in nervous laughter.

\"I, uh, just wanted to talk about this morning\'s... episode. If you\'re up to it,\" he stammered, then blushed deeper when he caught the innuendo of his own words. \"I mean, if you\'ve got the time. Not that you\'re busy right now, but you look like you could be soon.\" He groaned loudly, and buried his face in his hands. \"And I\'ll just shut up, shall I? Let me know when you\'re both prepared to dress me down for this morning\'s outburst. I\'ll find a convenient rock to hind under til then.\"

Harry turned to leave the room, only to have a warm hand land on his shoulder. He couldn\'t face either older wizard just yet, but he did pause to let them have their say.

\"There\'s no need for you to leave, Harry.\" Gone was the stern professor voice, replaced with the richest of dark chocolates, and Harry felt like melting along with it. \"Please find a seat and we shall endeavor to discuss today\'s events.\"

Eyes still focused on anywhere but the Slytherins\' direction, Harry mumbled as he found a chair on the far side of the room, \"Dunno how you expect me to concentrate on a *discussion* when you\'re both starkers. Enough to scar me for life. Or ruin my pants. Can\'t afford that, not til you let me go shopping. Like that\'s gonna happen, not likely to have the chance with strips torn out of my hide. Can just see it now -- yes hello, Madam Malkin, sorry but Harry\'s going to drip blood all over your fall selection, oh please pay it no mind, we\'ll just find some dark red material so it doesn\'t show too badly.\"

\"Harry, sit.\"

It was a testament to Severus\' will power that he kept himself from looking over Potter\'s head to engage Lucius in one of their silent communications that the boy objected to so much. With what little dignity a naked, partially aroused man could claim, he summoned a tray of tea and passed cups to his companions.

Harry sucked down half of his tea in one gulp, trying to ignore the random flashes from his dream. Every move the older wizards made seemed to recall another scene, another series of touches. The feel of ghosted fingers trailing along his back, phantom lips at his neck, crisp hair across his buttocks -- each sent his frazzled nerves on edge.

\"Maybe this should wait. It was presumptuous of me to intrude just now...\" His attempt toward the door was thwarted by a single, powerful locking spell. \"Oh come on!\"

His protests fell on deaf ears.

Thanks to the timely intake of strong caffeine, Lucius was alert enough to fully appreciate the young brunet\'s altered appearance. He wasn\'t about to let the Gryffindor escape so soon. Noticing Severus\' interest hadn\'t waned any either, the blond smirked and decided to see how far he could push Harry.

\"This is quite a good look for you, Mr. Potter. I take it that my son had something to do with your new fashion statement? He has a knack with decorative charms.\"

Dazed and distracted by the masterpieces of Slytherin nudity, Harry answered in a slurred voice, \"Hmm, yeah. I must\'ve dozed off earlier. It\'s alright though, I kinda like it.\" He blinked twice, remembering that they couldn\'t see most of his tattoo. \"Oh! The best part!\" Shucking off his t-shirt, Harry missed the immediate darkening of their eyes, both sets focused on his toned chest. He ran a hand lovingly over the cobra\'s head, almost feeling it hiss in pleasure. \"Isn\'t he just beautiful?\" he asked in wonder.

\"Oh quite.\"

\"Indeed.\"

He also missed the matching expressions of lust, enraptured by the undulating coils of his new \'pet\'. \"How hard would it be to make him permenant? And maybe add some protective and defensive charms?\"

Long years of teaching had Severus answering the questions without breaking his concentration -- a good thing, since his eyes (and libido) were firmly afixed to the Gryffindor\'s pectoral muscles. \"That should be a simple enough task, Harry. I suspect the charm Draco used is the standard first stage spell utilized by many body artists. You should decide which charms you wish to add before we cast the final spell to make the design permenant. Naturally, it can all be removed at a later time, but not without some difficulty. Be very certain that you wish to make such a long-term decision.\"

\"It\'s not like everyone doesn\'t recognize me already. But if we can add some sort of trigger or alarm to go off when someone with dangerous intent is nearby... that could only be to the good.\"

Fully focused on petting his snake (not *that* way, perverts!), Harry had yet to witness the interest of his hosts. Wistfulness heavy in his tone, he thought aloud, \"Gonna have to find a name for such a handsome fellow. Something special, unique -- you\'re one of a kind, aren\'t you.\"

