The following Wednesday, the last of May, the two of them returned to the Room of Requirement.

"I'm serious, I want to stop," Harry stated.

"It's almost June, Harry. I shouldn't do it, but your stubbornness forces me into a reprehensible act. I am going to reveal to you some ultra-secret information: the Dark Lord plans to attack Hogwarts by the end of the school year. We can't stop now."

"I'm sorry, Severus, but if you've been risking your life to get that kind of information... Everybody knows that Voldemort tries to kill me every June! Must be part of his biological cycle!"

"Once again you see yourself as the centre of the universe. He isn't going to attempt to kill *you*. He is going to attack Hogwarts."

"Then I'll go after him right now and challenge him to a life or death duel. This way no one else dies in this story."

Snape moaned. "Always the hero complex. I shouldn't have told you."

"I was going to read it in your mind anyway."

"Obviously. How could I have thought that the Golden Boy would act any differently? Of course you will do exactly whatever those hollow brains of yours tell you to do, as always. But think, for the first time in your life, think! Is that asking too much? Wouldn't it be wiser to make use of your time before the end of June and prepare yourself better for this duel?"

"And endanger your life? No way."

"Harry..."

A long silence filled the room. Harry kept his resolute, adamant stance. Snape seemed immersed in deep thought. Finally, he said, "Harry... You don't have to worry about jeopardising my mind. It won't happen... because I will resist no longer."

"Resist no longer..." Harry repeated, as if trying to comprehend the meaning of those words.

"Since you are the strongest, and since I... anyway, Harry, I can't say I trust you completely, since it's not in my nature to trust anyone completely, but now I know you well enough to know what to expect from you, and I think resisting is the worse option."

"But... I don't want you to choose between me and your job, between me and Dumbledore, between me and your dignity or your freedom. I don't want that."

"Don't you understand that none of that makes any difference now? If Hogwarts is destroyed, I won't have a job anymore. And Albus will fall along with Hogwarts. I might die in that battle, and then none of it will matter. But if I survive through it all and there is no Hogwarts, no Albus, no you, what would be the point? My life wouldn't have any meaning."

"I don't understand. Are you sacrificing yourself for us, is that it?"

Snape reached out for Harry and pulled him against his body. "Sacrificing myself? Harry... I want you. In every sense."

"Oh, Sev."

Harry hugged him; Severus squeezed him against himself and buried his chin on the crook of the boy's neck, speaking to him in a tone slightly louder than a whisper. "Running away from this is pointless now. Our hearts, our minds, our magic, they're perfectly attuned. It's insane to try to keep our bodies apart from all this. You saw what happened when I tried to resist. It wasn't your fault. When we reach a state of perfect integration, as we have, if the sexual desire is also present, it's a violent act against ourselves, in all senses, to keep our bodies apart from this. It's madness. And I'd rather lose my job, my reputation and even my freedom, than lose my sanity."

Harry raised his head to look at him. "The wizarding world authorises us to kill or die. It authorises us even to lose our sanity. The one thing we can't do is to make love and be happy, right? But are you sure you'll want to go against everything and everyone?"

"I'm sure," said Snape, rolling his eyes. "Let's reinforce the wards. I don't know if we'll be able to keep Albus away. Alone, I never succeeded. But with our joint magic, who knows..."

They cast several spells to strengthen the wards, and also Shielding Charms. Throughout the whole operation, their minds remained in sync with each other.

The Room of Requirement also reacted in sync with their wishes. Suddenly, they found themselves before a Victorian king-size four poster highback bed made of walnut, with double bevelled arched burl panels; a sapphire blue velvet duvet cover (blue because it couldn't be either green or red) and pillow covers matching.

"Nox," said Severus, causing the room to be lit only by a vintage lamp strategically placed on an equally Victorian bedside table. Then he pulled Harry to him again. "Where were we?"

Harry put his arms around Snape's neck and stood on his toes to capture his lips again. Snape grabbed him firmly with both arms and pushed him onto the bed, lying down on him. Then he broke the kiss and gazed at Harry with a predatory look, but trying to hold himself back. "Are you sure, Harry, that this is what you want?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever done this before?"

"Er... no."

Snape took a deep breath. "Then... let's do it slowly. With the Magical Empathy, this experience might be too intense for both of us. We'd better get gradually used to it... to each other... and to the effects of the Magical Empathy. We will learn together, Harry."

The look Harry gave him in that moment made him feel a chill in his stomach. He brushed his knuckles on the boy's face, then made him open his legs so he could nestle there, softly pressing his rigid, erect cock. He too was already hard as a rock. The magical waves surrounded them, flowing from one to the other.

