Prologue

One day, while walking on the Andirá* beach, Harry and Severus found a shop selling herbs, amulets and potions. Severus pulled Harry inside, and Harry found himself surrounded by the weirdest things: colourful candles, necklaces, búzios* shells, conga drums, fist charms, pipes, maracas... Severus walked straight to the herbs and potions stand. An old Indian woman approached him, and Severus asked something about a potion.

The Indian woman seemed reserved and elusive at first, but Severus, with his Slytherin ways, questioned the potion's efficacy and the old woman inadvertently started to spill the beans, trying to prove him that the potion worked. Soon, Severus and the Indian, whose name was Jurema, were talking like old friends, in spite of Severus's deficient Portuguese. Harry, who was barely starting to learn the language, could only grasp the general meaning of what they were saying. The Indian called Harry "the boy with muiraquitã* eyes". Severus asked her why she had called him that; Jurema said the muiraquitã was an amulet made of green mud or stone, and that it gave luck to those who possessed it.

When Severus and Harry finally left the shop, Severus had agreed to prepare a potion to cure common colds. Jurema had told him that, if she managed to sell it, Severus could keep 70% of the income.

Nothing could be easier for Severus than preparing a Pepperup Potion. The potion was very well received, and Severus started to sell Calming and Invigorating Drafts and any other potion that could be useful without raising suspicions among the Brazilian Muggles. In a few days, Severus's potions were selling more briskly than beer on the beach. Jurema was reselling them to herb shops in other beaches and the demand was growing so fast that Jurema advised Severus to buy a mobile phone and a computer to manage his business. Severus and Harry followed her advice. However, soon they realised they would have to found a company.

Their Brazilians friends told them it was impossible for a small company to pay taxes and survive in Brazil, and instructed them on the complex art of jeitinho (a Brazilian concept meaning that you can get around anything, especially if it involves cheating the bureaucracy, if you are creative enough). Resorting to jeitinho, a certain amount of magical hacking and two or three Memory Charms, Severus was able to solve all the bureaucratic problems. After a lot of research, knowing that the Brazilians loved exotic names, Severus baptised his "manipulation pharmacy" Pharmakon. Severus explained to Harry that "Pharmakon" was an untranslatable Greek word meaning both "remedy" and "poison", and also "dye", "perfume" and other things. Luckily, most Brazilians didn't know about that.

Severus was becoming famous. People were phoning, emailing and leaving messages in Jurema's shop asking him to undo black magic or chase fantastic beasts. It wasn't easy to undo the Brazilian black magic, because it involved Umbanda and Candomblé charms and spells. Sometimes Severus and Harry could undo those spells with "normal" spells (a Finite Incantatum, an Episkey, an Evanesco or a mere transfiguration), but other times they couldn't understand the way the spells worked and couldn't undo them.

Some people went as far as to ask them to do black magic. Those demands were promptly rejected, for they didn't want to cause any damage to anyone.

Hunting Werewolves or Headless Mules didn't require great skill. At first they were intrigued, because the Brazilian werewolves were not like the ones they were used to. Both the Brazilian Werewolf and the Headless Mule were legacies of Catholic morality.

The Headless Mule was a woman who had sexual intercourse with a priest and, because of her sin, was transformed into a mule. Although it didn't have a head, it breathed fire through its nostrils. It had steel or silver horseshoes and a loud frightening neigh. The Headless Mule usually appeared at night, especially on Thursday nights with a full moon. Harry discovered that there were two ways of breaking the spell and forcing the Headless Mule to transform back into a woman: the first way was to pull off its halter; the second was to extract at least a drop of blood from it, by pricking it with a virgin needle. A full body bind spell helped to solve the problem of how to approach it.

