Disclaimer: hmm… yea.
A/N: doo doo… Severus said yes to Harry. What's gonna happen when Hermione and Ron see Harry acting all… lovey dovey with their Potions Professor? You can bet your socks that Ron's gonna flip. :P Or maybe not.
Yay! Thank you Thank you! Love you all:D
Any presents for me? No? –sighs-
P.S. Yes I know Severus is getting OOC x.x He's a bit too sappy :x But but… I wanted him to be like that in this story ;-; A lovable Snape. So I apologize; but yea… Severus is sappy! Haha
I'm pushing the Christmas chapter back, so it will be the next chapter where Ron and Hermione arrive. Sorry ;x
Chapter 11: Under The Falling Snow
It was Friday night, a week since Severus agreed to let Hermione and Ron stay for Christmas. Harry scratched his chin with the feathered part of the quill.
"What have you been up to lately? I was wondering if you both would like to come…" Harry wrote; he looked down at the parchment then smiled and continued with the rest of the letter.
The green eyed teen was lying on his stomach in the living room; the fire was crackling, its warmth circulated the whole room. Harry hummed Christmas carols even though it was barely the start of December. While he continued to write the letter, Harry reached over to his side and took hold of his cup of hot chocolate, took a sip, and placed it back down next to him on the carpet.
"You better not knock that cup down, or I will be very displeased." Severus' deep, velvety voice sounded next to Harry.
Harry chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't knock it over." Harry said, without looking at Severus; he continued on with his invitation. "Besides, there's always a spell I can use to clean up the mess."
"Mmm…" Severus murmured, walking towards the couch and sat down; his feet were right by Harry's legs. "Are you done with that letter yet? You've been working on it since the afternoon, it's seven now." Severus hovered his right foot above Harry's calf then poked the muscles with his toes.
The tip of Harry's tongue stuck out as he hurriedly finished the last sentence of the letter. With a scribbly scrawl of a signature, Harry folded the parchment and tucked it inside an envelope.
"There all done," Harry said, handing the letter to Severus. "Can you send it for me?"
Severus took the letter from Harry, looked at it, and shook his head with a smile. "You forgot to write Ms. Granger or Mr. Weasley's name on the envelope Harry."
"Ooops."
Harry snatched the letter away from Severus' hand and quickly wrote down Hermione's name on the front; he gave the letter back and Severus took out his wand and sent the letter on its way to Hogwarts.
"If I didn't know you were writing a letter, I would've thought you wrote a novel seeing how long it was." Severus smirked; Harry stuck out his tongue at Severus and rolled, then sat up on the ground.
"Severus… I kind of changed the invitation a bit." Harry said, standing up then made himself comfortable next to Severus; he leaned his head on the crook of the Potions Master's shoulder.
"What did you do now?" Severus sighed, but he had a small smile on his face. He placed his arm around Harry's shoulders.
"Well, I put that they can come over on Christmas morning, stay and have dinner, exchange presents, and that would be all." Harry explained then let out a laugh. "They would be shocked to find that you actually let them in your house."
"I'm shocked at myself as well," Severus mused. "Not in a million years would I actually let the other two members of the 'Golden-Trio' stay for a day."
"Oh stop!" Harry exclaimed, smacking Severus on the thigh. "Well who would've thought that you would let me stay for a year?" Harry added daringly. "Remember, to other people we're not actually the best of friends. Well, look at us now."
"How will your friends take it? Don't you think it's wise not to tell either Ms. Granger or Mr. Weasley?" Severus asked as he traced circles on the back of Harry's neck.
Harry took his hands and sandwiched Severus' remaining hand in between; he patted it reassuringly.
"It'll be alright Sev. Besides, I don't want to keep anything from Ron and Hermione, they'll understand."
Severus let his fingers twirl around Harry's messy brown hair. "I agree with you for not hiding things from your friends Harry. But…" Severus paused in mid-sentence.
"But what?" Harry prodded. "You're still not sure if you want others to know? About us?"
Severus stopped playing with Harry's hair and brought his arms back to his lap. He then started to pry off Harry's smaller hands and held them.
"I was thinking that we should wait awhile before telling anyone," Severus said softly, turning his head slightly so that his cheek was nestled on top of Harry's head. "But I guess it's alright to tell Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, trusting that they would not tell anybody else."
"Oh Sev… They won't… OH!" Harry yelled out suddenly; Severus removed his head from the top of the mussed up hair and looked at the younger man.
"What is it?"
Harry closed his eyes and groaned. "I haven't thought about what to get for them."
"Christmas isn't for another twenty something days Brat…" Severus started, but never finished the sentence for Harry turned around so fast he almost knocked Severus down on his back.
"Can we go shop for presents?" Harry asked hopefully. "Say yes Severus!"
