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

20

Harry was bouncing in his seat as the motorway fractured and they headed for a particular district. “You are so going to love it here, Sev”, he exclaimed as he followed the careful directions, skirting the edge of the city itself and pulling up near a canal which sported an impressive array of houseboats all brightly painted with various attempts at rudimentary gardens that added to the ramshackle jollity of the place. Severus was amazed as he climbed from Bessie and looked around. Harry tugged at his sleeve, “Come on, this is our billet for the next month or so, we’re only a bus ride or a walk from the centre of everything, but I thought that out here we’d get a bit of peace and quiet”.

He fished out a screwed up printout from his pocket along with a key. He’d booked the place several weeks ago as soon as they realised they were eventually going back to England. Harry had made another booking, for sometime in the future, but had neglected to inform his lover of this....yet.

He looked at names of the houseboats as they scanned up and down the row and he yelped with delight when he located the right one, unlocking the doors across the tiny ‘gangplank’ that separated them from the shore and stepped onto their new home while they were in Holland.

The ceiling was low so Severus had to stoop a little but he stopped in his tracks as he took in the luxuriousness of their surroundings. Done out in a state-of-the-art modern bohemian style, the large main room was all cushions with a huge TV on one wall. There was an excellent view out over the canal due to picture windows to one side. The small but highly efficient galley style kitchen was all gleaming stainless steel that Severus heartily approved of. The only bedroom was a well appointed double containing a large comfy bed, plenty of storage space and a wonderful bathroom containing a huge round bath. They glanced at each other meaningfully at this discovery.

Severus stepped out onto the deck/balcony facing the canal and breathed in deep. He loved this place already. Harry took a shower and cleaned up from all the driving changing into a clean pair of jeans and a slightly too tight t-shirt that made Severus’ mouth go dry at the sight, laced up his trainers, deposited Euros about their persons, hid their passports and, hand in hand, they walked the bare half mile into the city.

They stopped to kiss now and again on quiet bits of street but he cared not as the city opened around them. The Venice of the north, a ‘U’-shape around it’s central canal and the many curved side ways, narrower, tree clad. They learned quickly that the bicycle was king here and learned to dodge them sticking to the edges of the streets trying not to fall into the cellars as they walked around. They lit upon a pancake house and decided to decipher the mystery of the Dutch pancake, both savoury and sweet, sharing and tasting each other’s, a sharp lager cleansing the palette as they ate.

Harry fed his lover another slice of his tandoori chicken pancake then paused for a moment and looked around. The place was packed to the rafters and although he was affectionate to his Sev he was being roundly ignored. Just as the other customers ignored the folk at the next table. Harry grinned, this was what equality truly meant, the right to be totally ignored while you engaged in erotic food play with your lover. So long as nothing really happened below the waist then they were cool.

The meal was so intimate and both delighted in being able to be so ‘out’, an experience that was rare for them. They were used to ‘gay space’ and ‘straight space’ and seldom did the two meet that this was different for both of them. Severus looked at these seventeenth century buildings that clustered around the old part of the city centre and fell in love. “Harry, if we do settle anywhere, can it either be here or Barcelona?” Harry grinned widely, “I thought you’d like it here”, he said softly. “I always thought I would too, and I do. And yes is the answer to your question. Well, yes, so far, but we have many other places to find on this planet. Just make a list for now, keep it in your mind and we’ll see should we ever decide to settle”. Severus wrapped his arms around Harry as they looked out over a canal. That was good enough for now. In that moment, he felt as free as a bird. And that was without knowing of the plan that Harry was already hatching.

They dipped in and out of bars. They bought hash and grass, a bong and some rolling papers. They ate again at some point, a fine shawarma kebab with a side order of felafel all drenched in the violently garlicky aoli mayonnaise. They found a dub reggae bar that made Harry sway to the music and stopped in to roll a joint or two. One of the ladies joined Harry on the small dancefloor as he lost himself in the music and he shimmied her up and down, bumped her a few times before letting the music take him into another world. Severus watched as his lover was transported, the beats driving his feet, the counterpoint rhythms informing the movement in back and shoulders, the backbeat making his hips move. The whole was extremely sensuous and Severus felt a flush climb his face and thanked all the deities for the low lighting regretting for a moment that he would never move like this. For a moment he was reminded of Heike’s freedom beside a pool in Crete as he watched his lover lose himself in the rhythms encouraged by the bored patrons of the bar.

They moved on to a quieter place where they could sit in wicker chairs hidden by large palms, the effect striving for an old-fashioned ship-like ambience. They kissed behind a palm frond, finished their cocktails and headed back to their base. They were naked less than ten feet from the door, fighting to be first to the bed, pulling at each other in their haste, until Severus toppled over on Harry knocking the wind from him and their mouths meshed, desperate, wanting, the openness of their behaviour earlier acting as foreplay.

