Getting Severus

Getting Severus
(August 21, 2004)

By brensgrrl

Warnings: Rated NC-17 (PWP; slash, threesome--HP/SS/RW

Summary: Ron\'s the sharing type. AU to my A NEW COUNTRY series of
stories.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to JKR and several large
multi-national corporations. The horribly thin storyline is mine.
Don\'t sue"”all my money goes to support an aspiring figure
skater. Flames will be used to light the \"Fire on Ice.\"

Archive: Part of Wave VI of the Harry/Severus Fuh-Q-Fest at
http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS/storyindex.htm

Challenge: Post-Hogwarts and Post-War; Rating R or NC-17. Also meets
the \"Matchmaker Ron\" challenge.

Beta: A heartfelt thanks goes to Chrysos, who gave this a most
intuitive and thorough beta. A thanks also goes to lorra l,
who bit back her revulsion for redheads to double-check this for
me.

Author\'s Note: Got sick and tired of playing with POVs in the three serious
HP/SS stories and the SS/RW story I\'m working on and decided to break
the \'spell\' by reading some crap. This plot bunny bit. Severus gets what
he deserves, the greedy bastard! This is HIS entire fault! Besides, one of
my reviewers asked for TOP!DOM!Ron, and here he is . . . Oh. . .and a tip
o\'the hat to composer Stephen Foster.


\"Let\'s get Severus.\"

Harry inclined toward his friend, straining to hear better over the happy
Friday night hubbub of the Howling Naga Inn, Glasgow\'s local hangout for
Aurors, Unspeakables and Hit Wizards. The tumult in the pub was
suddenly worsened when a howling arose from a crowded nearby
table.

~~~~~ Oh! Comrades, fill no glass for me
To drown my soul in liquid flame,
For if I drank, the toast should be
To blighted fortune, health and fame.
Yet, though I long to quell the strife,
That passion holds against my life,
Still, boon companions may ye be,
But comrades, fill no glass for me! ~~~~~


\"What did you say?\"


~~~~~ Then while the tear drops nightly steal
From wounded hearts that I should heal,
Though boon companions ye may be
Oh! Comrades, fill no glass for me! ~~~~~


\"I said,\" Ron leaned in so that their shoulders were touching, his breath
warm against Harry\'s ear, \"let\'s go get Severus!\"

\"I thought that\'s what you said,\" Harry put both his palms on the tabletop
and levered himself to his feet, \"and that means it\'s time for me to go
home. It\'s obvious that everyone here has had way too much to drink.\"
His tone was intentionally loud as he gestured toward Moody\'s table, where
two women from the Department of Mysteries had begun to giggle like
schoolgirls. Then he reached into his pocket, withdrew several galleons,
and slapped them down on the table. \"That should cover my share of the
tab. And, Ron"”take the floo"”you\'re not in any shape to use a broom . . .\"

Ron laughed and pulled Harry back down into his seat. \"I\'m not drunk,
Harry. I\'m serious. Come home with me.\"

\"No way, \" Harry said dryly, \"I happen to enjoy being alive. Can you see
the headlines now, \'Boy Who Lived to Defeat Voldemort Killed by Best
Friend\'s Death Eater Lover.\' Skeeter will cream her knickers! Besides, he\'s
your boyfriend. He doesn\'t\'t strike me as the sharing type. You are drunk
if you think I\'m going to help you to fuck up your thing.\"

\"Trust me, Harry. This will not fuck up my thing.\"

\"But you said, \'let\'s\' get him\',, implying that we both do it at the same
time. That\'s just plain wrong, Ron. \"

Ron gave Harry a look, a smile, unlike anything Harry had ever seen on his
friend\'s face before. The look was sly, predatory, feral, and sexy all at the
same time. Ron was leering at him!

\"You can\'t say it\'s wrong until you\'ve tried it,\" Ron answered teasingly.

\"So you\'ve done this sort of thing before.\" Harry gave Ron a level look as
he leaned back and folded his arms.

