How Severus Spends His Summer Hols

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns everything that is in reference to the Harry Potter world if it is in one of my works of fiction. If it is not found in one of her creations, then it is mine unless otherwise stated. I am not making any profit from the writing of this story.

A/N~ forgive me please for taking so long. For some blessed reason I am simply not happy with what I am producing and tend to delete and restart continuously. To those who have wondered if I have been ill, I have not been at my best with the cold weather, but I’m feeling better now, thank you so much for your concerns.

To those who took the time to read ‘A Time for Peace’ thank you. It seemed to help me a little to step away from Echo for a moment. I do hope you liked it although it was sad. My thanks go out to golden_snitch and unbroken_halo for letting me bounce ideas off of them and looking this mess over, they also go out to empathic_siren for the use of the vertical fuck you will find in here. To any interested, there will be a small piece on my lj community… http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=snitch_n_time concerning Draco and Jo Velden’s first meeting, it should be up tonight or in the morning. My thanks to unbroken_halo for her help with that.
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By ten o’clock that night the bar was packed and the music blaring as bar patrons made their way in and out of Cutty’s. Harry was finding that he was a natural at waiting tables, he enjoyed the give and take with the customers and the steady pace that kept him from being bored. Out on the deck he’d kept an eye on Draco and Severus’ lawyer at their little table in the corner. It didn’t surprise the little brunette at all that his husband was going to owe him on the bet he’d lost. Harry had been positive that there was no way on Merlin’s green earth that Draco would sully his hands by waiting on a table.

As he watched the pair, he shuddered almost imperceptibly; Jo Velden looked like she was considering having Malfoy as her dinner. He really hoped Draco knew what he’d gotten himself into, from everything Harry had seen of the woman in Sturgis, she took no prisoners. Recalling the big blond that had been at her side there, he smirked to himself wondering if Draco was going to be his replacement.

While he stood by the door leading back into the bar, he caught a glimpse of Lucius waving one elegant hand to him. With a sigh and a toss of his head he made his way through the crowd of people and tables until he was at the elder Malfoy’s side. Putting his small tray on the table, he lifted his notepad and pen and looked at Severus’ dearest friend.

“What can I get for you?” he asked loudly to be heard over the crowd. Lucius motioned him closer and cast a spell to cut out the background noise so they could speak without yelling.

“I was merely curious as to when your last break took place,” Lucius said as he looked at the muggle timepiece on his wrist and then looked pointedly at Harry. The younger man simply shrugged and made to stand back up straight.

“I took a rest a couple of hours ago Lucius, I’m fine, thank you for asking though,” Harry said politely as he waited with his notepad. “Can I get another drink for you?” He had decided that whatever else his guardian for the night had to drink, he was going to make sure it was spiked. He knew it was childish, but he resented having a minder

Lucius made a face and looked at the near empty glass that he held loosely in one hand, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh the blond ordered another glass of lemonade. Smirking to himself, Harry made a note on his pad, picked up his tray and turned to go get the man his drink. Once at the bar, instead of ordering straight lemonade, Harry ordered Lucius a lemonade with a healthy shot of vodka. He took the icy drink back to Lucius and wished him a good evening as he left his table to go take another order.

However, not fifteen minutes later Grant appeared in the doorway and motioned to Harry. The younger man rolled his eyes, made a face and sauntered over to where Grant was waiting.

"Bit, I think it's time that you take a little break and go sit with your husband for a while," the older man said as he took the tray and notepad from Harry. The younger man only shook his head and made another face, he hated being coddled as if he were an invalid.

"But I just took a break not long ago," Harry said in a near pout as he looked up into the other man's face. "Besides Severus is busy watching the door." Surely Grant could not argue with that logic. The old Lakhota only smiled down at Harry and pointed into the main bar.

"Go on Harry, go to the kitchen and have them make a sandwich or something else for you and Sev to eat," he said as he gave the younger man a little push in the right direction. "That man of yours has yet to take a break or eat anything tonight."

At those words Harry was off for the kitchen, he had no idea that Severus had not eaten yet. He quickly fixed a large plate of the night's dinner special, stopping at the bar he asked for a drink for his man. With a happy smile on his face Harry made his way through the people to where his husband and Max were carding at the door. The smile quickly faded as the young wizard watched a tall good-looking brunette man drape himself around his husband's lean body and press his lips against Severus’.

