magic, actually - a one-off celebratory piece
Story: magic, actually
Disclaimer: Only the plot, such as it is, is mine. Everything else is owned by JKR and her affiliates, all of whom are far richer than I'll ever be.
Rating: Rather G-rated, this one. (who knew I had it in me, eh? *wink*) Maybe a little bit of adult themes.
Spoilers: TBWLAB, CoMT
Summary: Six glimpses into the thoughts of some of Severus & Harry's friends.
Author's Note: This is my little celebratory bit o'fluff to mark the flist of this journal hitting the magic One Hundred. :) As I post this, there are now 118 people on the flist - I'm still stunned. Thank-you all!
George and Fred Weasley looked up from their cups of tea at the exact same moment. 'Together?' they said at the same time, their faces a mirror of one another's look of utter incredulity.
'You mean "together" as in, they were there at the same time?' asked Fred.
'Or "together" as in they were there at the same time with their tongues down each other's throats?' asked George.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she finished stirring her own cup of tea and set the teaspoon down on the kitchen table. 'I don't mean either of those,' she replied. 'I mean they're just… together.' She shrugged a little, for lack of any more elucidating description than that. 'I mean, really! Are you both trying to tell me you didn't work it out for yourselves toward the end of the war? The last few days especially?'
The twins exchanged a look before gazing back across the table at her. 'Of course we noticed,' said George. 'It's just that we're always suspecting things like that about people,' added Fred. 'Regardless of if we're actually right or not,' they finished at the same time. They shrugged in unison. 'Who'da thought we'd turn out to be right about those two?!' George grinned cheekily.
'So,' prodded Fred, 'did they actually come out and tell you they were together?'
Hermione peered into the depths of her cuppa for a moment. 'Not expressly, no. But they don't need to! You should see them together… Professor Snape's almost, almost NICE when Harry's there.' She looked, for a moment, as though she was trying to hold back a slight smirk at the thought. 'And it's just… the way they are around each other, I suppose. Honestly, they're a couple. I'd bet my books on it.'
Fred and George blinked at the same time. 'Well,' said Fred, 'That certainly sounds definite.'
'Hooray for old Snapey, eh?' George smiled. 'Got himself a nice bit of arse there, he has.'
'George!' Hermione admonished him, blushing.
'Well, he has!' protested George. 'Harry's a great looking bloke!'
'And sexy as all hell!' added Fred.
'Cor, just imagine them at it!' George's eyes glinted as he elbowed his brother.
'All that black hair!' mused Fred.
'And all that pale skin!' agreed George.
Both twins licked their lips absent-mindedly, their minds obviously playing out identical sordid images for their entertainment.
'All that powerful magic,' murmured Hermione.
Fred and George both snapped out of their sexual daydreams and locked matching gazes onto the young woman sitting across the table from them. Slowly, 'Miony sensed their eyes upon her and looked up to meet them. 'Well, it's true,' she pointed out, a slight huffiness creeping into her tone. 'They ARE two of the strongest wizards alive at this point in history. Their powers combined would be, well, it'd be quite something, I should imagine.'
The three companions sat in silence for several minutes in their York kitchen, drinking their tea quietly and contemplating the awesome power of a partnership between Severus Snape and Harry Potter.
'Anyway, love,' George finally spoke up. 'Why were you visiting them there anyhow?'
Hermione sat up a little straighter and held her teacup more tightly in front of herself. 'Well.' Her gaze seemed to settle on one spot in the middle of the table, almost reaching the twins on the other side but not quite. 'I've, er, I've actually got something I have to tell you both about. Something rather important, really.'
The Three Broomsticks was absurdly busy for a mid-week afternoon. Neville weaved his way in and out of the tightly packed crowd, trying his best to keep a firm hold on the two pints of bitter in his hands. Amazingly, he made it to the table he and Ron had managed to snaffle and was able to plonk the beers down without having spilt a single drop on the way back from the bar.
'Ah, cheers, Neville,' said Ron as his pint was scooted along the tabletop to him.
Neville pulled his teacher's robes around himself and slid into the booth, facing his old school friend over the tops of their beers. 'Remember I can only stay for this one though. Gotta get back for Harry's speech before dinner tonight.' He picked up his pint and clunked it against Ron's. 'Cheers.'
