Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Harry Potter.
Note: Thanks for the reviews. I will see how this chapter goes and then I will decide in the course of this chapter if I am going to add another one to finalize it. But anyway, let's begin.
Harry sighed, sipping his champagne as he glanced around the room. The atrium of the Ministry for Magic was big but Harry knew the layout from previous years. He tried to look for a flash of red, or black really. Black would do nicely as well but he didn't find anybody.
He sighed, drowning the glass of champagne before passing it to an empty tray. He twirled his wand between his fingers, sighing, hoping it would soon be over so he could celebrate his engagement with his fiancé.
He was engaged, that thought send chills of pleasure down his spine. Him, Harry Potter, formerly known as the bane of Severus Snape's existence was now going to be Mr. Snape….or was that Professor or…
"Hey, Harry, what you contemplating, mate, never seen that particular look on your face before?" Ron grinned at him and Harry answered, still too consumed in his thoughts.
"Whether I want to be called Harry Snape, or Harry Potter, or perhaps Harry Potter Snape or Harry Snape Potter and whether my title should be Professor Potter or Professor Snape, or Professor Potter Snape…."
"Mate, you have lost it. Perhaps we should remove you from Snape's influence for a while if you are thinking up daft stuff like that. You are not a thirteen year old witch." Ronald Weasley frowned at him, a little pale with all the words Harry had uttered while Hermione hid a smile.
"I am sure that not many thirteen year old witches spent their time linking their names to that of their Potions Master, Ron." Harry grinned at his best friend.
"Oh, you never know…they sometimes went for the biggest fools like Lockhart." Ron grinned at Hermione, whose smile was slowly turning sour.
"Well at least when I had my first boyfriend we did more than just lip locking." She shot back, reminding Harry of Ron's disastrous relationship with Lavander.
"Yeah, because talking is oh so nice." Ron answered with a gleeful grin.
"You never complain when I talk." She frowned at Harry before she brightened and said, pushing her hair back from her face. "But who said that thirteen year old witches never fantasized about Professor Snape? I mean with his deep velvet voice, those dark eyes, those strong slender beautiful hands, that strong powerful masculine body, that strong dominant personality. Now he is a man who knows how to take care of somebody, those well-mannered words and the intelligence that is obvious lurking in the depths of those dark eyes, dark like coffee and dark chocolate and the white creamy skin…
Harry's mind helpfully supplied the images with the words….
"….the way his eyes sparkled when he is pleased or when he is angry with somebody. That wicked tongue with those insults falling off of them and…."
The long pale slender hands that play with my nipples, his legs nudging mine apart, his thin lips curling into a feral smirk, the yellow uneven teeth bared in a low growl, his head thrown back, eyes closed and his face filled with rapture and pleasure, pleasure I am causing. The long hair streaming over my stomach and thigh as he takes me in his mouth, sucking lightly as his eyes continue to hold mine, smirking lightly in response before he licks me, making me moan with pleasure….
"Hermione, what did you feel for the guy?" Ron's eyes are wide and his friend face is flushed with anger and jealousy. Harry was sure his face was flushed with something else entirely and Hermione's as well, through his friend was smirking with pleasure at managing to shut Ron up.
"I only felt what every other thirteen year old felt: a combination of hormones and him being the only young professor at the school…."
"There was Remus too. Why did you have to fantasize about Snape?" Ron sputtered. Harry wisely kept his mouth shut and Hermione laughed uneasily.
"Be glad it is only a fantasy." Hermione smiled at her boyfriend and Harry's heart nearly slow to a stop.
"It better be because you will face my wand then." He replied without thinking as his best friends turned to him, wondering what had happened to him. He swallowed thickly but he held his wand steady as he gazed upon them. Hermione looked shocked through her eyes were calculating.