The hasty magical lubing a swift formality before Severus lowered himself onto Harry’s cock, unopened and tight, needing the burn, the sweet hurt. He lifted himself on and off until Harry found purchase with his feet and pushed,
hard, thrusting with full force, ramming in and twitching out, hitting his lover’s sweet spot with his angle, turning the man above him to jelly as they both held on tight and fucked for ages. Severus lost it first, coming in thick streams over Harry’s belly before being filled totally. As Harry slipped out, he delighted in the mess between his legs and pulled Harry to him and held on tight. He barely heard Harry speak as he spiralled towards unconsciousness. But it was unmistakeable, “You are the world’s best fuck, lover. I love your arse. It’s mine now”, the purred undertone and Severus was a grinning soup as he headed sleepwards, “Yours, you evil tart. All yours”, he muttered as his eyes flickered shut.

~~~~~~~~~~WS (explicit)~~~~

Oh, god, this was a truly decadent city, catering to every perversion and they slowly and shyly sought them out, from a dungeon where Harry could thoroughly truss his beloved up to a piss-palace where Harry spread himself before Severus only to receive the shock of his life when Severus requested similar treatment, holding his dick and balls as Harry emptied his bladder over him, immediately springing a hard-on and prepared his beloved with care and consideration before fucking him into the nearest horizontal surface.

They discovered the delights of leather and added a little to their repertoire along with blindfolds and other ephemera. They added to their porn stock too. Severus had a secret thrill at discovering that his beloved was another voyeur and they enjoyed many a private show from a darkened side booth.

~~~~~~~~~~WS (end)~~~~~~

By day they enjoyed the culture, smoking grass and venturing to museums, galleries, bookshops where they kept running into brochures or books or talks about a girl called Anne Frank. Harry read a pamphlet that he had picked up somewhere and his interest was piqued. Of course!. Holland was invaded by the Nazis in the second world war. More of the modern history that he and Severus had been absorbing.

The laptop was fully functional and as Severus lounged and read, Harry typed in ‘The Holocaust’ into a web searchline and got several million pages. He started, then selected one and began to read. He was appalled at even this light skimming over the history. This was nothing like the stories that his uncle had told, his father having been involved in several RAF campaigns as Vernon was ever at pains to remind Harry when he was growing up. Harry had also heard about Hitler but in a vague way, at primary school, as the instigator of the war but all this was new to him.

Genocide. Such as that which Voldemort had wished to foist on the Magical world. And damned de Santos after him.

He grew somewhat depressed at this new twist in his knowledge and dialled up gay spaces again instead and he was pointed towards a triangular pink granite Holocaust memorial in the city on the banks of a canal and made it a mission to seek it out. On their walk around the city after dinner they found it. Harry had filled Severus in on a little of the history, “Twelve million people that bastard killed. Six million Jews and the rest made up of other ‘undesirables’. Us, Sev, us. Everyone from mental patients to gays and gypsies. ‘Mione was right, evil never really stops”, his tone was reflective.

They spent a quiet evening in a piano bar, the young woman at the piano was playing a wonderfully spirited version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Harry watched as his lover’s head tipped back, a slight smile spread over his face and he gave himself up to the music.

They staggered back through a quiet part of town, hugging the canals. As usual, Harry’s affinity with water drew him to it. They were heading in the general direction of the houseboat when they took a wrong turn down a cul-de-sac and saw it.

For sale at that.

It was a fading antebellum of a houseboat with a delapidated sign hanging outside. It looked like it had nearly been taken over by the creeper growing over the drooping wires over the afterdeck. Portions of leaded glass windows could be seen peeking from the mass of creeper. It was garrotting the small gangplank making passage to her a challenge but Harry persevered.

“Sev, she’s huge and still afloat”, Harry’s voice called back. “The rest I can do. Come and look”. Severus fought his way through the mad vinous growth and joined Harry as he shone his lit wand through the windows. She really was huge. This felt like their own private discovery. Harry turned to his lover after the tour of her slightly soggy decks. “I want to buy her”, he declared. Severus was cautious, “Well, let’s bargain a little. According to the age of that sign, she’s been on the market a while. There are lots of problems with her aren’t there?” Harry grinned, “Nothing I can’t fix. I want her, Sev. She’s like Bessie, a bit old and neglected. I can give her a new dignity again”. His eyes gleamed, ‘project’, and Severus sighed, still not daring to ask the questions he needed to. The awkward ones. The ones that underpinned things like marriage and he was worried.

But Harry was scraping spiderwebs from the windows and already planning the colour schemes.

Severus sighed as he glanced at a Harry whose mind was already made up. They wandered back to the houseboat and Harry’s conversation was of nothing else. The next day, Harry was on to the agents, he had trodden the rotten planks of the deck, he had seen the roots of plants coming through the roof of the cabin, how dare they even think of such an outrageous price and the conversation cum argument continued until Harry beamed as he closed his phone and Severus winced. “Go on then, how much?”

Harry grinned, “Well you heard me give them stick? Well, they reduced the price by a third and as soon as I can make a deposit with them and sign the relevant papers then that heap is ours. One of our many homes love”. Severus was somewhat flabbergasted. “Harry, you are still paying out for a very dubious houseboat, love”. Harry shrugged, “Got the brass, so why not?” Severus sat back. Something felt like crunch time in his chest.

He took a deep breath and plunged in. “Harry, we need to discuss assets and all of that business. I have a little and the portion of the Black monies that I inherited but I have been frankly amazed at some of the accommodations that we have been in and I wonder.....how it is that you afford us such luxuries?”. Harry laughed, “Are you enquiring as to whether my intentions towards you are honourable, Mr Snape?, then I assure you that they are. Should you ever decide not to work again, then I can keep us both in the manner to which you may be accustomed but I am not. You only have to name it and it is yours”. Severus shook his head, “No, Harry, not like that. I love us just camping out or living in Bessie. I assure you my tastes are for the simpler things, but we need to make everything legal if we are to marry”. Harry smiled at him then leaned in for a kiss, “Oh, we will, lover. There are many things that you do not know about me. You will though, you will. Once we are back in England”, and he left it at that.

