Snarry-a-Thon11: FIC: 'Til I Kissed You Title: 'Til I Kissed You Author:misbehavingmom Other pairings/threesome: Harry/OMC (very brief), Ron/Hermoine Rating: PG-13 Word count: 5,525 Warning(s): (highlight for spoilers) *Mild angst, EWE, Post-Hogwarts.* Prompt: #141 - After prior experiences with Cho and Ginny, Harry is not that fond of kissing. Can Snape change his mind? Summary: The war is over and Harry is back at Grimmauld Place with an unlikely house guest. A/N: Thank you to A.T. for talking me through the plot holes and speedy beta. A special thank you to accioslash for the extension in time! To the prompter: I had so much fun writing this prompt. I hope this is close to what you wanted!! The title of this fic is from the song of the same name by the fabulous Everly Brothers.
'Til I Kissed You
Severus turned an amused smirk into his trademark sneer as he watched Harry stumble from the Floo and into the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. The boy had defeated the Dark Lord not once, but twice and he still couldn’t walk on his own two feet. Harry immediately closed the Floo behind him and headed toward the refrigerator. Seeing the smear of lipstick on the corner of his mouth, Severus knew he'd most likely been with the Weasley chit. Harry looked annoyed, his face screwed up in concentration, muttering to himself. Must be trouble in paradise, Severus thought.
“Problems, Potter?” Severus asked, a taunting edge to his voice.
Harry stopped suddenly, a startled look on his face. “Damn it, Snape, you could have warned me you were here,” he snapped. He opened the refrigerator and snagged a can of lemonade before pulling out a chair and sitting opposite Snape at the table. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Severus watched in mild disgust as Harry popped the top on his lemonade can and downed half of it in one gulp. “I’m not here by choice. The location of my home has been leaked and Shacklebolt insisted this hovel was the only place they could keep me safe.”
Harry set the can down and buried his face in his hands. Kingsley had sent him an owl saying he needed to place on Order member at Grimmauld for their protection. Harry had been distracted by Ginny and had merely scrawled his okay and sent the owl back, failing to ask for details. "Just what I need," he mumbled to himself.
"I heard that, Potter." Snape brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his robes. "As I said, it was not my choice to stay here. I would happily have stayed anywhere else, but the Ministry is worried for my safety." Severus sneered. "It is more likely they are worried about covering their own asses in the event of something happening to me."
Harry looked up. “Kingsley's right. We can’t have any wannabe Death Eaters trying to off you. Most of the wizarding world has forgiven you, but there are still plenty after both of us.” Harry sighed, and dropped his head to the table with a thud.
"Trouble in paradise," Severus asked.
"What?" Harry jerked his head up and glared at Snape.
"You're obviously distressed and young Ms. Weasley has left a bit of her lip colour on you face. It stands to reason you've been with her and things aren't going well. Unless of course you're stepping out on her and you're feeling guilty."
"I'm not cheating on Ginny!" Harry shouted, glaring daggers at Snape.
"Fine, you're not cheating on her. What has you so distressed?"
"Why do you care? Don't you usually gloat over my misery?"
Severus stood and carried his teacup to the sink. He busied himself, tidying the counter top. "I'm just trying to be sociable. If we're going to be staying under the same roof, shouldn't we try to get along?"
Harry laughed. "Kingsley threatened you, didn’t he?"
Severus shuddered and glared at Harry. “He said I’m to treat you kindly and we are to co-exist without hexing each other or he’d be forced to send me to the Weasleys.”
Harry finished the lemonade and tossed the can in the rubbish bin. “Admit it, you just wanted to stay here to torture me some more. Didn’t you get enough of that at Hogwarts?”
“Honestly, Potter. I thought we had put that behind us. You saw my memories, you know why I treated you the way I did.”
“I know what you did, Snape.” Harry jumped up from the table and started pacing the kitchen, his agitation showing again.
