If a headache and upset stomach were all he had to pay for what he'd done, it was worth it. Harry hadn't suffered the full effects of the curse tonight, and if they were lucky, he'd be able to do the same with every other nightmare as it happened.
It was truly a pity that no one would know what he'd done here. Rewriting a curse wrought by spontaneous magic was unheard of. As with so many of the major accomplishments of his life, it would go unnoticed. But for once, Severus didn't mind. Harry would sleep better for his efforts, and that was all that was important to him.
He would have liked to have summoned a restorative potion or at the very least an analgesic for his aching head, but he was literally impotent at the moment. He doubted he had the energy to so much as stand up, let alone walk.
Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths and tried to relax, hoping the throbbing in his head would subside. Although the pain persisted, eventually his exhaustion got the better of him and he drifted over into sleep.
*~*~*
"Severus?"
Severus turned his head at the sound of his name, which was a definite mistake. His skull felt like it would crack wide open.
Prying his sticky eyelids apart, he glared at the disgustingly cheerful man sharing his pillow. If he'd had any power left to him at all, he would have cursed Potter for the smile the sadist was giving him.
"W-what?" Severus croaked.
"Are you all right? It's nearly time for breakfast. You're usually up and dressed by now," Harry said, leaning forward to kiss him.
Severus winced as his head threatened to explode as the kiss cut off his airflow, but he made no protest.
When Potter pulled back, his gaze was worried. "You've got circles under your eyes. Didn't you sleep well?"
"Kindly lower your voice, and tell me what you remember about last night," Severus demanded in a low whisper.
Potter's face crinkled in a frown that would have been engaging most days, but which Severus was in too much pain to appreciate at the moment.
"We made love. Fantastic love. You let me levitate us," Harry said.
Severus tried not to sigh. "Anything else?"
"I, er, fell asleep right on top of you again immediately afterwards, didn't I?" Harry asked, looking stricken.
How the corners of his lips twitching could make his head pound worse was a mystery to him, but that's what happened. "I'm used to it now, Potter. It's hardly something to lose sleep over."
"Then what . . . I had a nightmare, didn't I? And you . . . fixed it!" Harry's grin nearly melted his aching brain. The smile faded as Harry seemed to concentrate. "I remember it all now. The nightmare started out the same as usual, but . . . but instead of Death Eaters coming to rape me, you came to heal me and rescue me . . . and . . . it was amazing. Bloody amazing. Thank you, Severus, thank you so much."
Harry's mouth latched onto his again and it was several minutes before Potter pulled back.
"I need to talk to you about that," Severus said, his self-consciousness accentuating his physical misery.
"About what?"
"I must . . . apologize. I didn't intend to insert myself into the dream. I wouldn't presume . . . to take such liberties." Severus averted his gaze from Harry's trusting green eyes, unsure how he could explain, let alone offer an excuse for what had happened, especially since he didn't understand how it had happened.
"What are you talking about? Why would you need to apologize? What liberties? Are you crazy? You cured those damn night terrors! Do you think I care how? Unless it's escaped your notice, I enjoy making love to you. It was great!" Harry insisted, with so much Gryffindor enthusiasm that Severus had to look back at him.
"But it wasn't supposed to happen that way. I expended a great deal of energy creating your rescuer -"
"You what? You mean you didn't want to rescue me yourself?" Harry asked, sounding hurt, of all things.
"Potter, my head is about to crack open. I swear on Salazar's grave that I will smite you if you continue along that infantile line."
Gods, now it was injured innocence assaulting him.
"I don't understand. Why would you invent someone to rescue me instead of doing it yourself?" Harry questioned in a slightly more adult tone.
"I was attempting to graft this scenario onto your subconscious. I knew that whatever I invented was going to be with you for the rest of your life. I wouldn't presume to insert myself into . . . so permanent a situation. If in the future you were to grow disenchanted with my charms, you would no doubt find it unpleasant for me to be so deeply embedded in your erotic dreams."
