Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this work of fiction and am not making a profit, monetary or otherwise, though the writing of this.
A/N: An AU in which Lily has passed away, and James is nervous about moving on. Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 365 prompts challenge: Buying an Engagement Ring
"Daddy, Daddy!" Harry runs into the room, his chubby hand clenched in a tight fist, his eyes filled with something other than mischief (rare for the little boy nowadays - his parents had warned him that he'd have a "rambunctious, reckless child", just like he'd been, one day and that it would be Merlin's revenge for the gray hairs that he'd put on their heads).
"What is it, Harry?" James asks, opening his arms, catching his son in them and spinning him around, making the little three year old giggle with delight.
"I got it," Harry says, voice triumphant. He lifts his fist, accidentally hitting his father in the nose in his enthusiasm. "Sorry, Daddy," he says, a little more subdued, though no less excited about whatever it is that he has to show his father.
"What do you have, son?" James asks, pulling his face back a little so that he's not looking at Harry's now open hand cross eyed.
"Unca Sev'R'us 'gagement wing," Harry declares, grinning from ear to ear.
James holds back the laughter that threatens to spill past his lips as he finally manages to see what his son is shoving in his face - a candy ring, slightly used if the drool dripping from it is any indication - and purses his lips as though he's giving it some real thought. He's already bought the ring that he intends to use when he proposes to Severus. It's a simple silver band forming a snake's head, the mouth of which is holding, not a diamond, but an onyx stone. The color of Severus' eyes.
"You think this is the engagement ring that I should use to propose to Uncle Severus with?" he asks.
Harry nods somberly, head bobbing adorably on his neck, chubby cheeks pink in his enthusiasm and seriousness. His hand is sticky, and the pink candy ring is glittering with spit.
Eyes glittering with a little mischief of his own (his parents were right to warn Lily, Merlin rest her soul, and then Severus, in that he would never truly grow up) he smiles at his son. "It's perfect, Harry," he says. "Uncle Severus will love it, but I think he'd like it more coming from you."
Harry frowns at him, nose scrunching up in a way that is reminiscent of his mother, who'd sacrificed her life to save his, ending the war with Voldemort and the enmity between James and Severus with her final wishes that both men be happy and that Harry be taken care of. Of course, at the time, neither man had dreamed that they'd end up falling in love and fulfilling Lily's wish in more ways than one.
"You want me to propose to Unca Sev'R'us?" Harry asks, giving his father an incredulous look.
"No, I want us to propose," James says, formulating a plan and praying to Merlin that it will go as well as he hopes it will.
He's having Severus over for dinner, nothing fancy, just a simple meal of stew (one of Severus' favorite dishes). He hadn't planned on proposing so soon, but Harry's gesture pushes all worries - that he's moving on too soon, that he's not doing what is best for his little boy - aside.
He whispers the plan into Harry's ear. The little boy listens raptly, eyes growing big with anticipation. He nods his approval of his father's plan and kisses him on the cheek then demands to be let down. He races off to his room to put his ring in a box, to make everything more proper and then 'helps' Ninny and Niko, their house elves, prepare dinner. Though the house elves roll their eyes and shake their head and give James glares of disapproval, it's clear in the way that they encourage the little boy and watch him keenly, that they love every minute of it.
Knowing that his son is in no immediate danger, James prepares himself for dinner, dressing in a pair of simple muggle jeans that Severus gifted him with and seems to favor, and the brown cable knit sweater that Severus has told him he looks sexy in. He tries to ignore the butterflies that are fluttering like mad in his stomach and focus on the words that he wants to say to the man that he's grown to love over the past two years, hoping that he won't be rejected.
"Severus Tobias Snape, will you do me the honor of becoming my beloved husband?" he whispers into the mirror. The mirror seems to frown at him and he sighs, runs a hand through his hair and immediately grimaces as he tries, in vain, to straighten it once again. There's a spell that Lily used to use to help it behave, but he's forgotten it.
"Oh, Lily, am I doing the right thing?" he asks, still looking at himself in the mirror. "Is it too soon? Just say the word, love, and I won't propose to Severus." I won't move on.
Closing his eyes, James rests his forehead against the cool surface of the mirror. Lily would know what to do, what to say. She always did. He misses her now, will always miss her.
A faint trace of lilacs stirs James from his thoughts and he opens his eyes. "Lily?"
James feels something warm light upon his shoulder and linger there for a moment that makes him think of eternity.
The words, "It's okay, I love you," seep into his heart and he feels like a weight has been lifted.
"Thank you," is echoed in his own whispered words.
"Daddy, Daddy!" Harry's voice brings James back to reality, the scent and the warm touch leaving him. "He's here!"