Severus watched Harry; something was definitely wrong with the boy. Damned if he was going to stand here and beg him to confess the problem. Kingsley had threatened him with the Weasleys, but to be honest he was more than ready to put his feud with Potter behind them. He’d proven himself to be more like Lily than James, and he’d fulfilled the prophecy and defeated Voldemort and none of it had changed him. He was still the same annoying brat he had been before. “I’m cleaning out the old potions lab and will be resuming my brewing. The two rooms at the end of the hall are off limits to you and your friends.” He turned quickly and strode out of the room, his robes billowing behind him.
Harry was so caught up in his own thoughts he barely noticed Snape leaving the room. He didn’t need the added stress of his snarky ex-potions professor mucking up his day. Ginny was giving him enough problems. Well, maybe that wasn’t true. She wasn’t trying to be a problem. He supposed it was quite normal for her to want to snog the daylights out of him, but he just couldn’t take all the pawing and groping. All she wanted to do was kiss. Apparently she wasn’t the only one. Everywhere he went there were couples snogging. In the market, at the movies, behind every closed door at the Weasleys. He’d even walked in on Fred and George and some unknown person, and they were far beyond the snogging stage.
Ginny had been quite unhappy with him today. He had repeatedly fended off her attempts to get them alone and away from the family. Ron wasn’t any help. Hermione was back from Australia and they were sneaking off every chance they got. He’d finally had to tell Ginny that he needed more time. He explained that he was still coming to terms with all that had happened. She accused him of leading her on and falling in love with someone else. Truth was, he wasn’t sure he was ever in love with Ginny. Sure, he enjoyed spending time with her, but most of the time they were discussing Quidditch or hanging out with Ron and Hermione. They didn’t spend all that much time alone and she had always been the one to initiate the kissing. Her kisses were okay. Better than the ones with Cho. Her crying had been quite a turn off and he hadn't wanted to be a replacement for Cedric. Ron and Hermione seemed to enjoy kissing quite a bit. Harry had seen Ron stumble back to the dorms after a marathon snogging session with Hermione and he always looked quite dazed and happy. Harry couldn’t think of a single time that he’d felt that way after a kiss.
* * * * *
The sounds of raised voices piercing the air, and a loud crash brought Severus out if his concentration. Someone was in the kitchen with Harry and it wasn’t a friendly visit.
Putting his potion under a stasis spell, Severus quickly left the room to investigate. Kingsley would kill him if anything happened to the Saviour on his watch. Walking into the kitchen, Severus was surprised to see what looked to be Ronald Weasley storming out of the kitchen and Harry sitting in the middle of the floor amid a mess of broken glass and spilled food, his nose bleeding and his eye beginning to bruise.
"Don't even start Snape. I've had a bad enough day without you taking a swipe at me too."
Severus raised an eyebrow at Harry, pulled his wand from the depths of his robes and cleaned the debris from the kitchen floor. He offered his hand to Harry, pulling him up from the floor. "I can heal those for you," Severus offered.
Harry looked surprised. "Thanks, but I earned them. Wouldn't be right to just heal them.”
"Ever the brave Gryffindor," Severus muttered shaking his head. He went to the stove and set about making a pot of tea.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I simply meant that you don't always have to bear the burdens that are placed on you." Severus turned the flame up under the kettle and turned to face Harry. "I'm not sure what Mr. Weasley thinks you're guilty of, but I doubt it warranted the behaviour he exhibited here today."
"You don't know anything about it," Harry argued. "He has every right to be upset at me."
Severus sighed. "If you aren't cheating on his sister, there is nothing you could have done to deserve to have your supposed best friend punch you in the face." He turned back to tend to the tea while Harry dug around in the freezer, producing a bag of vegetables.
Severus set the tea on the table, placing a cup for both of them and a tin of biscuits he found in the pantry. Harry was slouched in his chair, his head leaned back with the frozen bag pressed to his eye.
