Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/69885.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_Rowling
  Relationship:
      Harry_Potter/Severus_Snape
  Additional Tags:
      Teacher/Student, Mild_D/s
  Series:
      Part 1 of The_Finder_Series
  Stats:
      Published: 2003-12-11 Words: 4979
****** Finder's Fee ******
by GatewayGirl
Summary
     In his seventh-year class, Severus mentions how rare basilisk scales
     are. When Harry leads him down to the Chamber of Secrets, Severus
     ensures that he's satisfied.
Notes
     About the series: The series is D/s, but Harry has a spine, how ever
     much he likes Snape telling him what to do in bed (or his office, or
     a hotel room, or a deserted loo...). The first story is pure smut. I
     wrote it for gmth as a thank-you gift for her work on smutmas '03.
     The next three stories are plotty (with smut!) and although you might
     be able to read them separately, they build to the climax of Wizard's
     Weapon. I also have a recent addition, Auror's Dilemma, which is a
     separate story that follows the quartet.
     For this story: Thanks to isiscolo for the beta! I've tweaked this
     version slightly; any errors are my own. Warnings: student/teacher,
     minor D/s
"The most important ingredient in the Petrifaction Protection Potion is the
final one: powdered basilisk scales," Professor Severus Snape said. He surveyed
the students in his seventh-year class. Some were dutifully writing it down,
while others stared at him or the board. Harry Potter did neither. He was
gazing off into space. Severus saw him twitch, and then redirect his attention
to his untouched note parchment.
"Which is why we will not brew this potion," Severus concluded. That statement
won him back the attention of several bored students. Even Potter focused on
him, though the eyes which would be green fire in an Order meeting or a fight
merely blinked, owl-like, in class. "Since the creation of basilisks has been
illegal since medieval times," Severus continued, "and it has been four hundred
years since the last confirmed British sighting and nearly half that since the
last Continental one, basilisk scales are extremely rare, and extremely
valuable. We cannot waste them on students of a pre-NEWT level. This lesson
will therefore be graded on your ability to answer questions about the
procedure. You have ten minutes to study your notes. You may not open your
text."
This lesson, Severus thought, as he surveyed their looks of horror with harsh
satisfaction, would not teach them how to make the Petrifaction Protection
Potion -- no lecture could do that -- but it might, perhaps, teach them to take
better notes.

At the end of class, Severus was surprised to see Harry Potter walking toward
him, rather than leaving with the other students. "What is it, Potter?" he
asked coldly. "Be quick."
Since Dumbledore had decided to admit the boy to the Order of the Phoenix, when
he came of age at the beginning of his seventh year, Severus had been learning
to work with him. They had, under the headmaster's watchful eye, said minimal
apologies and laid down their limits, and outright conflict had stopped. He
still didn't like it. This Potter, like his father of years past, was arrogant,
self-absorbed, and entirely too sure of his own moral superiority to everyone -
- including, Severus suspected, Professor Dumbledore.
"I was wondering, sir ... what about the basilisk I killed?"
"The basilisk you killed?" Severus stared at him. Had the boy's arrogance
finally turned into megalomania, complete with delusions? Severus's voice
dripped with all the considerable sarcasm he could project, "And what basilisk
would that be, Potter?"
"The one in the Chamber of Secrets," Potter said obstinately, "my second year."
He frowned. "Didn't Dumbledore ever tell you that the monster was a basilisk?"
"What?" Severus spat. A murderous haze threatened the edges of his vision. We
had a slain basilisk in the school, and the headmaster did not....He forced
himself to calm down. "You're delusional, Potter. There are no more basilisks."
"This was a very old one," Potter said earnestly. "After all, if Salazar
Slytherin left it there --" He stopped, probably from the look on Severus's
face. "Anyway, it was very big. About forty feet, I think, or more. I don't
know if the scales would still be good after four and a half years...."
"Do you expect me to believe this nonsense?"
Harry Potter raised his head proudly. "Well, you can come check with me, if you
like," he said. "I suppose rats might have eaten it, or something, but I think
--"
"Very well." Severus stood. "Lead the way."
The boy paled. "But I have Charms, next...."
"Lead the way, Potter. Now. We'll see if you're telling the truth."

Severus did not expect much of the expedition, other than, possibly, a chance
to embarrass Potter. When the boy stopped in front of a door on the first
floor, Severus balked. "This is a girls' bathroom, Potter," he said
caustically.
"I know, sir." Potter eased open the door and peered in.
