Gaelic Blessing

Two weeks after Christmas found Harry pulling on his cloak and making the once familiar trip to The Burrow. Since Christmas Day, Harry had kept in touch with the Weasley matriarch via floo conversations and owl post but his time had been consumed by his wards and Severus. The Potions Master had had to return to Hogwarts three days previously so that he could prepare for the start of the new term and Harry had escorted Holly, Lucia, Alfonso and Alex to Platform 9¾ that morning, disguised under a very heavy glamour. He was incredibly nervous about the conversation to come but at the same time he knew that he desperately needed advice and who better to give him advice than the woman who’d been the only mother he’d ever known.

True to his word, Severus hadn’t pushed Harry to make a decision about returning to Hogwarts in the coming September. That didn’t mean that Harry hadn’t thought about the possibility; he head thought about the suggestion every day. He was highly tempted; part of him had wanted to say yes the minute that Severus had made the suggestion. However, he knew that there were lots of things that he needed to consider before making a final decision. The only person that he could talk things through with was Molly. Severus was obviously going to be biased and as much as he loved Remus he wasn’t completely convinced that the older man could rationally put aside his childhood grudge with the Slytherin to advise Harry.

He looked up as he heard his name being called from the open kitchen door and realised that he had been standing in the backyard for several minutes just staring into space.

“Harry?”

He looked over to the door and smiled at Molly who was stood at the door, apron over her dress and rolling pin in her hands. All of a sudden he realised just how cold he was stood in the snow and he hurried towards the homely house.

Molly welcomed him in with a huge hug and immediately forced him down at the table before bustling about making tea and placing bread, butter, cheese and fruit loaf on the table. When they both had a cup of tea in front of them Harry leaned over and squeezed Molly’s hand.

“Thank you for this Molly. I really do appreciate it.”

The motherly woman huffed. “Don’t be ridiculous Harry dear. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Erm….actually it’s about Severus. Well, kind of. It’s a bit complicated really. I’m not sure where to start.”

Molly smiled indulgently and patted Harry’s hand. “You just start at the beginning love. I generally find it’s the best place to start and we’ve got all the time in the world. Arthur’s working late tonight so it’s just the two of us.”

Harry fumbled with his cup of tea, still not knowing what to say. “Well, me and Severus are together now. In a relationship.” He clarified.

Molly laughed and leaned over to squeeze Harry’s hand. “I knew that love. Severus absolutely adores you. It’s written all over his face and having seen the two of you together on Christmas Day I’d say the feeling’s mutual.” Here she smiled at Harry. “Now, admittedly Severus wasn’t the person I would have picked for you but seeing the two of you together shows that you’re perfect together. You’re both truly happy and I don’t think you would have found that with my Ginny, however much she, and I, would have liked it.”

Harry winced at the words. “I know that. Ginny made her desires pretty obvious. I was a bit clueless for the first few years though. As much as I would have loved to make her happy I wouldn’t have. I know that she hated me for breaking up with her but both of us would have been miserable had we stayed together. Ginny was my first girlfriend and I will always love her but it’s the love of a brother for a sister.”

Molly took a firm hold of Harry’s hand at this point. She had the feeling that the young man had never discussed this with anyone.

“Harry, have you ever talked to anyone about this?”

The green-eyed man gave a self-deprecating laugh. “No offence Molly but who would I have spoken to about this? I couldn’t tell you or Arthur that I was thinking about breaking up with your daughter because I thought I was gay. Then I decided that I had to do the right thing whether I was definitely gay or not; it wasn’t fair to keep stringing Ginny along. So, I split up with her. I don’t know if you know but the newspaper articles saying that I had split up with Ginny because I was gay didn’t appear until almost two months after we split up. It was just about the time that I started seeing Seamus Finnegan.”

Here Harry smiled. “Seamus was brilliant for me, and to me. We’d known each other since first year and while we’d had our ups and downs, we were never as close as me, Ron and Hermione, but we were friends. He understood that, in a way, it was experimentation for me. It was never going to be a serious relationship. We were never going to be the love of each others lives. It was Seamus who helped me to see why my relationship with Ginny hadn’t worked and why Cho Chang broke up with me after just one, admittedly disastrous, date. My relationship with Seamus lasted almost six months and we split because I wasn’t ready to go all the way and have sex with him. That was ultimately the reason why my relationship with Blaise Zambini fizzled out as well. Having dated both of them, I could see that they were perfect for each other. There was also the fact that they were both very physical people; they deserved someone who could give them the physical relationship that they craved.”

He looked up to see Molly looking at him quizzically and he cocked his head in silent question.

“I’m sorry, I’m just amazed, maybe not amazed, that you were still a virgin at seventeen. I don’t believe Ginny was. Ron and Hermione definitely weren’t and I’m under no illusions about the rest of my boys.”

