Title: To Thy Own Self be True
Genre:Romance/Drama
Pairings:Harry/Severus (main), Ron/Hermione (side), Dean/Seamus (side), Neville/Ginny (side)
Rating: M, for future chapters
Warnings: ManxMan (Duh, SS/HP and DT/SF), AU (Final Battle during 6th year), No Horcruxes, dead Remus, Alive Dumbledore, Minor Dumbledore bashing, Jealous Draco, Draco bashing, Minor mentions of self abuse (cutting), Infrequent updates (I'm terrible at keeping my muse going)
Disclaimer:I don't own any recognizable characters, locations, or spells. That right belongs with JK Rowling and the others involved in the Harry Potter Universe. I'm simply borrowing them for my pleasure, and yours.
Summary: Harry and Severus are working on making a perfect relationship, but with all the bumps along the way, will they make it?

HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS

This above all to thine own self be true.

Never had Harry heard truer words in his life. It was a mantra he had picked up reading a muggle story. Now that Voldemort was gone, Harry intended to follow his new mantra, including coming out to his friends.

That made him more nervous than facing the most evil wizard in history. Harry was unsure how his best friends would react to his being gay and the thought of losing them terrified him.

He looked in the mirror and took in his appearance for the first time in a while. His hair was still wild, but a little added length helped a lot. His eyes we bright, whereas before the defeat they held a haunted, dead look. He had gained a little bit of weight, but it accentuated his build, rather than taking away his physique.

With a quiet sigh, Harry descended the stairs from the boys dorm. He found Ron and Hermione on the couch, Ginny and Neville on the floor, and Dean and Seamus at a table. He smiled before fully entering the common room.

"Hey, mate," Ron said. "What took you?"

"Just thinking," Harry said, sitting in his favorite chair. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately."

"About what, Harry?" Ginny asked, looking to him.

"Myself," he replied simply, fidgeting a bit.

Dean and Seamus exchanged covert looks before Dean leaned over to whisper "It's about time he comes out of the closet" to Seamus, earning a vigorous nod.

"What about yourself, Harry?" Neville asked, confused.

Ginny smiles and whispered something to Neville, who turned pink and grinned. Hermione flashed Ron a knowing smile, and the pair looked at Harry.

"I'm gay," Harry said, tensing a bit.

There was a collective sigh and the girls giggled.

"It's about time, mate," Dean said, walking over and punching Harry on the arm playfully.

"Yeah, Dean and I have known for ages, Hermione figured it out in fifth year, and Ginny has known since she first met you before she was in school," Seamus said, with a laugh.

"You don't care?" Harry asked, somewhat shocked.

"Why the bloody hell should we care?" Ron asked. "As long as you don't make a move on me, I could care less, mate."

"I've always liked you, but after I met you the summer before I started school, I knew I had no chance with you," said Ginny. "Though at the time I thought it was my age."

"You guys are the best," Harry said, relief flooding through him. "I was nervous that you'd be mad or disgusted."

"No worries, mate," Seamus said. "Dean and I have been together for about a year now, and everyone was okay with us. We didn't tell you because we didn't want to force you to realize you were gay."

"Thanks," Harry said, getting up. "I've got to go take care of something. I'll be back in a little while."

"See ya," his friends chorused as Harry left the common room, a smile on his face.

"It's about time he came to terms with that," Ron said, earning a punch on the arm. "Whay? He deserves to be happy."

"Yeah, maybe he and Snape can finally work their problems out," Dean said, flopping in front of the fire.

"What?!" Hermione asked, staring at him.

"Well, Harry was up late one night, and he asked me to talk to him about some stuff," he explained, stretching some. "That's all I'm saying."

Hermione let her jaw drop, Ron choked on his drink, Neville sat up, and Ginny giggled again.

"Mione, you leave Harry alone when he comes back," Ron said, still spluttering a bit. "He's got enough to deal with, without you getting on him about what may or may not be between he and Professor Snape."

"When did you become Mr. Diplomacy?" Ginny asked, looking at her brother.

"Since Harry and I talked about something over the summer, which I'm pretty sure is the same thing he and Dean talked about," Ron said. "He just avoided using names when we talked."

The group soon settled back into a quiet study session, and Harry left their minds.

HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS HPSS

Author's Note: Well, here I go again. Fortunately, I've got a decent amount of this written and it's been flowing pretty well.
I write while I'm at work, and if my thoughts sometimes seem disjointed, that's why. I have to stop periodically and help my customers, and sometimes I lose my direct train of thought, but I catch one going near where I wanted to go.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.
-Freake