They had started on the sofa but, unable to find the necessary space for their wild movements, they soon dived onto the fluffy rug at the centre of the room, where they could roll freely. Their clothes were threw off hastily and spread everywhere. They made love rubbing against each other - like two sixteen-year-old kids, thought Snape later, feeling a little embarrassed.

Snape flicked his wand at the fireplace.

"Incendio."

And they stayed there, lying on the rug, cuddled up, their heads resting on velvet cushions.

"So? How did you manage to escape from Hogwarts?" asked Snape.

"I followed your plan to the letter. I went to bed along with everybody else, by ten o'clock..."

"Each one in his own bed, I hope."

Harry glared at him. "I stayed awake until everybody was asleep, which only happened at eleven o'clock -Seamus and Dean kept chatting for a long time. Then I programmed my alarm clock... you know, the one that keeps nudging you until you turn it off... and I fell asleep. At five the alarm woke me up. I looked to see if everyone was sleeping; they were. I grabbed my Invisibility Cloak, sneaked out of the dormitory, and found the Time-Turner behind the portrait of Baldwin the Bald. It was right where you said it'd be. I went back to the Common Room, turned the Time-Turner six times, used the Floo and... here I am. At Snape Manor."

Snape bit his lower lip trying to hold back a laughter. Harry's idea of calling the cottage 'Snape Manor' was too much. Snape himself had never given a name to the house, as he had never lived there for a long period of time and had no special attachment to it.

"I didn't expect you to really come," commented Snape after a long silence.

"What do you mean?"

"I had forgotten that you are a foolish Gryffindor, and that you would do anything to get in trouble."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I spent the whole week thinking about this!" Then Harry gave a deep, disheartened sigh. "But if you think it's too risky, if you don't want me to..."

Snape tried to understand the younger wizard's dejected look. "Would you be willing to put an end to... this?"

"If you wanted to stop, I would understand. That's what I'm saying, nothing else. That's not what I want. But I'd give up on you, if you said it'd be the best for you."

"Noble Gryffindor. I don't want your sacrifice. I risk my life everyday and what do I get in return? Only pain and nightmares. At least in this... there is some compensation," said Snape, rubbing against Harry's body.

"How did you get this Time-Turner?" asked Harry, curious, pulling back his head.

"It's... an illegal one." Seeing Harry widening his eyes, Snape looked at him smugly. "The Head of your House 'borrowed' this one and gave it to me on my last birthday."

"McGonagall? That's amazing! So she's your friend."

Snape shrugged. "Let's say that she is not exactly an enemy. She is soft-hearted and stubborn, and thinks that I need to be protected. I cannot complain: this Time-Turner has been very useful to me, in my... secret activities."

"I bet it has! And she's right in thinking that you need to be protected."

"Hmpf. You Gryffindors are hopelessly sentimental. Very well. When you return to Hogwarts, you will leave the Time-Turner at the same place where you found it; I cannot give it to you. Next Friday we repeat the ritual. And we mustn't forget that at 5 AM you have to be back in your Gryffindor bed. Do you understand the gravity of the situation? A little slip and we will be history."

Harry nodded, solemnly. Then his face seemed to lighten up. "Hmm. This Time-Turner of yours... We could put it to use again tonight, couldn't we? Can't we keep going back in time over and over? So that it never ends?"

"Of course, it is feasible. And it is, indeed, an interesting idea... However, there is a problem. If we go back in time at this very place, we will meet our old selves. And you know that this can end badly."

"Oh, I get it. We can go back in time, but we'd always have to choose places where we hadn't been yet."

"Precisely."

"It's a pity that this is not a Manor," complained Harry. "If it was, we could shag in every single room... We could... live our one thousand and one nights in just one night!"

Snape pushed him back a little to stare at him, surprised. "Such enthusiasm! I have a plan. Until now, you have only seen this room... and the dining room, which is a separate area of the same room. We can dine there... I'll summon the food from the kitchen. After dinner, well, we make love for real, like two adults." Snape sneered at Harry, who grimaced at him. "Then we sleep, because I am human. We program the alarm clock for 4 AM. We take the Time-Turner, which must be somewhere in this mess," Snape pointed to the floor "... and we go to the... kitchen. We go back to midnight. We have to prepare meals for all the nights... From the kitchen, we can Apparate in the office." Snape faced him firmly. "I am very aware that you don't know how and are not allowed to Apparate. However, I can carry you in my arms. We will finish our second night in the office. The third night can be spent in my bedroom, which is a suite, with a comfortable bathroom."

"Wicked! A bath full of foam and us naked inside. I bet you have a special aromatic herb to mix with the water..."

A dark eyebrow raised up.

"That can be arranged."

"And didn't you say that you had a lab?"

"Yes, at the rear of the back garden. Perfect. We turn the Time-Turner again and go to the laboratory. It will be our fourth and last night... tonight."