Chapter Forty-Five: An Esoteric Spell

Warning for some brief slashiness ahead, partway through the second half of the chapter. But it's a kind of fluffy slashiness with a bit of humor.

Chapter Forty-Five: An Esoteric Spell

Wednesday, 10 – Thursday, 11 March 1999

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he was waking up, Poppy's hand on his bare chest, her lips on his forehead.

"Time for dinner, Severus," Poppy said. "In the interests of discretion, I thought we could go separately."

Severus nodded and stood. "You go now, I'll dress."

Poppy smiled and looked him up and down. "Yes, dressing might be a good idea. Though I do enjoy seeing you like this, it might not be appropriate for dinner."

"You like looking at me naked?" Severus asked, looking down at himself. He might not be underweight any longer, but he knew he was far from an ideal specimen of manhood.

"When you're in my bedroom or yours, you understand. Not when I've treated you. That's quite a different thing altogether," Poppy said, mistaking his concern.

Severus shook his head. "I can't believe you like looking at me at any time for any reason."

"Why not? You're long and lean...fit, now that you're eating. Your buttocks are nicely firm and rounded, and when you're aroused, you have quite an impressive erection."

Severus began to pick up his clothes. "There are men with much better bodies than mine."

Poppy shrugged. "It's a matter of taste, I suppose. I don't think I have any single body type that I prefer, although I have to admit that fat turns me off. Not a few extra pounds, just a little bit of extra weight, you understand, but flabby rolls, or a really big belly."

"Murdoch is a big man," Severus said, thinking of the tall, broad-shouldered, barrel-chested, heavily-muscled wizard. He didn't look like an apothecary and Potions master to him. He looked like a Muggle stevedore or something. He might have been a good Beater. Severus didn't know how strong Murdoch's magic was, but he wouldn't want to be punched by the man.

"Yes, he is. Quite brawny." Poppy replied with a nod. "I have to go now...feel free to use my bathroom, look for anything you need, and help yourself." She turned and started to leave.

"Poppy?"

"Yes?" She paused in the doorway.

"Thank you. Even if we don't ever speak of it again, it was good. I won't ever regret it."

"I hope not, Severus," Poppy said softly. "See you at dinner."

After Poppy left, Severus went into her bathroom and opened her cupboards, finding a fresh flannel and towel. He washed, ran his fingers through his hair, then dressed. He was still unsure of whether he should have told her about telling Gareth, but it was too late now. They were going back to just being colleagues. It wasn't as though Gareth would say anything, he was sure of that.

He thought that Poppy might understand his desire to brag, and it wasn't as though he had gone to a pub and traded raunchy stories with other wizards, or as though he'd bragged to her colleagues, people she had to work with every day. He doubted that she would appreciate Gareth knowing, either, but he really was Severus's only friend. The only friend he could share that kind of thing with. He couldn't imagine telling Albus. The few times they had had any kind of discussion that touched on sexuality, Albus had always described things obliquely, even after he had accidentally witnessed Albus and Minerva having sex when he was afflicted by the Adfectus. It was clear from the activity he had seen that Albus was no prude in the bedroom, but he wasn't one to discuss sex, either.

Severus went down to the Great Hall, and for once, he sat where he was supposed to, at Minerva's right. Albus was in his correct place at her left, and the rest of the table had also sorted itself out so that everyone was in their correct seats. He felt slightly disappointed about that, since it meant that Poppy was all the way down at the end of the table and he couldn't even see her. He was nervous about sitting next to Minerva, too, although she would never say anything to him in public about such a private matter as his fling with Poppy, he was sure.

"Albus and I are going to be gone during dinner tomorrow, Severus. I know you aren't on the schedule, but I would like you here. I wouldn't normally even mention it, but I've noticed you have been going out in the evenings lately. I hope you haven't made any plans."

"I have plans, but for after dinner."

"I will speak to Filius and Pomona, then, and make sure they'll both be here later in the evening...and Sharon, as well." Minerva speared a piece of asparagus. "I am glad to see you getting out, Severus, but you seem to be having a sudden flurry of social activity recently."

