Gaelic Blessing

For the first time in twenty years Severus Snape, bat of the dungeons and Head of Slytherin House, ignored all of the pink, white and red decorations and the sappy smiles that decorated the castle and the faces of the students and simply carried on teaching. Admittedly, ignoring the trappings of such a commercial holiday was incredibly difficult for the Potions Master but he managed to get through the day by focusing on the evening ahead of him. For the first time that he could remember he had a date for Valentine’s Day and he was determined that the event wasn’t going to be ruined.

If possible, he and Harry had grown even closer since their heart to heart after Harry had tried to call off their relationship. They tried to see each other two to three times a week and would alternate spending their weekends either at Hogwarts or at Heathmore. Although neither man went in for all of the commercialism that surrounded St. Valentine’s Day they had decided to spend the evening together. Professor Sinistra had agreed to keep an eye on the Slytherins for the evening whilst Severus went on his date. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves in the wizarding world by visiting Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade following the relatively disastrous events of the Ministry ball, Severus had made reservations for the duo in an upmarket and well-respected Italian restaurant in central Muggle London. Molly had agreed to look after the children and would arrive at Heathmore half an hour prior to Severus picking Harry up.

As soon as his last class had finished Severus made his way back to his rooms, determined that nothing was going to ruin their evening. After all, he had planned this evening very carefully and was hoping that nothing was going to get in his way of what he wanted. He uttered the password to his chambers and walked into the suite of rooms, dumping the piles of essays that he was carrying on his desk. He then warded his door securely, followed by his floo connection ensuring that he wouldn’t be disturbed.

With that sorted he made his way through into his bedroom to stare at his options for what to wear that evening. He looked longingly at the section of his wardrobe given over to his teaching robes and his more formal dress robes. In particular, he looked at the robes that Harry had given him for Christmas that he had worn for the Ministry ball. Knowing what he was intending to do that evening, he would much rather have been wearing robes; he would have automatically felt more comfortable. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the more Muggle clothing that he had taken to wearing when he was at Heathmore with Harry and the children.

He hated having to choose clothing; he had never been as self-absorbed or as vain as others such as Sirius Black or Lucius Malfoy and another of the reasons that he had always lived in black had been the fact that it was simple and needed no real thinking on his part. Determined to make this evening special for Harry, in addition to his formal black trousers he selected a silk shirt in a deep aubergine colour. He laid the two items on his bed along with a pair of black dragon hide boots and a black astrakhan coat with a raised pattern on the cuffs and collar.

Satisfied that he had made a suitable choice of clothing he made his way into the bathroom to shower and make himself ready. Other than his bedroom, his bathroom was his main indulgence in his quarters at Hogwarts. The bathroom was decked out in grey flecked black marble and silver fittings. Other than the sink and toilet there was a huge claw-footed bathtub and a walk-in shower, both of which were big enough for two people. Deciding that he had the time and that he needed the indulgence of a long soak in order to calm his nerves, he started to run the water for the huge bath adding relaxing oils as he did so. The hot water helped to soothe his nerves somewhat and he relaxed as he washed his hair. Contrary to the thoughts of many students he did wash his hair; it was just negated by the fact that he was a potions master and spent the majority of his waking hours brewing.

All of a sudden he realised that he had spent much longer in the bath than he had intended and that it must be coming close to the time that he was supposed to be at Heathmore in order to pick up Harry. Wandlessly casting a “Tempus” charm he swore as he realised that he had to pick Harry up twenty-five minutes and it was going to take fifteen of those precious minutes to cross the grounds of the castle in order to reach the apparition point just outside of the Hogwarts gates. Hurriedly he got out of the bath and towelled himself dry before casting a drying charm on his hair and dressing in the clothes that he had laid out on the bed. Looking in his mirror, he was satisfied that he was well dressed for the evening and, upon consideration, decided to leave his hair loose rather than tied back as was normally his wont. Snatching up a muggle wallet with his exchanged money and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers. He ensured that his wand was firmly secure in its holster before he swept out of his rooms and down to the school gates.

***

At the same time Severus was getting himself ready for their date, Harry was running himself ragged trying to find a suitable outfit to wear. Much to his relief, Molly Weasley was almost an hour early and took pity on him, helping him to find something to wear. The children had been positive angels and had made no fuss about going to bed slightly earlier than normal. All of them were in bed and, if not asleep, were well on their way by the time that Molly arrived. Molly smiled at the sight that greeted her upon her arrival at Heathmore. Dobby had shown her up to Harry’s suite of rooms and she had been greeted by the sight of Harry pacing up and down in front of his wardrobe wearing just a towel, his hair still dripping wet.

“Harry?”

“Molly? Oh thank Merlin you’re here. I have no idea what to wear. Sev hasn’t told me where we’re going or anything. All I know is that we’re going to a restaurant in Muggle London and that I need to dress smartly.”

Molly took a seat on the bed and cast a drying and then a straightening charm on Harry’s hair so that it didn’t look like he’d been dragged through a hedge backwards in the rain. “Why are you going into Muggle London and not into Diagon Alley? There are plenty of fancy restaurants there.”

Harry grimaced as he surveyed his wardrobe. “Hmm? Oh, we’re not going into Diagon Alley after the disaster that was the Ministry ball. You know everyone still thinks that I should marry a nice witch and live in a fancy house with hundreds of house-elves. Regardless of how much Sev did in the war, and how much he helped defeat Voldemort, there are a lot of people who still see him as a Death-Eater and don’t like the fact that we’re in a relationship. We decided that it would be much less stress for the both of us if we simply went into Muggle London. At least no-one there knows who we are.”

Molly nodded her head. “Very sensible that is too. What’s the problem then? Why all the pacing?”