Severus eyed his fiance shrewdly as he walked away from him, so, it looked like Harry was seriously loaded. Severus wasn’t surprised, he couldn’t see Draco living with a poor man even if he was gorgeous but it still surprised him a bit that a man who could walk around like the wreck of the Hesperus until Draco had coaxed him into having some clothes sense and was far from stingy with luxuries could have such a cavalier attitude to spending on himself. Harry was very free with gifts, to the point of embarrassment, sometimes, but rarely spent a sou on himself unless pressed. There was more here than met the eye. Severus vaguely remembered Dumbledore waffling on about neglect and an underprivileged background but Harry never volunteered information and he never asked. Harry had never asked after his own family except to determine that his closest relatives now no longer lived and that had ended their discussion on family.

Severus knew it was probably due to the thorny relationship that he had had with Harry’s own father in his youth and was a subject that had yet to be broached between them. On reflection there were many tricky things that they needed to discuss, but when Harry turned, wearing that smile, Severus sighed, smiled back and realised that now wasn’t the best time.

There were nominally two bedrooms, a large galley kitchen and a rickety terrace than ran around three sides holding up a dubious looking verandah with ivy-wreathed wooden poles. Harry cracked the terrace door open and they stepped out to see the view. “Oh, wow”, Harry breathed as they took in the vista across the central canal with it’s plethora of traffic in the distance.

A sound from the property next door made Harry turn. They were hailed by the elderly chap next door who dislodged a fat cat from his lap and moved to the rails around his own houseboat. Harry moved towards him and extended his hand, introducing himself. The old man was walking on a cane which he waved over Harry’s shoulder and spoke perfect English, “Thinkin’ of buyin’ then? Don’t let them buggers at the estate agents rook you, they say that boat is haunted because someone died there but I reckon it’s a load of old tosh if you ask me, although she’s been on the market for years now, which, in itself is strange, ‘cause these things are snapped up in moments as a rule, competition’s fierce for ‘em too. There’s been other interested parties before yerselves, like, but no-one’s ever actually made an offer, so somethin’ must be scarin’ them off, what?”, he chuckled.

Severus stepped forward and introduced himself, “Don’t believe in ghosts, personally”. Harry casually enquired how long the property had stood empty and the man, Heinrick, had to think a while. “Good long time, at least five years, possibly more. It’s a wonder it hasn’t sunk long before, with all that damage”. They parted amicably and Harry tugged Severus back inside again withdrawing his wand, “Stupid of me, and I was an Auror how long?” Severus frowned until Harry murmured something flicking his wand and the place began to change around them, the rotten wood was replaced by clean red beechwood, the floors pristine and all the floor-spaces clean and immaculate made of light oak and polished to a dull shine. The roof was equally sound and now there were no signs of the straggly roots pushing through. There was no furniture, but the units in kitchen and bathroom were modern, muggle and pretty clean, just a thin layer of dust over everything and the crackle of a keep-clean charm bespoke of the magical preservation methods in use.

Severus was stunned at the transformation. He wasn’t that skilled a magic-reader but his affianced had been one of the best with many years training and in the field. Harry giggled like a schoolkid, “Now, what kind of a total bargain do we have here?” Severus beamed but could still feel foreboding in his gut, “Why would such a beautiful magical property be being sold off in the muggle realm ands without a hope in hell of moving it in the state it’s in, not to mention the story of ghosts”.

Harry was going around the place in detail, “There was a ghost here, until relatively recently, so that guy next door was right, but I’m only picking up an imprint from at the closest, three years or so ago. You know about magical delay, so the spirit either found peace or was exorcised or something. Woman, too, young, by my reading, a bit tragic, but then most of them are, but nope, no visitations any more”.

He continued, “As to selling it off, suppose it belonged to a solitary witch or wizard from a muggle family who can’t really be bothered with the place. Maybe we need to look it up or something. I know you can in England. Oh, let’s, we could use it as a summer house, rent it to friends, that sort of thing or it can be our little hideaway when we want a dirty weekend in the clubs”. Severus smiled at his lover’s eagerness, “Well, let’s check it out first, check it has no dark history or anything”. Harry swatted his arm, “I’ve already dowsed for dark magic, loony, it was my job, but, yes, a trip to the Dutch equivalent of the Land Registry won’t hurt”. With that, they locked up and deposited the key back at the agent’s not budging over the price.

Within twenty-four hours, the mystery vendors had accepted their offer and the wheels were set in motion. They were granted a look at the details held on file then contacted Hermione to find out as much as she could about the past owners. Harry took Severus out to celebrate that night. Severus silently rolled his eyes, Harry may not spend much on himself, but when he decided to, he splurged. They started with dinner in the poshest restaurant they could find at short notice then staggered back to the houseboat that they rented and changed into clubwear and took a taxi back into town and hit the pervy clubs both dressed in tight leather pants and t-shirts with biker jackets thrown over the top. Severus donned his boots but Harry was happy in designer flat trainers.

They got extremely drunk and stoned as they lurched laughing from one place to another eventually giving the punters a water show in a sleazy dive that they found themselves in to the hoots and catcalls from the other punters after which they were bought drinks and propositioned plentifully, the others backing off when they revealed they were committed but were voyeurs, and now, it seemed, exhibitionists. As they climbed into a cab, someone pushed a matchbook into Harry’s jacket pocket as they left, “You guys are welcome back any time. Nice show. It’s a good scene here, and a little fresh blood is always welcomed”. Harry thanked him blearily as the cab took off.