The Brazilian Werewolf was the son of the union between the priest and the woman who was later transformed into the Headless Mule. From his thirteenth birthday on, he would transform into a man-wolf and roam the dark and lonely places every Tuesday and Friday nights, killing dogs and attacking people. The Werewolf could also be the seventh son of a couple, or an incestuous son who had the misfortune of being, on a Friday night, in a place where a horse had wallowed. From then on, every Friday night he would have to visit seven cemeteries, seven villages, seven crossroads, seven hills and seven churches and return to the same place where he had been cursed. Only then would he be able to transform into a man again. As a man, he was exceedingly pale and emaciated, and had long ears and a thin nose. To break the curse it was necessary to capture him and make him bleed. The most sure way of ending the curse was to shoot him with a bullet that had been anointed with wax from a candle that had been lit in a church in three Sunday masses. If another man touched the Werewolf's blood, he would inherit his terrible fate.

Severus and Harry agreed to split their tasks: Severus ran the Pharmakon and Harry handled the Defence Against the Brazilian Dark Arts cases. Sometimes they helped each other, especially when there was a difficult task to perform. With a little help from his snake friends, Harry would gather herbs in the forest for Severus. And when Harry had to go and chase a Werewolf or a Headless Mule, Severus would always be there to help him.

About once a week, Harry would Apparate to Hogsmeade and buy books, potions ingredients and other things they needed.

Their system was working well. Now and then, however, other magical beings hindered their work. Among those beings, there was the Saci-Pererê, a black boy with a single leg, always smoking a pipe and wearing a red gown which gave him the ability to disappear at will, often as a small hurricane. He was a mischievous being who liked to tie knots in the tails of animals and hide things. He also liked to scare the horses and other animals by whistling during windy nights. The secret to enslave a Saci-Pererê was to take his gown. The problem was that there were hundreds of them, and any given night they might come to rescue their equal. Once a Saci-Pererê had braided the tail twigs of Harry's broom. Harry and Severus couldn't undo the braids and had to replace the tail of the broom.

Another of those beings was the Curupira, a scary, red-headed boy with his feet turned backwards. He generally misled them with his backward footprints and his whistling. But soon they understood that the Curupira was also a protector of the trees and the animals, and that, if they offered him food, he would tell them the secrets of the forest.

The worst of those beings was the Caipora, a smart little Indian with a single eye in the middle of his forehead and dishevelled hair, always smoking a pipe, riding a porcupine and shaking a branch of a local tree called a japecanga*. Severus and Harry always lit their wands when they had to walk through the woods, because the Caipora feared the light. The Caipora was the king of the forest and could revive animals with a touch of his porcupine snout, branch of japecanga, or by a mere command. Everybody feared the Caipora because he would give bad luck to those who met him.

They had managed to avoid the Caipora so far. Neither had they met the Iara. Severus used to joke saying that, as he was gay, he was immune to it. The Iara was a beautiful, voluptuous creature who lived in the rivers and lakes and bewitched those who saw it, seducing them and luring them into the waters. When those who were seduced by the Iara could be rescued from the waters, they would tell wonderful stories about having visited enchanted castles in the bottom of the waters accompanied by a dazzling woman, if the victim was a male, or by two handsome men, if the victim was a woman.

All things accounted for, they were doing fine: business was prospering and they were getting along together very well. The occasional disagreements never lasted more than a day, and usually were solved in bed.

It would be Christmas in about a month. Celebrating Christmas in summer would be strange - as strange as seeing the Brazilians decorating pines just like most people in the Northern Hemisphere generally did, with snowmen, reindeer and cotton snowflakes.

"Are you going to spend Christmas with the Weasleys?" asked Severus as they walked, dressed like Brazilian Muggles, through the streets of Andirá, its lampposts and shops already decorated for Christmas.

Harry felt sad. He would never have considered spending Christmas away from Severus, but Severus couldn't understand it. Severus seemed to think that Harry might leave him at any time.

"Of course not," Harry replied. "It wouldn't be fun without you."

"I don't want you to feel obliged to stay with me. I abhor Christmas, and I am terrible company. Furthermore, it is evident that you are unhappy."

Harry frowned. "Don't be silly. I'm sad because you don't believe that I want to be with you."

Severus gazed at him with that intent look that always turned Harry on. "You truly want to spend Christmas with me... I believe you will regret your decision. But if you insist, I would like us to have a Christmas as typically English as possible. What day is today?"

