Part 10

Part Ten

"Where were you?" Harry asked as soon as Severus walked in. "You've been gone for a while."

"I went for a walk. Is something wrong?"

"I..." In truth, he'd been afraid that Severus had gone off to the Burrow to try to smooth things over with Ginny, but Harry hadn't been about to check, not wanting to invade Ginny's privacy or face her family.

He'd thought about going to Grimmauld Place to talk to Ron and Hermione, but he found that he didn't want to face them yet either. He knew Hermione would start in on him, and he wasn't certain how Ron would feel about the situation, as he'd warned Harry early on about hurting Ginny.

"Should we, er, talk about anything?" Harry blurted.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Harry had been practicing what he'd say for a couple of hours, and now, he'd completely forgotten all he'd thought about. Taking a deep breath and grasping for composure, he extended a hand. "Come into the sitting room."

He led Severus to the couch and handed him a glass of elf-made wine before scurrying over to put another log on the fire. Once done, he placed himself next to Severus and held his own glass of wine.

"I want to talk about us."

It was hard to gauge Severus' reaction to these words, as his face was closed off and expressionless. He'd hoped that his husband would be willing to discuss what lay in the future.

"So talk."

"What's going to happen to us now?" Harry asked, deciding not to draw it out any longer.

"What would you like to happen?"

"What would you like to happen?" he tossed back at Severus.

"I think first we must discuss Ginevra. Are you certain that you and she are over?"

"Yes," Harry said firmly. "She's pretty sure about it."

"But what about you?"

"I would have tried to stay with her if she'd asked, but my... I would have still wanted you. I know that already." Harry noticed that Severus had stiffened. "I hate that I hurt her, but I feel relieved that it's happened this way."

"Harry, I never expected anything like this."

"Yeah, I know."

"I don't want to try this only to have you change your mind." He smiled wryly. "As you might have noticed, once I... once I commit myself to someone, it's something I take very seriously. I'm not certain that I could cope well if you decided to have a change of mind."

"Severus, Ginny was everything I could have wanted in a woman. I would never want any other woman but her."

"And?"

"And she and I agree that it would be best to call it quits. It will take some getting used to, but it's what I want. Really."

Nodding, Severus said, "Very well."

"And I certainly never looked twice at any blokes before now, so you don't have to worry there." He smiled and reached out to touch Severus' free hand while he took a sip of his wine. Harry had never felt freer than he was at that moment. Nobody was waiting in the darkness to hex him, no friendly mentors were using him for the greater good, and no one would be pressuring him to carry on his career or education or to start a family.

Severus flipped his hand over and held Harry's, gazing down at their interlocked fingers. "I'm not sure what to say. What do we do? How does this happen? I've never been in a... been like this before."

Harry squeezed Severus' hand tightly and said, "Let's just keep doing as we have been. There's no need to rush anything."

"Fair enough," Severus said with a nod.

Their eyes fixed on each other, green meeting black. Harry wondered how it would feel to be sitting exactly where they were several years later. Would the excitement bubbling in his stomach be gone? Would his mind still be filled with hope for a new life, something meaningful to come? Would his body ache to be closer, still need physical contact? He certainly hoped so. The way he felt at that moment, he never wanted it to end.

When Severus cocked his head to the side and gazed more intently at him, Harry felt his cheeks heat. "Er, so, where did you get this wine?"

"The Malfoys' elves."

"They have more elves? I thought Dobby was the only one."

"There was another, and they replaced Dobby not long ago."

"Shite! What will they say about this? What have they said about it? I... I never asked." Harry felt a little guilty about that. He'd only been worrying about his friends and had never thought to ask Severus how his friends had adjusted. Come to that, Severus had never mentioned anyone at all.

"Lucius thought it was ingenious of me to do this. He does what it takes to stay out of Azkaban. I thought it wouldn't hurt to let him believe that it was I who talked you into this." He smirked.

"So, he doesn't care that you weren't a real Death Eater and betrayed them?

Severus shook his head. "No. He's glad to have that behind him now. Like me, he has a new outlook on life and is hopeful that things can change."

"What about Draco?"

"He was appalled, naturally, but I believe he understands why we decided to do this. And..." Severus' voice trailed away.

"And?"

"He confided to me that he respects you. Draco will not forget what you've done to save his life."

"I hadn't even thought about that."

"You know, he asked if you'd been bringing it up. Wanted to know what you thought he owed you." Severus placed his glass on the table and used his free hand to trace Harry's hand that held his. "I told him that you'd never mentioned it once."

"I would have done that for anyone who needed it."

"It's one of the many things I discovered about you, Harry. You aren't what I thought. I always thought you to be arrogant and attention seeking, and unfortunately, I would have bet money that you'd thought of ways to call in what he owed you."

"Surprise," Harry said blandly.

"At least I'm being honest."

"Yeah, and I appreciate that."

"What's different about me?"