Harry leaned on Severus as the cab took them ‘home’ and Severus put his arm around Harry, kissing his sweaty hair, “All right, lover, let’s buy that place, the houseboat”. Harry perked up from near sleep, “Yes? You mean that?” Severus chuckled, “It’s your money, love. Yes, I’d like to come back here many times, if not to live, then to enjoy the debauched night life with you”. Harry reached up for a kiss and that settled it.

Within days, the place was theirs and they let themselves in again with glasses and champagne and blankets and cushions shrunk about their persons and christened the place properly, staying the whole night in the cold empty place but neither cared. This was the first true static home that Harry had ever really owned. Severus had had a house in the north of England but had sold it to sink the proceeds into the shop as he and Remus had been setting up, but this was his first jointly-owned home with anybody and the thought exhilarated him. The deeds were in both of their names and they celebrated all night long with champagne and nibbles on a thick conjured rug in front of a magical fire to keep out the early spring chill and made love into the dawn.

Harry took a wobbly video of the place in magically enhanced mode and sent it to Hermione the next day to hear his phone trill moments after pressing ‘send’ and closing the connection, “Oh, wow, a houseboat. How fab”, she went quiet and Harry could hear the faint sound of her talking to someone in the background and she came back on the line, “Me ‘n’ Gin’s planning a girlie weekend the week after next, can we come over and see you?” Harry was surprised but turned and asked Severus who shrugged, “Why ever not. It could be a lot of fun without their doltish husbands along”. Harry swatted him and went back to Hermione, “Yes, why not. Bell me when you know what flight you’re on and we’ll come and pick you up at Schipol. We won’t have the houseboat ready yet but we’re renting another nearby and if you want we’ll find you ladies accommodation near here if you like”. They both heard the shriek of delight at the other end and the date was set.

In truth, Severus was very much looking forward to seeing the girls again. Of all Harry’s friends, he preferred these two. Hermione was so smart but Ginny wasn’t behind the door either and had taken on his old mantle of Potions professor at Hogwarts and was doing a very creditable job if reports that reached him were to be believed. He was secretly proud. Out of the whole passel of Weasleys that he had taught, ranging from passable to the merely indifferent, Ginny had shone and had exhibited an actual passion for his craft. Of all the students that he had ever felt he had done an injustice to by leaving so precipitously after the War was over, Ginny came immediately to mind and some part of him was sorry that he hadn’t stayed to see her through her NEWTs but she had done well in spite of his absence and had joshed him over it many times since, as she had become a special friend of Remus’ over the years and himself by extension with her dry wit and humour that reminded him of a less cynical himself.

And so it was. Harry fixed the sofa in the centre of Bessie and they set forth to pick Hermione and Ginny up at the appointed time. The girls were a bit giggly as one of their fellow passengers on the flight over had insisted on treating them to champagne, which, knowing these two, Harry knew, they were hardly likely to refuse. They staggered and hiccoughed and laughed as the men bundled them in and helped them strap in, then they were off again back to the city centre.

Harry kept flicking his eyes to the rear view mirror, his eyes widened at one point and Severus caught the gesture. He reached over and touched Harry’s arm. Harry flashed him a smile and jerked his head over his shoulder, “Get a load of that”, he murmured. Severus turned in his seat and saw..... Ginny with Hermione laid out across her lap and both indulging in some serious tonsil tennis. Severus turned to the front again making a show of fanning himself. Harry caught the gesture and laughed. They cast each other quizzical, gossipy glances and smirks. “Whoa”, Harry breathed, “How long’s this been going on?” Severus just raised his brows and shrugged, “Not a sign of it at Christmas”, he murmured. They faced front for the rest of the journey.

The girls pled tiredness that night, so Harry dropped them off at the hotel they had booked with the promise for one of them to call him in the morning and they would get together and do something. As Harry saw them both off, his wave was ignored by the smouldering looks the ladies were giving each other as they waved goodbye and staggered into the lobby dragging their cases behind them with one hand and holding each other up with the other.

Harry chuckled as he drew away, “Well, that’s a turn-up for the books. In the light of that, where are we gonna take ‘em, Sev?” Severus was taking a little time to digest this new knowledge. “You know, I’d really love it if those two got together”, he mused, “I think they are far better suited than their current spouses”. Harry snorted, “Come on, Sev, it’s just ‘cos you’re not keen on their men”. Severus shook his head, “Well, there is that, I suppose, but it’s more to do with their intelligence and their brains and so forth, I can’t help thinking that those two would make an excellent match, one of equals, fiery and independent. Oh, well, I suppose they love their dolts, but in that case, why are they sneaking off to be together? I mean to question them this weekend”.

Harry rolled his eyes, “Oh, god, they won’t know what’s hit them”. Severus smirked, “Behave yourself, Harry, they put that little display on for a reason and I mean to find out why”. Harry grinned as he pulled up before their accommodation, “I’m sure you will, lover, I’m sure you will”, as he was unceremoniously dragged from Bessie’s cab across the gangplank, through the door and slammed against it as wood hit hole, a very rampant Severus pressing him against it. Just as their mouths were smashed together, Harry managed to ask, “Whoa, have the girlies turned you on this much.....?”, before he was silenced by his lover’s questing tongue.