"Saturday, November 22. Why?"

"Oh, we will have to hurry. Tomorrow is Stir-Up-Sunday," said Severus. "Let's go back to that big supermarket we've just passed by."

~* ~* ~

Intrigued, Harry followed Severus into the supermarket. Severus walked straight to the dried fruits section, where he bought 250 g of nuts and almonds, then a pack of raisins and another one of glace cherries. In the drinks section, Severus grabbed a bottle of brandy.

Then he stopped and looked at Harry with an inquisitive look. "Have we got cloves and cinnamon at home?"

"Yep, we have."

"And nutmeg?"

"We have it too."

"Then there's nothing else to do here. We will have to find a good bakery and buy some brown sugar."

"There's a delicatessen in Manacá beach. It's about three miles from here."

"Let's pay and discreetly Apparate to Manacá* beach."

~* ~* ~

When they arrived home, Severus went to the kitchen and put all the ingredients he had bought plus five eggs, a saltcellar, a pack of suet and three rolls on the table, then started to break a roll in crumbs.

"Want some help?" asked Harry.

"Yes, please. Break those rolls while I beat the eggs."

Harry tried to use his deductive powers. "You're going to make a pudding. A Christmas pudding."

Severus, who was already breaking the eggs into the bowl, arched an eyebrow. "It took you all this time to infer that?"

"Well, Severus, you and Christmas puddings are not the most obvious association."

To Harry's delight, Severus smiled. Soon his expression changed, though, and he became sombre.

"As you well know, my father was a Muggle. I was very young when he died. He was a Christian... a very religious man. When I was a child, I used to spend Christmas at my paternal grandmother's house, and she taught me how to make the traditional plum pudding."

It was the first time that Severus talked about his childhood. Harry didn't even ask Severus anything - he was so surprised and proud that Severus confided in him.

"Have you finished breaking the rolls? Then start to chop the nuts and almonds. Here. This amount is enough. Chop the almonds finely."

"Hmph... I'm feeling like I'm in Potions class."

"I hope you are more competent here than you were there!"

The sarcastic line didn't mean any harm - it was just the way Severus was, always provoking, always antagonising him. Harry was used to it. Sometimes Harry replied in kind, sometimes he didn't. This time he didn't reply, because he was expecting Severus to resume the previous subject - which never happened.

When Harry finished chopping, Severus handed him another bowl. "Put the breadcrumbs, nuts, almonds, raisins and cherries in the same bowl. Add 225 g of brown sugar... Use this measuring cup. Then add 225 g of suet. Finally, add a teaspoon of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, and a pinch of salt, and mix all the ingredients together with this wooden spoon, from east to west."

Harry concentrated so as not to make a mistake. He was so focused that he almost jumped when Severus took the bowl from his hands.

"Now I will add the eggs and the brandy, and we will have added the thirteen ingredients, as tradition commands."

"Thirteen? Is there any mystical reason behind that?" asked Harry.

"Yes. The thirteen ingredients represent Christ and his Disciples. We stir the mixture from east to west in honour of the Three Kings. Every member of the family should take turns in stirring, while making a secret wish at the same time."

A secret wish. What could Severus have wished? And what would Harry ask for? He thought about wishing that Severus could be with him forever, but this idea seemed too selfish -perhaps Severus wouldn't want that. Just when Severus handed him the bowl Harry knew what he was going to ask for: that Severus was declared innocent by the Wizarding World and could be a free man again. Severus looked happy there, with him, but Harry knew how his pride had been wounded.

Severus threw a sickle into the mixture. "Besides the silver coin, which brings wealth to the one who finds it, traditionally we add a ring, which forces the unlucky person who finds it to marry within twelve months, a thimble and a button, which grant spinsterhood or bachelorhood respectively to the lucky ones who find them. As there is just you and me here, I don't deem appropriate the inclusion of those objects."

Harry reflected upon the possibilities. "Oh... If one of us gets the ring and the other gets the button... it would be weird. Maybe you can add just the ring? I mean, if you've got a ring."