'I bloody needed that.' Ron licked foam off his mouth after his first long swig. 'So anyway, speaking of Harry - how'd you know about him and Snape?' he picked up their conversation exactly where they'd left it when Neville had gone to the bar.
'Well, I knew they were friends. I had lunch with them one day, actually. Toward the end of the war.'
Ron's eyes went wide. 'How'd you manage that?'
'Oh, it wasn't planned or anything.' Neville smiled shyly. 'I just happened to be in the school kitchens one day when they came in for lunch. I'd just taken on the Herbology job. Harry said Snape was doing a potion for him, something for the war effort.' Neville shrugged. 'They were acting really comfy with each other. And Snape wasn't even… mean. Or anything! Just kind of like a normal person.'
'Harry's influence,' Ron suggested. Both boys nodded.
Neville picked absent-mindedly at the corner of his beer coaster. 'So you, um, reckon they're more than just friends, then?'
Ron took another drink from his pint. 'I know they are, mate. Harry's told me himself.'
'I didn't know Harry liked other boys.'
'Neither did I!' Ron pulled a bit of a face. 'To be honest, though, I don't know how much of all that sort of stuff Harry'd worked out. Don't s'pose he really had much time for getting himself sorted the last few years.'
Neville nodded. 'I guess. But in other ways, Harry had to grow up quicker than the rest of us, too. Always just so much responsibility for him, wasn't there?'
Ron crossed his forearms on the edge of the table and sighed hard enough to faintly disturb the head on top of his beer. 'Sometimes,' he said quietly, very much for Neville's ears only, 'I can't get images of them out of me head.' He looked up at his friend with a somewhat miserable expression. 'I think about them… you know… in bed and stuff… and my brain just keeps on and on thinking about it. I can't make it stop.'
Neville blushed a bit. 'Well, if it makes you so uncomfortable, I suppose you should try and stop yourself from thinking about… you know… that aspect.'
'I know I should.' Ron gulped down some more beer. 'If it were any other bloke, maybe it'd be a bit easier to take, like. Anyone but Snape, yeah? But god, he was always such a prick! And he's so old!'
'He's only in his late thirties, Ron. That's hardly ancient. Especially in the magic world.'
'You know what I mean. So much older than Harry. Than us. Still,' he sighed heavily again, 'Harry swears blind that he's happy with the greasy bastard, so I dunno.' He hunched his shoulders up into a shrug.
'We should, we should be happy for Harry. Don't you think? If he reckons Professor Snape is good to him? Harry deserves to be happy.' Neville nodded to himself and took a long, cool drink from his pint glass. 'That's what I reckon, anyway.'
Ron was watching his friend with a tiny smile on his face. 'Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Neville. If anyone deserves it, it's definitely Harry. So, hey - tell me how the job's going! We've done nothing but talk about Harry since we met up today!'
Neville swallowed another mouthful of beer and grinned. 'It's brilliant! I thought it might all be too much at first, there's so much new stuff to learn. But it's going great. I'm even coping with the students. The other teachers are really supportive, too…'
'Even the greasy git?'
Neville laughed softly. 'Even him. Can you believe it? You know, I'm starting to think, Ron, that maybe it's just students he doesn't like.'
'Or maybe it's 'cos your Harry's mate and he knows he daren't be nasty to you for fear he won't get his end away!'
Both boys collapsed into raucous, lascivious laughter, drawing one or two odd looks from nearby patrons.
'Harry Potter is missing dinner again?'
'No, he's just having dinner elsewhere tonight, Dobby, that's all.' Remus Lupin gave the house elf a small smile. 'As will I tonight, too, actually.'
'Harry Potter doesn't like Dobby's cooking anymore, sir?' As usual, Dobby had very little thought for any other individual but his beloved Harry.
'No, no, nothing of the sort! It's er, it's not the food he's overly interested in where he's gone.' Remus watched the blank look on Dobby's face. How was he supposed to explain desire and infatuation to a creature so asexual as a house elf? 'Harry is… well, Harry's in love, Dobby.'
Huge eyes blinked and blinked again. 'In l-love?'
Remus nodded solemnly.
'But… who does Harry Potter love?'
'Well, you know Professor Snape, of course - '
Dobby's eyes lit up. 'Harry Potter is choosing very well!'
Remus had to admit he was surprised by that comment. 'Oh? And what makes you say that, Dobby?'
'Severus Snape is wise, sir. And is protecting Harry Potter for all of us!'