Harry threw his hands up in frustration. “We’re going into Muggle London Molly! That means I have to find something to wear that doesn’t make me look completely hideous. In some ways it would be easier if we were going to Diagon Alley; at least then I could wear the robes that Sev got me for Christmas rather than thinking of something.”

Molly tutted loudly and shook her head before making her way to the closet and pushing Harry out of the way. “Men! You’re all the same. Harry, you could wear a bin-bag and Severus would still think that you were the most attractive person in the whole of the wizarding world.”

Harry blushed brightly. “You’re biased; you have to say things like that. Having said that I do want to look gorgeous for him.” He blushed even brighter. “I can’t believe I just said that to you. Please, just help me find something to wear. Sev will be here to pick me up in half an hour.”

The red-haired Weasley matriarch simply laughed at the young man and started rummaging through his wardrobe. She perused several items of clothing before pulling out several items that looked as though they had been hidden at the back of the wardrobe. Harry stared in shock as she threw a pair of leather trousers at him followed by a finely-woven white cotton shirt that was to be tucked into the waistband of the leather pants.

Molly smiled slyly as she heard Harry murmur under his breath. “I can’t believe my pseudo-mother is telling me to wear a pair of leather trousers on a date with my lover who was in the same year as my parents. This is so wrong.”

Harry shook his head before he pulled on a pair of black dragon-hide boots and stood up straight.

“Well, what do you think Molly?” He held his arms out and spun around to let her see him from every single angle.

The witch looked at him speculatively before she came forward and started fussing with his outfit. She fiddled with his shirt where it was tucked into his trousers before opening several buttons at the collar and rolling up the shirt sleeves slightly. Harry went to tie his hair back but the witch batted his hands out of the way.

“Leave it down; it looks much better that way.”

Harry looked hesitant but finally agreed. He slipped his muggle wallet into the pocket of his velvety jacket, having realised that his trousers were so skin-tight that he couldn’t fit his wallet into the back pocket. Upon this realisation he completely panicked and turned, intending to go and change once more. Before he could do so, the doorbell rang and he heard Dobby go and answer it.

Within seconds, the house-elf was in front of him. “Master Severus is here Master Harry. He says he is picking you up. Dobby has shown him into the sitting room.”

Harry smiled, although it was a little strained. “Thank you Dobby. If you could tell Severus that I will be down in a minute.”

He waited for the elf to disappear again before turning to Molly in confusion. “Why would Sev apparate to the boundaries of the Manor and walk all the way through the grounds? Surely it would have been easier just to floo here or even apparate directly into the house. I mean, he’s keyed into the wards and everything.”

Molly smiled slyly. She had a very good idea as to why Severus had apparated to the outskirts of the manor and walked up to the doors. “Think about it Harry. I have a feeling that you know precisely why he did that. Severus is a very traditional man; he’s going to do these things properly. Now, go on. Shoo. He’s waiting for you.”

Harry blushed brightly and leaned forward, pecking the motherly figure on the cheek before making his way downstairs. “Thanks Molly. I don’t know what’s going to happen but if I end up staying out late or something then I’ll floo you.”

Molly smiled knowingly. “I have a feeling that you won’t be back at all tonight.” She had a feeling that she knew exactly what Severus was up to and if she was right, she would be welcoming another son into her family. “It’s no problem for me to stay the night, Arthur’s on the late shift anyway. Don’t worry about letting me know – you and Severus just go and enjoy yourselves.”

Rolling his eyes laughingly, Harry moved out of his bedroom and down the stairs to the sitting room where Severus was waiting for him. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he felt incredibly nervous about the evening to come. He felt that his heart was beating so loudly that other people could hear it. He paused just inside the doorway of the sitting room and felt his heart stop. He had never seen Severus dressed as he was and he couldn’t believe that the man would go to so much effort for him. Harry couldn’t believe just how attractive the older man looked when he wasn’t wearing all black, or when he was wearing completely Muggle clothing. He stood staring for several long minutes before the Slytherin turned around and noticed him.

“Harry!” At first he sounded pleased but then he looked slightly suspicious. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Oh! Erm….not that long?” He walked over to his lover. “It’s all your fault though. If you didn’t look so damn attractive then I wouldn’t have been staring.”

Harry smiled as two pink spots appeared on the high cheekbones. “Harry, will you stop saying things like that. You don’t have to flatter me. I know damn well that I’m not that great a catch – there are plenty of more attractive men out there. I have no idea why you chose me but I’m bloody thankful that you did.”

“We’re not going to go into this again.” Harry growled, sounding more like a baby kitten when compared to Severus’ own growl. “I think you’re gorgeous. I don’t care about all of the other men. I’m with you, I want to be with you and that isn’t going to change. Now, I hear you’re taking me out for dinner?”

Severus chuckled at Harry’s blatant changing of the subject. “I am taking you out for dinner. Although I think I’m going to have to make you a sign declaring you my property; you look positively delectable. Come on, we have reservations for eight and I don’t want us to be late.”

Harry smiled as his hand was encased in Severus’ huge hand as the older man tugged him out of the manor house to a point just outside the front door. Harry had just turned to Severus to ask where they were apparating to when he was tugged into Severus’ arms, so close to Severus that he was practically a part of him. Within minutes they had reappeared in London, apparating down a back alley so that they weren’t seen by anybody. Severus took Harry’s hand again, tugging him out of the alley and into a quiet courtyard featuring lots of classy but not showy clothes shops and restaurants. Harry looked around with wide eyes, trying to take it all in, before realising that Severus was leading them to a tiny Italian restaurant tucked in the far corner behind a decorative fountain.

As they walked in the door Harry was captivated by the atmosphere and the interior of the restaurant. The whole place was decked out in creams, umbers and siennas set off by the warm wood that the tables and chairs were made of. There were several tables and chairs set around what appeared to be a dance floor but the majority of the interior was given over to small booths that kept everything private. The restaurant was already quite busy and to Harry’s delight he saw that there were several other couples that were of the same sex. He simply cuddled into Severus’ side as the maitre d’ came up to them with a couple of menus.