"That seems a way of cheating the tradition, Mr Potter... The Brazilian jeitinho is rubbing off on you."

Harry smiled, and Severus produced a ring from his pocket and threw it into the mixture. Harry recognised the elegant ring with a Celtic knot that they had seen in the display window of a jewelry shop in Andirá a few days ago. The ring disappeared into the mixture. Harry turned to Severus and his heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. How was it possible to feel something so intense? What was happening to him?

"I think... I think you should stir a little more," said Severus, faltering in a very uncharacteristic way.

Harry obeyed and stirred until Severus took the bowl from his hands and placed it on the sink counter.

"Now we will leave it to stand over night."

"We'll need a sprig of holly to decorate it, don't we?" asked Harry.

"I don't think we will be able to find holly in Brazil."

"A few days before Christmas I'll go to Britain and bring a sprig of holly. And a few crackers too!"

Severus made a disgusted face, and Harry laughed.

~* ~* ~

They had a traditional English Christmas dinner, with roast turkey and stuffing, roast potatoes and vegetables, bread sauce, cranberry sauce (which Harry had brought from Britain) and gravy.

Following the tradition, Severus and Harry made their wishes and broke the turkey wishbone. Harry got the larger piece. Severus mumbled something about Harry having too much luck already. This time, Harry had just wished to have many happy Christmases like that one in his future.

Severus turned off the lights, went to the kitchen and came back carrying the flaming plum pudding.

Harry found the ring in the first slice Severus served him. The silver coin only appeared a few slices later, on Severus's dish.

"I'll be married in less than a year," said Harry. "You'll be rich, so you'll be a catch. Do you want to marry me, Severus?"

"If I didn't know better, I would say you were a Slytherin. Yes, I know: the Hat suggested to put you in Slytherin. Nonsense. You are a Gryffindor through and through."

"What kind of reply is this? I've just asked you to marry me and you come up with this gibberish about Houses?"

"Young Gryffindor, I am a wanted man. And perhaps you haven't noticed, but we both belong to the same gender. There is no gay marriage among the wizards, except in Scandinavia."

"Damn. This is so wrong." Suddenly, Harry felt angry and vulnerable. "Then why did you put this stupid ring into the pudding?"

Severus held Harry's hand between his and slid the ring onto Harry's finger. "It's just a symbol, Harry."

Then Severus produced another ring from his pocket, an identical ring, but with a slightly different Celtic knot pattern. Harry felt his eyes sting. He stood up and circled the table to sit on Severus's lap. Their kiss tasted of brandy, raisins and a desire so strong that it would take more than a lifetime to be satisfied.

~* ~* ~

On December 26th Harry went to visit the Weasleys and was informed by Mr Weasley that Severus's trial would be held on January 22nd.

Harry and Severus spent the turn of the year watching the fireworks on the beach, along with all the people of Andirá. Many people recognised them, greeted them and wished them a Happy New Year. Harry made a point of following the local custom of jumping seven waves. Severus kept staring from a distance, a sardonic smile on his lips.

Severus's birthday fell on a Friday. Severus had been working hard and restlessly, so Harry thought it would be a good idea to force him to take a break on the weekend. His present was taking Severus on an excursion by boat to Ipuã* Island, where there was a luxurious hotel by the beach. As Harry was planning to go to Britain the following week and stay there for a whole week until Severus's trial, he wanted Severus to have good memories of their time together. After all, now Severus was popular in Andirá, and the beach was full of handsome tanned men with well-defined muscles...

Harry had headed off to Britain five days before the date appointed for Severus's trial, saying he would return in a week, as soon as the Wizengamot announced Severus's sentence.

However, three weeks had passed and Harry hadn't returned. Severus was desperate. He couldn't speak to anyone in the Wizarding World, lest he be arrested. There wasn't anyone he could trust in the Wizarding World to ask about Harry.

Every horrible possibility passed through Severus's mind: Harry had been imprisoned; Harry had been killed; Harry had gone back to his Arthurian damsel, or Harry had simply tired of him.

