Chapter XXIV: Completely and Forever
Warning: Mild language and adult themes
When Harry woke up in the early hours of the morning, Snape was softly snoring beside him, his long hair covering his face. He noticed that Snape was shirtless and probably had taken off his shirt sometime in the night. So as to not disturb the man next to him, Harry carefully gets off the bed and walks out of his room and down the stairs.
In the kitchen, Arthur is busy with breakfast, chatting happily with Lucius. He watched his parents interact for a bit and took a seat at the table. Lucius was scrambling eggs and dancing as his body swayed to the rhythm of the music. Arthur laughs happily, planting a kiss on the man's cheek.
"Can I make breakfast for Snape?" Harry asked once his parents were no longer dancing and singing around the room. "Snape's never had breakfast in bed, and I want him to feel special before he has to teach all day."
"Of course, love," Answered Lucius, he throws the large batch of scrambled eggs in a dish tossing the pan aside. "What time should people arrive at the party?"
Harry shrugged, "I don't know. My last class is at six, and I was going to help Snape clean the potions classroom, so maybe 7:30?"
Both Arthur and Lucius nod, "Oh, and tell Aunt Molly, no gifts. I don't want to overwhelm him."
"Well then, we'll exchange gifts when everyone leaves because some of us got him a little something." Said Arthur.
"Fine," Harry grumbled," Tell Ron to be nice, please. I know he doesn't like Snape, we all know, but I fucking swear, if he ruins this for Snape, I'll fucking kill him. I'm serious!"
There's a sizzling noise a moment later as Harry pours pancake batter into the frying pan.
"He'll be on his best behavior," Said Lucius, "We all will."
When Harry entered his bedroom, Snape was still laying in bed his back towards the door.
Snape wakes up to the smell of pancakes.
He let out a surprised laugh as Harry gently set the tray down on the night table. He saw two plates full of pancakes and a bowl of mixed fruit with a glass full of orange juice and another with coffee. A huge smile appeared on his face as Harry made his way to him. Without saying anything, he pulled Harru into a hug, nuzzling his nose in the crook of the boys neck, breathing in the smell of your shampoo. "Good morning," Snape said, turning around.
"Morning," Harry mumbled before kissing him. Snape's lips felt soft, and his movements were slow from just waking up. His hands were entangled in Harry's hair, running his fingers through his bed head.
"I hope you're okay with pancakes," Harry said after breaking away from the kiss. "I made eggs as well, and I made sure the pancakes had no gluten, milk, and butter."
Severus took a moment before replying to look you in the eyes. No words could explain the joy he felt, how happy he was with Harry. He doesn't know what tomorrow is holding for him, but he is happy that right now he is here, with Harry.
"It's perfect." Snape took a small bite, "it's quite delicious."
They're halfway through breakfast in Harry's room when Harry downs a glass of orange juice, wipes his mouth with his sleeve, and folds his hands on his lap.
His eyes shift from Snape shoveling syrup drenched pancakes into his mouth to the fogged-up window where the sun is rising and then back at his boyfriend again. He loved the word boyfriend, and now that they were in a steady rhythm and getting more and more comfortable with each other, Harry relished in the warmth that had taken over his insides.
Snape makes a perplexed face at the young man's awkwardness, swallows his mouthful, and says, "You look like you want to talk."
"I do," Harry replies, stilted.
"Okay."
"Right." Harry nods, takes a deep breath, and figured the best way to go about this was to rip it off like a band-aid, "I got you presents. I know we didn't talk much about it, but I wanted you to have something to open today."
Snape startles and begins to cough, spluttering orange juice all over his breakfast, and Harry scoots over to give him a good wack on the back. "I know! Okay, I know, but hear me out... I was out and about in London the other day, and I just happened to stumble on things I thought you'd like."
Severus raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly only half recovered. "What do you mean?"
"I got you a present."
"You didn't have to do that. I'm quite content with breakfast and spending time with you." Snape looks him point blank. "I have all I could ever need, Harry. My clothes, my chambers, and you, my love."
Harry gently turned away, trying but failing to hide the blush on his face.
Harry stares at him. "I haven't been home, Harrison. I can't remember the last time I slept with someone," the potions master trips over his words with a light flush of his cheeks, "I mean, I slept in your bed, next to you. I sleep with you. Not sleeping with you, obviously," He clarifies, feeling more and more stupid as Harry's face goes pale. "I'm worried people will talk. I don't want you to be the center of yet another Hogwarts gossip scandal. Why did you let me sleep in your bed with you?"