Lupin laughed softly. The house wards suddenly went off. 'Ah,' said Remus. 'That will be my guest. As I said, Dobby, I will dining elsewhere this evening as well. Try not to get too lonely tonight, eh?' Remus patted the house elf briefly between his long ears, then turned and walked down the hallway, lifting his travelling cloak from the stand in the entranceway as he reached for the door handle.
'Ready already, Lupin?' Tonks said as soon as Remus had opened the front door.
Remus smiled as he stepped out onto the stoop and pulled the door shut behind himself. 'I endeavour not to keep young ladies waiting when they call on me,' he replied in a self-mocking tone.
'Great! So where are we going?'
Remus fastened his cloak and held his arm out for the young Auror. Grinning sharply, Tonks placed her hand lightly into the crook of elbow, her hair changing to a rainbow pattern as they began walking up the street. 'Do you like French food?' he asked her. 'Or would you prefer Spanish? I know a lovely little tapas bar.'
'Ooh, Spanish sounds magic!'
'Spanish it is.'
'Well, I think you should keep your nose out of it, Albus! The blasted war is over now and that pissant tyrant has been vanquished - whatever happens in Potter's life now should be nothing more than his own business. But I know how you love to meddle!'
Dumbledore levitated the sherry decanter over to where Minerva McGonagall sat and made it pour itself carefully to top up her glass. 'But it is not just young Harry that I'm thinking of, Minerva. I have my concerns for Severus as well.'
'Och, Severus knows what he's doing! And even if he doesn't, he is a grown man and deserves to NOT have his employer butting into his private affairs! Truly, Albus, just leave the poor boys alone. Let them have their fun together. Lord knows how they both deserve a little…' her mouth quirked at the corners as she searched for the least inappropriate word. 'A little…'
'Erotic adventure?' Dumbledore suggested, eyes glittering behind his spectacles.
McGonagall shot him a haughty look. 'I was thinking something a little less decent, perhaps. But yes. That is what they deserve.'
'If I may offer an opinion - ' interjected one of the portraits across the room.
'No, you may not,' Albus and Minerva told it at the same time.
'Well, I never!' huffed the painting.
McGonagall fixed it with a stern glare. 'You must have,' she told it dryly, causing Albus to giggle into his sherry.
'I must admit,' Dumbledore said after he had calmed himself from his giggles, 'that I am quite surprised by the match. I honestly would not have foreseen Severus pursuing someone like Harry.'
'And who says that he did?' Minerva rested her sherry glass on the arm of the chair. 'Perhaps it was Potter who did the pursuing.'
'Surely not, my dear? With the animosity that was shared between them for so long?'
'They're not so unalike as everyone thinks, Albus. In fact, a case could be made for Severus and Harry being the perfect foil for each other.'
Blue eyes twinkled at the Deputy Headmistress. 'You are a soft old romantic, aren't you, Professor?'
Minerva pursed her lips and stared at her friend imperiously. 'When two people let their barriers down, magical things can happen between them. I like to think I'm not so old and crusty that I've forgotten how that can be.'
'I didn't say you were old and crusty, Minerva. I believe I called you a "soft old romantic".'
'If I MAY offer an opinion?' said the nosy portrait again, this time a little louder and more put-upon.
'No!' Dumbledore and McGonagall both shouted at it.
Molly Weasley set a huge bowl of mashed potato down in the centre of the table at the Burrow and then sank tiredly into a seat beside her husband.
'That's an awful lot of potato, dear.'
'Is it?' Molly looked at the veritable mountain of mash as though only seeing it for the first time. 'Oh, damn, it is, isn't it? I'm so used to cooking for an army!' She laughed tiredly and waved her wand at the potato alps. About a quarter of the mass separated from the rest in the large bowl. The other three-quarters glowed momentarily as a preserving spell settled over them. 'That should last us for the rest of the week now.' Molly set her wand down again and took up her cutlery.
'I see young Harry was in the Daily Prophet again today,' said Arthur, pouring them both cups of tea.
Molly made a "tsk" noise. 'I do wish they'd leave the poor boy alone. A young man needs his privacy! What were they saying about him this time?'
'Well, it was more about that niece of Fudge's, really. The press seem to have got their teeth into that since Harry was photographed with her.'
'Oh, HER.' Molly shook her head over some turnip. 'Little hussy if you ask me.'
