The After Effect

Author\'s Note: See I do update... Every now and again... Okay so it\'s been forever, but hey it\'s here!



For those who have noticed a few of my stories go missing... I have too don\'t know why or how but yeah they are gone. I\'ll figure out where I hid them and add them up again.



Word Count: 2,492

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His breath was in his throat as he walked down the stage. The room was mostly dark, except for a few lights that allowed him to see. He stood nervously waiting for Hermione to come get him; she said that she would be here after his ‘debut show.’ He had no idea why it was so important but Hermione said that everyone had to do one, something about showing off his skills or some nonsense. He had been too nervous to really listen. He twisted his fingers in the soft silky fabric. Shifting from one foot to the next he waited for Hermione to hurry up.



Finally he saw the brown haired woman walking towards him. She moved with determined steps in a straight line towards him. When she was finally in front of him a smile spread across her face. “You were fantastic.”



Harry smiled up at her in response.



She touched his arm gently “Ready?” He nodded although not quite as enthusiastic as nervous. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a long black silk blindfold and motioned for Harry to turn around.



“What?” When Hermione raised an eyebrow at him he quickly added “Ma’am, could you please tell me what’s going on?” He was in a strange place and Hermione wanted to put a blindfold on him? She had to be joking.



“Do you trust me?” Harry nodded “Then turn around.”



A big woosh of air left Harry in what could have been called a deep sigh, slowly he turned around and screwed his eyes shut. He wasn’t going to enjoy this. The soft black cloth slid over his eyes and was tied gently but securely. “Can you see?”



“Not even if a tired.” He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that they were haughty but he couldn’t help it. He knew he couldn’t see well but that was far from not being able to see at all. On top of that Hermione was his friend not his Dom and even though he loved and trusted her, this involved a different kind of trust. He felt vulnerable.



A smack hit his ass, it wasn’t horrible but it had a good sting to it. A blush came across his face, “Sorry Ma’am.”



“It’s alright, now we are going to go to the table and you are going to meet somebody that not only is important to all of us but is also important to you. You have talked a few times with him and I know that you trust him very deeply, even if you don’t know exactly who he might be.”



Excitement grew in Harry; this was it he was finally going to meet the man he had fantasized about for a month. It sunk in just now that he hadn’t spoken to the man in two weeks. What if he no longer wanted to meet Harry? What if he was disappointed in what he saw? He thought back to his dance and embarrassment rushed through him like a heard of cattle. He was going to be sick.



Hermione looked at him carefully, she could see his emotions clear as day flit across his face. She knew he was dealing with his insecurities. Gently she placed her hands on either side of his face and stepped close to him. “Listen to me, you are fine. There is nobody here that doesn’t want to see you more then Him. He thought your dance was a little, how should I say, more then appealing.



Harry smiled at Hermione. He trust her, if she said it was going to be fine then it was. He nodded to her that he was ready to go.



He felt her gently kiss his forehead and then grab his hand. She moved him through the room with efficiency a few people nodded and greeted her but besides greeting them back she didn’t say anything.



It was while they were walking that Harry figured out what the blindfold was for. It was so He could see Harry before Harry could see Him. He felt the nervous butterflies in his stomach returning. He checked his glamours to make sure there was no cracks or the annoying tell-tell shimmer from one being badly placed. They were perfect as far as he could tell without actually seeing himself.



Slowly he heard the familiar voices of Remus, Draco, and Neville. He listened carefully and could hear Ron and Blaise talking in a more hushed manner in their own conversation.



When they stopped, his breath stopped. Harry knew that he was standing in front of the table, which meant he was standing in front of Him. His heart felt like it was ready to burst forth from his chest, when he took down Voldemort he didn’t this he was this nervous. In fact he knew he wasn’t. For some reason this felt far more personal, far more important.



Hermione moved Harry to a chair and then sat down in the one next to it.



Once Harry was seated Hermione spoke. “Harry, we are going to play a game. You get to ask three questions about Him and then I will answer them for Him.” Everyone’s conversations stopped at the table, Harry could feel their eyes on him.



Harry’s eyebrows drew together in confusion; he wanted to ask why but as soon as the question came to his mind he knew the answer. His voice would give Him away. He turned his head to Hermione and nodded his acceptance.



“Ask your first question.”



“Where we ever in Hogwarts together?”



There was a pause and then a firm “Yes.”



Harry paused and thought, they were in Hogwarts together which meant he could be a teacher or a student. Carefully he reached out with his senses and magick, he could smell Hermione’s shampoo along which feeling her familiar magick. Next was the wild wolf in Remus that he smelt. He turned identifying everyone at the table with feel of his magick and smell. Last was this deep dark rich smell that reminded him of pure coco it was dark, bitter, and rich; his magick matched his smell. He knew he knew this man. “Were we ever in Headquarters together?”



“Yes.”



He thought of the people in the Order and one by one he checked them off. Dead, married, or family went with almost every name. With only a few names left he went on matching this smell and the magick with them; he excluded everyone, except one. The name he had been holding off on but he knew it, he knew that smell, he had spent a good part of his life watching him, of being taught by him, being saved by him. Before the fall of Voldemort crushes had never really entered into the equation and of course back then his sexuality was to confused to even really admit to himself that upon being a ‘freak’, ‘The Boy Who Lived’ that he was also gay. It had taken him till after the war to realize it. But now looking back on it he knew he spent more time watching him then he needed too and was all but obsessed with him. He had chalked it up to being suspicious but now he realized it was more because he couldn’t admit his feelings, even to himself.