How could a wizard he had always hated change him so? He hadn't even come to terms with the fact that he was in love, deeply in love with Severus or that he loved wizards but it had happened so fast and it felt so bloody right. He loved Severus; yes that was what it was…
Oh Merlin, he loved Severus, how weird was that? For years he had hated the older wizard. Was he truly such a freak that a little kindness and affection might be shown to him and he preyed upon it like a Dementor upon a soul?
No, it was more that that. It was Severus and the thought of losing the older wizard, of seeing him exchange those meaningful glances with anybody else was agonizing. To know that Harry would have let that escape, well it would break his heart and make howl with pain. Severus completed him on so many different levels Harry couldn't even begin to count.
"Uhm, Harry, why are you so upset? Like I said, it is merely a simple fantasy I had when I was thirteen. That is nearly 10 years ago. Trust me, I've not fantasized about him since then."
Hermione laid a hand on his arm, peering into his eyes.
"Well it is my job, isn't it? Isn't that what a bond-mate is supposed to do?" Harry asked innocently.
Ron choked on his drink, Hermione nearly stumbling as the hand on his arm tightened painfully. Harry watched as his friends tried to control themselves and failed miserably. Hermione's lips quivered as if she was holding the questions at bay or the grin that threatened to break out. Finally the Known It All Gryffindor couldn't contain it anymore and said.
"He asked you, Harry?"
Harry merely gave a nod as Ron was busy trying to draw a breath into his lungs before Hermione continued. "How did he ask you? It is so soon, you barely know each other and you don't even know what Snape will do if he is in private…"
"Except for talking to me, kissing me and doing all those things you once imagined he would? Hermione, it is fine. I…sometimes I feel like Severus is, except for you two, is the one who really knows me. The real me. The hidden me. The one who doesn't have to cheery all the time and who doesn't enjoy his fame, the little boy wanting affection, the broken hearted hero who is going crazy with the memories, that is the one he sees. The one he allows me to be. I don't need to be strong all the time because really, who can stand up against Severus…."
"Gives the whole Slytherin always top thing a whole new meaning…." Hermione whispered and Ron who had just managed to draw in a breath again, spewed his drink as both boys turned to her.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry asked.
She gave them each that look. The look that told them not be any stupider then their wont was and said, sounding very much like her former bookwormish self. "I don't know but I heard the saying from Slytherins and it was written on quite a lot of bathroom doors too that Slytherins always top. At first I thought it was just because of well, they are the best at everything, like being on top of the world of something like that but well, it puts this into a whole new perspective, especially with the Slytherin boys so dominant. Like Draco and Professor Snape and Lucius Malfoy and even Voldemort, he was dominant too, so I guess they learn it at a young age, I wonder how, would somebody sit them down…"
"Hermione, you do realize it is very disturbing in the way you have been watching the Slytherin boys then." Ron told her.
"I am not sure if I want to know what they have been taught and by who. No, I am quite happy to believe in my very own Slytherin."
Harry nodded at Hermione, a bit put out by the Slytherins only top rule. Mmm, let's see if he could make some rules for his own then with Severus.
"But how did he ask you, Harry?"
"Oh in a very roundabout way, Hermione."
"Harry, dear boy, how are you?" Mrs. Weasley cut off any conversation between them as she steered herself towards their small group. Harry smiled at them before Hermione hissed. "How did the proposal go, Harry James Potter?"
Silence fell and Harry looked up to see Mrs. Weasley looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "Who and what proposal?"
She turned to Ginny, her eyes lighting up expectantly and seeing the ring on the younger Weasley woman's finger she beamed and said. "I knew he would get to his senses and propose to you…."
Ginny's eyes were slanted in confusion, accepting the hug her mother bestowed upon her. She turned to Harry, frowning at him as the younger man tried to say something. "Mom, I am glad that you like Dean but really…it hasn't been that long since we started going out and really, we are definitely not at the stage yet to even think about getting married…." Ginny finally said.
Mrs. Weasley drew back confused. "But then who did Harry ask to marry him?"
