Notes: Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope Santa brings you everything you want, and that you get to spend a ton of time with your family!
Thanks for reading!
Harry woke up, his head pounding. He groaned, rubbed the crust out of his eyes, and tried to remember what had happened last night. He blinked once, then blearily glanced around the room.
Wait.
Where was he?
And why did it smell so good? Merlin, the sheets smelled like dried flowers and mint and....oh.
Harry jolted up in bed, half expecting his ex Potions Professor to be sound asleep next to him. When he found the bed empty, he immediately relaxed.
However, only a few seconds later, he began to panic again.
Why exactly was he in Snape's bed? What had happened last night? Had...had something happened between him and Snape?
Wait.
Why would anything have happened between him and Snape? His clothes were still on, and Snape would never do anything, right? Wait! Why did it matter what Snape would do? He would never do anything with Snape! He didn't even find him attractive! Besides, even if he did, and he didn't, Snape would never let anything happen.
He let out a deep breath.
Nothing had happened. He was fine.
Groaning, he pushed himself out of bed and tried to mentally prepare himself for Snape's wrath.
He changed out of his old clothes and into new ones, then brushed his teeth and splashed a few drops of Cologne onto his wrists. He figured Snape would be less upset if he pulled himself together and got rid of the stench of alcohol.
It was in that moment, that Harry decided to make a promise to himself.
No more getting drunk. Maybe a few drinks at parties and pub nights, but that was it. Nothing good came out of getting drunk, and his pounding headache was current reminder of that.
After brushing his hair, Harry made his way downstairs into the kitchen. Snape was currently sitting at the kitchen table, a newspaper in hand. He did not look up when Harry entered the room.
Without saying anything, Harry brewed a cup of tea and added two spoonfuls of sugar. He gently placed the mug in front of Snape, who still refused to look at him.
There was an awkward moment of silence as Harry leaned against the kitchen counter, carefully regarding the man in front of him.
Snape found it incredibly unnerving to have Harry staring at him. He eventually slammed the newspaper down onto the table, then raised his furious black eyes to meet Harry's calm green ones.
"What do you want, Potter?" He snapped. "Talk, or get out. I have better things to do than this."
Harry didn't drop his gaze, though he did look somewhat disappointed.
"It was just that I....well, I was wondering if you were hungry...."
Snape's glare intensified.
"No. I am not."
"Sir...."
"Don't."
"I'm sorry."
Snape's head shot up as he stared at Harry, a perplexed expression on his face. He didn't think he had ever heard Potter apologize before.
"Go on...." He muttered, staring at Harry with an expectant look on his face.
"I'm sorry about last night. I was drunk, but that's no excuse. I won't let it happen again. I'm going to stop drinking."
Snape regarded him with a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm. I shall believe it when I see it." He replied, still not believing Harry at all.
People didn't often change, and Harry Potter, of all people, should have known that.
"Do we happen to have any hangover Potions?" Harry asked. "My head is killing me."
Snape glared.
"And my back is killing me from sleeping on the bloody couch, but you don't hear me complaining. As for your Potions, I am not responsible for your disorganized stock."
Harry sighed.
"Look, I apologize for invading your privacy. That was wrong. I know....I know that you don't like people to see your mark...."
Snape involuntarily took a sharp breath when Harry mentioned the mark. He fumbled with the sleeves of his robes, quickly jerking his arm under the table so Harry couldn't see his deepest regret.
Harry frowned, appearing sad.
"You don't have to hide it from me...." he whispered.
Snape abruptly stood up from the table. He couldn't do this. Potter didn't want to see his mark. He didn't want to see his mistakes, his lies, his regrets, or his memories. His apology was filled with meaningless words, and he would undoubtedly make the same mistakes again.
"Your apology has not been accepted." He murmured cooly.
Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he watched Snape walk away.
********
Two days later, Harry stood In the center of the Royal Oak. He chewed his nails nervously as he waited for Ron to arrive.
All of their old friends from Hogwarts were there, as well as their new ones. Blaise and Draco had insisted on going, much to Harry's surprise.
From Hogwarts, there was Neville, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan and Lee Jordan. All of Ron's brothers were there, besides Percy, not that anyone was surprised. Harry was pleased to see that Charlie had been able to take time off of his busy schedule to attend Ron's party.
"Thanks again for inviting everyone." Harry whispered, leaning closer to Neville.
Neville beamed.
"You're welcome, Harry! You planned a great party. I love the cake you ordered."
Harry glanced nervously at the cake sitting in the middle of the restaurant. He really hoped that Ron would like it. It was probably bigger than Ron and Hermione's wedding cake, but he had wanted to do something special.
The cake was gold and red, and had quidditch gear littered across it, along with the occasional lion.
Draco, of course, was appalled.
"I would never put something so...Gryffindor into my body." He had announced, upon seeing the cake.
Ron was running late, as always, so the boys began to talk amongst themselves for a few minutes.