"Calm down Harry!" Severus chuckled and thought how his Harry was very much acting like a child anticipating on the arrival of Christmas. "We'll go on Sunday alright?"
Harry nodded his consent. "What should I get them this year? Ron's easy, but Hermione… That's another story." Harry frowned.
Severus was busy pondering what to get for Harry, he barely noticed Harry talking.
'I've never gotten anybody presents before, let alone someone I love… This is going to be quite a challenge.'
"Hey Severus?" Harry said; Severus snapped back to reality.
"What is it Harry?"
"Where are we going to shop?" Harry hopped off from the sofa and bent down to retrieve his cup of, now cold, hot chocolate. Harry took a sip, made a face since it was cold, and set the cup on the coffee table. "Any ideas?"
Severus waved his hand at the dirty cup and in a flash it disappeared, most likely it was banished to the kitchens. Harry took this moment to sit back down on the couch and laid his head on Severus' lap, with his legs propped up on the armrest of the sofa; Harry folded his hands on top of his abdomen.
"What do you say if we go shop in London? I'm sure there are plenty of shops for you to choose from." Severus suggested. "It's best if we go Sunday morning when it's not too crowded."
Harry face lit up; his eyes traveled up and looked at Severus upside down. "We're not going to Muggle London are we? I remember last time I suggested that we go to where Muggles reside." It was so long ago…
"Of course not Brat, we're going to where only wizards reside." Severus answered. "I'm sure Mr. Weasley would appreciate it if you got him something that he knows what it does."
Harry chuckled, remembering the time when they were in first year and he told Ron about a 'T.V'. Ron had actually thought it was a drink.
"I think I'll get him a new chess set, his old one is so battered up." Harry said to himself; Severus only listened and began brushing the dark brown tresses away from Harry's eyes. "Maybe we can play chess while he's here; he's pretty good you know." Green eyes met black; Severus only smiled down at Harry.
"Are you implying that I should challenge Mr. Weasley?" Severus asked. He was aware that Harry knew about his chess playing skills. "I assure you Harry, by the time I'm done with Mr. Weasley he will never touch chess again."
Harry laughed; he snuggled deeper into Severus' thighs. It was pretty comfortable. Severus stopped playing with Harry's hair and moved his hand to cover Harry's slightly pink cheek; it was warm and soft to the touch.
"So, what should I get for Hermione?"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
On Sunday morning, Harry found himself in the middle of a very busy street. Severus stood next to him with an amused look on his face.
"It seems you're not the only one who wanted to get Christmas presents early." Severus muttered. "So much for not being crowded."
Severus had apparated them both to a very busy part of London, the shopping district. Witches and wizards of all ages were bustling around, shops were filled with customers, and there wasn't one single person who wasn't happy. Harry looked around and smiled; the Christmas holiday was certainly the best time of the year. Harry looked to his side at Severus and hooked his arm with Severus' own.
"Let's meet at the square two hours later. I'm sure you don't want to stick with me the whole time." Harry said loudly over the noise of people talking and laughing in the street. "Also, I don't want you to see what I'm getting for you."
Severus chuckled. "Alright, I'll meet you at the square at…" Severus took out his pocket watch; it was ten o' clock. "I'll be there at noon."
Harry nodded and waved good bye to Severus; the Potions Master watched on as Harry blended into the colorful sea of witches and wizards. Smiling softly to himself, Severus walked the opposite way, wondering what he should get for Harry.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
'What should I get for Severus?' Harry thought as he shifted the shopping bags in his hand.
One and a half hour later, Harry found the perfect wizards' chessboard for Ron and a new book bag for Hermione. Harry found one that doesn't expand no matter how much books you put into it, but it ensured that everything fits. With only half an hour left, Harry fretted. He still hadn't figured out what to get for Severus.
'Something to do with Potions? Nah… He has a lot of books on Potions already…'
Harry continued walking with his mind in a daze when he noticed a shop that sold all sorts of magical jewelry. An idea popped into Harry's head and he quickly made his way inside the shop. Once he was inside, Harry was astounded at the large selections of different types of rings, necklaces, bracelets, and other jewelry. There were gold ones, shiny silver ones, necklaces and rings with sparkling stones, and some that looked like it's only for witches. Harry walked by the glass showcases, stopping every now and then to look at the displays. Harry stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on a silver ring with a serpent design engraved onto the smoothness of the silver band.
"That's perfect… I'm sure Severus wouldn't mind wearing a ring." Harry murmured to himself; he looked around a shop and saw a salesclerk walking his way. Harry smiled at the man once the clerk stood next to him.
"Good day Sir. How may I help you?" The man asked politely.
"I want to purchase that ring," Harry said, pointing at the silver band. "And I want to know if your shop does protection charms on jewelry."
