The Journey Cycle Pt 2: New Zealand (pt 2 complete

17

Harry’s head made a soft ‘thud’ as it hit the door. He turned it and looked at Severus, “Well, we got what we wanted at any rate, we’re back to the two of us again”. Severus mirrored the gesture and grinned slowly, “Hmm, put it like that....” and they leaned together, kissing.

A sudden rattle and clatter right by their ears made them part and scuttle away, wands drawn, facing the interloper. A piece of heavily coloured paper fell from the letterbox and thumped onto the mat recently vacated by the two. Harry was the first to start laughing as he reached forward and retrieved the flyer, a menu for a Chinese – Thai takeaway that delivered.

Relaxing and chuckling at the absurdity of it all they tucked their wands away but Harry said, “Shows some of our reflexes aren’t bad at any rate”. Severus huffed a snort, “Bollocks, if we were, how did you put it? Match fit? Then we would have sensed the first step on to the path, heard the slight creak of the gate, the crunch of gravel. We really have gone soft”.

Harry sat back, the menu in his hands, “Does that bother you?”, he asked in a soft voice. Severus shrugged, “S’pose it does, really. I was always a bit proud of having quick reactions, that sort of thing. Feel the blood singing through your veins again”. Harry smiled, “Well, we could always deliberately build exercise in. I mean, more than the odd swim or walk. I did this training for martial arts while I waited for Draco. I suppose it burned off a lot of the excess energy”, Harry blushed slightly at this, “But the warm-up was a great way to stretch and stuff, strengthened you through the core, essential in the quick reaction”.

Severus gazed at his beloved and saw he was serious, “Go easy on me to start with”, he whispered. Harry rolled his eyes, “Oh, and you were gentle with me while you taught me?”, there was an evil grin on his face even if, deep in his heart, he knew he would not overtax Severus who had been recovering from a serious war injury until recently. Harry relented, “I’ll go easy on you, but I’ll push you. It’s not easy, but if you feel pain, in any shape or form, it stops dead, okay?”

They kissed again, slow and delightful, “Alright, Mrs S”, Severus purred against Harry’s lips, “Just not tonight. Tonight I have a different idea in mind”. Harry felt the shiver start from his toes at the tone, “What would that be?”, he gulped out. Severus bent his head and licked the spot behind Harry’s ear that made him shudder all the more. “Let’s order food from somewhere to give ourselves a night off from cooking....”. Harry said, “Why don’t we just go out somewhere, there’s loads of good res.....”, he got no further as Severus nipped his ear quite hard making him yelp, “No, Harry, my sweet. I want you to ‘dress’ for dinner”. Harry’s mind was spaghetti, the liquid velvet still poured, “I have something I would like you to wear for me”. Harry gulped and tossed his head back as his neck was devoured.

“Anything. What is it?”, he gasped. Severus chuckled to feel the tremors, “Remember giving me a pair of jeans to adulterate as I saw fit? Well, I did, and I would like very much for you to at least try on the finished result. If you hate it then, well, you know?”, he flushed at his audacity, having an uncomfortable inner flash of Harry laughing, but he instantly silently berated himself when he saw the look on Harry’s face, “Sev, bring it on, especially if it’s those shorts you described”. Damn his husband! Severus Potter-Snape wasn’t the only one in this marriage with the sexy voice. Severus moaned as he kissed him, thinking again of the fantasy that had been playing in his mind all the time he worked on them.

The final two days of the rally. Bikes have never really been my thing, but Harry seems caught up in the atmosphere. Make no mistake, I am enjoying myself, but in my way, joining in with the crowd on some occasions but not all. Harry totally respects this and leaves me be. This is good, because I can get to work on the donated jeans. I assemble my tools while Harry is off with Frank and the others, scissors, needle, thread, a pair of thick white trainer laces and an eyelet hole maker and my imagination, oh, yes, my imagination....

Okay, I use my wand to make chalky marks and cut the legs off to near crotch level. The thought of Harry in the result of this makes me hard. I breathe deeply and continue, laughing softly. If Harry could see me now and I’ve barely started. I rip off the waistband, then take out the zip, snipping out the panel of cloth behind. I then remove the pockets front and back, discarding them along with the legs.

Using the eyelet punch, I put in a series down each side of the front opening, now just two panels of cloth that will barely meet, the laces begging to be loosened..... Whoa, there, Severus. Calm down. With slightly shaking fingers, I thread in the extra long lace, from the bottom of the gap to the top, leaving them loose. My imagination is on overtime again and I can clearly see Harry’s cock veritably imprisoned behind these crossed laces. At this point, I abandon the project for....erm.... a few minutes.

Red-faced, I resume my task. I’m glad Harry didn’t walk in, but sad at the same time. I know, impulsive boy that he is, he would have taken in the situation in an eyeblink and have been undressed and hovering over my cock in seconds. It was that thought that pushed me over, whimpering and spilling over my own hand.

I take up the garment, rapidly becoming more flimsy and frown, take up the scissors and start to cut, ruthlessly, then shred and fray until I have the garment I want my Harry to wear for me. Now all I need is the courage to ask.....