Dean, who was sitting at the pub window, began to shush everyone.
"Shhh! Ron's coming!" He announced.
Everyone fell silent, and hid behind the bar.
A few seconds later, Ron walked into the pub, a confused expression on his face.
"Where in the bloody hell is everyone?"
All at once, everyone jumped out from behind the counter, exclaiming,
"SURPRISE!!"
Ron's eyes went comically wide as he took everything in.
"Harry!" He exclaimed in awe. "Did you do all of this?"
Harry grinned.
"I had some help...."
"Well its bloody brilliant!"
Draco sniggered.
"It's the least he could do, you know. Just think, in three days you'll be married to Granger!" He faked a shudder, and Ron glared.
Harry playfully smacked Draco's arm.
"That's enough of that. Come on Ron, come enjoy yourself!"
At Harry's words, a band entered the back door of the pub and began playing. Loud rock music began to play, and Ron's eyes lit up.
Harry laughed at Ron's surprised expression, then shoved a glass of whisky into his hand.
"Congratulations, Mate!" He yelled into Ron's ear. "Celebrate while you still can, yeah? I have a feeling Hermione will run a tight ship once you two start living together! I bet you'll barely be allowed out of the house!"
Ron slapped his arm, but Harry simply laughed.
*****
That night, around 3 am, Harry stumbled into the front living room. He was exhausted, there was no denying it. Who knew partying could be so intense?
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Snape, calmly flipping through a book and drinking tea.
"What...what are you doing awake?" Harry asked, a bit nervously.
Ever since New Years, things had gone back to being incredibly tense.
"I'm awake because I had to make sure that you kept your promise. I did not want to go to bed, only to have you try to climb in with me." Snape responded cooly.
Harry blushed.
"I kept my promise." He muttered. "I only had two beers. It was a good thing I kept my promise, in the end. Everyone was piss drunk by the end of the party and I had to apparate them home."
Snape eyed Harry, appearing pleased that he had kept his promise.
"Hm. I assume the party was fairly...uneventful?" He questioned.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah. But you'll never guess what happened when I apparated Ron home."
Snape raised a black eyebrow, silently willing him to go on.
"Hermione and Ginny where laying on the couch, drunk out of their minds! I've never even seen Hermione drink more than a pint before! But there she was, talking about how lovely the male strippers were!"
Snape fought to keep the smirk off of his face.
"Indeed. I assume you enjoyed the...entertainment....at Weasley's party?"
Harry blushed again. He had enjoyed it, but Snape didn't need to know that.
"Hm. Ron certainly seemed to enjoy it...."
Snape snorted.
"It's probably best I don't know." He commented.
Harry gave him a small smile. This was the most they had talked to each other in days.
"I brought home some cake, in case you wanted it..." Harry murmured, holding out a container to Snape.
Snape eyed the container for a second. He was tempted to have some but....he really shouldn't.
"I appreciate that, but I'll have to pass."
The smile melted off Harry's face, disappointment replacing it.
"Yeah, okay." He replied, his tone somewhat melancholy. "Well, I think I'll be going to bed now. I have to go to the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, and it would probably be nice of me to send some hangover Potion to Ron and Hermione tomorrow morning."
Snape nodded curtly, standing to follow Harry up the stairs.
"If I would have known you were waiting for me, I wouldn't have stayed out so late..." Harry apologized, feeling somewhat guilty.
Snape paused once he reached the top of the stairs.
"Don't worry about it." He muttered.
Harry nodded, and there was a moment of silence as they both stood in front of their bedroom doors.
Harry finally decided to break the silence.
"Goodnight, Snape."
"Goodnight, Potter."
*****
Three days later, Harry was running frantically around the Weasley's back yard. That was were Ron and Hermione had decided to have the wedding, and it looked quite lovely.
However, the florist had cancelled, leaving them with no flowers.
And now it was apparently Harry's job to find flowers. In the middle of January. With only two hours left until the wedding.
Molly was a jumble of nerves, cooking up a storm as Arthur set up chairs.
Harry was glancing wildly around for flowers, when suddenly an idea came to him. Without hesitating, he apparated away.
Seconds later, he was knocking loudly on the Malfoy's front door. Narcissa opened it, looking vaguely disoriented. Her hair stuck up and she wore a black bathrobe.
"Harry," She greeted, trying to smooth down her hair. "How can I help you?"
"Flowers." Harry blurted. "You have flowers, right? Gardens full of them?"
Narcissa nodded slowly.
"Of course, Darling. What is it that you need?"
"Do you think I could take a few? Like...maybe....uh, 300?"
Narcissa regarded him with confusion.
"300, but-"
"It's the wedding! Ron and Hermione's florist cancelled. We have no flowers."
The confusion slowly melted off of Narcissa's face and she smiled.
"Of course. Take whatever you need, dear."
"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed, already bolting into the back yard.
