Chapter XXII

The prod to his shoulder made Harry grunt and shift away from it. He was warm and comfortable, and completely unwilling to move. The prod came again, more insistent this time. Harry gave the same response, and drifted back into sleep blissfully. Then the alarm clock went off madly, the ringing jolting him awake. His arm shot out and silenced it, while looking around groggily. Snape was fast asleep beside him, his arm draped across Harry’s waist. Harry figured Snape had carried him in here and fell asleep as well. If they weren’t careful they could both run themselves into the ground. He blinked blearily and looked back at the clock; the hand was pointing to the word breakfast. Was it really breakfast already?

“Aw, aren’t they adorable, Dray?”

“Gag me.”

Harry looked up at the biting reply to find Sora and Draco standing by the bedside, with semi-indulgent expressions on their faces. Harry scowled at them and looked at the clock.

“Is there a reason why you guys are waking me up at breakfast?” he asked in rough voice.

“It’s not breakfast,” Sora amended. “It’s about three in the morning. Setting the alarm off seemed to be the only way to wake you short of yelling in your ear with a Sonorous spell.”

Harry groaned and buried his head in the pillow again. “Then sod off and let me sleep. I’m tired.”

“Wonder why,” Draco said dryly. “We need you to come with us.”

“Why?” Harry mumbled, already drifting back to sleep.

“For a search and rescue.” Sora said simply.

Those words alone were strange enough to rouse Harry’s brain from lethargic sleep. “Did you say ‘search and rescue’?”

“Yes, search and rescue.” Sora said.

“Search and rescue?” Harry repeated again.

Snape stirred in his sleep, mumbling something before he fell back into quiet slumber. Harry motioned to the door, and slipped out from Snape’s arm and hurried into the living room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

“All right, you’re going to have to explain this one to me.” Harry said as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I decided to go out for a midnight stroll in the Forest, in my animal form,” Sora said quickly, seeing the disapproving light in Harry’s eyes. “And I happened to bump into Draco when I was in there. Same reason. We saw something we have to do something about, Harry; immediately.”

“Such as?”

“Students,” Draco said grimly after a moment’s silence. “Being led somewhere by centaurs.”

That was certainly a new one. “Students? Being led by centaurs?”

“About fifty to sixty of them,” Sora said quickly. “There were approximately fifteen centaurs keeping guard over them. They looked pretty banged up and six of them were bound, and gagged while everyone was blindfolded. I know two of the people bound and gagged were Ron and Hermione; hard to miss hair like that even in a pitch black forest.”

Harry nodded, his jaw clenched in anger. “Any idea of how deep in the Forest they are?”

“Pretty deep,” Draco said. “But a few well placed spells should make it easier for them all when we get out of there. In a hurry too.” He added. “My guess is that they were sent back once their parents learned of what happened in the Ministry, but they didn’t dare send them though Hogsmeade. That left the Forest as the only option; risky, but still viable.”

“All right, this is what we’re going to do,” Harry looked between the both of them. “Draco, you’re going to get everyone freed and back to the castle as soon as possible. Sora and I will cause a distraction. As handy as having a dragon around to throw flames at the centaurs, we don’t want to attract too much attention. I’ll tell Sev so he can alert the teachers before we go.”

Sora and Draco and nodded, irrepressible smirks plastered to their faces.

“What?” Harry looked between the both of them, confused.

“Sev?” they managed with the barest of sniggers.

“Shut up and give me a moment.” Harry muttered as he headed back into the bedroom.

The Forest was pitch-black without any moonlight filtering through the treetops. But that didn’t stop the three animals from slinking through the trees easily enough, following a trail that was growing increasingly cold. It seemed that what little light they did have left disappeared with each step they took; the trees clustered in thick and oppressive, seeming to swallow whatever light came. He was working on scent alone. There had definitely been a lots of people that had passed this way; he could also detect a scent much like a horse, but not; definitely centaur. When a sharp yip echoed through throughout the trees, he padded over to where the black fox was sniffing madly at a small scrap of cloth. The dragon was looking around warily; smoke trailing from his dagger-like teeth.

When the fox stepped aside to allow him to sniff, his senses went haywire; they had definitely been here, and not too long ago. They could still catch the trail and follow it to the very end. They wound their way through the trees more carefully now, seeing a faint glow coming from up ahead, as well as voices. The dragons shrank back down into the human known as Draco and pressed himself flat against a tree, peering around, before darting to the next one, his wand ready to blast whoever stood in his way. He glanced at the fox, a low rumble in his throat as he got a responding one. They sat on their haunches, waiting as they heard heated words being flung back and forth.