“Did you have reservations gentlemen?”

Harry simply looked up at Severus, not completely surprised when the older man answered in the affirmative. “Yes, under the name Snape. A table for two.” Harry couldn’t help the thrill that went through him at the thought of being referred to as a Snape. The idea of being Severus’ husband was one that he positively adored, although he shook it off and turned his attention back to the man in front of them.

The waiter checked the book of reservations and nodded before leading the duo to a booth towards the back of the restaurant to both men’s delight. Although they knew that they were almost completely safe from anybody in the wizarding world who had ventured into Muggle London, they were still grateful for the extra privacy. Harry engrossed himself in the menu fairly quickly and missed Severus placing their drinks order. He looked up in shock at the sound of a champagne cork popping to see the bubbling drink being poured into two elegant flutes before being placed in a bucket just to the side of their table. He raised an eyebrow at Severus.

“Champagne?”

Severus raised an eyebrow back. “Indeed. Is it a problem if we have champagne to drink? After all, are we not celebrating Valentine’s Day?”

Harry nodded his agreement before he giggled slightly. “I was just thinking; your students would have a heart attack or an aneurysm if they thought of you celebrating Valentine’s Day.”

Severus scowled slightly but, as always, whenever he was with Harry the scowl didn’t last long. Smiling at Harry again, he turned his attention to the menu, not really reading it as he was too focused on Harry. When the waiter came to take their order, as Harry ordered for himself Severus scanned the menu and simply picked the first starter and main course that took his eye. He knew that Harry was slightly suspicious and that did nothing but increase his nervousness. Somehow he managed to make it through the starter, making small talk about his classes and Harry’s day with the younger children. Finally, when their empty starter plates had been cleared away and they were waiting for their main courses he gathered his courage. He paid no attention to the musicians who had set up in a corner overlooking the dance floor and started to play what sounded distinctly like a love song in Italian. Looking incredibly nervous, he reached his hand into his right hand pocket and cleared his throat. Harry looked up at him immediately, looking concerned.

“Severus? Are you ok? What’s the matter? Not that this hasn’t been lovely, but you haven’t seemed yourself tonight.” Harry reached across the table to take hold of Severus’ hand.

Severus smiled briefly and brought Harry’s hand up and pressed it to his lips before releasing it. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and moved to the side of the table before he knelt down on one leg. He withdrew his hand from his pocket and brought out a small, black velvet jewellery box. As Harry’s eyes widened, Severus opened the lid to reveal a gorgeous white gold band set with a sparkling diamond and engraving on the inside of the band. Harry opened his mouth to speak but Severus hushed him quickly.

“Please Harry….let me say this. I never believed that I would ever get the opportunity to say this to you. Even if I had had the opportunity, I never thought that you would hear me out long enough. After everything I’ve done in my life, after joining Voldemort and everything I did whilst I was a Death-Eater, I never dared to hope that I would find someone to share my life with, let alone someone that I would want to marry. Then I met you. I spent so long hating you because of who your father and your godfather were but then I got to know you, the real you and I fell head over heels. I couldn’t believe it when you remained in touch with me, even after you left the wizarding world.”

Sento nell'aria profumo di te
Piccoli sogni vissuti con me
Ora lo so, non voglio perderti
Quella dolcezza così senza età
La tua bellezza rivali non ha
Il cuore mio vuole soltanto te

Here, Harry made another abortive attempt to reach for the older man and say something. “Sev…”

Per te, per te, vivrò
L'amore vincerà
Con te, con te avrò
Mille giorni di felicità
Mille notti di serenità
Farò quello che mi chiederai
Andrò sempre dovunque tu andrai
Darò tutto l'amore che ho per te

“I was even more overjoyed when you said that you loved me as well over Christmas. I had dreamed but never dared to believe that you would love me in the way that I love you. What I’m trying to say, in an incredibly roundabout manner and sounding increasingly more like a Hufflepuff, is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you and what I want to know is….Will you marry me?”

Dimmi che tu già il futuro lo sai
Dimmi che questo non finirà mai
Senza di te non voglio esistere

Despite the shock that the notoriously restrained Head of Slytherin had just proposed to him in the middle of a packed Muggle restaurant, Harry didn’t hesitate before giving his answer. In fact, he was already nodding, tears running down his face as he answered.

Per te, per te, vivrò
L'amore vincerà
Con te, con te, avrò
Mille giorni di felicità
Mille notti di serenità
Farò quello che mi chiederai
Andrò sempre dovunque tu andrai
Darò tutto l'amore che ho per te

“Yes….oh yes. A hundred times yes. I will marry you Severus Snape. I love you more than anything.”

Non devo dirtelo, ormai gia lo sai
Che morirei, senza di te

His smile was threatening to take over his whole face as Severus slid the ring onto the fourth finger of his left hand before he knelt up and, taking Harry’s face in his hands, kissed him full on the lips in a heart-stoppingly tender kiss. Harry smiled into the kiss, even as tears of joy slid down his face.

Per te, per te, vivrò
L'amore vincerà
Con te, con te, farò
tutto quello che mi chiederai
Andrò sempre dovunque tu andrai
Darò tutto l'amore che ho per te

Neither wanted to say anything to ruin the moment but they were interrupted nevertheless by the arrival of their main course. Neither man could taste what they ate. As far as they were concerned, they could have been eating dog food. They were both simply alive with joy and contentment at the thought of their future together. Once they had finished, Severus had another first in store for Harry and took his hand and led him to the dance floor where numerous couples were already dancing. The song was played once more as the two men danced, completely and utterly content.

