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22nd June, 1998
It started with a drunken kiss after the reluctant acceptance of an Order of Merlin, second class. Severus wasn’t sure if he was more appalled that he’d been awarded one at all, or if he was just offended that it was merely second class.
Potter had been given a first class Order of Merlin, of course. He’d seemed as reluctant as Severus himself when he’d stepped onto the stage to shake hands with the interim—undoubtedly soon to be voted in officially—Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The Ball that had come after the presentation ceremony had been as dull as any, but the whiskey had been good quality, and Severus found himself staying long after it would have been socially acceptable to leave.
Potter seemed to have taken a liking to the whiskey as well, if the way that Miss Granger was watching him with concern was anything to judge on.
Severus tried his hardest not to care, he really did. His days of looking after the last remaining Potter were over after all; his vow was fulfilled, there was no reason for him to care what Potter was doing now.
None of that stopped him from following Potter out onto the balcony when he saw him slip past the curtain as the clock ticked nearer to midnight.
He hadn’t intended to actually draw the younger man—because he was a man now, that much was clear for anyone to see—into conversation, and he definitely hadn’t meant to stand close enough that his lips were a distraction.
He blamed the kiss on the whiskey, and swept from the balcony, and the ballroom, in a hurry befitting a man with hellhounds on his heels.
It was a drunken mistake, that was all.
He would forget all about it, and he was sure that Potter would do the same.
It meant nothing.
…
29th August, 1998
Potter hadn’t forgotten about it. That much had been immediately obvious in the way he blushed furiously the moment their eyes met across the crowds of people gathered on the grounds of Hogwarts.
Severus looked away, keeping his attention firmly on making sure that people were making their way to the seats that had been laid out on the lawn, facing the school.
When every seat was full, Severus took his place at the podium and waited for silence before he read his pre-written speech, acknowledging the battle, the lives lost, and then the announcement of the reopening of Hogwarts, which was the reason they were there anyway.
When he was done, Severus took a seat and listened to Minerva speak, and then Minister Shackleboly, who had been voted into office legitimately, just as Severus had foreseen months earlier.
Severus found his eyes repeatedly being drawn towards Potter, who seemed to be doing his utmost best to not look at Severus once. The young man was sandwiched, as always, between Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, and Severus noticed—to his amusement—the way that the youngest, and only female, Weasley seemed rather put out by that.
He vaguely remembered hearing staffroom gossip of a romance between the two of them in Potter’s sixth year, but it seemed that it hadn’t been taken up again now that the war was done.
Severus tried not to think about why that was so satisfying.
When the speeches were over, the elves appeared with platters of nibbles and champagne flutes, and the crowd dispersed from the seats to mingle and settle into groups of their own choosing.
Severus remained with the teachers for a while, but again, his eyes found Potter again and again. He stood amongst a gaggle of Weasleys and his school yearmates, but Severus couldn’t help but notice that he looked uncomfortable.
Not surprising, when one thought about his last visit to the castle, but Severus was more interested in the way that nobody else seemed to notice his discomfort.
“You should go and speak to him.”
Severus would never admit to being startled, but he was amazed that Poppy had managed to stand so close to him without him realising.
“Who?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
“Harry,” she said, nodding her head towards the source of Severus’ interest. “He looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up, the poor thing.”
“Why on earth do you think that speaking with me will make him any more comfortable?” Severus asked, looking askance at the healer.
She rolled her eyes. “We all heard what he said to… him, Severus. He respects you, possibly even admires you, despite your differences over the years.”
Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head. The day that Potter admired him was the day that Severus would give up brewing potions.
“Suit yourself,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
He watched her step over to join Minerva, and when he turned back to the crowd—he wouldn’t admit to looking specifically at Potter, even in his own mind—he found that there was suddenly a distinct lack of black amongst the red hair.
Severus tried not to think about Potter’s sudden absence, but as the afternoon wore on, and he still didn’t see him again, he set to searching intently. A flash of movement across the grounds caught his eye, and he realised that there was a single person standing by the monument that had been placed for Dumbledore.
