Harry awoke the next morning to find himself alone in bed. He sat up and looked around the room. Severus had already gotten up, and he had left Harry a note on his pillow.

"Harry,

I have to run to Diagon Alley to pick something up.

I'll be back shortly.

Love,

Sev"

Harry smiled as he noticed that the other man had used the nickname Harry had given him. He got out of bed and changed into jeans and a tee. He ran a hand through his messy hair and wandered to the kitchen in hopes of finding some left over chicken for breakfast. He was happy when he found some and quickly set about preparing his breakfast.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus had woken a few hours earlier than expected, but when he remembered what today was, he was happy he could sneak out.

He dressed quietly, and slipped out of the house. He apparated to the entrance to Diagon Alley and found himself wandering the streets, looking for an appropriate gift. He wasn't sure what Harry liked these days, and he found himself wondering if this was a good idea. Something then caught his eye. He walked over to Flourish and Blotts and he found himself surrounded by books on Dark Arts Defense and Quidditch. He smiled as he grabbed a couple of books and paid for them.

He continued wandering around the alley, looking into random shops and finding nothing else of importance. He was walking by the owl shop, when he noticed something. He looked into the shop and saw an owl that bore a striking resemblance to Harry's owl from school. The owl had the same markings in the same places. He was sorely tempted to buy the owl for Harry, but he decided to bring Harry here some day and let him choose an owl.

After a couple hours of wandering, Severus decided to go back to the house. He had the foresight to place a silencing charm around his room, so he could enter the house without making his presence known immediately. He apparated into his room, stored the books in a drawer after he wrapped them, and apparated back on to the street. He then walked in the front door and down to the kitchen.

"Hey Severus, did you find what you needed?" Harry greeted him from the table. He had been in the midst of eating his breakfast.

"Yes, I did, Harry," Severus said, smiling. "Only problem was that I have to wait for it to be delivered to the shop before I can pick it up."

"Oh, I see," Harry said, after swallowing his food. "I made myself breakfast, but I didn't think you'd be home so soon."

"That's quite alright," Severus replied, going to the fridge. "I'll make myself something." He set about frying himself an egg and toasting some bread. He found Harry had peanut butter and jelly. When his toast and egg were done, he smothered one piece of toast in peanut butter and the other in strawberry jelly.

"That looks disgusting, Sev," Harry said, looking appalled. "What the hell is that?"

"A fried egg, peanut butter, and jelly sandwich," Severus said, before taking a huge bite. After he swallowed it, he said, "They're delicious."

"It looks questionable," Harry said, going back to his chicken and potatoes. The two ate in a companionable silence before Harry rose to set to work on another room to be cleaned.

"Where are you going?" Severus asked, as Harry cleared his dishes.

"There's a bedroom on the third floor that needs to be cleaned," Harry replied, starting for the door. He stopped when he felt a hand grab his arm gently.

"Why not take a day off cleaning?" Severus asked, holding Harry's arm gently. "Let's go do something, just the two of us."

"We could do that," Harry said, thoughtfully. He remembered what today was suddenly and turned bright red. How could he forget it was his birthday?

"I had made plans or this afternoon, if you're willing to give it up," Severus said, standing and bringing Harry close to him. Harry slipped his arms around him. Severus looked to him and said, "We could do something to celebrate."

"That would be nice," Harry said, trying to bury himself into Severus' shirt. He felt stupid that he had forgotten that today was his birthday.

"I'm guessing that you haven't been remembering your birthday," Severus said, holding the younger man to him. He felt Harry shake his head against his chest. "Is there anything you'd like to do right now?"

"Not really," Harry said, looking up slightly. Severus took this opportunity to capture Harry's lips in a kiss.

Harry slowly melted himself into the kiss, opening his lips slightly. Severus slowly moved to slide his tongue into the other man's mouth. Harry moaned softly as he felt his tongue being gently caressed by the older man's tongue. He responded by lightly caressing Severus' back with his fingers, drawing shapes and things. He felt Severus shiver slightly, and he continued moving his hands. Severus brought Harry's attention back to their mouths by lightly biting his tongue. Harry moaned softly at this, and he felt a hand slipping down his side. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his ass and jumped when it was squeezed.

Severus smiled into the kiss as his hand gently squeezed Harry's ass, and he slowly brought his hand back up to rest on Harry's hip. Harry drew him closer by slowly slipping his arms around Severus' neck. The kiss lasted a few minutes more, before Severus pulled back.

"How about we get to the plans I have for today," Severus said, slowly releasing Harry from his grasp.

"Sure," Harry said, taking Severus' hand in his.

The two men walked out of the house and down the street to the afternoon's activities.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: This is part one of Severus' birthday surprise for Harry's Birthday.

I'll throw up the rest of the story once I finish up the prequel, so it may be a short while. I've got a couple chapters left in that, and my mojo has been off and on lately.

Reviews are appriciated, even though I'm horrible about responding to them. I will make a special announcement at the end of my story thanking all of you who have reviewed.

--kd