They kissed again, slower and more considered, there was to be a whole evening of delicious seduction before them. Harry stood up, his bum beginning to numb with the draught under the door, he held out a hand to Severus and hauled him to his feet. “That sounds like an excellent idea, though”. He leaned up, tangling his hand in thick black hair, pulling his beloved to within whispering distance, “Let’s eat first, dunno about you, but I’m starving”. He looked down at the flyer he still held, “This’ll do. What do you fancy?”. Severus leered as he grinned, grazing his tongue tip over Harry’s ear, “You. On toast”.

Harry turned to him again and swiped the wet tip of a tongue over his lover’s warm lips, “I know, but I need real food as well”. Severus sighed and grabbed the list from Harry as they climbed the stairs. The place was open early so they rang, ordering far too much food and two pairs of chopsticks. Harry hared down the stairs when the bell rang, dollars in hand, gave the man a big tip, was bowed to respectfully before he bounded back upstairs with the food. A veritable feast. On reflection, Severus decided to wait, Harry did need his food first but he would attend to dressing up later..

They fed each other, from chopsticks and forks. Drinking beer and laughing as rice dribbled down t-shirts, cupping a hand under the transfer of runny sauce to mouth, making a mess anyway, but licking each others fingers, and, hell, what were wands for?. They ate their fill of the excellent feast between kisses and sat back, replete.

The talk was desultory until Severus mentioned Jed and Sammy’s destination. This time it did sink in. Grimmauld Place. And what would meet the guests on entry if her curtains weren’t closed? The idea was too horrible for Harry to contemplate and he rummaged for his phone, checking for the time, he was pushing it.

It took a few rings before he got Hermione on the line, “Hi, Harry, the plane’s a bit late but we’re just boarding now. Is there a problem?” Harry huffed out a sigh, “Who is on the wall in the hall at Grimmauld?” There was silence at her end, “Oh, shit”, eventually as the light went on in her head. Harry could hear it in her voice, a sound he knew so well, the gearwheels turning in her talented head, “Oh, bugger. It’s a fucking weird way to meet your grandma, isn’t it? Not to mention that the house is yours, not his”. Harry shrugged, “Not worried about that so much, but you’re right, it’s a hell of a way to get slices of your family history force-fed to you. Where are they?”, he enquired of his new friends. Hermione chuckled, “They’re at check-in, one of the bags is too heavy”.

They chatted a bit longer before Harry heard the call for the plane in the background and he rang off, “Good luck, all three of you”, before he closed his phone, staring off into the distance. Severus let him be for a moment then had to ask. Harry turned to him, his phone still clutched in his hand, “Walpurga. At Grimmauld Place. She’s his granny. Sammy’s. The portrait that screams blood traitor stuff.....”. Severus held his hands up, “I am quite cognisant, Harry. I’ll admit, in all the excitement, I had neglected to remember it”. Harry grinned, “Me either, until now. She has to warn him”. Severus held Harry tight, “He is beyond your protection now, my Gryffindor”. Harry glanced at his beloved but there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm there, and it was true, Sammy had gone along his own path now, blood-bonded, for heavens sake, with his best friend, but, fuck it, they were adults, fully in control of their faculties, if not their magic. Harry breathed deep and let it go.

Severus’ arms were still around him as he relaxed. “Shall we go and attend to our dressing?”, Severus purred into Harry’s ear, licking a hot stripe along the edge as he did so. Harry moaned and tipped his head, “Yes. Show me what you have for me”, he whispered before maneouvring himself so he could kiss his lover. “Lead on. Show me”. Severus fair dragged Harry to their room.

Harry tripped over the end of the bed and went sprawling, pulling Severus over with him. They laughed and rolled around, mouths burning together, tongues delving, arms wrapping around each other as they kissed. Harry sat up astride his beloved and pulled Severus upright into his arms. “Come and have a shower with me first. Better still, let’s make that bath bigger then you can dress me as you wish”. They kissed again, long and slow before disentangling themselves.

Harry shot into the bathroom and started running hot water into the tub. He could hear Severus in their room rummaging around and he called him into the room but was answered by the sound of the front door opening and retreating feet. He stripped quickly and sank into the warm water with a sigh, removing his foggy glasses, setting them on the side of the bath.

He heard his husband return, the front door slam, and Severus entered the bathroom placing a small bundle of cloth on the chair at the end of the bath. Harry couldn’t make out the garment with his blurred vision. He could, however, see Severus quite clearly as he disrobed before him and stepped into the transfigured bath. He could see Severus’ smirk as he was taken into his husband’s arms and kissed thoroughly. They both sank beneath the bubbles and came up, laughing and shaking water out of their eyes.

Harry tugged Severus back against his chest as they let the heat relax them. He grabbed his sponge and soaped it up, lazily washing the man in his arms, tipping his head slightly and feasting on the expanse of neck beneath the thick black hair. Severus smiled and shivered at the attentions lapping them up. He could feel his cock harden under the water and judging from the woodie digging into his back from behind, he wasn’t the only one.