"Do you usually loiter in girls' bathrooms?"
"Only the haunted ones," Potter said, with a cheeky smile over his shoulder.
"Besides, I thought it was loitering in boys' bathrooms that was disreputable."
With that, he went in. Severus decided to follow.
Harry went over to the sinks, and bent down to look under them.
"Your forty-foot basilisk is hiding under a sink, perhaps?"
Potter ignored him. His mouth opened to let out a slow, eerie hiss. Severus
schooled his face into a mask. Parseltongue! He had forgotten somehow, in the
intervening five years of heroics, that this Gryffindor boy was a Parselmouth.
The hiss was answered by a creaking and grinding, and the sink shifted,
exposing a huge hole in the floor.
"Down there," Potter said. "It's filthy, too. Do you have any suggestions for
getting down more comfortably than by sliding?"

With the harsh sibilance of Parseltongue fresh in his ears, and the gaping hole
where the sink had been, Severus was starting to find the tale of a dead
basilisk more credible. He willingly took out his wand and shot out strong vine
ropes to bind the top of the hole to its unseen base. One of the standard
descent spells used to gather things from cliffs served to hook his student
guide onto the course. He lowered Potter ten feet, and then connected himself
to the rope as well. They descended at a controlled pace, but the edges of his
robes still brushed against the dark slime that lined the pipe. Severus was
fervently grateful he was not sliding through it.
The pipe went a long way down and ended in a passage, but nothing there gave
credence to the story of a forty-foot dead basilisk. The air was fine. The
tunnel gave no sign of passage.
"How far, Potter?"
"A short walk, I think," Potter called back over his shoulder. He had already
started down the tunnel, his wand out and lit. "I'm not certain -- I was rather
upset when I was here before."
"I would expect to smell such a large creature."
Potter sighed. "There's another door, professor." Severus could imagine the
superior look on the boy's face, just from the tone of his voice. "We're not in
the Chamber yet."
Severus set his jaw against an angry reply and followed. If there really was a
basilisk.... Well, for that, he might well forgive Harry Potter his father,
never mind that sigh. If not, Potter would never hear the end of this.

It was not until they reached the elaborately decorated door that Severus's
hope became anticipation. When the boy hissed out a harsh command, and the
carved snakes began to shift, anticipation became excitement. When the great
door, unsealed, swung open, and the sweet, stomach-churning scent of decay
rolled out in a putrid cloud, it was more than excitement. It was victory.
The door shut as quickly as it had opened. The Potter boy leaned against the
wall, gagging, spitting, and obviously struggling not to vomit. Severus
harnessed considerable stoicism and experience in order to keep himself from
doing the same. Finally, Potter got his reflexes under control, and blotted his
eyes dry on his sleeve.
"Enough of a smell for you, Snape?' he gasped.
"Mr. Potter!" Severus snapped. "This chamber is still part of Hogwarts. You
will address me properly. Is that clear?"
"But I'm the Parselmouth," Potter challenged, with a smile. "This is my place
more than yours."
"A Gryffindor's place? Hardly. Ten points from Gryffindor."
Potter rolled his eyes. "Fine, sir. Any idea how we get in?"
Severus permitted himself a slight smile. "The Bubble-Head Charm, Mr. Potter."
Severus was glad that Diggory had found the obscure Bubble-Head charm for the
second task of the Tri-Wizard tournament. Severus had grasped its usefulness
immediately, and set out to learn it. Since then, he had gathered for himself
several potions ingredients for which he had previously been compelled to
bargain with the merpeople.
After a short period of consideration, he decided he might require
communication with his guide, annoying as the boy could be. He cast the Bubble-
Head Charm on each of them, and then followed it with a secondary communication
charm that would carry sound from one bubble to the other.
"Do you hear me, Potter?" he asked, in a low voice.
"Fine, sir," Potter said. Severus saw him shiver and reflected that there was
no accounting for the vagaries of courage. Over the past year, Potter had
become more thoughtless about talking over him in Order meetings, yet more
inclined to tremble when Severus yelled at him in class. On the other hand,
perhaps that was not so odd. In class, he had no powerful allies to protect
him.
"Open the door, again," Severus ordered. Once more, the harsh hisses of the
tongue of serpents shivered through him. He wasn't aware he had vocalized
faintly in response until he heard more words in Parseltongue.
Potter went through the door.
"Thanking it, Potter?" Severus guessed. He stepped over the threshold.
"Just asking if youlikethat, professor." Potter said.
