They had just entered the bedroom when Sirius grabbed Remus and started to undress him. Remus let him - Sirius looked more confident and sure of himself than he ever had since they had met again post-Azkaban, and this was a welcome change.

They fell on the bed together, their naked bodies intertwining. Sirius's hand slid down Remus's side to curl around his hip.

"Moony," he said, and something in Sirius's voice made Remus shudder deeply and pull Sirius's lean body against him, groaning helplessly as his erection ground against his lover's skin.

Sirius tightened his hold on Remus's hip.

Remus searched his eyes. "Love, I want you to take me."

"God, Moony," said Sirius, his eyes dark as they gazed up at him, and Remus moistened his lips in anticipation when he saw the blatant need there. Sirius lay on top of Remus and rocked his hips slowly against Remus's body beneath him. Remus closed his eyes in pleasure and rubbed his hands encouragingly over Sirius's back.

It was wonderful to see Sirius recovering his enthusiasm, his energy and even his impulsiveness. Before Harry's return to Sirius's life, there was a dark aura around Sirius, and everything they did was with a sense of oppression. Now, in spite of all the problems they had been facing, Sirius was another man. He was becoming once more the Sirius Remus had fallen in love with when they were teenagers.

Remus guided Sirius's lips to his and shivered when he felt Sirius's tongue slide in hot and wet beside his own.

Sirius was breathing hard now, and his hand was shaking as he reached up over their heads for the bedside drawer. Sirius fumbled for a moment before grasping the phial of lubricant and coming back to Remus's arms.

Sirius held him tightly and rocked forward against him.

"Padfoot..." Remus gasped as he thrust his hips back against Sirius's. "Please..."

Sirius smiled and obliged him finally by uncorking the phial and pouring a small amount of oil onto his fingers. He dropped the phial above the pillows somewhere and moved his fingers down to the cleft between Remus's legs, circling slowly at Remus's entrance.

Remus let out a long sigh and pressed back against Sirius's fingers. Sirius nibbled at Remus's shoulder as he slid two of his fingers inside.

"You feel so good, Moony."

Remus pressed back harder, encouraging him to continue. Sirius slid his fingers deeper.

They were panting hard now, and sweat covered their skins. Sirius removed his fingers from Remus's body and reached again for the lubricant. Expectantly, Remus looked over his shoulder to see Sirius coating his erection.

Sirius steadied the base of his cock with one hand, pushed Remus's knees up to his chest, and nudging closer, placed the head of his cock against Remus's cleft, teasing him.

"Oh... Do you want me to beg?" asked Remus, arching upwards against him, his voice almost a growl. "Tease..."

Sirius pushed his hips forward slowly. Remus groaned aloud as his body closed around Sirius in a tight grip. Sirius thrust deeper, and Remus's body accepted him readily, taking all of him inside. "Are you okay, Moony?"

Remus closed his arms around Sirius and held him. "I'm okay, just don't stop, please."

Sirius began to move, sliding his hips back slowly and then moving in again. Remus's body responded beautifully to him, matching his thrusts evenly.

Sirius's hand closed around Remus's erection, and Remus groaned, breathing hard as Sirius rocked against him.

"My love," Remus whispered, and Sirius leaned to kiss him.

Sirius continued to stroke Remus's erection in time with his thrusts, bringing him closer to the edge. Remus felt so happy and at the same time so out of control - it was wonderful to feel free again, unleashed.

Sirius's body tensed and shuddered as pleasure overtook him. Remus marvelled to see Sirius coming - wild, untamed and unbearably beautiful.

Then Sirius started to thrust in again, and when he squeezed the tip of Remus's cock, pleasure exploded, vibrating down his limbs in a burst of ecstasy.

Sirius collapsed beside him and embraced him. "Was I too rough?"

"It was perfect. Simply perfect."

"Phew. I was afraid. I'm a bit out of practice, you know."

Remus smirked. "We'll have to make up for that!"

Harry knew that Severus tended to be cranky in the morning, but they had already slept enough and soon Remus would be calling them for breakfast.

Plus, Severus had promised that in the morning they would make up for what they hadn't done last night.

So Harry decided to act. The two of them had slept in their underwear. Harry pressed his body to Severus's and planted wet kisses in the crook of his neck. Remembering how Severus liked it when he nibbled at his earlobe and flicked his tongue around the sensitive ridge of his outer ear, he started to do just that, and very slowly.

It didn't take long for Severus to respond, wrapping an arm around Harry's waist and moaning softly in approval. Suddenly, however, Severus started and opened his eyes. "What..? Where... ?"