The next morning they were enjoying a luxurious afterglow after some hectic and impassioned early morning loving when a timid tap sounded on the door accompanied with giggles and the memories flooded Harry of picking up his two ‘sisters’ who suddenly seemed to be romancing each other. Harry left Severus in bed, all drowsy and flushed, climbed into jeans and went to the door.

Sure enough, Hermione and Ginny stood there looking thoroughly debauched and guilty as hell, grinning their heads off and Harry invited them in, dressed as he was in just his low-rider jeans and bare feet and messed up bed hair. The place reeked of recent sex and Hermione took a deep breath as she crossed the threshold. Harry glanced at her and wondered whether to be worried or not but shrugged as he welcomed them in with a kiss and proceeded to do the host thing and set coffee on to heat.

The three were lounging around the table feasting on Pilsbury croissants when Severus made an appearance wrapped in his gown and yawning his head off. He greeted the ladies and planted a kiss in Harry’s hair before snagging himself a croissant and sitting close beside Harry. “So, girls, what’s with this new intimacy?” Severus fixed them with a gaze full of black fire. Harry tried not to snigger at his fiance’s directness but kept his face as impassive as possible. Hermione swallowed hard and her and Ginny exchanged a look, “Our hubbys know all about it. They won’t ‘share’ and ‘Mione and I do. Is that explanation enough?” Ginny blurted.

Harry grinned and held his hands up. Palms out, “Whoa, whatever floats ya boat”. Hermione giggled, “Gin and I have these girlie weekends from time to time, done so for years. When the Hubs are present, we do nothing, but when we’re away from them, anything goes, so long as we come back in one piece and leave no permanent marks. This gives us a lot of leeway”, she was laughing hard.

The two men joined in, “Whoa, you pair of trollops. So, what do you plan on doing in this fine city while you’re here?” Harry ventured to enquire. Hermione giggled, “Well, the choice was between here and Paris this weekend and when you rang, it decided itself. There’s a dyke fetish night here at this club that we fancy going to but apart from that we have no plans although I would love to see the Anne Frank Huis while I’m here. Genocide is not a magical prerogative as I’m sure you both realise from the studies that you did into muggle history in the light of learning about de Santos”.

The sudden sombre mood threw Severus but Harry weathered the abrupt change in her direction and just nodded. “There’s always such a big queue”, he offered lamely but Hermione would brook no excuses. “We need to get an idea of what these evil bastards want to do to less than pure born magicals. Get dressed the pair of you, let’s try again”.

So they did. They were relatively early and the queue was short. The tour took them through the factory then to that bookcase that swung aside that revealed those stairs and they all climbed as the tour guide instructed, “These stairs were detected by the person that betrayed them, this photo was from the SS’s records after the whole family were arrested and deported to Auschwitz”, a simple photo, still and unmoving of a bookcase pulled back, stairs behind it. No people depicted but it wasn’t hard to discern the implications for the frightened people in hiding.

Severus could imagine for a moment, the families in a panic as they were found, desperately trying to save whatever they could before they were dragged out of the tiny space that they had lived in for years and loaded onto the death trains, herded into cattle cars and transported for days without even a toilet save a single bucket, maybe seventy people standing crushed together in a single carriage, no windows, no air, no water, no food, people taking it in turns to lie down in the increasingly piss-soaked straw on the floor of the carriage until they arrived at a place with no hope for any of them. Anne Frank had died of Typhoid fever mere days before the liberation.

It was an epiphany for him as they emerged into the early spring sunshine in search of sustenance and he leaned heavily on Harry. The whole nature of genocide had been brought home to him in that simple tale of a muggle family trying to stay alive whatever it took, giving up the family business, going into hiding, hearing your business do well despite you at the helm, then the capture, the hellish journey, the screaming of orders at the other end, the rough divisions, the ones who would live for now in inhuman conditions and those who would die immediately. The father lived. His two daughters dead.

As they exited the building, Severus apologised to the ladies and collapsed on Harry’s shoulder, weeping. Harry held him tight, “Now you know what he wanted to do to us all, Sev. That ruthlessly, without discrimination save that of blood. We couldn’t let that happen. This guy Hitler exterminated twelve million people, Sev. That’s how easily it can get out of control. Just set neighbour against neighbour. It was worse than anything Voldemort did but only in scale, not in intent. This is what he meant to do, if he had his own way, kill the half-born, the muggle-born, the gays, the folk in the psychiatric wards at St Mungo’s, folks like Nev’s mum and dad who are back with us now”, he shut up and just held his man who had been deeply affected by the exhibits as had Ginny, another pureblood, who finally understood the principles behind genocide and what wiping out a whole people or section of a people actually meant.

They shuffled off down the street then got into a four-way huddle all holding tight. When they could cope with it, Harry took them all to a fine pancake house where they ate handsomely before Harry led them to the only known gay Holocaust memorial, the stepped triangle of pink granite that jutted into one of the canals, “This is the only memorial that we know of that celebrates the other folk that died in the Holocaust that weren’t Jews, that is half of the people , six million that were exterminated, the mentally ill and physically disabled, the Gypsies, queers like me and Sev, the others, the unsung, the unrecorded. The Jewish holocaust was truly evil, the attempt to wipe out a whole people can never be glossed over and nor would I attempt to, but my interest lies with the rest of us, particularly the queers”.