Ignoring the way his mind practically screamed at him to leave Potter alone, Severus made his way across the lawn.
It felt like everybody was watching him, but he knew that was nothing but his own paranoia, a by-product of the life he’d lived.
“Potter.”
The man in question turned to look over his shoulder and gave Severus a weary smile.
“Headmaster,” he greeted, respectfully, before he turned back to the tomb that encased the man that led both of them by the nose for years.
“You should be with your friends,” Severus pointed out, stepping closer, until they were standing shoulder to shoulder.
“I see them all the time,” Potter pointed out. “It’s not often that I’ll be back here, I thought that I should come and say hi.”
Severus opened and then closed his mouth, swallowing the harsh words that would do nobody any good. While once upon a time he’d have taken great pleasure in letting them fly, he’d promised himself that he’d let go of the bitterness with the end of the war.
It was slow progress, but any progress was still good, he supposed.
“You… you’re welcome to come and speak with him in my office,” Severus offered after a moment. “I know speaking to a portrait isn’t quite the same, but…” he trailed off.
Potter wrinkled his nose delicately. “Thank you. Not today, I think. I’m still a little… mixed up about Dumbledore, you know? There’s…” he shook his head. “There’s still a lot for me to unpack before I speak to him, even if it is just a portrait of him.”
“Understandable.”
Potter looked at him for a moment, and then he ducked his head, his cheeks pink once more. “I should go and find Ron and Hermione. We’ve all got an early start in the morning.”
He turned towards the school, and Severus fell into step beside him.
“It’s good to see her whole again,” Potter said, nodding at the castle with a small smile. “I wondered if it would be done in time for the new school year.”
“I wondered myself, at times. You know that you’re still welcome to return for your seventh year? Quite a few students in your year group are returning.”
Potter shook his head. “I… no. I couldn’t, not after the last year. Ron and I are going straight into the Auror Academy, but I’ll study for my NEWTs at the same time and take them at the Ministry next year.”
Severus simply nodded, not sure why he felt so let down that Potter wasn’t going to return for one last year at Hogwarts.
“I should—” Potter nodded to his friends. “It was good to see you, Headmaster. You’re looking well.”
Severus blinked at him, at the light flush still colouring his cheeks, and then said, “So are you, Potter. Adulthood suits you.”
Severus watched him walk away, and then forced himself to turn back to the castle. The gathering on the lawn was thinning out, and he had paperwork to do.
…
2nd May, 1999
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Severus turned to see Potter joining him on the balcony. It was the same one they’d kissed on, not a full year ago.
“The joys of being Headmaster, I’m afraid,” Severus replied. “Minerva informs me that ‘despite my wish to be a dungeon dweller forever, I must keep up appearances’.”
Potter chuckled at the not-terrible impression of Minerva and leant against the railing that enclosed the balcony.
“Hermione told me something very similar,” he admitted. “And Kingsley threatened to make me do everyone’s paperwork for a moment if I didn’t show up.”
Severus snorted.
“How’s Hogwarts?” Potter asked, looking out over the flowerbeds. “Hermione said something about the castle being up to all kinds of mischief, since the rebuild.”
“She’s enjoying the lack of fear,” Severus replied, rolling his eyes. “Our castle is quite the prankster when left to her own devices.”
Potter chuckled lightly. “I kind of wish that I’d come back, just to see that.”
Severus blamed his exhaustion for offering, “You’re always welcome to pay a visit, Potter.”
The surprise on Potter’s face was gratifying, if nothing else, and he watched the young man smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“How is the Auror Academy treating you? The Prophet seems to be under the impression that you’re going to be able to handle the department all on your own within the next few weeks, if one was to believe the glowing reports.”
Potter rolled his eyes. “The Prophet is a rag, everybody knows that. Training is fine. I…” He shook his head.
Severus waited for the end of the sentence, and when it didn’t come, he arched his eyebrows. “Spit it out, Potter.”
“I’m not sure that it’s for me. Being an Auror, I mean.”
“Oh?”
“I just… I guess I thought that it was what I was good at. That it was all I could be good at. I’m just not sure that I want to spend the rest of my life chasing bad guys.”