"Good morning, Severus. We're in my... I mean... our bedroom in Remus's house, don't you remember?"

"Hmph. So it wasn't just a nightmare. I am really condemned to endure your presence in my bed from now on, and with the blessing of your dogfather."

Harry put on an offended face and was thinking of a crushing reply when Severus, his arm still embracing Harry, rolled him on his back, pinned him with the weight of his body and covered his mouth in a searing kiss.

When Severus tore his lips from his, Harry couldn't remember where or who he was. He only knew he wanted more. More kisses, and much more than kisses.

"I know you want more. I want it too," said Severus, in a hoarse voice. "I believe we have reached a level of mutual trust and knowledge that allows us to take a step further. Let's not rush, though. Now is not the best moment to do what we want to do."

"Why?"

"First, because Lupin will be calling us for breakfast in a few minutes. And second, because I left the lubricant potion in the shed."

Harry sighed. "Can't we use a lubricant spell?"

"We could. But it's your first time, and... that potion has special properties."

"Oh... right," said Harry, a little disappointed but full of anticipation.

"Don't be disappointed. There is something we can do now... I'm sure you will enjoy it."

Harry saw the image in Severus's mind and his cock got hard immediately, forming a tent at the front of his underpants.

Severus didn't take long to release it from its confinement, and gently massaged Harry's balls. Harry almost purred with pleasure.

"Don't be embarrassed if it doesn't last long. After all, we don't want it to take long," said Severus in that silky voice that turned Harry on even more.

Severus took off his own underpants and lay down beside Harry, his face in front of Harry's cock and vice-versa.

Severus slowly traced a circle with the tip of his tongue over one of Harry's balls, and then held the base of his cock firmly but gently. Harry did the same to Severus. The mere idea that soon his cock would be inside Severus's warm, wet mouth was enough to make his cock stir in anticipation.

Harry closed his lips around Severus's cock just when Severus took Harry's cock into his mouth. This perfect synchrony added to the magical empathy that allowed them to share their thoughts and feelings, creating an effect of mise en abyme, an infinite mirroring of sensation. Harry pushed the foreskin back with his lips and tried to suck as gently as Severus was sucking him. That was the only way he could find not to lose himself in the pleasurable maze.

Severus's cock twitched against his tongue. It was becoming harder to concentrate, and when Severus slid a finger into his entrance, Harry didn't know whether he wanted to go deeper into Severus's mouth or onto his finger. His body was rocking back and forth, helplessly. Severus stopped briefly to flick his tongue over the slit, and Harry jerked wildly forward. Severus held the base of Harry's cock steady and slid down slowly, swallowing him to the root. Severus's hips were moving slightly, thrusting gently into his mouth. Harry knew they were both at the edge and closed his eyes. Severus's warm seed filled his mouth as waves of pleasure ripped through Harry's body.

Severus planted a kiss on the tip of his cock, and then Harry turned to lie face-to-face to Severus and capture his lips - he loved tasting his own semen in Severus's mouth.

After breakfast, Remus kissed Sirius longer and more passionately than ever and left to spend another day among the werewolves. Harry and Severus cleared the table while Sirius put the dishes into the dishwasher. Then the three of them returned to the sitting room. Sirius and Harry flopped on the sofa; Severus settled down in an armchair.

Something not very pleasant (considering how lazy he was feeling) occurred to Sirius. "We should notify Albus that everything's all right with us."

"Oh, no. He'll find something for us to do. Can't we just take a break for one day?" Harry complained.

"If he had something important to tell us, he would have contacted us," Severus replied.

"Yeah, but if we call him, he might remember something," said Harry.

"Why don't we send him a Patronus? This way he'll be reassured, and if he wants to tell us something, he'll have to contact us through the Floo," Sirius suggested.

"Good idea! Severus, why don't we send him our joint Patronus? This way he'll know we're together again."

"As if he didn't know already," mumbled Severus, standing up grudgingly.

Harry stood up too. The pair of them got side by side and raised their wands. "Expecto Patronum!"

Sirius gasped in astonishment when a half-lion, half-serpent creature was formed by the converging lights that flew from their wands. When the silvery shape departed, Sirius looked at Severus and Harry. "The Baphomet! Why have you never told me your combined Patronus is the Baphomet?"

"Uh... I didn't know you knew anything about the Baphomet," said Harry.

Harry sat beside Sirius again, and Severus went back to his armchair. Both were staring at Sirius with curiousity.

"Don't forget that my father was an expert on medieval magic. Though I despised his ideas, I was surrounded by all that, and some of it must have got into my system."