"Why?" Harry repeats faintly.
"I'm not angry. I mean, I know why, but did I make you uncomfortable? I love being here, but...I'm tired of the rumors. We're not roommates. And you're not my husband. Unless you are and I missed something...?" Snape asks Harry bluntly, it seemed to have tumbled out of his mouth, and although it wasn't the most eloquently put, there still wasn't a better way.
Harry frowns at his now soggy pancakes. "I didn't realize you felt like I was holding you hostage."
"No! That's not what I said!" Hissed Snape.
"Then what?" Harry snapped. "You want to leave? The door's open. I'll open a fireplace and poof you'll be back at your place."
Severus shook his head fondly, "You're not listening to me. There's a reason why I'm still here. Why I haven't taken off. I know you don't want me to leave. Neither do I. I actually..." Snape is so timid he can barely get the words out of his mouth. But she wants to say them. "What I meant was..."
Harry quickly stands up from his bed altogether, putting it together. "Wait..."
The professor blushes. "Yeah."
Harry shakes his head in disbelief, a baffled smile slowly spreading across his face. "No! No way, you have to say it. Say it, or else it's not real."
"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Asked Snape, "That's what I'm trying to do! I really like sleeping next to you at night and rolling over to see you beside me. It feels like home." He blushes a bright shade of red now, but a sense of relief floods through his body. "You. Are. My. Home, Harrison."
Harry sits back down and stabs his fork into another piece of pancake and shrugs. "I love you, and I'm so proud of you for saying all that, I know it wasn't easy." He leans forward, capturing Snape's lips with his own. It's sweeter than before in every sense of the word, and after a minute, Snape pulls back. "What made you say all that? I mean, why does my being here feel like home?"
Snape fumbles a bit, "Because we're doing it together. And I-" Severus stopped himself short.
Harry smiles, knowing exactly what the older man was going to say. He nudges him with his foot under the blankets.
"Hey, it's alright, don't freak out. This isn't a test."
Harry watches him relax a bit. "I know. That feeling you have, it's there, right? It's there."
Snape swallowed, nodding silently. "Me too. We work. I don't know why or how, but we do, and for the first time in many, many years, I don't feel like a jigsaw puzzle piece in a sea of corner pieces."
Harry licks his lips. "Of course we do," he whispers.
Snape leans across the table to kiss his cheek, but at the very last second, Harry turns his face and plants one right on his mouth.
They both jerks back in surprise, and Snape touches his lips, stunned as Harry preens. "What was that...?" he asked, Severus' expression was just as confused. Suddenly, Harry leaned up a little, looking at his hands.
"We sparked... Why?" Harry asked, still sitting up straighter.
Both Harry and Snape looked at one another. "I don't know why."
"It doesn't matter." Said the Gryffindor. Harry's fingers are sticky from the pancakes, and he can still taste the orange juice, and it only takes another half second before Harry grabs his night shirt with both hands and reels him in for good.
When they pull apart, Harry leaves the room, leaving a stunned potions professor. He returns a short time later, a bag of wrapped gifts in one hand and a birthday cupcake in the other.
"Happy Birthday, Professor Snape! I'm sorry it's not a full cake," Harry held the dessert out. "Apologies, it's a cupcake. A vanilla cupcake with dairy free buttercream frosting on top. Oh! I forgot." Suddenly, the candles lit up.
Snape smiles, staring at the boy before him. How had he gotten so lucky? He couldn't remember the last time he celebrated his birthday, let alone gotten a cake. "Make a wish," said Harry.
He held out the cupcake and casted a quick spell so the candle wouldn't start dripping onto the cupcake. Snape stood still, just staring at emerald green eyes before getting the courage to blow out the candle.
Harry's grin seemed to get even bigger. "What did you wish for?" The Gryffindor asked.
Even though he knew the superstition behind making a wish, Snape softly said, "You. I wished for you, Harrison."
Harry inhaled a sharp breath. He placed the cake on the bedside table and stood. When he returned, he had two medium-sized boxes and placed them in front of his professor.
Severus stared down the box on the bed. The box was neatly wrapped, displaying green wrapping paper with birthday wishes in silver writing. He knew Harry had wrapped it from the way the edges were neatly tucked in together to stop an inch at the top.
He gently removed the wrapping and opened the box. To his surprise, the box contained an old typewriter, blank parchment, a few potions books, and vials. Severus picked up the small piece of parchment sticking out on one of the keys of the type writer. The note read: Happy Birthday to... My Love, My Soulmate, My everything. I wanted to give you all my love for your birthday, but there's no box big enough to hold it. Besides, it's already yours.