As the days went by, Severus lost interest in everything. He would spend hours sitting on a rock by the shore of the lake, remembering how Harry liked to sit there and play his flute, surrounded by his snake friends.

The murmur of the waters calmed him, but stirred in him a deep sadness.

One day he saw Harry in the translucent waters, playing with the small fishes that passed over his pale skin. His unruly black hair floated on the water surface, and his green eyes were so bright that Severus could barely look at them. The white and lilac aguapé* flowers formed a garland around his head, and a charming smile hovered on his soft, rosy, kissable lips.

Severus reached out for him, but the image disappeared.

The next day, Severus came back to the same rock. The loneliness of the lake bewitched him, enticed him. Harry appeared again, stretching his arms to him. Severus buried his face in his hands. It was the Iara. He knew it was the Iara, but he didn't have the strength to resist.

When he lifted his head to look at Harry again, he couldn't find him, and felt sadder and lonelier than ever.

One day he threw himself into the waters, but the Iara didn't come to fetch him. Even the Iara didn't want him.

~* ~* ~

"Severus?"

Severus slowly turned around towards that sound that reverberated inside him. Standing beside Severus on the rock by the lake, the impossible boy who had stolen Severus's heart was gazing at him with a concerned look. It must be a mirage. It wasn't the Iara, because it was standing on solid ground.

"Severus, what's happened? You look so thin, so haggard! C'mon, let's go home."

Severus didn't want to close his eyes, fearing that the mirage could fade away. He wouldn't be able to stand it if that happened.

Harry was shocked to see Severus in that state. Severus looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in weeks. Harry made a soup with chicken stock, rice and some vegetables he gathered in their garden. They ate in silence. Harry had a lot of news to tell him, but Severus didn't seem very lucid.

After the soup, Severus let himself be led to bed. Only when Severus had fallen asleep did Harry relax and close his eyes.

He woke up with Severus's hand stroking his chest under the sheet.

"Hmm... G'morning."

Severus didn't reply; he just gazed at Harry with a hurt look.

"I'm sorry, Severus. I couldn't find a way to talk to you. They were following me. Everything was more complicated and took longer than I expected. I..."

"Sh," said Severus. "You may tell me later. I just want to feel you beside me."

They stayed snuggled in bed for a while before Harry could finally whisper, "Severus, the Ministry has declared you innocent."

Severus's expression lit up for a moment, but then darkened again. "How could that be?"

"The first thing I did was go to Hogwarts and talk to Dumbledore's portrait in the Headmistress' office. Dumbledore told me he had placed a Pensieve with a few memories that could be favourable to you in a safe hidden inside a cupboard, in that very office. He showed me the place and told me the password to open the safe. I fetched the Pensieve, took it to the Ministry and asked to testify in your favour at the trial. But then the trial had to be postponed, because of the evidence I had presented, and I had to wait there. I stayed in the Burrow. I couldn't warn you, the Ministry was watching over me night and day."

"I see. With the favourable testimony of the Saviour of the Wizarding World and the memories in Dumbledore's Pensieve, the Ministry was forced to declare my innocence."

"Er, yeah, I think that sums up the situation quite well."

"Well, I will not contest the sentence..."

"Phew, I'm glad to hear that," said Harry, smiling.

"I never thought that one day your fame would be of use to me."

"Speaking of my fame, Professor Tofty, from the Wizarding Examinations Authority, told me that, if I want, I can take my NEWTs in June even without having frequented the classes at Hogwarts."

"But this is an absurd! You are above all rules, aren't you?"

"Well, it seems that it's not only in Brazil that jeitinho works. But I refused it. Why would I want to finish Hogwarts, if I don't even want to be an Auror any more?"

"You did wrong. I hope you can reconsider your decision."

"Why? You've just said that you think it's absurd that..."

"My dear Gryffindor, try and think as a Slytherin at least once in your life. You should complete your studies. A NEWT certificate can open many doors, and you might need it one day."

Harry let a long sigh escape. "All right. But you have to help me, or I won't be able to do it. How can I catch up on a year of lessons in five months?"

"You will do it."