Harry sucked in a noisy breath, as if he'd taken a blow to the solar plexus. For a moment he simply stared at Severus with an unreadable expression in his eyes, and then he reached out to gently stroke the lank hair back from Severus' temple in a soothing rhythm that actually felt like it were reducing his headache. Finally, Potter asked, "So how'd you end up in it then?"
"I don't know. When my creation wavered and transformed, I feared I'd miscalculated the energy requirements and that a Death Eater would reappear. Instead, the handsome hero I invented transformed into myself. I have no explanation to offer," Severus softly confessed.
"You must have used a spell to replace Voldemort's. How did you word your changes?" Harry asked.
Severus thought back on what he'd actually instructed the curse to do. "I changed the scene, saying that the man you loved, the man you trusted more than any other, would enter the cell, heal you, and make passionate love to you."
At first, Severus didn't understand the satisfied, slightly shy smile that claimed Harry's face. "There you have it, then."
"What?" Severus asked, still not seeing.
"You know, for such a bright fellow, you can be pretty dense at times," Harry complained.
"Your point is?" Severus didn't quite snap.
"The subconscious doesn't lie. How could I trust some fantasy you made up more than you? The man I trust more than any other is the one who's been sharing my bed these last two months. That's you, Severus."
Once again the ground seemed to fall out from under him. Harry was right. The subconscious didn't lie, which meant . . . that Harry Potter truly loved him, or at least believed he did. With Harry the two were one and the same.
Severus gulped, trying to think of something to say beyond a blank, "Oh."
Harry spared him the necessity by asking, "How bad is that headache, really?"
"I'll survive," Severus said.
"What you did last night – it wasn't easy, was it?"
"It drained me like an intense duel," Severus admitted. "The curse is tied directly to your sexuality and subconscious. I had to . . . make extensive modifications."
"Rewriting a buried curse like that . . . that's not normally part of those arts. You invented a whole new school of Occlumency and Legilimency , didn't you? Harry asked.
"And then some," Severus sighed.
Quiet for a time, Harry's fingers stroked Severus' temples, and then Harry asked, "Is there anything I can get you or do for you?"
"If you'd summon the headache potion in the blue bottle from the cabinet over my bathroom sink and the Restorative Potion in the brown bottle in my Potions lab storage cabinet, I'd be eternally in your debt," Severus said as lightly as he could.
"You can't summon?" Harry's body froze, his expression passing from worry into fear. "It took that much out of you?"
Severus sighed and refrained from snapping. He'd never been any good at explaining himself, nor had he ever been able to manage civility when he was unwell. But . . . Potter mattered to him, so he made the extra effort. Speaking as though to a very dull child, which was about as polite as he could manage given the circumstances, he said, "Last night I was totally depleted. I couldn't even move. I probably could manage to summon the bottles myself this morning, but . . . it would make my headache worse. You did offer -"
"Of course," Harry said. A few seconds later, the two bottles floated through the open bedroom and bathroom doors respectively over to the bed.
Harry plucked them out of the air and handed them to him.
Severus uncapped the blue bottle first and drank down the bitter contents, then the brown.
Harry's worried gaze followed his every move. When he'd finished the last of the Restorative draught, Harry shifted on the bed until he was sitting behind him, with his back to the headboard and his athletic thighs surrounding Severus' hips. Harry's hands came around his chest and guided him back to rest against him.
The warmth was wonderful. Severus released a deep breath, and pillowed his aching head against Harry's left collarbone.
Pressing his lips to Severus' right temple, Harry gently stroked his chest in a soothing pattern.
Slowly, the agony in his skull abated as the potions took effect. Severus no longer felt as though a niffler were burrowing its way through his cerebellum. Now it was simply an extremely potent headache.
"Will you be able to teach today?" Harry questioned a while later.
"I will thoroughly enjoy teaching today, Potter," Severus said with a malicious glee he wouldn't have been able to manage as little as a few minutes ago.