"No mum, " Ron said with a smirk. "Snape asked Harry to marry him…"
Harry could have smacked his best friend, really he could have but he didn't. Instead he waited until Mrs. Weasley would blow up.
But instead she met his eyes, calmly and said. "So when can we make Snape an honorary Weasley then and of course, when can we start planning the wedding?"
Harry choked on his breath and he said. "But he hasn't even asked me properly yet, you know with a ring and all and really we just want a quiet ceremony."
"Quiet, Harry Potter?" Mrs. Weasley chuckled darkly and Harry remembered the way they had proposed to one another in front of Rita Skeeter. Right, quiet was a word not associated with Harry.
"Well, let's get him to ask you properly. By the speed you two will be travelling we will be lucky to have this wedding something in the next five years." She smiled at him a bit shakily.
"Or I might just wake up early tomorrow morning and drag you down to the ministry to get married and ignore all the fuss and then claim you as mine, bypass Andromeda Tonks, make use of your fame to adopt Teddy Lupin, quit our jobs and go travelling together." The dark silky voice in his ear made Harry shiver.
"Be careful or I will hold you to that."
"Please do, I find myself in favor of it." The velvet tongue lapped at his ear and Harry swallowed thickly. He glanced back at the older wizard.
After Severus had returned with Teddy, the older wizard had drifted away again. Harry had missed him in the short moment they had been apart, separated by a handful or a roomful of people. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to say it the biggest three words of his life when Snape looked down, his dark eyes narrowed as he hissed.
"Do not dare."
"You don't even know what I am going to do or say." Harry yelped, startled.
Severus sneered. "You are as transparent as a thin parchment. I know what you were going to say the moment you thought about it. I know you!"
"If you know me then why won't you let me say it?" Harry questioned harshly.
"Because I won't have the emotions behind these words undone because you feel obliged to utter them. If you say them, you mean them." Severus said roughly.
"But I do…" Harry protested.
Severus held his eyes, towering over him and Harry found that he couldn't pull away. The room ceased to exists and only him and Severus mattered. Green met black eyes, emotions in their eyes that mattered only to them and no one else and Harry felt his heart beat more powerfully in his chest.
He ached for Severus. Ached to feel the older wizard against him, the soft skin against his hands but he was unable to cross the distance. To break this moment was to shatter it and Harry didn't want that. He didn't want to break the moment and finally Severus blinked, a smile pulling at his lips that only Harry could see.
"Say it when the moment is right and you really feel it. Feel it rise in your chest that you know you would roar it out at the top of your lungs and from the highest tower or combust with the power of it. Only then will I accept it as true and repeat it back to you. Do not dishonor yourself or me by forcing it between us to hang in the air. It matters to us and to us alone. No other people have to share this with us. Say it when you are ready and in my most unguarded of moments because every time you would utter such a thing to me, is when you undo me with the three simple words, Harry."
The eyes were so soft and warm that Harry felt his knees grow weak. Oh Merlin, had any man ever been known to make him this weak in the knees? And that man was Severus Snape, known for being able to flay somebody with his tongue and words alone.
But Severus had always had a way with words so why could he not use it to charm Harry's heart like he was doing now? Harry knew he could say it, probably would have if not for the noise around them.
"Oh, how romantic!" The soft drawling voice to his right did break the moment a bit but Harry ignore it, smiling at Severus and allowing the moment to linger and to deepen between them. Only when he was sure he could stare into the obsidian eyes no longer without saying it, and the occasion was oh so wrong, did he pull away and nodded at Lucius Malfoy.
The older wizard appeared bemused as his tapped his cane arithmetically on the ground. The cold grey eyes travelled from Harry's face to Severus before he drawled. "Staking your claim, Severus? And here I thought you were as emotionless as stone…."
"You once knew me to be different, Lucius. You once knew me to be quite passionate about those I cared for. I only grew as hard as stone when it was all thrown back in my face and all that I had worked for fell and I was laughed and spat at when I asked for a favor, to ask the Dark Lord to spare a muggle born, how low would I sink? Wasn't that what they all thought?" Severus' voice was soft but his eyes were blazing.
