The Catch

Chapter 14: Love in a Bottle

Severus clutched the towel as he made his way to the creek. He had been feeling a bit guilty when he saw Ron's tall form walking towards the direction of the stream for his morning bath. It really wasn't necessary for him to take that chilly bath all over again. It was routine for Severus to perform a spell that would draw warmed bathwater from the creek. He was merely testing Ron yesterday, seeing if the youth would really risk his nerves for an ice bath.

Ron was lucky that he had woken up in a pleasant mood this morning, Severus thought as he patted the thick towel. He didn't usually feel this good, and it had been weeks since he had last felt like smiling this early in the day.

As expected, it was still a bit foggy, and if he didn't know the way by heart, he would have been lost in the wide lands around the Tower. He wondered idly whether Ron found it easy to come here.

As he approached the creek, Severus heard the voice before he even saw the person.

"Of course it sounds rather crazy if I tell the story," Ron's words wafted through the mist. Severus stopped, curious. Who could he be speaking with?

Ron continued, "Me, an old castle, and a deserted forest filled with man-eating Griffins. It would almost sound like one of those Muggle fairy tales Harry's so fond of telling me about. Only, instead of a girlfriend with long golden hair, I got myself a boyfriend!"

Severus' ears pinked at the word. He had broken up with him! How dare that red-headed twit call him his boy-- Wait! Did they even break up? He crept closer. He could hear the water splash quite loudly now.

"Brrr... this thing's cold. Anyway, it's really a problem now. I don't even know how to apologize right. I mean, I think I did but I'm not so sure if I did it right. I thought last night was perfect but I still ended up sleeping alone on that musty bed with no one but Cousin Hester to talk to!" A hearty laugh followed.

Severus blushed an angry red (a feat for someone of his coloring), and was about to turn and march back to the castle when he heard Ron's next words.

"But you know what," his voice softened, "it's one hell of a crazy world out there. Who would have thought that the Professor I've been calling a slimy git since I was eleven could turn out to be the--"

Fate chose that moment to tweak her naughty finger and Severus found himself slipping -- dropping headlong into the direction of the stream where Ron was...

bathing naked.

~*~

"It wasn't me!"

Hermione sighed as she stared at Parvati. The girl had repeatedly professed her innocence. "You mean to say that you don't know about any sort of contract that Ron made with the boys?"

"Well, I did hear the usual rumors about Ron and Snape." She snorted. "Who wouldn't have heard those? But the contract--I didn't even know it existed! And please, I would never go out with Neville!" She scrunched her nose, lifting it to the air.

Hermione tapped her fingers on the bed. Parvati didn't sound like she was lying. The girl could be daft sometimes and could also be too gossipy for her own good, but she really wasn't the type to ruin someone else's life just because of petty reasons.

"All right, I'm sorry I thought it was you. I just hoped you could help me clear this up." Hermione smiled apologetically.

"Hmph! Well, next time, set your facts straight," but she smiled in return soon after.

"Keep this to yourself would you? I don't want anyone knowing about the trouble Ron and Professor Snape are having," Hermione requested anxiously.

"Of course!" Parvati ran a finger across her mouth with a flourish. "My lips are sealed."

~*~

It was all over school the next day.

"I am going to kill that girl," Hermione muttered through gnashed teeth.

"You should have known better than actually ask her to keep it quiet. A girl like Parvati is bound to do what she isn't supposed to do," Harry chuckled. "So what do you plan on doing now?"

"I don't know. I guess I should ask Padma about it. But I'm afraid things might turn out even worse. I don't know her as well as Parvati, since she's in Ravenclaw." Hermione frowned in concentration.

"Well, better you than me," Harry added.

"NO!" Hermione suddenly burst out. A few people walking beside them glanced at her strangely.

"What?" Harry asked, surprised. "Did I say something?"

"You!" Hermione crowed with delight. "You are the perfect person to ask her!"

"Me?" he asked, puzzled. "Why me? I hardly know her. The only time I spent with her was the few minutes we sat together with Ron and Parvati during that Yule Ball fiasco during our fourth year."

"But don't you see, Harry," Hermione started excitedly. "You're every girl's dreamboat in Hogwarts. If there's someone she couldn't resist, it'd be you! And she'd be too guarded around me, I think. But not if you ask her out on a date."

"You want me to ask someone out on a date?" Harry repeated, horrified. "What about my available but unattainable status? I'll be ruined! And I've gone to so much trouble trying not to date anyone lately."

"Do you realize how conceited that sounds? Don't be so melodramatic. C'mon, do this for Ron."

"Weeell...."

"Harry!"

"All right, I'll do it!" he held his hands up, facing her. "But looking at Padma makes me remember that horrible Yule Ball all over again. So don't blame me if it blows up in my face."