Severus shook his head. "Not really. I have errands, and I do sometimes visit a friend. It is merely a coincidence. I will be leaving Friday evening, as well, but after dinner again. I may also take some time over the weekend. I will try to make you aware of my absences in advance."

"I'm not scolding you, Severus," Minerva said.

"I understand that you would like to know when I'm going to be absent from the castle for more than an hour or two. It is a reasonable request."

"We do need to discuss the budgets. If you have time this evening, I would like to meet with you about them."

He was behind on his class work. Too much time spent with Poppy and Gareth. But it had been good time, and he did feel much more confident about sex and about himself. More confident...he was practically a sex god! That's what Gareth had created, not a monster, a sex god. Years of scowling and maintaining a deadpan expression kept him from grinning, but Severus felt as though he was grinning on the inside.

"Severus? Can we meet this evening?" Minerva asked, repeating her question.

"Yes, of course. I have other work to do, so I would like to meet right after dinner."

"That's fine."

Severus only paid half-attention to what Minerva went on to say. When he was with Hermione...or with any other witch...he would be able to please her, he was sure. He wouldn't seem like a pathetic adolescent in the body of a forty-year-old man. He wasn't quite forty yet, but even though his health was better, there were still long-term effects from the years of stress and abusing his body, and Severus knew he looked older than his age, especially for a wizard. But that didn't bother him as long as he was capable of pleasing a witch, and Poppy found his body acceptable. Maybe he wasn't really a sex god, but he was certainly more than adequate. Of course, it would be a while before he could go that far with Hermione. They were dating, after all, not just having a fling.

If they were dating. Severus still felt torn about that. Gareth had said to talk to Hermione about it, but it certainly didn't seem like a good topic of conversation for a second date. Or a fourth. But if he continued dating her, continued doubting its wisdom, and later decided that the timing was wrong, it would be harder on Hermione. Unless she already wanted to break up with him at that point, in which case he might have ruined their friendship.

He would sleep on it, Severus decided. It was only Wednesday evening. He had two more days to decide what to do. And Gareth might have more advice for him when he saw him the next evening.

Severus walked up to the front door with more confidence than he'd felt on previous occasions. It helped that he knew that Professor Gamp was visiting relatives overnight, but he also simply felt more comfortable.

Gareth opened the door to him before he was able to knock, his perimeter charm having alerted him.

"Snape, come on in."

Severus followed Gareth into the kitchen.

"I just finished my dinner. I was going to have another beer. Would you like one?"

Severus wasn't a beer-drinker, but he accepted the proffered bottle. Apparently Gareth drank directly from the bottle. Severus flicked a finger to remove the cap. It wasn't too bad. It was pleasantly bitter.

"I have the spell up in my study. Not the sort of thing I wanted lying around in public!" Gareth said with a grin.

Up in Gareth's small, cluttered study, Severus moved some papers off a chair and sat down, then looked at the spell. Thankfully, Gareth had copied it out by hand rather than simply duplicating the original. He thought it would be very peculiar to read it in Albus's handwriting. There were even two pictures, just line-drawings, and they didn't move, but Severus tried to imagine Albus drawing pictures of the male anatomy and failed. Albus doodled a lot, but he'd never seen him doodle anything sexual...unless one included the cartoons of bumblebees drinking nectar from flowers. Severus thought those were certainly suggestive.

"Is it actually difficult to cast?" Severus asked. He was very adept. He couldn't imagine having trouble with it.

"It's wandless, for one, and for another, the effect has to be on a discrete part of the anatomy. I imagine that a Healer or mediwitch or mediwizard would have very little trouble casting it if they were used to wandless magic, but otherwise, yes, I thought it wasn't easy," Gareth said. "The first time I tried it, nothing happened at all; the spell simply failed. The second time, I had to cancel it because I wasn't orgasming at all...I had completely inhibited the orgasm and not just the ejaculation. The third time, I seemed to cast it properly, but it wore off quickly and I ejaculated during my third orgasm despite not cancelling the spell...you have to end it in order to orgasm with ejaculation, unless you just let it wear off. It's not an erection spell, so without stimulation, the erection will fade even when the spell is still active. As you can see from the notes, if you let the spell wear off rather than cancelling it, after a couple hours, your penis will simply go flaccid unless you continue to maintain stimulation and then ejaculate. There's no requirement to ejaculate, though. You could just let it wear off, but unless you were tired or interrupted, I don't know why you'd want to."