The clerk took out his wand and pointed at the showcase; the glass door opened and he reached in and took the ring out.
"Yes, our store does protection charms. But you would have to pay extra for them." The clerk informed Harry. Harry just smiled at the clerk.
"That's fine. Can you put the ring in a box for me? It's a Christmas present." The clerk smiled and nodded and asked Harry to follow him to the front counter.
Ten minutes later, Harry left the store with the newly bought ring, with all sorts of protection charms applied. Thinking that it was near twelve, Harry made his way to the square.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
During the time when Harry was purchasing his presents for Ron and Hermione, Severus had wandered into the very same store where Harry bought the silver ring. Severus walked around the whole store before setting his eyes on a silver necklace. It wasn't at all elaborate; the necklace was just a thin silver chain with a pendant. Once Severus saw the necklace, he felt that it was a perfect gift for Harry; it wasn't too girly, but not too simple either. That was because the pendant itself was beautiful. It was a emerald stone set in a ring of smaller diamonds; Severus had thought how the emerald stone reminded him of Harry's eyes, bright and beautiful. At once Severus called for a clerk and was gone from the store in less than ten minutes. He had also asked for the necklace to be placed in a box, but didn't let the clerk wrap the box.
"Hope the Brat likes this…" Severus said softly to himself as he walked on to the square.
Severus sat down on a bench by the fountain. People were walking by him in a blur, all were holding multiple bags. But so far, still no signs of Harry. Severus took out his pocket watch again and checked the time; it was ten minutes till twelve. He shrugged and placed the watch back into his robes.
'He probably got excited when purchasing his gifts.'
Not a moment too soon, Severus spotted Harry's excited face, and not to mention Harry's waving arms. The teen ran up to Severus and sat down next to him on the bench.
"Did you get everything?" Severus asked, eyeing the shopping bags Harry placed on the ground.
"Yep! I even bought your present!" Harry chirped. "But I'm not telling you what I got!"
Severus chuckled. "Well I got your present as well, and cards for your friends."
"What did you get for me? Can I see the cards?" Harry asked excitedly. "I want to sign the cards!"
Severus patted the top of Harry's head as if he was a child. "No, you can't see what I got for you. But sure, you can sign the cards. They are your friends after all." Severus wrapped his arms around Harry just as a cold blast of wind whipped across their faces. It was going to be a very cold Christmas.
Harry shivered from the cold wind and pulled his scarf higher, but felt better once Severus' arms wrapped around him.
"Can we go back now? It's getting a bit chilly out here. I want to be next to the fireplace with a nice cup of hot cocoa." Harry turned and smiled at the Potions Master.
"Of course," Severus replied, holding Harry tighter against him. "Hang on."
And then the couple was gone in a blink of an eye.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Harry set the shopping bags onto the carpet in the living room and untangled his scarf, which he tossed onto the couch. Severus took out his wand and pointed it at the fireplace. Instantly, a fire burst forth and flickered inside.
"Do you want a cup of hot cocoa Severus?" Harry asked as he walked towards the kitchen. Severus sat down and let out a moan; his legs were tired from walking around the whole morning.
"Yes please." Severus called; Harry went in the kitchen and Severus heard the clink and clanks of cups and pots. "Can you add marshmallows in mine?"
"Sure!" Harry yelled from the kitchen.
Five minutes later, Harry emerged holding two steaming cups of hot cocoa. He sat down next to Severus on the couch and handed him a cup. Severus took it graciously and sipped the hot, sweet liquid. The warm chocolaty goodness tumbled down his throat and settled inside his stomach. Severus let out a sigh as he felt himself relaxing almost instantly. Harry grinned into his own cup as he took a drink.
"So Harry," Severus started, setting his cup down on the coffee table. "Have you thought about what to make for dinner the night your friends come over?"
Harry licked his lips and cradled the warm cup in his hands. "Not really, but like you said, Christmas isn't for another twenty something days."
"If you need help on making food that night, tell me." Severus told Harry, patting the teen's thigh. "Right now, I'm feeling a bit tired so I'll be in my room if you need me." Severus stood up, taking his cup with him. He then leaned down and kissed the top of Harry's head.
"I'll call you when lunch is ready." Harry smiled up at the man. Severus nodded and returned the smile before walking away.
Harry folded his legs under him and took another sip of the hot cocoa. His eyes turned to the fire where it crackled. Then Harry looked out the windows; it was a cold and breezy morning. The skies were gray; there wasn't one single white cloud in the sky. This was the total opposite of when Harry had just arrived at Severus' manor. The green grass, trees, and colorful flora were now all yellow and bare.
"It seems we'll be having a white Christmas." Harry whispered.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Severus! Look!" Harry cried out.