\"Not exactly.\"

\"Well that\'s all I need to know, then.\" Harry\'s hands met the tabletop as
he attempted to rise once again. \" Not one of your better ideas, Ron.\"

\"It\'s okay--you know me,\" Ron answered softly, taking his arm, \"I am the
sharing type, and that\'s all that matters. Severus won\'t do anything.
Trust me.\"

\"This guarantee is written where?\"

\"Look Harry, you know that you want to and I know that you want to. I
also know that you\'ve been thinking about it a long time.\"

\"I don\'t--I have not. . .\"

\"Yes you have.\" Ron sighed and folded his arms while looking at Harry
appraisingly. \" I\'ve seen the way you look at him when you think I\'m not
looking. You want to fuck Severus.\"

There was something alluring about the way those amber eyes held his.
Harry felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise and the blood leave his
head in a mad rush to nether regions. Since when could Ron make him
feel like this? Harry reddened, embarrassed, and stared resolutely at the
tabletop in front of him.

\"Why would I want to do that? I\'m not into men, Ron.\"

Ron unfolded his arms and reached over to fondle his empty beer glass, his
fingers moving in a rhythmic stroking pattern that Harry found at once
lascivious, unnerving and fascinating.

\"Liar,\" Ron breathed, his eyebrows lifting.

\"I can\'t possibly be. I have girlfriends.\" Harry gave Ron a hunted look.

\"Had one-nighters, you mean. How many has it been this month so far?\"
Ron met his eyes directly. \"Four? Six? Funny how all of them manage to
look the same, too. Must be hard to find so many witches who have that
sort of look.\"

Harry ducked his head, \"But I. . .\"

\"Need to admit some things to yourself.\"

\". . .\"

Harry\'s protest died unborn. He pondered for a moment, and then asked
falteringly, \"Well then, if I do go with you, what do you get out of it?\"

Ron smirked at him. \"The security of letting it happen under controlled
circumstances.\"

\"And. . .\"

Ron\'s only response was to stare at the glass he was playing with.

\"Hmm. And you called me a liar. . .\" Harry watched hectic spots of colour
form on Ron\'s cheeks.

\"Well, I\'ll just say that I\'m curious, okay. Besides, if you weren\'t my best
friend, I probably would have killed you by now for looking at him in the
first place.\" Ron rose, drawing Harry to his feet once more. \"But since I
love you, there\'s nothing for it except to let you have a go at him. So
c\'mon.\"

^^^^^^^^********^^^^^^^^

They apparated to a location just outside Hogsmeade and started to walk
to Hogwarts.

Ron\'s stillness as they made their way to the school was doing nothing to
settle Harry\'s nerves, and he hovered between anxious anticipation of what
might happen and wondering whether Ron would think him weak if he
changed his mind.

But Harry had lingered too long in mental dithering, for the gates of
Hogwarts suddenly loomed before them.

Despite the lateness of the hour, Ron easily passed all of the wards and
went straight to the chambers he now shared with Snape. When they had
arrived, he merely pressed his right palm against the stone at the side of
the door to gain entry. What happened then made it clear to Harry that
Snape did not notice that Ron was not alone. Harry watched, stunned, as
Snape abandoned his comfortable seat to drop gracefully to his knees in
front of Ron.

\"I didn\'t know you would be returning this evening.\" The silken voice was
soft and reverent, as the speaker knelt, his dark head bowed.

\"I have a guest,\" Ron answered, and Snape\'s head jerked up. \"Stand up,
Severus.\"

The Potions Master rose without speaking, his eyes locked to Harry\'s, his
lips curled in a smirk.

Severus was dressed in his usual unrelieved black, but the style was
unprecedented to Harry\'s eager eyes.

The soft shirt he wore was open to the waist, framing a wedge of cream-
pale skin, lightly dusted with fine dark hair. The shirt was tucked into
trousers of the same elegant material. His clothes were finely made and
tailored to accentuate his tall, slender frame without being tight. His
shining, dark hair, longer now, was caught back in a leather tie and his feet
were bare. He stood there, arms akimbo, simply waiting. Harry had
never dared to admit to himself that he was attracted to the professor, but
the vision before him was simply captivating. Even though he knew that
Severus belonged to Ron, Harry couldn\'t stop his eyes from sweeping the
length of his former teacher\'s body and back up again to meet the dark
eyes that were gazing just as avidly at him.

Then Ron gathered Severus into his arms and kissed him. The kiss was
long, slow and very heated, the press of their open mouths fusing them
from lips to thighs. As Ron reached one hand up to cup the back of
Severus\' head, his other stroked his back. Severus leaned fully into the
embrace, his arms wound about Ron\'s neck.

They were beautiful together, like smoke and fire, their deep affection for
each other evident in the twining of their bodies. As Harry watched,
mesmerized, arousal knifed through him, making him achingly hard. Deep
inside, he harboured the hope that someday, someone would love him like
that.

