Harry awoke with a gasp. He bolted out of bed, grabbed his wand, map, and invisibility cloak and dashed out the door, leaving behind his sleeping roommates. They had called it an early night, turning in at 10; it was now nearly midnight as Harry hurried through the castle, one eye on the floor, the other on the map in his hand. "Faster," he urged himself, until he was sure that had he been visible, all that anyone would see was a blur.

Tearing around a corner and down a flight of stairs, Harry sped down the hall and up to a portrait of a snake. He tore the cloak from him as he stopped abruptly, hissing breathlessly that he needed to speak to the person within. The snake slowly looked him up and down before slithering away, leaving Harry to fidget impatiently in front of the empty frame.

Suddenly the wall swung inwards, and in the open doorway stood the man Harry had been racing to find in time.

"I had a dream," Harry gasped, causing the dark brows to draw together. "We need to talk, right now, he'll be calling you soon." His green eyes conveyed the urgency of the statement, and the dark man only hesitated for a moment before stepping back, wordlessly inviting him into his private quarters.

"This better be good, Potter," Severus Snape drawled as he closed the door behind his unexpected guest. Turning, he saw the boy's fevered eyes on him.

"No, it's not good at all," the boy said, still panting from his mad dash through the castle. Severus shivered at the haunted look in his eyes. "Listen, we don't have much time," he continued, turning away and walking over to the fireplace, staring unseeing into the flames. The Potions Master watched him with wary eyes. One never knew what to expect with Potter.

"Did you know that he desires you?" Harry asked abruptly, turning to look at his professor, who still stood at the door. "Voldemort, I mean."

Severus' mind seemed to both race and freeze simultaneously at the question; he wasn't sure he'd ever been this shocked before. "What?" he managed to croak out, staring helplessly into the green orbs that held his gaze.

"He always has, I think," Harry said, not breaking the eye contact. "Did you know that he tried to spare my mother's life for you?" he continued, shocking Snape even further, though he hadn't thought it possible. "He told her to stand aside, not once, but twice, and only when she refused to move did he grow impatient and kill her." Severus had never seen the boy hero's face so expressionless before, none of his inner turmoil showing on his face. He didn't think his face was as controlled at the moment.

"He might even love you, in his own twisted way," the boy continued relentlessly. "Sometimes he crucios you just to see you panting on the floor afterwards, in the way that he imagines you would look like after sex," Snape's eyes widened incredulously. What was the boy saying? How did he know all this? But the boy continued unheeded.

"Often he has considered taking you to his bed, forcing you if you are not willing, but he never could bring himself to; as much as he wants to break you, he doesn't want to see you broken." Here the boy looked away again, into the fire, and Severus felt a chill creep up his spine. "He took Lucius Malfoy once, when his lust was too strong," Harry continued, his eyes seeing a horror within the flames. "He had to obliviate him afterwards, or lose the man to insanity." Growing quiet for a moment in what Severus could tell was horrified remembrance, he managed to force a few words past his dry throat.

"How do you know this?"

The boy looked back up to him. "The link between us is far deeper than anyone believes," Harry said, the grim smile on his face confirming the words. "I can willingly enter his mind whenever I want," he laughed mirthlessly, "not that I enjoy it..." Looking back into the flames, he spoke softly. "He is unaware of the connection, thankfully, and I still often dream of the things he's doing..." He looked back up, facing the eyes of his former occlumency teacher. "And tonight, I dreamed."

Severus grew cold. What had the boy dreamed to bring him tearing down to the dungeons, only to tell him about the Dark Lord's - he shivered - attraction to him? He suddenly had a very, very bad feeling about Potter's next words.

"He'll be calling you soon," Harry said, closing his eyes on the view of the horrified Death Eater. "to take you by any means necessary."

Silence filled the room, hanging oppressively over their heads, broken only by their breathing. Their roles had reversed: Now Harry was the still one, breathing steadily, while the Potions Master stood gasping for breath.

"What was it like?" he asked, knowing that he wouldn't like the answer. When the green eyes opened, he continued, "When he took Lucius," his eyes conveying his horror at the thought and question. Harry flinched in reply, moving his gaze to the fire again. Severus had a very, very bad feeling about the reply.

