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It had been a long, hard day for Severus Snape. As he entered his quarters in the dungeons of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the difficulty of his day was obvious. His hair hung greasily in his face, with the exception of several locks, which bore scorch marks from a recently extinguished fire. His eyes - dark on any given day - were now highlighted by deep circles, testifying to his weariness. His shoulders were slumped with exhaustion, barely covered by the torn remains of his robes.
Gathering the last of his waning energy, he shut the door behind him, cast off his outer garb and collapsed on the couch in front of the fire. Laying his head on one end, he draped his feet carelessly over the other, kicking his boots off and hearing them fall with a thump to the floor. His long fingers worked slowly and carefully to unbutton his shirt, finally allowing it to fall open to each side of his chest. With that, his energy failed him, and he drifted off to sleep.
Hours had passed and supper had come and gone in the Great Hall. Deep in the dungeons, the door to Professor Snape's quarters opened quietly, and a slim shape slipped inside. A quick wave of a wand and a muttered incantation lit the candles and lamps in the room. A second wave and mutter revived the dying fire in the fireplace. Blue eyes came to rest on the figure sleeping quite contentedly on the couch.
"Stupid... you'll have a kink in your neck for days, sleeping like that." With that, the figure moved forward and knelt next to the couch. With a gentle nudge, he began to awaken the sleeping Potions master.
"Sev... wake up. Let's get you to bed where you belong."
Slowly the sleeping man began to stir, and finally opened his eyes. It took him a moment to focus on the figure in front of him. Finally, a spark of recognition began to glow in his eyes.
"I thought you were gone until this evening." Even his voice was laden with exhaustion, and perhaps a hint of pain.
"It is this evening, dolt. You slept through supper. Albus finally bothered to mention to me the accident in your last class as we were finishing eating." Exasperation was clear in the kneeling man's voice, with a touch of humor.
"Crazy old bastard." With that, Severus closed his eyes again, intent on sleeping, only to find himself being hauled upright and off the couch. "Put me down this instant you insolent mutt!"
"Now Sev, c'mon. We need to get you into a real bed. If you fall asleep on that couch again, you'll feel every one of your many years tomorrow." A pause, followed by a few experimental sniffs. "Then again, perhaps we should hit the shower first. You reek."
Muttering under his breath about pots and kettles, and interfering canines, Severus allowed himself to be led slowly to the bathroom. At which point he sat down on the toilet and firmly refused to cooperate any further, instead trying to find a comfortable place for his head on the nearby sink. Unfortunately, insistent hands began removing the last of his clothing, keeping him from sinking back down into that blessed oblivion he so longed for.
"I hate you." He glared at Sirius Black through half-opened eyes.
"Yes, dear, I know." A soft kiss pressed briefly against his forehead, and the hands resumed their swift work in removing the rest of his damaged clothing. "What were you thinking, Sev, not paying attention while sixth-years were making flammable potions? It is completely unlike you."
"Mmmmm... received a note from Harry. The cauldron exploded while I was reading it. Imbeciles." Giving up on sleeping against the sink, he now allowed his head to slide forward onto the warm, familiar shoulder in front of him.
"If I'd known all it would take to distract you into bodily harm was a dirty note, you never would have lived through seventh year." Sirius laughed as he finally finished his task, leaving a nude, filthy body in front of him. He took a moment to run his hands gently through the greasy, scorched hair, causing the exhausted man to produce what sounded suspiciously like purring noises.
"Go to hell, Black." Laughing, Sirius pushed him back to rest against the wall gently, and stood to start the water. Deciding that there was no way Severus would be able to stand on his own, and that there was no way on earth he was going to deal with the painful ramifications of subjecting the Potions master to being lifted in and out of the tub like a child, he removed his own clothing. Starting the water for their shower, he moved back and hauled the other man to his feet.
"C'mon love. Step over the edge now... good." He grinned at the satisfied moan that escaped the battered man as the hot water met his aching muscles. Taking his time, he slowly began to wash the grime and residue of the earlier explosion from the body in front of him. It was a difficult task, but he attended to it with cheerful thoroughness. Finally satisfied that Severus was clean in body, he began to work on his poor, damaged hair. It took several washings to get the last of the chemicals from his hair, but finally it was clean. Sitting the aching man carefully on the edge of the tub, he turned off the water and grabbed several towels.
Adjusting them both so that they were straddling the edge of the tub, he began to dry the body before him. Taking great care to rub gently and slowly, he removed the last of the water from Severus' skin. He moved next to the hair, carefully rubbing it to a tolerable dryness. Knowing that Sev would kill him later if he didn't take the time to add the conditioner the man used to control his abominable hair now, he did so, taking great pleasure in rubbing it gently throughout.