“How much longer must we sit here watching over these humans?!”

He repressed the snarl that rose as he heard the centaur’s voice: Bane.

“Until we figure out which one is the foretold, Bane,” that weary voice with thin strains of patience in it had to be Magorian. “It is as simple as that.”

He flicked his tail from side to side impatiently. He had to bide his time and not pounce too soon.

“For all we know, it could be anyone of these…wizards!” Bane said vehemently.

“Or none.” Magorian said calmly. “We must look to the heavens once more tomorrow night. Then we will decide course of action.”

“Consult the stars once more?” Bane spat out. “The time for consultation is over! Too long have we watched! Now is the time for action!”

Magorian didn’t say anything for a moment. “I see why Firenze was wary of you.”

“Now you side with the traitor?!” Bane seemed to go livid in a split second.

Magorian rubbed his temples. “No I do not. But listen to yourself Bane. It is-”

“Oh, I see,” Bane snarled. “You would have us become their pack-”

“Enough!” Magorian barked harshly. “Perhaps you have not noticed, Bane, but there is an insane wizard who has managed to gain a considerable amount of control in Britain. And he will be targeting rebel wizards first. What comes after that Bane? Do you think he will leave us to live our lives out here as we have for centuries? If the centaurs are to survive this cataclysm of the wizard’s world, we must consider the probability of working with wizards. We cannot rely on the stars to answer for us when things change so rapidly at the moment.”

Pure rage contorted Bane’s face. That was certainly the appropriate moment to act. He threw back his head and let out a long howl before he loped into what turned out to be a small clearing. He could see the students clustered to the back, blindfolded and looking around in a panic. He snarled, baring his teeth, never taking his eyes off the centaurs. They looked at him warily, notching arrows warily. The rest of the centaurs came forward, looking at him unsure of what to do. He caught a flash of movement from his left but didn’t look. A few seconds later, the fox darted through their feet nipping as she went.

All hell broke loose.

He was running through the centaurs, snarling and snapping, causing them to jump back, unable to draw their arrows. The fox continued to dart through their feet nimbly, causing them to dance about the place. Through the whirling chaos, he spied Draco over with the others students and ushering them through the trees, away quickly. He moved even faster, driving up the panic level as the fox started jumping off their backs, digging in with her claws a bit as she sprang from back to back.

He gave a sharp whimper as hooves connected sharply against the side of his ribs. When it happened again, not five minutes later, he gave a sharp bark and started retreating through the trees. The fox was at his side in a moment and they started racing through the trees for the castle at breakneck speed. They could hear and feel the ground behind them thundering with the sound of the hooves from the centaurs. They tripped over a few twisted protruding roots in their haste, but scrambled to all fours quickly, resuming their speed. They didn’t dare slow down for anything.

After what seemed like a small eternity, they burst through the fringe of trees by Hagrid’s hut, racing right past it as frantic barks from Fang sounded. They didn’t stop there, careening past the initial greenhouse towards the very last one at the end. Quickly, he shifted back into his human form.

“Harry, you’d better open that door and quick!” Sora hissed.

He glanced back and saw her struggling to take her wand out of her pocket. He whipped his out and aimed it at the lock. “Alohomora!”

The lock clicked open obligingly and they raced in shutting the door behind them and tucking themselves away in a small corner, hidden from the windows on the door and the screening foliage. They sat there, breathing ragged as they managed to bring it under control. Their eyes were glued to the door in trepidation. As if obliging the door knob turned slowly, and opened. Harry glanced at Sora, his heart frozen in his throat as he watched the familiar black tufted hooves come into view. It was Bane. Sora had a similarly bleak expression on her face. Harry had forgotten to lock the door.

His hooves clopped against the smooth stone tiles slowly, as he started to perform a painstaking search of the greenhouse. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his wand tighter. The sound grew closer and closer until Bane had stopped right in front of their hiding spot. Harry felt as if he was sitting on a razor’s edge.

“Come Bane. The foals are not here!” that sounded like Ronan.

Bane snorted. “Foals no longer. Many were full fledged adults.”

“Foals still since they do live with their sires. Come, they have eluded us.”