Ron broke the kiss and turned toward Harry, smiling, his lips swollen and
moist. He reached up and brushed Harry\'s cheek with the back of his
hand, his eyes drifting to Harry\'s lips. Harry shuddered nervously and
closed his eyes, uncertain of himself; but heat and tingles were racing
through him at Ron\'s touch and he was unable to pull away. Ron\'s other
hand snaked about Harry\'s waist and the distance closed between them.
A thrum of pleasure lanced through him as Ron\'s lips met his.

Ron\'s mouth tasted rather pleasantly of stout and cinnamon and something
else, and he smelled wonderfully of citrus and a soft male muskiness that
was uniquely Ron. Harry yielded to the gently probing tongue and fell into
that kiss, completely dazed with the thought that his friend was kissing
him, his body slamming urgently against Ron\'s.

\"Hmmm,\" Ron murmured into his mouth, brushing his stubbled cheek
against Harry\'s, \"I\'ve wanted to do that for so long.\" He sighed
contentedly and his hands skated down Harry\'s back to gently squeeze
Harry\'s buttocks and pull his hips against an answering hardness. Just as
Harry was registering Ron\'s arousal, his lips were taken once more.

This time, the kiss was harder, more demanding. When Ron finally pulled
away from him, Harry felt light-headed and languorous.

\"Bloody brilliant, that was, \" Ron breathed as the kiss ended.

He took Harry\'s hand and drew him toward Severus.

\"But this is what you really wanted, isn\'t it? This is what you came here
for. . .\"

Then, when they were face to face, he pushed Harry into Severus\' arms.

\"Kiss him.\"

Without hesitation, Severus plucked the glasses from Harry\'s face and set
them aside on a nearby table. For a moment, his dark, fathomless eyes
searched Harry\'s, seeming to seek permission, his smirk having given way
to a little smile. Harry gave a slight nod and then he was being kissed yet
again. Harry\'s eyes fluttered closed as his whole being focused on the
sweet pressure of Severus\' lips, his arms instinctively lifting to embrace his
former teacher.

Severus drew Harry\'s lower lip into his mouth and sucked gently until
Harry\'s mouth flowered open completely to the kiss. Severus\' mouth
claimed Harry\'s totally then, all hunger and longing, his tongue penetrating
and exploring. Harry\'s last barrier broke as he surrendered to the sorcery
of Severus\' mouth.

A still small something inside Harry kept telling him that this was wrong"”that
wanting his friend\'s lover wasn\'t right, but Severus\' kiss was a Siren\'s call to his
heart. Oh yes, he wanted this man. Yes.

Teasingly, Severus ground his hips against Harry\'s as the kiss continued.
Harry could feel the rigid line of Severus\' erection thrusting insistently
against his belly, and desire emboldened him to reach down between their
bodies to fondle it through the soft material of the trousers.

Harry moved his fingers in a slow tentative caress, and Severus responded
with a moan and pushed his hips forward against Harry\'s hand. Harry
smiled, breaking the kiss. He locked his eyes to Severus\' and stroked a
little harder, running his fingers from head to base, and was rewarded with
a hissing gasp. Just when Harry was beginning to feel in control of the
situation, he felt hands turn him around, pulling him out of Severus\'
embrace.

Ron was looking at both of them with greedy eyes.

\"I think we should continue this in the bedroom.\"

On a half turn, Ron seized both of Severus\' wrists in one large hand and
pulled his lover toward huge double doors at the rear of the sitting room.
Harry followed, more than a little amazed and intrigued by Snape\'s
unusually silent demeanor and his willing acceptance of Ron\'s brash
treatment.

Once through the doors Harry found himself in a large, simply decorated
hexagonal room that was at once stark yet elegant.