The sly emphasis he gave to "like" implied a more visceral attraction, but
Severus ignored the intended point of the jibe. "Entirely undeserved," he
snapped. "A Gryffindor with the gift!"
"The hat was obliging."
Severus might have asked for a clarification of this cryptic comment, but at
that point he glanced past his guide, and realized they had entered the Chamber
of Secrets itself.
Great pillars, entwined with stone snakes, rose on either side of him. Snape,
guessing there must be torches, lifted his wand and whispered the spell to
ignite them. He was right; they lit. The Chamber was magnificent.
They stood at the foot of a great, vaulted, stone hall, supported at intervals
by pillars identical to the ones that now flanked them. On either side of its
wide central aisle, dark reflecting pools enhanced and diffused the torchlight.
At the end of the aisle, an enormous statue of Salazar Slytherin looked
solemnly out on the cold grandeur. And most impressively of all, at the
statue's feet lay the rotting remains of an enormous serpent.
"You killed that?" Severus was deeply annoyed at the spontaneous admiration in
his voice. Potter, however, sounded oddly humble as he answered:
"Sort of." He pocketed his wand. "Fawkes blinded it for me, then brought me
Godric Gryffindor's sword. I just kept that between me and it until the stupid
thing tried to swallow me anyway." He recovered some of his usual arrogance to
add, "The difficult part was thinking to stab the basilisk's fang -- it had
broken off in my arm -- through Tom Riddle's diary. That kept him from killing
Ginny."
"And how did you survive having a basilisk's tooth in your arm?" Severus asked
dryly.
"Fawkes," Potter answered. "He cried for me." He shivered. "Otherwise, my
corpse would be next to this one. Hers, too." Potter hissed softly, in an
entirely human manner, this time. "So, how do we get the scales off it? This
will be gross. Do you want the fangs, too?"
Potter took a step forward, but Severus blocked his path with one arm. "One can
butcher a basilisk with proper protective equipment, and available antitoxins
to take in case of accident," Severus told him dryly. "Even if we had such
things, however, it is safest to do it with magic."
With that, he eyed the distant body, raised his wand, and drew it from left to
right in a cutting motion, splitting the snake's skin from head to tail. The
hard scales fell away from collapsed, dry flesh. A small cloud of insects rose,
and Severus felled them with another spell, as he did the second cloud that
rose when he pushed the decayed body back and off the skin. Across the spell
link, he heard Potter gag.
"Don't think about it," Severus instructed him impatiently. "Think about the
scales." He laughed shortly. "You and I will own the worldwide market in
basilisk scales." The implications of the words hit him as he spoke. "Forget
the potion!" he exclaimed. "Forget the money. Think of the power."
Potter made a small 'urk' sort of noise, and Severus looked at him in surprise.
"You can have it," Potter said quickly. "I don't care. Really."
Severus realized the boy was afraid. Not unintelligent, actually. After all,
here they were, in secret, alone.... He edged closer, enjoying Potter's
discomfort. In a quick move, he caught the boy around his chest, which was
still narrow, despite the height Potter had gained in the last year. Potter
started to reach for his wand, then, apparently thinking better of it, froze.
"You're quite safe, Potter," Severus whispered, lowering his voice to the
silky, evil tone that he had seen make Potter tremble in class. "I'm certain I
don't need to kill you."
The indomitable Harry Potter whimpered. It was a tiny, little sound. Without
the spell, Severus was not certain he would have heard it. Suddenly he found
himself wondering if it was really fear, or even anger, that made the boy
tremble when he spoke to him that way. Certainly, the bold Gryffindor should
not be quite so afraid of him, in any circumstance. If he expected to be
harmed, he should be spitting defiance and thrashing like a wildcat.
From an impulse he choose to call curiosity, Severus continued to hold the boy
close as he magically sliced the skin into five-foot sections and levitated
them to the base of the nearest pillar -- not too close, but safely away from
the worthless, rotten flesh of the basilisk. Potter stayed completely still,
like a trapped rabbit, but Severus could hear him panting.
"Would you like to see some Dark Arts?" Severus asked casually. He was getting
dangerously excited, he noticed. He was aware of his growing erection, an inch
back from the famous Harry Potter's motionless buttocks, and he dropped his
voice again, to its deepest purr. "This is all, of course, Dark Arts, but the
next one is more ... spectacular."
He pulled Potter into light contact with him as he raised his wand.
"Conflagrio!"