That one single moment seemed to crystallize into a hellish eternity. Then Bane’s hooves started for the door. A few minutes later, the door closed with a slow creak and thud. But Harry and Sora didn’t move at all. They stayed rooted to the spot, in the semi dark, still as statues. It was only when the sun’s rays were starting to peek over the horizon that they decided to move. Their muscles and joints protested but worked, moving them towards castle slowly, but eventually.

“Sleep?” Harry suggested in a tired voice as they walked up to the front doors of Hogwarts.

“Most definitely sleep.” Sora agreed with a small yawn. “I’m bloody tired!”

Harry gave a dry laugh and opened the door. Standing there, with an ever patient expression was Dumbledore and Snape. Harry glanced at Snape, seeing relief and irritation in his eyes, before he looked at Dumbledore.

“There is a discussion that you two should come to.” Dumbledore stated.

“In the Great Hall now?” Sora asked, rubbing at her eyes.

Dumbledore shook his head. “In my office.”

“What about-” Harry began.

“The students are being tended to by Madame Pomfrey and are in their own beds fast asleep. Remus, Lucius and Draco are already in my office. Shall we?”

Dumbledore didn’t even wait for a reply, but simply started up the stairs towards his office. Sora stifled a yawn and started after him, leaving Snape and Harry to follow up in the rear.

“And just what took so long?” Snape asked in a hushed voice.

“We hid in the greenhouse. Bane almost found us, but then Ronan called him away.” Harry paused for a moment. “We decided to stay put until we knew they were gone for sure.”

“Ah,” that was all Snape said with a nod of his head.

Harry felt a small sense of smugness radiate through him. There was a tone of approval and understanding in Snape’s tone. Of course, in his present state of mind, Harry found himself wondering; just what could this discussion be about?

Harry gave a sigh of relief as he sank into the tub of steaming hot water, finding the built in ledge and settling himself in a comfortable position. After that horridly long meeting, he’d come back to his room and crawled into bed. He didn’t know how long he slept for, but when he woke up, he felt much better; aching muscles aside. But the hot water he had just immersed himself in was doing wonders to alleviate that. He tilted h is head back until it was resting against the lip of the tub and closed his eyes. The meeting in Dumbledore’s office yesterday consisted of a fairly lengthy and heated discussion on how to best refortify Hogwarts. No headway until eleven in the morning. Harry hadn’t left until he was satisfied and that was close at two in the afternoon. Needless to say, Harry was enjoying this quiet moment alone in the tub. For once he didn’t have to watch over or even have to answer to someone.

He scowled slightly as a faint knock reached his ears. “Seems I spoke to soon.” Harry mumbled as he pulled himself out of the tub reluctantly.

He shrugged in his dark crimson bathrobe and tied it loosely as he made his way to the door. He summoned a scowl to his face easily before he opened the door. He was more than surprised to see Snape standing there. The scowl on his face lessened a bit, bit still remained.

“You’re interrupting my bath,” Harry said. “Did you want to see me about something? Or,” Harry gave a sudden, wolfish grin. “Did you want to see me?” he arched an eyebrow, watching Snape expectantly.

“Must you do that?” Snape demanded as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“No,” Harry said with a smile as he reached past Snape and locked the door. “But I did enjoy seeing your reaction.” He flashed Snape that same grin again.

Snape pulled Harry against him and kissed him rather thoroughly. “The infuriating thing is that you don’t even realize it.” Snape said a few moments later when they stopped.

“Realize what?” Harry asked a bit breathlessly.

“Just how damn sexy you are,” Snape said huskily. “Damn incredibly sexy.”

Harry gave a light chuckle, fingers fiddling with the buttons at the neck of Snape’s robe. “So are you. Just looking at you makes me horny.”

“Sweet Merlin,” Snape groaned. “For a year and a half you’ve only said that in my imagination.”

“A year and a half?” Harry looked mildly surprised. “That must have been incredibly frustrating…seeing me sit there in class…so close and so far away. We should do something about that now, hm?”

“I have no complaint with that,” Snape murmured as he bent in to kiss Harry again.

A smile came to Harry’s lips as Snape’s arms wrapped around his waist. He twined his arms around Snape’s neck, tongue darting to flick against Snape’s mouth. Snape parted his lips willingly, his own tongue making its way into Harry’s mouth. Harry could certainly get used to having private quarters of his own. He gave a sudden whimper of pleasure and delight as Snape’s hand settled on his arse and squeezed softly.

“Perhaps we should get you back in the bath?” Snape suggested in a throaty voice.