"I broke up with Ginny."
Severus looked up from pouring the tea, not sure he'd heard him correctly. “Whatever for? Come to think of it, I could never understand what you saw in her.”
Harry glared at him from his uncovered eye. “It’s none of your business.”
“Oh, come now, Potter.” Snape prodded. “Don’t be absurd. Weasley’s temper resulted in the destruction of the kitchen. Now out with it.”
“Leave it alone. I told you I don’t want to talk about it,” Harry shouted, throwing the bag of peas across the table at his former professor.
Snape easily dodged the bag and took a sip of his tea, ignoring Harry’s outburst. He calmly opened the tin of biscuits, selecting one and dunking it in his tea. “You know I’ll win at a battle of wills. Shall we do this the easy way or the hard way?”
“Stay out of my head,” Harry demanded.
“I promise you, I’d rather not be in your head, but I refuse to leave this alone. Now tell me why Mr Weasley destroyed the kitchen this morning and why your face is bleeding and bruised.”
“Why Snape, I didn’t know you cared,” Harry said in a sickly sweet voice.
“Don’t be stupid. I don’t care, but I’ll be damned if I get blamed for this somehow. I’m not going to be forced to stay with the Weasleys because Kingsley thinks I let you get hurt.”
“So, it’s all about covering your own arse again, isn’t it?”
“No, I just fail to understand why you would remove yourself from a relationship with Miss Weasley.”
Harry opened his mouth, but quickly closed it when he realised what Snape had said. Could he do this? Could he actually tell Snape why he’d broken up with Ginny? He met Severus' dark eyes, which were unreadable as always. Still, he was sure he saw a flicker of something human in them. Sighing, he snagged a few biscuits from the tin and took a drink of tea.
“I told her that I needed more time to deal with what happened during the War. I don’t know what she told her family. Ron didn’t really say much this morning. He just came in and started throwing things, yelling that I’d hurt his sister.” Harry stopped and waited for a snide remark from Snape. Surprised when none came, he continued. “She just overwhelms me. Always trying to get us alone, constantly touching me. It’s just too much, I can’t deal with it any more.”
“Are the atrocities of the war really what’s bothering you?” Snape asked, his voice smooth and deep, encouraging Harry to confide in him. “Or is there more to it?”
Harry swallowed nervously. He’d tried to talk to Ron about this before, but his friend had looked at him like he was crazy and hadn’t been any help at all. He’d been too embarrassed to talk about it to Hermione; he loved her but he really didn’t want a theoretical lesson on the subject. “All she ever wants to do is snog, and I just don’t like kissing.” Harry’s face flushed and he stared down at the cup in his hands.
“Perhaps you’ve merely been kissing the wrong person.”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t like kissing Cho either, but I figured you remembered that from Occlumency lessons.”
“Did you ever stop to think your interests might lie with the other gender,” Snape asked quietly.
Harry looked up sharply, the blush on his face intensifying. It had crossed his mind, more than once. He’d known his obsession with Malfoy in sixth year was more than just watching for Death Eater activity, but it had taken quite some time to work it out in his head. It wasn’t until he’d flown Draco out of the Fiendfyre that he’d realised he had some sort of feelings for him. That was short lived. Malfoy might have not wanted to serve Voldemort, but he was just as big a prat as he had been before.
“I see,” Snape said gently. “You do realise that it’s perfectly normal. I know Muggles can be discriminatory against homosexuality, but it is quite commonplace in the Wizarding World.”
“I’ve never,” Harry stuttered. “What I mean to say is, I haven’t…” he trailed off. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with anyone, much less Snape.
“You’ve been quite busy; it’s understandable that you haven’t experimented much.” Snape sat his empty cup down and folded his hands on the table. “I do recommend that you find yourself a nice lad to snog, you might find the results surprising. I know I did.” Snape stood up abruptly and immediately left the room, leaving a speechless Harry behind.