Heavy tapestries with medieval scenes, obviously from the time of Salazar
himself, covered two of the walls that flanked the fireplace, which was
blazing with a low warming fire. Facing the fireplace, on a large carpet
bearing the crest of House Slytherin, stood a black leather sofa flanked by
two armchairs, one of them fronted by an overstuffed hassock that Harry
distinctly remembered seeing at the Burrow. The fireplace mantel was
graced with an eclectic collection of objects; a snitch and a quaffle, a
wizarding chessboard, potion vials full of Merlin knew what, a statue of a
dancing nymph that periodically shifted from foot to alabaster foot in an
effort to gracefully balance the weight of the Order of Merlin First Class
that had been draped over her tiny shoulder. By the side of the tapestry
on the left was a simple floor-to-ceiling oak bookcase, filled from base to
top with volumes. Harry perused the shelves for a minute, noticing that
most of the books were related to potions and the dark arts. But some of
them were obviously Ron\'s; Hecht\'s Augury, Perceptivity and You,
Postulation: The Art of Scrying, as well as some of the Aboriginal spell
books he and Ron had studied during their training in Melbourne, and
some old Quidditch annuals. On the opposite from the bookcase, near a
very large wardrobe, the door to the bathroom stood open. But
dominating the room along the remaining wall was an immense, very
comfortable-looking four-poster bed. Only candles and firelight illuminated
the room.

A soft hiss interrupted Harry\'s perusal of the room. He turned to see that
Ron had divested himself of his Unspeakable robe and his jumper, which
had been tossed across the back of the sofa. The redhead was now
disrobing Severus in front of the fireplace as if he were a doll. Ron had
peeled the shirt out of Severus\' trousers and was undoing the cuffs; all the
while lovingly covering the revealed skin with little kisses and bites.
Severus let the shirt slide down his arms and off to pool on the floor. Ron
kissed him, again, in an achingly tender play of lips, and lowered his head
to tease his throat and nipples. Ron then undid the buttons on his trousers
and Severus stripped them down and off.

Harry\'s mouth went dry.

Severus had worn nothing at all under his clothes. Harry could only think
that he was magnificent, despite the scars tracing over one of his
shoulders, a thing of natural beauty, some wild creature belonging in the
untamed splendor of a deep forest or a jungle. Harry marveled at the flow
of muscles beneath the pale skin, the power shown in the broad shoulders
and sinewy legs, the vulnerability of the dimples in the little V at the small
of the back where it met narrow hips and firm buttocks, the dusting of fine
black body hair peppering his chest and clustering darker and thicker about
his erect cock.

Harry moved toward the couple, his hand involuntarily reaching to caress,
when Ron spoke.

\"Now you, Harry. Get naked.\"

Harry watched Ron take a seat in the chair facing him, one leg hooking
over the arm of the chair. Harry\'s breath caught when Ron unzipped his
jeans and wrapped both hands around his pale golden cock. Ron was
wanking himself, his brown eyes black with lust.
And he was looking directly at Harry while he did it.

\"Oh God,\" Harry murmured as he tore at his clothes with shaking fingers.

\"Yessss,\" Ron hissed, \"nice. . . so nice. . .\"

Harry\'s eyes slipped closed as he removed one item after another, all the
while feeling Ron\'s eyes on him.

When Harry was finally naked, Ron\'s eyes cut to Severus, wordlessly, and
the Potions Master went to his knees in front of Harry.

All of Harry\'s uncertainties returned.

\"I\'ve never,\" Harry mumbled, but Ron cut him off.

\"Relax and just let it happen.\"

Suddenly Harry felt the heat and wetness of Severus\' tongue.

\"Merlin!\" Harry gasped as lips surrounded the head of his cock and a hot
mouth descended down the shaft taking in the full length. Harry could feel
the muscles of his throat tighten, and for several moments he stood
motionless while Severus teased him with lips and tongue and throat,
every sensation ricocheting through him in frissons of pleasure. Severus
moaned with desire, clearly loving what he was doing to Harry. Harry felt
himself grow hotter and harder as Severus worked him, his cock throbbing.
Severus\' hands moved to caress his legs, his thighs, his belly.

Then Ron leaned forward, and took the leather tie from Severus hair,
letting the inky silken locks fall loose. He parted his knees and thrust his
hips forward so that he was sitting on the edge of the seat, and sheathed
himself in Severus\' hair. Then he started stroking himself fiercely into the
dark strands.

Harry\'s eyes shuttered closed.

\"Hmmmmm, Oh God...Severus, I\'m. . .\" Harry tugged at Severus\' head
weakly, expecting him to stop and move off, but he didn\'t. Ron continued
to wank himself.

Harry could feel his legs stiffen as orgasm uncurled somewhere at the base
of his spine. His muscles tensed and then he was coming. Harry\'s body
sagged as climax washed over him. Severus was still softly tonguing
Harry\'s cock when Ron groaned.

\"Oh fuck!\" Ron sighed as he erupted into Severus hair; his come oozing
between the black strands. At that, Severus let Harry\'s cock slip from his
mouth.