He quickly began ripping dark red roses from the ground, ignoring the snow falling all over him. He made quite a mess, and was covered with mud by the time he had finished.
His arms full of roses, he apparated away.
When he arrived back at the Weasley's back yard, he dumped them on a table in front of Molly.
"Here you go, 300 roses." He panted, desperately trying to catch his breath.
Molly shot him a look of despair.
"There's only an hour until the wedding! Go clean up and get dressed right now! I'll take care of this."
Without being told twice, Harry rushed up to the bathroom, stripped, and jumped into the shower. He could hear Hermione, Luna, and Ginny giggling from the room above him while they got ready.
He washed quickly before drying and pulling on his tuxedo. He desperately tried to fix his hair, but as always, it was untamable.
He wiped down his glasses, and stepped into the hall, only to run into Ron.
"Mate!" Ron exclaimed, looking nervous. "You gotta help, I lost the rings!"
Harry's jaw dropped open as he stared at Ron in disbelief.
"You did what?!"
"Shhh! Hermione will hear you! Now come on, you gotta help me a Neville look for the rings!"
Harry stared at him blankly for a moment, before commanding,
"Accio Rings!"
A pair of wedding bands flew into Harry's hand, and Ron let out a sigh of relief.
"Why didn't I think to do that?" He murmured, running a hand over his face.
Harry shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. Now finish getting ready, you have ten minutes until the ceremony starts!"
Ron went a little pale at that, and Harry jogged back outside.
Thankfully, all of the roses were trimmed and placed nicely in several different vases. Everything appeared to be set up, and Harry let out a deep breath. Guests were beginning to stream in, taking their seats.
After everyone was settled, the wedding party began to line up, ready to walk down the isle.
Harry took Ginny's arm, and once the music started and everyone was ready, he began to walk down the isle.
He saw flashes of light as Pansy Parkinson began taking pictures.
Luna and Neville followed them next, followed by Thomas and Katie Bell.
Ron walked his mother down the isle, then turned and waited for Hermione.
When she stepped out onto the white silk runway, everyone gasped. Her hair was straightened and pulled half up. She had a long, mermaid style dress on, her veil silver and white.
She smiled brightly as Ron began to tear up a bit.
She slowly made her way down the isle, then stopped next to Ron. She silently took his hand, and they turned to face each other.
Kingsley cleared his throat and began to read.
"Welcome. We are here today to celebrate a joyous occasion...."
****
"Mate, I can't believe I'm married...." Ron murmured to Harry.
Luckily, the ceremony had gone well, and they were now moving on to the reception. They danced and ate in a large white tent, decorated with fairy lights.
"Please. You two have been waiting to get married since third year." Draco replied, smirking slightly.
Ron blushed, and Harry laughed.
"Are you going to go dance with your wife?" He asked, gesturing towards Hermione.
Ron groaned.
"I don't really want us to dance alone....the first dance was awkward enough."
Harry glanced at the empty dance floor, then grinned.
He turned to Draco with a mischievous look on his face.
"You won't be alone..." He replied.
With no warning at all, he took Draco's hand, and drug him onto the dance floor.
"Potter!" Draco hissed. "What are you doing?"
Harry laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was so informal of me. May I have this dance?"
Draco struggled to get away.
"No! You may not."
Harry laughed.
"Too bad, you're doing it."
Draco scowled.
"I regret coming here. I knew I would, yet I still came! And what the fuck did you do to my garden, Potter? It was a bloody mess."
"Uh...your mum said I could do it..."
Draco closed his eyes for a moment, letting out an annoyed sigh.
"Potter, some days I hate you."
Harry started laughing again, and despite himself, Draco smiled a little as well.
Other couples were beginning to join them on the dance floor, and Draco relaxed slightly.
"You know Potter, that best man speech you gave was atrocious. 'He's a keeper?' Really?"
Harry shrugged.
"I'm not good at speeches, okay?"
"You said you were glad he didn't end up with Lavender! And she's a guest!"
Harry blushed.
"Okay! I forgot she was here, alright?"
Draco burst out laughing, and Harry followed suit. They were suddenly blinded by a flashing light, then Pansy appeared in front of them, looking incredibly pleased.
"I think that's the best picture I've taken all night." She announced.
Draco scowled and Harry blushed, quickly pulling away from Draco.
"You know what?" He asked. "I think it's time to make a toast."
With that, he walked to the front of the room, clinging a fork against his champagne glass.
Everyone soon fell silent, and the music died.
"Hello everybody! First of all, I just want to thank you all for coming, even though the invitations were kind of late. That was my fault, I apologize."
There were a few chuckles around the room.
"Second of all, I want to make a toast. To Ron and Hermione!" He exclaimed, holding up his glass.
"To Ron and Hermione!" They echoed.
There was a brief moment of silence as everyone took a drink, and then the music started up again.
Harry didn't think that he had ever seen Ron and Hermione look as happy as they did in that moment.