Severus looked up from his novel and saw where Harry's finger was pointing. A light snowfall was covering everything in sight in a blanket of white. From the looks of the light snowstorm, it had only just begun. Harry shivered in excitement; Severus looked at the teen beside him and couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"Harry you're practically squirming out of your skin," Severus told the boy; Harry turned his head and looked at Severus with a huge smile. "Why are you so excited?"
"I'm excited because it's snowing outside! We're going to have a nice, snowy Christmas." Harry turned his attention back to the window. "And… And I want to--"
"What do you want?" Severus prompted.
Harry hesitated for a moment before answering. "I want to go outside and… and just be at the snow covered grounds. It's very beautiful."
"Well why didn't you just say so?" Severus smiled and got up from the couch. "Let's go grab our coats and go outside. I want to see the snow covered scenery as well."
They walked to the front door where their thick winter coats were hanging on a coat rack. After they donned their coats Severus took out his wand and pointed it at Harry and himself; a warm mist surrounded their body to prevent them from catching a cold. Harry opened the front door and immediately was greeted by a blast of stinging cold winds. Severus walked up behind the smaller man and gently pushed him outside and closed the door behind him.
"It's beautiful Sev! Look at the tree branches… Oh I think I see some icicles!" Harry said happily; he spun around in small circles with his arms opened wide.
"Don't spin too fast Harry; you might slip and fall on your arse." Severus smirked; Harry stopped spinning for a moment to send Severus a playful glare.
Harry then walked back to where Severus stood; he held out his hands to catch the falling snowflakes. Snowflakes of different sizes and shapes fell onto Harry's waiting hands; they melted once it came into contact with Harry's gloves. Harry tilted his head back and opened his mouth wide, hoping to catch the falling snow in his mouth.
"I doubt you can catch much." Severus chuckled; he brushed snowflakes away from Harry's cheeks.
Harry closed his mouth after awhile then smacked his lips.
"It tastes fresh… I was hoping for more."
Harry frowned and he wiped at some water droplets on his glasses. He leaned against Severus body and said man automatically wrapped his long arms around the puffy coat Harry was wearing. The green eyed teen burrowed his face into Severus chest and coiled both of his arms around Severus' waist. Severus did the same thing.
"I wish we can stay here forever…" Harry whispered softly into Severus' coat. "Nobody here but me and you."
"Yes… I like that as well." Severus murmured, rubbing Harry's back gently. "Nobody but us."
Harry pulled his head away from Severus' body and let go of the waist as well. The taller man looked down into the brightness of Harry's emerald orbs. Harry slowly brought one of his hands up and cradled Severus' slightly pink cheek. The other hand when to the back of Severus' head and Harry slowly guided the head down. He stood on his tiptoes and whispered against Severus' ear.
"Please…"
It was at that moment Severus felt that everything had fallen into place. Harry was right there in front him; he was everything that Severus ever wanted.
Harry was his.
Severus took Harry's hand away from his face and held it at the boy's side. Slowly, but surely, Severus leaned down; Harry no longer stood on his tiptoes. When they were mere centimeters away from each other's lips, Severus froze and took a second to look at the teen below him. Harry had his eyes closed and was waiting for that moment to happen. Severus knew then he couldn't deny Harry or himself for that matter.
He moved closer and finally, Severus kissed Harry for the very first time.
It was soft, yet sweet at the same time. Severus captured Harry's lower lip and suckled at bit. He heard Harry moaned and the boy parted his mouth slightly. Severus took this chance to slowly slid his tongue inside the warm cavern of Harry's mouth. The kiss got more and more passionate by the second. In the back of Harry's mind he remembered when Severus told him he didn't have any experience in kissing. If this was no experience, what will it be like if Severus HAD experience?
Severus continued to kiss Harry with fervor. He pulled back a bit and nibbled on Harry's lips; he felt Harry moving in closer to achieve a deeper kiss. But alas, when oxygen was in demand, both men pulled away. Harry looked up at Severus with a deep blush across his cheeks; his lips were swollen from all the suckling and nibbling. Severus smiled at the teen.
"Well? How was it Brat?" Severus asked, cradling Harry's face in his hands.
Harry took a deep breath before answering his love. "That… That was bloody brilliant."
"I thought so." Severus whispered before swooping down to kiss the younger man once more; snow swirled and covered them as they continued with their kiss.
Everything was perfect.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: Ahem! Yes yes I know I said this would be the Christmas chapter –hides- But as I started typing this chapter, I thought it would be too long if I included the part where Hermione and Ron appear. So I made the Christmas part into another chapter :X Don't be mad!! Dx Anyways, hope you liked this chapter :D Reviews are much welcomed :)
Next chapter: The Joys and Pains of Christmas