\"I didn\'t mean to. . .\" Harry whispered.

\"You needed it and you wanted it,\" Ron answered, \"And so did we.\" He
stood, retrieved his wand and muttered a cleaning spell over them as he
adjusted his clothes. \"But the evening is still young, isn\'t it?\" He leaned in
and kissed Harry sweetly.

\"I want to watch you have it off with him,\" Ron whispered into Harry\'s
mouth, sending heat and tingles down his spine. \"You two are so
perfect. . .\" This time, he took Harry by the hand and led him to the bed,
gesturing for him to sit at the foot.

\"Hands and knees,\" Ron said simply, then, and Severus got into bed and
positioned himself with characteristic catlike grace in front of Harry.

Harry\'s breath caught as he looked down at the expanse of Severus pale,
scarred back; the sensuous curve of his buttocks.

\"You can touch him.\" Ron urged.

Tentatively, Harry slid his hands over Severus\' sides, over the bony
protuberances of his hips, up over his back, down the length of his spine.
He had dreamed of this for so long. He faltered for several moments,
uncertain and wondering whether or not he could do this - whether or not
he even should.

When his hands stilled in their mapping of Severus\' body, Ron came up
behind him and reached around to maneuver them lower and lower,
forcing Harry to feel his way to the cleft.

\"Two fingers, then, like this. . .\"

Ron maneuvered Harry\'s hand so that Harry slipped two of his fingers in,
circling the hot, slippery opening there.

\"See how ready he is for you?\"

The guiding hands departed, leaving Harry touching that most intimate of
places. Harry gave a sidelong glance to Ron, who had pulled the armchair
closer to the bed for a better view. He was, once again, seated and gazing
hungrily, his hard sex jutting up toward his belly through the parted
opening of his jeans. Harry turned back to look at the wonder spread
before him.

Positioning himself, Harry scooted forward, placing the head of his cock at
the tight entrance. An irritated sigh from Severus made him stop and he
pulled back.
\"Go on,\" Ron murmured. \"You won\'t hurt him.\"
Severus then pushed his hips back persuasively, in a silent plea for more.
Once again, Harry placed himself and pressed forward with his hips, now
sliding slowly and easily into Severus\' already prepared channel until he
was completely engulfed.
For a space, Harry forgot to breathe.
Shocked by the heat, the tightness, the utter rightness of being up to his
balls in Severus, he sighed and leaned forward to press his forehead
against that beautiful back.
There was another little growl from the man beneath him, and then Harry
felt the brush of warm skin against his own back and Ron\'s breath hot
against his ear.
\"Fuck him. He wants you to.\" A push of hips against his arse and he slid
even farther inside Severus. He could feel Ron\'s hard length slither
rhythmically against his thigh. Ron was naked and pressing his prick
against him! Hands caught hold of the horns of his hips, pulling him out
until only the head was inside of the man beneath him.
\"Fuck his greedy little tight ass.\"
Ron\'s words went straight to his cock and he drove inside Severus again,
roughly. Severus groaned and Harry thrust into him over and over again,
withdrawing and plunging deep. Severus pushed back against Harry in
obvious pleasure. Harry leaned forward and kissed Severus\' neck and
shoulder, his hips continuing their primal dance.

Harry fought against the overwhelming pleasure, wanting it to last,
wanting more. This was his heart\'s desire, a fantasy made real.
\"Just tonight,\" Harry murmured, \"oh God, mine, just now. . .\"
His hands were grasping Severus\' arse with bruising force and Severus was
making hoarse little gasping sounds as he arched back to meet Harry\'s
thrusts.
Not fucking, but lovemaking.

Harry went first, sensation finally pushing him over the edge. Then
Severus\' knees gave out as he too tumbled into climax, and Harry felt
himself being squeezed tightly while he continued to pour into the body
beneath him. Together they sprawled on the bed, and he gathered
Severus into his arms and kissed him, the two of them still quaking in the
afterglow.

Without warning, Severus was snatched from Harry\'s arms. Harry leaned
up on this elbows to see that Ron was pushing Severus onto his back and
climbing on top of him, his hands on Severus\' shoulders and both of his
knees between Severus\' thighs. By the candlelight, Harry could see that
Ron was very hard, his erection stabbing against Severus\' pale belly.

\"My turn,\" Ron growled, and Severus gave him a soft little smirk as he
raised his legs up to meet his shoulders. Then Ron pushed his groin
forward and slipped his entire length inside Severus.