"We all sacrificed things for a path we once believed to be true…" There was no trace of emotions within the cultured voice of the blond wizard.
"Some sacrifices were bigger than others, Mr. Malfoy." Harry offered softly. The grey eyes rose to his own again and then Lucius inclined his head and Harry knew he was right. They had all sacrificed things, some bigger than others indeed but they had all paid a price in a war neither of them had wanted to fight in.
Once these two men before him had believed in a similar goal but both had paid a price for their beliefs. Was it so wrong they both longed for a different world and to be part in shaping it? Now they had played a part in shaping a new world and both had paid a terrible cost for that world to exist. Harry continued to study Lucius as he was aware of Severus' hand on his shoulder blade, warm and steady in its pressure.
Severus might not agree with him but he respected Harry enough to allow him to form his own opinion. Lucius Malfoy had suffered for his crimes, yes but sometimes, in the dark dreams Harry wondered what would have happened if he had shaken Draco's hand that faithful day when he had chosen Ron over Draco, would things have been different then? Could he have possible protected Draco from the uprising of Voldemort and the madness of the pureblood society and the nearly obsessive standing they wanted over their blood and to make sure it stayed just that, pure.
Would Harry have been pulling inside that world as well? He wondered, it could possibly have been. He could have been there standing next to Lucius and Draco, Severus and perhaps even Voldemort instead of opposite him. What would have happened if he had accepted Voldemort's offer of joining him?
He would have been kept under lock and key, that was for sure. His power suppressed and perhaps him as a consort to one of the Dark Lord's followers, somebody who hated him. If he had been lucky he would have been Snape's consort, he could have toppled over Voldemort and ruled the world.
Harry shook his head, trembling with the fear that suddenly gripped him. Had that been the reason Dumbledore had tried to break him? To try and keep him subdued that Harry learned to fear and eventually hate the dark, so that he could barely live with himself with some of the things he had done?
The lights went out but Harry didn't notice as he drew closer to Severus, still engrossed in his thoughts. Would he turn out like Voldemort? He was powerful though he had no desire to use that power but would people be frightened of him because he was with Severus now, fearing he would turn dark too?
That thought put such fear in Harry, he felt his limbs trembling and he pressed even closer to Severus. The commotion at the doors told him Kingsley had appeared but Harry had no eyes for the man. He was still trembling with the notion that people would even consider him to be dark or to turn dark…
But perhaps part of his soul was and always had been. The part that could speak to snakes and that had been forced to make certain choices and to choose between the lesser of two evils. He had been forced to kill and while he beat himself up over that still years after, the thrill he had always sought for to complete? his life, seeking the danger, perhaps once it would take the overhand and there would be no turning back and he could be the next Voldemort…
"Stop your fidgeting! Kinsley is not that exciting." The velvet voice whispered in his ear and Harry had never been so glad that the lights had gone out as he turned and buried his face in Snape's shoulder, his eyes tightly closed and still trembling.
Severus froze, his body stiff before the arm came around Harry, the hand on his shoulder tight as Severus snarled, his voice a whisper, "What are you doing? You are drawing unwanted attention to the both of us, Potter."
Harry sniffled a little, trying to quell the fear. He could feel other eyes on him and he knew who they belonged to but he didn't want to turn around. "I am afraid I am turning dark…it is what they all fear isn't it? That I am the next Voldemort…"
"You are not dark…what?" Severus yelped, his voice still close before he pulled Harry away roughly to look him in the eye and say. "You, dark? There is no way…."
The Potions Master could see the fear in the green eyes, how they clenched together and the unshed tears. He pulled Harry closer, allowing the younger wizard to pull strength from him. Lucius was looking at him with a raised brow but Severus ignored him. Warmth was pooling in his belly that Harry could draw and need such support and strength from him.