For his part, Harry couldn’t stop staring at the ring that now graced his finger, where it rested on Severus’ shoulder. Smiling happily, he snuggled closer to Severus, burying his face in the crook of Severus’ neck and pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

After several songs had passed the two men returned to their table where they ordered desserts. Severus groaned as Harry tempted him by eating a gooey chocolate cake with tonnes of cream and melted chocolate that involved lots of licking either his lips or his spoon or a combination of both. Just the sight of Harry’s small pink tongue had Severus’ trousers tightening rapidly, and he groaned in arousal, causing Harry to look at him sharply.

“Sev? Are you okay?” Harry asked in concern.

“Merlin Harry, you’re a minx. You have no idea what you’re doing to me licking up all that chocolate.”

Harry still looked confused before he caught on to what Severus was saying. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.”

“You don’t have to apologise Harry. It’s not your fault that you have the ability to turn me on without doing anything.”

Harry blushed, before looking up at Severus through dark eyelashes almost seductively. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to make it up to you later. Do you have to go back to Hogwarts tonight?”

Severus’ onyx eyes widened momentarily and lust flashed through them. “No I don’t have to go back to Hogwarts tonight. Sinistra’s looking after my Slytherin’s tonight and she won’t have any objections about looking after them until the morning. What about the children though?”

“Molly’s with them. She knew that something was up tonight. She said that she wasn’t expecting me back tonight and that she would stay with the children for as long I as needed her to.”

Severus smiled. “In that case, shall we leave? I’d like the opportunity to spend a night with you away from Hogwarts or Heathmore. What do you say?”

Harry nodded and before he knew it, Severus had paid the bill and they were leaving the restaurant. Once outside, Severus took Harry’s hand in his and the two were soon walking the streets of London. Harry snuggled up to Severus, enjoying the opportunity to do so in public without being hounded by press or simple bystanders. It took him a while to realise that they weren’t simply wandering the streets of London without an agenda; they were going somewhere that Severus knew the precise destination of. After a forty-five minute walk they turned into another small courtyard that led up to a Regency house that had been turned into a small hotel. Just before they entered the building, Severus turned back to Harry.

“Are you sure about this? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to; I’m more than happy to take you back to Heathmore if that’s what you want.

Harry mock-glared at the Slytherin. “Don’t be ridiculous Severus. Of course I want to spend the night with you. It’s Valentine’s Day – of course I’m going to want to spend it with my lover.” He looked up at Severus, light dawning in verdant green eyes. “You’ve already booked this as well haven’t you? You were hoping that I would agree to come.”

Severus assumed a haughty expression. “Of course I booked this as well. I’m a Slytherin Harry, don’t you forget that. Not to mention I’m the head of Slytherin; I always get my way. Although I have to admit I reconsidered what could be conceived as my arrogance after the events at the Ministry. Thankfully, cancelling didn’t become a necessity. Come on, I’m not going to dither around here all night.”

The two men walked up the steps of the hotel, not feeling remotely nervous. Inside, Severus immediately wandered over to the receptionist in order to take care of the necessities so that they were booked in. Whilst Severus had been sorting out the formalities, Harry had wandered to the other side of the reception and was looking at the various photos and paintings that adorned the walls. As such, he was unable to hear the conversation that took place.

“Good evening sir. How can I help you this evening?”

“Good evening madam. I believe that I made a reservation for two under the name of Snape.”

The receptionist tapped away at the computer in front of her for a couple of minutes. “Ah yes, Mr Severus Snape. A double room for one night.” At Severus’ confirmation she pushed a button and several pages started printing. She picked them up and placed them on top of the desk. “You’ve already paid sir so if you could just sign these two forms, I’ll give you your room key.”

Severus did so and passed both the sheets of paper back to the lady who checked them over, nodded and then turned to select a key from a large board behind the desk.

“Here’s your key sir. You’ll be in the Master’s Suite tonight. As its Valentine’s Day there’s a complimentary bottle of champagne and our ‘Lover’s Special’ waiting for you in the room. We hope that you have a pleasant stay with us tonight.”

Severus nodded, his mind already wondering what the ‘Lover’s Special’ was. “Thank you. Might I ask; where is the Master’s Suite?”

The young woman blushed. “Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s only my first week working here – I’m still getting the hang of things. If you go up the stairs to the first floor, turn right at the top of the stairs and it’s the first room on your left. There is a sign to the side of the door, saying that it’s the Master’s Suite. I hope you and your husband enjoy your evening.”

Severus smiled. “He’s not my husband. Not yet anyway. Thank you, I’m sure we will enjoy our stay.”

He nodded his head at the young woman and made his way over to Harry. “Love? Are you ready to go and see our room?”

Harry nodded eagerly, leaning into the arm that wrapped around his shoulders as they walked up the stairs to where the young receptionist had told them that their room would be. They found the Master’s Suite without any problems and Severus used the key to open the door, stepping back so that Harry could enter first. He almost walked straight into the younger man as he stopped virtually inside the door.

“Harry? Is there a problem? Why have you stopped just inside the door?”

He was dreading the thought that something was wrong and that Harry hated the room. Therefore, he was completely unprepared for Harry to fling himself into his arms, peppering his skin with kisses.

“Oh Sev, it’s wonderful. I love it. Wherever did you get the idea from? You’re turning into a real romantic.” He teased, as he said the last sentence.

Severus craned his neck to see around Harry and see what he was talking about. As soon as he could see the room properly he understood why Harry was so enraptured. The room was absolutely perfect. It was dominated by a huge four-poster bed, similar to those at Hogwarts and it was hung with rich ruby-red velvet curtains. The bed was made up in what appeared to be cream satin sheets and pillowcases under a ruby-red duvet embroidered in gold thread. There were gold, cream and red cushions strewn over the bed. The walls were cream and contrasted beautifully with the dark oak wood furniture. In addition to the bed, there was a wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and two chairs upholstered in the same colours as the bed.

