Just Always Be Waiting For Me.

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

He sat on the deck of a boat as the sun set in the distance and looked at the Taj Mahal. His time in India was coming to an end in the following days and this felt like a perfect ending. He couldn't say that he was completely sad to go. It had been a magical summer and he had been left alone by the press after the fall of Voldemort. Coming to India had been the perfect thing for avoiding the press. He was planning on continuing that streak in Australia, as soon as Ron and Hermione's wedding was over with. He was had plans to head out on his birthday, the day after Ron and Hermione left on their honeymoon. Home was full of ghosts that he didn't care to revisit this soon, and Australia was full of things he'd never experienced and free of the destruction and chaos that had followed the war.

He watched the colors that filled the sky bleed into the reflection of the water and thought about how things had changed in just a few short months. With Voldemort gone and the rest of the Death Eaters rounded up he was free to travel and do as he pleased. Most people had expected him to join the Auror academy with Ron, and had been taken by surprise when he had left instead. He had been chasing dark wizards most of his life and didn't feel compelled to continue. He had done his service and most willingly, and he had lost too much for him to ever want to go down that path willingly again. What he needed now was an opportunity to figure things out on his own and to give himself space from all the grief that had followed their victory.

He had forgone the offer from Professor McGonagall to finish his final year at Hogwarts as most everyone else had done. Hermione had unsurprisingly taken her NEWTs on her own and passed with flying colors. Ron had snatched up the offer from Kingsley to go into the Auror training program and Harry had fucked off to India. He couldn't see himself at Hogwarts without Ron or Hermione by his side and couldn't feel the need to become a fully qualified wizard on a piece of parchment. Hadn't finishing off Voldemort proven that to everyone? Harry wasn't sure what his plans were for the future, but what he did know was that he couldn't really see himself in a desk job at the ministry for the rest of his life. Or settling down with Ginny Weasley and having a brood of children to raise. The fact of the matter was that he liked blokes, and Ginny was totally wrapped up in Dean Thomas.

He sat basking in the evening sun when he heard the faint pop of apparation behind him. He quickly pulled his wand and stood to face the intruder behind him.

"Snape," he breathed lightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Your wonderful friends enlightened me of your location," Snape said darkly.

"Yeah, but why?" Harry said pocketing his wand.

Snape didn't say anything but instead thrust an envelope into his hands. Harry looked up at him questioningly and the man motioned for him to open it.

The pair of them weren't exactly great friends, but they had been civil to each other what little time that Harry had hung around after the war. They had saved each other in the end, and they owed it to each other to put aside any petty differences that had stood between them in the past. The war was over and it was a time that should be filled with fresh starts and new beginnings. He hadn't seen Snape in months, and he could only hope that their unspoken truce still stood.

He turned over the cream colored envelope in his hands, noting the broken ministry seal. Harry pulled the letter out and unfolded it curiously.

He read over the letter and it dropped from his hand immediately. Snape stooped and snatched it up before it was blown into the water.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked still reeling from what he had read.

"It seems that we are being forced into a marriage of sorts," Snape answered sharply.

"Why?" Harry asked confused.

"It seems as though your ability to read has suffered in your months away. Our families have deemed it necessary. An arranged marriage of sorts," Snape shot at him.

"And if we don't?" Harry asked confused.

"We lose our magic," Snape scowled darkly. "Please do read things more thoroughly in the future."

"I don't understand. Why now?" Harry asking ignoring his snark.

"It seems as though our grandparents made an alliance of sorts and this was a stipulation. The ministry didn't deem it to be a pressing matter until of course the war ended," the man explained boredly.

"When?" Harry sighed.

"The end of August," Snape said shortly.

"Oh, right," Harry nodded shortly.

"When are you expected to return home?"

"Oh, in a few days. Ron and Hermione's wedding is next week,"

Harry said staring down at his feet.

"I shall see you upon your return," Snape said curtly and was gone with a light pop.