The rotting innards of the great serpent burst, at once, into flame. Wind
whipped past them, sucked towards the twisting line of fire. Severus took
advantage of the push to subtly press his body into the back of Potter's.
Potter, not at all subtly, pressed back.
Severus froze.
The boy's breath was loud across the shared spell as he rocked his hips,
shifting the crack of his arse back and forth across Severus's erection.
The flames began to lower. The wind lessened. Severus recovered his voice.
"Why, you little tart," he whispered. Before he had time to regret the words,
Harry moaned and began to push harder. Severus bit back a laugh. Trembles when
I dress him down, does he? Too bad I never looked at his lap while I was at it.
"Tart," he repeated deliberately. "Shoving up against me the moment you have an
excuse. Is that what you're thinking about while you're ruining potions? Hoping
I'll give up on your mind and fuck you over the table, like you want it?"
Potter --Harry -- whimpered, wordless, and nodded. Severus thought he couldn't
be less like the confident young man who argued with his betters in meetings.
Well, I suppose he needs to give in sometime.
"You're a worthless little brat," Severus growled, moving his free hand over to
rest on Harry's hip. He began to slide the other down Harry's body. The young
man's body was smooth beneath his robes. Very smooth, Severus realized. He had
reprimanded the boy, in class, for his lack of a collared shirt, but he had,
apparently wrongly, presumed a shirt of some sort. Severus's hand went from
chest to hip without encountering the bump of a seam. "You know that, don't
you?"
Harry nodded and moaned, and tried to turn his head to look over his shoulder,
but the Bubble-Head Charm made that impossible. Severus wanted to get closer
himself. With this on, he would never be able to lick and bite at the skin
beneath those concealing robes.
"Wait," he said, and stepped back. Harry whimpered and froze again, not
looking.
If you don't speak and you don't look, you aren't really doing this?Severus
thought, amused. Really!
The remains of the basilisk were now ash. Severus sent out a quick flame spell
to test the air and found it technically fit to breathe, but he was sure it
would still smell horrible. With an effort, he created a small dome around
them, and purified the air within it. Experimentally, he removed the Bubble-
Head Charm from himself. The air was not fresh, but it wasn't distractingly
offensive.
Harry was still standing where Severus had left him, but he was visibly
trembling, now. Rather than move back against him, Severus prowled around him
in a slow circle, surreptitiously watching Harry lick his lips and squirm under
the scrutiny. At Harry's back, he stepped close again. A quick "Finite
Incantantum" removed Harry's bubble. Harry's gasp came to him directly, now,
rather than magically. Severus seized the boy's hips and shoved up against him.
"Oh, much better." He bit Harry's neck possessively, like a mounting tomcat,
and growled. Harry cried out. He was shaking convulsively, as if he had been
poisoned. Severus was sure he would come the instant his prick was touched.
Get him over it and start him recovering,he decided. He's seventeen; he'll be
ready again in no time.
He reached around and began to unfasten the top of Harry's robes. Harry started
to help, then stopped, his hands remaining awkwardly up at his chest.
"Well, boy? Are you going to get that off, or are you going to flutter there?"
That was all the encouragement Harry needed to start undoing his robes as fast
as he could. When the gap was enough, Severus pushed the fabric from his
shoulders, and the rest fell down about his ankles, covering them in a pool of
black fabric.
And just as well. Nothing less sexy than someone standing about in shoes and
socks.
"Underwear, Harry?" Severus chided slyly. "And here I thought you were a good
little slut."
Harry gasped and made several attempt to speak before managing it, after a
fashion. "I ... if I don't... It would show, sir, when...."
He abandoned trying to explain, and instead pushed down the offending garment.
It had been obvious to Severus, even previously, that Harry had a considerable
erection to display, but now that it was uncovered and being pulled out from
his body by gravity, he had to take a moment to admire the graceful length of
it. Looking down over Harry's shoulder, he could see the moist red tip pushing
slightly out of its stretched sheath.
"That would be rather obvious, wouldn't it?" he purred. Harry nodded, visibly
relieved to be back to questions he could answer silently.
"You may wear them, then," Severus allowed. "Most of the time." He began to
slip a hand down the chest, with its light scattering of fine, dark hair, down
to the smooth, firm belly. The skin passed silkily beneath his fingertips. "But
next time I give you detention, you will come without. I don't care who sees
you making a tent of your robes on the way down."
Harry gasped and moaned. He tried to twist around again.
"Stupid little boy," Severus barked, grabbing the base of Harry's erection with
one hand and shoving his hips back into place with the other. "Stay there!"