They both enjoyed the sexiness of the heated water, kissing and fooling about. They washed each other thoroughly paying minute attention to each other’s groins, easing back foreskins over tumescent cocks, washing carefully and erotically, using tongues as much as the sponge. Harry prevented anything more from transpiring, pushing back with a groan. “I thought you wanted me to dress up for you. If we carry on like this it’ll be too late”, he grinned. Severus groaned and coloured somewhat. Harry knew then what the problem was.

This was obviously somewhat of a fantasy for his beloved and now he was coming over all shy like the first time they had shared fantasies together. Harry knew his lover was awkward still about admitting to new ones. He reassured him with gentle kisses and murmured words. There had been a fantasy of his husband’s that Harry definitely hadn’t enjoyed although it had sounded good at the time but the fact of the matter was, asses milk stunk and bathing in it even with the tiny flowers floating on it had been disgusting. Worse than that, the stuff took ages to properly wash out of his hair and pores and he had gone around for ten days smelling like baby-sick and Hermione and Neville’s bathroom had reeked to high heaven that all the banishment spells in wizarddom couldn’t shift.

Harry purred, “Wasn’t there a full scenario to go with this outfit? Only I clearly remember something about you wanting me to order you about or something”. Severus blushed, “Yes, well!”, he huffed, “But I still want to see you in them, the shorts that is, but if you feel ridiculous then.....”, he let his voice tail off.

Severus was the first to stand and get out of the bath. Harry lay there a moment longer, watching Severus gather towels before he stood and had a hot towel wrapped around him. Now at the same height as Severus he couldn’t resist catching the man around the waist for a sound snog, “If I feel daft then they come off straight away. I couldn’t even playact in something that was silly, but you are never silly, love”, he whispered. “Come on, show me. I’m dying to see what you’ve made for me”.

Severus dried him slowly and sensually, each finger, every toe, behind his ears, infusing each gesture with such love and care before requesting that Harry close his eyes and hold on to his shoulders. He instructed gently as to lifting feet until Harry could feel the denims sliding over his skin being settled low on his hips, then a slight tug as the laces were tightened to Severus’ satisfaction. Shorts, he called them, they felt like tiny denim knickers to Harry.

At last, he was ordered to open his eyes and he rushed to the mirror snagging his specs along the way, standing before it and he gasped at the sight. The shorts were indeed tiny and hid nothing. The zip had been removed and white laces did up the front but they weren’t fastened just pulled together enough to stop the garment from slipping down over his hips. His dark line of hair from navel to cock was plainly visible over the top.

He turned and twisted this way and that viewing himself from all sides. Severus was trying to keep his jaw from the floor. He advanced on Harry and held him still by firm hands on his hips. Sinking his head to the crook of Harry’s neck, he reached a hand around, brushing over the crotch of the shorts, “I want to see your cock trapped behind those laces”, he murmured, his voice honey.

Harry moaned and tilted his head back onto Severus’ shoulder, “I look about fifteen in these”. His husband chuckled, “I know. They should be worn with your white fluffy sports socks”. It was Harry’s turn to snicker, “Oh, yes? Fancy a bit of chicken, do you, you old pervert?” Severus started to lick Harry’s neck, “Only if it’s you”, he whispered plunging his hand down the front and grasping Harry’s stiffening cock.

Harry closed his eyes and Severus looked up, “Keep your eyes open, love. Watch us in the mirror”. Harry lazily obeyed and smiled. His cock was definitely interested. He mewled disapproval as Severus straightened him out beneath the laces and withdrew his hand, threading the other around him and tugging gently on the ends of the white cords, tightening them over Harry’s cock. “Mmmm, nice. Very nice”, Severus murmured before licking Harry’s ear and proceeded to run the flat of his hand over the imprisoned penis.

The other snaked over Harry’s chest, pinching at his nipples as he rained kisses into his shoulder. Harry licked his lips and watched his beloved loving him, reaching his hands back to tangle in Severus’ hair, holding it away from his face so they could maintain eye contact.

Harry let go and turned to his lover, holding them sideways on to the mirror, raising slightly onto his toes and pulling Severus to him for a kiss, fevered and intense, pushing his hard-on into a solid hip. He was pulled tightly to Severus by greedy arms and his head tipped as his mouth was plundered utterly. Harry used long-practiced fingers as he was kissed to undo Severus’ towel and push it off his hips rubbing their chests together. They grinned around each other’s tongues and pulled apart enough so the cloth fell to the floor.

Dipping his head, Harry caught a brown nipple in his mouth, biting and licking, before being gently coaxed upright again. This time it was Severus that descended: to his knees. His face at cock height with his beloved. He took hold of the laces and pulled tighter. Harry groaned, “Gods, that’s good”, he rasped out. Severus leaned in, cradling one of Harry’s cheeks in one hand and licked gently over the angry pink of Harry’s constricted dick, from root to tip, over laces and all, before nibbling and tormenting the head bulging out over the top of the ties.

Harry tensed and hissed through his teeth, “Fuck!”, he bit the sound out. “Sev, can this go tighter?”, he was starting to sweat. Severus glanced up at him and grinned evilly, “Your every wish is my command”, he intoned in his darkest voice. Harry shuddered as his cock was left to cool as Severus reached over for his wand. Uttering a low-level binding charm, the laces wrapped themselves snugly round Harry to Harry’s delight and frustration. It was like wearing a dick-long cock ring. Severus re-applied himself to his task.