Harry couldn't believe that he was stuck in this situation. Everything had been going so well for once and now he was once again forced to abide by someone else's plan for him. He felt even worse for Snape, the man had all but given his life for the cause and now this. He tried his best to be civil about all of this and contain any outrage for the both of their sakes. It's not as if Snape wanted this anymore than he did. It felt as if both of them would live out the rest of their lives as dictated by others. Life just didn't deem it necessary to be fair when it came down to the pair of them. He had just be freed from the weight of saving the world, and Snape had been freed from his duties as a double agent. The man finally had the choice to do as he wanted, and now he was being tied down to Harry. A part of him couldn't help but feel guilty about it all.

The next morning Harry packed his few belongings into his rucksack and started his journey back to London. The news had dampened his taste for India and he felt that he should show Snape some support in all of this. After all they were in this together and they had to find an ally in one another. Even if Snape was the least promising person for him to ever find an ally in. He wasn't sure if where to go he considered just checking into a room at The Leaky Cauldron, but quickly dismissed that when he thought of all the attention it might garner. He didn't care if he ever saw Grimmauld Place again in his life, and the prospect of staying at The Burrow didn't seem bright. There would be loads of guests in for the wedding and he knew that Mrs. Weasley would do her best to accommodate as many as she possibly could.

He found himself standing on the front steps of Spinners End debating on whether he should knock. Before he could find the nerve, the door was pulled open to reveal a scowling Snape.

"Are you going to stand there all day or come in?" He asked impatiently.

"Right, sorry, may I come in?" Harry asked nervously.

"If you must," Severus said stepping aside to allow him entry.

Harry stepped into the man's house and looked around in interest.

There were loads of thick volumes lining the walls and besides the books the house seemed to follow a minimalist theme. Like Snape had gutted the entire place and furnished it simply for his basic needs. It wasn't exactly warm and welcoming like The Burrow, but there was still something about it that he liked. If nothing else, it definitely shouted Severus Snape at him. It was a home and part of Harry so desperately ached to find that in some place other than Hogwarts.

"I thought you weren't due home for a few days?" Snape asked bluntly.

"I came back early. I thought maybe we could sort of figure things out."

"What is there to figure out?" Snape snapped at him. "The document was pretty straightforward."

"I know, but like what are your plans for the upcoming year? I know a marriage requires close proximity so it's not like we can abandon each other," Harry said running a hand through his messy hair.

"Indeed it does," Snape remarked snidely.

"So, are you going back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked optimistically.

"I had not planned on it, but now things seemed to be working against me," Snape said somewhat bitterly.

"What were you going to do instead?" Harry asked with interest.

"Never mind that," Snape scowled at him. "We will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall."

After some coercion Harry managed to get Snape to agree to allow him to stay at Spinners End. Snape finally relented and granted him permission to stay in the small guest bedroom after Harry has complained about lack of space at The Burrow due to wedding guests. Then Snape had inquired about Grimmauld Place and Harry had to explain his disdain of the place since Sirius had died and how he had the place being remodeled and decursed so that he could give it to Ron and Hermione as a wedding gift. Snape snorted noncommittally when he told him that and disappeared behind a secret door in one of the bookcases, that Harry could only boil down to leading to the man's personal potion's lab.

The room that Snape had allocated for him seemed to have been vacant for quite some time. He couldn't imagine the man entertaining a lot of visitors, or anyone besides himself who would willingly want to stay under the man's roof. Snape was probably one of the coldest individuals that he had ever met and couldn't imagine him to be particularly welcoming. You would have to be mad as a hatter or completely desperate to seek out this place as somewhere to stay. Then he asked himself which category that placed him in and he begrudgingly reminded himself that he was in a category all of his own: the fiance.