"I am adept at wandless magic, and I have confidence that I will master it quickly," Severus said.

Gareth grinned. "You'll have to let me know. Despite your confidence, though, you should practise on your own first...it could be embarrassing to have it go wrong when you were with someone. I didn't copy this note, but Uncle Albus wrote that it had taken him a few tries to get it right. It's apparently a translation of an ancient Pali spell. He learned it in Pali, years and years ago, then he westernised it to make it easier to cast and he added the instructions."

Severus didn't like the image of Dumbledore masturbating to practise the spell, no matter how young he'd been at the time. "I am trying to imagine the circumstances under which Dumbledore would share this spell with your father. Did he just walk up to him at his wedding, wink, and hand him an envelope? Had they been discussing sex and he brought it up? I can't imagine him discussing sex with Minerva's brother, even though I never knew your father."

Gareth shrugged. "Obviously, I would never ask Mum about it...she doesn't even know I found the spell...but I think that she and Albus had been an item at one time after her first husband died. Maybe they used it and she asked him for it, or she asked Minerva to get it from Albus. Until I found this spell, I thought that her involvement with Uncle Albus had consisted of sedate afternoon teas and the occasional chess game. And waltzing. Dancing I could imagine; Mum used to love to dance. It was a peculiar thought, Mum and Uncle Albus together like that, but they've always been close."

"Your father must have been a good deal younger than your mother," Severus observed, wondering whether a preference for older witches might run from father to son. Minerva was only in her mid-seventies, but Gamp must be at least one hundred.

"Only ten years younger. Aunt Minerva is a lot younger than her three brothers. Murdoch is her youngest brother, and he's twelve years older than she. My father was her oldest brother. He was seventeen when she was born."

"Ah." Severus took a swallow of beer. "Did you know that Murdoch and Poppy used to be a couple?"

"Oh, yeah. They were still together for a while when I was a kid. By the time they broke up, even I, as young as I was, could tell that their relationship was making them sad. I think they loved each other, but . . ." Gareth shrugged. "Guess it wasn't meant to be."

"I still don't know what to do about Hermione. I think about going out with her, and initially, I feel . . . happy at the prospect, but then I think about . . . about the timing, and her age, and my own disposition, and I don't think I'm ready to date her. Once I come to that conclusion, I think that if I wait, I will lose her to someone else, even though I don't even have her yet. But I know that I can be very possessive. I can be jealous and nasty. I could ruin things whether we date or not if I'm too possessive. And I also think about . . . just my freedom, I suppose. That was never a consideration until recently. But I have spent two decades bound to others. Is it wrong to want to enjoy my freedom?"

"No, of course it isn't. You are seeing that you have other options. You also haven't had much pleasure in life. It's not wrong to want to enjoy yourself and discover more about yourself."

"Being with you helped me understand that. And I also discovered more about myself." He looked Gareth up and down. "I never would have thought I would willingly put my mouth on another wizard's cock, for example. You made me curious, and you made me feel that it was all right to try it, even if I never want to do it again. Thank you for letting me try it on you. I hope it didn't make you feel used. I wouldn't have wanted that." He knew what it felt like to be used, in many different ways; he didn't want to do that to Gareth.

"No. I actually felt special," Gareth replied.

"I shouldn't say anything more about Poppy, but I trust you won't say anything to anyone, particularly her." At Gareth's reassuring nod, Severus continued, "I experimented a little with her, too, though differently than with you. She was very patient with me yesterday morning. She let me examine her, all of her private areas, and touch her, too. I'd never been able to do that with anyone before, but I'm comfortable with her and she made me feel it was safe to ask her."

"Again yesterday morning?" Gareth asked, shifting the focus of the conversation away from Severus's experimentation. "I thought you two weren't going to see each other again."

