Chapter Text
Severus slammed the roll of parchment down on Harry's desk. "Happy now, Potter?"
Harry leaned forward and unrolled the parchment as Severus continued past him to his desk. Harry's eyes skimmed over the words, relaxing as he took them in. It had taken quite a bit of prodding, but Harry had finally gotten Severus agree to see a healer after a nasty run-in with a few Death Eater wannabes that morning. He claimed to be fine, but Harry could see the way he favored one leg and was instantly concerned.
The clear bill of health in front of him made him feel better.
"Yes, thanks. Wouldn't do to have you collapse on the job."
"Indeed. Then you might actually have to pull your own weight for a change." Severus took off his cloak and sat down at his desk.
Harry rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling. Severus liked to joke that he did more work of the two, but Harry knew if Severus really had a problem with him, he would go to Robards with his complaints instead of saying them directly to Harry.
Harry smiled as he walked over to make a cup of tea from the always-hot kettle in the corner, thinking of when he had first joined the Aurors. Severus had quit teaching after the war, his name finally cleared so he could do what he wanted. Harry would have expected the man to open a potion shop or something, not become an Auror. He would have assumed the man had seen enough darkness for one lifetime.
Then again, he supposed people could say the same about him.
He hadn't known what to expect from Severus. He no longer hated him after learning where his loyalties truly lay, but he had expected Severus to still hate him. He had been surprised when the man showed him respect during their Auror training - more of a formality than any real training for both of them due to their contributions during the war. He had been even more surprised when they had been partnered up and managed to do their job without killing each other.
None of that matched the shock Harry got when he realized that somewhere during the last three years of working together, Harry had fallen in love with Severus.
He finished making the cup of tea and walked it over to Severus, doing his best to ignore the little jolt he got every time Severus met his gaze. He set the tea down on the man's desk, along with a bar of the man's favorite chocolate. "Don't get too comfortable. They want us to start clearing out that property today."
"I don't need you to feed me," said Severus, though he took the tea and chocolate.
"When was the last time you ate?" asked Harry.
"How big is the property they need us to check?"
Harry smiled as Severus ignored his question. He liked making sure the man was taken care of. He tried not to think about how much simpler that would be to do if they lived together, if he could pack him lunch every day and make sure he had a hot meal when he got home…but no. That would never happen. Severus was seeing someone, and even if it wasn't serious, it still showed that he wasn't interested in Harry and never would be. Looking after him at work would be enough.
"About half the size of Malfoy Manor from what I've heard. I figured we could at least go see it today so we could give Robards an estimate for how long we think it should take to go through everything."
"They shouldn't need Aurors to go through an abandoned house." Severus drank his tea.
Harry shrugged. "They want to make sure there's nothing dangerous in there. Given the fact that Davis was skilled enough to hit you before we brought him down, I'd say the fear is justified."
"He was lucky, not skilled."
"My mistake. Still, better safe than sorry."
Severus let out a disgruntled sound, but then he went back to drinking his tea, so Harry didn't take it too seriously. Despite his warning not to get too comfortable, he waited until Severus had finished both the tea and the chocolate before pulling on his cloak and suggesting they go look at the house.
It looked normal from the outside, or at least normal for someone who grew up in mansions. Harry still never got used to houses this big, no matter how many times he was sent to investigate them for dark magic. Houses like this made Grimmauld Place seem small, and that was already huge compared to the house on Privet Drive. Hell, even his own place was smaller than Privet Drive. He couldn't imagine living somewhere like this. So many rooms…it would just seem so empty. He supposed it would be different if one had a big family or lots of friends who visited.
Or if someone used this place as some sort of meeting place for dangerous wizards trying to become the next dark lord.
That thought pulled Harry's mind away from the depressive thoughts. He and Severus explored the outside first, checking to make sure the wards wouldn't injure them if they entered and then setting up their own to make sure that no one new would be able to enter without their knowledge while they were doing their investigation. Then they went inside, doing a general sweep of all of the rooms to make sure nothing would immediately harm them.
"I don't think it should take that long to go through everything," said Harry as they finished up the top floor. "Probably just a few days. What do you think?"
"Rushing can get you killed," said Severus. "A week should suffice. We might not need the full time, but that is preferable to needing an extension."
Harry supposed he should have already known that would be Severus's answer. He nodded and they headed back downstairs. "Sure. That works for me. I'll go tell Robards. You can head on home, if you want. I…assume you have plans tonight?"
Harry winced as he asked, half wishing he hadn't.
"I don't know yet. It's not exactly a 'plan ahead' sort of relationship. We see each other when we have time."
Harry frowned at that. If he was the one dating Severus, he would make time to see him as much as humanly possible. He didn't know much about this Karl guy Severus was seeing, but he knew he hated him - and not because he was jealous. Well, okay, not just because he was jealous. Severus had been seeing the guy for months now, but it still didn't sound like anything serious. It seemed like the man only saw Severus when he was bored. Severus seemed to see him maybe once a week, and he never came to any of the after work hang outs with the other Aurors and their partners. From what Severus said, the man never really wanted to go anywhere in public. Severus said he was fine with all of this, and maybe he was, but Harry still hated it.
He hated that Severus didn't seem to think he deserved better. He hated that Severus was content to be treated like some dirty little secret. He hated that Severus didn't get to be with someone who made him a priority. He hated that Severus didn't get to see what it was like to be with someone who was proud of him.
He hated that no matter how awful Karl seemed, Severus still preferred him to Harry.
But no, that didn't matter. Severus was allowed to like anyone he wanted, even if Harry didn't understand it. He just wanted Severus to be happy. It didn't seem like this relationship was doing that, but Severus was a very private man. Maybe he was truly happy with this Karl guy and just didn't outwardly show it at work.
He hoped that was the case. Severus deserved to be happy more than anyone else Harry knew.
"You can still head home if you want," said Harry, hoping his tone didn't reflect any of his inner turmoil. "It doesn't take two people to give an estimate."
Severus nodded. "Tomorrow, then."
Harry nodded back and watched as Severus Apparated away. He stayed standing there for a few minutes, making sure he had a firm grip on his emotions before heading back to the office.
*~*
Severus Apparated home and then sighed. Perhaps he shouldn't have told Harry that he and Karl never made time to see each other. That made it look like he was Karl's backup plan, and while that was true, that wasn't exactly something Harry needed to know. Then again, at least he was dating someone. He couldn't remember the last time Harry mentioned going on a date. Harry could hardly think he was pathetic if he had a better dating life than the Boy Who Lived, could he? Then again, Harry probably wasn't dating anyone because he had high standards and didn't settle for scraps like Severus did.
As Severus started making dinner, he couldn't help but picture a different life, one where he somehow lived up to Harry's standards and was dating him instead. In this life, he was making dinner for him and Harry right now, not just himself. Harry would make plans in advance, so he would always know when to expect him and when not to, unlike Karl, who dropped by maybe once a week and refused to stay the night unless he was too drunk to Apparate back home.
But no, these were dangerous thoughts. He had learned at a young age not to hope for too much. Every time he had hoped for something as a child, he had been let down. Every time he thought he found a new friend, he was laughed at. Every time he thought he could make his father proud, he was scolded. It was better not to wish for anything. Set your goals as low as possible, and you were much less likely to be disappointed.
Dreaming about unattainable people would never lead to anything good. That was part of why he had started seeing Karl in the first place: something was better than nothing.
Some days, though, that was hard to remember.