Severus was speechless. There literally were no words to express how he was feeling. Harry had just gifted him the one thing he's wanted since he was a kid, a typewriter, plus a million galleons worth of ingredients, half of which were extremely rare. There was no way Severus would ever let Dumbledore know about this.
"You've once again left me speechless, Harrison. These potions books are rare. Where did you come across them?"
Severus picked up the book set to admire them closely. "These are first editions."
"Found them in a little muggle store in London, I didn't think the owner really knew just how valuable they were." Said Harry, he picked up the last box and hands it over to his professor. "One last thing. I saw it and knew I had to get it."
Snape delicately opened the box to reveal a vintage Leica 0-series No. 122 camera. Carefully taking it out of the box, Snape winds it up, holding the camera up to his eye and looking through the small hole. The flash goes off before Harry could compose himself but smiles nonetheless.
"By far more than I ever expected to receive Harrison. Thank you, truly."
Harry leans in to give Snape a quick kiss. "We should get ready for classes. It's early enough that you can sneak back into your chambers without getting caught."
They both stood up Snape looking at Harry softly. He takes a step forward, pulling Harry into his body and hugs the boy. "I love you." It's just a whisper, but Harry hears it clear as day.
Later that afternoon, Snape saunters later into the potions classroom, past Harry's workstation,a slight curl of his lips.
"Today, you will be brewing a Skele- Gro potion without a partner. Ingredients and directions are on the board." Severus pointed his wand toward the chalked letters as the instruction scrawled across the board, then eyed the class of fourth years, challenging them to even mutter a complaint. Truthfully, Severus knew a number of spells to recreate nice, neat handwriting, but any student that couldn't find the time to memorize the appropriate potions for the year deserved to squint. Only a few above fourth years dared to complain.
Snape walked past Harry's workstation again, and Harry's head shot up. Snape smelled different, not his usual potions ingredients. He smelled sensual. Harry shook his head from the unhealthy thoughts that were making its way to the forefront of his brain.
Bastard, Harry thinks. His eyes follow the long lines of Snape's figure, how dare he walk around looking all hot and sexy. Harry moaned, his hands immediately falling over his mouth. The whole class was now looking at him. He met Snape's gaze. "Sorry, sir, it won't happen again."
"Harry, you need to focus," Hermione whispers softly. The potions need to be stirred precisely."
"I can't help it 'Mione," Harry snaps, his eyes flicking to Snape accusatorial. "He's doing it on purpose."
Hermione rolls her eyes, "What? Walking?"
"He knows what he's doing," Harry grits out as he picks up the large wooden spoon. His mind floods with memories of Snape in his bed the night before, and even though it wasn't anything sexual, Harry couldn't help the heat that was rising in his nether regions.
Glancing over at his professor, who is leaning over the desk, reading a textbook, his arse just slightly tilted up. Harry growls softly.
Snape lifts his gaze from the book and peers over his shoulder at Harry. The corner of his mouth quirks up into a cheeky half-smile and.... Oh sweet Merlin... He shifts his hips slightly side to side and, humming sweetly, before returning his attention back to his book.
White knuckles grip the base of the spoon, and Harry chokes back a sob.
Severus whirled around, his black robes lashing angrily at his feet. "Something amusing, Miss White?"
The girl, Robin White, turned a satisfactory shade of red as she jerked her head in dissent and scooted closer to Longbottom. As if that nervous half-wit could possibly protect her. "I suggest, then, you keep that impressively large mouth closed, lest bits of whatever travesty Longbottom brews fly into your mouth. Five points from Gryffindor."
The Gryffindors goran. Severus waited for the obligatory rage from her fellow housemates. He notice Harry fisting his stirring spoon; Seamus Finnegan opened and closed his mouth several times like a frog; Neville Longbottom simply stared into his cauldron as if he'd like nothing better than to crawl inside and hide until the end of class.
The only one who didn't seem to know what was going on was Hermione, who seemed to be oblivious to the whole exchange. Severus would never admit it, but this disappointed him. He often enjoyed his little battles with the girl as she spouted argument after argument from that overly large brain of hers and Severus refuted her each time with logic that even she couldn't deny: Severus Snape was the professor and therefore would always win. Hermione was far too corrupted by the bumbling idiots she called her best friends; she needed to relearn a healthy respect for authority.
He whipped around, catching a small fourth year student up and out of his seat, "Bennett, the instructions are on the board, not in your classmates cauldron. Take a seat."
