Title: Master of the Medium
Author: torino10154
Characters: Severus/Harry
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Bloodplay, anal
Themes/kinks chosen: Bloodplay
Word Count: ~1500
Summary: Severus has a unique talent for art and a most willing assistant.
Author's notes: My first offering for daily_deviant. I hope it pleases. Thank you to drachenmina and jadzialove for invaluable suggestions, Britpick, beta and SPAG. Any mistakes that remain are mine alone.

Harry opened the heavy glass door for Hermione, Ron, and himself. He bit his lip nervously—he was very anxious to finally show them Severus's work. Each set of eyes squinted slightly as they entered the brightly-lit gallery.

"Snape did these?" Ron asked, mouth hanging open.

Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm. "They're remarkable, Harry. I had no idea he was so talented."

Harry grinned. "Severus is very talented. Of course his potions business is his top priority, but he enjoys working on these in his spare time." Hanging on the white walls were black frames, most of them about a yard square, containing dark brown, black, and rusty hues in stark relief against white canvases.

"Didn’t you tell me he had a special wand made?" Hermione asked as she looked closely at a piece entitled The Raven. The wide black wings stretched to the edges of the canvas, its dark eyes the focal point.

"Yeah, it's shorter, thinner. It gives him more control when he's working on the details." Harry turned and walked a few feet toward an image that appeared to be a vase of flowers. "See? Look at the petals on this one. He can't do that with his usual wand."

"Is this a snake? Surely it's not—" Ron said staring.

"Yep, Nagini. I think he has nightmares about her to be honest, although he'd never admit it," Harry said quietly. Of course he knew Severus had nightmares, they both did.

"What sort of paint is that?" Hermione said, standing mere inches from the image of the giant snake rearing its head as if to strike the very next passer-by.

Harry smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Hermione. It's an all natural, renewable, totally organic pigment."

"Which is what accounts for the variations in colour, Mrs. Weasley," a deep, husky voice intoned.

"Severus," Harry said, smiling broadly upon seeing his lover, then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Severus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder, gently but possessively.

"These are extraordinary, Professor. I've never seen anything like them," Hermione said, her eyes lit up with admiration. "Would you be willing to tell us about your technique?"

Severus looked at Harry for a moment before he replied, "I'm afraid that shall have to remain my secret."

~*~

Harry lay spread-eagled on his stomach on a magically treated, stain resistant fabric, head turned to the right. Outwardly, his body appeared completely relaxed, but inside, Severus knew, he was thrumming with tension.

"Sectumcirrus." Severus moved his wand in a gentle curling motion and the skin in Harry's back sliced open in a delicate curlicue right beneath his shoulder blade. A soft gasp and a slight flinch were Harry's only reactions. Quite a feat of self-control, Severus thought admiringly. Severus directed the cutting spell into an elegant dragon's wing. He moved to work on Harry's other shoulder and continued the symmetrical pattern, slicing just deep enough for the blood to pool at the point of incision, but not to run down Harry's back and sides.

It astounded him still how aroused Harry became, as they had only discovered their mutual interest in bloodplay accidentally. Harry had cut himself and come to Severus for it to be healed. A wave of lust had swept over Severus as he licked the wound, his astonished eyes fixed on Harry's as they went wide with desire. Several cuts and two fucks later, Severus had found his calling and Harry, his greatest pleasure.

As always, seeing the deep, red blood contrasting with the lightly tanned skin of Harry's flesh stirred Severus's prick, already anticipating the slick slide of their bodies. He knew Harry was having the same little problem as he watched his arse clench with the next cut. Once he’d finished, he'd pound into that tight arse until they both saw stars—but for now, there was work to be done.

When they first began creating these works of art, Harry had become so aroused as his cock rubbed against the fabric and Severus cut into his skin, that he'd come, and ruined several of Severus's pieces by moving abruptly. Severus had taken to binding his cock and balls with a thin leather cord preventing orgasm. The boy had needed to learn a little discipline, Severus thought to himself with a smirk.