“Good idea,” Harry said quietly in an equally rough voice. “I can watch you…strip.”

It was Snape’s turn to give a wolfish grin, however slight. “If you insist…”

Harry felt his lips curl into a smile as he drew away and made his way back towards the bathroom. He could feel Snape’s eyes on him, but he didn’t turn around. Once he stepped onto the smooth, cool bathroom floor, he slipped out of his robe and left it on a peg as he walked back to the tub. The water was still deliciously hot as he slipped in, seating himself on the ledge. Harry found himself grateful for magical bathtubs, which always stayed clean and kept the water at the temperature you wanted. He looked up to see Snape standing in the bathroom doorway, watching Harry for a moment.

“Come on Sev,” Harry crooned as he stretched his arms out along the lip of the tub. “Strip for me.”

Snape didn’t move for a moment before he easily slipped off his shoes and socks. Harry watched as Snape’s fingers moved upwards to the collar of his robes. Those severe robes that he kept buttoned up all the way to his neck. Now, the layers of cloth were falling away as Snape undid the slippery buttons quickly with the greatest of ease. Harry licked his lips a bit, imagining how those nimble fingers could be moving down his body, making him quiver with need. His cock was already stirring to life.

The outer robe was discarded a few moments later to join Snape’s shoes, and Snape went to work on his shirt. He removed it easily, pulling it over his head and throwing it on top of his robe. Harry felt his breath catch once more as he saw the play of muscles beneath Snape’s milky white skin. They rippled and bunched before returning to motionlessness a few seconds later. He started to mentally urge Snape to hurry up as he started on his pants, undoing the belt buckle and slowly drawing it out. Snape must have seen the look in Harry’s eyes because his lips curled up into a knowing smile and he started fiddling with the buttons of his pants.

“Severus…” Harry groaned.

“Patience is a virtue…Potter.” Snape purred in a silky voice.

Harry closed his eyes as a jolt of sensation travelled past all his other nerves and pooled right in his groin. When he opened his eyes once more, Snape was standing before him, completely nude. Harry let his eyes roam over the planes of Snape’s body, the finely muscled arms, the fit, and rather flat, torso, and lean, long legs. He shifted a bit, trying to make himself more comfortable; his cock was hard now and begging for attention. Harry couldn’t take his eyes away as Snape walked over and easily slipped into the water, sitting beside Harry, looking at him expectantly.

“I gather you liked that Harry?” Snape asked in a low voice, running a hand over Harry’s shoulder.

Harry simply nodded his head. He was sure if he opened his mouth, he’d babble out something utterly foolish, like ‘You’re my fallen angel. Mine.’, or even, ‘All right, you dark, Gothic Adonis, fuck me now, right here in the tub.’ Harry’s thoughts were broken as he gasped sharply, feeling Snape’s hand dance over his hipbone, steadily moving lower. Not that he was complaining, but when did Snape’s hand get that low?

“At a loss for words?” Snape asked in a knowing voice.

Harry opened his mouth but a weak faltering sound came out. He quickly shut his mouth, face going a bit red.

“Tsk, tsk,” Snape tutted. “That just won’t do…Potter.”

Harry stifled a moan as his cock twitched at that. When Snape used that smooth tone, he could say whatever the hell he wanted to Harry. It made his skin tingle with anticipation, set him on edge and seemed to travel right to his groin.

“I asked you a question,” Snape breathed as he trailed his lips down Harry’s neck. He wrapped his fingers loosely around Harry’s erection. “Why haven’t I gotten an answer yet?”

Harry closed his eyes, trying to sort out the chaotic pleasure whirling through his mind. Snape’s fingers had started moving upwards slowly, in a languid stroke. Harry knew if he opened his mouth now, it would be gibberish coming out, not an adequate answer that Snape would want. He kept his mouth shut somehow, the need building up inside of him.

“Harry,” Snape purred, pressing kisses to his temple. “An answer?”

Harry wasn’t too sure if it was worse when Snape called him ‘Potter’ or ‘Harry’. Both wrought the same effect in his body. He remained silent, biting his lip to stop himself from uttering some absurdity.

“Will you answer me now?” Snape asked in a sly, salacious voice as he tightened his grip on Harry’s erection.

“Yes!” the word exploded past Harry’s mouth as fresh sensations were overlaid on top of the ones already roiling through him. “Yes!” he managed again as Snape started stroking him a bit faster.