He sighed as he was gathered to a warm strong chest and held tight by his beloved. This site meant so much to them after reading as much history as they had. All four sat there and meditated on mass death and annihilation A heavy subject but worth thinking on. Harry’s parents and Severus born in the post War baby boom but his own parents had remembered. The number of magicals incinerated as part of the Nazis masterplan, except those who toadied, the so-called pure of blood that shared his agenda, some of whom ended up as Voldemort’s advisers and confidants as Voldemort reconvened his Death-Eaters in the Fifties, the memories fresh for everyone.

They sat quietly thinking on all of this and watching the traffic on the canal. Hermione broke the silence, “We think we’ve got a lead on the guy that approached you two in Germany after you sent up the distress signal. He’s a low-ranking Death-Eater. Voldie didn’t send this one out on missions much, he was more of an intel gatherer but if he’s joined up with de Santos, things look bleak. The intelligence we have on him has him involved in all sorts of dodgy dealings. It would seem as if Ms de Santos has more on her plate than you ever did, Harry”.

“I put us in a great deal of danger, then?” Severus hung his head to Harry’s shoulder. Harry told them, “We lost them before we arrived in Holland, thanks to you and Ron”, he explained. Hermione’s brow puckered, “Just you two be careful, there’s still a price on your heads. We lost all trace of Nott after the report you filed from Athens I’m afraid. He was probably registered in a false name or something. It wasn’t due to any incompetence”, she exclaimed sharply as she spotted Severus rolling his eyes, “So you can stop that right away. I saw to it personally and I got access to many Muggle databases that you pure magical types wouldn’t have known the first thing about. I really dug for this guy but it’s like he’s completely disappeared since the Final Battle. I even checked to see if he’s taken on any of the other victims’ identities or something and drew a blank. He’ll probably turn up again somewhere, particularly as he wears both Marks”, she sighed resignedly.

She turned to Severus facing him head-on, “How quickly after you sent up the SOS did they appear?” Harry shrugged, “Not long, not long at all, though I can’t remember exactly. I think we had about enough time to make a quick brew and we were miles from anywhere.....oh, bugger, we were being tailed already weren’t we?” Hermione nodded, “Your passports are in your real names, aren’t they? It’s possible that you were picked up as you crossed the border, long before you were in trouble. Did Bessie look tampered with as you repaired her?”

Harry was startled by this line of enquiry and said so, “But, no, her steering was just worn out and I’ve been driving her hard. She’s covered a lot of miles since we came out here but the damage was all wear and tear and everything else is fine on her. She is protected you know, with anti-tamper spells. I was an Auror for years if you remember?”, he shot her a cheeky grin.

She winced and returned the grin, “Sorry, Harry, teach me granny to suck eggs, why don’t I?”, she piped down. Severus and Ginny exchanged a look and Harry laughed, “Old muggle saying about teaching someone who knows better than you do”, which, of course, cleared it up not at all.

As the day was aging they finally took the girls to show them the new houseboat. They had decided to leave the haunted delapidated muggle face on view to discourage vandals and the like but they watched the girls’ faces as it was transformed with a simple ‘reveal’ spell inside. Hermione clapped her hands, “Oh, wow”, was her only comment as her eyes travelled over the rich woods. “My thoughts on the matter exactly and we got it for a song, comparatively speaking. It might be a while before we can devote any real time to it, though”, Harry murmured as he showed his ‘sisters’ around.

Ginny poked around the galley and declared it ‘wonderful’, Hermione ‘bagsied’ the other bedroom for her and her amour, “This’ll be ours for a bit, that is, if you two don’t mind?” The owners looked at her then at each other and shrugged, “Leave the hotel and come and stay here then”. The ladies called a taxi and were back with their gear in under an hour.

There was only one bathroom on board and Harry was glad that his two sisters weren’t too fussy as they washed in the kitchen sink as he and his fiance hogged the bathroom, splashing about in the shower and making most un-bath-like sounds until Hermione called out, “Silencing charms chaps!” and the sounds stopped dead behind the door as the crackle of charms erased all noise.

They were all going out together to start with but the girls had other plans for the rest of the night, neither of them had ever been to Amsterdam before and were determined to enjoy the place to the full. They saw the boys emerge from their room, all shower-damp hair and dressed in their leathers. They were roundly wolf-whistled and the ladies’ brows rose in surprise to see their ex-teacher attired thus. They thought the ‘boys’ looked hot as hell in their get-ups but the men whistled just as appreciatively at the ladies’ outfits.

Which were extremely skimpy, just strips of shiny vinyl covering the obvious bits. Hermione’s ensemble was topped by a leather collar to which Ginny attached a leash while the men watched. Hermione blushed a serious pink but still smiled shyly at her friends, “You see, the Hubsters won’t go near this sort of thing, too stick-in-the-mud the pair of them, and when Gin and I escape we indulge ourselves like this, I told you we intended to do a fetish night while we were here. Are we too skinnily dressed to be seen with you two butch boys?”

Harry grinned, reddening slightly, “Whoa, ladies, maybe you could do with a coat or something. It’s a bit cold out. As to ‘butch’, don’t you dare, sister! I’m a nellie and proud of it. Don’t let the leather fool you”. Severus leaned over and kissed Harry, not in the least bothered if the ladies saw his tongue enter Harry’s mouth. Harry emerged from it breathing rapidly, his beautiful green eyes dilating with lust. Severus smirked from one side of his mouth, “Maybe I should have you on a leash, my Harry”, that made the girls giggle and Ginny suggested, “Maybe you should, Severus, show him who’s boss”.