'She was perfectly fine, Mol. You're just over-protective.'
'Too right, I am! Every little gold digger with a pretty smile and an eye for the front pages is going to be sniffing around that young man! He needs protecting! And no mother to do it for him, remember. Oh, it's a worry, Arthur. Keeps me awake at night, it does.'
'Yes, and you keep me awake in turn.'
They smiled lovingly at each other, and Molly pressed her hand to Arthur's forearm briefly. 'Sorry, love. It's a mother's lot to worry though, isn't it? Besides,' she picked up her teacup and stared thoughtfully into the middle distance for a short moment. 'I can't help thinking there's something else about Harry. Something the papers would do well to not get their hands on.'
'No - you've lost me.'
Molly gave her husband a look that was oh-so-slightly cheeky. 'I mean, you saw the way he was following Severus Snape around for days at a time toward the end of the war? We all did. Have to be blind not to notice, really. You know, I think there might've been a bit of a crush going on there?'
Arthur swallowed a mouthful of mash. 'A lot of lads develop a bit of hero worship for their elders, Mol. It doesn't mean anything.'
Molly shrugged, breaking a chunk of bread off the cob on the table and setting it on the edge of her plate. 'Perhaps. Perhaps not. But mothers can sense things like this, you know.' She glanced sideways and winked at Arthur. 'It's part of our magic.'
'Steady on, yeh great silly cow!' Hagrid planted his huge feet solidly upon the muddy ground and pushed his sizeable bulk against the belligerent female Thestral, forcing her to back up a few steps. When she was back far enough, Hagrid was able to swing the bottom half of the stable door shut and lock it. 'There now!' he wiped the sweat off his brow and grinned at her as she poked her black face over the top of the low door. 'Why yeh hafta make so much fuss abou' being shacked up nice 'n' warm fer t'night, I don' know!' He patted her long muzzle soothingly and looked up at the darkening sky. 'Bes' be off fer me dinner, then,' he told her and apologetically closed the top half of the stable door as well.
Whistling to himself, Hagrid left the Thestral enclosure and stomped away in the direction of the castle. Couldn't be late tonight, that was fer sure. Young Harry was coming back to the school to give a speech to the students and stay to dinner. It'd be excellent to see the lad again. Hagrid found that he missed him something shocking since he'd finished school last year. Harry owled him regularly, of course, but it wasn't quite the same as having his young friend sitting in his hut, having a natter over a pot of tea and some homemade rock cakes. Even their work with the Order didn't allow them much time fer just kicking back and enjoying each other's company like they used to. Still, Harry was a young man now and right popular with everybody - Hagrid was sure the media and the Ministry and whatnot were all placing a lot of demands on Harry's time and attention. Perhaps when everything died down a bit, Harry'd be able to have a normal life again and do regular things like visiting friends and all tha'.
Hagrid meticulously wiped his boots on the doormat at the courtyard entrance before progressing to the Great Hall. Ah, there was young Harry up at the staff table, sitting with Professor Snape like he nearly always seemed to do whenever Hagrid saw them in the same place these days. It were grand, the way those two had sorted out their differences during the war. There was only one positive thing yeh could ever say about such distressing times and that was that they often brought out the finest in folk. There was just something magical about the way people rose to the occasion during times of war, wasn't there? It were as though it made people realise that life were too short to stay angry with anyone fer too long. Make yer peace with the good'uns while yeh could, that's what Hagrid reckoned. And Harry and Snape certainly had done that, hadn't they? Yeh could almost call it "cosy", the way there were with each other these days.
Just grand.
'Allo Harry!' Hagrid clapped the young man on the back as he paused at his chair on his way by. 'Lookin' forward to yer speech tonigh'!'
Harry grinned up at him broadly. 'Thanks, Hagrid. I hope it's okay. I'm not really very good with speeches.'
'Rubbish! Yeh did fine at yer Order o'Merlin dinner, didn't yeh? Didn't he, Professor Snape?'
Snape glanced sideways, one black eyebrow arched perfectly. 'Indeed, Rubeus.'
Harry was smiling at Snape, green eyes gleaming as though he were fit to burst with happiness. Hagrid felt his huge heart swell with delight to see the lad looking so joyful. He deserved the best, did this one. He patted Harry's shoulder again and shambled away to his own seat further down the table.