“That’s… understandable. What do you want to do, Potter?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“I think that you need to think about it,” Severus pointed out. “There’s little point living in a world of freedom, if you’re not free to be, and do, what you want.”
“I know. I guess I just… thought it was what I should do, you know? It was certainly what was expected of me.”
“Screw expectation.”
Severus turned to look at him, just as Potter did the same. He saw the green eyes drop to his lips, and before he could give himself time to think about it, he moved closer, cupping Potter’s cheek with his hand as he pressed their lips together.
Potter reacted to the kiss immediately, kissing back as his hand slipped up to grip at Severus’ robes, while Severus' other hand slipped into Potter’s hair.
They teased one another, their tongues dancing sensually, teeth nipping at bottom lips, only parting when the need to breath overcame their wish to keep kissing, for fear that the real world would intrude upon them the moment their lips parted.
They stared at each other, panting, for a few moments, as they caught their breath.
It was Potter’s turn to run, and he stepped back, swallowing hard. “Thank you for the talk, Headmaster. I should…” he trailed off as he slipped back inside, and when Severus followed him a few minutes later, he was nowhere to be found.
Severus leant back against the wall and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn’t blame it on the whiskey this time; he’d purposefully only had two drinks all night.
So, if it wasn’t the alcohol, what was it about Potter that Severus couldn’t seem to resist?
…
10th July, 1999
Potter was in the crowd of people congratulating the graduates; it wasn’t a surprise, given Miss Granger and Miss Weasley were both in the graduating class, but Severus found himself unsure of what to do.
Should he ignore the man completely, in an attempt to create a distance that he felt should be between them, even if he didn’t particularly want it? Should he try to speak to him, maybe ask him if he’d made a decision about his career choices?
Severus loathed being so indecisive, but he’d never been exactly good at people as a general rule, and despite his recent attempts to be a better person in general, it wasn’t like he could change overnight.
Nor did he truly want to change all of himself.
He did want to change this indecisiveness though, because dithering over something as minor as this was something he’d flay others for with little regret.
Squaring his shoulders, Severus walked through the crowd to where Potter was standing with Miss Granger. When he reached them, he nodded to Miss Granger, who smiled at him before she wandered off to find, most likely, a Weasley—which one, Severus didn’t care—leaving him alone with Potter.
“Headmaster,” Potter greeted, with a small smile and a nod of his head.
“Potter.”
There was a stilted pause, before Potter asked, “How are you? Looking forward to the summer holidays?”
Severus blinked at him. “Is this what we’ve been reduced to? Small talk? Really, Potter?”
Potter snorted. “What else was I supposed to ask? Kissed anyone else recently?”
Severus laughed, he couldn’t help himself. “That’s a conversation starter, I suppose. I actually came over to inquire after your choice in career, and if you’ve come to any kind of a decision yet?”
Potter didn’t seem to know what to make of that for a moment, and then he smiled, and it was a smile that Severus had only ever seen him aim at the people he truly cared about. It was a real smile, and Severus’ breath caught in his chest.
“I’m waiting on my NEWT scores at the moment,” he admitted. “If I get the scores I need, I’ll be transferring to Saint Mungo’s as an apprentice healer in September.”
“Healer Potter,” Severus murmured, and then nodded. “I find that a lot more fitting for you than Auror Potter, if I do say so myself.”
“Thanks.”
Before Severus could say anything else, Miss Granger called Potter’s name, waving her hand at him excitedly over something.
“I should, uh—”
“Go,” Severus finished for him. “And Potter?”
“Yes?”
“Good luck with Healer training.”
“I don’t know if—”
“You’ll get them. Good luck.”
And there was that smile again, green eyes sparkling with a happiness seldom seen in them. “Thank you, Sir.”
…
2nd May, 2002
Severus was surprised to see Potter walk into the ballroom about twenty minutes after he’d entered himself. He hadn’t been at the Memorial Balls for the last couple of years. From what Severus had heard, he’d thrown himself into Healer training, and rarely came up for air.