\"Ohhh! Oh fuck, Harry! You\'ve flooded him!\" Ron ground out from
between clenched teeth as he withdrew and pumped back in forcefully.
\"Oh God! Severus! Oh, love!\"

They were so very beautiful together, Ron with his long coppery hair
curtaining Severus\' pale darkness, their mouths and bodies joined. Smoke
and fire. Harry lay back on the pillow, too heavy and sated to do anything
but watch and listen, half asleep.
Ron\'s pace picked up and he raised his upper body on his arms. Severus
lowered his legs, wrapping them around Ron\'s waist, and dropped his arms
to clutch at the sheets. As their hips found a familiar rhythm together, Ron
was murmuring endearments and raining kisses down on Severus\' face,
neck, mouth, all the while keeping up a steady thrusting.

Harry blushed, feeling intrusive, but unable to divert his eyes from the
manifestation of the passion between them.

\"Oh love, my love,\" Ron murmured into Severus\' mouth, \"so beautiful, I
love you so much--\"

Suddenly Ron withdrew and then slowly, tenderly penetrated to the hilt
and stayed there. His hips began a circling motion and Severus groaned
and threw his arms around Ron\'s back, pulling their bodies close as he
arched and came. At that, Ron gave a little cry and lowered his full weight
onto his lover.

Harry let his eyes close.

After a bit, Harry felt arms about him, rolling him to his side. He was
falling into sleep when a warm body pressed against his front and warm
breath grazed his temple, while another body snuggled against his back.
He just managed to raise his head enough to press a kiss to the lips
nearest his before he drifted.

^^^^^^^^********^^^^^^^^
A gentle hand on his shoulder shook him awake and he heard the clunk of
crockery on wood to his left. Harry shifted a bit, disoriented and blinking
owlishly as he turned his head to see that a large steaming mug of fragrant
tea had been placed on the nightstand. Hands gave him his glasses. He
sat up, feeling sticky.

\"You can have some tea while Ronald finishes up in the bathroom. Then
it\'s your turn.\"

Harry opened his eyes fully to see Severus standing next to the bed,
fantastically dressed in jeans and a black Weasley jumper emblazoned with
a silver \'S\'. He was still slightly damp from his bath, wet hair curling at his
collar, his hands cradling his own cup.

\"Why didn\'t you speak last night?\"

\"Why thank you, Mr Potter. It was an enjoyable evening for me too,\"
Severus sneered.

\"You heard me,\" Harry started again, \"Last night. You didn\'t say one single
word to me.\"

\"From your reactions, I didn\'t think I needed to say anything. . .\"

\"We have an arrangement,\" Ron interrupted, as he emerged from the
bathroom, a towel tied about his waist, damp coppery hair pasted to his
freckled shoulders.

\"An arrangement?\" Harry questioned.

\"It\'s just something that we do.\" Ron gave a dismissive wave and came
over to sit on the bed next to Harry. \"Look Harry, I have a confession to
make. Severus and I have been wanting to have you over for a long time .
. .\"

\"Snape and you?\"

\"I suppose it was mostly my idea,\" Severus sat on the other side of Harry,
gathering his attention.
\"Ronald asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him that I
wanted you.\"

\"Wanted me?\"

\"Yes. Ever since Ronald told me about the letters. . .\"

\"Letters?\"

Ron touched Harry\'s shoulder, making him turn to face his friend. \"You
remember the letters that we wrote. . .that you helped me to write. The
longer I thought about that, the more I realized that I wanted you too. So
we decided to seduce you.\"

\"So I was just a cheap birthday present?\" Harry sat up, feeling far more
than slightly annoyed. \"Oh. . . and happy birthday,\" he added wryly,
turning once again toward Severus.

\"Not \'just\' a present, Mr Potter. And certainly not cheap.\" Severus leaned
in, his palm cupping Harry\'s chin and his thumb caressing the corner of his
mouth, coaxing the lips to part. \"Actually, the most exquisite gift I\'ve ever
received.\" He kissed Harry softly then, effectively siphoning off all of
Harry\'s mounting anger. \"Thank you.\"

\"Erm, \" Ron interrupted, stammering, \"I was thinking maybe you\'d. . .\"

\"Like to be part of the arrangement?\" Harry finished.

He turned and lifted the tea mug from the table.

\"I have to hear all of the particulars first.\"

End