Sat on top of the desk, Severus could see a tray that was obviously the ‘Lover’s Special’. There was a large ice bucket containing another bottle of champagne that just needed the cork to be popped. There was also a bowl of strawberries and cream along with a bowl of fancy chocolate truffles and another bowl of molten chocolate. Laid alongside the tray were two ribbon-entwined blood red roses.

Severus smiled, now feeling rather smug with himself for his foresight. He had booked the hotel weeks ago; in fact he had booked it just after Christmas. One weekend, when he hadn’t had to chaperone the Hogsmeade trip, he had made the trip to London in order to scout out a possible hotel. At the end of an incredibly long and unsuccessful day he had finally wandered into The Courtyard and discovered The Regency. Hidden away in the secluded courtyard, it had seemed the perfect venue for Severus’ plans. For a while, following the disaster that was the aftermath of the Ministry ball, he had wondered whether he would need to cancel his booking but thankfully, he and Harry had managed to sort themselves out.

He pushed Harry further into the room so that he could shut the door behind them. Even though nobody was around at this point in time, he had no desire for people to watch Harry and himself. As he turned from shutting, and locking, the door he could see that Harry had taken a seat on the bed. He walked over to the desk and opened the champagne, pouring two glasses. He then walked over to the bed, levitating the tray and the bottle of champagne behind him. He handed one of the glasses to Harry and sat down on the bed next to him, directing the bottle of champagne onto the bedside table and the tray onto the bed.

Harry took a sip of the bubbly alcohol, not really used to it but enjoying the taste of it. For some reason he also felt the need to drink in order to give him some Dutch courage. He looked up in interest and no little curiosity at the tray that was placed on the bed. With a wicked smirk at Severus and, going more on instinct rather than knowing what he was actually doing, he leaned over and snagged a strawberry out of the bowl. He took a bite of it before chasing it down with a swallow of champagne. He couldn’t believe the combination that it created and his eyes widened involuntarily. He took another bite of the strawberry and without thinking leant over to kiss Severus.

Severus immediately moaned at the taste of the combination of Harry, champagne and strawberries. He could also taste the lingering flavour of the chocolate from dinner and the taste was irresistible. When Harry pulled back, Severus followed, pressing him back into the bed so that he was lying down, completely at Severus’ mercy.

He was vaguely aware of the tray being levitated to the bedside table next to the bottle of champagne but then his attention was drawn away as Severus claimed his mouth gently. Harry arched up into the warm mouth as Severus’ hands made their way to the buttons on Harry’s shirt. Slowly, still lavishing attention on Harry’s mouth, Severus started to undo the buttons until he could pull the shirt out of the waist belt of the leather trousers and slide it off Harry’s shoulders. The vast expanse of skin that was revealed was just more skin for Severus to torture and play with. He was slowly making his way down Harry’s torso when he was suddenly flipped over, albeit with some difficulty, by Harry so that he was on top, straddling Severus’ hips. The younger man smirked slightly.

“It’s not fair if you have all the fun.” Harry then proceeded to slowly unbutton Severus’ shirt, pressing soft kisses to every patch of skin that was revealed. When they had first gotten together Severus had been incredibly conscious of the scars that covered his body as well as the pale-grey outline of the Dark Mark that remained on his left forearm. Even after two months together, he was still slightly embarrassed each time he and Harry slept together, which admittedly was fairly often as the two of them were completely insatiable and incapable of keeping their hands off each other.

Unbeknownst to Severus, Harry felt that there was no shame in the scars that decorated Severus’ body. As far as he was concerned, the scars were simply proof of what Severus had gone through and survived, not necessarily unscathed, but had survived nonetheless. He hadn’t realised prior to this evening that Severus hated his scars but as soon as Severus’ shirt was removed from his torso the older man averted his eyes as Harry stared down at him. Knowing that Severus wouldn’t actually say anything Harry set about proving that the silvery marks made no difference to him with his lips and tongue.

He pushed Severus back onto the cushions and took his time, pressing soft kisses and nips to every single scar. Severus couldn’t believe the attention that Harry was bestowing on the things that he had always hated. However, he couldn’t remain still when Harry turned his attention to the now faded Dark Mark. He squirmed as Harry started to trace the grey serpent and skull mark with his tongue.

“Harry, no. Stop, please. You shouldn’t.”

Harry stopped tracing the mark with his tongue and looked Severus straight in the eyes, although his fingers never stopped tracing the tattoo. “Why? Why do you want me to stop?”

Severus didn’t say anything; he didn’t know what to say. Instead he simply averted his eyes and shifted uncomfortably. As he did this, Harry knew that it was up to him to say what the Slytherin was thinking.

“You’re embarrassed about your scars and you’re even more embarrassed about the Dark Mark but I don’t care Sev. I truly don’t. You forget that I had Voldemort in my head for years. I saw everything that he did to you and everything that you were forced to do. None of it was your fault. All that these scars prove is how strong you are and how much you’ve endured and come through the other side.” Here Harry pressed a kiss to one particularly jagged scar above Severus’ heart before he spoke again. “Besides, I think they make you look really sexy. It makes you look like a battle-hardened warrior. When are you going to get it into that incredibly stubborn brain of yours that I love you for you? I love you, I’ve loved you for years and that’s never going to change. I never would have agreed to marry you if I didn’t love you.”

Here Severus sat up so that Harry was straddling his lap and he brought his arms around the ex-Gryffindor so that he was cradled in Severus’ lap. Onyx eyes were distinctly moist as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Harry’s upturned lips.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, I love your snarky personality, I love that wicked tongue of yours. I love you because you are who you are. The fact that you have an insanely sexy body just adds to the complete package. Have you got the hint yet?”

Severus gave a choked laugh and gave Harry a short but passionate kiss. “I think I have love. What you have to understand is that all of this is new to me. I’ve had several flings before, primarily whilst I was still a student but I’ve never had anything like this before. I know that you love me and I love you but it’s still going to take some getting used to that you’ve chosen to be with me and not with the nubile young men that would happily be with you.”