Smiling and shaking his head at his son's ill-concealed fervor, James gives his mirror image a quick wink and makes his way to where two of the three people he loves most in this world are waiting for him. When Severus sees him, he lifts an eyebrow in inquiry, the corner of his mouth quirking upward in amusement as he glances down at the boy clinging to his hand.
James kneels so that he's at eye level with his son. "Harry, love, why don't you go get your special surprise for your Uncle Severus?"
"Now?" Harry asks, swinging Severus' captured hand to and fro.
James nods. "Now."
The plan had been to wait until after dinner. He doesn't want to wait that long anymore, not when it feels like he's already waited a second lifetime.
Harry gives him a long look, and then nods and releases Severus' hand. He lets out a delighted whoop and runs from the room (he's always running it seems, he went from crawling straight to running, no walking for Harry James Potter). James wonders if his boy will ever slow down, and thanks his lucky stars that he hasn't yet learned how to or he'd never be down on his knees, getting ready to propose to Severus.
Severus gives James a concerned look when James doesn't get up from his knees, eyes following Harry's headlong rush into the dining room and tracking his dash back into the room. "What's all this about?"
Harry hasn't quite gotten the hang of stopping just yet and ends up hitting Severus square in the knees. Both let out an, "Oof," and Harry laughs before clamping a hand over his mouth and saying a muffled, "Sowwy."
"Whatever is the rush, child?" Severus asks.
Biting his lip, Harry draws in a deep breath, sobering up quite considerably (for a three, almost four, year old). Harry drops to his knees, much to an astonished Severus, who attempts, and fails, to lift the child. He looks to James who shakes his head and nods for him to pay attention to Harry.
Harry bows his head and pulls the box that he'd found to house his treasure in out from behind his back. It's tattered and torn. James recognizes it as the box that Lily had presented to him on his first birthday. It had held, within its satiny folds, a golden snitch, charmed to light up in the darkness and to hover in Harry's bedroom at night. It, and the box that it came in, is Harry's greatest treasure.
James holds his breath, tears springing to his eyes as Harry lifts his head and gives his 'Uncle' Severus a look filled with so much hope and love that James feels like he's been punched in the gut. It's the same look that Lily had on her face when she'd told him that she was pregnant, the look she'd given Harry every time she sang him to sleep at night, the look that she'd given James when she'd been moments away from death.
"Unca Sev'R'us," Harry says, little voice low in its serious timbre.
"Harry," Severus says, forehead puckering as he looks to James for an explanation.
"I love you, and my Daddy loves you. And I hope you love us, too. Will you do me the honor of becoming my Papa?" Harry asks, voice ringing out clearly as he carefully enunciates each word, though the words come out almost as quickly as he runs. He glances sidelong at his father to make sure that he's said the right thing, and beams when James nods at him and gestures toward the unopened box in his hand.
Harry startles and fumbles with the box. He lifts the lid, revealing the pink candy ring within it. James can see that the house elves have used their magic on it to clean it up some, and he makes a mental note to thank them for it, even though they will brush it off and take offense to it.
"Um, here," Harry says, pulling the ring out and proffering it to his beloved uncle.
Severus blinks down at Harry, and at the sticky ring that he's holding out in his trembling hand, and then a rare, slow smile forms on his lips and he sinks down to Harry's level.
"Yes, Harry, I love you and your Daddy. It is I who would be honored to be your Papa," Severus says, letting Harry put the ring on his pinky finger (the only one that it will fit on) and sitting back on his haunches to admire it in the flickering firelight. He catches James' eye and gives him a brief nod before he reaches for Harry's hand and allows the little boy to pull him to his feet.
Heart in his throat, James swallows. The palms of his hands are sweaty, and his mouth is dry. It's Harry who nudges him, who pulls the box holding the engagement ring from the back pocket of James' jeans and holds it out to his father to clumsily open and present to Severus.
Shaking his head and giving James a look of fond exasperation, Severus lifts him from his knees and pulls him into a kiss.
"If you're trying to ask me to marry you," he says when they part for air. "The answer is, yes."
"Can't even let a man propose properly," James chides, sliding the ring onto Severus' finger. It's a perfect fit. He didn't get to say the words that he wanted to, but it doesn't matter; it's a perfect proposal anyway.
"If I'd waited for you, I'd be old and gray," Severus says, voice dry.
Harry giggles and quickly smothers it behind his hands.
"Hush, you," Severus says, eyes sparkling. He holds out his hand, the one with the rings, for Harry to grasp onto and lets the little boy lead him into the dining room where Ninny and Niko show their approval of the proceedings with matching smirks.