As he dipped his head, Harry ran his hands through the black hair, lifting it from blocking his view in the mirror, groaning at the sight of his red, bound cock. “Masturbate while you suck me. Let me see you”, Harry gently commanded.

Severus took Harry into his mouth once again and took himself in hand turned slightly to the mirror and giving Harry a grandstand view. Harry groaned and bit his lower lip at the sight. He would have come had he been able but he was tied too tight to do so. After a while, he signalled his beloved to rise and they kissed again, Harry exulting in his taste on Severus’ tongue. They emerged to breathe and Harry murmured, “Will the back of these pants pull down to let you fuck me while my cock is bound? I want you in me”. Severus claimed his mouth again, “I’ll bloody well make them”, he hissed as he opened his mouth over Harry’s again.

Harry turned and made to climb up onto the bed but Severus stayed him, “No, not here. Upstairs”. Harry grinned, “Oh, yes? Where?”. Severus turned him and hustled him through the door, detouring to the bedside cabinet to extract the lube before catching up squeezing Harry’s arse cheek as they climbed the stairs. He guided him into the kitchen. “Oh, kinky!”, exclaimed Harry.

Severus guided him in with a hand in the small of Harry’s back and without ceremony led him to the wooden island in the middle of the room and bent Harry over it, pressing Harry’s face to the stainless steel top, “Hmmm, like that, I think”, came the rich voice that made Harry shiver. He dove his hand into his jeans pocket and withdrew the other lace and in a fluid move had both Harry’s hands above his head and with a tap of his wand had bound his wrists securely, sending out long filaments of thread to secure him firmly to the corners of the bench.

Severus ran his long hands down Harry’s back from shoulder to waist. Harry shuddered, his cheek pressed into cold steel as he felt Severus part his legs. He had to go up onto his toes. He started as he felt fingers up the back of the legs of the shorts diving into his crack and passing down and over his crushed bollocks gently. There were kisses up and down his back, feather light accompanied by sharp bites that made him wince.

Then the coolness of distance as Severus backed away from him, then the sharp smack to his rear that made Harry yelp. “Count for me Harry”, came the order and Harry cried out in frustration, his cock fit to burst, “One”, he ground out. He squeezed his eyes shut against the sweetness of the pain in his groin as he was slapped again, a crack that hit the bare flesh at the base of his cheeks, just visible below the abbreviated legs of the garment he wore. “Two”, he tried to keep his voice as level as he could.

Four more and he could feel the ripping of the material around his hips as the back of the shorts was torn down over his arse and strong thumbs pulled his arse wide open as he could get still trussed up like that, the shorts now caught around his upper thighs. Slender fingers, oiled and warm breached him and sank deep and he pushed back with a growl, “More. Want you. Come on, I won’t break. Fuck me”. He heard the chuckle from behind him as Severus’ fingers relentlessly fucked him. “All in good time, my Harry. You don’t come until I let you”. Harry wriggled and pushed back harder.

The coldness and emptiness as the fingers withdrew. There came the unmistakeable wet sound of a cock being readied and Harry was impaled in a single thrust to a shout of mingled pain and joy from above him. Severus lay over Harry’s back a moment, collecting his addled wits before a moan from beneath him and a grinding push reminded him to move. He clutched Harry’s hips and stood up, ramming him forcefully, in and out, grunting with each thrust. Harry was begging and pleading to be freed from his prison but Severus ignored him as he took his own pleasure, slamming in and out of Harry’s tight hole, slick with lube and pre-come.

His grip started to tighten and Harry knew he was going to have the marks for a few days. He was seeing stars as he was fucked, the friction from the laces binding him, both ecstasy and torment. Severus sped up, the sweat pouring from him, oh, he was so close, pounding his lover’s arse over and over, balls retracting, breath ragged. He barely had the presence of mind to grab his wand and release Harry from his bondage before his orgasm barrelled up from the pit of his gut and hit him full force and he shouted out with each thrust as he emptied himself deep in Harry, who squeezed extra tight as all the feeling returned to his numb chafed cock, the blood rushed to the hyper-sensitised head and he exploded all over the edge of the work surface, knocking his head on the steel with each wrenching spasm.

For a moment or two, nothing could be heard but the harsh counterpointed breaths from each of them. Severus collapsed over Harry’s back twisting his fingers together with his husband’s as they lay slumped over, neither trusting their legs to work. As Severus softened enough to slip out, he shifted off Harry’s back and rested to the side of him, long ropes of come trailing after him as he trailed his wet cock over Harry’s arse cheek and flopped down onto his elbows close beside him.

Harry didn’t move except for a heaving back. Severus threaded an arm around him, “Are you all right? Did I hurt you? I was a bit enthusiastic, wasn’t I?” He heard Harry’s chuckle, “Yes, no and yes”, came the faint reply. Severus was the first to stand eventually, pulling Harry up from the chilly surface and into his arms, holding him up and spotting kisses into Harry’s sweaty hair. “I love you so much”, he muttered into the damp curls. He felt Harry smile against his chest, “Love ya too”, his answer was muffled, his mouth pressed firmly into shoulder.