"I invited her in for a drink after I got back from seeing you, so she stayed. We didn't just have sex. We did talk, too. And after we went to bed for the night, we just curled up and slept together. Until we woke up in the morning, anyway. I saw her again in the afternoon, as well. But that was the last time. We are agreed about that. We only saw each other at meals today."

"I don't know, mate. Sounds to me as though you could have something more with Poppy if you wanted it. An affair or something, anyway, even if not a great love. Are you sure that doesn't have more to do with your reservations about Hermione? Wanting to be with Poppy? Your feelings for her?"

"But I'm in love with Hermione. I know that I must be. I wouldn't prefer to be with Poppy over her," Severus said, although even as he did, he wondered about it himself.

"Maybe, maybe . . . but that doesn't mean that you wouldn't like to spend a little more time with Poppy. I think that's what you meant about 'timing' the other day. You want to be able to wait to date Hermione because you want to continue with Poppy. You just weren't ready to admit it to anyone, even to yourself."

Severus sighed and drained his beer bottle. "You may be right. But Poppy isn't interested in more. And it isn't just her, you know, McGonagall. As you pointed out the other day, I can't very well have sex with you if I'm with Hermione. Or if I were to continue with Poppy. It wouldn't be right, even though it's only casual sex between friends and you're a man."

"You are interested in having sex with me again?" Gareth asked.

"Speaking theoretically. If we just happened to," Severus said with a smirk.

"You know, Snape, you might have more success learning that spell if you know what it feels like to have it cast on you. Purely as an educational experience, I would be glad to help you out with that," Gareth said with a grin. "And you would also know whether it was a spell that was worth learning. You may decide you don't want multiple orgasms."

Severus could feel his cock growing at the thought of multiple orgasms. "That might be a worthwhile experiment. If you think, of course, that you can make me come more than just once."

"We will just have to see."

Gareth got up and came over to Severus. "Of course, you have to have an erection, first." He rubbed the front of Severus's trousers. "You already have a nice start on one. You are a randy one, aren't you? Let's go into my bedroom and see if we can encourage it along."

By the time Severus had stripped, thinking about having multiple orgasms whilst Gareth was pleasuring him had given him a full erection. Gareth, naked, walked up to him, put his hand around his cock, and Severus felt a tingle of magic go through his cock to his balls and then deeper into his groin. Gareth grinned.

"Show off," Severus said.

"I got very good at it," Gareth said, "though this is only the second time I've ever cast it on someone other than myself."

"I hope you did it correctly, and I'm not sterile or impotent or something."

"Highly unlikely. Besides, if years of Cruciatus and other nasty curses didn't make you impotent, my little spell surely couldn't."

"I was pretty nearly impotent for years."

"Temporary condition, mate," Gareth said, stroking Severus's cock. "Stress can do that to you. I am here to give you something far from stress."

Gareth knelt at Severus's feet and closed his mouth around his erection. Severus closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of lips, teeth, tongue, mouth, and throat on his cock. Gareth was still the most talented person he'd ever had pleasuring him orally, though Poppy was very good, particularly when she put her fingers up his arse at the same time. As Gareth licked, sucked, and swallowed around the head of his cock, Severus remembered how Poppy had looked when she came, gasping and flushed, how she would call his name . . . Severus wound his hands through Gareth's curly hair as he came. It felt like a usual orgasm, but without the ejaculation...perhaps not quite as good as the very best orgasm, but certainly better than some.

When Gareth removed his mouth and stood, Severus looked down to see his cock just as erect as before. Gareth smiled at him, obviously pleased with himself.

"That was most interesting," Severus said.

"Interesting?" Gareth said, an eyebrow raised. "Well, that was only one."

Gareth drew back the covers on the bed, then he lay down on his side and patted the space in front of him.

"Aren't you going to cast it on yourself?" Severus asked.

"Would you like me to?"

"I think that would be more satisfying for both of us," Severus replied, thinking that he didn't want Gareth to feel as though he were only an experiment, an experience, for him.