"Your young wizard is overcome with the fearful side of dark magic, Severus?" The soft voice whispered in his ear and Severus glanced at Lucius to see the compassionate glance being send his way. Lucius understood because he too had to drill Draco in this to make some choices for the dark and while Harry had walked a fine line against the darker side of magic, he had never practiced it without tormenting himself immensely, Severus had also been privy to those moments.
He sighed and rubbed Harry's hair, understanding the younger man's fear but Harry should know that there was no black and white but instead many layers of grayness in between and who knew those areas better then Severus Snape and Harry Potter, have experienced so many of them.
"Come, you are drawing attention to yourself and I understood you despised that?" His words had the desired affect because Harry stood up and managed to compose himself, wiping away tears.
The younger wizard was still trembling a little but Severus merely whispered in his ear.
"You understand the attractive side of dark magic but you also understand the torment better than anybody. If you turn dark, it is by choice alone, not by the way your magic will be pulled into a direction. You are light, Harry but every person has some darkness in them, some more than others. It is just the way we are made."
"But what if I really like the dark better….I mean…." Harry whispered back, clapping politely the moment Kingsley entered the stage. The dark skinned wizard raised his hands in acknowledgement, smiling.
"You were honed as a weapon. Do not mistake the impact it had upon your life. You were chased since you were born, living your life in fear and having to look over your shoulder at every turn, of course the normality of real life might be very disappointing." Severus snorted softly behind him.
"You were attracted to the dark too, weren't you?" Harry glanced back into the gleaming eyes, remembering his first class speech when he had been in Defense during sixth year.
"Some have an appetite for blonds and some for dark haired persons, Harry." Severus growled softly before he added his voice such a low purr Harry had to strain to hear it. "But yes, the dark has always held a certain sway and appeal for me. It was the only way for me to really develop my talents and it was what drove your mother away."
"My mother never understood that in order for there to be light, there has to be darkness too." Harry leaned back contently, Severus' arm loosely around his waist. Kingsley began his speech but neither of them was listening.
"Mmm, most people have both things, both light and dark but the population simply refuses to see it. Why should they? They are most comfortable leading their boring lives without danger." Severus' voice hissed for a moment, reminding Harry of an angry snake.
"It seems that Shacklebolt has found out where Potter is. Are you ready to release your lover, Severus and share him with the rest of the world like the good boy you are?" Lucius' voice was filled with amusement but while the dark eyes of the Minister met Harry's, the dark skinned wizard smiled before he called out.
"And I present to you, Draco Malfoy!" The crowd muttered before silence fell as the young wizard, as young as Harry himself took the stage, smiling at everybody. He and Kingsley extended a warm hand and Harry's mouth fell open. Lucius' mouth had fallen open.
"It does seem like your son has inherited something from you after all, Lucius!" Severus smirked behind him but Harry had eyes only for Draco. What was the younger wizard doing? Draco had been shunned just as much as Severus and Lucius and why was he now shaking the Minister's hand like nothing had happened in the past five years.
"I have no idea what you mean!" Lucius said curtly but with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Oh, you know, the tendency to slither your way back into society by either way befriending the right people or large sums of gold. Since Draco has none of the Malfoy gold but double the charm, I suppose he did the most common thing he should have done and begged his way into society." Severus smirked.
"I believe the most common word is worked, not that it would have been one you would have been familiar with, Lucius." Harry began to understand what game Draco was playing. The younger wizard knew that he could never right his reputation if he didn't change his ways. He had begun to work at the Ministry to try and salvage of what remained of his dignity and future.
Harry was not in the least bit surprised when Draco began. "I wish to thank Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt for this opportunity. It is of course not the biggest surprise that the first Order of Merlin goes to Harry Potter. Mr. Potter, if you would be so kind to come up here."