Feeling dirty he dug through his rucksack and pulled out some clothes that seemed clean. He really needed to do some laundry. He climbed into the warm bath and allowed himself a much needed soak. This summer had consisted of roughing it and a shower consisted of the few showers he had gotten when he had gave in and gotten a room at one of the local inn's or quick dips in rivers or lakes when he came across them. If nothing else he was extremely grateful that he had gotten away this summer, who knew when he would receive his next opportunity. Snape didn't seem like the kind of bloke that liked to inhabit anywhere other than this house or the dungeons at Hogwarts. He certainly couldn't imagine the man willingly trekking across India with him in the summer heat. The man would probably melt because he would refuse to wear anything other than solid black. Harry grinned to himself at the thought of a sweaty, bright red Snape trapped in the summer sun.

He stayed in the bath until his fingers had gone wrinkly and only then did he give his hair a quick wash and climbed out to dry off. Everything in Snape's house seemed to be designed around efficiency, which suited the man well. Harry assumed that he was in the guest bathroom, and that the man had his own private bathroom by the lack of belongings in the cabinet behind the sink. The bathroom was almost empty besides the furnishings and the soap and towel that Harry had found. It definitely confirmed Snape's status as a solitary creature. Which made him worry how the man might cope by suddenly having to share his personal space with another person, more importantly him.

His stomach got the better of him and he headed downstairs to have a look through the kitchen, but it didn't seem like Snape kept the place very supplied. Sighing, he slipped on his trainers and went out to get dinner for the pair of them. He wasn't sure what the man liked and hoped that he didn't mind Harry choosing dinner for the both of them.

It felt odd to be home after having been away so long. The English summer couldn't compare to the Indian one and he found himself missing his misadventures. If everything had gone to plan he would have been off to Australia by the end of next week, but instead he was back off to Hogwarts. The idea of Hogwarts after the battle and everything that had happened there didn't seem like the most of appealing of places to be. He had seen so many people die there and he worried that there might be a few more ghosts for him to run into in the corridors.

The onslaught of funerals that followed the war had gotten the better of him and was part of the reason he had taken off. He had felt guilty about it, but guilt would do him no good and so he had found ways to try to let go. Harry worried that going back to the school might dredge up everything he had sort of managed to come to terms with. He pushed it out of his mind for the moment and decided that he was going to try to make the best of this situation.

He walked home carrying the bags of takeaway and smiling lightly to himself. Whoever his grandparents were they certainly had ensured him the adventure of a lifetime by arranging a marriage between himself and Severus Snape.

"Professor?" Harry asked knocking lightly on the door that Snape had disappeared into hours before.

When he got no answer he gave up and went into the kitchen to lay out his spread.

"You look like a lost boy," Snape commented from behind him.

"What are you on about?" Harry asked happily.

"You look like you've been wearing those clothes your entire life," he said dryly.

"I packed sparingly," Harry shrugged. "My relatives only gave me my cousins hand me downs so everything I've owned belonged to my cousin, well besides the occasional Weasley sweater. Speaking of clothes I really need to get on being fitted for my dress robes for the wedding."

"Such a dated concept," Severus scowled and Harry laughed and received a scowl of his own.

"You seem rather okay with all of this," Hermione said pouring over the document from the ministry.

"What can I do about it?" Harry asked adjusting the dress robes he was trying on.

"I think I'd cry, mate," Ron looked at him gravely.

"I'm trying to think of it as an adventure. He said I look like a lost boy, so just call me Peter Pan," he grinned broadly.

"How is Snape taking it?" Hermione asked handing him another pair of robes to try on.

"Fairly well, I kind of expected him to hex me into oblivion," he laughed.

"The war changed everyone," Hermione pointed out. "Who is to say that it didn't change the enigma that is Severus Snape?"

"I guess I'll find out," Harry shrugged and went to try on the next pair of robes.

Later that afternoon Harry came in to find that Snape was nowhere in sight and decided to leave the man to his own devices. He pulled his freshly developed pictures out of his bag and the album that he had picked up in Diagon Alley and sat them on the coffee table. He made himself a cup of tea and sat to work on placing the pictures into the album.