"It won't," Hermione said confidently. "Not if you ask the right questions the right way. And don't be so choosy. You know how pretty Padma is."

"I'm starting to feel really nervous about this *date*."

"Just think about this: You're here in school, comfortably toasty, while Ron is probably out there, freezing his ass off."

Of course, she didn't know how right she was.

~*~

"Sev?" Ron asked quizzically, staring at the drenched figure sprawled across a large rock beside him. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I was just about to--" Severus' eyes traveled downward, and widened. It was literally freezing here! Shouldn't that size be illegal?

"What? Oh!" Ron looked down and glanced back at Sev's face. "It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"I came to give you this." Severus handed him the towel. It was slightly damp but still serviceable.

"Oh, that's very nice of you," Ron smiled. "Here, let me help you up."

With one hand, he lifted Severus from his position and the Potions Professor crawled to the bank, gasping slightly from the cold. He sat for a moment to catch his breath before facing Ron once more. Goodness! Didn't the boy know the meaning of modesty? He was just standing there exposed! But hell would freeze over before he let himself show just how affected he was.

Say something before you start staring again. Severus opened his mouth to speak but Ron beat him to it.

"You look... very wet."

"Obviously. I fell in," he answered blankly. Then he noticed the look Ron was giving him. It was far from innocent, and he wasn't staring at his face. He looked down at himself and noticed for the first time that the water made his robe stick to his skin in a most indecent manner.

He looked back at Ron and noticed that the boy had not looked away. In fact, his lips were a bit open. Pale, yes, who wouldn't be in this temperature? But still, very sinfully sexy. And he couldn't help but remember exactly what those lips were capable of.

Severus stood and walked away briskly without saying anything more. He didn't think he could anyway, with the huge block that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

Ron stared at Severus 'til he disappeared completely in the distance. He sighed and patted the rock he had been talking to earlier. "You know that thing about cold showers? It's a complete lie."

~*~

Ron knocked before pushing the door open. Just as he expected, he found Severus deep in his books, as usual. He stood before his Professor and knocked on the desk to get his attention. Severus looked up and before Ron could say something, the words came out in a rush.

Severus spoke first, "Ron, if you're going to say something about what happened earlier, I would prefer if you didn't. It would be better for us to just--"

"Pretend that you didn't come rushing out of the castle in concern for my health?" Ron interrupted, trying to hide a grin.

Severus raised a brow. "I was going to say that it would be better for us to pretend that I didn't hear you talking to yourself in a most idiotic manner."

"Ouch, that hurt!" Ron clutched his chest dramatically.

Severus sighed. "Look, Ron, save me the dramatics and tell me exactly what you want."

"You." Ron grinned again. "But since I see from your face that you are about to throw me out of this room, I'm getting straight to the point. If you Snapes are supposed to be an old and rich Pureblood family, then where are the house-elves?"

"They died."

"All of them? This big house of yours must have needed more house-elves than Hogwarts has right now!"

"Like I so clearly said, they died," Severus sighed. "And those who lived were transferred to Hogwarts. I wanted to empty this place totally. I never did intend to come back before I did recently. But may I ask, why the sudden interest in house-elves?"

"Well, since you're quite busy the whole day, I was hoping for a house-elf to show me around. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting things to see in this rambling castle aside from that amazing family portrait we stumbled on a few days ago."

'There are some," Severus nodded. "Unfortunately, there is no house-elf to show you around." He turned back to his books.

A full minute later, Severus raised his head and looked at Ron who was still standing before him. "What? I answered your question, didn't I?"

"Yes. Now I need you to show me around."

"Show yourself around. Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Severus," Ron started, placing his hand on the page Severus was reading. "You are on leave. I am currently cutting classes. We may as well make our vacation worthwhile. If you continue to work the way you do, you will die of high blood pressure in no time, with or without magical health care. Invited or not, I am still a guest in your house which isn't really a house but is a castle with wings! I know how to get to my room and the kitchen but that's about it. And if you don't show me around, I shall probably get lost and die in some forgotten little corridor somewhere in this place and my death will haunt you until you die."

A stunned pause followed Ron's outburst.

"That's an eloquent way of putting it." Severus took one look at the page he was reading. Last night, he did promise to give Ron a chance and let him take another shot. "All right, where do you want to start?"

Ron smiled, relieved. "What about that baby place Hester was telling me about?"

"Baby place? Oh, that place! Do I really have to show you that?" Severus asked, aghast.

"Sure. It sounded interesting."

"Fine." Severus stood up. "But if you breathe one word of this to anyone in Hogwarts--"

"You will have my head," Ron finished laughing. "C'mon, I can't wait."