Draco looked around the room, searching for Harry and Harry reluctantly loosened himself from Severus' embrace. He hated these sorts of things, he really did but now he suddenly understood what the note had meant. He could salvage something tonight simply by saying some words and use his reputation and fame for something good, so he rose and allowed the warm arm to fall away and he walked forward, climbing up the stairs as the confused people began to clap and cheer.
He accepted the hand that Draco handed him and said in a whisper through he continued to smile. "What game are you playing, Draco?"
"The one I should have been playing the moment I met you, the right one." The grey eyes revealed nothing and Harry's green eyes searched Draco's face for any lie. To his satisfaction he found none as he said.
"Then you finally found the right path."
"It took some searching and some nights of shouting and hexing walls, but yes, I suppose I have. You are finally straying from the path I see…"
"Yes, never been one to follow the rules." For a moment Harry's eyes travelled to the dark ones and he gave a discrete nod.
"Seems like we are trading places, you do realize you would have done excellent in Slytherin too." Draco murmured as the camera's snapped away.
"No, there could have only been one Slytherin prince and one Golden Gryffindor. You just don't look well in red and gold." Harry smiled at the camera, accepting the small pin Draco gave him in the way too big box and gold pillow. He hated it instantly.
"Show off!" Draco murmured before he continued. "They expect a speech you know about you thanking all the good people."
Harry turned to meet the grey eyes. "Do they expect it or do you?"
Draco's eyes appeared puzzled and Harry raised his wand. His thought for a moment on all the appropriate people to thank but he knew, it wasn't what he wanted. If anything had been made clear to him in the past few months was that things could change and his opinion of things would do as well. And besides, he had always been Harry Potter and he never played by the rules of normal people.
So he smirked and said. "Well I am honored to receive one. I mean, if I hadn't gotten one for killing Voldemort, who would have? Now as for my thank yous, there is the obvious need to thank friends, I have no family and since my parents died for no reason except for defending me and making me have to return to my abusive family for each year, well no thanks there I am sure you will all agree because of some ancient spell my mother used in my blood….I don't want to thank Dumbledore for manipulating me and forcing me to kill myself in the end. If he had just been truthful with me, I wouldn't have waited until I was 17 and we could all have been rid of Voldemort a lot sooner…."
Some people laughed uneasily, wondering if Harry had gone mad of course. Severus smirked, dark eyes gleaming and Harry smiled as he continued. "I do however want to thank the school for allowing me to return to spoil innocent young children with tales of dark deeds and fill their heads with adventures that will surely end wrong. I want to thank the Weasleys for being my family and for protecting me, at the cost of one of their sons. I especially want to thank Ginevra Weasley for allowing me to dump her and then find out where my heart really lies, with the men, no offence Ginny; you were very wonderful but just lacked certain things…."
Ginny waved at him and smiled and Harry dipped his head. He suddenly grew serious.
"I don't want to thank the population for believing foolish lies about me because the ministry told you so. I know you are all mindless and follow a crowd, but don't show it too often, alright, it gets a bit annoying and boring. You are all extremely fickle and independent so this award goes out to everybody who knows they deserve it. That would be the ones smirking and not looking around stupidly at their neighbor but thanks for making the difference obvious."
"Harry that is quite enough!" Kingsley suddenly said.
"I am not done yet, Minister so let me just finished or else your little note will have been worthless." Whispers broke out at that and Harry said. "I want to thank Professor Severus Snape for always belittling me and making me rise to a challenge. Lucius Malfoy for making me realize I should be happy with what I got because else I would turn out like him, thank you very much but no thanks and last but not least, Draco Malfoy, for hesitating and instead of following a directed path to the dark, you made the decision to stay away from it, at a very high cost and thanks for lending me your wand. Thank you all."
As the silence continued Harry stepped away and gave a nod, smiling wildly. Whispers were breaking out amongst the crowd and then people began to cheer and clap for him. Harry saw a flash of red, Ron and then Hermione and then the entire Weasley clan and Harry shot down from the stage, straight into Severus' arms and his lips on the surprised wizard's own as he breathed because the moment had never been so right and he had never felt so good, so powerful. "I love you."