When they could move without fear of collapse, Severus cleaned them both up still holding a swaying Harry to him who mumbled something unclear about the need for sleep and Severus got the picture. He led Harry back to their room and laid him down on their bed, settling beside him after spelling off their clothes and levitating the bedding to let them under it. Lowering the duvet, he pulled it over himself and the now more-than-three-quarters-asleep Harry, gathered the younger man to him and pressed gentle kisses to that delicious sleepy mouth, stroking Harry’s face with his fingers and removing the glasses on Harry’s nose.

Although shattered himself, Severus didn’t sleep right away, after all, it wasn’t that late. He held Harry as he slept and stared at the ceiling letting his thoughts wander whither they would. Mainly he thought about the crazy life he had now and the man drowsing in his arms that he shared it all with. He wouldn’t go back in time for all the tea in China. Here he was, on the other side of the world in the arms of this amazing man, the most powerful wizard in the world and hardly anyone knew who they were. It was truly wonderful. He drifted gradually to sleep dreaming of sea and surf and Harry, always Harry.

Of course, life being what it is, it was bound to take an even weirder turn and so it did, the very next day.

****

Okay, so normally, newlyweds and freshly romantic new couples in stories always wake up twined together in the most romantic fashion, but there is a point in every relationship where one partner or the other was going to need to take charge over a specific issue and this particular morning, with a draught up his arse due to it being hung off the edge of the bed, Harry knew it was one of those times.

Severus was, once again, a starfish lying face down in the middle of the bed, the one arm clamped rather painfully over Harry’s middle was the only thing preventing him from falling out of bed altogether. He was really going to have to have words with his new spouse vis-a-vis his bed-hog habits. Not only that but his face was buried between the two sets of pillows and he was snoring. Loudly.

So, Harry, with a chilly arse, no face to lean up on one elbow and study whilst brushing the odd strand of hair away not to mention the assault on his eardrums, untangled himself from the arm, whose owner grunted, folded it under him and continued to snore moments later, thought, ‘bugger this’, and got up instead.

****

He stretched and winced a bit at the ache in his backside, grinning as he recalled the hammering he had taken the previous night, he was going to ache for a day or two, so, no long distance driving for him! He cast about for something to do then donned his gown, recalling something Jed had said in passing, “Oh, yeah, if you guys want to tidy up or play with your viddies or pictures or anything, feel free to use my machine in my office. I’ve got the latest imaging software. Just a thought”. Harry hadn’t thought much about it at the time and since then all the magical stuff had happened but now it seemed like a fun thing to try, so he silently gathered up the laptop and the wires and discs, blew Severus a kiss from the door and left the room on silent feet.

He detoured to the kitchen, filling the kettle and switching it on being as quiet as he could. He pushed open the door to their hosts’ bedroom. The room was filled with light so early in the morning and Harry grinned as he nosed around, waiting for the kettle to boil. There were many small framed pictures on one wall and he leaned in to look. All of either Jed and/or Sammy at various stages in their lives.

A much younger Jed with what was probably his first bike. An adolescent Sammy crouched on the ground, his arms around a large scruffy wolfhound, both boy and dog looking happy. A graduation picture of Jed in his full gown and mortar board. Harry frowned at the jewel on what looked like deep yellow silk ribbon that adorned his breast below the clasp of the robes.

He peered closer, some sort of a cross but of regular shape, unlike the Christian one. Now where had he seen that before? He shrugged and continued to look at the rest of the pictures. There. Another one with the pair of them on it. This time in suits. Hair tied neatly back. Jed had the jewel on again and Sammy was wearing something similar but on a length of navy ribbon. They were shaking hands in the picture. Harry looked at the backdrop to the photo. In particular what looked like a plaque high on the wall behind them and a bit out of focus.

He reached for the picture and it unhooked easily. He took it over to where the light was brighter and looked more closely. The symbol on the plaque was not really much clearer but he definitely knew that he’d seen that one somewhere before and recently, too. Thoughtful, he wandered back and replaced the picture. Ignoring the tea for now, he tightened his gown and tiptoed back downstairs.

His husband was still sawing logs only now he took up all of the bed. Harry shook his head at the sight and rummaged as silently as he could for Bessie’s keys, bunched them in his hand to avoid noise and crept out again. He padded up the path and unlocked the bus door. Hmmm, there was something in here had gone off a bit, but no time to think of that now. He padded to the rear and lifted the bedframe. Sorting quickly through the stacks of new books they had acquired along the way, he selected a few, closed the library down, shrank the books and tucked them in his pockets. He closed and locked the door again and puttered back into the house, shivering as he closed the front door. The days were getting chillier. Time to move north again.

Up the stairs and back into their hosts’ bedroom, Harry unloaded the books onto the bed and restored their size. He sat and started to flick through them absently when a thought struck him from out of the blue. He realised where he had seen that unusual cross shape before. Oh, this isn’t good, he thought as he hefted the laptop under his arm and dipped behind the curtain on one wall revealing the second door out of the room.