"I'm glad to see that you're being your irritating self again... But you still look too weak. Let's have breakfast."

"All right, mum."

~* ~* ~

In the afternoon, Severus went back to his beloved potions. Harry noticed the reserve stock of potions that Severus used to keep was depleted, and the new orders were accumulating. To help Severus, Harry went into the woods in search of herbs.

When the night came and they went to bed, Harry was tired, but happy to see that Severus, who was waiting for him under the sheets, looked perfectly well again.

"Come here, Iara," said Severus in his low, silky voice.

Harry smiled. The snakes had told him that Severus had spent many hours by the lake while Harry was away, and that he had been seduced by the Iara. When Harry asked Severus about that, a dreamy, vacant look appeared in Severus's eyes, and he hadn't replied. The fact that Severus was joking about it now seemed a good sign to Harry. "I'm not the Iara, I'm the Mboitatá."

"Mboitatá?"

"That's what my snake friends call me. Some of them were watching me the day I cast Avada Kedavra on myself. They saw a green light coming out of my body, so they thought I was the Mboitatá."

"Did they explain what the Mboitatá is?"

"It's a long story."

Harry finished undressing and slipped under the sheets.

"Tell me," said Severus, turning to face Harry and resting a hand on his waist.

"A long time ago, there was a night so long that it seemed there would never be day again." Harry stroked Severus's hair, which smelled of jaborandi* shampoo. "On the last afternoon that the sun appeared, a hard rain fell, and it lasted many days. The meadows flooded; the ponds and lakes overflowed and joined together. All the animals died, except for the Big Snake, Mboiguaçu, which lived in a den. Its eyes became big, because it had to stay in the dark for a long time. When it couldn't stand the hunger any more, it slithered out of the den. There was a lot of carrion to eat; so much that the Mboiguaçu indulged in eating just the eyes of the animals. The waters started to lower and the Big Snake ate more and more eyes. It ate so many eyes that its body gradually became transparent, glowing with the light of thousands of eyes that were crushed inside it. Mboiguaçu became a glow with no flames, a sad and cold blue-green fire coming from the eyes it had eaten."

"Oh, how interesting. But what happened to the rest of the world?" asked Severus.

"Mboiguaçu finally died, because the eyes didn't nourish it. Its body crumbled on the earth. Then the light that was imprisoned inside it was released, and the stars, the sun and everything that contained light appeared again. The lights came back to where they once belonged, but the light that didn't have any place to go remained free, and sometimes the other animals see it wandering across the meadows: it's the Fire Snake, Mboitatá."

"What would happen..." asked Severus, holding Harry's hips and pulling Harry against his body "... if I rubbed against the Mboitatá like that?"

"Ah... Probably you'd be on fire."

"Then I think you really are the Mboitatá," Severus whispered in Harry's ear before claiming his mouth in a long, slow kiss.

Harry wrapped a leg around Severus's and rubbed back against him, smelling that scent that was uniquely Severus's and that turned him on. They kissed again. Gently, slowly, they tasted each other, tongues interlacing.

Severus was holding him in his arms now, his deft hands exploring Harry's body, touching Harry's most sensitive places, eliciting the most pleasant sensations. They hadn't had sex for nearly a month and yet Severus seemed to want to go excruciatingly slowly. Soft lips moved down from Harry's mouth to kiss his throat, then nibble at his earlobe. Harry let a moan escape and sank down onto the white sheets, feeling needy and vulnerable.

The light of the candle bathed Severus's shoulders in golden light. He was handsome. Those who said Severus was ugly hadn't seen him like that, didn't know him like Harry did.

"I missed you so much," Harry managed to say.

A hurt look appeared on Severus's face. "Don't you dare leave me like that again. Ever. It doesn't matter what the reasons are."

Harry couldn't promise that, so he didn't say anything. Severus bent down and caressed one of Harry's nipples gently with his tongue, then teased it with his teeth. When Harry moaned again, Severus lifted his head and looked at him, black eyes piercing him to the very soul. There was fire in those dark eyes. Fire and need, which increased the hunger in Harry.

