The bedroom was just as comfortable as the sitting room. The green-canopied, four-poster bed was enormous, but then, Severus was an extremely tall man.
There was another smaller hearth in here, which sprung to life the moment they entered the room. The two nightstands flanking the bed were buried under piles of books, all three of the remaining walls lined with bookcases.
"Are there bookcases in the loo, too?" Harry couldn't help but joke. It was strange, but it was only now that he realized he'd never even used the bathroom here. He'd just had sex with Severus and left.
"The humidity would hardly be conducive to preserving the books, but . . . there is a small periodical rack in there. Would you care to see it?" Severus asked in what Harry shockingly recognized as a playful tone.
"Maybe later," Harry replied, unable to believe how turned on he was by this hidden side of Snape. He reached out and started undoing the buttons on Severus' jacket.
That was another thing he wanted to change tonight. Although they'd opened each other's shirts, normally things moved so fast that their clothes remained on, if wantonly undone. Harry wanted to take his time tonight, to explore every inch of Severus in the comfort of a bed rather than the rushed couplings over furniture that had been happening all week.
Harry could feel the tension in the long body he was caressing increase as he peeled layer after layer of clothing away, but Severus made no move to halt him. Finally down to Severus' crisp white undershirt and trousers, Harry eagerly reached for the fastening on the trousers. To his delight, Severus' fingers moved to fiddle with the button of his own black trousers.
Harry bent to assist in the removal when Severus tugged his blue jumper and white undershirt upwards. He didn't miss the pause Severus gave before doing the same when Harry pulled his companion's undershirt up. As Severus bent to take it off and the white cotton material snaked up his slender torso, Harry got his first good look at Severus' back, which was criss-crossed with scars that could only have been made by a whip. He'd felt those marks and caught glimpses of one or two of them over the last week, but this was the first time Harry had openly viewed them, without a shirt covering most of them.
Harry's stomach lurched in horror as he took in the extent of the scarring. Those gruesome pink lines seemed to cover every inch of Severus' back.
There was something like uncertainty in Severus' gaze as it met his own when he straightened back up. "Voldemort was not a very forgiving master."
If he hadn't already killed the fiend once, Harry would have done it for this. Gulping back his horror, he did everything he could to keep his reaction off his face as he softly asked, "He did this to you during the first or second war?"
"The second," Severus replied, still watching him as if he expected him to balk. "His sanity was . . . questionable then. I suppose my own was as well."
So, this had been done to Severus when Harry had been his student. Harry wasn't foolish enough to believe that these scars had nothing to do with himself. He knew that Voldemort had lived to destroy him back then. Having a minion so close to his enemy who somehow constantly failed to destroy or bring that enemy into his clutches must have made Voldemort irate. Dumbledore had always told him that Snape had made great personal sacrifices for their cause that made his loyalty to the Order unquestionable, but it was only now that Harry began to appreciate just what his old headmaster had been speaking of.
But how could Dumbledore have asked this of Snape? For that matter, Harry thought, how could Dumbledore have required Snape to publicly murder him with an Unforgivable, an act that was bound to have landed Snape life in Azkaban? It was only his own intervention that had kept Snape out of prison. Over the years, Harry had been forced to re-evaluate Albus Dumbledore's motives for much of what the old man had done and he'd come to terms with most of it, but this . . . this seemed unpardonable. Harry didn't think he'd ever be able to send one of the men he commanded into a situation where he knew his operative would be tortured, no matter what was at stake.
Looking at those ghastly scars, Harry felt ashamed for all the years he'd doubted and hated this man. Granted, Snape's attitude had inspired most of that distrust and enmity, but all Harry could see now was what Severus had suffered for their cause.
"We were all a bit mental back then," Harry said, instinct telling him that making any kind of fuss over these horrible tokens of torture would be a mistake. "How could we not be?"
Then Harry reached out and drew the half-dressed man into his arms. He'd intended to kiss Severus to try to get them past the awkward situation, but Harry found himself hugging Severus instead. He waited for Severus to pull back in revulsion at the grossly sentimental gesture, but after a moment of shocked tension, Severus' arms tightened around Harry and he buried his face in Harry's bare shoulder.
Shocked himself by Severus' acceptance, Harry stood still for a long moment before daring to relax. He ran a flat palm over the indented, scarred back. The presence of those scars told him that Severus had never sought treatment for them, but had let them heal naturally, without magic. Harry had to wonder if Severus had ever even told Dumbledore what he'd suffered for their cause. In some ways, Harry hoped that he hadn't, because infantile as it was, he would still like to think well of their beloved leader, for all that his childish, blind loyalty to the man had faded over time.
They stood locked in that oddly comforting embrace for a long, pleasant time, with Harry just stroking Severus' back as the taller man clung to him.
Harry tried to give name to the warm, protective feeling that welled up inside him, but he'd never felt anything like it before. All he knew was that he really enjoyed holding Severus this way.
Finally, the quality of the embrace seemed to change. Severus' hands began to move over Harry's bare back in caresses that were more arousing than comforting.
Harry turned his head to nuzzle the tender skin behind Severus' left ear, raising his hand to undo the leather string holding Severus' hair back. His face was buried in the resulting silken cascade. He stayed that way, breathing in Severus' scent, letting the heat and humidity surround him.
Severus turned his head and the warm, heavy curtain veiling Harry's face shifted. Cool air replaced the sensuous blanket of Severus' hair on Harry's cheek and, to Harry's delight, a moment later, Severus' mouth found his.