\"Quite.\"

\"Indeed.\"

Part of his subconscious insisted he respond to that. \"Who hit instant replay?\" Dragging his eyes away from his new adornment, Harry was confronted with every ounce of the Slytherins\' rapt attention. \"Woah, you two look... hungry. Want me to see about fixing dinner?\"

Under his breath, Lucius let slip, \"Only if you\'re the main course.\" This earned him a swat on the leg from his friend. Shaking off his \'hungry\' thoughts, the blond redirected with, \"Oh yes, perhaps you should. We can discuss this morning\'s show of power over a meal.\"

Severus rolled his eyes, muttering something about a \'bad save\'. \"Harry, please don\'t feel that you must cook every meal for us. I am quite adequate in the kitchen, a pleasant side effect of my preferred subject. Which reminds me... with your skills in the culinary arts, why do you perform so poorly in Potions? The two are closely related, after all.\"

Harry snickered at that assumption, idly stroking his shoulder and upper chest. \"Well, if your snakes would stop \'helping\' so much, maybe everyone else would do better in class.\"

\"My... what?\"

\"Simple enough, Sev. Even the most perfect potion tends to react badly when random ingredients are added. And since we aren\'t supposed to use any \'foolish wand waving\' in your classroom, we can\'t cast deflecting charms over our work stations. Your Slytherins seem to enjoy seeing how often they can cause explosions too.\"

From his vantage point, Lucius could see the tightening of his lover\'s muscles. Hoping to head off an argument, he ran his fingers along the stiff back. \"Now Severus, he\'s got a point. I remember how much fun we used to have in sabotaguing the Gryffies\' efforts.\"

\"But surely I would have noticed that many indiscretions.\"

\"Not necessarily, Sev.\"

Harry watched the byplay, partially relieved to have Lucius Malfoy (of all people!) on his side. And partly jealous of the evident level of intimacy between the two men. \"He\'s right, sir. Besides, you\'ve had more on your mind than watching out for pranks and such. With your permission, I would like to cast shields between the Slytherin and Gryffindor sides of the room though.\"

Only somewhat mollified, the Potions Master\'s temper settled down to a simmer. \"If you will arrive at least ten minutes before each class, I will show you the appropriate spells for your problem. Understand that I still have a roll to play.\"

\"Of course,\" Harry cut off the dark wizard before he reverted back to evil professor mode. \"We can\'t have you blowing your cover after so much effort to insure your place in the Inner Circle.\"

\"Alright, that\'s enough.\" Both brunets turned to see Lucius glaring at them. \"All topics of a serious or depressing nature will be forbidden until someone feeds me.\"

Harry stood and placed his cup on the tea tray, then turned to kneel at the blond\'s side of the bed. \"Your every wish is my first imperative, m\'lord.\"

It took more strength than Lucius typically required to prevent the lecherous moan that wanted to escape his throat. This new, self-assured and flirty Harry Potter was the thing of wet dreams. He made a vow to himself to corner Severus as soon as possible, so that they could discuss the best ways of seducing the reluctant hero.

Watching his friend\'s contemplative expression, it didn\'t take a genius for Severus to follow his train of thought. And while he agreed, in theory, now was not the time for such... urges.

\"Harry, if you will meet me in the kitchen, I should like to see how our combined skills might work together. Have you any ideas as to what you might like to prepare?\"

He took a moment to consider what ingredients were available. \"Well, there\'s some crab legs in the \'fridge. How about a seafood alfredo, with maybe angel hair pasta and a spinach salad?\"

In response, both Slytherins\' stomachs loudly applauded the suggestion. Laughing at their obvious embarassment, Harry waited for the locking charm to be lifted before heading toward the kitchen.

As the teen departed, Severus handed Lucius his clothes and began to put his own into place. \"I know what you\'re thinking, Luc. Kindly allow me some time to consider Albus\' directive before you make any concrete plans.\"

Dressed once more, the blond inclined his head in acknowledgement. \"Of course, Severus. This latest development should not be acted upon in a hasty manner.\" He licked his lips and grinned most wickedly. \"But you must admit, he *does* clean up nicely.\"

Lucius barely managed to dodge the slap aimed at his arse as he sauntered into the hallway, laughing the entire time.