From the corner of his eyes, Snape noticed Harry staring baffled, eyes round and wide, lips puckered and apart, like a deer caught in headlights. He can not deny that there is a spark of excited anticipation as he walks closer to the boy. Since they sparked this morning, everything as felt off. He's noticing a more sexual component to everything Harry was doing even though he knows that the boy is not doing it on purpose.
The gaze Harry is giving him sends a shiver down his spine. He knows that exact look very well, one he's only managed to see a few times. Harry was aroused, and he couldn't blame the boy. He was in the same state, if not worse.
The intensity of Harry's gaze is starting to constrict the oxygen supply to his lungs, and Snape finds himself heaving for no reason.
Suddenly, Hermione's movements catch his eyes. Now, all he could see was a mass of puffy brown hair and the top of her quill, jauntily scribbling away.
"Miss Granger." Severus strode to the front of her desk. He was mildly appeased when a nearby fourth year shrunk back as he approached. Hermione finally looked up. "Would you kindly tell me what potion we are brewing today? Do not look at the board."
Severus needn't have bothered to add his last instruction because the insufferable know-it-all didn't even attempt to glance away from him before answering, "A Skele-Gro , sir."
At least there was a nervous lilt to her voice, barely detectable, but there nonetheless.
"And what is the first step in preparing a Skele-Gro ?"
"Add 1 Liter of water and bring the heat to 90° Celsius. Sir."
"Then tell me, Miss Granger, how scribbling love notes fits into this first step?"
Splotches of dark and light pink dotted Hermione's cheeks. She hastily tried to shove her parchment beneath her Potions book, but Severus was too quick and snatched it out of her hands.
"I shall keep this, then, for the time being, so you won't be so distracted." Severus smiled slickly. "And as further incentive to concentrate, "a foot long parchment on the effects that Skele-Gro has on the bones."
"Yes, sir." When Snape walked away, Hermione leans in and whispers, "You'd think he'd be happier since it's his birthday. But he's still a grumpy old cow."
Harry doesn't respond too busy wriggling in his seat. He and Snape are staring directly at each other, and the tension between them growing stronger by the minute.
"You think Snape's ever had sex?"
Hermione looks up from her cauldron and stares at her friend. "Are you stupid?"
"What?"
"Is he not Bill's dad?"
Harry facepalms on his desk. "Fuck! I forgot."
They spent the rest of the class in hushed silence, Harry occasionally staring directly at Snape, the two sharing intimate moments in front of the class.
⟩⟩⟩⟩
The crisp night air nips at his nose and fingertips as Harry made his way down to the dungeons to the potions classroom after his last class. His feet scuffle down the chilly concrete pavement. He was currently hurrying down to meet his boyfriend. He found Snape hunched over a cauldron his back to the door.
Sensing that he was no longer alone, Snape drew his wand, pointing it straight at Harry.
"Hey, hey, Jesus Christ, put that down!" Harry says, with his hands up. "What's wrong?"
"My apologies, I thought you... you're late."
Harry scoffs, "I think you mean early. Class ended five minutes ago."
Snape stares at the boy, a puzzled look on his face. He wasn't sure if it was the sexual tension building or the way the boy was looking at him, but Harry seemed different. There was a glowing aura around him that smelled of sweet magnolias. "Never mind then," said Snape.
"We should start cleaning. Dads are getting the place ready for your birthday party."
Snape made a sound of disapproval and rolled his eyes. "I swear to Merlin, Harrison, if anyone gives me shit, I'll walk out and never speak to you again."
"You'll survive, old man."
"Enough with the old shit, I swear to God, I'm gonna donate you to Saint Mungo's so they can take you apart for scraps!"
Severus tried his best to keep his birthday a secret. After all, it's not like anyone in the school really has time to think about things as trivial as birthdays, not with everything else they all have going on. They have more important things to occupy their brain power with, like Voldemort, the dark arts, and making sure Harry was safe at all times and how in the world they're going to survive this war with danger looming outside the walls of Hogwarts.
Growing up, Lily would always send him a little something, and he would just brush it off as just another care package from her. He didn't assume that anyone would be keeping track of what exact days he got care packages, anyway. Birthdays were stupid, especially his. No one would notice if he got something on the same day every year. No one here was that observant of mundane things like that, except Lily.
Once they finished cleaning all the cauldrons, they walked hand in hand to Gryffindor tower where everyone was waiting for him to arrive.
"Sur---pise!!!