"What is your opinion on the Baphomet cults?" asked Severus, a challenging tone in his voice.

"Which one of them? There have been hundreds of Baphomet cults through the centuries," Sirius replied. "From the most naïve and innocent to the most dark and evil. My father didn't like Aleister Crowley*. He used to say Crowley was a charlatan who jumbled many different traditions together, distorting them. Personally I don't believe Crowley has ever met Hitler or worked for the Germans. And even if he were a Nazi, I would not classify him as a dark wizard. To call him a dark wizard is to misunderstand his thoughts. I believe he was searching for an ultimate primeval essence. Some of the images in the Book of Law are very beautiful. 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law' is not a call to do whatever one wants to do, it's a command to do what that person is meant to do, what they are inspired to do. 'Love is the law, love under will' adds to this by saying the actions of the first law must be done in love."

Severus arched an eyebrow at Sirius. "I never expected you to know about Crowley's thoughts."

Sirius didn't even try and disguise his smugness. "You will bow to me one day, Severus." He had been calling Snape by his first name on purpose. Severus shivered every time he did it, and he found it very amusing.

Severus merely snorted in response.

"What do you think of the Baphomet as our Patronus?" asked Harry, clear trepidation in his voice.

"Oh, now that I think about it, it's not strange at all. The Baphomet is a wonderful symbol of the overcoming of duality, of the return to the original unity. Not that I really believe there has ever been an original unity, but it's a beautiful myth," said Sirius. "The Baphomet is the Primeval Androgyne, who has absolute control, materially and spiritually, over the primitive world and nature. Your combined Patronus is another piece of evidence that you will be invincible together, and that makes me feel better."

Harry beamed and turned to Severus. They exchanged a look that was almost tangible, sparkling with magic.

Severus announced that he was going to take care of lunch and banished Sirius and Harry from the kitchen. Sirius invited Harry to play chess. As Sirius hadn't played for a long time, Harry won all the matches. When Sirius was starting to get the gist of the game again, Severus called them for lunch.

Severus's Shepherd's Pie turned out to be (Sirius admitted only to himself) excellent, and the elf wine put them in an even better state of mind.

In the afternoon, as Severus and Harry practised joint magic (they had postponed their morning practice so that Severus could prepare lunch), Sirius began to read the third book of the Star Wars Trilogy by Timothy Zahn: The Last Command. Remus had given him the three books for his birthday, and he had devoured the first two volumes in a matter of few days. But with all the turmoil of the last days, he hadn't been able to start the last volume. The second book, Dark Forces Rising, had ended on a sombre note, with Luke and Han discovering that the Empire had been producing clones that could be used as crews for the 200 Dreadnaughts that formed the Katana Fleet.

An hour later, Harry and Severus came back to the sitting room. Sirius didn't want to stop reading - things were getting ugly for Han, Leia and the twin babies. The intruders who wanted to kidnap the babies had broken through the doors, and they were in the middle of a firefight. Suddenly, Leia shouted, 'Stop shooting. We surrender.' What was she thinking?

However, when Harry sank on the sofa beside Sirius, Sirius realised he would not be able to continue his reading. "Bored?"

"Oh, it's just that I'm not used to it. We don't have to kill any dragons today."

"Wait here. I'll fetch you something."

Sirius ran upstairs to his bedroom, opened the wardrobe and grabbed a Fanged Frisbee Remus had confiscated from one of his students at Hogwarts in the year he had taught there. Then Sirius flew down the stairs back to the sitting room. "Let's play in the back garden!"

Harry cheered up at once. Severus looked at Sirius distrustfully.

"Isn't the back garden too small?" asked Harry, probably reading Severus's mind.

"Oh, we wizards can make small places as big as we want them to be," replied Sirius.

"I won't get hurt, Severus, don't worry. Will you come with us?" asked Harry.

"Can you imagine me playing Fanged Frisbee with Sirius Black? No, thanks. My days of carnage are over. Besides, I have a potion to prepare."

Sirius restrained himself from sticking his tongue out at Severus.

Sirius and Harry spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the back garden. Sirius couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun.

Remus had asked them not to wait for dinner, because he would arrive late. Instead of dinner, they had just tea and toast for supper. Soon after supper, Harry started to yawn. Severus and Harry claimed tiredness and went upstairs to sleep. Sirius knew better, but he was polite and nice enough to pretend he believed them.

Sirius went to his bedroom taking The Last Command with him. He was looking forward to find out why Leia had decided to surrender.

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