"He..." Harry began, clearing his throat nervously before trying again. "He broke him," he said, his own voice breaking. "He had him begging for release within mere minutes, but kept him begging for two hours, using pain and pleasure to drive him as high as he could go before letting him crash down. He was unconscious for minutes after, lying in sheets drenched with his own sweat, blood, tears, and cum, his body torn and the beautiful face..." Harry trailed off, seeing it again before his eyes, eyes that suddenly looked far too old for a boy of sixteen. Severus shivered violently at the horror in Harry's voice.

"But he wouldn't treat you that way," Harry said suddenly, turning to him with a conviction on his face that Severus drank in with a hope that he couldn't deny feeling. "I had the pleasure," Harry sneered, and Severus started at the one facial expression he had never expected the Golden Boy to make, "of sitting in on one of his wet dreams once." Severus stared at him, completely lost for words. "In his dream, he treated you... yes, almost lovingly," he said, a crooked smile appearing on his face. "He seemed to covet your gasps, your soft moans, far more than he had Lucius' screams and pleas... The way you would whisper "My Lord" rather than scream it as Lucius had... Your diluted, lust-filled eyes that you turned to his with no hesitation, unlike Lucius who hadn't dared gaze upon his master even then... Yes, he desires you in a way that goes far beyond lust," Harry said, laughing grimly, his eyes once again averted from the Potions Master. Snape could see the flush of arousal that graced the younger man's cheeks and knew it mirrored on his own. How should he have known that having Potter speak of him that way would turn him on as it did? A sudden image flashed through his head, of himself lying underneath that young man, gasping and moaning as Harry caressed him...

Harry's head suddenly snapped up. "Now," he said, and in that moment, Snape's Dark Mark throbbed, calling him to his master's side. "No," he gasped, unwilling to an extent he had never been before to follow the call.

"You could stay," Harry said, quelling the older man's panic with his sharp gaze. Moving closer, the young man continued. "Don't respond to the summons. Stay here, hide at Hogwarts, renounce your spy status," he said, stepping close to Severus, who stood frozen on the spot, unable to tear his eyes from the form of the smaller man. Stopping right in front of his Potions teacher, Harry breathed, "Stay with me," before claiming his lips in a possessive kiss, his right hand grasping the base of Severus' head, pulling him down just that little bit. Severus moaned into the kiss, his hands coming up to grip Harry's shirt, suddenly needing to feel the other man.

Pulling away, he gasped, "I have to go," though it sounded weak even to his ears.

"Nonsense," Harry snapped, green eyes flashing. "There's no need for you to put yourself in danger to spy for the Order when I can simply slip in and out of Voldemort's head." Pulling the older man's face back to his, he kissed him deeply, quelling any protest. "I'm not letting you put yourself in that danger again," he breathed against Severus' lips, making the Potions Master shiver at the possessive tone that sent a spark of heat flaring through his body.

"Is this you, or is it the Dark Lord's desire speaking?" Severus asked, a myriad of emotions flickering over his face. Harry gave him a reassuring kiss, lingering over the thin lips. "This is all me," he said softly. "I grew to want you even before I realized what Voldemort felt for you," he confessed, and Severus' eyes widened. "And what I feel for you isn't the same as he," the young man said, pulling back to look Severus in the eyes. "He would never give up control, to anyone, while I would love you to take control occasionally." With that confession, Harry's lips were back on his, a demanding pressure that Severus was more than happy to give in to. He doesn't want just one night, he realized, the thought sparking a very warm feeling inside him. He wants me, Severus thought in awe, and returned the kiss desperately.

Harry felt the moment Snape realized what it was Harry was admitting to, and asking for, and feared for a moment that the man would pull away, kick him out, tell him to never approach him again - and then Severus was returning his kiss with desperate passion and Harry melted into his arms, wrapping his own around the taller man's neck as strong arms encircled his waist, pulling them close together.

That night they made love to each other passionately, desperately, and neither was completely unsurprised to find that the other was a virgin still. Afterwards they collapsed into each other's arms, falling asleep in the warm embrace and waking up to the press of a waking body, leading them to making love again, more slowly, in affirmation of the fact that it wouldn't be a one-time occurrence.

For the first time he could remember, Severus Snape entered the Great Hall with a smile.