Some time later Snape came out from his secret doorway and Harry jumped and knocked over his tea onto the album and pictures. He jumped up flustered by his own clumsiness and sighed. Snape flicked his wand and cleared up the mess, and it was as if everything was as good as new.

"Thanks," Harry blushed and sat back down.

Snape came over and inspected what he was doing. He picked up a photo of Harry smiling in front of the Taj Mahal and looked at it briefly before sitting it back down.

"You can have it if you want," Harry said picking it up and extending his hand towards the man. "We are getting married after all. Even if it wasn't our idea."

Snape hesitated for a moment before accepting the photo. He looked it over again and nodded in thanks to Harry.

Harry watched with interest as he crossed the room and placed the photo in the corner of one of the pictures that hung in front of his desk. He found himself quite pleased by the gesture and smiled brightly at the man whose face remained unreadable.

"Your birthday is soon is it not?" Snape asked after a moment.

"This weekend," Harry answered confused.

"Do you have any plans?" The man pressed further and Harry shook his head.

"Ron and Hermione leave for their honeymoon on Saturday and my birthday is Sunday," he shrugged.

Snape said nothing but nodded and took a seat at his desk and began looking over some scrolls quietly.

"Will you be my date to the wedding?" Harry asked hurried and blushed scarlet.

"I am quite sure that you can find someone much more suited," Snape said thoughtfully.

"Who is more suited than my fiancé?" He pressed.

"Potter..."

"Call me Harry," he said stopping him. "If we are meant to be married then we should call each other by our first names."

"I will keep that in mind," Severus nodded and returned to his scrolls.

Harry was incredibly beat from the last two days and the time difference and headed up stairs to have a nap. He pulled his shirt off and climbed onto the cool bed and hugged one of his pillows close. He briefly caught himself wondering if he would ever have to share a bed with Severus. They were going to be married and something about it seemed like he next logical step. He pushed the thought out of his head and dozed off quietly.

Some time lately he felt himself being shaken awake. He shot up in surprise when he realized that it had been Severus.

"I made dinner. If you would like to eat," Severus said and left the room.

Harry went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face and wandered down the stairs.

Severus had made a beef stew and had set the table for the two of them. Harry set down on the side closest to him and waited for Severus to serve himself.

"Why were you going to leave Hogwarts?" Harry asked again.

"If you must know," Severus frowned at him. "I would much like to have a bit of privacy. You of all people should understand that."

"Yeah," was all that he could manage to reply. He definitely understood that want.

He slipped into his own thoughts and frowned at the thought of the giggling girls that would follow him around the corridors. There had been a sort of radio silence from him all summer and he dreaded to see what the prophet would dream up. He had told few people of his plans and now he was once again a part of British wizarding society.

Harry hadn't counted on that. He was used to no one caring about who he was. In India there hadn't been such a frenzy when he introduced himself, he was basically nobody. He worried about how everyone would react to his presence. Maybe he could just brew an unlimited amount of polyjuice and shave Neville's head.

When dinner was finished Severus disappeared behind his secret door again and Harry decided to do the washing up. When he had finished he wandered over to the secret door and knocked, but there was no answer. He shrugged and went upstairs to collect his laundry.

He wrote Severus a quick note and went to find the closest laundry. He wasn't sure how wizards did laundry. At Hogwarts the elves did it all and he'd never actually seen Mrs. Weasley do any at The Burrow. He finally found a muggle place and was glad that he only had one load to wash because everything was ridiculously overpriced.

As he waited for the clothes to finish he thought about how quickly things were going to change. How he and Severus were actually being amiable and how he was soon to be married. He was worried about returning to Hogwarts after the events of the final battle, but some part of him also felt like he was returning home. Whatever happened it would definitely be an adventure, for better or worse.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think so far, please and thanks!