The arm around his waist and the cheers that came even louder were impossible to ignore but he managed when he saw the light return to Severus' dark eyes as his dark haired wizard said, "And I love you."
Hp
"You own me a bottle of mead, Lucius. Molly Weasley has received the second class Order of Merlin." Harry glanced up. He was a bit sleepy with the long procedures. First the Orders had been given out to the people who had perished in the battle, such as Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin and Nymhodora Tonks.
Harry was growing bored and he had been lulled to a sleepy trancelike state within a few short moments. Somebody poked him in the ribs and he looked up. "Wake up, they are nearly done." Severus whispered.
"Oh, so we can retire yet?"
"How sophisticated you are, Mr. Potter." Lucius Malfoy sneered.
Harry fixed his green eyes upon the cold grey eyes that met his and he said with a smirk.
"Well, since I grew up in a cupboard, it would be a bit hard for me to be very sophisticated." Lucius choked upon his wine and Harry heard a soft snort behind him. He continued to smile sweetly at Lucius Malfoy when loud clapping sounded when Kingsley boomed.
"And another second class Order of Merlin goes to Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry sighed, wondering when it was coming to an end.
They hadn't even managed to make it to the first class Order of the Merlin's yet and he was already weary of standing here. He rubbed at his eyes and asked. "Do you think Kingsley will award his own Order or will somebody do it for him?"
"It depends…" Severus began to say only to be interrupted as a cry sounded somewhere near the vicinity of Harry's knee.
"Harry!" Harry glanced down to see the golden eyes of Teddy blinking up at him. Glad for the interruption, he swung Teddy up in his arms and settled him on his hip, smiling at his godchild. The young wizard beamed the moment he spotted Severus and regardless of having greeting the older wizard earlier this evening, he said with a child's honesty.
"Now I can see a bit more. But you are not as tall as Uncle Sevvy is…." Once more Lucius choked upon his drink, this time for a whole different reason as the older wizard drew away, hiccupping lightly and trying to mask his sniggers, Harry had trouble hiding his own amusement and Teddy was glaring at them all.
Teddy pleadingly extended his arms to Severus, pouting a little and his lower lip trembling. Severus sighed and then lifted the child up to his own hip, raising Teddy so he could look over the heads of those assembled.
Teddy happy bounced but Severus glared down his crooked nose at Harry and said in his scariest voice. "If this is ever repeated that this…child calls me Uncle Sevvy, I will take precautions." Teddy was clapping his hands and Harry merely swallowed his sniggers as he meekly said.
"Of course. Hey but why could my mum call you Sev and I can't?" Harry frowned at his lover.
"Because your mother was the only one who could. Had I be wanted to be named Sev, I would have changed my name and besides I do not call you Har, now do I?"
"Yes, yes, you have made your point." Harry murmured, clapping loudly when Hermione and Ron were called to the stage to collect their (first!)Order of Merlin. He yawned again, feeling light fingers on the small of his back, pressing gently as Severus said.
"The evening should be coming to an end…" Harry was about to comment when Kingsley called out.
"And for the last Order of Merlin second class, this one is a surprise…Percy are you sure that this is correct…" Percy Weasley gave a nod from where he had been standing off to the side of the stage. The bespeckled Weasley consulted his notes and whispers broke out amongst the crowd.
"Very well then, the final award of this day goes to….Draco Malfoy…." The crowd broke out in many whispers as Lucius said loudly.
"No!"
"Lucius!"
"If that is what the little coward has been begging and working for, just to get an Order of Merlin Second Class he is wrong if I am going to let him get away with that!" The blond wizard angrily bit out, his hand already drawing his wand from the sheath of his cane.
"Lucius!" Severus snapped again, passing Teddy to Harry with a deep sigh. The dark haired wizard faced his old friend and said.
"Do you really think so little of your son to think he would do something like that? He isn't Lucius…."