Harry opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by first a finger and then Severus’ lips. “Hush. I know that you want me and you don’t want them. I was just saying. Now, I think it’s time that we finally celebrate our engagement. What do you say?”

Harry smiled seductively and shifted himself off Severus’ lap. He proceeded to lay back against the cushions and pillows, his creamy skin making a positively delectable contrast to the rich red covers.

“I’d say I’m all yours love. Do with me what you will.”

As his body was covered by Severus’ he arched up into the contact, knowing that their celebration was only just beginning.

Severus started slowly, torturing Harry with lips and tongue as he traced Harry’s entire body, practically worshipping it. Not wanting to have his process halted later, he divested both Harry and himself of their trousers, shoes and underwear. Harry was writhing before Severus had gone anywhere his cock and begging for release. Determined that he wasn’t going to come until he was buried within Harry, Severus thoroughly but quickly stretched and prepared Harry before he lubricated his cock and slid into the younger man. He paused to allow Harry to adjust to the sensation and only started moving when Harry shifted his hips slightly. Not wanting to rush things he slowly started thrusting in and out, knowing the precise moment that he hit Harry’s prostate when the younger man’s face contorted in pleasure. Despite Harry’s attempts to move things along, he continued with his slow pace, wanting to make this first time special. When he knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer he leaned down to capture Harry’s mouth, swallowing the moans and gasps that were escaping as he brought his hand in between their bodies to take hold of Harry’s cock. Within minutes Harry was coming, taking Severus over the edge with him. Severus slumped over Harry’s body before slipping out of him and casting a wandless cleaning spell. Harry just cuddled into Severus, with the feeling that the evening was far from over.

Several minutes later, Harry stood, needing to make a trip to the bathroom what with the alcohol they had consumed during their dinner. For once, comfortable in Severus’ and feeling completely unself-conscious Harry simply got out of the bed and, not bothering to put on any clothes, made his way from the bed to the bathroom, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. Severus turned on his side so that he could watch Harry. The simple sight of Harry walking reawakened Severus’ interest and when Harry appeared in the doorway his eyes brightened with lust at the sight of Severus lying in bed, one long-fingered hand gently stroking his erection. Harry whimpered softly before he started back towards the bed. Slowly, he crawled across the bed so that he was once again straddling Severus’ hips and leaned down to kiss the thin lips, rubbing back against the hard length that ran along the cleft of his arse as he did so. Severus groaned and clamped his hands onto Harry’s hips in an attempt to stop him moving and tormenting his older fiancé so much. Harry pouted and instead, reached behind him and grasped Severus’ cock in his hand, steadying it slightly. He raised himself onto his knees and Severus’ eyes widened, having realised Harry’s intentions.

“Harry, what are you doing?”

He moaned as the head of his cock slipped inside Harry’s entrance, giving the older man a very good idea of what Harry was doing. Taking his time, Harry slowly inched down Severus’ cock, sheathing the older man in his body. Finally, when Harry’s arse was pressed against Severus’ groin he opened his eyes, which had slid shut, revealing pupils that had blown so much there was only a thin rim of green showing and smirked. He tensed the muscles in his thighs and slowly started to move himself up and down, riding Severus’ cock. The older man let his head drop backwards onto the pillows, not able to believe what Harry was doing. He wasn’t sure if Harry remembered that this particular act was one of his favourites in the book of graphic fantasies featuring Harry. It wasn’t long before the speed Harry was moving at wasn’t fast enough for Severus and so he used his grip on Harry as leverage. Each time Harry moved downwards, Severus thrust upwards causing delicious sounds to escape Harry’s mouth. The sensations were too much and they were both climaxing; Severus into Harry and Harry onto Severus’ hand and stomach. The Gryffindor slumped over Severus’ chest, not bothering to life himself off Severus’ cock and was dozing within minutes.

Harry wasn’t sure how long he dozed for but he woke up to feel something sticky being trailed all over his skin. The second thing that he noticed was that Severus was no longer embedded within him. Instead, he was sat down by Harry’s hip, a predatory grin on his face and what looked to be the bowl of chocolate. Chocolate. That was the sticky stuff covering his body.

“Sev?”

“This is payback for you teasing me with that chocolate pudding earlier. I’m going to smear this chocolate all over you and lick it off inch by inch.”

Harry’s only response was a whimper as Severus started his revenge.

Several hours later, Harry and Severus sank into the huge bathtub with a sigh of relief. Their experimentation with the chocolate had left both men sticky, with smears of the sweet substance all over their body and in places that they couldn’t remember putting it. To their delight, they had discovered that the bathtub was big enough for both of them and had started to run the steaming hot water, adding the various oils that were left at the side of the tub leaving the water slick and sweet-smelling. Severus had brought the remains of the champagne with him and both men felt rather decadent, lounging in the tub with glasses of the fizzy alcohol. As soon as they had entered the water, Severus had sat with his back to the side of the tub and pulled Harry back in the space between his legs so that Harry’s back was pressed up against Severus’ chest. By this point the frantic lust that had driven their first few coupling had disappeared and after their encounters with the chocolate they were completely satiated. Instead, they were simply content to be in contact with each other. It was simply the feeling of being held and holding someone close. Harry leaned his head back onto Severus’ shoulder as the other man kissed his temple and reciprocated with a kiss to the underside of Severus’ jaw.

“Love?”

“Hmm?” Harry was starting to doze as a result of the combination of the warm bath water and the feeling of Severus’ arms around him.

“Do you want to talk about the wedding now?” Severus sounded slightly nervous, as though he was still struggling with the concept that Harry had agreed to marry him.

“Mmm-hmm. What do you want to discuss?”