"Stay still," Severus hissed as Harry humped against the cloth beneath him. He once again took up his artist's wand: eight inches of maple with a Red Cap hair core. The claws of the dragon looked as if they were digging into the flesh of Harry's arse, each talon drawing his blood. Severus stood back and admired his work. Yes, that would do quite nicely. His prick throbbed its approval.

A white cloth was summoned and, suspending it in mid-air, Severus flattened it, smoothing every wrinkle. "I'm ready to apply the cloth now," he warned Harry as the fabric slowly descended onto Harry's back, remaining there long enough to pick up each of the fine lines but not to become over saturated. Severus then lifted the wet cloth taking great care to keep it perfectly flat as he maneuvered it into the adjacent room to dry away from the light and heat in his studio. Work finished, Severus looked back at his still bleeding lover feeling a sense of accomplishment in a job well done as well as a desperate, overpowering need to fuck Harry through the mattress.

"Did it come out?" Harry asked, cheek still pressed to the fabric beneath him, hips gyrating slowly, desperate for friction on his neglected cock.

Severus removed his blood-spattered shirt and stripped himself of his trousers and pants as he replied. "It would seem so. I'll have to see how it looks once it has had time to dry."

Seeing Harry thrusting futilely, aching to come, he stared at his artwork, anticipation building in his chest, and then he lowered himself carefully to lie on top of his lover, covering every inch of skin with his own, pressing his chest to the lightly bleeding cuts. His cock pulsed with the knowledge that he now was marked with an identical pattern. He licked across Harry's shoulder, the slick skin tasting of iron, sweat and the rich taste that he identified as Harry's alone. His aching cock slid between Harry cheeks as he rocked them together.

"Oh, God, Severus," Harry moaned. Knowing he needed to heal Harry's wounds within the hour to prevent scarring, Severus dared not tarry too long. He Summoned a phial of lube and sat back, his own chest smeared with blood, and poured the golden liquid onto two of his fingers. Easing first one finger and then the other inside his lover, he stretched and loosened the tight ring of muscle, his other hand roaming over Harry's back, loving the look and feel of blood on his hand.

"Fuck," Harry gasped.

Tossing the lube aside, Severus smeared blood over his cock, the sight of his blood-tinged shaft making him even harder. Pressing forward in one smooth motion, he eased inside his lover’s body and immediately felt the tight channel pull him deeper. Hands braced at either side of Harry's head, he licked the sweat from Harry's temple, then trailed his tongue along his jaw and neck, reveling in the salty tang.

Harry moaned, his breath now fast and uneven.

Severus pulled out almost completely before pushing back in roughly. Harry's hands began scrabbling at the fabric beneath him, moaning and grunting, his arse rising to meet Severus with every thrust. Harry's skin was sticky, sweaty, salty, metallic: Severus lapped at every inch that his tongue could reach.

"Please, Severus. I need to come," Harry begged. Severus reached beneath him, releasing the leather cord that bound Harry's cock and balls, and fisted his cock in time with his thrusts. Harry arched his back and came, his arse clenching around Severus's prick, the tight heat threatening to rip his orgasm from him before he was ready.

Gritting his teeth, Severus rode out Harry's orgasm. Then, as his lover collapsed to the floor, he pulled out and splattered his come over the lesions across Harry's abused torso. The salty semen burned, he knew, but he loved the way it looked and the exquisite cry Harry gave as he smeared his hands through the viscous fluids nearly made him hard all over again. He admired his handiwork for only a moment, regretting that he couldn't put this on canvas for all the world to see, before he cast "Scourgify", Harry whimpering at the sensation, and began the song-like incantation that healed the whole range of his Sectumsempra spells in order to knit Harry's flesh.

When he was finished, Harry lay panting heavily. Severus pulled on his shoulder gently, rolling him over enough to kiss him roughly.

"That was brilliant, Sev," Harry said breathlessly, eyes glassy, and then Severus was standing, Summoning the dittany that he would need to prevent scarring Harry's back.

It wouldn't do to ruin his canvas.