They shouted it so loud that it felt almost like a physical shock. Add the confusion of the room going from pitch dark to being aglow with tiny, white lights strung all over the room above them and Snape practically jumped six inches off of the floor; stood shifting from foot to foot, eyes sweeping the room and coming back to them. He quickly intertwined his finger with Harry's turning to look at the boy, his green eyes providing the comfort he was looking for.
Happy birthday!!!!
He wasn't sure why everyone had big smiles on their faces. More than half of the people in the room couldn't stand him, and he didn't like them . So confusing, he thought.
Fred and George were making a racket with several kazoo-like noisemakers. Arthur, Lucius, and Draco had on paper hats, and Hermione, Ginny, and Seamus were circling him, now, tossing handfuls of confetti from a paper bag at him. He noticed that a certain red-haired sixteen year old was nowhere to be seen and probably for the best.
"Oh... my...." Severus caught on just in time to not feel the fool or to ruin their kind gesture, the large cake on the table that was very full of candles helping to clue him in. "....my... gods!"
He tried to make his voice express both surprise and joy, but even to his own ears, it only came out slightly less gruff and flat than usual.
"Severus," Arthur chuckled at him, coming forward to give him a half-hug and to mess up his hair. "Seriously? 'My gods?' That ...right there... is dull. I'll settle for an 'oh my god' or a 'you shouldn't have', but my gods?" Arthur rolled his eyes.
"I was at a loss for a more fitting exclamation," Severus admitted, accepting a full-on hug from Lucius, enjoying how he let his head lay on his shoulder and the smell of his shampoo "They're not something I use very often...ever"
Both Arthur and Harry steered him towards the cake once he stepped back, and Snape stood awkwardly while every sang happy birthday at him. He drew in a deep breath - blowing the thirty something or so candles out. He couldn't help but smile at their sideways nod to his....tenure here.
He searched the room looking for Harry, hoping the boy hadn't gone too far. He turned around, feeling a tap on his shoulder. "Happy Birthday, Sev," said Harry. "C'mere..."
This was a hug he wasn't making short work of: As much as the two of them had progressed since the day they started dating - as common as hugs and touches and nights spent together were between them now, there was never a Harry hug to spare as far as Severus was concerned.
"Before you ask," He heard Arthur saying behind Harry as he held on tightly to him. "This was a group idea, and...well, I know it's not really your thing, but... we hope it helps... you know... make you feel grounded again."
"Thank you," Severus said - and this time, it wasn't hard for him to put real emotion in his voice.
He'd felt so relieved a few weeks ago when he and Harry had talked, and the boy had said he was his home...' and nothing any of them had done since merited his encroaching doubts. But they'd crept in, anyway: Left him feeling heavy, a 'waiting for the other shoe to drop' kind of heavy, as if the request to be gone was only a breath away from coming.
It was embarrassing, really - being so needy and doubtful. Harry had noticed it without him saying a word. But apparently, that's part of what came with loving and being loved. Vulnerability. There was a time when he would have shaken his head and rolled his eyes at any creature so unwise as to overindulge in love and need, especially after people had left proof of how quickly they could leave.
But now....
"The cake ate up most of our celebratory funds, but Harry insisted that you have a big cake." Seamus said, holding up a couple of battered boxes that had been lying on the table behind it. "We thought we'd party by playing games. What'll it be? Exploding Snaps? Wizarding Skittles?"
"Exploding Snaps feels overly...competitive," Severus mused. "And since we have an even number...."
"I'll go a few rounds with Exploding Snaps." Seamus mused, taking the deck of cards from Arthur's hands.
Throughout the course of the game, Severus received many gifts. All from Harry's family and a few from McGonagall and Dumbledore. No one else even acknowledged he was there or that it was his birthday, and if they did, they made no show of effort. It was quite understandable, though, cause he hated them just as much as they hated him. Each gift from Harry's family was either personal or silly. The most personal was a photo of him and Harry the night of the Yule Ball, which was gifted to him by Arthur and Lucius. The silliest gift he received was from his son, Bill, who had gotten him on of those ugly troll dolls and bewitched it to look like him.
At the end of the day, Severus walked into his bedroom with Harry right behind him.
"Happy Birthday... Severus!" Harry smiled.
Snape didn't hesitate to join Harry on the bed. This had turned out to be his favorite birthday. "Did you have fun tonight?"
"Without a doubt Harrison," they share a chaste kiss, Harry laying his head against Snape's chest. "Thank you."
"I love you, Sev!"
Snape doesn't say anything, afraid he'd fumble over his words if he tried to be sentimental but eventually says, "I love you too... Completely and Forever."