"He is going to make a speech." Harry hissed loudly and indeed
Draco had raised his wand to his neck and mumbled a simple. "Sonorus."
Draco took a deep breath, which sounded quite loud to those assembled before he said. "I know you all believe me to be the son of a Death Eater and so I must be one myself, am I not correct? Well, I am not. I was never marked and if there is one good thing my father has ever done for me, it is to try and protect me from getting the Dark Mark and follow in his footsteps. My parents may not have been the best of people but they always did try to protect me from turning out like them. But I know what you are all thinking, I am responsible for Dumbledore's death, yes I was. I accepted the task, knowing full well what it would mean for me if I failed or succeeded. I never had the bravery to do what needed to be done, no somebody else did…."
Harry set Teddy back on his own feet as the child grew bored and wiggled. He felt Severus tense behind him and he was sure if he turned around now, his Potions Master would scowl yet behind the mask; Harry would be able to see the fear and the distrust in Severus' eyes.
"I own a lot to that person, that is why I am not going to accept this award. It should never have gone to me for there is one other who has suffered much worse than I have and who has shown his bravery many times over. He paid a lot for a mistake he made in his youth. I realized this when we spoke together tonight. I came to him with accusations, accusations that were completely unfounded and wrong and he quickly put me to right, because I saw I was wrong."
Draco took another deep breath and smiled in a charming way, brushing his hair back from his face. "I knew that this award would be given to me but I don't deserve it. So I have decided to give it away, knowing it is only a small award for what this man truly deserves. Therefore I give this Order of the Merlin, Second Class to Professor Severus Snape."
"What?" Harry heard Severus exclaim behind him but the cool grey eyes of Draco were already searching for Severus and Harry turned.
Severus stared down at him, completely perplexed with his eyes wide. "Go." Harry said.
It seemed to be all the encouragement Severus needed for he fixed his sneer on his face and made his way forward. Yet in the moment before the sneer had twisted the thin lips Harry had seen the uncertainty and the woundedness, Severus wondered if this would be another joke but if Harry knew Draco at all, he knew Draco would never do such a thing.
So he clapped loudest of all when Severus approached the stage and finally stood facing Draco. He couldn't hear what was being said between the two men but he could see Severus relax slightly and he knew that Draco had impressed his Head of House.
"I wish to call Mr. Potter to the stage again." Kingsley boomed and Harry sighed.
"Is there truly no end to this?" He asked softly from no one in particular.
"Well, you can either way start hexing people or go as insane as the Dark Lord but since you are mostly light, Mr. Potter, the public will continue to adore you." Lucius' voice was filled with a sneer but impeccable otherwise.
Harry made his way to the front, hearing the soft whispers of Hermione and Ron and he wanted nothing more than to stay with them and enjoy drinks, watching as other people made speeches and paraded in front of the Ministry.
Instead he stopped short of the stairs and called up. "What is it that you want, Minister?"
Silence greeted the crowd when they noticed that Harry refused to come up. Kingsley scowled down at Harry and finally said. "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"You told me to make use of my influence, well I am. I am however extremely tired of being paraded at the Ministry's beck and call. If there is something you want me to say, you can say it here." Harry crossed his arms over his chest and he ignored the snort he heard.
"Uhm yes, the Head of Auror is retiring and since you have always expressed interest in the function, I am sure that a man of your influence and credibility, we could…." The conversation was only between them both as the band began to play.
"Will you give the other candidates the same chances that I will be given?" The green eyes were narrowed as they met the dark skinned wizard's eyes.
"Of course." Kingsley said in his deep voice.
"Then I am not going to run. I am content where I am." And as he met the black eyes from over Shackebolt's shoulder he knew he was very content with where he was.
The end for now. I have decided to do one more chapter only, if everybody can gang together and let's try to surpass 500 reviews, shall we? If you have been reading the chapter, you will know what is going to happen next. So that said, review of course.