The door opened to reveal a small office sited snugly in one corner of the building with it’s own door onto the verandah. On a long desk curving around two of the walls sat the biggest monitor Harry had seen in a house. He swiftly plugged in and booted both machines. There were windows behind the desks on both walls. Along the opposite wall and with it’s back to the light was a rather splendid drafting table complete with elegant captain’s style wooden revolving barstool height chair. Harry admired the bookshelves lining the wall filled with what were no doubt Sammy’s law books. He had remembered Jed mentioning that he was studying architecture part-time in an attempt at a last ditch change in career from something that fed him to something he had always loved.

There were more photos on the wall, some in clipframes some just blu-tacked to the walls. There were a pair of clearer ones showing Sammy and Jed wearing the strange jewels obviously taken at the same time as the one on the wall next door as their suits and ties were identical but this time their background was a neutrally coloured wall and the plaque was not there.

There was another, once again showing them side by side but this one had been taken here in the house, in front of the living room fire in fact, Harry discerned as he leaned in for a closer look. It showed them naked but for the jewels, some sort of apron shaped thing fastened somehow around their waists and hiding their privates. Each wore a sash draped over one shoulder and down to the opposite hip. Jed’s outfit differed from Sammy’s in colour: his was yellow overall to Sammy’s blue: and to the addition of a collar with a similar jewel but in miniature pinned to one point and on the other a replica of the strange symbol on the plaque that Harry had seen in the other picture. He also wore some sort of ceremonial blade hanging in a scabbard by his side. The mood of the picture was somewhat leavened by the fact that the two men were pulling ridiculous poses and that Sammy was raising a glass that clearly contained red wine at the camera whereas Jed hefted a can of something, the rubber bulb of the old-fashioned shutter tripper in the other, the mood of celebration apparent.

Harry took this one down. It was under glass in a clip frame. On instinct, he undid the clips and lifted the board away. The back of the picture was written upon. “On the occasion of Mr X Samuels achieving his rank of third degree, the after-party, Jed and me pissed afterwards showing my new regalia”. Harry sucked in a breath at this. Where had he seen such things before? He wracked his brain.

His attention was diverted as the two computers finished booting. Harry took a quick look around the programmes on Jed’s hard drive. He did indeed have some of the best, most up-to-date software. There was something Harry wanted to check out. He knew it was on his hard drive somewhere but he would have to look for it. Something to do with what he had seen that morning. Something tugging insistently at the edge of his memory. But he trusted these things, had always trusted them: his instincts, his hunches. He started to systematically work through his files.

Frustrated, he sat back an hour later. Perhaps this was an image seen in a dream, or a nightmare, one of the many that had assailed him in the years of Voldemort, but no, it was about de Santos and the itch refused to be scratched in Harry’s mind. The cross. The one on the strange outfits, no, regalia, worn by his new friends. The surety that he felt knowing that he had seen that cross somewhere else. He sighed and turned to the books he had lugged from the library on Bessie.

He flicked the pages slowly scanning through the illustrations until his eyes alighted on a page. He stopped. The crosses were very similar. The note under the illustration simply read, ‘The Crosses of Malta. Top: 5th degree. Centre: 8th degree. Lower: 12th degree’. Harry’s brow furrowed until he realised what chapter his eye had alighted on. “Oh, god. This could be huger than we thought, and Sammy could be in real danger”. His mind froze for an instant as he processed all he had seen. More proof. He needed more proof.

Pattering back down the stairs, he was once again in their room, his lover still snoring for England, now on his back. Harry grinned and approached the bed, kneeling as gently as he could, and cleared hair away from Severus’ face before placing a kiss on the open mouth. Severus just snorted and turned over, hunching up his shoulders as he did so. Harry kissed the bit of spare flesh on view then searched quickly for his wand, retrieving it. As he turned to leave, he hesitated, then turned, reaching into his jacket pocket, he fished out his phone, checked all was well at the door and dashed off silently again.

Half way up the stairs, he staggered and had to hold on to the wall for balance. He had the horriblest feeling that he knew where he had seen that cross before. He hoped to fuck he was wrong. It was a file he hadn’t checked yet. He didn’t like the content by and large. He could still smell it when he remembered that night, he recalled his husband’s nausea. But there was a sense of certainty around recalling this file to mind: the footage he had shot in a wood outside Madrid.

Trembling, he opened the file and waited while it loaded. He pressed play and once again saw the Marking, the humiliation of his newest members, the casual sexual use of them by the initiated, part of their initiation. He watched as all succumbed and even welcomed the treatment being meted out. The desperation, the wanting so much to be a part of something, however evil. Harry was mesmerised as he watched but there was one part of him that was alert. As the thing that he sought flashed past his vision, his finger pressed ‘pause’ with lightning-fast precision.

The scene was de Santos lifting the branding iron from the fire, turning, oh, so slowly, as Harry advanced the film a frame at a time, the firelight glancing off the gold trim on the edges of his cloak, then as he bent at the waist to deliver the coup de grace and inflict his Mark, the firelight bounced off something else. There. Harry paused the film. Back a few frames to the best view. There. Stop.

Something gleaming on the breast of the beast’s cloak. The image wasn’t too clear but Harry sat at the machine and let his mind reel back to that night. He had seen it clearer than the phone camera that was all he had at his disposal as an evidence gathering tool, the same symbol as the jewel around his new friend’s neck. The same cross.