* * * * *
Harry locked himself in his room for three days following his fight with Ron. It wasn't the first time Ron had attacked Harry without all the facts. It happened more frequently than Harry had realised, and he began to understand that he'd kept his increasingly sexual confusion and feelings of loss to himself in hopes of not having to deal with Ron and his temper.
The realisation of this left Harry reeling. Hadn't he and Ron been through enough in the last seven years? Did he really not trust Harry? He was tired of putting up with Ron's crap, and he knew he wouldn't be hiding the truth from either him or Hermione any longer. He could only imagine what Ron's reaction to the news that Harry was gay would be.
Turns out Harry didn't have long to wait. On the third day Hermione showed up at Grimmauld Place dragging Ron behind her and pounding on Harry's door, demanding that he open up or she'd blow it to pieces. Knowing she wasn't bluffing, he opened his door and let them both in, closing and warding the door behind them. No sense in disturbing Snape with the drama Harry was certain was coming.
“Ow,” Ron complained when Hermione smacked him on the head. He glared at her before turning to Harry. Harry tried to stop him, he was fairly certain that Ron was going to be even angrier when he left the room. “I'm sorry, mate. I shouldn't have lost my temper without having all the facts. I know you'd never purposely hurt Ginny.”
“You're right, I wouldn't.” Harry pointed toward the squishy sofa in the corner. “Have a seat.”
“What's the matter, Harry?” Hermione's voice was soft. She'd obviously sensed his tension.
Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “There's something I need to tell you guys. I'm not sure how you're going to feel about it.”
“I knew it!” Ron jumped to his feet. “I knew you were cheating on Ginny! Who is it Harry? Who's better than my sister?”
Angered by Ron's accusations, Harry's temper got the best of him. He shoved Ron. “You stupid git!” Harry yelled, poking his finger into Ron's chest. “I didn't cheat on your sister. I broke up with her because I'm gay.” Harry shoved Ron a final time, pushing him back down beside Hermione.
The room was eerily silent. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione staring up at him, open mouthed. He smiled at the reminder of his reaction to Snape's revelation to him a few nights ago.
Hermione was the first to recover. She jumped up and threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. “Oh, Harry. Did you think it would change our friendship? Honestly, I just want you to find someone to make you happy. It doesn't matter who it is.”
“It's not one of my brothers is it?”
Harry and Hermione pulled apart and looked at Ron. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the look on Ron's face. “Eww, no. That would just be weird.”
Ron cleared his throat and stood up. He extended his hand to Harry. “Forgive me? I really don't care that you fancy blokes as long as you weren't fooling around on Ginny.”
Harry grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him into a group hug with Hermione. Ron's reaction was a surprise; maybe this was a sign that things were going to be okay after all.
* * * * *
The trio spent the remainder of the afternoon in the kitchen eating chocolates and biscuits and drinking butterbeer. They were discussing Ron and Hermione’s upcoming travel plans when Snape emerged from his lab.
“Snape?” Ron looked at Harry. “Did you know Snape was here?”
Harry's mouth was full and he nodded helplessly.
“That's Professor Snape to you, Weasley.” Severus sneered at Ron and nodded to Hermione. “Miss. Granger.”
“Hello, Sir. I wasn't aware you were staying here.”
Severus summoned a mug and poured himself a butterbeer, sitting down next to Harry. “My home has been compromised; the Ministry saw fit to place me here for the time being.”
Hermione looked suspicious, but merely nodded without asking any more questions.
Harry shook his head. Honestly, what could Hermione have to be worried about now? “Ron and Hermione are going on holiday next month.”
“Is that so? May I ask where your travels will take you?”
Ron's mouth fell open, and he stared between Harry and Snape.
“Close your mouth Mr. Weasley. I do know how to socialise.” Severus snagged a chocolate biscuit and redirected his question to Hermione. “I haven't been on holiday for a great many years, do tell me what you've planned.”
