Author Notes: A Happy New Year`s Eve to everyone! =) I hope you all have a good start to 2015 and that I`ll see you again in that year.^^
The idea to this One Shot was very spontaneous and it`s only meant to bring some Snarry into the first days of the new year. I hope you enjoy it. =)
Appreciations: Thank you, Yen for beta reading this story, although it wasn`t planned.^^ I`m very grateful for your help and I hope that you have a wonderful start to 2015!^^ Thanks for helping me this whole year by beta reading my stories!*smiles*
You are the best, Yen!*hugs*
Fireworks
It was New Year's Eve.
Everyone was celebrating. There were parties in the pubs, parties at homes and even parties on the street.
Harry sighed as he looked out the window of his apartment in London. His neighbors were having a barbeque on their balcony and although it looked very crowded, he wished he could join them.
Really, he hadn't imagined the new year to start like this; alone in his apartment, with only the television to keep him company. He sighed again as he looked down at the street where groups of people walked, laughing, in the direction of the tube station. They were probably going to a nice party or to have a drink in a pub or... it didn't really matter what they did, it was only important that they did something together with loved ones or friends.
Harry wouldn't have cared what he did if he had Ron and Hermione to spend the evening with. But his best friends were in Australia at the moment, having already started the New Year without him. He imagined them at a white sandy beach somewhere, running into the breaking of the waves and watching the magnificent fireworks which Harry had only seen on TV a few hours ago.
Shaking his head, he shoved his envy aside. Ron and Hermione had asked him to go with them, but he had declined. After the end of the war and finishing their last year at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione hadn't had nearly enough time to spend together... not with Mrs. Weasley watching them like a hawk. They deserved to have some time to themselves, before the matriarch of the Weasleys started to plan their wedding in earnest.
Harry chuckled.
If Fleur hadn't given birth to the Weasleys' first grandchild, and if she and Bill hadn't invited everyone to spend the Christmas and New Year's celebrations with them, Molly wouldn't have allowed Ron to make such a trip with Hermione.
Maybe, Harry wizard mused to himself, he should have stayed at Bill and Fleur's home for New Year's Eve as well. He had been there for the Christmas holidays, but it had felt like too much to deal with for him. It was harder than he had expected to see George without Fred by his side, although having more than a year to deal with the death of a loved one should have been enough.
But... Harry hadn't really had the chance to deal with that loss when he had helped to rebuild Hogwarts and then started studying for his NEWTs. Still, he might have stayed if it hadn't been for Ginny. They had tried to get back together after the war, but Harry broken it off after two months of dancing around each other.
Ginny had accepted his confession that he was into men and not women with a lot of grace. In fact, all the Weasleys had accepted that he was gay without any problems and Mrs. Weasley had even given him a lecture about safe sex.
However, Harry still felt guilty whenever he saw Ginny. Her dejected expression was too much to bear for another three days. He knew she was also still in love with him and he hadn't wanted to make it harder for her by staying with her family.
Now, he didn't have anyone to celebrate with. Dean, Seamus and Neville were pub-crawling, but he hadn't felt like getting drunk with them. He was afraid he would tell his fellow Gryffindors who he would rather spend New Year's Eve with if he drank too much.
Harry shook his head. No, they wouldn't understand why he wanted to spend this evening with their former Potions Professor. Even Ron and Hermione had a hard time wrapping their minds around the fact that he had fallen in love with Severus Snape after spending so much time with the man, when they had helped to rebuild Hogwarts together.
At least they supported him. The other Gryffindors would never understand it and... Harry could also never tell the Potions Master about it either. He and Severus might be on friendly terms now, but he doubted his former teacher had any romantic feelings for him.
That was the reason why he hadn't asked Severus to spend New Year's Eve with him. He was afraid that he would accidentally reveal his true feelings for the man and he didn't want the new year to start with heartbreak.
Shaking his head Harry got up from his spot in front of the window to get his winter cloak. If he had to spend the evening without his friends, he could at least get to the nearest pub to get drunk.
A stranger wouldn't care if he started babbling about his hidden feelings.
OOO
It was New Year's Eve.
The last day of the year had always been rather unspectacular at Hogwarts. They only held big celebrations for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter, but not for the change of the year.