Harry set the plate and drink on top of a speaker against the wall and strode angrily up his husband. He could see that Severus was pushing the other man away, but the cretin was doing an octopus impersonation. Glancing around himself quickly he saw a look of shock on Allie's face as she looked on the scene. Harry put one hand on Severus’ elbow to get his attention, the tall Dom looked down into the eyes of his mate and gave him an apologetic smile. Returning it, Harry then turned to the interloper.

“Hey, I don’t know who you are, but get off of my husband,” Harry growled as he looked at the man that had his fingers hooked through one of Severus’ belt loops. The small wizard reached out and neatly removed the offending hand from his husband while glaring at the intruder.

The stranger looked down at Harry and had the temerity to laugh in the younger man’s face, then turning back to focus on a very surprised Severus. “So Sevvie, I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, do you want to come to my place tonight?”

Severus pushed the man back and started to say something as Harry put himself between them, his finger up in the other man’s face. “He. Is. Married. To. Me,” he snarled as he put his other hand back on his husband’s waist and yanked him forward. Severus was quickly reminded of the incident in Sturgis when Harry had confronted the lawyer.

“Harry, calm down,” Severus said as he tried to pull his husband back against him. However, the younger man was intent on driving his point home with the stranger. Harry pulled forward and stabbed his finger into the man’s chest. “You need to leave now.”

“And just what do you think you are going to do about it,” the stranger smirked as he pushed Harry to the side, where he stumbled and fell to the floor. Before Severus or Max could respond to the rapidly escalating situation, Harry had drawn his wand and was chanting furiously. The stranger began to twitch and then dig at his skin as he began to feel as though he was being stung and bitten by hundreds of insects.

“Harry you have to stop,” Severus said as he pulled his little husband to his feet and forced his wand from his hand. “You can’t do that, it’s not good for you,” he soothed as he nodded to Max, who grabbed the other man under the arm and dragged him from the bar. On the tables closest to them, the glasses and bottles began to vibrate and hum as Harry lost control of his anger at finding someone trying to seduce his husband. Severus wrapped his arms around his Harry and tried to absorb some of his energy, but it was like sticking his finger into a leaking dam. Behind the bar, the glasses in the overhead rack also began to vibrate, the hum steadily growing louder as Harry shook in fury. Damon looked up and then pulled Grant out of the way, worried for his safety if the glasses began to explode.

“Get him out of here now!” Damon yelled, Merlin knew the last thing they needed was an explosion of glass in a packed bar. Severus scooped Harry up in his arms and hurried out the door and around the back of the bar into the open lot that was used for horseshoe pitching.

“Harry you have to calm down,” Severus murmured as he fold himself down to the grass and held Harry on his lap. Mentally he was cursing himself for not foreseeing what Mark would try to do. He’d only dated the man for a month several years ago and the guy was still trying to get in his pants. “Harry stop this, he’s gone, you don’t have to do this. You made your point, love.”

Harry glared up at his husband’s face and sat up straighter on his lap. “I don’t ever want to worry about someone taking you away from me, Sev, I’ll destroy someone for that,” he said solemnly and then leaned back against his husband’s chest. Severus rocked his husband slowly while rubbing his hand over the swell of his tummy, trying to put as much calming energy as he could in his touch.

“There will never be another in my life Harry, never,” Severus promised as he kissed his mate on the lips gently. “You are my heart and always will be.” Harry smiled to himself in the dark as he listened to his husband whisper sweet nothings. He closed his eyes and let the rich voice wash over him, calming him as he let his anger go, only opening his eyes when he heard someone walking towards them in the dark.

“Sev, I trust young Harry is alright?” It was Lucius, a Lucius that was sounding a bit worried. The tall blond emerged from the surrounding shadows as he whispered an illumination spell and a soft glow was shining from the tip of his wand. Harry smiled at the older man as he knelt down beside them.

“I’m fine Lucius, sorry if I worried you,” he said a little embarrassed now by his emotional display. The three men sat outside in the late summer night air and talked while listening to the music and laughter from within the bar.