“Well, I've just returned from Australia, but I didn't get a chance to visit New Zealand, so we thought we'd start there. After that we're going to attend the Quidditch World Cup and then play it by ear from there.”
“After recent events, no one could blame you for taking an extended holiday. You've both earned it. I was quite impressed with both of you over the past year.”
Hermione blushed. “Thank you, sir.”
Ron's mouth fell open again and Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs. Ron jerked and rubbed at the sore spot on his side. “Um, yeah, thanks.”
* * * * *
Harry's first chance to test Severus' theory came the night before Ron and Hermione were set to leave for their summer holiday. The trio met a group of their friends at the new club, Tangled, in London. Neville, Seamus, Dean, Ginny, the Patil twins and Luna were all in attendance. They drank copious amounts of alcohol, finally being free to let their guards down and enjoy being the young adults they were. The more they drank, the more uninhibited they became until half way through the night they were in a huge group on the dance floor, lost in the music and themselves. Hermione steered Harry around, nodding off to another group of dancers, a sly smile on her face.
Across the dance floor staring back at him was a cute dark haired boy, somewhere about his age. Harry smiled shyly at the boy and was rewarded with a huge smile and a wink. A thrill ran through Harry, yep definitely gay. Ginny or Cho had never caused that kind of rush in him. He continued dancing with his friends, his eyes glancing back to the boy whenever he was in his view. Harry saw the other boy leave the dance floor and head to the toilets. He motioned to Hermione that he would be back soon and headed in the direction the other boy had gone. He was walking down the hallway when the boy appeared out of the shadows.
"I haven't seen you around before, beautiful," the boy said, his eyes travelling up and down Harry's body appreciatively.
"I don't get out much."
"That's a shame. I'm Aiden, what's your name, baby?"
"Harry," he replied, fighting the urge to laugh. He wasn't sure that he would ever adjust to a man calling him baby.
"You've got the prettiest lips I've ever seen. Kiss me." Aiden pulled Harry back against the wall. His lips met Harry's, firm and demanding, his tongue pressing along Harry's lips, searching for entrance. Harry returned the kiss, opening his mouth. He tentatively swiped his tongue across Aiden's, exploring the other boy's mouth.
Someone stumbled through the hallway, bumping into them and disrupting the kiss. "Come on, baby, let's get out of here." Aiden pulled at Harry's arm, urging him to follow along.
Harry pulled his arm back. "No. My friends are here and I'm not leaving without them.”
“Why do you want to be such a prude? We can have a good time. Lets go back to my place, beautiful.”
“No.” Harry incanted a wordless, wandless spell to keep Aiden from approaching him. The boy wouldn't know why, but he wouldn't be able to lay another hand on Harry. “Have a good evening, Aiden. I'm going to find my friends now.”
Harry left the confused boy behind and made his way back to the main part of the bar. Ron, Hermione and the rest of the group had moved back to the table and we're busy quenching their thirst. Hermione gave Harry a questioning look, but he merely shook his head and squeezed in between Neville and Luna. He spent the remainder of the evening deep in thought, and finally excused himself with a headache after the fourth person had to call his attention to the conversation at the table.
* * * * *
The next morning found Harry surly and a general pain to be around. He snapped at Severus several times over the course of the day and now felt guilty for taking his frustrations out on the man. What he'd thought was going to be a good situation had turned into a disaster waiting to happen. Kissing Aiden had convinced him he was definitely into blokes, but it didn't set him on fire and that was what he wanted. Someone whose kiss could make his heart rate soar. To make matters worse Snape was being extra prickly today as well. He'd made a lot of unusual noises early in the day, as if he was trying to wake Harry, then he’d been sure to speak loudly and rattle the pots and pans, all while claiming not to be able to find his Hangover Potion. An afternoon nap helped Harry's disposition immensely and, after waking, he went to find Severus and apologize.