Potter caught his eye across the room and raised the glass he was holding in greeting. Severus nodded back to him, thin lips tilting up slightly.
He watched Potter subtly for about an hour, and realised that it was like looking at an entirely different man. The way he held himself was more confident, like he was finally comfortable in his own skin in a way he’d never been before. He seemed to smile and laugh easier than ever, and there was a very subtle glow around him, much the way that Dumbledore had held around himself once upon a time, the ambient power enough to let people know that, despite his good nature, he was a threat if played with.
The power… Severus had always found power intoxicating; it’s what had led him to serve not one, but two, of the more powerful wizards Britain had ever seen, and he should have known that it was what drew him to Potter.
He sipped at his drink and turned away, forcing his concentration onto the conversation around him.
He ignored the knowing look in Kingsley’s eye when the Minister glanced over at Potter, and then back at Severus.
The bastard looked far too amused with himself.
“This is becoming a habit.”
Potter didn’t even turn around when he spoke, but then, Severus wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t been able to sneak up on him. Not only was Potter powerful, but he’d lived on the run for a year, and had completed the first year of the Auror Academy with top marks before he’d switched over to the Healer programme.
It was colder on the balcony this year, and Severus pulled his cloak tighter around him as he joined Potter at the railings.
“How is Healer training suiting you?” Severus asked, instead of replying to Potter’s opening comment.
Potter smiled. “It’s good, I really love it. Hermione says that it caters better to my ‘saving people complex’ and she’s probably right, but it just feels good to help instead of harm, even if the harm was done in the name of helping. You know?”
“I do. It suits you. You’ve certainly grown in confidence since the last time I saw you.”
Potter nodded. “It’s been a couple of years, hasn’t it? I didn’t realise it had been so long until I saw you in there.”
Severus wasn’t sure how he felt about that; he’d known exactly how long it had been since he’d last seen Potter, with embarrassing precision. Not that he was going to admit as much.
Potter looked at him, and Severus knew what he was thinking without him having to say anything. Was it a good idea to kiss him? No. Irrefutably not.
But Severus knew that he was going to do it anyway. Except…
“Maybe we should get out of here,” Potter suggested, quietly.
That stung, Severus could admit to himself. It wasn’t like he intended to force Potter to kiss—
“I meant together,” Potter clarified, apparently reading something on Severus’ face that he hadn’t intended to broadcast. “Kissing on the balcony is a great tradition, and all, but it’s sodding cold, and…”
And?”
“I want more than a kiss, Severus.”
…
12th April, 2004
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Harry admitted, looking down at his hands.
Severus shook his head. “It’s fine. She’s asking for you.”
Harry nodded, swallowing hard, but he made no attempt to go into the nearby room. “How is she?”
“She is… ill,” Severus admitted, not wanting to lie. “But she is also as strong as she ever was, Harry. You can do this.”
Harry nodded again, and then looked up to meet Severus’ eyes. “Will you wait for me?”
Severus hesitated. Should he? He hadn’t seen Harry since they’d spent the night together almost two years ago, it seemed odd that Harry would want to be near him now, when he’d left without looking back then.
Nodding silently, Severus settled into one of the chairs outside the room. Harry watched him for a long minute, and then entered the private room just off to the side of the Hospital Wing.
Severus pondered leaving, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Harry had looked so… forlorn when he’d gone into the room, and Severus didn’t want to leave him to deal with it himself. Not if he could help it.
Merlin, he was so fucked.
He shouldn’t care about Harry—Potter, though he hadn’t been able to call him that since that night—but he couldn’t seem to help it. It was almost like the man had been coded into Severus’ DNA. He just couldn’t seem to shake the need to care that he was okay.
He didn’t know how long he sat there waiting, but eventually, the door opened, and Harry came out. His face was tear streaked, his green eyes glimmering with more wetness.
“She’s gone.”
Severus stared, and then got up. As he passed Harry, he reached up to squeeze his shoulder, and then entered the room to see for himself that Minerva McGonagall, the ever strong and fierce lion, had gone.