Aye, Harry deserved to wear a smile like tha' all the time. All the time…
Disclaimer: Only the plot, such as it is, is mine. Everything else is owned by JKR and her affiliates, all of whom are far richer than I'll ever be.
Rating: Rather G-rated, this one. (who knew I had it in me, eh? *wink*) Maybe a little bit of adult themes.
Spoilers: TBWLAB, CoMT
Summary: Six glimpses into the thoughts of some of Severus & Harry's friends.
Author's Note: This is my little celebratory bit o'fluff to mark the flist of this journal hitting the magic One Hundred. :) As I post this, there are now 118 people on the flist - I'm still stunned. Thank-you all!
George and Fred Weasley looked up from their cups of tea at the exact same moment. 'Together?' they said at the same time, their faces a mirror of one another's look of utter incredulity.
'You mean "together" as in, they were there at the same time?' asked Fred.
'Or "together" as in they were there at the same time with their tongues down each other's throats?' asked George.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she finished stirring her own cup of tea and set the teaspoon down on the kitchen table. 'I don't mean either of those,' she replied. 'I mean they're just… together.' She shrugged a little, for lack of any more elucidating description than that. 'I mean, really! Are you both trying to tell me you didn't work it out for yourselves toward the end of the war? The last few days especially?'
The twins exchanged a look before gazing back across the table at her. 'Of course we noticed,' said George. 'It's just that we're always suspecting things like that about people,' added Fred. 'Regardless of if we're actually right or not,' they finished at the same time. They shrugged in unison. 'Who'da thought we'd turn out to be right about those two?!' George grinned cheekily.
'So,' prodded Fred, 'did they actually come out and tell you they were together?'
Hermione peered into the depths of her cuppa for a moment. 'Not expressly, no. But they don't need to! You should see them together… Professor Snape's almost, almost NICE when Harry's there.' She looked, for a moment, as though she was trying to hold back a slight smirk at the thought. 'And it's just… the way they are around each other, I suppose. Honestly, they're a couple. I'd bet my books on it.'
Fred and George blinked at the same time. 'Well,' said Fred, 'That certainly sounds definite.'
'Hooray for old Snapey, eh?' George smiled. 'Got himself a nice bit of arse there, he has.'
'George!' Hermione admonished him, blushing.
'Well, he has!' protested George. 'Harry's a great looking bloke!'
'And sexy as all hell!' added Fred.
'Cor, just imagine them at it!' George's eyes glinted as he elbowed his brother.
'All that black hair!' mused Fred.
'And all that pale skin!' agreed George.
Both twins licked their lips absent-mindedly, their minds obviously playing out identical sordid images for their entertainment.
'All that powerful magic,' murmured Hermione.
Fred and George both snapped out of their sexual daydreams and locked matching gazes onto the young woman sitting across the table from them. Slowly, 'Miony sensed their eyes upon her and looked up to meet them. 'Well, it's true,' she pointed out, a slight huffiness creeping into her tone. 'They ARE two of the strongest wizards alive at this point in history. Their powers combined would be, well, it'd be quite something, I should imagine.'
The three companions sat in silence for several minutes in their York kitchen, drinking their tea quietly and contemplating the awesome power of a partnership between Severus Snape and Harry Potter.
'Anyway, love,' George finally spoke up. 'Why were you visiting them there anyhow?'
Hermione sat up a little straighter and held her teacup more tightly in front of herself. 'Well.' Her gaze seemed to settle on one spot in the middle of the table, almost reaching the twins on the other side but not quite. 'I've, er, I've actually got something I have to tell you both about. Something rather important, really.'
The Three Broomsticks was absurdly busy for a mid-week afternoon. Neville weaved his way in and out of the tightly packed crowd, trying his best to keep a firm hold on the two pints of bitter in his hands. Amazingly, he made it to the table he and Ron had managed to snaffle and was able to plonk the beers down without having spilt a single drop on the way back from the bar.
'Ah, cheers, Neville,' said Ron as his pint was scooted along the tabletop to him.
Neville pulled his teacher's robes around himself and slid into the booth, facing his old school friend over the tops of their beers. 'Remember I can only stay for this one though. Gotta get back for Harry's speech before dinner tonight.' He picked up his pint and clunked it against Ron's. 'Cheers.'
'I bloody needed that.' Ron licked foam off his mouth after his first long swig. 'So anyway, speaking of Harry - how'd you know about him and Snape?' he picked up their conversation exactly where they'd left it when Neville had gone to the bar.