Harry dug about and found a spool-ful of blank CD’s, downloading the image as a still to it before feeding it into Jed’s machine and opening it into one of the powerful image editing programmes he had. For over an hour, Harry toiled at the image, brightening, enhancing, using some very state-of-the-art stuff to finally see what he knew he would: the same cross on his cloak that adorned the breasts of his new friends. Oh, Gods. Sammy was definitely in danger. They were all part of the same branch of the same secret society. Harry’s mouth went dry at the thought.

He was glad he had brought his phone with him. He checked the time, calculated GMT and speed-dialled his best friend. He was waiting as the line clicked and whirred, setting his newly enhanced image to printing. He heard movement behind him and spun round, his wand out, then sighed and relaxed realising it was only his husband. Severus, still fuddled with sleep as he was could see his beloved’s anxiety not to mention that he had nearly been hexed simply for being there and approached cautiously.

He took in with one glance the two monitors on showing different things, Harry with his phone pressed anxiously at his ear. Something was definitely not right here, he could taste the tension in the air. Harry relaxed and threaded his arms around Severus’ waist sinking his head in his lover’s belly, “Oh, shit, Sev. It’s all got a lot weirder. Sammy’s probably in danger and I think I’ve figured out how all this evil is being spread and Jed and Sammy are in the same group as de Santos albeit on the other side of the world and now they’re in Britain and, shit, Sev, they’re in danger”. Harry wound down, his chest heaving. The squawk of reply at the other end of the phone tore Harry’s attention away.

“Where are you, ‘Mione?” was the first question out of his mouth, trying to rein in his anxiety. He turned the phone to speaker and a tired Hermione said, “Paris. This journey’s been a fucking nightmare. What’s up?” In true British style, she didn’t wait for a reply, simply launching into her catalogue of woes, “The connection was late at Singapore, though the ride here was fab and now we can’t get on a plane from here to London, there’s some damn baggage-handler’s strike....”.

She was cut off in mid-flow by Harry, “Where are Sammy and Jed? I need to tell you something important and it’s vital those two aren’t listening”. Hermione was all Auror in an instant. She nodded purposefully then realised Harry couldn’t see it and replied, “I’m alone, they are dealing with the heavy bag. What’s the matter?” Her eyes widened as he told her. “Are you certain?”, she whispered. Harry nodded and then pulled himself back, “Pretty much. You have to be careful. I’ve told them both about de Santos but I don’t think it’s sunk in. It’s vital that Sammy go by ‘Samuels’ while he’s in London. There must be absolutely no mention of the Black name while he is there although I’ve got a horrible feeling that this is the common link between all these factions, but I need you to check it out, whatever you can from that end”.

A stunned Hermione agreed, “Bloody hell, Harry, this could be it, but if you’re right then it’s a lot bigger than anything the wizarding world can handle. What the fuck do we do now?”, her voice was small and plaintive. Harry let out a long breath and sighed, “I don’t know, ‘Mione. I just don’t fucking know”. Even over so many miles, she had never heard him sound so defeated and neither had Severus who inched closer, wrapping his arms around the slumped Harry. “I’ll send you all the pictures from here, ‘Mione, they’ve got a scanner, so I’ll include the ones of them in their regalia”. “Do I mention anything or not, Harry?” Harry thought a moment, “Keep schtum for now but they may have to know in time. Just don’t let Sammy use the Black name”.

Harry muttered, after closing the call, “I still need the absolute proof...” and lifted his wand, “Accio regalia”, he intoned and there was a noise back in the bedroom. His head spun round in time to see two small suitcases flying at his head. With a Seeker’s swiftness, his hands shot up and retrieved both of them out of the air, laying them down on the desk.

They were very small leather cases, a bit battered and worn, bearing the initials of both of their hosts in brass letters on the outsides. They were locked. Harry tapped them with a finger, his wand lying at his side, and the cases undid. Harry slowly lifted out the jewels, collarettes, ribbons, aprons and from Jed’s case, the long slender scabbarded blade. This was all the proof he needed. He was back on the phone to Hermione in an eyeblink. It took a while for the call to circle the globe but in short order she was back on the line, “We’re just at the gate, we’ll be on the plane to London in a minute”, came the gabble at her end.

“I’ve seen it. The regalia. Sammy’s fairly harmless. According to my book, he’s a third degree craft but Jed’s a full-on thirty third degree. That’s pretty high up in the hierarchy, isn’t it? I wonder about Jed. Suppose he’s a plant, to watch over Sammy?”. Hermione had no answer to this only promising to keep a closer eye on her charges in the light of this new knowledge. Harry closed his phone thoughtfully and then had to turn and face a curious Severus.

His husband bit out gruffly, “What is it that you had to warn Hermione of?” Harry turned to his man, “She needed to be aware of who Jed and Sammy really are”. Severus whipped his head up at this facing a very serious Harry.

Harry gulped, “It was when I ran the footage of the night near Madrid, the badge on de Santos’ cloak. The same as that on Sammy and Jed’s regalia”. Severus’ brows raised. He nodded for Harry to continue. “In the bedroom and in here there are photos. All still ones, all muggle, that depict them dressed up in their order’s symbols”.