"You're actually nice."

"How dare you!" Severus said playfully, releasing Harry's hand and taking the wineglass from his other. "There was no reason to show a different side of myself to students, especially not your lot. If you asked around, I'm sure you would find that my fellow co-workers found me quite affable."

"I already did and you're right. They saw you as I see you now."

"Before Albus..."

"Yeah."

"I don't care to talk about that."

"One day though."

"One day I might." Severus leaned closer, his eyes flicking from Harry's lips to his eyes and back. "I'd like to kiss you."

Harry's stomach fluttered in anticipation, his heart thudding loudly. "Of course, you don't have to ask."

"I thought it might be prudent. It's all so new for us." Severus closed the distance between them and tentatively brushed his lips against Harry's.

Heat radiated from Severus' body, and Harry leaned closer, lifting a hand to rest on Severus' shoulder. He wanted more and parted his lips, sweeping his tongue against his husband's mouth. When Severus granted entrance, feeling overtook Harry. It felt as though a jolt of energy was being passed back and forth, feeding off their magic and fueling their feelings. He slanted his head more, giving Severus complete access to his mouth. Each tangle of their tongues sealed their fates, for there would be no turning back, no divorce, no other lovers...ever.

When he breathlessly pulled away to speak, Severus shushed him with eager lips again, causing him to moan. Although it felt disloyal, he had to admit that Ginny's kisses had never affected him in such a way. He'd found ambrosia and wanted more, wanted it forever. "Severussss," he whispered moments later, resting his forehead against his husband's.

"Harry," came the soft reply.

A loud grumble rent the air. "Shit. Sorry."

"Hungry, are you?"

They both laughed. "I popped out and got some take away. It's in the kitchen." He rose. "Coming?"

Severus nodded and brought the glasses and wine bottle with them, and Harry hoped he hadn't seen the redness on his face. It was quite corny, but the instant he'd said 'coming,' he'd imagined Snape doing just that...arched back against the moonlight, moaning, thrusting.

"All right?"

"Just thinking."

"Ah, Indian. Excellent." Another grumble sounded. "Now you've got my stomach doing it."

During dinner, they talked about the changes that were being made to Hogwarts, and Harry broached a subject he'd been thinking about. "Do you plan to go back there? To teach?"

"No, I don't think I will, if they'd even want me."

"I think they would now that they know the truth."

"Could be, but it doesn't matter now." He used the fork to stir the channa dhal around. "Lots of curry sauce tonight."

"The beans are good. Mmm. The chicken's good, too, but I still like these pakoras best. I could bloody well just eat those and be satisfied."

"There's no meat in them. I have to have meat." After he said this, he ripped into a chunk of tandoori chicken and chewed it viciously. "Mmm."

Harry wondered how he'd ever thought Snape's crooked teeth to be a mark against him. It was a shame the way immature people thought about others. He was pleased that he'd matured enough to realize that and hoped that when he had children, they'd learn the right way.

He froze. Children.

He would never have children, something he'd always wanted. Deciding not to bring this up, he redirected his thoughts, lest Snape guess something was amiss. It's too soon to be thinking about all that. Wasn't I just annoyed not long ago with Mrs. Weasley's comments about wanting more grandkids soon? There is always adoption.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just enjoying my food." Harry could see that Snape hadn't bought his lie, but he was grateful that he didn't pry any more. There were too many other things to work out. Hell, in the future, he might even find that he was satisfied with Severus without anything else in their lives.

Before their meal was done, a knock sounded on the front door. "Who could that be?" Severus asked in annoyance. "It had better be important, coming round when we're eating dinner."

"I'll go see." Harry wiped his mouth with a napkin and sprinted for the front door. With a wave of his hand, the wards slid away, opening the door slightly as they did so, and he peeked through a small crack. Bushy hair, lots of it. "Hermione, that you?"

"Yes."

He opened the door wider and saw Ron next to her. Both looked glum. "All right?"

"Are you going to invite us in or not?" Hermione asked carefully. "We want to talk to you."

Harry propped against the doorjamb and looked behind him to make certain Severus hadn't followed before he answered. "If you've come to give Severus a hard time, then I won't ask you in."

"We don't want to talk to him," Ron said sourly. "Just you."

"This is his home, Ron."

"And I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you had a talk with your friends," Hermione interrupted, stepping forward to push the door open. "Move aside," she demanded bossily.

Harry decided to give them a chance. They'd have to have the talk sooner or later. "Have a seat in there. I'll just go let Severus know."

"Fine. Come on, Hermione."

He didn't wait to see if they'd gone into the sitting room as he walked down the narrow hall and into the back entrance to the kitchen. "Severus? Ron and Hermione are here. They want to talk to me."

Severus wiped his mouth before answering. "You won't mind if I don't wait to finish the meal without you then?"

Shocked, Harry grinned and said, "No, go on. Don't eat my pakoras though."