Severus let the smirk grow into a smile, “Actually, I’m not sure if there is a ‘boss’ in this relationship”, but Harry was making ‘sweet uke’ eyes at him and the ladies weren’t fooled for a moment. Harry was definitely the ‘bottom’ here and made it fairly obvious.

In the taxi into town, Ginny whispered to her girlfriend, “I know Remus was the ‘top’ with Severus but I think that Severus is a natural ‘top’ and with Harry he has met his natural other half”. Hermione giggled, “I know Harry had to top Draco most of the time, a more effete ‘bottom’ you never found than Draco bloody Malfoy. They were always all wrong for each other but somehow it worked for all four of them though now I’m not surprised they ‘shared’, and I think you got that quilt thing just right, girlie”. Severus leaned over from the front seat, demanding what the ladies were giggling about but they just sniggered and shut up at his dark glare, Hermione blowing him a kiss and stating, “That’s for us to know and you to wonder at, Severus Snape”, then pulled her tongue out at him.

They trawled a few bars and got quite drunk before they parted ways, Harry quickly and wandlessly configured the girls a key for the houseboat before they parted, “See you back at the ranch ladies, enjoy your night”, they all air-kissed and separated.

Harry wanted to go dancing first and they stepped into a lively man-only club for an hour or so until the volume of the music was giving Severus a headache before moving on. They had planned on finding the exhibitionist club instead but the night was mild so they walked around for hours just taking in the sights, sounds and smells.

Harry scored them some of the hand-pressed ‘Dutch Pollum’ hash and they shared a bong or two between them, mellowing them out of the mood for frantic clubbing. They dipped into a gay porn cinema instead, the scent of cum and sex all around them as they found seats.

As their eyes adjusted to the dimness, Harry found himself more interested in the other patrons than in the film playing out it’s cliches on the screen. The audience was far more interesting and they whispered between themselves at the action going on all around them.

Just along their row, a sweet young thing was blowing his older lover. Closer to the screen a man was bent over the seat in front as he was comprehensively fucked by his lover and they could see a pair of spread knees held high, a head tipped back, the man’s lover hidden from view as he was either sucked or rimmed, Harry would have laid odds on the latter.

He found his hand sneaking into Severus’ leather-clad lap seeking out the hardness he knew he would find. He wasn’t disappointed. He was pleased when he realised the seat arms lifted so he could give Severus his full attention and he felt rather than heard the groan from his man as he caressed him through his pants and fumbled to undo them, sliding off the seat to his knees between his dark lover’s spread thighs. Severus closed his eyes against the brightness emanating from the screen and let Harry have his way with him.

Having burst in Harry’s willing mouth, Severus slumped in his seat as Harry crawled back into his wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, then unsnapped the button on his own pants and lowered them to give himself some relief but was stopped by a glare from his lover. “Give me a moment, love of my life, and I will return the compliment”. Harry twisted frustratedly in his seat until Severus leaned over and took his throbbing, needy cock into his mouth and down into his throat in a single smooth swallow.

Past caring what noise he made, Harry pushed at the back of Severus’ head forcing him further down and tilted his own hips to stuff as much of his dick as he ould into Severus’ mouth, gasping and wriggling. He wanted more.....more.....gods he was close. He idly watched the action on the screen as he was sucked, three clean cut army type lads on a boat in the middle of nowhere enjoying each other. As the blond tipped the brunet over the gunwhale and took him, Harry exploded in Severus’ mouth with loud cries and long thrusts, gasping and panting as he came down. He wasn’t the only one making such a noise in the place. He was fervently kissed as Severus climbed back up beside him and kissed him with a mouthful of his own emission.

As the reel came to an end, they both snuck out into the night before the next film was shown. They kissed again in the entrance to the little cinema and wandered out into the night and the lively streets. They were at a loss as to what to do next and had a drink and a smoke at a dive bar catering to the leather crowd into which they were let in for free but the mood for public fucking had left them and they now felt tender towards each other.

Harry shyly suggested that a night before a fire and on the transfigured rug before it was infinitely preferable to remaining in the fleshpots beckoned to him and Severus grinned as he flung an arm around his fiance, “So, let’s go back then. We don’t have to do everything all at once, and, to be honest, the idea appeals to me too”, he tried and failed to stifle a yawn. Mindful of Harry’s weariness and his own, they called it a night and hailed a taxi to take them back to the houseboat.

Stoned and more than a bit drunk, they jostled each other playfully over the gangplank, unlocked the boat and staggered inside. “I’m going to get out of this constricting clothing. Leather might look sexy but it’s sweaty stuff to wear”, Severus huffed and went into their bedroom. Harry offered to assist but Severus hadn’t heard him so he set about lighting a small fire magically instead.

Feeling a bit warm himself, Harry simply ripped off all his clothes and passed a wandless cleaning spell over his body, transfigured the rug into something white and fluffy and sprawled in front of the fire and got busy with papers and grass. He was partway down the blunt and rested it atop an empty can for a while, laying back and listening to the shower and the crackle of wood in the grate, thinking of what was to come when they returned to England. There was a feeling of dread in his gut that he wasn’t sure about but he put it away for now, trying not to think about the whole de Santos issue. He let his eyes drift shut.

That was how Severus found him, splayed naked on what looked like sheepskin in front of the fire. Severus’ breath caught in his throat, his lover was beautiful and he looked to his heart’s content wearing nought but a slight smile full of wonder. Harry stirred slightly and rolled onto his side. Severus sighed, Harry was almost asleep and it wouldn’t do for the girls to see him like that, so Severus hefted him into his arms and lifted him bodily into the bedroom, laying him gently on their bed. It was when he rolled him towards him to kiss him that he noticed the runnels of wet on Harry’s face and frowned.