To tell the truth, Severus had always been glad that there wasn't yet another useless celebration with hyperactive students all around him while he had taught at Hogwarts. One year would just melt into the next and it never made any difference for him. It had only meant he had to get used to writing the day's date with another year once the winter holidays were over.
But now...
The Potions Master sighed as he stared at his work bench in his lab. Somehow, it felt like he should celebrate the start of the coming year. After all, it was also the start of the first year which he wouldn't spend teaching at Hogwarts. He had helped to rebuild the castle and spend another school year teaching potions, but after the graduation of the seventh and eighth years in July, he had quit his job to start researching potions in earnest.
After so many years, he had saved enough money to support himself comfortably for a few years. The last few months had been spent renovating his home in Spinner's End and setting up a potions lab in the cellar of the house.
Now, Severus was ready to start his research without having to worry about being interrupted by students or colleagues. He had thought New Year's Eve would be a great time to start working on his first test potion... but it wasn't.
The Potion Master sneered at himself. He had never had the urge to celebrate anything, but today it just felt right… only he had no one to spend the evening with. Of course, that was no different from all the other years before, but for some reason, he felt the lack of friends more keenly now.
Sighing, Severus shook his head. He wasn't being honest with himself. Minerva, Filius and Pomona could be considered his friends and he had spent Christmas with them at Hogwarts, but they weren't available this evening. The only other person he had been friendly with in the past was...
Severus groaned. No, he couldn't very well ask Harry to spend New Year's Eve with him. The young man was sure to be celebrating the start of the year with his friends. He wouldn't have been interested in his company if Severus had dared to ask him.
And it was better this way, the Potions Master decided. Otherwise, he might have revealed to Harry that he thought of him as more than a former student, more than a friend. A sour smile turned Severus' lips up.
Harry wouldn't be thrilled to learn that his former Potions Professor fancied him... who would?
Severus shook his head again to clear his mind of these distracting thoughts, but it was no use.
Since he wouldn't be able to brew anything this evening and since he didn't have anyone to spend it with, he could at least get drunk in a pub.
With that thought in mind, he left the cellar to get his winter cloak before heading for Muggle London.
OOO
"Another one, please!"
Harry was glad that he got the words out without slurring. He had lost count of how many drinks he had already had.
In fact, if there wasn't a big digital clock on the wall of the pub, counting down the minutes till midnight, he wouldn't have known if the New Year had already arrived.
As it was, there was still half an hour left before the fireworks started.
Harry didn't know how he was going to manage until then. The people and tables in front of him looked already blurry even though he was wearing his glasses and he knew that he wouldn't be able to walk to the door even if the building caught fire.
Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to go out by himself. He groaned as another drink was placed in front of him. On any other day the barkeeper would have told him to call it a night and go home, but since it was New Year's Eve and everyone was drinking too much, Harry was sure that he would get another drink after this one, if he asked for it.
If he managed to drink this one down…
Green eyes looked worriedly at the clear liquid in the glass.
Harry was just wondering if it would be better to take a break from drinking when he noticed someone sitting down at his table. He blinked up at the stranger. As far as his foggy mind could tell, it was a man clothed in black and with black hair and a harsh profile. He seemed very familiar to Harry, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out where he had seen him before.
It didn't really matter.
A few strangers, both women and men, had sat down at his table during the last few hours, but they all left once they realized he didn't want any company... or at least, not the kind of company they had to offer.
Harry didn't think it would be any different with this man.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?"
Harry only rolled his eyes at the standard question. He didn't want to deal with yet another guy hitting on him. His plan had been to be surrounded by people and to have a nice evening, but most people had either arrived in groups or were looking for a one-night stand and Harry wasn't interested in that.
"My best friends are in Australia... the family, which has all but adopted me, is celebrating together... I was a fool for not joining them just because I couldn't deal with... the heartbroken look in Ginny's eyes, after... I told her that I was gay... and the man I'm interested in... certainly doesn't want to have that kind of a... relationship with me."
Harry didn't know where the words had come from, but it felt good to get them out all the same. After all, he would never see this stranger again despite how familiar he seemed. It wasn't like the man wouldn't leave him alone in the next few minutes to find a more sober bloke to be with.
"Which man would be so stupid as not to be interested in you?"
Harry gave a bitter laugh at that and knocked back the remainder of his drink.
"A man who has hated me... for years... who only became sort of a friend recently. He was my teacher for the last seven years. Besides, I don't even know... if he is... gay."