Gareth cast the spell on his own erection as Severus lay down beside him. Gareth embraced him, kissing his mouth, one hand kneading Severus's buttocks. Severus could feel their cocks rubbing together, and he rolled Gareth onto his back, continuing to return his kisses as he rocked against Gareth, rubbing his cock against Gareth's as he did so. Gareth moaned and put his legs around Severus. Severus could sense Gareth giving in to the stimulation, pushing against him and grasping him more tightly. Severus, knowing he had brought Gareth to orgasm, shuddered and came himself.

Severus kissed his way down Gareth's body until he reached his cock. He didn't think he could manage quite what Gareth had done for him, but he took Gareth's cock in his hand and began to stroke and pull his shaft, then he kissed the head of Gareth's cock. When he flicked out his tongue and began to flick it across the head of his cock, Gareth moaned and writhed in pleasure. Severus continued to stimulate Gareth's erection with his hand whilst he licked and kissed the head of Gareth's cock. He felt Gareth push himself up so that he could see his dark head at his penis.

"Oh, gods, Severus, this is good, so good." He lay back down and a moment later, Severus heard him gasp as he came, pulsing but not ejaculating.

Gareth pulled him up beside him and kissed him. "You are so much more than you were, more even than you believe, Snape. You are so generous with me."

Severus shook his head. "No, not really, but I'm glad that you enjoyed that. It was not as hard as actually doing what you did, and I knew you weren't going to ejaculate, so that made it easier."

"Do you want to fuck now? If you want to do that."

"Do you want that? You said you prefer to be on top."

"I do prefer it, but it will test the spell, and it was pretty good when you did it before."

"I will try not to be as rough as I was last time."

"I want to see your face, though, Severus, so if you would do it the same way you did before?"

Severus pushed Gareth onto his back and spread his legs. "I want you to come, too, McGonagall. I'm going to fuck you until you do," he said with a growl. He began to push the head of his cock against Gareth's anus. Gareth grimaced.

"Just a second," Gareth said. Severus removed his cock and Gareth touched his anus and whispered, "Unguo."

Severus pushed against him again and Gareth groaned, but did not stop him. Severus slowed. When he was halfway in, he stopped.

"All right?"

Gareth nodded. "It's good." He looked into Severus's eyes. "I want your cock in me, Snape. All the way in."

Severus pushed all the way in. It was so tight. "This is good, McGonagall. I'm going to come easily. I might come twice," he said as he began to pump.

"Don't need to be quite so ginger about it," Gareth said, gasping. "A little harder won't hurt."

Severus smiled, a dangerous glint in his eye. "I can oblige."

He pumped harder, trying to watch Gareth's face for any sign of discomfort as his own arousal grew, then he was coming, and this orgasm was even better than the last. He stilled, panting.

"More, Snape, more, I'm on the edge, gods, Snape! Almost there!"

Severus resumed his movement, raising himself up on his hands and, fascinated, watching Gareth's cock as he came, pulsing without ejaculating. He closed his eyes and remembered putting his finger in Poppy's anus. She would be tight if he put his cock in her there. She didn't like it, though. But still he imagined that instead of his finger, he had put his cock up her. She was tight and he would come. Gods, Poppy was so sexy, warm, and beautiful. The way her lips felt against his, the way she felt in his arms, the way she tasted . . .

Severus grunted as he came again. He pulled out and lay down beside Gareth, waving his hand and Summoning his wand. He cast a cleansing charm on his still erect penis.

Gareth looked over at him and grinned. "Good?"

Severus nodded. "I think it will be worth the effort to master this spell," he said seriously.

Gareth laughed and kissed his cheek. "You can be very funny sometimes. Positively cute."

"Hmmph. I am Severus Snape, and I am not cute."

"Right, Snape." He looked at him. "You do have a cute arse, though. Any chance I could enjoy that cute arse?"

Severus turned and looked at him, thought a moment, then nodded. "But lift the spell for both of us this time. For me, anyway."

"Mmm . . . after we've enjoyed it."

He had Severus roll over onto his stomach. He began to massage Severus's buttocks, kissing and nipping them, then he rubbed his anus with one fingertip. Severus wondered vaguely whether it was normal to enjoy having one's arse massaged quite as much as he liked it.

"I want in, Severus," he whispered. "Invite me in?"

"Enter," Severus said softly.