"Oh! This is so good... Won't you take all these clothes off?" Harry started to unbutton the collar of Snape's clothes.

"Ah... You'll have to be patient. This might take hours..." he said, seeing that the boy was desperately trying to speed up the process.

Lust won over sadistic instinct though, and Snape decided to help him. He took off his own shoes first, then Harry's. Kneeling on the sapphire blue duvet, they started dealing with the endless series of buttons. When their hands met, a brief magical spark would light up.

They managed to get rid of the robes, and found more buttons. Snape stopped Harry in order to undress him from his robes, tee shirt and trousers first, leaving him only in his underwear. The sight of the teenage body made Snape's heart stop beating for an instant. That was Harry Potter, and he was going to be... his. When would Severus Snape have imagined such a thing?

He hugged Harry tight, fondling his back with greedy hands, and again glued his lips to the boy's. At the same time, Harry fought frenziedly against the buttons of the shirt. When they broke the kiss, Harry managed at last to take it off, revealing finely outlined muscles and, among many weaker scars spread throughout the body, the Dark Mark.

Snape tried to read the emotions reflected in the boy's eyes, fearing rejection. But Harry's eyes only mirrored a desire that grew stronger and stronger, and also deep reverence. "The Mark... doesn't it scare you?"

"No. May I touch it?"

Snape showed him the arm. "There was a time when I wanted to rip it off. I couldn't think of it as a part of my body."

Harry lightly ran his fingers over the mark of the skull with the snake. Snape shuddered. The magical discharge intensified. Harry lowered his head and placed a kiss on the mark. "For me, it *is* a part of you. When I first met you, you already had it. And your history is part of what you are."

"I know, but that wasn't a very pleasant thought for me."

"And now?"

"Now? Now you are here. And that is all that matters."

Finally, Snape got rid of the black trousers. The charcoal-grey boxers followed the same path, exposing the already erect cock. Harry's gaze showed both fascination and shyness. Snape took off the boy's glasses and laid them on the bedside table. Then he pushed Harry to make him lie on the bed again. Carefully, he pulled off the boy's briefs. He lay on Harry's body then, taking care not to crush him with his weight.

The magic waves flowed incessantly, creating multicoloured effects, and it was as if there were no longer barriers between their thoughts. Consequently, a strange thing began to happen: one felt in his own body whatever the other felt, magnifying the desire and the pleasure.

Snape's warm hand closed around Harry's even warmer cock.

"Oh, Sev. So good," said Harry, who returned the gesture, wrapping his partner's member completely in his hand.

For a moment, Snape stopped breathing. When he managed to inhale again, he brushed the fingers of his other hand on Harry's shoulders, ribs and hips, then on the smooth skin of his thighs and, finally, his tender bottom. At the same time, he covered Harry's neck with light bites. Next, he turned his attention to the boy's chest, capturing a nipple in his mouth, licking it, biting it, softly blowing on it. Each gesture was reflected in his own body, driving him crazy.

"Oh!" was everything Harry could say, squirming, arching in his direction.

Snape marvelled at how responsive Harry was, how he reacted to each caress. How his cock was so smooth and hard. Snape pressed his cock against his lover's, holding them together. Harry's answer, rubbing rhythmically against him, caused the rush of lust that invaded him to become stronger than anything he had ever felt, as their combined magic magnified the sensations to the maximum. His body burned and twitched with pleasure. It was actually scary to feel such ecstasy just by rubbing their bodies against each other.

"Duelling wands," said Harry, a silly smile in his lips.

"Ahn, Harry, that's too much of a cliché. The worst part is that we're going to come together. We just can't help it."

Harry almost couldn't articulate his words anymore. "You're not... romantic... at all."

With a moan, Snape captured his lips once more and, sucking at his tongue, let himself be dragged closer and closer to the vortex of passion and magic. Their erections rubbed together in a rhythm that became more intense by the minute.

"Severus," Harry murmured when their lips parted.

Hearing his name uttered like that by his lover, Severus at last succumbed to the vortex. In his violent, longstanding climax, he also uttered the name of his lover. "Harry..."

Feeling Harry's body shake against his in an equally overwhelming climax magnified the emotions to an almost unbearable level.

For a long while they remained in each other's arms, staring at the ceiling, having fun by projecting on it a starry sky, with comets and nebulas.

"Come under the blankets," said Snape, after casting a spell to clean the semen off their bodies and the duvet. "Will anyone notice if you don't go back to your dormitory?"

"Of course they will. Ron's gonna be worried, he might go warn McGonagall."

"McGonagall will then talk to Albus, and Albus knows we're here."

"I want to stay here and sleep with you," said Harry, cuddling up to his lover's body.