The young man closed his eyes for a moment as he felt the room around him start to spin. He should have brought a Sobering Potion with him. As it was, he didn't know if he would be able to Apparate home without splinching himself.
He was thankful that his confession was just met with silence from the stranger since he wouldn't have been able to stand some mindless babbling right now. Hopefully, the man would just get up and...
When something cool touched his hand, Harry's eyes snapped open. The blurred image of a small vial appeared in front of him, held by long pale fingers. For some reason, the
smell and color of the liquid seemed familiar to Harry and before he could question his sanity, he had all but dumped the contents of the bottle down his throat. Hermione would have his head if she ever learned of this thoughtless act, but...
Harry gasped as heat spread through his veins almost at once, neutralizing the alcohol in his system. A Sobering Potion, his mind concluded and his eyes snapped up to the stranger, only... it wasn't a stranger anymore.
"Severus?!" The name was uttered in a shocked gasp as he stared at the Potions Master who was watching him from bottomless black eyes. Drawing in a shuddering breath, Harry recalled what he had just told this man... he had all but confessed that he was in love with him.
Severus wasn't stupid, he would know he was the one Harry had been talking about. But perhaps he was just as drunk as Harry had been… only one look at Severus' clear eyes proved he was very much sober.
"Merlin!"
Harry groaned and hid his face in his hands as he realized his evening was about to take a turn for the worse.
"No, Severus is my correct name."
Harry's head shot up again only to meet the gaze of a smirking Potions Master.
OOO
Severus didn't know what he had expected this evening to be like. He had walked into a few pubs in Muggle London only to leave after only half an hour and a beer each time, when he just how drunk most patrons of the pub already were.
He wouldn't even have bothered entering this particular pub if he hadn't felt a familiar magical signature inside. He had spotted Harry at once, sitting at a table in the corner, but he had bid his time at the bar for half an hour, until it became obvious that the young man was here all by himself.
Before Severus could think about it twice, he had sat down at the same table. He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been the confession coming from Harry's lips.
No, Severus would never have thought that this handsome young wizard could ever think of him as anything more than a mere friend. It was unbelievable, it was... The Potions Master stopped his random thoughts before they got out of hand.
Harry had made that confession in a drunken state. There was no reason to believe he meant what he had said, Severus reminded himself. Still, he had to find out what Harry's true feelings were now, otherwise he wouldn't forgive himself.
"Did you mean what you said earlier?"
Shocked green eyes looked up at him. Severus braced himself for a heated denial when Harry opened his mouth.
"Yes, I meant it."
Surprised, Severus stared at Harry and noticed how a faint blush crept into the cheeks of the young man.
"Look, I am sorry that you... had to listen to that. I know that you are... probably not interested and that you are going to laugh at me, but... I have fallen in love with you and now... you can..."
For once in his life, Severus didn't think before acting. He just leaned over and sealed Harry's lips with his own, stopping the young wizard from rambling anymore nonsense.
As soon as the soft lips parted in surprise, Severus swept his tongue across them and deepened their kiss. He wasn't going to let this chance pass him by like he had with so many that had gone before.
OOO
Severus was kissing him!
If the thin lips hadn't felt so real against his own and the kiss more intense than any kiss Harry had ever had, he would have thought that he was dreaming.
But it was real. Everything was real – Severus, their kiss, the noise around them, the explosions of the fireworks...
Fireworks!
Harry's eyes snapped open and he broke their kiss to look up at the clock on the wall. It was one minute past midnight. The New Year had already began.
He looked at Severus who was studying him just as intently.
"So, you... feel the same?"
Actually, the kiss should have been proof enough, but Harry just wanted to make sure that he wasn't getting his hopes up for nothing.
"Yes, I do."
Harry's face lit up with a bright smile. He ignored the strangers around them exchanging New Year's greetings and took hold of Severus' hand.
"So... this is a great start into the new year."
A small smile ghosted around Severus' lips as he nodded.
"Indeed... and someone said that it brings good luck if you start the new year as you ended the last one."
Harry only blinked in confusion. What did he... Oh!
Warmth spread in his cheeks as Severus leaned closer to him and he remembered why they hadn't noticed the arrival of midnight. Well, he certainly wouldn't mind spending more time doing the same thing… or even the whole night.
That was Harry's last conscious thought before their lips met again in a deep kiss to mark the start of a very promising new year.