What did this mean? Was Harry upset? Was he just feeling a little maudlin at the thought of going back to England? Severus determined to find out in the morning and lay beside his lover holding him tight. Harry stirred against him and Severus could feel the damp lashes flutter against his cheek. He made reassuring sounds in Harry’s ear and Harry turned and held him violently hard, burying his face in Severus’ shoulder and sobbing against him. Puzzled as to what had sparked this, Severus merely held him in return and rocked him. “What is it, Mrs S? What has upset you so?”

Harry sniffled and wailed out something incomprehensible that made Severus realise he would get no sense from his lover while his face was mashed into his collarbone, so he released Harry just enough for a little air to appear between them, wiping the tears away with gentle fingers.

Sniffing loudly and wiping at his face with his knuckles, Harry mumbled, “I don’t want this to change, Sev. I don’t want us getting stuck back in Britain. There is nothing for me there. All I want is right here”. Severus soothed, “Hush, love, we will leave again, I promise. Is that what is worrying you so much?” Harry nodded slightly, “Yes, a bit....but...”, his voice lost confidence. Severus raised up on an elbow and asked Harry to open his eyes. “Come on, Mrs S, what’s wrong? Do you still want to do this? Marry me?”, his own voice sounded a little thin. “We can wait if you would prefer”.

“No. No. No!! I want this, I really do.....It’s just”, he sighed deeply, then blurted, “This is all so wonderful and I love you so much it almost hurts, I don’t want us to be trapped again. I can’t bear it if I have to go back to being the damned ‘boy-who-lived’, and I don’t want you to turn into your old hermit-like self again either. Life has changed. You are so loving and affectionate now. We haven’t even lost our tempers with each other. We have this balance now, and I don’t want all the baggage we once carried to fuck things up again, with me all bitter and resentful of the attention I get and you all grumpy and hiding away, I couldn’t stand that, Sev, I couldn’t take it.....”, and he broke down again.

Severus smiled slightly as he gathered Harry to him again, “I promise I won’t let myself get sucked into all that nonsense again, Harry. You are my one true love. You have melted my old heart and I have absolutely no intention of returning to my old ways. I love you to distraction and beyond and I really don’t give a damn who knows it nowadays. You are mine and I am yours and I, for one, cannot wait until we can say that before the whole wretched world, my love. I think as well, that we will have a lot of support from those that love you”.

“Us, Sev, us. People love you too, in case you hadn’t noticed. F’fuck’s sake, we even had my best mate and his lover lusting after the pair of us at Christmas, well, until they saw the dressing up that we do, but that’s not about me and you, that’s more about the kinky stuff, I think. You are loved now and not just by me, although if anyone tries it on with you, I’ll hex ‘em into next century”. Severus kissed his hair and laughed softly, “When I saw the tears, Harry, my heart sank. I thought you were having a change of heart. Please don’t do that, I’m not sure I could stand it”. Harry smiled wetly and apologised for his paranoia, “We’ll get out again, lover, promise, just as soon as the ceremony’s over. We’ll have a proper honeymoon, get right away again. I love you, my husband-to-be, I really, really love you”. They held each other and murmured their love until sleep stole over them. They were oblivious by the time the ladies returned.

****

Said ladies were in a bit of a state the next morning as they emerged blearily from the spare bedroom. Ginny wolfed down some food then took a hangover potion to a grateful Hermione who winced at it’s foul taste but kept it down. They all took it easy that day then went back into town that night for dinner. Harry treated them all to Moroccan cuisine that night and the girls were compos mentis enough to relate tales of their night out that made the mens’ brows raise and them all laugh.

The next morning, Harry and Severus ran them back to the airport and they all hugged and kissed and the men waved them onto their plane. They were to follow barely a week later.

As for themselves, they had a week of culture and art interspersed with seamier entertainments until it was time for them to pack up and leave their new home and head back to England. They had a week before they were booked onto the return Eurostar as the weather was rough and neither of them fancied an eight hour ferry crossing so they drove back into France via Belgium. Little did either of them realise, they would never actually see the houseboat again.

Their hearts were heavy as they drove onto the train that would carry them back under the English Channel, and neither were surprised to see that it was raining on the English side when they drove off and into the Kent countryside, joining the queues of traffic heading for the metropolis. The mood was a tad glum aboard Bessie despite the fact that they were to be married in less than a month’s time. They pulled into the driveway of the Granger-Longbottom house in the dead of night. The house was dark and neither felt like rousing their friends or the children, home from school for the Easter holidays. Harry looked up at the dark house, the closed curtains, the sheets of spring rain and sighed, “Well, lover, we’re back. Let’s hope it’s not for too long”, and killed the engine.

Bessie ticked as her engine cooled and Severus led his exhausted beloved to the rear and their bed. He held his sleeping man close but was unable to doze off himself, his mind awhirl, “Bloody hell, Harry, love, I hope you are right. I hope you’re right”, he murmured into the thick thatch of hair. He let sleep claim him eventually as the dawn was rising, grey and misty.

END OF BOOK ONE


What do you think so far? Please, please review.

In Book 2 they journey to the far side of the world where adventure beckons,the plot thickens abd Harry and Severus' involvement is far from over......

see you next time and thanks so much for reading.

The Squig xx