Snape stared at him, momentarily speechless. That was madness, but what wasn't madness between the two of them? "Wait. I'll talk to Albus."

"What? Are you out of your mind?"

"Silly boy, only now you have noticed it? Help me bring down the wards so I can call him with the Floo powder."

Shaking his head, Harry put on his glasses and obeyed. Snape hastily pulled on his robes - and the robes only -, making a mess of the buttons. And he tossed Harry his own robe, so he would also get dressed. Then, he went to the fireplace that had just popped up in the room. Harry, already in his robes, came closer, and they threw the Floo Powder. Their heads delved into the green flame maelstrom, emerging in the Headmaster's office.

"Severus! Harry! Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"Your magic is overflowing! And the magical charge in that room would be enough to demolish Hogwarts if you hadn't isolated it!"

"I know. Albus, we should spend the night here. We can't get out with this level of magic. We need to... discharge."

"I see..."

"Please, think of an excuse and warn Minerva. And ask her to tell Weasley that... I don't know, that Potter is in an important mission or something like that, and that he shouldn't prowl around doing stupid things."

"All right. Take care, boys. Sweet dreams," Albus wished them in a slightly ironic tone.

Snape huffed, and their heads returned to the Room of Requirement.

"He knows." Harry's eyes were wide. "He knows, Sev! And he didn't say a word!"

"Perhaps all this was in his plans from the start," Snape noted, sarcastic. "But don't worry about this now. Let's reinstall the wards, shall we?"

They got rid of their robes once more, this time without any rituals, and returned to under the duvet, snuggling in each other's arms.

"So you only got closer to me because Dumbledore told you to, right?"

"That's obvious. I don't know why you ask. You can wander freely inside my mind!"

"It's the same way with magic, isn't it? There aren't barriers between us anymore. Sev... will it always be like this, when we are together? Will we always feel what the other feels too?"

"Did you like it? A bit confusing, wasn't it? Uncontrollable. It will get better. We will learn to control it, to direct what we want to share and what we don't."

"Better yet? Oh." Harry's cock gave new sign of life.

Severus raised his head and stared at him. "Ah, the wonders of being sixteen. And I'm doomed to feel the same!"

"Poor Severus," said Harry, rubbing against him.

Severus' tongue outlined his ear, then focused on the earlobe. Harry wiggled.

"Sev... I wanna hear you say what I'm reading in your mind now. I wanna hear your voice..."

Severus lay between Harry's legs like he had in the first time and, always keeping the friction, whispered in his ear, "Harry... Up until now, sex had always been but a weapon for me, a weapon I used against others or that was used against me. I had never made love to anyone. You are my first true lover. I want to drive you crazy with pleasure."

Severus licked down his neck, a nipple then the other, and moved on down to the smooth, almost hairless chest, following the line through the navel to the spot where the first dark hairs appeared.

"Oh! Please..." Harry moaned.

"Now it's your turn. Tell me what you want."

"I want... your mouth."

"My mouth... where?" asked Severus, tormenting him.

Harry grasped his head by the hairs and pushed him down to his erect sex. "Here."

Severus lowered his head and brushed his face against the hard cock. He held Harry's testicles in both his hands, tenderly caressing the perineum with his thumbs. Harry panted and his entire body arched toward his lover.

"Try to be more precise. I want to hear the words."

"You sadistic tease! I. Want. Your. Mouth. On. My. Cock."

Finally, Severus opened his mouth and slowly licked the head. Harry's scent and taste invaded him as he felt in his own body the mirroring of his caresses on his young lover's body. That was Harry, his Harry. The most exquisite potion he had ever tasted.

He licked that cock in its full length, making Harry squirm, out of control. Then, returning to its head, he outlined it with his tongue. He moaned along with Harry, since all those sensations went back to him. Fighting to regain control, he took his lover's cock in his mouth, swallowing it whole. He licked and sucked, sliding his lips and tongue all over the length. One of his hands now pumped his own cock, while the other went on massaging Harry's perineum. Snape slowly slid up to the head, sucking it, and then ran down to the base, wrapping it in heat and moisture. The boy clutched the duvet hard.

"Sev... I'm gonna come."

Snape squeezed his hips tight as his own cock pulsated, on the verge of climaxing. "I know," he said, his voice throaty.

The waves of pleasure and magic merged and dominated them, consuming them completely.

They fell asleep in each other's arms.

Meanwhile, in Snape's office, the scrying mirror displayed incredibly clear images of a dense forest where a den was hidden. Before its entrance, the Grail appeared, resplendent. Severus and Harry moved toward it.

The Grail didn't ask them anything - the question wasn't necessary, as Severus and Harry already knew the answer. They held the Grail and, always together, drank the enchanted wine it contained.