“They are Freemasons and they are both Knights of Malta. Malta is an island very close to where? Spain. And on the night we happened to witness in some woods outside of Madrid, I saw, a badge on de Santos’ cloak”, Harry passed his beloved the enhanced picture that he had printed, “The Maltese Cross, emblem of the Knights. Jed and Sammy are both Freemasons and somehow in the same order. I can’t decide if it’s innocent or not although Jed does seem to love Sammy....”, his voice failed him.

Severus was just beginning to be astounded, “So you are saying that all three of them are in the same organisation?” Harry nodded. “It’s a secret society, a branch of the Masons but more involved in the Mysteries. They don’t get much mention in the books we’ve read. Freemasonry is very about the mystical, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that Jed and Sammy were invited to join. The first three degrees are mostly a bit of a gentleman’s club, by all accounts: charity work, that kind of thing, but to get all the way to the thirty third degree......that takes some doing”, Harry mused, staring into space.

He recovered himself, breathing deep letting the air in, allowing his shoulders to drop, the tension easing away, “We mustn’t let them anywhere near their Lodges on that side of the world”, and he was straight back onto the phone. It took a while before Hermione answered, “”I told them a bit about Grimmauld Place and they said thanks but no thanks. They have a connection for a hotel somewhere here in London. They kept saying they would stay at somewhere called the Lodge or something”. Harry squealed when he heard this, “’Mione!!!
He mustn’t go near the Lodges in London, though it figures that they would do such a thing. You must get them back at all costs”, and then he told her all. The Auror was instantly back, “I need to call Ron, I placed a tracking spell on them anyway as I’m blood-bonded to them and it has an Apparation signature on it”.

****

Ron was stunned at this news and was on his other phone assembling his young troops as they spoke.

Someone baulked at their destination, “Freemason’s Hall?” And was shut up in no uncertain manner. They all muttered ‘Delta Blue Signature’ and Apparated. They all gathered nonchalantly in place, some idling on the wide steps, despite the heavy shower of rain, others standing off in the wings. Jed and Sammy stepped down from the taxi and started up the long steps to be grabbed unceremoniously, the world going black all around them as they were levitated and removed under invisibility cloaks from this scene, the chloroform stinging their nostrils.

As the last on the scene, Ron turned to the few stunned onlookers murmured an ‘Obliviate’ and Apparated away. They all landed in a rather ungainly pile. “We should have chosen the fucking library not the bloody hall”, came a less than gruntled voice from the bottom of the heap as they rearranged themselves and their captives who were still out cold. Ollie levitated them down the cellar steps and into the old kitchen. One of the young Aurors lit a fire and another bustled about making tea.

Ron sat the captives up and wafted smelling salts beneath their noses that brought them both round coughing and retching at the smell. Jed started, “Where the hell are we and who are you?” Ron grinned at him, “All in good time. You must be Jed. I’m Ron and....”, he stopped at the chime of the doorbell, “That’ll be Hermione”. One of the squad dashed up the stairs and let her in. Sammy was coming to now and squirmed at bindings he couldn’t see, “Why are you holding us like this?”, he demanded as Hermione swept into the room.

“Sorry about that chaps but until I spoke to Harry I had no idea”. She shrugged off her outer layers and laid them over her suitcase. “So, you’re Masons are you? And how exactly did you think that was going to ‘square’ with you being wizards? And I meant the pun”, she remarked drily.

Jed shook his head, “But neither of us knew did we? The wizard thing? Any of it. We thought we were going to meet with someone about some training, not be kidnapped and held against our will. Haven’t you got laws against that kind of thing?” Jed knew he sounded fretful but the situation was a bit scary. Hermione thought a moment but her concentration was shattered by her phone ringing. It was Harry.

Hermione handed her phone to Sammy at Harry’s request, “Don’t be alarmed”, he began and proceeded to tell the two what he had learned of de Santos, “So it is imperative that you don’t either of you go near your lodge. Sammy, you could be in great danger if you do and the wrong side would be glad of a bona fide Black to parade around”. The call was off speaker and back in Hermione’s hands, “Keep an eye on Jed. Try and find out if he knows anything. Who’s the best Legilimens you have over there? Use them and/or Veritaserum if you must”. Giving her assurances, she ended the call. Merlin! She heartily wished Severus Snape was there that instant.

****

Harry closed his phone; suddenly feeling very far from all the action. What had started as a bit of fun in the hills had the potential to be very dark indeed. He startled a bit as an arm threaded around his shoulder and he came back to the room mentally, turning and smiling uncertainly at his beloved. Severus spoke for both of them when he said, “Right this very moment, I wish I could be the one to carry out their interrogation”. Harry laughed softly, tipping his head to kiss the fingers on his shoulder, “Now who has the saviour complex? They’ll manage without us, Sev, this isn’t our battle any more. Remember?” He had tried for lightness of tone but it came out bitter.

Together they stared out at the rising day both wishing that they were on the other side of the planet.

END OF PART TWO


Okay, that's it for book 2.

Please, please review. See you next week with the start of book 3 - enjoy! The Squig xxx