Smirking, Severus said, "I might save a couple for you."

Feeling better about the situation, Harry joined his friends, almost laughing as they both jumped as if being caught doing something wrong. "It's just me," he said with a smile. "You're safe. Looks like Snape's in a good mood."

"What's going on, Harry?"

Leave it to Hermione to get straight to the point. "I'm sure you've heard by now that Ginny and I have mutually decided to end our relationship."

"So it's true then," she said with a nod, sitting back against the couch while yanking off her scarf. "I expected this to happen, but not so soon."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I was just telling Ron last night after the Ministry party that you and the professor looked rather..."

"Rather?"

Ron said, "She told me that it looked like you were a real couple, that you fancied each other."

Harry could see that Ron was hoping it wasn't true, and he knew that he would need to be very careful with what he said next. "I still love Ginny, Ron. I always will."

"Then what's all this rubbish?"

"It was her idea to break things off."

"You don't seem too broken up about it."

"Yes, he does," Hermione interjected. "His eyes, they're puffy and a little red. Cried earlier, I expect."

"It felt like I lost part of myself, and I suppose I did."

"Get her back, mate. You know she loves you. There's still time."

Harry shook his head. "I agree with her idea to break things off. It's a little complicated now because, you see, Ron, I do believe I have feelings for Snape. Rather sudden, I know, but there's something between us, and if we don't explore that now, I don't think I could ever live a full life."

Ron frowned. "I just thought that we'd be family. You know, me and Hermione, you and Ginny."

"We're still family, Ron. That hasn't changed. Not for me anyway."

Hermione had tears in her eyes. "I just want you to be happy, Harry, and from what I saw last night, it seems like Snape really has changed."

"He hasn't changed, Hermione. This was who he was before, just a different side of him that we never saw."

"Well, he did change some," Ron commented. "I mean, I've never see him looking so clean before."

"Ron, stop!" Hermione hissed.

"What? Just saying."

Harry laughed. "How's Grimmauld Place holding up?"

"All those bloody Doxies are gone, blighters."

"It's all right for us, if that's what you want to know," Hermione said knowingly. "Right there in London and all."

"Good." Harry gestured around. "This place isn't much, but it feels like home."

"Only... Kreacher's been asking when you'll be home. Seems rather anxious about it. I told him that he'll just have to wait, but he doesn't like listening to me."

"But he does at least," Ron said. "Grumbles all the time about Harry being gone, but I think he likes us being there a lot."

"You make him cook all the time!"

"Oi! He likes it, gives him something to do."

"Maybe I'll ask Severus to let him come here," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Maybe," Severus said from the doorway, "he only wants to serve the House of Black."

"Hadn't thought of that," Harry said.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione said, elbowing Ron.

"Snape."

"Miss Granger, Weasley."

"I guess I'll have to go round and talk to Kreacher. I'll give him a choice."

"You're letting us have your house?" Ron asked suddenly, having caught on. "Our own place?"

"I won't be needing another house," he said and looked up to Severus. "Or do we?"

Severus smiled and shook his head. "I think this will do, though," he looked around, "we might carry on with your renovation attempts."

"Sure needs it," Ron said, only to have another elbow pressed into his side by Hermione. "What? My house isn't exactly the best either."

"Harry and I were just having dinner when you came."

"Oh, sorry!" Hermione said, standing up. "We'll go."

"What are you having?" Ron asked curiously.

"You needn't leave," Severus said. "I was just about to retire to read. Stay as long as you'd like."

"No, really, we have to go. We're supposed to, uh... go round to the Burrow."

"We are...oh, yeah, right. Sorry. Maybe another time," Ron said with a slight shrug.

"I'll pop over tomorrow," Harry promised. "Let Kreacher know."

"All right."

"So, you're making a go of it then?" Ron asked, looking at Snape and refusing to allow Hermione to pull him away.

"I'd say so, yes," Severus answered.

"Considering we're already married and all," Harry added with a sly smirk.

"Indeed."

"Right then. Be good to my mate, Snape." Ron then turned to Harry. "And I'll look in on Ginny for you."

"Thank you, Ron."

The pair left and Severus said, "I put a Warming Charm on your dinner."

"Thanks."

"Harry, I think for now, while we're getting to know each other and exploring this, we should remain in our own beds. Otherwise, it might be tempting to move more quickly than we've planned."

Suddenly nervous about that part of their relationship, Harry nodded. "Sounds all right with me."

"Of course if you want company, I could read from your bed just as well as from mine until we're ready to sleep."

"I'd like that."

"See you upstairs," Severus said with a nod.

Watching his husband leave the room, he couldn't help but to smile. Things would work out for the best. He'd have to remember to thank Arthur Weasley one day...after all this blew over. Harry hurried to finish his meal, wanting to be close to Severus.

AN: Only the epilogue left, mates! Thanks go to blue_paris and Soul Bound for reading through this for me!