~*~

"Are they really this noisy?" Ron screamed over the sound of wailing in the long, narrow room.

"Yes! And don't blame me. You insisted!" Severus yelled back.

They were in what Ron had earlier called The Baby Room. It was really an unnamed closed room that was as narrow as a hallway that housed the baby portraits of all the Snapes in history. The tradition had started from Thelonius Snape's first son and continued until the last Snape in existence -- Severus.

Like all magical portraits, the babies in their respective frames were not the silent smiling cherubs in Muggle houses. These were babies! The one nearest the door had awakened when they entered and it had emitted a loud, angry yell at the disturbance. The other babies soon followed, and now the room was one long, wailing cave of babies.

"Where are you in here?" Ron shouted.

"Not on your life!" Severus shot back. "You have to find it yourself."

"It'll take me an eternity to find you here. And if you don't show me soon, we'll have to stay here until I find it--in the middle of all this din!"

"You are a born blackmailer." Severus placed his right hand tightly over his ear while he pointed with the other. "There! The one on the right with the book."

"That's you?" Ron rushed to the portrait. "Aww... baby Snape with a story book. How cute can you get?"

"Shut up before I throttle you," Severus snarled. "Let's get out of here."

"Oh look! He stopped crying. He's falling asleep. I've always had difficulty imagining a baby you, but he's really cute. And quite well-brushed too."

"Ron," Severus started warningly.

"All right, we're getting out," he said laughingly as he rushed to the door after a visibly annoyed Severus. They closed the door, shutting out the sound of wailing. They both sighed against the wall, letting the blessed silence sink in.

"Now I know why babies are so scary," Ron mused.

"I'll decide where we go next before you even start suggesting another silly place," Severus said, giving Ron an annoyed look.

"Fine by me," Ron said gamely. "So, where are we heading next?"

"Outside."

~*~

"You have greenhouses? You live the middle of a forest! What do you need greenhouses for?" Ron stared bug-eyed at the number of great glass houses that must have contained the most magnificent species of plants in its prime. But, as it was deserted for decades, the structures just looked derelict, some with windows broken by overgrowth and others containing pots of dead plants and lots of dust everywhere.

"Wizards don't have all the time in the world to go traipsing about the forest looking for a small herb, as enjoyable as that may sound to others. These greenhouses were made for convenience. Most of these plants were needed for spells, and we had some of the rarest collections of Potions ingredients to be found in this side of the world."

"Wow... this must have been wonderful when they were full of plants."

"Not as magnificent as the ones in South Manor, my parents' home. My mother had been a great Potions Mistress and an accomplished gardener. She kept her plants healthy with minimal help from others, and her gardens were a pride of the family," Severus reminisced.

"You have another castle?" Ron asked, surprised to find out that Severus was more affluent than he initially thought. It was why their families never interacted. If Severus could speak of owning castles like this, then why would they even hang around with Weasleys?

"Yes, but that one's gone. It burned down five years after they died. Everything's destroyed including the gardens. There's nothing but land there now. Land and a lot of weeds."

"That's sad." No wonder Severus was so distant. He must have had a tough childhood.

"It doesn't matter. I don't remember them much. Ah! Here we are!" He suddenly smiled, looking at the last greenhouse in the row. "This one's my favorite. It's the most valuable of all, and also the one that needed the least attention from any human being. All the gardeners had to do was clean it occasionally and make sure none of the plants are fighting with each other."

"Fighting?"

Severus opened the door with some difficulty, sending a shower of dust to fall in front of them. It was very dim inside, since it was long since a hand had cleaned the large panes of glass that lined the wall and the roof. They entered slowly.

"This greenhouse has the plants that one didn't really need to watch over. They are ancient, and can live for centuries without a human's attention. The fact that they managed to survive here, in captivity, is a miracle in itself. As you can see, most, if not all, are still very much alive right now." Severus laughed softly when Ron painstakingly avoided a large, nasty looking plant with black bulbous growths. "That's pretty harmless, as long as you don't poke it unnecessarily."

"It sure doesn't look like it." He stared at the big plant suspiciously, thinking that the large, peach petals of its blossoms looked uncomfortably like flesh to him. "Where are we going?"

"At the back, that's where the real treasures are."

Severus led him to the back of the long greenhouse, occasionally pushing overgrown vines aside. Ron maintained that this greenhouse did seem to look well-kept as compared with the others. Maybe there was a point to keeping intelligent plants. He grinned at Severus' back. He did seem excited about this. Even the Potions Professor had a few weaknesses.

"This is where we collect the sap for storing. All of the flora you've seen are integral to the most important spells used in the Wizarding World, and some of them are hard to obtain. Here, we collect the magical ingredients ourselves to make sure that we only get the best results," Severus continued enthusiastically after they had entered a small room at the back of the greenhouse.