Harry laughed. “Severus was surprised as well. Although that was more due to the fact that I dated Blaise and Seamus without succumbing to their well-honed seduction routine. What I think you have to understand is that I had so little choice in my life. As soon as I entered the wizarding world at the age of eleven, all these people had all of these expectations. After all, I was The-Boy-Who-Lived. Immediately, I was thrust into the role of the Gryffindor Golden Boy, regardless of whether or not I wanted it. I never wanted any of it; the money, the fame, the notoriety.” He grimaced slightly at the latter.

“What people didn’t realise was that I was simply a child. An orphan. It was my parents, the Order, your family that were the real heroes. I was simply an abused and neglected runt who simply wanted to fit in. I think by the end there were only three people who recognised that; Ron, Hermione and Severus. To an extent Ginny was never in love with me. She was in love with Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. I wanted someone who was in love with just Harry. But, I’m deviating from the question that you asked. I never slept with Blaise or Seamus for the simple reason that my virginity was one of the only things that I still had some control over. I wanted to give my virginity to someone I loved and someone that loved me the same way. While I loved Blaise and Seamus dearly I was never in love with them. Do you understand?”

Molly nodded and got up to make another pot of tea. “Of course I understand. I just wish that you had been able to talk to someone about it.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “We were in the middle of a war. Why would I distract people in the middle of a way with the unimportant subject of my sexuality and virginity? Besides, by this point I had realised who I was in love with and as far as I was concerned I had absolutely no chance whatsoever with him.”

“Severus?” Molly asked, thoroughly entranced with Harry’s story.

“Severus.” Harry confirmed. “As far as I was concerned Severus was completely unattainable. He was the Order’s best spy, a respected teacher and Head of House at Hogwarts, not to mention the best Potions Master in Europe. I was simply a runty seventeen year old Gryffindor who hadn’t finished school and possibly wouldn’t live long enough to do so. I’ve been in love with Severus Snape since I was sixteen although I didn’t truly realise it until I was seventeen. I think if I hadn’t left the wizarding world when I did I would have thrown myself at him and probably completely humiliated myself in the process.”

“I think that is highly unlikely. You and Severus are both completely oblivious. You’ve been in love with him since you were sixteen and he’s been in love with you since you were sixteen. You belong together. Merlin, you’re perfect for each other. Now, you said there was a problem?”

“I’m sorry!” Harry blushed brightly. “I don’t know if it’s a problem per se but I do need someone to talk it through with.....Severus asked me to move in.”

“Excuse me?” Molly was finally taken by surprise. “Severus asked you to move in? With him?” Harry just nodded as the witch carried on talking. “Now that does surprise me. Severus is such a traditionalist. I wouldn’t have thought he’d ask you that first. I would have thought he would have proposed and married you first. Oh no, don’t worry dearie, I’m just thinking aloud. Tell me all the details and then we can sort things out.”

Harry took a deep breath and started to talk. “It was when we’d told each other that we loved each other and then Sev slept in my bed for the night. The next morning we were talking about what we wanted and we both decided that we wanted a relationship rather than an affair or a one-night stand. I can’t imagine my life without him now. However, that brings us to the problem of how to conduct said relationship. Neither of us would be completely satisfied with just a part-time relationship shall we say. So, Sev asked if I was averse to returning to Hogwarts.”

“And?” Molly was eager for information.

“I told him that the only reason I left was because I wanted to avoid the machinations of Fudge and the Ministry. I didn’t want to be manipulated.”

“Fudge is leaving this year by all reports.” Molly was quick to point out that piece of information.

“That’s what Sev said. He also said that with Professor McGonagall becoming Headmistress there was a vacancy for the position of Gryffindor head of house as well as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Sev wants me to take both. Robert and Violet start their first year at Hogwarts in September so that would be six of them at the school anyway. As Sev pointed out, there’s a very good wizarding primary in Hogsmeade that the next four could go to. It would be fairly easy to get them there. So, it’s just Georgiana and Elizabeth to sort.”

“Poppy and myself would be more than happy to look after them for you while you and Severus were teaching. No buts young man! It would be a pleasure.”

“Thanks Molly.” Harry leaned over to hug the matronly woman.

“I didn’t do anything. Your decision was already made; you just needed someone to agree with you. You’ve wanted to agree ever since Severus asked you. Off with you! Go and tell your lover the good news.”

“What, that he needs to extend his dungeons for all of us? He’s going to love that!” Harry laughed as he hugged the witch goodbye before disappearing through the floo.

“No Harry. He’s going to love it because he’s getting what he always wanted; a lover, a home and a family. More than that, it’s simple. He’s getting you.”

Harry couldn’t hear her words but that didn’t matter. The witch smiled at the thought that her youngest son, by heart if not by blood, was finally coming home.