It took all of five pumps with his fist, and the boy was coming, white spurts
arching out to fall in streaks on the stone floor and his crumpled robes. He
stood and panted while Severus milked out the last drops, coating his hand in
slippery warmth. Severus hissed in his ear, pretending displeasure. "No self--
control," he criticized. "But this is all about you, isn't it? I forgot."
Harry's voice was back, with an ability to form sentences.
"I was afraid you'd think better of it, professor," he said quickly. "That
you'd stop. But I'll do anything you want, I promise."
"Oh?" Severus was intrigued. "Was someone too noble to have you?"
Harry nodded. Severus wondered if he'd gone non--verbal again.
"Tell me who," he commanded sharply.
Harry bit his lip. "Charlie," he said. He dared a glance up. "Charlie Weasley.
I'd gone up to his room --" he stopped abruptly.
"Tell me."
"I -- this summer -- the others were busy, and he took me up to his room, and
he was showing me dragon scars, and ended up stripped down to boxers. Then when
I was looking, he started to get hard and he moved my hand over on it and told
me to rub him. And I did, and he seemed to like it, and even started taking off
my clothes. Then he just stopped and said he shouldn't, and made me leave."
Bet that's turned you off to good boys for life,Severus thought triumphantly.
Aloud, he snorted. "Typical Weasley. More morals than consideration." He
brought his slick hand up to Harry's face. "Lick me clean."
Eagerly, Harry began to lick his own come from Severus's hand. His tongue
stretched between each pair of fingers, and around the side of the thumb. When
he was at a fingertip, Severus bent the finger into his mouth, and,
responsively, Harry sucked up and down its full length.
"Greedy child," Severus reproved, trying not to pant. Harry sucked harder,
curving his tongue along the finger in his mouth.
"Would you like to please me?"
Harry nodded eagerly. His flushed face looked angelically happy.
"On your knees, then."

The trembling in his hands made it difficult for Severus to undo the buttons on
his robes. His only consolation was that he suspected Harry was still too far
gone to notice. Harry, in fact, took over with the lower buttons, letting
Severus start on his trousers.
Severus judged that the abortive groping with Charlie was the outer limit of
Harry's sexual experience. Though clearly enthusiastic, he froze for a moment
when Severus's erection was finally uncovered. He stroked up and down its
length a few times, with a reverent concentration that more than compensated
for any lack of craft. Hesitantly, he bent to it and kissed the tip, then bent
further, to lick up the length from base to head.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing, Potter?" Severus asked, amused, at the
third repetition of this. Harry smiled quickly up at him and shook his head,
but the next thing he did was to take the tip of Severus's cock in his mouth.
Severus gasped, and grabbed at the boy's shoulders. Encouraged, Harry slid his
lips further down, taking enough length to fill his mouth, at least.
"Oh, yes," Severus moaned, then caught himself. He panted for a moment, trying
to regain control. Harry's inexpert ministrations would have been good enough
in themselves, but on top of that, he had Harry Potter -- better yet, James
Potter's son -- kneeling at his feet, and an inestimably valuable pile of
basilisk parts a short distance away. The combined sense of mastery was enough
to make him too high to think. He needed to force some sense of distance into
the moment.
"That smart mouth of yours appears to have some use, Potter," he sneered.
And Harry looked up. Those eyes -- like flames dusted with copper salts -
- those eyes completely destroyed any illusion of James. Severus wasn't sure he
could ever see James in that face again. Unthinking, Severus brushed a hand
tenderly through the messy hair. Harry twitched. He worked Severus's erection
with his hand for a moment, to free his mouth.
"I don't expect I'm any good," he said apologetically. "You'll have to tell me
--"
"On your back," Severus growled.
Harry looked confused. "Back? Lie down?"
"Yes, Potter. Lie down. On your back."
Harry complied quickly, but nervously. He visibly relaxed when Severus
straddled his face. Without waiting for instruction, he arched up to try to
take Severus's prick into his mouth again, but was frustrated by the angle.
Severus leaned forward, his hands on either side of Harry's hips, to give him
better access.
"I'm afraid it's not as comfortable a position," he said, not at all
apologetically. He shifted his weight to one hand to free the other.
Deliberately he trailed his nails from the delicate skin of Harry's stomach
down past his hard cock and swollen balls to the inside of his left thigh. He
pushed his hips down slightly, to thrust deeper into Harry's mouth, but only
for a few seconds. "You'll have considerably less control of depth," he noted.