Inside, Jo Velden had managed to get one slightly tipsy Draco Malfoy on the dance floor and was in the process of what could be described as a clothed vertical fuck in the shadows. She was certainly enjoying the company of the younger Malfoy in spite of the show of macho bravado he had attempted earlier when he’d picked her up at her room. They had talked all evening about a great many things, and over all of Jo had discerned he was a young man who deeply cared for his late wife, but it was time to come out of mourning. She was happy to be the one to fling the door back open to life for him. No strings, no wordy promises of everlasting love, no oaths of faith to one another; simply a few days to enjoy one another’s company.

“I wonder where Potter, I mean Harry went…” Draco slurred as he pulled the tall woman closer to him and nuzzled her neck. Merlin she smelled so damn good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been close enough to a woman to smell her scent, not since Pansy anyhow. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought of the woman that had given birth to his child, almost as if he were cheating on her.

“I’m sure Severus has things well in hand Draco, now stop fussing and dance with me,” Jo said gently as she ran her hand down the nape of his neck and let his silky hair slide through her fingers. The music played on as the two held each other closely, one healing slowly and the other soothing the way.

Grant looked at his husband and gave him a weary smile, it had been a long day and now a long night. He was worried about Harry’s loss of control, and the worry was not easing as neither Severus nor Harry had come back in. He wasn’t troubled by Severus not being at the door, the customers had started thinning out as it got later, and Harry wasn’t needed out on the deck any longer, but he would like to know where they had gone.

“Damon, hon, I’m going to go take a walk out back and see if I find Little Bird, okay?” he said as he set his bar towel down and kissed his husband’s wrinkled cheek. Damon frowned slightly and returned the gentle kiss while he rubbed his mate’s back.

“Take the flashlight and don’t be gone long, we are going to go home soon, Tom can close up here,” Damon growled softly in his ear as he pulled him close and held him for a moment. “Now hurry up old man.”

“I’ll just be a minute Damon,” Grant said with a tired smile, he was ready to go home too. He walked out the back door by the office and went a little way out into the open lot, stopping when he heard the low murmur of voices. “Hello?” he called out as he swung the flashlight in the direction of the low voices.

“We are over here Grant,” Severus called from the deep shadows. “I didn’t realize how long we’d been out here.” His adopted father walked over to where they were sitting and squatted down to join the trio.

“I wanted to check up on you both and to let you know that we are leaving early,” the old man said as he ran a gentle hand over Harry’s back and then one over Severus’ cheek.

“I’m alright Grant, I just got mad when that bastard wouldn’t get off of my husband,” Harry said as he smiled at the man who questioned him. He did feel bad for the scene he’d caused inside and wondered if there had been any damage. “I didn’t break too much did I?”

“No Bit, only a few beer bottles in the trash, nothing else and no one was hurt,” Grant answered with a smile as he stood back up. “Going back in soon?”

“We are coming in with you,” Severus said as he stood Harry on his feet and then stiffly got to his. Lucius followed suit nearly as stiff as Severus and with a yawn, if someone had asked he would have almost sworn he’d been drinking even if all he’d had that night was lemonade.

The four men made their way into the back of the bar and Severus resumed his post at the door with Harry at his side after he had been told he wasn’t needed to watch tables on the deck any longer. Max was sitting on one of the stools there by the door with Allie leaned back against him looking rather tired as well. She reached out and gave Harry’s hand a squeeze, she knew what it was like to watch another come onto your husband, you just tended to want to stomp a mud hole in the person and then walk it dry.

“Shall I get you something fresh to eat, Husband?” Harry asked as he noticed the meal he’d originally brought over for Severus looked less than appealing. He hid a yawn behind his hand and waited to see if Sev would want to eat here or at home.

“Just a sandwich is fine love,” Severus said with a yawn of his own. “See if you can get a cup of coffee from Damon at the bar, okay?” Harry nodded and threaded his way around the tables to the kitchen and fixed his man a simple ham sandwich before going to the bar where Damon was getting ready to leave with his husband.

“Damon, could I get a coffee for Sev, please?” he asked, flinching slightly when the old Dom looked down at him with an unreadable expression on his face. The old wizard picked up the pot and silently poured a hot cup for his boy and handed it over without a word. Harry looked down and turned to go when a touch on his elbow stopped him from walking away, he turned and looked up into the man’s face.

“No more of that Harry, it isn’t good for you or the baby to get upset,” he said. “Severus isn’t going to do anything to lose his family.” Harry looked up at him and then nodded.

“Yes Sir, I know, I just got…”

“It’s alright Bit, just don’t do it again, now go take him his coffee.”