19

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

When Harry woke again, he was alone in his bedroom. Weakly raising his arm to look at his watch, he saw that it was morning, and briefly wondered what had happened to make him sleep in so late... Then he remembered the happenings of the previous day.

Bolting upright in bed, Harry stared into space as he touched a hand to his head, remembering the things he had seen in his sleep.

My God, Severus showed me his life, he thought in awe. Harry wondered whether their lives were about comparable in terms of rottenness, but couldn't decide. Severus hadn't had a Dark Lord out for his blood, but he hadn't had the friends Harry had, either; he hadn't had his loved ones hunted down and killed, but the only friend he'd ever had was killed and he was forced to grovel before her killer... No, both of their lives were pretty terrible, and there was no point in saying that one was worse than the other.

Then Harry froze. He's attracted to me. The phrase ran through his head several times before he could move on from that point. What did he feel for Severus? Harry paused, then smiled. "I always did hate turning people down," he said softly. Yes, he wouldn't mind getting to know Severus in that way. He wouldn't ever forget Daphne, of course, but he lost her long ago, and she would never be his again... The thought sobered him. Severus didn't know, of course, that Harry liked both genders, but though Harry had never been with a man he knew attraction when he felt it. And that memory of Severus and Regulus together... Harry groaned, pressing his palm to the front of his trousers. God, that was hot. The image of the two dark-haired men making out against the wall, peeling off each others' clothing and eventually falling into bed, touching, gasping, kissing and writhing against the green sheets...

Harry groaned again, falling back onto the bed and willing his erection away. Imagining himself in that position with Severus was not helping. The same sight kept replaying in his mind, however, until Harry finally gave in and closed his eyes, picturing another man's hands on his skin, a warm mouth on his neck, a smooth voice caressing his name... Harry moaned out his completion, lying panting for a while before reaching for his wand and cleaning up the mess with a quick spell. Well, that answers the question of how I feel about Severus, I suppose, he thought wryly. I clearly have nothing against sleeping with the man, and he's already the closest friend I have in this time – and he was right when he thought that he's one of the few who could understand me. And the others are definitely not partner-material, he shuddered. He didn't even want to imagine Remus in his bed.

Opening his eyes, Harry swung his legs out of bed and went to change clothes. He felt somewhat weak, but otherwise pretty normal. Checking the time again, Harry realized that Severus's last morning class had just ended and grinned – perhaps he could catch the man before he went to have lunch. Dressing briskly, Harry called for Dobby and had him pop him to the Potions classroom. When that was empty he headed for the Potions Master's private quarters, and ended up running right into Severus as they both turned the corner.

"Oof!" Harry said, the wind escaping him at the impact, and clutched at the robe of the person he had just run into to keep from falling. Looking up, he met the Potions Master's startled gaze and grinned. "Um, hi?"

"Potter," the man acknowledged, schooling his features into impassivity. "Eloquent as always."

Harry laughed, relaxing immediately and moving slightly away from the Potions Master, but staying a bit closer than he usually would. "I was wondering if you had a few minutes to... talk," he said, pausing as he realized that he wanted to do things that definitely weren't classified as 'talking'. "There's something I have to tell you."

Though he could almost feel Severus's confusion the Potions Master managed to keep his face completely blank as he nodded and turned, leading the way to his quarters. Harry followed, trying to figure out whether to get a hold on his arousal or not. He had never noticed the other man's scent so acutely, and suddenly he wanted to smell it from far closer than a step away.

Then they were past Medusa and in Severus's living room, and Harry decided not to fight it anymore. As soon as Severus turned to him, asking him what it was that he needed to tell him, Harry stepped up to the Potions Master, eyes locked on the dark gaze as he said lowly, "I'm bisexual." Then he reached up and pulled the stunned man's head down, molding his mouth to the thinner lips of the older man.

Severus completely froze at Harry's first touch, but Harry didn't move, waiting for the moment when – there. Severus relaxed into the kiss with a little sigh, bringing his right hand up to cup Harry's cheek, and Harry moved just that bit closer to let their chests touch, rough teaching robes pressed against soft wool. The kiss was gentle, their lips moving together softly, and damn if it wasn't perfect. Severus's lips were nothing like Daphne's, and for that Harry was thankful. Not to mention that he had to tip his head back quite a bit to kiss the taller man.

Pulling away, Harry leaned his head against Severus's shoulder, loving it when Severus's arms came up to hold him. "I'm so short," he laughed quietly, tangling his hands in the front of Severus's black robes as he raised his head to kiss the man again, going up on his toes so that he wouldn't have to tip his head back quite so far. He felt very safe in Severus's arms, he realized as he deepened the kiss, leaning in to get as close to the other man as possible. He felt a thrill of arousal when Severus opened his mouth, flicking out his tongue against Harry's upper lip, and Harry couldn't contain the sound that escaped him as he bit down on Severus's lower lip. It was a cross between a moan and a growl, and their kiss rapidly turned more heated. God, it had been so long since either of them had been with a partner...

"I want you," Harry growled as Severus's hands slipped under his shirt, stroking along the skin of his back.

"You've never-" Severus began to object, but Harry cut him off with a forceful kiss.

"Doesn't matter," he said, moving his head to place his mouth against the taller man's neck and giving it a sucking kiss. "I want to feel you," he muttered against the soft skin, sliding one hand down to Severus's trousers and squeezing, loving the moan that spilled from Severus's lips. He realized that Severus had automatically assumed that Harry would bottom, since 'I want you' could have also meant that he wanted to top. Perhaps the next time he'd top, but he had been wondering for too long what it felt like to object to bottoming. He trusted Severus not to hurt him overly much.

"Come," he said, pulling away and hardening further at the hungry look in Severus's eyes. "Bed." He pressed a bruising kiss to the taller man's lips before pulling him in the direction of the bedroom.