Finally he led Severus out of the bathroom, and towards the bed. Pulling back the bedcovers, he settled the battered man gently onto the bed and tucked him in. Brushing a soft kiss on Sev's cheek, he left him to sleep, and returned to the bathroom. Cleaning up quickly, he made sure to tend to his own long black hair, and donned a robe. Severus had mentioned a note from Harry, which meant the younger man would be returning tonight.
He moved to wait on the couch, picking up Severus' clothes and boots along the way. Dropping them on the desk where the house elves would find them, he settled on the couch before the fire and watched the flickering flames. Hearing about the accident had unnerved him. Already concerned over the Potion master's failure to attend the meal, he'd snarled fiercely at Albus before rushing to the dungeon to tend to his lover. Now that he'd completed his task, he could relax and await the arrival of Harry, and his return to their family.
The young man had been away for almost a week, doing research in Romania. Having agreed to take over the Care of Magical Creatures courses at the start of the next year he was spending a great deal of time visiting various reserves across Europe, adding to his store of knowledge, cheerfully gained from Hagrid, who had chosen to retire this year. Much as Sirius had taken over teaching Transfiguration for Minerva McGonagall when the administrative task of assisting Dumbledore had begun to overwhelm her.
As Sirius relaxed, he found himself dozing off before the fire, only to be awakened by the soft brush of lips against his own. Finding great irony in the situation, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled in to the face of his godson, now his lover. Green eyes met blue and held, smiling into each other. Finally Sirius opened his arms and tugged the young man into a firm welcoming hug.
"Welcome back love, we missed you." Harry gifted him with a grin, lying atop him with their legs entangled. After a warm, loving kiss, he responded.
"I missed you too. Where's Sev? Didn't he get my owl?" Harry was looking around the room, craning his neck in an effort to find the dark man.
"Oh, he got your owl all right. In the middle of a sixth-year class. I'm not sure what you wrote, but apparently it distracted him enough to miss the advent of a spectacular explosion. Luckily he noticed it in time to get the students away, but he took a bit of damage from the blast." Harry's face was stricken as he listened to Sirius' explanation. Seeing the look on the younger man's face, he moved quickly to reassure him. "He's fine, just a bit singed and sore. I washed him off and tucked him into bed not too long ago."
This did not satisfy Harry, who, after depositing his luggage in a safe place, swiftly moved towards the bedroom. He came to a stop at the side of the bed, and looked down softly at the sleeping man below him. Reaching a hand out, he gently pushed Severus' hair back from his face, reassuring himself that his love was really okay. Kneeling, he pressed a soft kiss to those fine, thin lips. Looking up, he saw dark eyes open, meeting his.
"Damned Gryffindors. I'm to get no rest then, am I?" Harry smirked wickedly at the older man, and simply kissed him again, pleased when those sensual lips moved to meet his own.
"I missed you Severus. I didn't mean to wake you. After Sirius told me what happened, I had to make sure you were really all right." His hand continued to move gently through the long dark hair spread across the bed.
"The least you both can do then is get in here with me so that I can sleep properly for the first time in a week."
"Oh, I like that. Am I not man enough to wear you out at night, Snape?" Sirius' gleaming blue eyes belied the bite in his tone as he cast off his robe and crawled in on the other side of the bed. He wrapped a long, muscular arm around the Potions master and pulled him gently towards the middle of the bed, spooning firmly behind him.
"Of course not. Why do you think I allow both of you to sleep here?"
"Because Albus told you that a harem was technically illegal in Europe and refused to build one for you?"
A snort answered that as Harry quickly discarded his clothes, taking care to place them in the hamper. He wanted no repeat of the time Severus had turned all his clothing pink for a week in response to his habit of discarding them across the floor in his haste to get to bed. Sirius at least had the skill in charms to change his clothing back when Snape got peeved.
Crawling into bed facing Severus, Harry made sure that the exhausted man was well covered and warm. Grabbing his wand from the bedside table, he waved it in the direction of the living room and issued a few muttered words. The candles and lamps went out, and the fire banked itself nicely. Finally the bedroom door swung shut and the fireplace at the foot of the bed lit itself, lending warmth to the room. Laying aside his wand, he turned to face the two men who had become the center of his life.
Curling up gently against Severus' chest, he draped his arm over the thin waist and molded his body to the firm one before him. Tired black eyes looked down at him humorously as he fitted himself carefully. Finally his head came to rest against the shoulder he had missed so much for the past week. Tilting his head, he pressed a loving kiss to the base of Severus' neck, and allowed himself to relax as he felt an arm drape over him, long, elegant fingers tracing down his spine to rest on his hip. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep with the Potions master, a warm smile on each face.
Sirius looked them over lovingly. They had changed his life in so many ways. This was his idea of what love should truly be. Three men who loved each other exactly as they were, and for no other reason than that. Time, and their love, had done a great deal to heal all three men of emotional wounds, binding them more closely with each passing day.
Settling himself more comfortably for the night, he pressed a soft kiss to each face. Resting his head against Severus' neck and shoulder, he drifted off to sleep.
End.