'Well, I knew they were friends. I had lunch with them one day, actually. Toward the end of the war.'
Ron's eyes went wide. 'How'd you manage that?'
'Oh, it wasn't planned or anything.' Neville smiled shyly. 'I just happened to be in the school kitchens one day when they came in for lunch. I'd just taken on the Herbology job. Harry said Snape was doing a potion for him, something for the war effort.' Neville shrugged. 'They were acting really comfy with each other. And Snape wasn't even… mean. Or anything! Just kind of like a normal person.'
'Harry's influence,' Ron suggested. Both boys nodded.
Neville picked absent-mindedly at the corner of his beer coaster. 'So you, um, reckon they're more than just friends, then?'
Ron took another drink from his pint. 'I know they are, mate. Harry's told me himself.'
'I didn't know Harry liked other boys.'
'Neither did I!' Ron pulled a bit of a face. 'To be honest, though, I don't know how much of all that sort of stuff Harry'd worked out. Don't s'pose he really had much time for getting himself sorted the last few years.'
Neville nodded. 'I guess. But in other ways, Harry had to grow up quicker than the rest of us, too. Always just so much responsibility for him, wasn't there?'
Ron crossed his forearms on the edge of the table and sighed hard enough to faintly disturb the head on top of his beer. 'Sometimes,' he said quietly, very much for Neville's ears only, 'I can't get images of them out of me head.' He looked up at his friend with a somewhat miserable expression. 'I think about them… you know… in bed and stuff… and my brain just keeps on and on thinking about it. I can't make it stop.'
Neville blushed a bit. 'Well, if it makes you so uncomfortable, I suppose you should try and stop yourself from thinking about… you know… that aspect.'
'I know I should.' Ron gulped down some more beer. 'If it were any other bloke, maybe it'd be a bit easier to take, like. Anyone but Snape, yeah? But god, he was always such a prick! And he's so old!'
'He's only in his late thirties, Ron. That's hardly ancient. Especially in the magic world.'
'You know what I mean. So much older than Harry. Than us. Still,' he sighed heavily again, 'Harry swears blind that he's happy with the greasy bastard, so I dunno.' He hunched his shoulders up into a shrug.
'We should, we should be happy for Harry. Don't you think? If he reckons Professor Snape is good to him? Harry deserves to be happy.' Neville nodded to himself and took a long, cool drink from his pint glass. 'That's what I reckon, anyway.'
Ron was watching his friend with a tiny smile on his face. 'Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Neville. If anyone deserves it, it's definitely Harry. So, hey - tell me how the job's going! We've done nothing but talk about Harry since we met up today!'
Neville swallowed another mouthful of beer and grinned. 'It's brilliant! I thought it might all be too much at first, there's so much new stuff to learn. But it's going great. I'm even coping with the students. The other teachers are really supportive, too…'
'Even the greasy git?'
Neville laughed softly. 'Even him. Can you believe it? You know, I'm starting to think, Ron, that maybe it's just students he doesn't like.'
'Or maybe it's 'cos your Harry's mate and he knows he daren't be nasty to you for fear he won't get his end away!'
Both boys collapsed into raucous, lascivious laughter, drawing one or two odd looks from nearby patrons.
'Harry Potter is missing dinner again?'
'No, he's just having dinner elsewhere tonight, Dobby, that's all.' Remus Lupin gave the house elf a small smile. 'As will I tonight, too, actually.'
'Harry Potter doesn't like Dobby's cooking anymore, sir?' As usual, Dobby had very little thought for any other individual but his beloved Harry.
'No, no, nothing of the sort! It's er, it's not the food he's overly interested in where he's gone.' Remus watched the blank look on Dobby's face. How was he supposed to explain desire and infatuation to a creature so asexual as a house elf? 'Harry is… well, Harry's in love, Dobby.'
Huge eyes blinked and blinked again. 'In l-love?'
Remus nodded solemnly.
'But… who does Harry Potter love?'
'Well, you know Professor Snape, of course - '
Dobby's eyes lit up. 'Harry Potter is choosing very well!'
Remus had to admit he was surprised by that comment. 'Oh? And what makes you say that, Dobby?'
'Severus Snape is wise, sir. And is protecting Harry Potter for all of us!'