Harry's breathing got faster, his back arched a little, his hips thrust forward slightly, his erection pressing against Severus's stomach.

"I want to be inside you," said Severus, hoarsely.

"I thought you didn't like to top."

"You are a virgin. I didn't want to hurt you."

"And now you want to hurt me?" asked Harry, intrigued, but still rubbing his hips against Severus's. "Do you want to punish me because I left you here alone?"

"Oh, I do want revenge, but not through pain. I want to make love to you. I want to drive you crazy, make you cry out from pleasure."

"Oh, God," whimpered Harry, in helpless desire.

Severus turned Harry onto his stomach and kissed the spot between his shoulder blades, down the spine to the small of his back. Harry writhed beneath him. When those velvety lips arrived at Harry's cleft, Severus stopped for a moment. Harry protested. Severus grasped his hips, raised them up and parted Harry's legs.

Harry saw Severus reaching for the phial of lubricant and smelled the pleasant scent of wild herbs. Severus touched his most private place, ever so gently, and rocked one finger in there, giving Harry time to get used to it. Since their first time together, Severus had accustomed Harry to the sensation of being filled by his fingers, so Harry wasn't afraid to push back. Severus's finger slid deeper in, searching, probing... When Severus touched his sensitive place, Harry jerked. Severus added a second finger, slowly massaging, preparing him. Leaning forward, Severus licked his neck again, while his free hand wandered down to Harry's chest to pinch the hard nipples.

Harry moaned into the pillow. Severus stopped the licking and pulled his fingers out. Harry closed his eyes in anticipation when the tip of Severus's cock touched his entrance. Harry bravely pushed backwards, and Severus filled him with one swift movement, pushing all the way in. So deep, so incredibly deep, and yet Harry felt no pain.

Severus's fucked him with long strokes. With each thrust, Harry felt the tension building within him, coiling tighter. Then Severus's hand closed around his cock, skilful fingers pumping him, never increasing the tempo. Harry lost himself in the rhythm of their joined bodies, feeling as if they were melting together.

"Severus..." Harry murmured, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Harry."

Warm lips caressed Harry's ear, and Harry shivered in pleasure. They continued to rock together. Harry could feel Severus's cock twitch inside of him, and clenched his muscles. Severus let out a sharp, startled moan.

"Damn, Harry, don't do that."

Harry let out a frustrated groan: Severus was about to come, and yet he had stopped. What an impossible man he was. "Don't stop," Harry protested.

"Shall we finish this together?"

"Yeah, please."

Severus thrust inside again, hard and deep, once, twice, and then a jolt of intense pleasure swept through Harry as he felt Severus's warm seed fill him. The long spasms made Harry buck, but Severus's cock was still deep inside him. Harry held Severus tight, and they rocked together until the very end.

When Harry could breath again, Severus had rolled a little to the side. Harry held Severus's hand and searched his eyes. "Uh... If that was my punishment, I think I'll have to behave badly more often."

Severus flashed a smile between sleepy, sated, smug and sarcastic. "Then I will have to be more severe with you and punish you more frequently. I have been very lenient with you."

"Ha! Well, you spent fifteen years giving unfair detentions. You're experienced."

"Mr Potter, you will respect me, or I will have to punish you again immediately and..."

"... you don't have energy for that now."

Severus yawned. "I will punish you again tomorrow morning." Severus squeezed Harry's hand and touched the ring. "Now that I am a free man again, I am planning to open a branch of Pharmakon in Hogsmeade and sell a line of potions I have developed here, based on tropical herbs."

"It will be great to have a branch of Pharmakon in Hogsmeade!"

"We may spend part of our time here, and part there. I can afford it now. And if you disappear again, I will find you, even if I have to go to hell and back."

"Don't think that you can fool me, though. I know you don't love me. This is just your Slytherin greediness: because I have muiraquitã eyes, you think that I give you luck."

"I'm glad that you understand me so well," said Severus, snuggling closer and pulling Harry's head onto his shoulder.

The End

Note: Most of the story's place names are fictitious, but the places are based on actual locations.

*