Gareth raised Severus's buttocks and knelt behind him. He put his finger into his anus and cast a spell to lubricate him thoroughly, then he withdrew his finger, and Severus felt the pressure of Gareth's cock entering him. He knew what to expect, so it didn't seem as uncomfortable as it had the first time, though he did still have the sensation that he might rip or burst, Gareth was so large. After a few thrusts, though, Severus began to enjoy the sensation of Gareth's cock stimulating him, then he felt Gareth's hand on his erection, stroking his cock as he pumped. He felt something change, and then he was coming, ejaculating forcefully. He was barely aware of Gareth's louder gasps, but then Gareth shuddered and pressed against him.

Severus lay on his back, moving to avoid the wet spot on the sheets. The two men lay in silence for a while, catching their breath.

"That was rather good," Severus said.

"I thought it was," Gareth said with a yawn.

"The spell is impressive. I am surprised more people don't know it."

"It's esoteric sex magic. Most people are satisfied with the more traditional spells just to achieve a fast erection or hold off orgasm. They're easier to cast. Besides, some people don't have much imagination, or they don't really like the person they're with...even if they're married to them...and once is enough just to gain a release, or, as a friend of mine used to put it, to get their rocks off."

"Hmm. It's not like that with Poppy. It's wonderful. Even with no spells. I can't imagine it ever being anything less with her."

"That's good." Gareth paused. "You know, I'm a little bit jealous. If I had even one night with her . . . I would try to keep her, if I were you."

"You're in love with her?" Severus asked, feeling a peculiar sensation in his gut as he did.

"No. But I'd want to keep her, not lose her, if I had a chance of having her...ironic, isn't it, given that I have never had any kind of really deep relationship with her? We're friends, but not even very close friends, really, though I've known her since I was a child. She was dating Uncle Murdoch when I was small, so she was always at family gatherings."

"Why would you give up everyone else for her if you have such a relatively distant relationship? I don't understand."

"I don't either," Gareth replied with a slight shrug. "I just like her, and I think she is dead hot. I have for years. I wasn't completely joking about having a crush on her since I was twenty."

"Not to malign Poppy...and I do think she's 'hot,' as you say...but she's so much older than you. Than either of us, but you're even younger than I am. When you were twenty, she must have been, what? Fifty? Fifty-five?"

"Fifty-seven. I know. Some people would certainly find it odd, probably think it has something to do with seeking a mother, which sounds perverted to me. What goes through some people's heads, anyway? It's their speculation that's perverted, to my mind." He shook his head. "But I do tend to find older witches attractive. Anitra was a lot older than I. I don't think I've ever been with a woman more than a year or two younger than I am. The others have been at least ten years older, for the most part. Witches just seem to get better with age. The strongest, most passionate, most intense lovers I've had have been witches over fifty. I have more eclectic taste in wizards, at least in terms of age. I do tend to like them on the slim side, though." He ran his hand down over Severus's flat stomach to his narrow hips, as if demonstrating.

"Do you have another lover right now?" Severus asked, curious.

"No. I've met up with an old girlfriend occasionally in the last year, but especially when I was in isolation with my mother on the island doing that secret work, I couldn't. And now I'm living with my mother and Hermione. Puts a little crimp in things. It doesn't completely kill my social life, but it's different from being on my own. But my life, even my social life, doesn't revolve around sex, whatever impression I may have given you recently."

"I didn't think it did. You're very physical for an Arithmancer, but it's clear you're bright and curious. I don't think you'd be happy doing nothing but living a life of hedonistic indulgence."

"I don't know why you think an Arithmancer wouldn't be physical, but you're right about the rest...especially the 'bright' part. I'll have to document that for posterity. Severus Snape declares Gareth McGonagall 'bright,' rather than just 'not a dunderhead.'" He laughed.

"I shall deny it all," Severus said with a smirk.

Gareth was about to respond when the perimeter chime sounded.

NEXT

Chapter Forty-Six: A Complicated Life

Thursday, 11 March 1999

Severus is confused about his choices, but finally comes to a decision. He and Hermione talk.

Rated M.

Characters: Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Gareth McGonagall