Lupin laughed softly. The house wards suddenly went off. 'Ah,' said Remus. 'That will be my guest. As I said, Dobby, I will dining elsewhere this evening as well. Try not to get too lonely tonight, eh?' Remus patted the house elf briefly between his long ears, then turned and walked down the hallway, lifting his travelling cloak from the stand in the entranceway as he reached for the door handle.
'Ready already, Lupin?' Tonks said as soon as Remus had opened the front door.
Remus smiled as he stepped out onto the stoop and pulled the door shut behind himself. 'I endeavour not to keep young ladies waiting when they call on me,' he replied in a self-mocking tone.
'Great! So where are we going?'
Remus fastened his cloak and held his arm out for the young Auror. Grinning sharply, Tonks placed her hand lightly into the crook of elbow, her hair changing to a rainbow pattern as they began walking up the street. 'Do you like French food?' he asked her. 'Or would you prefer Spanish? I know a lovely little tapas bar.'
'Ooh, Spanish sounds magic!'
'Spanish it is.'
'Well, I think you should keep your nose out of it, Albus! The blasted war is over now and that pissant tyrant has been vanquished - whatever happens in Potter's life now should be nothing more than his own business. But I know how you love to meddle!'
Dumbledore levitated the sherry decanter over to where Minerva McGonagall sat and made it pour itself carefully to top up her glass. 'But it is not just young Harry that I'm thinking of, Minerva. I have my concerns for Severus as well.'
'Och, Severus knows what he's doing! And even if he doesn't, he is a grown man and deserves to NOT have his employer butting into his private affairs! Truly, Albus, just leave the poor boys alone. Let them have their fun together. Lord knows how they both deserve a little…' her mouth quirked at the corners as she searched for the least inappropriate word. 'A little…'
'Erotic adventure?' Dumbledore suggested, eyes glittering behind his spectacles.
McGonagall shot him a haughty look. 'I was thinking something a little less decent, perhaps. But yes. That is what they deserve.'
'If I may offer an opinion - ' interjected one of the portraits across the room.
'No, you may not,' Albus and Minerva told it at the same time.
'Well, I never!' huffed the painting.
McGonagall fixed it with a stern glare. 'You must have,' she told it dryly, causing Albus to giggle into his sherry.
'I must admit,' Dumbledore said after he had calmed himself from his giggles, 'that I am quite surprised by the match. I honestly would not have foreseen Severus pursuing someone like Harry.'
'And who says that he did?' Minerva rested her sherry glass on the arm of the chair. 'Perhaps it was Potter who did the pursuing.'
'Surely not, my dear? With the animosity that was shared between them for so long?'
'They're not so unalike as everyone thinks, Albus. In fact, a case could be made for Severus and Harry being the perfect foil for each other.'
Blue eyes twinkled at the Deputy Headmistress. 'You are a soft old romantic, aren't you, Professor?'
Minerva pursed her lips and stared at her friend imperiously. 'When two people let their barriers down, magical things can happen between them. I like to think I'm not so old and crusty that I've forgotten how that can be.'
'I didn't say you were old and crusty, Minerva. I believe I called you a "soft old romantic".'
'If I MAY offer an opinion?' said the nosy portrait again, this time a little louder and more put-upon.
'No!' Dumbledore and McGonagall both shouted at it.
Molly Weasley set a huge bowl of mashed potato down in the centre of the table at the Burrow and then sank tiredly into a seat beside her husband.
'That's an awful lot of potato, dear.'
'Is it?' Molly looked at the veritable mountain of mash as though only seeing it for the first time. 'Oh, damn, it is, isn't it? I'm so used to cooking for an army!' She laughed tiredly and waved her wand at the potato alps. About a quarter of the mass separated from the rest in the large bowl. The other three-quarters glowed momentarily as a preserving spell settled over them. 'That should last us for the rest of the week now.' Molly set her wand down again and took up her cutlery.
'I see young Harry was in the Daily Prophet again today,' said Arthur, pouring them both cups of tea.
Molly made a "tsk" noise. 'I do wish they'd leave the poor boy alone. A young man needs his privacy! What were they saying about him this time?'
'Well, it was more about that niece of Fudge's, really. The press seem to have got their teeth into that since Harry was photographed with her.'
'Oh, HER.' Molly shook her head over some turnip. 'Little hussy if you ask me.'