“Are we going to tell people about our engagement and impending marriage?”

Harry nodded. “Of course we’re going to tell people. After all, I am going to become a Snape.”

He was summarily spun around and hauled up against Severus’ chest, so that he was sprawled over the Slytherin’s lap. “What do you mean you’re going to become a Snape? Why would you want to give up the Potter name – one that is respected throughout the wizarding world and take mine? The Snape name is tainted; I was a Death-Eater Harry. Why would you want to take my name?”

Harry smiled, tracing one high cheekbone with delicate fingers. “Why wouldn’t I want to take your name Severus? I’ve agreed to marry you. I love you. You’re the older partner in the relationship and besides, you’re the one who proposed to me. Besides,” here he gave the cheeky grin that Severus had dreaded so much as a teacher. “Maybe the fact that I’m taking the Snape name will help it somewhat. I mean, I don’t want to give up the Potter name completely, what with me being the last of the line but I want to take yours as well. I was thinking about both....what do you think to Potter-Snape?”

Severus chuckled. He couldn’t help it. He was amazed that Harry was willing risk controversy by taking the Slytherins name. Family names were very important in the wizarding world. “Alright brat, I suppose I’ll let you take my name.”

Harry smiled, pressing a kiss to Severus’ lips and snuggling into his side. “So, what else did you want to talk about?”

“Who are we going to tell and when are we going to tell them?”

Harry thought about it carefully. “Well, the children are the most important people I think. As soon as we’ve told them then we can tell other people. I mean, you’ll want to tell most of the other professors or at least Albus and Minerva and Draco as well. I’m going to want to tell Molly.”

Severus nodded. “That’s settled then. We’ll tell the children and then we’ll tell family and friends. As for a date, are the summer holidays too soon?”

Harry gaped at the older man. “The summer holidays? You really don’t want to wait do you?” He stopped talking as Severus’ face looked worried. “The summer holidays sound wonderful.”

Severus smiled. “Okay, final question before you fall asleep. You sound as if you’re about to drop off any minute. Where do you want to get married? I mean, ideally it would be somewhere where we wouldn’t be at risk from the likes of that bloody Rita Skeeter and any other nosy reporters and photographers. Let’s face it; you’re even hotter property in the wizarding world despite having disappeared for four years. There’s also the fact that, after that little demonstration at the Ministry ball, if news of our venue somehow became public, we would be in for a lot more trouble than we had at the ball.”

There was a non-committal sound from Harry and when Severus looked down he could see that the younger man was dozing already against his shoulder. He couldn’t help the indulgent smile that spread over his face. “Okay, maybe we won’t discuss a venue for the wedding tonight.”

“Wha’ ‘bout Heathmore?” Came the slurred response from in the region of his shoulder causing him to look down suddenly.

“Heathmore? Would you mind having the wedding at Heathmore?”

Harry rubbed his face against Severus’ shoulder and pried his eyes open. “No I wouldn’t mind having the wedding at Heathmore. We both love it there. It’s strongly warded. The only people who can get through the wards are those that we’ve agreed to allow in and the only people that we’d want there anyway. Therefore, we shouldn’t have any problems with rogue paparazzi.”

Harry was now beyond his capabilities and cuddled closer into Severus’ body, closing his eyes with a happy sigh. Severus smiled, knowing that he was going to have to get Harry out of the bath and into the bed. He flicked his wrist and banished the champagne flutes and bottle back to the bedroom before he swung Harry around so that he was sat completely in Severus’ lap. From there he was able to stand up with Harry in his arms. A murmured charm had them both dry and they were in the bed, underneath the covers within minutes. Within minutes, Severus was asleep like Harry, both of them wrapped around each other like vine on a trellis.

***

The next morning, Harry crept back into Heathmore house at just after six am. Although neither man had wanted to get up, Severus had had to return to Hogwarts so that he was present in the Great Hall for breakfast and also because he had a class to teach during the first period. Harry also knew that he had to keep up appearances with the younger children. Although they knew that Uncle Harry and Uncle Severus weren’t just friends anymore they were still too young to fully understand the relationship between the two of them. As such, both men felt that they would try to keep things as simple as possible for them. They knew that they still had to work out how to tell the children about their engagement, especially as they were intending on getting married as soon as the school year finished, but for the time being they weren’t going to say anything.

To his relief, Harry managed to make it up to his bedroom so that he could shower and change before he came back down to the kitchen. They had showered that morning at the hotel but they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other and had decided that they had enough time for a quickie, thus negating the time spent in the bathroom. He pulled on a pair of worn jeans and an old Gryffindor quidditch jersey and just pulled his still damp hair back into a loose ponytail. As he walked through the corridors, he was highly relieved that it appeared that the children were all still asleep and he kept his fingers crossed that no-one had noticed that he hadn’t returned until that morning.

All was going well until he walked into the kitchen and saw that Molly was sat there already, a cup of tea in her hands. He groaned inaudibly at the speculative gleam in her eyes and he knew that he wasn’t going to escape without giving her all the details of last night. Well, maybe not all the details he amended, thinking back to the previous night and everything that he and Severus had gotten up to. He would never have guessed that the man was such a romantic or such a sensualist. He knew that the man was passionate, but the previous night had taken their relationship to an all new level. Harry found himself getting hot as he thought that that had just been the night of their engagement. What would the wedding night be like?

“So, late night Harry?” Molly asked with a grin.

Harry simply collapsed into a chair and gratefully accepted the mug of tea that Dobby handed him. “You know it was Molly. You don’t have to play at being naive. You know perfectly well that I’ve only just walked back in.”

The woman squealed in delight, not sounding at all like a woman who’d given birth to seven children and who was already a grandma. “Was I right? Did Severus propose?”

Harry tried not to give anything away but it didn’t work. Within seconds, a huge grin was splitting his face. He nodded vigorously. “Yes, Severus proposed. And yes, I accepted.”