Unlike the rest of the structure, this looked like a pretty normal room. And considering the years it was abandoned, it was surprisingly clean. Bottles with fluids of varying colors lined the shelves of the narrow room, and the marble table at the side still had a few rusty tools left behind.

"This room is totally sealed," Ron observed.

"Yes, it's necessary to keep what's in here as pure as possible."

Ron shut the door, throwing them both into darkness. There was still some light owing to the narrow band of clear glass on one of the walls. But that was it.

"Ron? What are you doing?" Severus asked, puzzled.

"Well, there's no sense in letting the dust in, is there?"

"Of course." Severus shook his head. Why didn't he think about that? "I mean, of course we must keep this sealed." What was he saying? Trying to regain his composure, he faced the shelf nearest them and touched a clear jar filled with blood-red liquid. There were other similar vessels alongside it.

"What are those?"

Severus nearly jumped. Ron's breath had tickled his ear. They were standing close together. Too close. But there was nowhere else to go. He tried to calm himself and vowed to stay exactly where he was.

"It's from the plant you were avoiding so carefully earlier."

"And what are they used for?"

He sounded even nearer now, his words toned down to a husky whisper. Severus pulse quickened involuntarily. He spoke quickly, "It's a crucial ingredient for Love potions. Not the kind young girls dream of concocting. Love potions are not really much more than lust potions, as love can't be sealed inside a bottle and sold."

"Very true ." Ron sounded even more serious this time. His hand snaked forward, fingers grazing Severus' waist, and making the older man almost jump with the sudden sensation. But they passed him and touched the row of shiny bottles in front of them. "I believe that they can't disappear that easily either."

Silence followed that next statement. For an interminable moment, only the sound of their breathing filled the air, and Severus fancied that Ron could hear the roar of his blood in his ears. He swallowed thickly, trying to keep the situation under his control.

"Ron--"

"No." Ron gave up all pretenses and touched him from behind, his long fingers squeezing Severus' waist gently. "Don't say anything."

"But--"

"Shh..." Slowly, he turned Severus and faced him. They stared at each other, foreheads nearly touching. Severus could see a strange look in Ron's eyes. A drop of sweat trickled down his neck as he stared back apprehensively.

And then they were kissing. Severus didn't know who kissed who but he didn't really care at that point. He lapped at Ron hungrily as the younger man dug his fingers in his long hair, pushing their mouths together in a frenzy of longing and lust. They accidentally hit the shelf and nearly sent it toppling over if Ron had not pulled both of them aside and pushed Severus into a sitting position on the marble counter.

In spite of his reflexes, Ron wasn't able to prevent a certain jar from dropping... right onto the marble tabletop where he had just plunked Severus. They both stared in horrified fascination as it hit the counter, the lid flying off to the floor, and the thin liquid spilling onto Severus' thighs through the thick wool of his robes.

"It's the..." Ron's eyes widened. "What does it--"

He never got to finish his question. With crazed fingers, Severus grabbed him and kissed him 'til his lower lip bled from his bites. Severus could feel his skin burn, the heat from his legs spreading all over his body as his thoughts all focused onto one name: Ron. And he couldn't get enough of him.

He grabbed Ron's trousers beneath his robes and proceeded to yank them off, the force of his fingers sending the buttons flying off to who knows where. With a smirk, he ran his hands knowingly over the healthy bulge inside Ron's pants, making the boy shudder with need. Provoked beyond control, Ron grabbed Severus robes and gathered them up around his waist, tearing some stitches along the way.

"You're not wearing anything under?" he gaped.

"Aren't you pleased?" Severus whispered.

Ron only grinned in response as his hands crept to massage the tight skin he so fantasized about for days. Severus moaned. He wanted this, yes, but he needed something faster. His lust was threatening to overwhelm him and he needed, wanted, Ron to take him completely. He placed his hand over Ron's wrist and whispered, "Just fuck me. Fuck me now."

And for a moment, wide brown eyes stared... before he was suddenly screaming, shouting his name as his head banged on the wall, the pain outmatched by the torturous sensation filling him. His legs were wrapped around Ron's hips in ecstasy and he felt his blood ignite in his body as he came. Ron's hand bruised the skin of his behind as his grip tightened, driving further into him with one last hard thrust as he poured all the days of waiting, of wanting, into that final stroke.

Severus pulled Ron to him, panting, as he slumped against the wall. He licked the blushing earlobes naughtily, tasting the sweet essence of his skin. "I want more," he muttered softly.

Ron kissed him back. "My pleasure."

And so he did. Again, and again, and again.

TBC