Harry found him in the kitchen on his knees before the fireplace taking a Floo call from Kingsley. Snape hurriedly ended the conversation when he saw Harry. He stood up and brushed non-existent dirt from the knees of his trousers. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah, the nap helped my headache.” He motioned to the Floo with his head. “What did Kingsley want?”
“Hmm?” Severus asked, distracted by something behind Harry.
Harry snapped his fingers, trying to get Snape's attention. “What did Kingsley want?”
“He was updating me on the status of the Ministry's investigation into the issues with my home. Apparently he thinks it may be an inside job and I will be forced to stay here until the matter is resolved.” Snape turned and began brewing a pot of tea.
Harry eyed Snape's back suspiciously. He had ended the Floo call as soon as he noticed Harry enter the room. Harry hadn't been able to hear either his or Kingsley's voice. Something was up. Snape was acting nervous - the man was always calm, even in the face of death - and now he was nervous about being caught on a Floo call with the Minister of Magic.
“What's going on, Snape?”
“I'm making tea, would you like a cup?”
“Stop ignoring me!” Harry grabbed Severus by the arm and turned him around. “What are you not telling me?”
“I don't know what gave you the idea that we're hiding anything from you.” Snape levitated the tea set to the table, pointedly looking away from Harry as he walked by. “Shall I pour you a cup?”
“Fuck the tea. Tell me what's going on now, or I'm going to Kingsley. If I find out you've been hiding things from me, you'll wish your ex-friends had got hold of you instead.”
Severus sat down at the table and prepared his tea. He took a sip, savouring it for a moment before indicating for Harry to sit. Harry flopped down in the chair across from Snape, glaring at the man. “There's no need to go to Shacklebolt. I'll tell you whatever you want to know.” Snape summoned the bottle of Firewhiskey, and added a generous amount to his tea.
“Why are you here?” Harry asked. “I mean, why are you staying here at Grimmauld Place?”
“The truth is the location of my home was leaked. Four of my former associates paid a house call and I was the only one to leave. Kingsley knew the source had to be in the Ministry and I wouldn't be safe unless I was placed behind a Fidelius charm.”
“I already know all of that, tell me something I don't.” Harry grabbed the bottle of whisky and downed a large swig from the bottle.
“I asked Kingsley to put me here.”
Harry sputtered, shooting Firewhiskey across the table, barely missing Snape's robes. “You asked to be here?” Severus nodded. “Why? What on Earth would possess you to want to be stuck here in this Hell hole with me?”
“Harry, I...” Snape paused and followed Harry's lead, taking a shot of Firewhiskey from the bottle. “I was worried about you. All of your friends are going back to relatively normal lives, the same ones they lived before the War. You are here alone. No one to talk to, no one who understands the horrors of learning to live with the things you've done, the things that haunt your nightmares. I've been there, Harry. I've been alone, suffering with no hope of surviving. I didn't want that for you.”
The kitchen was silent, except for the ticking of the clock on the mantle. Harry studied Snape's face. “What about sending you to the Weasleys? Did you make that up just for my sake?”
Severus laughed. “Actually, no. He really did threaten to send me there.” Severus sat back in his chair. “Kingsley cares a great deal for you and he knew it wasn't going to be healthy for you to be here alone. He didn't think I was the best person to be here, but I convinced him otherwise.”
“I'm sorry I was such a prat earlier today.” Harry's comment came out of nowhere.
“You were hung-over, it was understandable. Think nothing of it.”
“I took your advice.” Harry strummed his fingers on the table, squirming in his seat.
Snape's eyes darkened briefly. “What advice is that?”
“I snogged a bloke at the club last night.” Harry fiddled with the handle of the tea pot, glancing up at Snape to find his lips pinched together.
“I see.” Snape was looking at him intently. “Did you find it more enjoyable than your experiences with Miss Weasley?”
