They had spent three wonderful days together. The Apparation practice had gone very well - Harry seemed to have a natural gift for it. After overcoming his initial fears, he had made constant progress.

Only one incident had threatened their tranquility: they were having a bath in the stream that crossed the garden of the cottage, some miles upstream, when a kelpie had appeared. Terrified, Snape had dragged Harry out of the river and Apparated with him to the house immediately. Harry had complained he wasn't a child any more and could take care of himself very well, thank you, and that now he could even Apparate on his own. But Snape had scowled: one should not play with kelpies.

Apart from that, everything had been idyllically perfect: they had cooked together, talked extensively and cheerfully to Godric and Salazar, walked in the green and pleasant woods, and tried all the Kama Sutra positions.

Everything was so perfect that, on their third night, after they had made love one more time, Harry asked, "How do you manage to be a perfect lover? I can't understand that."

"Why, did you doubt my Slytherin Sex God's skills?"

Harry stuck his tongue out at his lover. Then he made a serious face again. "You... you're not putting an act, are you? I mean, I know you have to be a hell of an actor to convince Voldemort that you're on his side. When you're with me, are you pretending to be another person too?"

Snape frowned. "Well, Harry... Of course I am! There's no such thing as 'being who we really are' when we are with other people. We are always putting on an act. For example, when I am a teacher, I am not myself either. Not even when I am talking to the Headmaster, or reporting to the Order. We are always playing roles."

"I don't know if I get this. It's weird, to think that we can't be who we really are. I don't want you to pretend to be another person when you're with me just to make me happy."

Snape gave a deep sigh, and didn't say anything. Harry was too young. How could he understand? How could he understand that, for the first time, Snape was trying to be a better person to another person?

~* ~* ~

The next morning, Snape woke up with Harry's erection poking his back. With a surprising energy so early in the morning, Harry ended up leading their entire lovemaking session.

They remained a long time snuggled in the afterglow.

"You're so beautiful when you come!" said Harry.

Snape smirked. "Of all the clichés, that is the most absurd."

Harry lifted his head a little, propping it on his hand. "But you said the same thing to me once."

A dark eyebrow raised. "Really? A good shag can make you say quite strange things!"

Harry's face showed pain and anger at the same time. He turned his back on Snape abruptly.

Snape lifted his head and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry?"

No answer.

"You didn't get angry just because I..." Snape shook him gently. "Look at me, Harry."

Nothing.

"That's not fair. Do you remember what you said to me yesterday, that I was a perfect lover, and that you would prefer that I didn't pretend to be different from what I am, even if, in doing so, I would not be so perfect? Very well, now you have just heard a manifestation of my real repulsive being, and what happens? You get angry."

Deeply irritated, both with Harry and himself, Snape got up and went to the bathroom. Before he closed the door, he gave another look at Harry, who was facing the wall, completely still.

~* ~* ~

He looked at himself in the mirror. Severus, you idiot. What have you done now? And why are you so anxious about what he might think of you? Since when did he get so important? Ah. For a long time, admit it.

He turned on the tap, pressed the dispenser, spread the liquid soap over his hands and put them under the running water. The ring... where was the ring?

He turned off the tap in a hurry, and looked again. The ring was gone. His hands trembled. The ring was gone! Harry didn't love him any more.

Without even drying his hands, he set off to the door.

When he opened it, he almost stumbled over the boy, who stared at him in evident despair. "Severus... The ring..."

"Give me your hands, Harry. Let's join our hands again."

And four trembling hands joined two-by-two, palm-to-palm. Once again, magic seemed to spring, spreading through their bodies, making them vibrate. And the rings reappeared.

Soon, Harry was in his arms, and he could hear the fast simultaneous beating of their hearts.

"It was just for a second, Severus," said Harry against his chest, his voice choked. "It was just for a second."

"It's all right, Harry. Never mind."

"I do mind! I'll never forgive myself."

"Nonsense."

"No. It's... so fragile. And all this time, you never stopped loving me, even for a second."

"'All this time' was only two weeks. I thought the rings would be a good idea, would give you more confidence." Snape pulled back a little to face him. "You know that I am not the most communicative person in the world."

"You're trembling. Don't you want to go back to bed?"

Snape let himself be led. A profound weariness seeped into him.

They lay down face to face, Snape with his hand on Harry's waist, and Harry resting his hand on Snape's chest.

"Do you forgive me?" asked Harry.

"There is nothing to forgive. You have to learn that intention isn't everything."

"What do you mean?"

"The ring shows only the intention; however, intention is not all that matters. For example, I didn't mean to hurt you, a few minutes ago. Nevertheless, I hurt you."

"I don't get it. The ring has never disappeared before. If you just wanted to use me, or to hurt me, the ring would have disappeared, wouldn't it?"

"That's correct."

"So I shouldn't have become angry with you. I don't understand what you're saying."

"Harry, what I'm saying is that I can hurt you unintentionally, and this is still wrong. I shouldn't have said what I said to you. I should have known that you would get hurt, to the point of denying your vows - even if it was just for a moment. Wasn't that what happened just now?"

Harry buried his face in Snape's chest. "Forgive me, please."

Snape embraced him. "Idiotic boy. Don't let that ring deceive you, don't let it dominate you! It's not the ring that decides what we feel. There will be other moments when we will deny everything that the ring symbolises, but if we want, we can start it over. As many times as we want."

Harry pulled back, wiped a tear away and nodded.

Snape rested his palm on Harry's chest. Then, teasing, he held one of the boy's nipples between his fingers and pinched it. Harry moaned, and his penis jumped to life.

"And if sometimes you wonder if I am a pervert, because I want to have sex with you all the time, like a sixteen-year old boy, I would like to tell you that, before being with you, my libido was almost null."

"What? You mean... you never wanted to have sex?"

"Exactly. How do you think that I could spend so many years without a lover? Even when I started visiting Pier, my main purpose was to relax from all the tension I was subjected to. Once a week was more than enough."

"But why you... er... So, why...?"

"Why what? Why do I like having sex with you?"

"Er... Yeah."

"Foolish boy. It's the way I have found to communicate with you. Just that."

Another tear shone in Harry's eye. With an angry look, Harry tried to get rid of it by blinking. "Merlin, and you're good at this! But why do you want to... communicate with me? Why do you care?"

Snape shrugged. "Do I know the answer? If I told you that you are not as selfish and moronic as I thought, if I said you are... pretty or responsive or affectionate... none of this would be a good explanation. Perhaps the best explanation is that... you need me. I don't know why you specifically need someone so wrong for yourself. I cannot understand that. However, I have already seen some potions that display the same behaviour: the most unlikely ingredient is precisely the one that is indispensable for the potion to work suitably. Maybe you are one of those exotic potions."

Harry smiled. "Right: you like me because I'm an exotic potion. And I know why I need you: because you're the only one who... had been there."

"There?"

"In hell. Or in any other place. Wherever I am, you are always there, with me."

"Well, that's not very flattering. It seems you only want me because I am the only one available."

Harry frowned. "It's not that, you idiot. It's because you're the only one who understands me!"

"Ah. That's a little better."

Harry pinched the older wizard's buttocks. "You're right: we suck at words. Don't you want to try... er... that other way of communication?"

Snape gave his trademark sardonic smile and, not wanting to waste more time, captured Harry's lips in another extremely expressive kiss.