Poppy joined him a few moments later, and he left his… his friend in her capable hands. When he left the room, for a moment, he thought that Harry had left, but then he saw him down the corridor, looking out of the window onto the grounds.
Severus joined him quietly.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Harry whispered. “She always seemed so… so…”
“I know.”
Harry leant into him, his face pressed against Severus’ shoulder, and after only a split second of hesitation, Severus put his arms around him and held him close, letting his own tears fall silently into Harry’s perpetually messy hair.
They stayed that way for what could have been a minute or an hour, until they heard the door to Minerva’s room open. Harry stepped away, and Severus wiped his own face, as Poppy stepped into the corridor.
“I’ll contact the Ministry,” she said, quietly. “And the funeral directors.”
Severus nodded. “Thank you, Poppy. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
She nodded and turned to walk down the corridor, towards the Hospital Wing, and her office.
Severus turned back to Harry to see him straightening his robes.
“I should go. I… thank you.”
“You don’t have to,” Severus offered, softly.
Looking up to meet his eyes, Harry offered a tiny smile. “I do. We both know what will happen if I stay, and I can’t keep doing that to you. Not when… Not when I can’t offer you anything else.”
“I don’t mind.”
“It’s not fair to you, Severus. Me being here at all isn’t really, but—”
“I want you to stay. I’m not asking you for any promises, Harry. Just… stay. Just for tonight.”
Harry stared at him for a long moment, and then nodded, sagging slightly where he stood. “Okay. Okay, I’ll stay. Thank you.”
Severus simply nodded.
What else could he do?
…
14th July, 2007
“Severus?”
Severus turned around to see Harry smiling at him. He’d stopped off in the Leaky Cauldron for a quick drink after a trip to Slug and Jiggers, but he hadn’t expected to run into Harry while he was there.
Not that he wasn’t happy to see him.
He was. Perhaps too happy.
“Harry. It’s good to see you, you look well.”
“So do you. I was just passing through on my way to Flourish and Blotts, but I’ve time for a quick drink, if you don’t mind the company?”
“By all means,” Severus replied, gesturing to the stool beside his own. “How have you been?”
“Good,” Harry replied, smiling. “I’ve got my own ward at the Hospital now. It’s a lot of extra work, but it’s great. How are you, how’s Hogwarts?”
“She’s as mischievous as ever,” Severus smiled, and took a sip of his drink. “And I’m well. Busy, but given idleness has never been kind, I rather prefer it that way.”
Harry nodded. “I know the feeling.”
There was a slightly stilted pause, and then Harry chuckled. “This is weird, isn’t it?”
“I… yes,” Severus admitted. “But still a happy surprise. It truly is good to see you, Harry.”
“You too. Tell me about Hogwarts?”
And Severus did. And they didn’t kiss, and they didn’t get a room, and Harry parted with a slightly awkward hug to pick up a book, and then get to work, but Severus…
Well, he enjoyed it.
And wasn’t that just something.
…
8th January, 2008
Severus woke up slowly, his head pounding harshly. Opening his eyes to an unfamiliar room put him instantly on edge, but he relaxed slightly when he realised that it was clearly a hospital room; though not one at Hogwarts, which was mildly concerning.
Turning his head, he blinked when he saw Harry sitting in the chair beside the bed, asleep in what had to be the most uncomfortable position ever, his neck bent at an awful angle.
“Harry,” he murmured, struggling to sit up on the bed.
Harry’s head shot up, and then groaned, one hand instinctively moving to massage his neck as he looked at Severus. “Oh. You’re awake.”
“It would appear that way,” Severus agreed. “Care to tell me why I feel like Hippogriffs have been trampling about in my skull?”
“That’ll be the experimental potion that blew up in your face,” Harry replied, shaking his head. “You… I was scared to death. I thought that you were going to… shit. You’re going to be okay, and no, before you say it, this is not my usual bedside manner.”
“I should hope not,” Severus said, lightly. He reached out his hand and Harry caught it in his own almost immediately. Severus squeezed it gently. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“I was on duty when Poppy called it in. I think I may have scared my colleagues who were on duty with me, to be honest.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Three days,” Harry said, looking away.