This kiss was slow and deep and as warm as the hug had been. Harry felt Severus' fingers carding through his messy hair, no doubt creating even more disorder.
When they parted for air, Harry stepped back and undid his trouser zipper, quickly shucking them and his boots and socks off. When he looked back to Severus, that dark gaze was fixed upon his nude form.
Harry glanced down, wondering what Severus found so engrossing. His years on the amateur Quidditch league had left him trim and fit, but he was still barely of average height. He always felt like a shrimp when he got naked with another man, and Severus' slender length wasn't helping that any, but something in Severus' eyes made him feel less self-conscious.
"You now," Harry gently prodded when it seemed Severus would simply stand there staring at him all night.
Severus slowly undid his trousers, slipping them down the endless length of his nearly hairless legs. They tangled at his shoes, the resulting struggle taking a few minutes to sort out. When Severus straightened back up, there was no mistaking the trepidation in his eyes.
Their bodies were very different. Aside from the similar equipment, they were nearly complete opposites. Harry's own body was compact and downed with soft body hair, while Severus' long, lean form was nearly flawless in its smoothness. Severus had a dark patch of springy curls at the base of his cock, and a hint of hair peeking out at his underarms, but other than that, he was all pale perfection. Well, aside from the scars on his back and the dark mark on his left forearm, Harry mentally amended. He knew that Severus was sensitive about both of those, and could almost feel how difficult it was for Severus to stand naked before him.
Recognizing that he needed to smooth things over, Harry gave a soft smile and an appreciative, "Look at you. I might never let you put on another piece of clothing again."
Severus appeared to rally enough to give a silky, "Indeed."
"Yeah, indeed," Harry said, chuckling as he stepped closer. His hands made contact with that lush skin and his laughter died.
It was inconvenient to have to stand on tiptoes to initiate a kiss, but Harry barely minded as he did so this time. His naked front brushed Severus', and then they were pressed together. They mightn't have been an exact match, what with Harry's own erection pressing into Severus' thigh, and Severus' poking his stomach, but all that hot skin felt incredible.
Harry shuffled them back towards that huge bed. Severus moved smoothly, seeming willing to follow wherever Harry led.
A minute later, Harry found himself nestled on top of Severus, their groins happily crushed together. The resulting kiss was even better than the last.
Harry moved his lips from Severus' mouth to his neck, commencing the nuzzling kisses that he'd learned destroyed Severus' restraints. It was no different tonight. All resistance seemed to leave Severus as the long body beneath Harry shuddered in reaction.
But things were a little different tonight. They were naked in a luxurious bed. Rather than falling into that familiar, passionate rush to completion, Harry took his time, learning Severus by taste inch by slow inch.
Severus' hands and mouth latched onto any part of Harry that came in range, but for the most part, he seemed overwhelmed by Harry's gentle attentions.
When Harry's mouth closed on a tender pink nipple, Severus gave a startled gasp that turned into a whimper as Harry commenced sucking. Loving how Severus shook beneath him at his every move, Harry took his time, dismantling Severus' nervous system with every gentle touch and caress he could think of.
The barely convex slope that was Severus' pale, tender belly seemed especially vulnerable to sensation, and those nearly hairless inner thighs became one of Harry's favourite playgrounds. His tongue and lips learned them all, claiming every inch of Severus as his own.
That was how it felt, like he was marking Severus as his. His mouth never left a single hickey or bruise – there was no way he was going to despoil all that beautiful pale flesh with adolescent territory marking, but it still felt like Severus ceded ownership of every single cell to him.
That was what it was, Harry recognized. For the last week, they'd gone at it like dogs in heat. Severus had let him take him as often as he pleased, but there had always been barriers. Severus had always held a part of himself back, guarding himself. But tonight all those walls were gone, and he was touching a part of Severus that he suspected no other man had gotten close to or even seen a glimpse of.
This Severus didn't fight to remain silent, didn't hold himself apart from the loving. He moaned and sighed in glorious abandon as Harry worshipped the body so generously offered to him.
When Harry's mouth closed around that needy shaft, Severus' entire body seemed to convulse in reaction. Harry had never had a lover who actually writhed under his attentions, but there was no mistaking Severus' tossing as anything but.
For the past week, they'd sucked each other only long enough to get hard enough to proceed to the next level of fucking, but even though Severus attempted to push his head away so that they could fall back into those familiar patterns, Harry hung on. Playing dirty, he flicked his tongue against that ultra-sensitive spot on the underside of Severus' cock. All the fight seemed to go out of Severus then as he cried out under the resulting sensation.
Another minute or two, and Harry felt the velvety balls in his right palm draw up tight to Severus' body. Severus stilled, and then that jaw-breakingly thick cock was spurting its salty gift into Harry's throat.
Harry swallowed and swallowed and swallowed. Severus seemed to spray a lifetime's worth of semen into Harry's mouth before collapsing bonelessly against the green duvet.
Only when Severus deflated did Harry pull back. He looked up to where Severus' head was pillowed on the white pillowcase, his long hair a wild tangle across its length. He was just in time to see Severus' eyes open.
Severus appeared almost . . . lost as their eyes met. With all his guards gone, he seemed shocked, bewildered, and horribly vulnerable. He looked as if he were lying there just waiting to be hurt.
Taking a deep breath to calm his own frantic body, Harry shifted position and cautiously laid his mouth on Severus'. Harry let all those warm, protective feelings he'd experienced when embracing Severus earlier flavour the kiss. He felt blasted open himself; he could only imagine how devastated Severus must be feeling.