'She was perfectly fine, Mol. You're just over-protective.'
'Too right, I am! Every little gold digger with a pretty smile and an eye for the front pages is going to be sniffing around that young man! He needs protecting! And no mother to do it for him, remember. Oh, it's a worry, Arthur. Keeps me awake at night, it does.'
'Yes, and you keep me awake in turn.'
They smiled lovingly at each other, and Molly pressed her hand to Arthur's forearm briefly. 'Sorry, love. It's a mother's lot to worry though, isn't it? Besides,' she picked up her teacup and stared thoughtfully into the middle distance for a short moment. 'I can't help thinking there's something else about Harry. Something the papers would do well to not get their hands on.'
'No - you've lost me.'
Molly gave her husband a look that was oh-so-slightly cheeky. 'I mean, you saw the way he was following Severus Snape around for days at a time toward the end of the war? We all did. Have to be blind not to notice, really. You know, I think there might've been a bit of a crush going on there?'
Arthur swallowed a mouthful of mash. 'A lot of lads develop a bit of hero worship for their elders, Mol. It doesn't mean anything.'
Molly shrugged, breaking a chunk of bread off the cob on the table and setting it on the edge of her plate. 'Perhaps. Perhaps not. But mothers can sense things like this, you know.' She glanced sideways and winked at Arthur. 'It's part of our magic.'
'Steady on, yeh great silly cow!' Hagrid planted his huge feet solidly upon the muddy ground and pushed his sizeable bulk against the belligerent female Thestral, forcing her to back up a few steps. When she was back far enough, Hagrid was able to swing the bottom half of the stable door shut and lock it. 'There now!' he wiped the sweat off his brow and grinned at her as she poked her black face over the top of the low door. 'Why yeh hafta make so much fuss abou' being shacked up nice 'n' warm fer t'night, I don' know!' He patted her long muzzle soothingly and looked up at the darkening sky. 'Bes' be off fer me dinner, then,' he told her and apologetically closed the top half of the stable door as well.
Whistling to himself, Hagrid left the Thestral enclosure and stomped away in the direction of the castle. Couldn't be late tonight, that was fer sure. Young Harry was coming back to the school to give a speech to the students and stay to dinner. It'd be excellent to see the lad again. Hagrid found that he missed him something shocking since he'd finished school last year. Harry owled him regularly, of course, but it wasn't quite the same as having his young friend sitting in his hut, having a natter over a pot of tea and some homemade rock cakes. Even their work with the Order didn't allow them much time fer just kicking back and enjoying each other's company like they used to. Still, Harry was a young man now and right popular with everybody - Hagrid was sure the media and the Ministry and whatnot were all placing a lot of demands on Harry's time and attention. Perhaps when everything died down a bit, Harry'd be able to have a normal life again and do regular things like visiting friends and all tha'.
Hagrid meticulously wiped his boots on the doormat at the courtyard entrance before progressing to the Great Hall. Ah, there was young Harry up at the staff table, sitting with Professor Snape like he nearly always seemed to do whenever Hagrid saw them in the same place these days. It were grand, the way those two had sorted out their differences during the war. There was only one positive thing yeh could ever say about such distressing times and that was that they often brought out the finest in folk. There was just something magical about the way people rose to the occasion during times of war, wasn't there? It were as though it made people realise that life were too short to stay angry with anyone fer too long. Make yer peace with the good'uns while yeh could, that's what Hagrid reckoned. And Harry and Snape certainly had done that, hadn't they? Yeh could almost call it "cosy", the way there were with each other these days.
Just grand.
'Allo Harry!' Hagrid clapped the young man on the back as he paused at his chair on his way by. 'Lookin' forward to yer speech tonigh'!'
Harry grinned up at him broadly. 'Thanks, Hagrid. I hope it's okay. I'm not really very good with speeches.'
'Rubbish! Yeh did fine at yer Order o'Merlin dinner, didn't yeh? Didn't he, Professor Snape?'
Snape glanced sideways, one black eyebrow arched perfectly. 'Indeed, Rubeus.'
Harry was smiling at Snape, green eyes gleaming as though he were fit to burst with happiness. Hagrid felt his huge heart swell with delight to see the lad looking so joyful. He deserved the best, did this one. He patted Harry's shoulder again and shambled away to his own seat further down the table.
Aye, Harry deserved to wear a smile like tha' all the time. All the time…