“Harry—”
“Don’t.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“Severus. Don’t.”
Severus nodded, taking in Harry’s appearance. Fully awake now, it was clear to see that Harry hadn’t left his side. He had scruff on his usually clean shaven face, his healer robes were crinkled and stained, and he looked exhausted.
“Please don’t ever do this again,” Harry whispered. “I… I don’t know what I’d do if you died.”
Severus squeezed his hand again. “I’ll do my best not to, Harry.”
…
11th August, 2010
“Hey,” Harry said, hugging Severus in greeting. “I wasn’t expecting you, is everything okay?”
“I was going to send you a letter,” Severus admitted, as he followed Harry into the homely cottage he’d made his own. “But then I figured that I’d prefer to bring you my proposition in person.”
“Severus! You know I’m not that kinda gal!”
Severus snorted. “Idiot.”
“I’ll get us some lemonade—unless you want tea—and we can sit out in the garden. It’s rare that I have a whole day off to enjoy the sunshine.”
“Lemonade is fine.”
Severus was guided out into the back, where a picturesque garden awaited them. He’d seen it before; since his stay in the hospital, the two of them had become honest-to-Merlin friends, if such a thing was to be believed, and he often visited Harry at his cottage when he had a day off.
“So,” Harry said, as he sat down, curling his legs beneath him in the bucket-like patio chair he favoured. “Proposition?”
“Poppy is retiring,” Severus said, smiling slightly. “Which means that I—Hogwarts—is in need of a new healer.”
Harry stared at him. “You want me to… come and work at Hogwarts?”
“I do.”
“I… don’t know what to say.”
Severus pulled an envelope from his pocket. “I’ve brought you the contract, you have a week or so to—”
“I’ll do it,” Harry interrupted, grinning widely. “I… I’d love to come back to Hogwarts.”
Severus smiled. “Excellent.”
…
31st October, 2010
Severus found Harry standing at the top of the Astronomy Tower by one of the openings, looking out at the grounds, shrouded in darkness as they were. He’d had a feeling he would; even as a student, Harry had used the tower as a place to think, so it was no surprise that he was still doing it now as an adult.
He pressed his hands to Harry’s shoulders, smiling slightly when Harry leant back into him automatically.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Harry replied, softly. “Just… I guess I don’t really feel like being around people today, you know?”
“I understand,” Severus replied.
Harry curled into Severus slightly, and Severus shifted, so that he had his arms around him, rather than just his hands on his shoulders.
“I know that I shouldn’t,” Harry admitted quietly, almost like he was fighting with himself to get the words out. “I know it could ruin everything we have, and I don’t want to ruin anything, because we’re… we’re so good right now, Severus, but—”
“You can stay with me tonight,” Severus murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to Harry’s neck. “It will only ruin things if we let it.”
Harry turned in his arms and wrapped his own around Severus’ waist. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Harry.”
…
12th February, 2011
Severus brewed furiously, potion after potion to try and keep up with the demand on the Hospital Wing. Every time he delivered another batch, Harry looked closer and closer to the edge of exhaustion.
Never, in all of Severus’ time at Hogwarts, had they dealt with an outbreak of such a vicious—and infectious—variant of Dragon-Pox, and he truly hoped that they never would again.
With a final stir of his cauldron, Severus killed the heat and waited for the potion to cool enough to be decanted. While he waited, he took a quick shower and changed his robes for a clean pair or black trousers and a white shirt.
He didn’t see much point in dressing in yet another robe to add to the laundry pile of robes he’d worn each time he’d visited the Hospital Wing.
This latest batch of Pox-cure should mean that they were caught up, and that they had enough triple doses to heal everyone currently down with it. He could only hope that they’d managed to quarantine those affected in time before the rest of the school caught it.
Once he’d decanted the potion, he set the vials in a crate and began the long walk from the dungeon to the Hospital Wing. On any regular day, he wouldn’t see it as such a journey, but having been awake for literal days, and brewing for almost all of that, Severus was tired.