It took less than half a minute before Harry was swamped in a huge hug from Molly and he laughed in delight, hugging her back just as tightly.

“Ooh, let me see the ring. He did give you a ring didn’t he? He’s such a traditionalist, he must have given you a ring.”

Harry laughed and held out his hand. “Yes he gave me a ring. I couldn’t believe it. It’s absolutely gorgeous though isn’t it?”

Molly oooh-ed and aah-ed over the ring, commenting on how gorgeous it was and how Severus had such good taste. Finally she sat down next to him, her facial expression reminding him slightly painfully of Hermione when she had just discovered a new book.

“I want all of the details. Now. I knew that the two of you were perfect for each other. I’ve been waiting for him to do this since Christmas.”

“What?!” Harry was completely gobsmacked. “You’ve been waiting for Sev to propose since Christmas. I thought you didn’t know anything about all of this before you came on Christmas Day.”

Molly smiled indulgently. “I thought that Severus told you all of this. Poppy and myself were there when Holly came to get Severus on the day that term ended. I was here on and off all the time that you were ill when Severus was nursing you almost twenty-four seven. It was at that point that I realised Severus was in love with you. It was written across his face. I sat him down at this table and I forced him to tell me what was going on. He told me everything. I believe his complaint was that he sounded ‘like a love-struck Hufflepuff’. He sounded absolutely horrified at the concept. All things aside, it’s obvious when the two of you are together that you’re in love with each other. Simply ignore what everybody else thinks; if it makes you happy and if it makes him happy then that is all that matters.”

Harry smiled at the Weasley matriarch gratefully. “Thanks Molly. I really appreciate that.”

The woman smiled back and patted Harry’s hand before she regained the scary look that showed she was hungry for gossip. “Now, I want to hear all about last night. Where did he take you? How did he propose?”

Harry smiled and settled in to spend a fair while indulging the woman and giving her as many details of the previous night that he felt comfortable revealing. “Well, we went to a little Italian restaurant somewhere in London. It was in a little courtyard with lots of other shops and restaurants. It wasn’t commercial though – they were all really nice places. Erm, the restaurant was full and it was all done out in creams and browns. Severus ordered champagne and we had our starters and then while we were waiting for our main course Severus looked really nervous and started fiddling with something in his pocket. He got down on one knee and produced the ring in a little velvet box. There was some Italian song playing in the background and he proposed.”

“What did he say?” Molly was almost over-eager for details and prodded Harry as he refused to say anything.

“Oh no. I’m not going to tell you anything more. I’m especially not going to tell you anything about the proposal itself. All you need to know is that Severus proposed, it was very romantic and I said yes immediately.”

Molly nodded. “Okay, I’m sorry for pushing. I can understand why you don’t want to say anything else. I suppose that I would find it hard to believe that Severus was such a romantic if I hadn’t seen the evidence first hand. So, Severus proposed, you accepted and then I’m assuming you carried on with dinner. So, where were you last night? You obviously weren’t here. Did you go back to Hogwarts with Severus?”

She smiled to herself as she saw the dreamy expression that swept across Harry’s face. “No, we didn’t go back to Hogwarts. Severus had it all planned out. He had booked a suite in a little hotel called The Regency. It’s in a courtyard somewhere in London. I wasn’t really paying attention. And that is all you’re going to know.”

He knew that he was 100% certain that Molly wouldn’t find out any more information from him. After all, Severus was still trying to maintain his reputation as much as possible and there was only so much information that Harry felt comfortable at sharing.

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone and get back to make Arthur’s breakfast. I just have a couple more questions. When is the wedding going to be, when are you going to tell the children and where are you going to get married?”

“Surprisingly enough, those are the only things that we have decided at this point in time. Severus is going to get permission from Minerva for the oldest four to come home for the weekend. Severus will come with them and we will tell the children all together. We’re going to get married in the summer, as soon as the school year has finished and in all probability we think that we’ll get married here. It won’t be a big ceremony anyway.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Now, I’m going to be off. If you need any help with anything just give me a call dear. I’ll leave you in peace....at least until the children wake up.”

Harry stood up as Molly made her way over to the fireplace, taking a handful of floo powder as she did so. However, before she threw the powder into the fireplace she spun around and flung her arms around Harry.

“Oh Harry, I’m so pleased for you. Congratulations! Both you and Severus deserve every happiness considering everything the two of you have been through. I have no doubt that the two of you will be incredibly happy together.”

Authors Note: I know that I don’t normally use song lyrics in my fics but I couldn’t resist these. They fitted so well into this chapter and the next….I just had to include them. The song is Per Te by an amazing singer called Josh Groban. Me and my friends have always described his voice in the same way that we describe Alan Rickman’s – either as a bedroom voice or like molten chocolate. I’ve also included the English translation of the words below. As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed this and that you all review!! Belle

I smell in the air the scent of you
Little dreams had lived with me
Now I know, I don’t wanna lose you
That sweetness which has no age
Your beauty has no rivals
My heart wants only you

For you, For you, I’ll live
Love is gonna win
With you, With you, I’ll have
Hundreds days of happiness
Hundreds nights of serenity
I’ll do what you’ll ask me to
I’ll go always anywhere you go
I’ll give all the love I feel for you

Tell me that you know the future, yet
Tell me that this is not gonna change
Without you I don’t wanna exist

For you, For you, I’ll live
Love is gonna win
With you, With you, I’ll have
Hundreds days of happiness
Hundreds nights of serenity
I’ll do what you’ll ask me to
I’ll go always anywher you go
I’ll give all the love I feel for you

I mustn’t say it to you, by now you know it
That I would die without you

For you, For you, I’ll live
Love is gonna win
With you, With you, I’ll do
Everything you’ll ask me to
I’ll go always anywhere you go
I’ll give all the love I feel for you