“Good; hopefully you’ll be more prompt in answering.” Snape murmured as he kissed his way down Harry’s cheekbone. “Should I stop my…ministrations?”

“No,” Harry gasped, moving his hips upwards into Snape’s hand slightly. “Don’t stop.”

“Hm,” Snape ghosted his lips over Harry’s. “Tell me Harry, do you want to scream?”

“Oh God, yes,” Harry whimpered as Snape ran a finger over the tip of his erection. “Make me scream Severus.”

Snape chuckled as he moved up his mouth up to Harry’s earlobe, nibbling and licking it. “I want to hear you scream my name, Harry.” Snape started to pump his hand even faster now. “Scream my name, Harry.”

Opening his eyes, Harry found Snape’s, clouded with desire. He groaned and shut them again; if he looked into those black depths any longer, he’d come simply from that look. As if everything about Snape didn’t exude sex before, having Snape naked in a tub, bringing him to a climax was enough in thought, let alone reality. Harry whimpered, closing his eyes, and started thrusting into Snape’s hand faster as Snape kissed him.

“Come on Harry,” Snape purred, as he caught Harry’s lower lip in his teeth. “Scream for-”

Both Harry and Snape looked up at the sudden abrupt knock on the bathroom door. Snape started to draw away but Harry stopped him, pulling him in closer. Snape shifted, settling himself between Harry’s legs and giving him a questioning look. It didn’t take Harry long to mutter the spells to effectively lock the door and silence the room.

Harry licked his lips, a seductive smile coming to his face. “You said you’d make me scream Severus,” he said in a husky voice. “I want to see how loudly you can make me scream, how hard you came make me come.”

Snape uttered a low groan and kissed Harry fiercely, hand resuming its almost frantic pumping. Harry, thrust into Snape’s hand, his head reeling as he felt the coil in his abdomen almost reach breaking point. He started writhing under Snape’s hand, desperate to reach his climax.

”Go on Harry,” Snape growled, his mouth wandering down Harry’s chest to attach to a nipple. “Scream.” He said before lightly nipping a hard nib.

That was all Harry needed. Everything exploded in bursts of white behind his eyelids. “Severus!” he cried out in a hoarse voice, thrusting into Snape’s hand as his seed spurted out in jets.

It seemed like forever before he sagged back against the porcelain of the tub, content to remain motionless in the afterglow. Snape pulled Harry onto his lap, wrapping his arms around him. Harry rested his head on the crook between Snape’s neck and shoulder; it was a perfect spot and fit his head perfectly.

“I’m glad you enjoyed that.” Snape murmured.

“I’ll make sure to return the favour,” Harry said in a more than content voice. “Of course, if all my baths ended this way-”

“What, in Merlin’s name was that?!” Snape exclaimed, tensing up a bit.

Harry chuckled as he felt the water vibrate strongly. “The tub is self-cleaning. The water gets changed automatically when a…foreign substance enters it.” He looked up at Snape. “And, if you’ve noticed, it keeps the water at a nice constant temperature.”

“It’s better than my bath.” Snape relaxed against the wall of the tub again. “You were saying?”

“If all my baths ended this way, I wouldn’t be complaining.” Harry finished with a smirk.

“And neither would I,” Snape gave Harry that faint smile again, tinged with reluctance. “You should go out there.”

“I should, shouldn’t I?” Harry mused before he kissed Snape.

“You should,” Snape said a few minutes later. “They-” Harry cut Snape off with another kiss. “Might-” Yet another kiss. “Get-” Another kiss from Harry. “Inpatient.” This time Harry gave Snape a long, deep kiss. “For Merlin’s sake, stop kissing me and-” Snape started when he broke away, but Harry simply kissed him again. “Go out there!” he spluttered, drawing away again.

Harry gave a mock-pout. “You don’t want any more kisses?”

“Your kisses,” Snape began after a few moments. “Are like a fine Firewhiskey and highly addictive. Rest assured; I will not tire of them. But I would much rather you go out there than have someone come in here and find us.”

“Good point,” Harry sighed as he reluctantly slid off of Snape’s lap and summoned his robe to him as he walked to the door. “But tell me Sev, if you had to choose between a staff meeting or having me naked in your bathtub, which would you prefer?”

“Just get going,” Snape grumbled as he shook his head.