Harry, coughing to clear his throat, would be quite aware of that, now.
"However, I've left your hands free -- I trust you can manage."
He brought his own hand up to press Harry's balls apart, then slid it around to
encircle and lift his revived erection. Harry's whimper vibrated against his
own. "But the advantages are obvious," he said, and left description at that.
In a second, his mouth was too full of Harry's stiff cock for anything more
than muffled cries of pleasure.
He had the odd thought that Harry's technique was swiftly acquiring variety
from example, and then that of course the boy was physically-oriented and would
learn sex faster than any more intellectual subject, but this theory lost
coherence as the empirical proof progressed. As he neared release, he lost any
thought of holding back, and shoved down into Harry's throat with selfish
violence. Harry retaliated by gripping the base of his cock to hold him from
full entry, but the boy somehow thought to tighten and relax his grip in quick
pulses, and it was all slick and hot, and Harry's hips were rising in time to
his own thrusts. Severus pulled away, gasping, as his cock became entangled
with his mind, and the world darkened, then exploded, as he shot from his cock
into Harry's hot mouth.
Harry choked slightly, swallowed, and resumed a gentle motion with his lips and
tongue. A soft murmur vibrated pleasantly along Severus's skin. Severus let him
continue for the time it took to catch his breath, then shifted his hips away.
At this point, he thought, with his ability to concentrate restored, he should
get a better angle and use some finesse in reciprocating Harry's attentions.
Being intimidating might be enough to get him a tumble in Salazar's strange
hall, but he expected it would take some skill to draw the boy back, once they
returned to their places of habit in the school.
He moved around to lie between Harry's legs, and retreated to long, slow licks.
Harry whimpered and grabbed at his hair. I really ought to pay more attention
to that, as well, Severus thought briefly. The matter slipped his mind as he
took the head of Harry's cock in his mouth. He gripped with his lips to shift
the foreskin up and down, and then used his tongue to trace once around the rim
of the head, and up to the tiny slit. Harry moaned and bucked his hips, and
Severus obligingly took him deep.
He had planned to draw it out, but the boy was far too close. His thrusts
became more frantic, and Severus let up slightly, to get back to a depth where
he could swallow. He moved a hand to the base of Harry's cock, both to steady
it and to milk it in time with the thrusts. He was just in time. The boy arched
his back and cried out as he came -- three quick spurts that filled Severus's
mouth completely. Severus swallowed the thick, bitter fluid, then took his time
extracting the last drops with his tongue. It always tasted best, he thought,
on the very tip of his tongue.

After a minute of quiet panting, Harry groaned happily and pushed up on his
elbows. "That was amazing. Can we do it again?"
Severus had no doubt they would do it again -- he planned to continue this for
as long as Harry maintained his bizarre interest, and as frequently as his
discretion allowed.
"I expect the headmaster would object," he replied neutrally. He unfolded his
cramped and stone-bruised legs and decided the next encounter should be
someplace more comfortable, atmosphere be damned.
Harry sat up and favored him with a most unbelievable attempt at wide-eyed
innocence. "He keeps saying we should try doing something together, though."
"I doubt that mutual fellatio is quite what he had in mind."
Harry shrugged. "Well, if he can't be specific, that's hardly my problem," he
said. "I'm taking his recommendation."
Severus sniggered. "Of course."

Renewing the Bubble-Head Charms was distasteful. Harry had suggested the
Basilisk parts might be safest stored in the chamber, so Severus brought only
one five-foot section -- more of a fortune than he had ever possessed in his
life, and enough to make a Malfoy look twice -- out to the tunnel with them.
After they had stepped through the portal, Harry turned and hissed, and the
carved snakes, in sequential slides, resealed their secret. Severus canceled
the Bubble-Head Charms, and caught at Harry from behind.
"Again?" Harry asked. He sounded surprised, but willing. Severus laughed and
caught at Harry's chin, pulling his head far enough to the side to manage a
kiss. He hadn't kissed the boy before, he realized. Harry tasted like semen -
- like him. Severus pushed his tongue deep to appreciate the invisible marking
he had left.
"Don't be foolish," he chided coolly, once he let up. He released Harry and
stepped away. "We should wait."
"Oh," Harry answered, his voice suddenly very quiet. He scuffed at the floor
with the toe of a worn trainer.
"After all, it wouldn't do for you to skip all your classes. People will ask
questions. And you'll need dinner, if you're to be of any use, tonight."
Harry smiled dazzlingly. "Well, all right, then," he said.
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