Harry shook his head. “It was okay, loads better than snogging Ginny. No question that I like blokes, but I didn’t get the fireworks I hoped for. Doesn't matter anyway, turned out he wasn't the sort of fellow I'd like to spend time with.”
“Tell me, why, exactly, did he not meet your lofty standards? Was he not on the good side of the War?”
“Stop your snarking. He was a Muggle and I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can stomach dating a man that calls me baby.”
Severus shuddered. “That would be most unwelcome.” Severus took another drink of his tea. “Other than his obvious lack of manliness, did you find anything about him pleasing?”
Harry nodded and looked across the table at Snape. “He was tall and thin with black hair, very fit. Reminded me of someone, I just couldn't place who at the time.”
“Hmm.” Snape pushed away from the table and carried his tea things to the sink. He turned the water on, drowning out all further comments. Harry quietly crossed the kitchen and stood behind him. He reached around and turned the water off, letting his body brush against Snape's. Instead of moving away, Harry aligned his chest along the expanse of Severus' back. Harry trailed his nose along Severus’ neck and shoulder, breathing in deeply. Snape stopped moving, as if frozen in place. A low moan escaped his mouth when Harry's lips brushed against his ear.
“It was you, Severus,” Harry whispered. “He looked so much like you did when... well, you know.” It was probably best not to bring the Pensieve incident up again. Harry turned Snape around and pressed him against the cabinet. “I know you've been watching me, I could feel you. And just now, when I mentioned Aiden you couldn't control the emotions that raced across your face. I saw jealousy and anger.”
Severus opened his mouth to protest, but Harry laid a finger on his lips, silencing him. He brushed a lock of hair out of Snape's eyes. “That's when I realised that I was attracted to him because he looked like you.” Severus' eyes darkened, his pupils dilated. “I'm going to kiss you now. Experience the real thing, not some quasi-Snape.”
Harry pulled Severus' head down and gently brushed his lips against Snape's. They were surprisingly soft and warm. Harry increased the pressure and softly pulled at Snape's lower lip. He yelped in surprise when Severus suddenly grabbed his hips and pulled their bodies together. Severus took control of the kiss then, angling Harry's head just so and pushing his tongue between Harry's lips to stroke the moist heat inside his mouth. Harry was an enthusiastic and fast learner, and he was quickly applying this hands on lesson from his former professor.
Severus nipped at Harry's bottom lip and then soothed it with the tip of his tongue. He pulled Harry against his chest and ran his fingers through Harry's messy dark locks. “And how did you find that experience, Harry?”
“That was bloody fantastic and you know it.” Harry tilted his head upward and studied Severus' face. “Where'd you learn to kiss like that?”
“A gentleman never tells his secrets.”
“Oh, please. You can tell me.”
Severus shook his head. “I'll do no such thing. But I must say that you learn fast when properly motivated.”
“How about we head upstairs to the couch in my room and you can show me more about kissing? I mean, shouldn't we try it again and make sure that the one time wasn't just a fluke?” The wide grin on Harry's face was not at all congruent with his words.
“Are you referring to that orange monstrosity you took from the library?”
Harry nodded. Severus wrapped his arms tighter around Harry and, with a pop of Apparition, they were tumbling down onto the couch. Severus straightened himself and pulled Harry next to him. “Can you see me without your glasses?”
Harry nodded again. Severus carefully took off the frames and placed them on the side table. He cupped Harry's cheeks and brought their faces together. “I don't share, Harry. If you're with me I expect complete fidelity and can promise you the same.”
“That's great, Sev, but could we just get to the kissing? We've got forever to work out the rest of the details.”
“Indeed we do,” Snape murmured, before claiming Harry's lips again. He leaned back into the corner of the sofa, dragging Harry half on top of him, their kiss never breaking. Harry sighed happily and relaxed into the embrace. He'd barely kissed Severus at all and he finally knew what everyone else loved about kissing. He couldn't wait to see what else he learned at the Potion Master’s hands.