Harry left the bathroom with a satisfied smirk and quickly crossed through his bedroom and into the living room. Hermione and Ron were seated in the chairs, talking quietly to themselves. Harry didn’t say anything, but cleared his throat politely. They both looked back. Harry could see that they had slept, but they still looked exhausted and worried.

“How are you guys doing?” Harry asked, walking up closer. “Did you get enough sleep?”

“Not nearly,” Ron mumbled. “I felt like I just aged thirty odd years.”

“Ron had some run-ins with spiders,” Hermione said. “Harry, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Harry said as he leaned against the chair Hermione was sitting in. “What is it?”

“It’s about…well…in the forest, you were that dire wolf weren’t you?”

“Dire wolf?” Harry said with a completely puzzled expression on his face.

“Yes, a dire wolf. I knew I had seen it before. I was watching a documentary about them during the summer on the telly. A dire wolf is an subspecies of lupus that-”

“‘Mione, in words that I know, please.” Ron said.

“A dire wolf is a great big bloody wolf that died out thousands of years ago. It’s not like the diricawl, Ron.” Hermione started chewing on her lip. “I just can’t figure out why a dire wolf.”

Harry didn’t reply as Hermione started to become absorbed in her mumbled speculations.

“Really Harry,” Ron said. “It was bloody brilliant the way the three of you charged in there. Everyone is trying to figure out where those two animals came from.” Ron gave him a grin. “But you want to hear something truly strange? Malfoy asked me if I was all right when we got back. Malfoy. In front of everyone. I must of ran smack into a branch about it.”

“Or he might have meant it,” Harry suggested.

“I thought about that. But it made me laugh so hard that my sides hurt and I gave up on that idea.” Ron replied.

“Have you two been listening to a word I said?” Hermione demanded impatiently.

“Recap, please?” Ron said immediately. “That was a lot to take in at once.”

“Well, it’s been shown that Animagi usually turn into an animal of personal meaning. As well, it can be symbolic of qualities they wished they had as a person. Sort of a compensation of the ego, I suppose.”

“Go on,” Harry urged.

“So my guess is that a dire wolf has some meaning for you. Have you seen one somewhere before? Maybe a reconstructed model in a museum, or something on the telly; like the documentary I saw?” Hermione looked at him hopefully.

“Not to the best of my recollection,” Harry said. “But that’s probably it Hermione.”

Hermione frowned. “You’re not just saying that to get rid of me, are you?”

“No, I’m not. But I just got up and I was taking a bath,” Harry shifted his posture. “And I’d really like to get back to it.” He would think about Snape who was only a few paces away, naked and waiting in a tub of hot water. No, no, no. he wouldn’t. But he could feel the flush coming to his face.

“That relaxing, huh?” Ron asked with a grin as he stood up.

“Very relaxing; the tension just shoots away.” Harry said, stopping the smirk from his face.

“We really should discuss this. How about tomorrow morning? We’ll come here before breakfast.” Hermione said.

“That early?!” Ron protested, but sighed at the look Hermione gave him.

“We usually eat here. I can see if Dobby can bring up some extra servings.” Harry suggested. “Will that be all right?”

“That’s perfect!” Hermione said in a delighted voice as she rose also. “Sorry we disturbed your bath. Sora showed us in and went to get you. Then she left after saying you’d be out in a few minutes.”

“Er, remind me to thank her.” Harry said. “I’m just glad you and everyone else are all right.”

“Oh, I know I’ll be. No more disgusting spiders crawling everywhere.” Ron gave a visible, and deep, shudder.

“Ron, now you know that-” Hermione began.

“Shut up ‘Mione!” Ron said. “I’d like to think there are none and sleep much easier tonight!”

Harry chuckled as he walked them to the door, watching them bicker. When he finally shut the door, he locked it again, and made his way back to the bathroom silently. Snape was still sitting in the tub, stretched out, his head resting against the lip with a relaxed expression on his face. Harry slipped out of his robe and placed it on the peg. He murmured a simple muffling spell and slid into the tub, making his way over to Snape, settling himself on Snape’s lap and ending the spell.

“Harry!” Snape exclaimed in surprise as he raised his head and opened his eyes.

“Miss me?” Harry asked with an impish smirk.

“You’ll be the death of me,” Snape murmured as he slid his arms around Harry.

“Indeed,” Harry purred, moving his hips slightly. He could feel Snape growing hard beneath him. “I believe there’s a favour I want to repay.

When Darkness Comes - Chapter Twenty One || When Darkness Comes - Chapter Twenty Three