Harry chuckled, making him shake up and down with the motion of the chest he was resting against. Severus' potion had done its job. The shaking didn't revive his headache.
"The poor sods. You won't tell them their extra huge homework assignments and detentions are my fault, will you?"
"The first words out of my mouth at every class today will be that they are receiving detention and an extra foot of homework because Professor Potter totally exhausted me in bed last night." His words caused more quaking.
"You know that I really do appreciate what you did for me last night, right?" Harry checked, his arms tightening around him. "Will you let me show you how much tonight?"
Every morning, Harry asked him that same kind of question without fail, making it sound like it were some great gift to be graced with his company. Moved by this man on so many levels, Severus gave a nod and a soft, "Yes." He laid his own hands on top of Harry's and squeezed them between his palms and stomach.
"Did you want to go to breakfast?" Harry asked.
Another nod, and Harry was helping him up out of the bed.
"We won't have time to bathe," Harry said.
Seconds later, Severus felt the familiar tingle of a cleansing charm play across his skin.
"Thank you," Severus said, relieved by Harry's thoughtfulness. He really hadn't been sure if he'd had the energy to do it himself and he couldn't teach class smelling from sex.
Severus saw Harry wordlessly approach his wardrobe and start removing robes, trousers, and a shirt for him to wear today. Harry was moving towards his dresser, where he stored his underwear and socks as Severus made his wobbly way to the loo.
When he was done in the bathroom, he found Harry fully dressed in a blue jumper and black trousers. His own full attire was laid out and waiting for him on the bed.
Harry gave him a smile and took his own turn in the bathroom.
Feeling like a failed Transfiguration assignment, Severus slowly donned the underwear and socks Harry had left for him. He'd barely gotten them on when Harry emerged from the bath. With a mischievous smile, Harry held the shirt out for him to slip his arms into, and then helped him with the rest of his clothes. He should have felt embarrassed or self-conscious at the assistance, but somehow, Harry made it feel like just another intimacy to share. Not quite as arousing as a kiss, but in its own way, equally moving.
He'd never imagined that he'd adjust to having someone share his living space like this after so many years of solitude, but he couldn't help but think how well Harry and he worked around each other. The only experience he'd had living with someone other than his parents had been his schooldays in the dorm. There had always been an uncomfortable amount of bumping into each other while preparing for class in the mornings, but Harry and he seemed to have the same kind of natural rhythm in everything that they did in bed. They flowed around each other, rather than collided.
It was also a unique feeling to have someone around who would do small things to help him without being asked, things like laying out his clothes when he was feeling under the weather. He'd never imagined that a single person could bring so much positive change into his life in such a relatively short period, but Harry had. He'd changed his entire world around. Before, he'd been existing. Now, he was living every moment of every day. While his nights . . . they were without equal. All because of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter . . . whose subconscious seemed to recognize him as his true love.
Wondering if the Head of Slytherin could be expelled from his house for a completely Gryffindor burst of optimistic hope, he followed Harry out the door.
*~*~*
Continue to Part II
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Until Proven - Part II
"How's your head feeling?" Harry asked his lover a few days later as he entered Severus' private chambers a half hour after the daily detentions had ended. Severus had had to rewrite another dream last night.
Severus was sitting on his couch in front of a roaring fire, with a cup of tea and an empty headache draught bottle on the side table. It was rare that he ever visited Severus and didn't find him doing something: grading papers, reading, writing an article for the numerous potions journals to which he regularly contributed. To see him just sitting there before the fire, with his face so pale and drawn and those purplish rings under his eyes ate at Harry's conscience like acid.
Severus looked over at him, his thin mouth twitching upwards at the ends. "Like a quaffle when Marcus Flint was through with it. I'll be fine."
Harry crossed the sitting room and eased down onto the green couch beside Severus. He laid his right arm across the back of the couch, lightly banding his lover's shoulders.