He entered the Hospital Wing to find Harry standing in the middle of the floor, looking utterly lost. He turned when he heard the door open and smiled helplessly at Severus.
“I was doing something, but Merlin knows what that thing was,” he admitted, when Severus raised a questioning eye at him.
“If you don’t sleep soon, Harry, you’re going to fall over.”
“Bold of you to think that I didn’t already fall over multiple times during the last few days,” Harry replied, rolling his eyes at himself. He looked at the crate Seevrus had come to deliver. “I love you.”
Severus blinked at him.
Harry seemed to realise what he’d said, and for a moment, Severus thought that he was going to recant it, but surprisingly, he just shrugged. “I’m too tired to try and backtrack that, so I’ll just save the mortification for after I’ve had some sleep.”
He made grabby hands for the crate, and Severus handed it over.
Despite his exhaustion, Harry admitted the potion to the remaining patients with a competent ease, and Severus slumped down in an armchair by the office door to watch him work.
I love you.
The words echoed in his head. Harry would never have said them if he wasn’t so tired, but then… he meant them. Severus knew that, hell, he’d known it for years. Neither of them could put a label on what was between them, but there was love mixed in with the myriad of other things.
From both sides.
When Harry had finished administering the potion, he walked towards Severus. He was about to walk past him, into the office, when Severus snagged his hand and tugged him onto his lap.
“I love you too,” he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to Harry’s cheek. “So you can either not do the mortification at all, or we’ll do it together after a week of sleep.”
Harry snorted out a chuckle. “Sounds great.”
He leant against Severus for a moment, taking just a minute to rest, before he pushed himself back to his feet and walked into the office to record the application of the third potion to his notes.
When he was done, he returned to Severus’ side, letting his hand sit on top of his shoulder.
“You should get some rest,” Severus advised. “Everyone is sleeping, and by the morning, the potion should have had the desired effect.”
Harry nodded, and then chuckled. “I think I’m actually too tired to sleep, and yes, I realise exactly how ridiculous that is.”
Severus closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. “I think I know the feeling. Come with me? I’ve got to check the grounds before I retire for the evening. The fresh air might help.”
Harry wrinkled his nose, but then nodded his head, and let Severus lead him from the Hospital Wing. Severus knew that he had all manner of alerts set, plus a few of the elves were allocated to the Hospital Wing just in case, so the patients were safe enough.
As they reached the doors in the Entrance Hall, Severus reached out and snagged Harry’s hand with his own, lacing their fingers together. They walked the grounds in silence, the cool night air sweeping over them.
It was a nice night.
“You don’t actually have to do this every night, do you?” Harry asked, looking up at him.
Severus shook his head. “No. There are ways to check the grounds from my office, but I like the chance to just… relax, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day.”
Harry nodded.
Severus let go of his hand for a moment to check the gates, and then chuckled, because despite his back being turned for only a few moments, Harry had managed to trip over thin air and was on the ground, looking startled.
“I have no idea how that happened,” he admitted, blinking up at Severus.
Severus just shook his head. “How you’ve managed to remain alive for so many years is beyond me. You’re an unmitigated disaster, Mr Potter.”
“I… cannot argue with that statement,” Harry replied, pushing himself to his feet with some effort. “But I think if I don’t find a stable place to lie down soon, I might just stay wherever the hell I fall next, so I should probably head to bed.”
Severus reached out for his hand again, and turned Harry around so that they were facing the school. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your quarters. Otherwise, I’ll be finding you on the stairs in the morning, fast asleep with the students prancing all over you.”
When they reached Harry’s quarters, Harry looked up at him with a shy smile. “Thanks for walking me back.”
Severus lifted his hand to stroke his cheek. “Anytime, Harry.”
Harry turned his face and pressed his lips against Severus’ palm. “I don’t know what this is,” he admitted, looking back at Severus. “But I’m done running from it.”
Smiling, Severus leant down to press a gentle kiss to Harry’s lips. “Me too. I’ll make you dinner this weekend, and we’ll talk, okay?”
Eyes gleaming, Harry nodded. “Perfect. Goodnight, Severus.”
“Goodnight, love.”