Realizing he was taking to much time in his thoughts and that he had one question left still to ask he turned his mind to that. One question and he already knew who it was. “Why was it so important for everyone to hide who you were, Sir?”



There was shocked quiet that fallowed. He could feel Hermione trying to find the right words to answer. And then that silky smooth voice answered instead “That impertinent witch you call a friend was worried that you wouldn’t like who I was. So she came up with this hair-brained scheme worthy of any Gryffindor.”



“Oi! I’m your friend too!” Came the outraged response and Severus gave a dignified snort in response. “I didn’t want your animosity towards him when you were in school to cloud your thinking.” She reached behind him and took of the blindfold. “I knew some part of you liked him in school, it had to. You were always fallowing him around and were so obsessed over him. Almost how I was about Blaise in our last year. I was what I saw in myself in you.”



Harry blinked a few times trying to relieve the fogginess out of his eyes now that he was able to see again. Quietly he held out his hand for his glasses, which Hermione placed in his hand gently. Pushing them up his nose he looked at Hermione not yet ready to look at Him. “It’s true, I did like him. If you had told me though I probably would have freaked out and hexed you.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “I didn’t know that I had a crush on him. I was in denial. So I figured these feelings had to be mistrust since they couldn’t be anything else. I realize that now.”



Slowly he turned his eyes towards the man who had been stalking his dreams in the costume of SirAlexander. His jet black hair was pulled back in a thong at the base of his neck but a few lengths of hair fell around his face. He looked regal sitting there letting him take his fill. His eyes moved to his forehead seeing the lines from deep concentration. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. He skirted his eyes from Severus’s not yet ready to look him in the eye. Looking at his nose he let his eyes fallow it’s curve. His skin had more colour to it, it didn’t look sallow anymore just pale. His cheeks had filled out as did the rest of him but he was definitely still incredibly thin. Harry likened him to archaic beauty, all deep lines and mystery.



Severus took in Harry as he knew the man was taking him in. It had been years since the last time he saw the man and he was not ever going to miss the opportunity to look at him again. He looked from those dark emerald eyes that were so much like his mother’s but not. It was true, they were the same colour but the light was different. Lily’s hadn’t burned with the fire and passion that so clearly ruled Harry.



Severus was drawn like a moth to a flame. There was fire in Sevrus that wanted to consume the man in front of him. He knew he was dark and that there would be a time he would have to tell Harry, if the man even agreed to go down this long road with him. But for right now he let Harry look at him the man. Being with him didn’t mean just being his companion it meant forever, but for the moment he would let himself be a man and let Harry look at him as such.



Finally he was torn away from his musings by the quiet breathless voice of the sub in front of him. “Sir.”



Harry knew how his voiced probably sounded but he couldn’t help it. It felt as if the feelings he had felt from school were now muddled in with the feelings he felt from a man he had only ever met over the Interfloo. Somehow they come together in this overwhelming blob that he couldn’t distinguish. When he finally looked into Severus’s eyes he could feel something that he couldn’t feel when he looked at any other wizard. Not able to identify it he pushed it away and put it down to this intense feeling of attraction.



Looking at Harry he spoke quietly. “I feel we have a lot to discuss sub.”



Harry couldn’t stop the visible shiver that went down his spine. He loved that voice it made him tingle down to his toes. He nodded not sure what to say and wet his dry lips.



Severus crossed his arms across his chest tapping his finger against his arm. “Do you wish for us to pursue this?”



Harry nodded again.



“When I asked you a question you will answer vocally? Is that understood?” Although he had not raised his voice he could feel the power in those words.



“Yes Sir.” Harry’s fingers started rubbing the silk of his cloths between his fingers again.



“I want to be sure of the words coming from you. There will be no miscommunication. So, do you wish to pursue this?”



“Yes Sir.” Came the nervous reply.



A soft web of relief came through Severus but he knew that if he was going to be able to keep this boy he would have to lay all the cards on the table, and early.



“Then we will need to have a proper conversation. This is neither the time nor the place. I will pick you up tomorrow. Be ready at six.”





As soon as the words left Severus’s mouth the conversation picked up again. Harry had nearly forgotten about the people around him. He took a moment to look at them. Blaise was sitting on a pillow next to Hermione with his head against her knee and Ron was doing the same. He realized he was the only Sub sitting on a chair. Neville was even sitting in Draco’s lap his head tilted back and his eyes closed. He would have thought the man asleep if he didn’t notice the labored breath and the way Draco’s hand was moving under his shirt.



Harry could feel himself turn crimson.



When the night finished Remus and Ron took Harry back to his house. Severus had been staring at Harry all night with this smoldering look that made Harry blush down to his chest.



“Thank you so very much Remus.” He hugged the older man tightly.



Remus hugged him back holding him as Harry collected himself. He knew that man was probably overwhelmed now that he was home. He had felt the same way when he had finally found out Ron was his mate. It was like having the breath sucked out of you and then replaced again. “If you need anything just Floo okay?”



Harry nodded taking a step back and hugging Ron. “You will come over tomorrow and help me right? You know that I have no sense of fashion.”



“You know I have to ask that big guy but I am sure that he will say of course.”



As if on cue Remus spoke “Of course.”



“Thank you, thank you both!”



When he closed the door to his house he couldn’t help but lean back against the door and stare at his lonely apartment. He knew that feeling he felt a month ago was correct his life was changing. Hopefully for the better.